Peoples Daily Newspaper, Saturday 02, February, 2013

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

www.peoplesdailyng.com

VOL. 3 NO. 25 SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

. . . putting the people first

RABI’UL AWWAL 21 - 22, 1434 AH

News:

KANNYWOOD

Why Abuja residents rush bush meat >>Page 8

N150

Men are deceitful, says Ummi

JTF storms Boko Haram camp, kill 17 >>Page 4

>>Page 24

Subsidy scam:

Farouk Lawan remanded in prison

News:

Appeal Court >>Pages9,9,10, 10,11, 11, 12,13 13&14 &14 Rev. >>Pages 12, sentences King to death >>Page 5

>>Pages 4

Interview Jonathan underdeveloped Nigeria —Shehu Sani >>Pages 14,15

COVER

States creation: Whose interest?>> Pages 9,10,11&12 WWW.PEOPLESDAILY-ONLINE.COM

PAGE 2

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

My thoughts With Ayodele Samuel 08074420617 (SMS only)

Nigeria judiciary! Our home of hopelessness "Promo! Promo!! Promo!!! Steal N32b from FG's Pension Fund and pay N750k back as fine. No jail term! Hurry now!

Fellow Nigerians, Mr Yakubu John don win him own ooo!!! This promo is proudly sponsored by: FGN, NPF, EFCC, ICPC, Nigerian Judiciary and many others."

This is a popular mockery of the Nigerian judiciary flying among Nigerian youths on social networks.

Seriously this is not strange because the Nigerian judiciary system like other arms of governments (Executive and Legislature) is now persistently disappointing and many Nigerians, including yours Sincerely are piqued with its regular constitutional errors, delay in justice or complete denial of it.

Anytime I thought about how speedily the Nigerian judiciary system collapsed, it unconsciously reminds me of my father's favorite adage, "The bastards of a peaceful town are not yet matured." Gone are those days in early period of Nigeria's independence when the masses could run to the nation's court rooms to seek redress when their rights were violated either by the powerful or the rich.

It is always true that sustenance of human freedom, free enterprises, fundamental rights, absolute democracy, even development, due process and justice lies in effective and efficient judiciary with potent structures and capacity to deliver excellent service to the citizenry. However, this is turning out to be a day moon in our country as the weak judicial system is gradually ushering in a failed state, our judicial is becoming cheaper and cheaper while devilish injustice has taken over the

system .

These days, a lot is heard of arrests made by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, ICPC and Nigerian police force under the pretences of combating corruption and other criminal acts in our society. The question is, how many such corruption and criminal cases involving our public officers and greedy rich Nigerians has the judiciary brought to a logical end?

On 2nd October, 2012, A middleaged man, Wasiu Alabi was sentenced to six-months imprisonment by an Osogbo Magistrate's Court for stealing a goat, even after the convict had earlier been granted bail by the court in the sum of N20, 000 but was remanded at Ilesa Prison when he could not meet the bail conditions.

Aside this, Nigerian did the worse when a man was sentenced to three years in jail for stealing a telephone handset worth N17, 000 at an Ikare Magistrate Court in Ondo State, in less than 24 hours after an Abuja High Court sentenced Pension Thief John Yakubu Yusuf to two years in prison for admitting to stealing around N2 billion of the total N33 billion stolen from police pensions, he was also given an option to pay N250, 000 fine instead of going to jail?

President Goodluck Jonathan, Senate President, Mr. Speaker, Anthony General of the State, Chief Justice of Nigeria and other concerned individuals and bodies, If the Nigerian judiciary which is supposed to be the hope of the hopeless, is now the home of hopelessness, where would the hopeless masses see hope again?

Responses to Thoughts Re-Nigerian youths are today's leaders, tomorrow is far That is why millions of Nigeria Youths who are graduates are roaming about the streets for lack of jobs and without means of survival while people in government dine and wine at our expense. We refuse to be referred to as leaders of tomorrow; we are the leaders of today.

President- Nigeria Youths For Credible Leadership - 08038999233 In 1979, Bamanga Tukur was the Governor of the defunct Gongola State (now Adamawa & Taraba) and 33 years after, he is today the Chairman of the ruling Party, PDP; Dr. Bello Halliru was commissioner in the Old Sokoto State (now Sokoto, Kebbi & Zamfara) and 33 years after, he became Minister of Defence; Major General David Mark (rtd) was the Military Governor of Niger State in 1984 and 28 years after, he is today the Senate President; Gov. Murtala Nyako was the Governor of Niger State in 1976 and 36 years after, he is today the Governor of Adamawa State; Ogbonnaya Onu was Governor of Abia State in 1992 and 20 years after he is today the National Chairman of ANPP; Gov. David Jonah Jang was the governor of Benue State in 1985 and 27 years after he is today the governor of Plateau state; and Martins Elechi the Ebonyi State Governor is over 80 years old! Only in Nigeria is this possible, where the youth of today have

no hope in the future! Where do we go from here?

People Deceive People (PDP), 1985, IBB was the president of Nigeria and our teachers told us that Buhari was the former Head of state. Our teacher also called us the leaders of tomorrow..27 years later, IBB and Buhari are still contesting for President.Its either our teacher lied to us about being the leaders of tomorrow..Or tomorrow is yet to come..

Who's fooling who?.Let's stand and fight for our right because we are the leaders of Today. Please let all youth alliance come together and fight for the unborn.

We can't continue like this. I still believe in the NIGERIA DREAM. Thank you.

Damilola Oshodi- Abuja Many youths in Nigeria have lost interest in election, reason why these old horses are still in power, theyouths should come out enmasse to vote during elections Nuhu Ibrahim Suleja I believe the youths can rebuild this country if we synergize our strength Matthew Poffi, Jos Let's stop making noise, and move for action, let's call our NASS representatives and remind them of removal of age barrier from the constitution Mallam A.A Zaria

Feature Generator exhaust kills 3 children two days after mother's death

One of the children, Usman Ibrahim battling to survive at a Hospital in Kano From Mustapha Adamu, Kano

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i s a s t e r struck at the Tsamiyar Boka, Hotoro quarters area of Kano metropolis recently, when two days after the death of a mother of four, three of the children were suffocated by fume from an electric generator.

The fourth child, 26 years old Abubakar Ibrahim, survived the incident but he is still recuperating at the Accident and Emergency Unit of the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital.

An eyewitness account explained that the four siblings had gone to sleep at a room in a nearby motor mechanic's workshop because their house was filled with visitors who had come to console the family over the death of their mother and preparing meal for the third day prayers.

An aunt of the deceased, Hassana Musa, told our reporter that the incident occurred at about 2 a.m.

According to her, "the generator was still on because I was preparing the

meal for the third day prayers for my late sister."

However, according to her, some of the women apparently heard the victims screaming for help before they got suffocated but they did not give details of what happened at about 4 a. m.

"One of the women in the house heard some people from the other room chanting, innalillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun, (we are from God and to Him we are returning).

"The women did not tell me about what they heard until 4 a.m. when I heard noise from the gate and when I came out, I found the boys lying unconscious on the ground and I later realized that smoke from the generator must have suffocated them and evacuated and rushed them to hospital," she said.

Doctors at the hospital confirmed Jibril Ibrahim 22 years, dead later that morning while Usman, 29, and Abba, 23, died two days after.

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One of the women in the house heard some people from the other room chanting, innalillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun, (we are from God and to Him we are returning).

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

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Special Report

Inside Mallam Niggers' reformatory school From Lawal Sa'idu Funtua, Katsina n Islamiyya reformatory school run by Malam Salisu Hamisu, popularly called Malam Nigger, is located at Kofar Durbi Quarters in Katsina metropolis. According to the proprietor, the school was originally designed to specifically impart Islamic knowledge to the children of the neighbouring communities and even beyond.

"When I started the school, the main idea was to teach children the Qur'an, Hadith, Islamic Jurisprudence and other branches of Islamic scholarship but by God's design, it has turned out to be a reformatory home for juvenile delinquent youth and young drug addicts," Malam Nigger says, during a recent visit to the centre by Peoples Daily Weekend.

Malam Nigger gave a detailed account of the school.

According to him, "I started the school as a local Allo school but there was a time I travelled to Kano to see my parents and during the visit I met a cousin of mine who had become a notorious dan daba (thug). So, I brought him down to Katsina here and trained him and by Allah's will, he dropped all his bad ways and he has memorized the whole Qur'an and is now a good boy."

It was after the successful reformation and rehabilitation of the cousin of Malam Nigger that people started bringing all manner of delinquent children to him for rehabilitation.

Currently, he says well over 200 of such youth are undergoing one form of rehabilitation programme or the other, and cited the case of a young girl who had gone wayward but has been rehabilitated even as she has memorized the entire Qur'an and will soon get married.

The reformer of children noted that admission into the school's rehabilitation programmes requires the

A

Malam Mudassir Auwal, a former inmate, now ND1 student of Hospitality and Hotel Management Studies at Katsina Polytechnic

payment of N20, 000 registration fees and an additional sum of N10, 000 monthly for feeding. As he puts it, "people come from all over the country with their stubborn children for rehabilitation in this school.

Few years back, a retired Army General brought his wayward child to the school and at the end, the child attended secondary school from my house and he is now a University graduate. Parents whose children are rehabilitated have the option of allowing them to attend secondary schools."

Babangida Shehu Dan Fulani, 29 years old, from Gusau, Zamfara state is among the students of Malam Nigger's reformatory school. He told Peoples Daily Weekend that he was brought to the school when his parents noted that he had imbibed some anti-social behaviours. "When I came here, I had already abandoned my secondary school education but after my rehabilitation I was sent to a secondary school here

Some inmates in chains

Babangida Shehu Dan Fulani, former inmate now 100 Level Public Administration Student at Umaru Musa 'Yar'adua University, Katsina in Katsina where I completed my studies," Dan Fulani is currently a 100 level student of Public Administration at the Umaru Musa 'Yar'Adua University, Katsina. He still lives in Malam Nigger's compound from where he attends school.

Malam Mudassir Auwal, 28 years old from Kano state is another reformed inmate of the Malam Nigger's school.

The young man who is currently an National Diploma student of Hospitality Management Studies at the Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic, Katsina recalled with sadness his past deviant life. He said, "When I recall what I did earlier in my life, I always feel bad and I even cry sometimes when I remember how I made my parents suffer because of my anti-social life

style." He attributed such behaviour to bad influence and noted that, "we should try to always avoid peer group influence. We must always listen to our elders."

Apart from the task of catering for the over 200 inmates under his care, Malam Nigger has four wives and 17 children, lamenting that despite the noble work, the only support he has received so far are the rehabilitation of two toilets and the building of three new ones by the wife of Katsina state Governor, Hajiya Fatima Ibrahim Shehu Shema.

"Government and well-todo individuals need to help and support us. If deviant children are allowed without such corrective measures, we will all suffer from it," Malam

Mallam Salisu Hamisu Nigger said, even as he explained that some of the severe cases involves chaining the children and that, "the deviant child will begin the memorization of the Holy Qur'an while still in chains and after a considerable time we remove the chains from their legs and allow them to roam freely but under strict guidance and instructions." He blamed the increasing menace of youth drug addiction to politicians who use them for political gains. He admonished such politicians to fear Allah and remember that they would be accountable for their actions on the Day of Judgment. "In the event that I die, I pray Allah to bring someone who will continue running the reformatory school. I pray it would not die with me," he said.

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"When I recall what I did earlier in my life, I always feel bad and I even cry sometimes when I remember how I made my parents suffer because of my anti-social life style."

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

News JTF storm Boko Haram training camps, kill 17 insurgents From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri

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he Joint Military Task Force, (JTF) in Borno state said yesterday that its troops, backed by an Air Force helicopter gunship, conducted special operation and raided two training camps of suspected Boko Haram insurgents, killing 17 gunmen while a soldier, also lost his life in a gun-duel.

The latest wave of violence rocking Borno state came barely two days after a moderate faction of the Boko Haram sect, led by Muhammad Abdul-Aziz Ibn Idris, entered into a dialogue deal with the government through declaring a unilateral ceasefire.

Spokesman of the JTF, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, in a statement issued to newsmen, said the operations were conducted

Police declare Maina wanted

between last Wednesday and Thursday in Sambisa Game Reserve as well as Farin-Ruwa forest of Bama and Damboa local government areas respectively, which were allegedly used as training camps by the insurgents.

According to the statement, the camps served as the terrorists' combat training grounds for several recent killings and bombings in various parts of the state, comprising of Maiduguri metropolis, Konduga,

Biu, Bama, and Damboa local government councils.

The task force also explained that the camps, which were sighted and fortified, were equipped with training facilities; armoury, accommodation, drugs, store, kitchen and vehicle holding area, among others.

"Efforts by JTF troops to dislodge the camps led to fierce gun battle that resulted in the death of 17 Boko Haram terrorists and one JTF personnel was killed", the camps were later

destroyed and are being monitored, the statement further added.

Items recovered from the suspects comprised of six AK 47 rifles, two G3 rifles, three pistols, a rocket propelled grenade bomb (RPG), RPG tube, 20 RPG chargers. Others were two double barrel rifles, 2543 assorted ammunition, 33 assorted empty magazines, three laptops, 10 assorted Motorola walkie-talkies, 20 GSM phones, and 40 assorted primed

Halliburton scandal: Paris court jails Technip executives

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hile no Nigerian official implicated in the $180 million (N27 billion) Halliburton bribery scam has been convicted, a Paris court yesterday sentenced two former executives of French engineering and construction giant, Technip S.A, for their role in the scam.

TSKJ, a consortium of four

international companies (Technip; Snamprogetti; KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton; and JGC), paid the bribe to Nigerian officials over a ten-year period to secure the construction contract worth $6 billion (N900 billion).

TSKJ partners admitted paying $132 million (N9.8 billion) to a Gibraltar corporation

controlled by London-based lawyer, Jeffrey Tesler, and $51 million (N7.65 billion) to Marubeni of Japan. The money was meant as bribes to Nigerian government officials.

Jean-Marie Deseilligny, Technip's General Manager; and Etienne Gory, the company's Commercial Manager for Africa

By Lambert Tyem

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he Nigeria Police, yesterday, declared wanted the chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT) Abdulrasheed Maina.

Police spokesman, Frank Mba in a statement, said the declaration became necessary as a result of the failure of Maina to appear before Senate Joint Committee on the Investigation of Pension Funds.

According to the declaration, "The Nigeria Police Force hereby declares wanted, this 1st day of February, 2013, Alhaji Abdulrasheed Maina of the Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Office (CIPPO), for failing to appear before the Senate Joint Committee on the Investigation of Pension Funds", the police said.

It will be recalled that the Senate had on 13th December, 2012, issued a Warrant of Arrest, mandating the InspectorGeneral of Police to arrest and produce Alhaji Maina before the Senate Joint Committee on the Investigation of Pension Fund.

Since then, according to the police, Maina has gone into hiding, making it difficult for the police to execute the warrant.

"Consequently, the InspectorGeneral of Police has directed all AIGs in-charge of Zonal Commands and State Command Commissioners of Police to spread their dragnets to all nooks and crannies of their respective areas of jurisdiction, in search of Alhaji Maina. He has also directed all operatives of Federal Intelligence Bureau (FIB), Force and State CID to join the manhunt.

"The IGP wishes to appeal to well meaning citizens and the general public with useful information on the whereabouts of Alhaji Abdulrasheed Maina, to kindly volunteer such information to the nearest police station, formation or email: policemonitor@npf.gov.ng, for necessary action", the statement added.

improvised explosive device, (IED) canisters, among others.

Our correspondent reported that when the ceasefire was announced, spokesman for the JTF in Lt. Col Sagir Musa, welcomed development, saying "conflicts are resolved through dialogue, be that as it may, the JTF will still remain in a staging position to continue maintaining law and order as well as protecting lives and property of citizens in its area of operational responsibility".

Former Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Subsidy Regime, Hon. Faruk Lawan, arraigned at the FCT high court, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

were ordered to pay fines of •10, 000 (N2.15 million) and •5,000 (N1.1 million) respectively.

Prosecutors had asked the court to fine the accused •100, 000 (N21.5 million) each.

Jeffery Tesler, the main gobetween for the consortium, is serving a 21-month sentence in the United States prison while Jack Stanley, KBR's former Chief Executive Officer, is serving 30 months.

Using the Federal Corrupt Practices Act, FCPA, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Security and Exchange Commission has made the companies and individuals that paid the bribe to pay more than $1.7 billion in penalties and disgorgement.

Halliburton, in January 2009, paid a $559 million (N84 billion) fine to the U.S government after the company was found guilty of bribing Nigerian officials.

While the bribe givers have all been convicted and fined, and in some cases jailed in their countries of origin and in the U.S., no Nigerian bribe recipient has been convicted or jailed.

The beneficiaries of the bribe, as revealed by several investigations, include three successive heads of state, former petroleum ministers, officials of the Nigerian oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, and other government officials.

$620,000 subsidy bribe: Farouk Lawan, Emenalo sent to Kuje Prison

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

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n Abuja High Court, yesterday, ordered that the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Education, Alhaji Farouk Lawan, and an Assistant Director in the National Assembly, Mr. Boniface Emenalo, be remanded in prison custody for allegedly violating the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences (ICPC) Act 2000.

The embattled lawmaker and his co-accused person, who were chairman and secretary of the House of Representative Ad-hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy regime were arraigned for allegedly receiving a bribe of $620, 000 from an oil magnet, Femi Otedola to

remove the name of his company, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd from the list of companies indicted in the fuel subsidy regime fraud.

Lawan and Emenalo pleaded not guilty to the seven count charges preferred against them by the Federal Government.

The accused persons, through their counsel, Ricky Tarfa moved an application for their bail under section 35(5) of the constitution and section 340, 341 of the Criminal Code Act told the court that the accused person should be admitted to bail as they will not jump bail if granted.

Tarfa told the court that the lawmaker is an eminent personality and he is also the chairman of the committee on administration and finance of the ECOWAS.

The prosecution counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, while opposing the bail application, told the court that the accused persons are charged under section 8, 10, 23 of the ICPC Act and the penalty for which they are charged carries a sentence ranging from two to seven years in prison are ordinarily not bailable.

He further urged the court to look at the nature and gravity of the offence and the likelyhood of committing another offence again.

Awomolo further argued that the accused persons occupy high levels of responsibility in the National Assembly and that they have not signed any undertaking before the court to show that they will not demand further bribe when they go back to the National

Assembly, stressing that the accused persons were part of the making of the ICPC Act and yet violated it.

The court sitting before Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi fixed February 8, 2013 to rule on the bail application.

Lawan and Emenalo are facing trial for allegedly receiving a bribe of $620, 000 from Otedola to remove his company, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd from the list of companies indicted in the fuel subsidy scam.

It would be recalled that at the wake of oil subsidy crisis, the House of Representatives set up an adhoccommittee headed by Lawan to probe the oil subsidy regime.

The committee indicted some oil companies and individuals of shortchanging the subsidy regime to the tune of N1.7 trillion

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

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News Offa/Erin-Ile: Kwara govt relaxes curfew From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

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he Kwara state government has relaxed the 24-hour curfew imposed on Offa and Erin-Ile communities in order to allow Muslims and Christians to observe their religious obligations.

The Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Isiaka Gold in a statement issued on Friday after delegations had observed situations in the two communities, said movement will be allowed between 12pm and 6pm on Friday, and 7am and 2pm on Sunday.

The government warned that the curfew would remain in force outside these periods.

Gold advised the people of Offa and Erin-Ile communities to continue to

New GOC takes over 3 Armoured Division

Reverend King: Appeal court affirms death sentence T

By Adesoji Oyinlola, Lagos

he Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos, on Friday, affirmed the death sentence slammed on General-Overseer of the Christian Praying Assembly, Chukwuemeka Ezeugo (aka Rev. King), by a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja on January 11, 2007.

The Appellate Court in a unanimous judgment read by Justice Fatima Akinbami on Friday, dismissed Ezeugo's appeal, stating that the prosecution had "surely and effectively" proved its case against him at the trial court.

Ezeugo had appealed the judgment of Justice Joseph Oyewole who had convicted and sentenced him

to death by hanging for the alleged murder of a church member, Ann Uzoh, and attempted murder of five other devotees.

The Appeal Court also dismissed the appellant's contention that there were "contradictions and inconsistencies" in the prosecution's evidence.

Akinbami said: "This appeal fails and is hereby resolved against the appellant. This appeal is devoid of merit and it is hereby dismissed.

"The conviction and sentence passed on the appellant on January 7, 2011 by Justice Joseph Oyewole of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja Division is hereby affirmed."

The condemned Reverend King who was arraigned on September 26,

2006 on six counts of attempted murder and murder, was said to have poured petrol on the deceased and on five other persons and set them on fire thereafter.

One of the victims, Uzoh, died on August 2, 2006, 11 days after the incident, as a result of the injuries said to have been sustained from burns.

Lawyer to the appellant, Olalekan Ojo, had among his 32 grounds of appeal, argued that the judgment of the trial court occasioned miscarriage of justice for relying on unresolved contradictions and inconsistencies in the prosecution's evidence.

According to Ojo, there were contradictions in the testimonies of some of the prosecution witnesses with some saying that the cleric ordered

for matches to set the victims ablaze and others saying he only ordered for matches after a lighter failed.

Justice Akinbami said the contradictions were immaterial to the case of the prosecution.

She said: "Not all contradictions in the case of the prosecution will raise a doubt. For contradictions to be fatal to the prosecution's case it must be related to the material fact.

"All the witnesses are unanimous that the appellant used matches."

On Ojo's contention that the evidence adduced by the prosecution did not show that the action of his client was not linked with the death of the deceased, the court held that the evidence given by eyewitnesses, and that of a pathologist ascribing the cause of death to "hypovolemic" (severe loss of blood and tissues), showed that Ezeugo's action was the cause of one of the victims' death.

L-R: Representative of Nigeria Vice President, Mr. Abba Dabo, Former Minister of Information, Professor Sam Oyovbaire, former Minister of works, Chief Tony Anenih, Vice -Chancellor National Open University of Nigeria, Professor Vincent Ado Tenebe and the Author of the book, Professor Godwin Sogolo, during the book Presentation "Nigeria Yesterday Today," on Thursday in Abuja.

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he new General Officer Commanding 3 Armoured Division, Maxwel Khobe Cartonment, Rukuba, Jos Plateau state has assumed duties. He is Major General Ebiobowei Awala.

In his taking over speech during the handing over ceremony held at the Division headquarters yesterday, Maj. Gen. Awala promised to build on the success of the outgoing GOC. He also charged officers and men of the division to remain fully professional and disciplined on their duties, adding that "on my own part I will try and address some of the challenges facing men and officers of the division".

Awala replaces Major General Jack Okechukwu Nwaogbo, who has been posted to Army Headquarters, Abuja, as Chief of Training and Operation (CTOPS).

Police gun down robbery suspects in Benue From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

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he Benue State Police Command has gunned down three members of a robbery syndicate that specialise in robbing unsuspecting motorists on the busy Aliade-Otukpo highway.

An eyewitness said the gang who rode on a tricycle had on Friday morning blocked the Aliade-Otukpo road during which they robbed motorists.

He said the passengers made frantic phone calls to the Commissioner of Police and in no time, men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) arrived the scene and engaged the robbers in a gun duel.

Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Danniel Ezeala who confirmed the incident, said during the exchange of fire three of the robbers were arrested while others were shot and died before medical aid could be administerd.

Photo: Justin ImoOwo

Two killed in Bauchi attacks as NSCDC nabs three suspected vandals From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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nknown gunmen killed two people in Zango, a suburb of Bauchi metropolis on Thursday night around 8 pm causing panic among the residents of the area.

The Bauchi state police commissioner, Mohammed Ladan confirmed the incident on Friday. He said only one person was killed but did not comment on whether any suspect was arrested in connection with the

attack.

It was gathered that the incident occurred around 7:30 to 8 pm when the attackers approached their victims pretending something before shooting down Emmanual Haruna and one Mr.Oko. Eyewitness accounts had it that the attackers came with a motorcycle and zoomed off immediately after the dastardly act to escape arrest.

Meanwhile, the Bauchi state command of Nigeria Security

and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), has arrested three suspected vandals who specialise in scooping kerosene from pipeline in Dindinma, Alkaleri local govermnet area of the state.

The state commandant, Shuayb Jibril M, said the suspects were arrested with 600 liters of kerosene, adding that the command received information of vandalisation at around Dindima and they swung into action and arrested the suspects.

N50m scam: EFCC siezes Kano lawyer's property

By Julius Ogar

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he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday attached the property of Yakubu Mohammed Na-Allah, who is being prosecuted by the comamission on a two-count charge of money laundering.

A statement signed by EFFC's spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, said the seizure of the property

which is alleged to be proceeds of crime, is sequel to an interim forfeiture order issued on January 31, 2013 by Justice Riman of the Federal High Court, Kano, forfeiting the property of the respondent to "the Federal Government of Nigeria pending the determination of the criminal proceedings or charges against the respondent."

The order which is renewable is however for an initial period of

three months.

Na-Allah, 65, was arraigned before Justice Riman on January 14, 2013 for allegedly duping two of his clients to the tune of N50 million and using the proceeds to acquire a palatial mansion in Kano. The edifice is the subject of the interim attachment.

Further hearing in the matter has been adjourned to February 28, 2013.

Court orders arrest of management of Jalingo Keystone Bank From Yusha'u Alhassan, Jalingo

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he Federal High Court, Jalingo has ordered the arrest of the management of Keystone Bank, Jalingo.

The presiding judge, Justice D.U Okorowo, issued the warrant of arrest yesterday following the failure of the management of the bank or its representative to appear before the court to defend a case instituted against it by the Taraba state Board of Internal Revenue for non remittance of Pay as You Earn (PAYE) deducted from salaries of civil servants.

Speaking on the matter, counsel to the revenue board, Livingstone Lunar, said an audit conducted in 2009 discovered that Keystone Bank was withholding tax due to the Board amounting to N6.9 million.

It would be recalled that sometime last year, the board had taken some Federal Government parastatals and companies in the state to court for tax evasion.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

News Confusion over Magajin Garin Katsina stool From Nasiru Mu'azu Isa, Kaduna

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n appeal has been made to the Katsina state government to make a public statement over the title of Magajin Garin Katsina in order to douse tensions created by the rumors that the current title holder has been deposed by the Katsina Emirate Council.

Our correspondent gathered from a source close to the Katsina Emirate Council that the current holder of the title Alhaji Ahmed Tijani Kabir Usman, who is a direct

son of late Emir of Katsina, Kabir Usman, may have been deposed by the incumbent emir Alhaji Abdulmumini Kabir Usman.

According to the source, although the state government continues to pay the salary of the Magajin Gari, his title has been taken away from him and reverted to his old title of Danruwata Katsina.

The source alleged that a new Magajin Garin Katsina has been announced and preparation for the turbanning ceremony is in full swing.

The rumor of the Magajin Garin Katsina's removal is creating tension in the state especially among the princes and princesses who are the offspring of the Nagogo Dynasty, the source added.

The secretary of Magajin Gari Traditional Council, (Jauran Bindiga), Alhaji Lawal Dambo confirmed that it has been rumoured that the current Magajin Gari has been deposed but we are yet to receive any official information from the state government or emirate council.

Ojukwu commends Nigeria in Madrid fair

By Miriam Humbe

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igeria's Ambassador to Spain, Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu, has expressed delight at the Nigerian stand as one of the biggest tourism trade fairs popularly called FITUR Madrid opened yesterday in Spain.

According to the Ambassador, the structure erected by the Nigerian delegations led by the Director General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Otunba Olusegun Runsewe was eye catching and aesthetically attractive which will endear exhibitors to not only make inquiries but to buy into some of the products that Nigeria is offering.

FITUR prides as one of the biggest trade fairs in the world with over

150 nations participating and attended by over 100,000 people.

It is a platform where participating nations showcase their products and discuss with potential investors which in turn could improve their different economies.

The Ambassador who participated in the opening ceremony later returned to the Nigerian stand where she had an exhaustive discussion with the NTDC DG besides commending his efforts in translating his visions into realities over the years in the tourism sector.

Otunba Runsewe thanked the Ambassador especially for commending the initiatives of the corporation in making possible a beautiful outing that has afforded the country the opportunity to showcase its potential and artefacts.

Gwagwalada chairman advises politicians to remain focused

By Usman Shuaibu

T

he chairman of Gwagwalada Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Hon. Zakari Angulu Dobi, as advised the politicians in the area to remain focused and transparent during their electioneering campaign in the forthcoming council election.

He also warned the politicians against campaigns of calumny, adding that politicians should engage themselves with issues, instead of criticising one another during their campaign.

Dobi, who gave advice in an

L-R: Representative of Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Ganiyu Owolabi, Director General, National Orientation Agency (NOA) Mr. Mike Omeri, Oba Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe Aladesanmi III, The Ewi of Ado-Ekiti and Olorogun Mike Torey, during the 2-Day Zonal Forum on Security and Peace Building in Nigeria, organized by NOA , recently in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

Kwankwaso inaugurates governing council of KUST, KANSIEC From Mustapha Adamu, Kano

K

ano state governor, Dr. Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso has inaugurated the reconstituted governing council of Kano University of Science and Technology (KUST), Wudil. The council has Barrister. A. B. Mahmud as chairman with representatives from several interest groups including the National Universities Commission (NUC).

At a brief ceremony held at the council chamber of the Government House in Kano yesterday, KwanKwaso recalled that the university was established by his administration from 19992003, but on returning to office in 2011, it was found to be comatose.

He said the council, which is composed of eminent persons, was put in place to work with the management of the university to reposition it to live

up to the vision of being an outstanding citadel of learning.

In another development, Governor Kwankwaso presided over the swearing-in of chairman and members of Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC), the body responsible for conducting local government elections in the state.

The commission has Dr. Sani Lawan as chairman with Isma'ila Idris Garba, Umar Liman, Zainab Usman Bichi and Abdulqadir Inusa Butalawa as members.

Gumi admonishes Muslim parents to accept polio vaccines

By Agaju Madugba

A

n Islamic scholar, Dr. Ahmad Mahmud Gumi, says parents have no religious basis to reject the administration of polio immunisation on their children and wards.

Speaking at an interactive forum with members of Journalist Initiative Against Polio (JAP) in Kaduna, Gumi attributed the apparent lukewarm attitude of parents towards polio immunisation to ignorance and urged other religious leaders to educate their followers on the need to accept the immunisation.

According to him, "polio vaccines are costly but they have been subsidised by the United Nations with the aim of eliminating the disease just like smallpox, guinea worm and others and children who are not

Dangote reopens Gboko cement plant, operates at half capacity

By Jamila Nuhu Musa

T

he Management of Dangote Cement Plc has announced the reopening of Gboko Cement Plant in Benue state.

The factory which is to operate at half capacity was closed down last year as a result of the glut in the domestic cement market. The decision to

reopen the plant was reached after a meeting between President Goodluck Jonathan and the Chairman of Dangote Cement, Alhaji Aliko Dangote in Abuja, yesterday.

Giving reasons for the reopening of the plsnt, a source from Dangote Cement said: "Since the shutdown of the Gboko Cement Plant, government has

been engaging local cement manufacturers in discussions, in trying to find solutions to the challenges facing the industry.

According to the source, Aliko Dangote was appreciative of the President's concern and willingness to intervene, and immediately gave directives to restart operations at the Gboko factory.

interview with newsmen, urged youth not to be used by the politicians to cause violence in the area.

He called on the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) supporters to be peaceful during and after election, lamenting that ANPP is the only party that has respect for the rule of law.

He also appealed to security agents to work out modalities that would ensure a free and fair election throughout the area, adding that his administration would deal with any politician who wants to cause trouble during the election.

When contacted, Group Head, Corporate Communications, Dangote Group, Tony Chiejina confirmed the reopening and said: "We are confident that in the days ahead, we will see positive developments and actions that will address problems of local cement manufacturers in Nigeria".

vaccinated run the risk of contracting the virus".

He noted that it is improper for parents to think that non-Muslims would use the polio vaccines to harm the Muslim community in the country or anywhere in the world.

He said, "the world has agreed that polio disease can be prevented just as small pox which has been eliminated; therefore every Muslim should agree to vaccinate his children.

"Doctors all over the world have come together and confirmed the efficacy of the vaccines, then why should we argue?

"This polio vaccination is done in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, Egypt and all over the world and all have accepted that the vaccines should be administered to the children, then what excuse do people have?

"Polio vaccination is a United Nations programme and the UN is not America but all countries of the world are involved. "If polio must be eliminated, then every child must be vaccinated.

"This polio campaign issue was almost won sometime back; Kano and Kaduna were the only states that were left; that is why the disease spread again to other places and it has become a serious problem because some people do not cooperate.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

PAGE 7

News Cable car mass transit system set to debut in Lagos From Adesoji Oyinlola, Lagos

F

o r the first time in the history of Nigeria, a cable car company, Ropeways Transport Limited, is set to launch a cable car urban transit system in the nation’s commercial capital, Lagos. This followed the signing of a 30-year franchise/agreement between Ropeways Transport Limited, the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) and the Lagos

State Government.

Under the terms of agreement, Ropeways will this November begin the construction of towers, stations and connecting network cables along various routes covered in the first phase of the project, namely, Ijora – Iddo, Iddo – Adeniji, Apapa – Oluwole, Oluwole – Adeniji, Adeniji – Obalende, Obalende – Falomo, and Falomo – Victoria Island. The project is expected to be fully completed and commissioned by early 2015.

Speaking on this development the Chief Executive Officer of Ropeways Transport Limited, Capt.

Dapo Olumide expressed his belief that the Lagos cable car transit system would provide an alternative means of mass transportation in the city and it will help ease the current transportation hassles in Lagos and help restore dignity to commuting because the current situation hampers economic development within the city and

negatively impacts the quality of life of it’s residents.

“By complementing existing transport modes, the Lagos Cable Car Transit System will play its part in reducing the traffic congestion in the city”, he said.

According to him, studies show that Lagos will become the world’s third largest city with 25 million inhabitants by 2015, with approximately 12 million daily passenger movements and trips in the Lagos metropolitan area, set to increase at a rate of six

Newswatch: Court to rule on minority shareholders application Feb 4 From Adesoji Oyinlola, Lagos

A

Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, presided over by Justice Ibrahim Buba, yesterday, adjourned till February 4, 2013, to deliver ruling on an application filed by two former directors of N e w s w a t c h Communications Limited, publisher of Newswatch magazine, Nuhu Wada Aruda and Prof. Jibril Aminu, who claimed to be representing minority shareholders of the media outfit.

The court had held on Thursday January 31,

2013, that it has jurisdiction to entertain the petition filed by the former directors.

This is coming as incumbent publisher and chairman of the turned around media outfit, Jimoh Ibrahim lost in his quest to have the suit instituted against him and others by some aggrieved shareholders of Newswatch Communications Limited dismissed.

Justice Buba had held in a ruling that the preliminary objection filed by Ibrahim and others, to challenge the suit, was not only misconceived, but lacked merit.

The minority

shareholders had filed the suit to challenge the purported method through which Ibrahim acquired the majority shares of Newswatch, and his alleged style of managing the company.

The shareholders had urged the court to set aside the contract through which Ibrahim purportedly assumed majority shareholding in the company.

They had stressed that Ibrahim fraudulently acquired the majority shares of the company and has been running the affairs of Newswatch in a manner detrimental to the interest of

other shareholders.

According to the main suit, Aruda and Aminu, who are claiming to be minority shareholders and former directors of Newswatch, accused the new management under Ibrahim of systematically working to kill the company’s main product, Newswatch weekly magazine and replacing same with daily newspapers, to be published by a newly incorporated company – Newswatch Newspapers Limited – an organisation in which Ibrahim’s company, Global Media Mirror Limited, owns majority shareholding.

Foreign nationals fed up with Nigeria – Orubebe From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

T

he spate of kidnapping in some parts of the country has been identified as a risk factor why foreign nationals are no longer interested in doing business with the Federal Government.

The Minister for Niger Delta, Godsday Orubebe

made this known while delivering the seventh Distinguished Faculty of Social Sciences public lecture series in University of Benin, yesterday.

Orubebe recalled that between November last year and January 2013, over seven expatriates were reportedly kidnapped under the watch of armed soldiers attached to them.

“Between November last year and now, seven expatriates have been kidnapped…One Expatriate needs five soldiers to work, yesterday (Wednesday), one expatriate was kidnapped in Warri again…We have to spent most of our time in resolving these issues…Except we effectively tackle insecurity

in Nigeria, it’s difficult for foreign investors to come and invest in Nigeria.

Speaking on the topic: “The Challenge of Regional Development in Nigeria: A Case Study of Niger Delta”, Orubebe expressed disbelief at excessive demands by community heads and youths on companies in the Niger Delta region.

Chief of Defence Staff tasks military personnel's spouses on self reliance

T

he Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Sa'ad Ola Ibrahim, on Friday charged the spouses and dependants of military personnel to acquire the necessary skills for self reliance.

Ibrahim gave the charge in Lokoja at the closing of a two-week skill

acquisition training.

The chief of defence staff was represented by BrigGen. Chris Olukolade, the Deputy Director, Department of Administration, Defence Headquarters.

He said that acquiring additional skills would enable them to cope with the

nation's economic situation and make them become more useful to the society.

Ibrahim commended the participants' commitment and enthusiasm during the training.

He prayed God to give them the wherewithal to put into use their skills for the benefit of their families

and the community at large.

He noted that the certificate issued to them will enable them to access credit facilities.

Ibrahim urged them to produce good quality products that were capable of competing in the market with similar products.

percent per annum. “The existing metropolitan highway infrastructure is severely constrained, with journeys to and from work within the city regularly exceeding three hours.

“In addition, studies carried out in 2009 on vehicle registration shows that an additional 200,000 vehicles are registered annually in Lagos state.

This equates to 222 vehicles per kilometer of road in Lagos, which by far, outweighs the national average of just 11vehicles per kilometer of road, with vehicles estimated to contribute more than 70 percent of the ambient air pollution in Lagos,” he said.

These problems, he said, can be effectively eliminated with this new technology.

“Presently, there is need to ameliorate the existing congestion on the three bridges connecting Lagos Mainland to Lagos Island and to provide a link between Apapa and the Central Business District on Lagos Island, and also to link

Victoria Island with the Central Business District of Lagos Island. These are what we hope to achieve with the launch of the cable transit system,” Olumide said.

According to him, when completed, the Lagos cable car transit system will incorporate several standard safety features, including auxiliarydrives and hydraulic brakes to prevent passengers being stranded, lightening protection on towers, ropes and stations, as well as solar panels on each cabin roof to provide power for cabin interior and exterior lighting. There will also be passenger monitoring with CCTV and audio communication links and passenger address systems.

The project will be powered by several sources namely, IPP’s, dual-fired primary power turbines and dual-fired back up power turbines with sufficient numbers of static inverters to provide 30 minutes of backup power.

PAGE 8

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2012

The Entreprenuer

Why Abuja residents rush bush meat

By Augustine Aminu

J

u s t in case you are not familiar with the Kubwa express way, it is the road that links the FCT to Dutse, Kubwa, all in Bwari area council in Abuja and it also leads to Zuba from where you proceed to Kaduna, Suleija or Lokoja. Along the express road, adjacent to the Federal Civil Service College, is a location you may not probably miss because that is where you see a gathering of hunters displaying their wares, assorted brands of slaughtered animals popularly called bush meat.

Bush meat delicacy is on the menu of a number of restaurants and especially relaxation centres in cities and villages across the country. It is not unusual for residents of Abuja and environs to stop at the bush meat centre and purchase their favorites which may include but not limited to, antelope, grass cutter, fine boy (monkey), alligator or monitor lizard, bush (guinea) fowl, rabbit (giant rat) and even some species of snakes considered edible. It is a common sight to see young men excavating large expanses of land in the bush in the hunt for rodents or setting traps for other unsuspecting animals.

"Increase in population has led to higher demand for survival and these hunters hold a lot of hope for majority of Nigerians who see it as viable means of food and economic survival,"is the position of an indigene of Jama'a local government of Kaduna state who has patronized the hunter/ traders for over three years.

Researchers estimate that about half a million tonnes of wild animals are killed every year in Nigeria, for consumption with possible fears that these animals may eventually go into extinction. Indeed, some species of wild animals that were

abundant a few decades ago are no longer in existence or difficult to come by. It is believed that bush meat has low fat content, part of reasons for the craze for it, as, according to one of the regular customers, Mrs. Ibe Chukwunonso, "people like bush meat because it has less fat. Bush meat is expensive but it is worth it."

For the past 10 years, one of the hunters, Babangida Hassan, has stalked animals in and around the wooded hills of Abuja.

Married with six children and an indigene of Zamfara state, Babangida says a grass cutter

Babangida Hassan and other hunters pose for a snap shot

sells for as much as between N4, 500 and N5, 000, depending on the size. He says, "I came into this trade as a result of hardship, to enable me meet up with economic challenges and you know, I have to feed and send my children to school." In periods of drought, Babangida who would not want to disappoint his numerous customers has to travel as far as Kogi state to get bush meat from the hunters there and resell in Abuja.

According to him, "population growth and hunting have driven animals into the deep forest and we have to satisfy the needs of our

customers who rely on us because bush meat has become a popular delicacy. We do not deal in meat that we know Islam and Christianity forbid. We are thanking God because so many of us have made fortune from this business."

Another hunter, Adamu Musa, from Kogi state, also doubles as Secretary of the Association of hunters and bush meat sellers, has been in the business for many years and has been able to see his two children through school. According to him, "we have an association and we have enjoyed good

Adamu Musa, Secretary of hunters association of Kubwa Expressway

relationship working together as a team. The only problem we have is that of Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) which comes here and most times extort money from us.

In most cases, two sets of officials of the Board harass us. When a group comes, they take or confiscate our meat and say we must pay them before they return the meat. And after we have finished settling them, another group comes up to say they are the original owners of that area and that the other group is fake. We get confused on whom to believe."

Some of the grasscutters waiting for buyers

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2012

PAGE 9

Cover

States creation: Who's interest?

By Agaju Madugba & Abubakar Jimoh

B

e g i n n i n g from May 27, 1967 when former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon split the then three regions into 12 states, the agitation for the creation of more states has continued to persist. On February 3, 1976, late Head of State, Gen. Murtala Mohammed increased the states to 19 and successive military regimes in the country continued to add more states culminating in that of late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, who on October 1, 1996 further balkanized the nation by increasing the states to the present 36, from the previous 30.

But there do not seem to be an end to agitations from sections of the country for the creation of additional states with the argument that it will bring more development to the areas. But whose interest is creation of states?

In some quarters creation of states has been linked to the country's economic

backwardness. It is argued that the countries that were at par with Nigeria in terms of development like Malaysia, brazil, Indonesia and others in the 60s, are now more developed than Nigeria without creating more states. It is indicated that Nigeria was more focused and tilted towards the direction of development when she had four regions in the 60s and 12 states in the 70s, with the creation of 36 states and increase in local government areas, its economy had retarded. Despite creation of council areas to get government closer to the people, those aspects of infrastructural development have become more difficult, while the federal and state governments continue to borrow to service their debts and fund bureaucracy.

Currently there are no fewer than 56 such demands from across the six geopolitical zones of the country. Some other groups argue further that there should be equity in the distribution of the states across the zones as there is perceived injustice as

presently constituted. Such critics argue that if more states must be created, then it has to begin with an additional one from the south-east which has five states as against six in the south-south, six in the south-west and 19 states in the entire north.

Further analysis seems to justify the argument as the south-east has only a total of 95 local government areas in contrast to 137 in the south-west, 122 in the southsouth, 186 in the north-west, 112 in the north-east and 121 in the north-central.

The Senate last year constituted a 47man committee to consider the viability of creating additional states.

In spite of the difficulties surrounding the creation of new states, those pushing for the motion are not relenting in their quest.

For instance, the southeast region has witnessed high demand for the creation of at least one more state in the region. This dominated proceedings at the zonal public hearing on constitution amendment

recently. The proposed states include Aba from Abia, Adada state from the current Enugu state, Equity state to be created from the five states of the south east, Njaba state from Imo and Anambra states, Orashi from Imo state, Etiti from Abia, Enugu and Imo states.

In 1967, Nigerian Head of States, General Yakubu Gowon claimed that his administrative decision for the division of Nigeria in 12 states was basically to resolve the national ethno-political tensions and bring about the stability and equality across the regions.

His words: "Fellow citizens, I recognize however that the problem of Nigeria extends beyond the present misguided actions of the Eastern Region Government.

My duty is to all citizens. I propose to treat all sections of the country with equality.

The main obstacle to future stability in this country is the present structural imbalance in the Nigerian Federation.

Even Decree No. 8 or Confederation or Loose Association will never survive if any one section of the country is in a position to hold the others to ransom".

"This is why the item in the Political and Administrative Programme adopted by the Supreme Military Council last month is the creation of states as a basis for stability. This must be done first so as to remove the fear of domination.

Representatives drawn from the new states will be more able to work out the future constitution for this country which can

Contd on page 10

PAGE 10

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2012

Cover

Who's interest?

Senate President, David Mark Contd. from page 9 contain provisions to protect the powers of the states to the fullest extent desired by the Nigerian people. As soon as these states are established, a new Revenue Allocation Commission consisting of international experts will be appointed to recommend an equitable formula for revenue allocation taking into account the desires of the states", he said.

Gowon said: "The country has a long history of well-articulated demands for states. The fears of minorities were explained in great detail and set out in the report of the Willink Commission appointed by the British in 1958. More recently there has been extensive discussion in Regional Consultative Committees and Leaders-of-Thought Conferences.

Resolutions have been adopted demanding the creation of states in the North and in Lagos.

Petitions from minority areas in the East which have been subjected to violent intimidation by the Eastern Military Government have been widely publicized. While the present circumstances regrettably do not allow for consultations through plebiscites, I am satisfied that the creation of new states as the only possible basis for stability and equality is the overwhelming desire of vast majority of Nigerians. To ensure justice, these states are being created simultaneously."

Current situation However, the subsequent agitations for new states in Nigeria have been triggered by political, ethnical, and socioeconomic divisions. In view of this, a political analyst, Clifford Ndujihe recalled that in 1914, when the Southern and Northern

Speaker Aminu Tambwaul protectorates were brought together, the North was just a protectorate without divisions. At independence in 1960, there were three regions - Northern, Eastern and Western.

His words: "In 1963, the civilian regime created a fourth region, Midwestern, out of the Western Region. Then Northern Region had 14 provinces; Western Region (7 provinces), Midwestern (2) and Eastern Region (12). In essence, the North had one region and 14 provinces while the South had three regions and 21 provinces. However, things started tilting in favour of the North when in 1967, and by military fiat, the regions were replaced with 12 states; six in the North, and six in the South".

"All through the Northdominated military era, series of state and local council creations were made such that by 1996, the North, which trailed the South in terms of number of regions, provinces and divisions, was further divided into 20 states (including Abuja) and 414 local councils. Conversely, the South that had six states and 55 divisions in 1967 was divided into 17 states and 355 local councils", he said.

It would not be a surprise to hear Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) Chairman, Alhaji Aliko Mohammed While reacting to the public debates on state creation that clamour for new states could only be successful if the North agreed.

He said: "I will like to say first and foremost that if North does not agree with any state of the federation, the issue of state creation will not happen because we represent 19 of the 36 States, and if this side of the country does not accept state creation, it will not happen. I will also like to say

that ACF has already published its position about state creation.

We do not believe that at this stage in Nigeria, we need any more states.

"The 36 states are already enough, and so if you increase it more than this, like they are saying up to 50 states, it means there won't be a place to even sit down and talk. So we have our position clear that for now Nigeria does not need more states. We are going to convince our governors and legislators not to accept creation of more states. Let's maintain the ones that we have for now, and later we may consider more", he added.

In reply to Mohammed's comments, Chairman of the Igbo Youths Movement (IYM), Evangelist Elliot Uko and a chieftain of the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), Mr. Bisi Adegbuyi, said the ACF leader spoke the way he did because his region had been the beneficiary of years of injustice perpetrated by Northern-dominated military governments.

Uko Said: "Mohammed can afford to speak the way he did because northerners know that their military wing restructured the country to suit them in terms of bogus population, more states and local councils. So they will insist on this evil structure because it favours them. But Nigeria will never know peace until we restructure this country along the lines of true federalism based on six regions.

"We are not happy with the constitution amendment exercise because the National Assembly is doing piece-meal amendment, which is a waste of people's time.

What this country needs is a fundamental restructuring from military, unitary 36 states to true

NGF Chairman, Gov. Rotimi Amaechi federalism of six regions."

Also, it was reported that the move by the National Assembly to amend the 1999 Constitution, has given a ray of hope for the people of Southern Kaduna. The people have sent many memoranda to the assembly for the creation of Gurara state out of the present Kaduna state.

They want the creation of a new state, with its proposed headquarters in Kachia Local Government area, owing largely to the feeling of being marginalized in the sharing of the state's resources by their northern and central brothers. It is against this background that the lawmakers representing Southern Kaduna and other stakeholders gathered recently to renew their agitation for the creation of Gurara state.

Leader of the lawmakers from the zone, Senator Esther Nenadi Usman, said the meeting was informed by the need to address the fundamental issues of development in Southern Kaduna.

"We are to forge ahead with the issue of state creation. There is the commanding need for us to pull our efforts together to avoid working at cross purposes. We need therefore to strategize and carry everybody along. The meeting is intended to create the opportunity for our representatives and other stakeholders to exchange ideas and come up with a single focus."

More states, less development Unarguably, many analysts have noted that the golden era of governance in the country was in the First Republic, when Nigeria practiced true federalism based on strong regions or federating units as exemplified by the

achievements of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo (Western Region), Ahmadu Bello (Northern Region) and Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe/ Michael Okpara (Eastern Region).

It was in view of the above that the chieftain of the ARG agreed with the notion of stopping creation of new states. He lamented that the country has created many states yet no development.

Adegbuyi said: "Instead of new states, the old ones should be merged for us to have strong federating units. As presently constituted, the states are not agents of development. Apart from two or three states, the rest are not viable. If states are stopped from collecting allocation from the centre, most of them will collapse.

Any state that is spending more than 50 per cent of its budget on recurrent expenditure is not doing well.

"The way out is to adopt the Brazilian model. States should be collapsed and reverted to regions. If they feel that the regions would be too strong and threaten the unity of the country like we witnessed before the civil war, we should have the local councils as development centres. Brazil has 5564 municipalities, which are autonomous and control the resources they find in their environment. That is why Brazil has recorded rapid development in the last 15 to 20 years because the development is bottom-up.

So, our local councils should be devoid of control from the states or Federal Government. Let's create ethnic-based local councils that would be autonomous and control their resources. We should reduce the power at the centre

Contd. on page 11

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2012

PAGE 11

Cover Contd. from page 10 because the centre is too strong, burdensome and unwieldy and is doing very little."

Another political analyst, Niyi Akinnaso pleaded with the National Assembly to look beyond creation of more states and focus on developmental projects, national security and wage war against corruption.

He said: This is an appeal on behalf of millions of fellow Nigerians, particularly those whose voices may not be heard on this matter. To those among you who find the creation of additional states a preposterous venture, I applaud you. To those who have vested interests in creating fiefdoms for themselves after leaving the National Assembly or in fulfilling promises made earlier to traditional rulers and other petitioners demanding states of their own, I say, look beyond parochial interests. Look at the big picture. Do the right thing: Drop the idea of creating more states.

There are far more important problems to be solved, including corruption, security, and infrastructural deficits than embarking on that voyage of fantasy."

A paper presented by former EFCC chairman, Nuhu Ribadu at the two-day summit for Northern Development Focus Initiative (NDFI) pointed to the facts that Sir Ahmadu Bello the first and only Premier of Northern Nigeria and his lieutenants, most of blessed memories, led this vast region effectively for just about a decade and they were able to achieve a lot, largely with internally generated revenue because there was no oil then or it was insignificant in the revenue profile of the country.

According to the former EFCC boss, despite the fact that the 414 local governments in the north currently has a combined budget in excess of the N8.3 trillion, successive administrations in the region have failed to meet the expectations of the people. He blamed corruption for the problem, noting that at least 90 per cent of the nation's resources were being stolen by public officials.

"Northern Nigeria which Sir Ahmadu Bello led at independence is now 19 states, the federal capital territory Abuja and 414 local government areas.

These 19 states and over four hundred local government areas got a total of N8.3 trillion from the federation account between 1999 and 2010. We know quite well that every one of these local government areas have budgets per annum that is more than the budget of the entire northern region of old. Can we please emulate the glowing examples of Sardauna?" He urged.

His continued: "The last annual budget by the late Sardauna for the whole north was just 44 million pounds. It is important to state that with this scanty resource, they were able to maintain law and order and ensure effective security of life and

Who's interest?

Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egba

Senate Minority Leader, Sen. George Akume

Alhaji Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, Gov. of Kaduna state

Senator Nenadi Usman

Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila

property for this vast region. They built Ahmadu Bello University, the largest in sub-Sahara Africa; they built Ahmadu Bello Stadium one of the largest and best in Africa at that time. They built NNDC, the largest black owned Conglomerate in black Africa; they built many textile factories, good roads, marketing boards, efficient water supply where it was available and good sanitation, well planned urban areas with trees and good hospitals with ambulances; good primary and secondary schools; Kaduna Polytechnic that is the largest in black Africa. Indeed everyone still recalls that golden era with justifiable pride. These were accomplished by men and women from here and not from the moon."

Ribadu further argued:

"Corruption is a vicious cycle.

Mismanagement of public funds has direct bearing on the country's collapsing infrastructure, standard of education, health facilities, insecurity, injustice, unemployment, poverty and other challenges which are interconnected. The efficiency of public services and ability of the regulatory agencies to regulate the private sector are also affected resulting in collapsing infrastructure and poor services.

Corruption dents the citizens' confidence in the integrity of leaders and credibility of governments, it ends up with a total disrespect for authority. A sad situation we are in Nigeria now."

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

PAGE 12

Cover

Thorny way to state creation

Rt. Hon Emeka Ihedioha, Speak House of Representative

By Ibrahim Kabiru Sule

W

hen House of Representatives conducted its much publicized Peoples Session and the Senate's 2-day zonal public hearing on the constitution review recently, the preliminary outcome had it that the issue and clamour for state creation dominated most of the sessions, especially in the South-East zone.

While the ad hock committee on the public sessions chaired by Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha compile the outcome of various sessions across the federal constituencies, there had been controversial statements concerning the dominant issue of state creation, with Deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu, who is also the chairman of the joint Committee on the constitution amendment quoted to have said that there is no state creation in the constitution amendment.

Referring to the rigour of state creation, Ekweremadu posited that "109 senators are involved, 360 members of

Senator Ike Ekweremmadu, Deputy Senate President

the House of Representatives are also involved and all the members of the 36 states Houses of Assembly are also involved… It's not just enough to come to the National Assembly with requests for state creation.

"Nigerians are confusing things and that is why anyone can begin to expect that at the end of this exercise, somebody will come up and announce that so and so state has been created.

That is not going to happen because the Constitution has made provisions for that. The

issue of state creation is different from what we are doing because if you look at section 8 and section 9, you would see that they are two different issues..."

However, soon after that statement, outrage trailed the deputy Senate's stand and further thrown dust into thick air as to the readiness of National Assembly to come up with new states at the end of its process of review, despite the flurry of visits to leaders of the two chambers by representatives of those yearning for new states.

“

A larger section of public view this as not so weighty reason capable of attracting the attention of National Assembly, hence the continued foot dragging about the issue by members of the national assembly.

Albeit the demand for the additional curving out of new states from the present ones is being echoed from every cranny of the country, there appears to be fierce and even more vigorous pursue of the creation by the people in the South-East region of the country. Their argument been that they have the fewer number of states in the zone, vis-à-vis other five geopolitical zones.

A larger section of public view this as not so weighty reason capable of attracting the attention of National Assembly, hence the continued foot dragging about the issue by members of the national assembly.

The matter was again the issue of contention on Thursday when the House ad hoc committee was billed to present its collated outcome of the public sessions held across the country, but that had to be suspended due to what the Speaker, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said "an issue that would have to do with the collated result," that made it practically impossible to be made public.

While some argued that the interest of state

governors, whom were also invited for the aborted presentation, was the reason for the abrupt cancellation of the event, Peoples Daily investigations revealed that the final report might have been infiltrated with a clause that recommended a creation of only one state from the South-East region.

A situation that did not gone down well with even some of the committee's members who alleged that have had no knowledge of its insertion into the final report.

And this concern was even affirmed by the Chairman House committee on media and public affairs, Hon. Zakari Mohammed who briefed newsmen over the failure to hold the presentation, just as he revealed that majority of the lawmakers opposed the presentation in order to have time for the study of the document.

Suffice it to say that with so many conflicting interests on the state creation in the ongoing constitution amendment, there appears to be a real spadework ahead for the dreams of those yearning for additional states to be realized.

PAGE 13

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

Analysis

Between yesterday's power mongers and today's rulers

T

he fact that former darling of the Federal Government, Mrs Obiageli Ezekwesili (aka Madam Due Process) chose to join the league of erstwhile government officials who turn to emergency critics and instant saints just after stepping out of the balconies of power is an interesting story.

The fact that big-time government officials these days often begin to see the things they were blind to when they leave government is also a good research endeavour to undertake.

These facts do not however mean that Ezekwesili's weighty allegations should be discarded with a wave of the hand.

Among many posers, the big question is was such huge amount spent? If true, will any government official volunteer to tell Nigerians the purposes and if they were used to meet the yearnings of the long suffering masses of Nigeria?

On the other hand, Labaran Maku's not -so impressive performance on that sunny Sunday afternoon at Radio House, Abuja raises a coupe of questions.

To start with, let's go into Ezekwesili's allegations. While delivering the Convocation Lecture of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Ezekwesili alleged that the two administrations squandered $45 billion (N7.065 trillion) left in the Foreign Reserve and another $22 billion (about N3.454 trillion) left in the Excess Crude Account, bringing the total amount of money squandered to about $67 billion or N10.619 trillion.

"Six years after the administration I served handed over such humongous national wealth to another one most Nigerians but especially the poor continue to suffer the effects of failing public health and education systems as well as decrepit infrastructure and battered institutions.

"One cannot but ask what exactly does this level of brazen misappropriation of public resources symbolize? Where did all that money go? Where is the accountability for the use of these resources and the additional several hundred dollars realized from oil sale by the two administrations that have governed our nation in the last five years? How were these resources applied or more appropriately misapplied?

Tragic choices."

Now, a lot of issues are bound

Former Minister of Education and ex World Bank Managing Director, Mrs Obiageli Ezekwesili stirred the hornest nest recently when she accused President Goodluck Jonathan and his predecessor, Late Umaru Musa Yara'dua of squandering 67 billion dollar reserves left in 2007 by Olusegun Obasanjo. Minister of Information, Labaran Maku however fired back by accusing Ezekwesili of misappropriating over 300 billion naira allocated to her ministry while she held sway. Is Ezekwesili just pissing into the House because she is no longer a member? Is the Federal Government trying to use the policy of 'if you Daboh me, I Tarka you'? Abdulrahman Abdulraheem takes a second look at the controversy.

Ex World Bank Managing Director, Mrs Obiageli Ezekwesili to crop up. The administration that Ezekwesili served for several years failed to fix infrastructure and power. In eight years, Lagos- Ibadan expressway got worse. Same fate befell Lagos- Ore- Benin road and Okene- Lokoja- Abuja roads which all kept on killing innocent Nigerians. Madam Due Process didn't tell Nigerians what the government saved all that money for when hardly any Nigerian hospital was upgraded to world class standard.

The administration she spoke glowingly of was not also spectacular in anti-corruption.

In fact, it started the culture of

bribery and waste in our democracy. So many stories of 'Ghana -must- go bags given to legislators for selfish reasons were reported. So much billions of naira went into so many white elephant projects while till today no one has been able to tell Nigerians how much was spent on the 2003 COJA Games and the Abuja National Stadium. This writer also recalls that the then Minister of Works, Tony Anenih reportedly received up to 300 billion naira without fixing any roads.

That administration also experienced massive oil windfall and was reputed to have earned more monies

“

Another angle to the controversy is that it may be part of the enlarged feud between former President Obasanjo and President Jonathan.

(from oil alone) in eight years than the country got in the previous 39 years. Yet, it left the country worse off. Huge billions of dollars were budgeted for Turn Around Maintenance in the refineries, yet the refineries remained comatose which is why the country is still experiencing issues with fuel subsidy management today.

The question is did Ezekwesili say all that because she is truly interested in good governance or just wanted to deceive those who were not around between 1999 and 2007 into believing that she and others in the kitchen cabinet of Obasanjo ran a clean government?

To digress a little, this writer seeks to know why people who leave government easily assume the status of critic? Is it true that Ezekwesili's allegations have political undertone? Is it through that she is on the same political page with el- rufai? How come she didn't resign her appointment when the government she served showed symptoms of the same illness she is accusing the present government of?

Another angle to the controversy is that it may be part of the enlarged feud between former President Obasanjo and President Jonathan.

At least the swiftness of government's response to the allegations suggests nothing to the contrary. It is also not a coincidence that el-rufai, Fani Kayode and Ezekwesili who have been most consistent in criticising the present administration are all Obasanjo's men. The 'Ebora Owu' himself has not spared the administration in recent times.

So, the whole thing may be more of 2015 politics than any genuine interest of Ezekwesili in pointing out the wrongs in the economy.

Another question is would 'Madam Due Process' have seen all these ills and expressed them in the open if she is still a member of the Federal

Executive Council (FEC)?

Would she have summoned the courage to resign because of these ills she mentioned if the President had given her a juicy appointment?

At the convocation lecture, she merely repeated what even nursery school kids already know about the rot in our education system but what she did to uplift the sector while in charge was not mentioned.

But in responding to her allegations, the Federal Government team led by Labaran Maku also goofed in accusing her of misappropriation of funds.

Maku said: "We also found Mrs. Ezekwesili's interrogation of the educational system somewhat disingenuous and borderline hypocritical. During her tenure as Minister of Education between 2006 and 2007, she collected a total sum of N352.3 billion from direct budgetary releases.

In addition, she received about N65.8 billion under the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Fund, and over N40 billion from the Education Trust Fund (ETF) during her time as Minister of Education. In view of these humongous allocations, a few legitimate questions arise.

What did she do with all these allocations? What impact did it have on the education sector?

One wonders if our educational system would have been better today if these allocations were properly applied."

As a government that claims to fight corruption, do you need to wait for a former minister to attack you before you tell the world that she may not have spent some hundreds of billions of tax payers' money satisfactorily. Do you need to wait for 2015 to approach before you forward her name to the anti-corruption agencies for investigation?

The final poser is will the Federal Government take the debate challenge up and put these issues to her face? Is not accepting to debate with her a psychological victory for her?

PAGE 14

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

Interview

Jonathan under-developed Nigeria —Shehu Sani Mallam Shehu Sani, a pro-democracy activist and civil rights campaigner was among the several other civilians and journalists fingered for attempting to overthrow Abacha then. And for his alleged involvement, a military tribunal gave Sani a life sentence. He shared prison cells with Obasanjo in the course of the investigations. An acclaimed human and civil rights activist, Sani is also an author and President, Civil Rights Congress. Some of Sani's recent activities include his botched dialogue with the Boko Haram Muslim sect, along with Obasanjo. In this interview with Nasiru Mu’azu Isa in Kaduna, Sani bares his mind on various national issues and concludes that President Goodluck Jonathan's presidency has undeveloped the country.

W

h a t do you think are the chances of President Goodluck Jonathan if he decides to re-contest that office in 2015?

First of all, what we should understand clearly is that President Jonathan can make claims of having the constitutional right to contest the presidency in 2015 but what is clear is that we cannot swear-in a president more than two times.

Jonathan ought to have realized that he had contested under a joint ticket with the late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.

It was not Yar'Adua's ticket, it was a joint ticket. When it was over, he contested and now he is the President. Constitutionally, it is wrong for him to contest the 2015 presidential election.

Secondly, it is only in this part of the world that you find leaders blowing their own trumpet whereas in other parts of the world it is the people themselves who tell the leaders to contest, unfortunately, in Nigeria the reverse is the case.

For all his years in power, President Jonathan has only brought more disaster to Nigeria. He has not performed and there is no possibility of him doing any magic even if he continues in 2015. There is pervasive insecurity in the land, his government is apparently handicapped in transforming the economy, there is there is a total breakdown of law and order and people have lost confidence in governance, all under Goodluck Jonathan's administration.

I think what is best for him and Nigeria is simply for him to get out of the scene by 2015 and give other people the chance to deliver on what have been the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.

President Goodluck Jonathan is a failure; he has failed politically, socially and economically and has failed in all his promises and pledges to the Nigerian people. He has shown that his only interest is in pleasing and appeasing the people of the Niger Delta to the detriment of other parts of the country.

Yes it is true that many northerners have been appointed into government under the Jonathan administration but his interest is very clear and I think it is in the best interest of Nigeria for this man to get out of the scene.

You just talked about his interest in serving the people of Niger Delta, but some of their leaders including Asari Dokubo say Jonathan does not work in their affairs and further implicating the President in Henry Okah's recent conviction by a court in South Africa. What do you think?

We need to understand that Asari in all his interviews are personalized issues between him and Jonathan. He has raised complaints over oil block allocations not being given to him but given to others who

are not from the south-south political zone.

That is personal.

As for Henry Okah it is a different issue but what is clear is that if you check the budgetary allocation of the Federal Government to all the geo-political zones and you will see all the projects are concentrated in the Niger Delta. Jonathan Goodluck wants his name to be written in gold in the Niger Delta and to be in the hearts of his people and he is busy doing that. If you examine most appointments into the federal civil service and even arms of the security agencies, you see most of the people of the Niger Delta are being endorsed. So, what we are now saying is that irrespective of what those persons have said, Jonathan's presidency is all about pleasing the people of the Niger Delta and nothing else.

With the conviction of Henry Okah, MEND has threatened to resume attacks not just in the Niger D e l t a

It also testifies to the fact that Jonathan Goodluck's presidency has not been able to completely end the issue of violence and militancy in the Niger Delta and it also emphasizes the point that violence and killings and the existence of terror groups is not peculiar to the north but also in Niger Delta.

As for Henry Okah, it is likely that he will spend a lot of years in jail and most likely

antagonized others and this is the product of what we are seeing up to this time.

Some were given contracts worth several millions and billions of Naira which they did not bid for and others have also been targeted as a enemies simply because they either refused or insist their own way to be done differently.

Do you think

but

Mallam Shehu Sani

all over Nigeria and some other parts of the world such as South Africa.

What is your opinion on this?

First of all we cannot dismiss such threats because they have always made real their threats. Secondly, Jonathan Goodluck should know very well that by the jailing of Okah, certainly there is going to be a reaction from members of his group and this will aggravate the security situation in Nigeria.

also many people are going to suffer as a result of his continuous incarceration there but Jonathan will prefer a Henry Okah who is in jail than the one who is outside and commanding troops and planning how to unleash more havoc in the country.

I think right from the beginning Goodluck Jonathan is to be blamed because what they did was, instead of bringing all the members of the militants in Niger Delta, they selected certain class of people and

“

I think right from the beginning Goodluck Jonathan is to be blamed because what they did was, instead of bringing all the members of the militants in Niger Delta, they selected certain class of people and antagonized others and this is the product of what we are seeing up to this time.

amnesty for the Niger Delta militants was the right step in stopping insurgencies and should it be offered to Boko Haram?

Well, amnesty is one of the so many formulas that can be used for peace but what we should understand is there a lot of ways to conclude that the amnesty formula being used by the Jonathan administration is more of a cesspool of corruption where taxpayers' money is being diverted in billions and given out as handouts and used to enrich a certain group of persons.

Amnesty has turned out to be a strategy of buying peace, rather than actually ending the violence that is in that place and this is where we have a problem. As for the Boko Haram issue, I do not think the members of Boko Haram have made any financial request but it is about the government being sincere on its quest for peace and sitting down with these militants and with the insurgents and discussing with them.

What is happening right now is that the whole idea of dialogue has become a

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

PAGE 15

Interview

Jonathan under-developed Nigeria fraud and fake peace talks are being arranged and millions of taxpayers' money is being frittered away and the government is actually not sincere about peace.

Many efforts have been made to bring about peace and end the insurgency but the government has proved dishonest in their way of doing things. I think the obstacle to peace with the Boko Haram has always been that our defense entrepreneurs, security contractors are cashing in on the violence and are making a lot of money out of it and that is not going to work.

But government has always maintained that the group is faceless and that is the reason why all dialogue attempts have failed. Do you not hold the same view?

I think they can tell other people such but not me because I facilitated the talks between President Obasanjo and the Boko Haram and I am also privy to the nomination of Dr. Datti Ahmed to represent the Boko Haram. So, nobody can tell me that they are faceless and do not exist.

If the government is interested in dialogue and ending this violence, people like us are prepared to show them the best way to do it and they know but they are only interested in making money and that is the only reason and nothing else.

With regards the withdrawal of the Catholic Church from CAN, you have stated that it is good step and you have also faulted the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs under the leadership of the Sultan as not being in support of the people with their lack of action in talking against bad governance and leadership, do you think our religious leaders have something to contribute in ensuring peace in the nation?

I still reiterate the fact that the leadership of CAN and NSCIA are lackeys of the Federal Government. The Sultan has been very close to Jonathan even before his election. He has not stood firm on the side of the people or his subjects and has lost his voice in challenging the injustice and the evils being perpetrated by the government of Jonathan and the state governments across the country but would rather choose the path of blaming the elite.

Now the CAN President is a puppet and has turned the organization to the spiritual wing of the ruling party. He is lacking in principle and CAN has become a business enterprise, spiritual and mercantilist entity under Oritsetjafor.

The action taken by the Catholic Church is line with the interest of the country and I am solidly in support of them and I think other religious groups from the Islamic side should take steps in distancing themselves from leaders that have been unable to stand in defense of justice, freedom and have been unable to tell our leaders the truth and that is my position.

Strong religious bodies like CAN and NSCIA should be reflective of the will of God and wishes of the people. They should stand firm in the defense of their collective interests, their aspirations and their wishes but this is not the case as we have it now.

And, I think that it is a matter of time, in as much as the people fight the political establishment, they will also one day, turn against these religious establishments and that is why the step taken by the Catholic Church is most commendable.

You have been involved in the struggle for civil rights and democracy and you have even gone to jail in the process and Nigeria will soon celebrate its centenary. Do you think it is worth celebrating?

One thing we should understand is that in the journey of nationhood it is not all about the good times and it is not always

smooth. You have good times and bad times, you have hot moments and cold moments and you also have challenges that will continue to be part of the problems in the process of nation building. Despite the fact that Nigeria was amalgamated in 1914, issues and problems that arose afterwards are still here with us, generation after generation of leaders but it is not peculiar to Nigeria.

Today, Spain, a nation that has been in existence for thousands of years is still having problems with parts of the country that wants to break away, Catalonia, and in Belgium the Flemish speaking and French speaking parts are still at odds with each other. It is the same situation in Canada, the French and English speaking parts are still having problems with one another and in Britain you have Scotland wanting to secede from England.

All these are problems of development and what we should be most proud of is we have been able to weather the storm irrespective of what others feel, and I believe that what is a challenge to us today will not be a challenge to us tomorrow.

These are all phases in the life of a nation and I believe that if we have a good government, we can still make up for the time which we have wasted.

It is a question of having a visionary leader with a visionary team that are incorruptible and have a roadmap for rescuing this country from the socioeconomic and political malaise, to give our people a sense of hope and direction and uplift their living standards and take us to the height where we rightly belong. I think these are what we need ahead in the next one hundred years since we have wasted the most part of the last century.

Do you also hold the opinion that the National Assembly (NASS) is a rubber stamp of the Executive?

Members of the National Assembly are said to be constitutionally empowered to perform the role of oversight function. If they actually do their work we do not need an anti-corruption body but what has been on the ground for the past 13 years clearly shows that it is the House of Representatives that has been able to stand up to the Executive and its arbitrariness while members of the Senate in most cases conspire to blackmail the Executive.

I think what we should understand is that the Parliament is the backbone of democracy where people can channel their grievances. People look up to them to put the Executive in line and if such things are not done, if the NASS have abdicated their responsibilities and have turned the whole process of the Legislature into business then we are not going to make any head way at all. That is why credible and honourable people should be elected into public offices to serve as legislators.

During your trial and incarceration in those days, were you at any point afraid that you might have been killed in the process?

When you are kept in the condemned persons' cell at Kirikiri and you meet with prisoners who would tell you stories of people who had been there, so, anything could have happened. We met prisoners who served with the likes of Dimka and saw how they were executed. We saw prisoners who were there when they brought Mamman Vatsa and he was subsequently executed.

We met prisoners who were with the Gideon Orkars and they were executed. So, it was not impossible for that government to have executed us over a framed coup plot. We were just somehow lucky. When those executions were done, military rule was still fashionable then and civil society groups and human rights organisations were not

Mallam Shehu Sani as vibrant as they had become when we were being persecuted. Naturally, as a human being, when you are jailed with no hope of regaining your freedom, there are moments depression which would set in. but when you know that you represent certain beliefs and ideas, and people see you as a symbol of the struggle, then you begin to exhibit courage and seek solace in the fact that you are there for a just cause.

Generally, Yes! There was that fear especially when it was an allegation of a coup plot. But the military officers among us were more apprehensive because they had a regimented background and they were trained to live by the sword. Their responses to the trial and interrogations were different from ours. As civilians and also activists, we were stubborn and confrontational. The military officers knew the pains of a bullet. They are soldiers, they ought not to be afraid of death and they knew how vicious their senior officers could be and some of them had played certain roles in the execution of coup plotters in the past. For us, we were just human rights activists and for somebody like the late Beko Ransome Kuti anyway, life did not mean anything to him when we were in detention. Outside or inside the prison, he did not eat much. With his stick of cigarette, he would sleep and snore without even thinking of where he was. It is unfortunate that Obasanjo who had a harrowing experience in jail came out to become President and he had the opportunity for eight years, he did not think of improving the welfare of fellow prisoners he left behind.

He never looked back to realise that he was saved by the grace of God and the struggle

by Nigerians. He simply came out, full of himself, arrogant, haughty and misruled the country for eight years.

It is still on record that you were tried and convicted by government.

Do you sometimes feel bad concerning the stigma of an ex-convict and have you made any efforts to encourage successive governments to reverse the records?

When Obasanjo was in power, we all tried on several occasions to see that in as much as Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar gave him a state pardon and made him President of Nigeria, Obasanjo should extend state pardon to all of us who were convicted. But Obasanjo never did it. But our consolation is that it was a secret tribunal that sentenced us; it did not give us the right of fair hearing or to

appeal against the judgement. It was not a legitimate court of law. In Africa and other parts of the developing world, allegations of coup plots have always had their aims.

Mbasogo of Equitorial Guinea, Yahaya Jameh, Kamuzu, Banda, Mobutu Sesessoko, had in one way or the other during their tenure came up with false news of coup plots.

If you are a dictator and you uncover a "coup plot", it gives you the opportunity to clamp down on the opposition, both civilians and the military as well as the opportunity to prosecute real and imaginary and perceived enemies and the justification to promulgate laws that would trample upon the rights of individuals as well as sympathy from certain quarters. As far as I am concerned, we were not convicted by a court of law. We were convicted by Abacha's court, Abacha is dead and that conviction died with him.

But it still behoves on the President to officially pardon every person who was victimised and said to have been involved in that phantom coup plot.

During the Obasanjo regime, we organised ourselves as victims of that phantom coup plot. We wrote several letters and several proposals, not only on the coup but also to implement decisions of the Oputa panel report, pay compensation to victims of human rights abuse and recognise the efforts and struggle of human rights groups and the media, labour, students and the academia who struggled for the restoration of democratic rule. But Obasanjo never did that. For the eight years he used in churning out national honours to his special assistants and party men, cronies and loyalists, he never remembered that there were people who sacrificed their lives for democracy in Nigeria. No editor of any newspaper was recognised, not even Tunji Abayomi, President of Human Rights Africa, the lawyer who was incarcerated for two years for filing a suit against the detention of Obasanjo and challenging the military.

Obasanjo became contemptuous of any person who fought for democracy. At the end of the day, we realised that Obasanjo wanted to turn the inter-centre where he was detained before he was taken to Kirikiri into another Robin Island; how the place could be a tourist site where people would go and say that Obasanjo struggled for democracy and went to jail like Mandela.

When we realised that that was what he was interested in doing, we left him alone.

PAGE 16

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

Tourism

Gobarau Minaret used in 19th century as watchtower G obarau Minaret is part of a Mosque which was built in Katsina in the 14th century. The history of the mosque is attributed to the introduction of Islam in Hausa land, and the efforts of the celebrated Islamic scholar, Sheikh Muhammad Abdulkarim Almaghili and that of Sarkin Katsina Muhammadu Korau.

Almaghili was born in the early decades of the 15th century in Tilmecen town in the present day Algeria. He was raised in the best traditions of North African Maliki scholarship and lived in Tout as a leading scholar.

Almaghili taught for sometime in Katsina when he visited the town in the late 15th century during the reign of Muhammadu Korau. He and Korau prompted the idea of building a Mosque to serve as a centre for spiritual and intellectual activities. Hence, the Gobarau Mosque was built as the first mosque in Katsina. The mosque was designed and built to reflect Timbuktu type of architecture. It became an important centre for learning, attracting scholars and students from far and wide, and later served as a kind of University.

Some historians believe that the Gobarau university was affiliated to Sankore University in Timbuktu. It was reported that many scholars from Timbuktu visited Katsina and taught Islamic Sciences. For example, John Hunwick in his book titled 'Literacy and Scholarship in Muslim West Africa in the pre-colonial period' says: "Many of the Timbuktu scholars made the pilgrimage to Mecca, and on their return journey, settled for a period of time in Katsina to teach some residents there permanently".

The pioneer lecturers of the university are said to have included Sheik Qadi Muhammad Al-Tazakhti, Sheikh Muhammad Abdulkarim Almaghili and Sheikh Umar bin Aqit. Others are Sheikh

Ahmad Baba al-Timbukhti, Sheikh Aqib alAnsumani al-Makrushi and a host of others.

The curriculum of the university comprised Quranic recitation, Hadith (traditions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)), Islamic Jurisprudence, Islamic Law, Mathematics, Astronomy, Astrology, Logic, Arabic grammar, Poetry and other disciplines.

No written evidence has been found for the decline and abandonment of Gobarau, both as a mosque as well as a centre for learning.

Other reasons advanced for the decline of Gobarau include the proliferation of mosques in every quarter of the city. The establishment of Quranic schools in Zauruka (entrance halls to local houses) and the construction of a new central mosque by Ummarun Dallaje, the first Fulani Emir of Katsina, shortly after he came to power in 1807.

After the decline of Gobarau, the minaret was preserved and used as a surveillance tower for sighting invaders as they approach Katsina during the inter-communal wars of the 19th century.

In 1927, one of the teachers at the famous Katsina College, Mr. E. Mart took a photograph of the remains of the minaret.

The picture generated concern among the people of Katsina and the British Colonial Officers. As a result of this, the Late Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Muhammadu Dikko commissioned some Katsina master builders to rebuild the minaret. The rehabilitation was carried out successfully and the minaret as seen today is the product of that exercise.

In1959, the Federal Government declared Gobarau Minaret a National Monument. Every year, thousands of tourists within and outside Nigeria visit this great historical landmark.

Gobarau Minaret

The famous Kusugu well of Daura

K

a t s i n a State is located in the North-Western region of Nigeria, bordering Niger republic, Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa States. The majority of the working population in Katsina State are farmers and cattle rears with rich cultural values and are highly regarded for their honesty, hard-work and hospitality.

The State was carved and created out of old Kaduna State in September 1987,

with a land area of approximately 24,000 Square Kilometres. The state is also made up of two emirates, namely; Katsina and Daura emirates which feature prominently in the establishment of the seven Hausa Kingdoms.

The famous Bayajidda lineage had produced the founders and kings of Katsina, Zaria, Kano, Biram, Rano Gobir and Daura. The legendary Kusugu well in which the snake called Sarki was killed serves as a major tourist attraction in Daura.

Kusugu Well Katsina state is the home of grand durbars

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

Weekend

PAGE 17

Cocktail

Men are deceitful they run when you want serious relationship - Ummi

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

PAGE 18

Relationship If you have any relationship story you want to share with our readers, please send to the above address.

Let's share your love story.

Things you must do on a first date (1)

Heart Matterz With A'isha Biola Raji E-mail: rajia39ishabiola@yahoo.com Phone: 08082071393 (Text only)

I don't understand my boyfriend

I

have been with my boyfriend for a year but right now he is in Ibadan.

We were both in Kaduna before he left for a training work while I still base in Kaduna.

The last few months, he hasn't been paying much attention to me. I know he isn't cheating on me because I'm sure he loves me and wouldn't do that but he has not been attentive to me as he used to.

If I bring the matter up, he would change for a few

days. I know he doesn't mean to hurt me and I know he is very busy with this new job and since he is in his hometown (Ibadan) where his friends and family are and been wanting to see him, I get pushed to the last on his list because he knows that I will be there when he is ready to talk.

If you can help me with any advice please let me know.

Thank you.

—Oluwatosin

My sister is dating my ex

M W

e all want our first dates to be perfect but do you really how to impress a girl on a date without overdoing it?

When you hook up on a first date with a gorgeous girl, it is understandable that you want to go all out and please her, maybe by showing her that you're manly and in command, or by behaving like a doormat.

There may be a few things that could be overdone and you might just blow any opportunity of getting to the next date.

The Huggable Understanding Guy tells you where to draw the line between doing the right things, and overdoing them.

Here are 8 tips for first dates that every man should know to have a successful first date.

Are you in control? It's important to be in control and make those tough decisions, like calling the waiter, deciding where to go, etc. when you're with your date.

It's not easy when you get all shaky and drool while staring at this beautiful woman beside you but there may be times when your behavior borders rudeness and arrogance.

Swearing, snapping your fingers to call waiters and bad behavior is just unacceptable so if you want to hold on to the hope of getting a second date, then

learn to be courteous and gentle, not just with her, but with everyone around.

Trying too hard: You may have waited since you were in secondary school before both of you got together for this date, you may have marked this moment in your secret diary and stored it as one of the best moments of your life but you know what? She doesn't have to know that!

She's still contemplating and figuring is she's having a good date. Don't ruin the moment by humming on about how happy you are.

She knows that you're happy, but don't blow it all out, all through the date. Make her wonder if you're having a great time. Don't give in to the chase even before it begins!

Don't show off your independence: You love hanging out and bonding with your guy friends and every Friday in your calendar might be allotted for hanging out with the boys but saying that out aloud on your first date could actually turn out bad for you.

You might think that it shows your independence and confidence and that you also respect her space and are not going to be a clingy boyfriend but it actually works otherwise. She might think that your life is just too rigid.

Or worse, it may seem like

you're trying to set boundary rules even before both of you get steady. It's almost like you're already imposing a rule on her.

What did you think that she would like it?

Answering phone calls: Now no one's telling you not to pick up calls or that you have to leave your cell phone at home, but you should know how to use it well.

Make sure your calls are short, even if you have to answer them.

Don't cut her in mid-sentence to answer the call. Wait until she's done with her sentence and then excuse yourself, if only for a moment.

Another way you can actually make her feel more special is by answering the call, only to tell the person that you're with someone who's very important to you, and whatever it is, you could talk about it the next day! You could also add a cheeky grin to stop you from appearing pompous.

Now why wouldn't that make just about anyone beam with happiness?

To top that, you could hang up, and then say, 'Sorry, that was Bill Gates and he's just so annoying.' You could just laugh off that little joke of yours, and show her that you can be humorous at the same time! www.naij.com

y boyfriend and I broke up not too long ago because he told me to fall down a well. We had the best connection and were really close. He had even come over to my house to meet my parents.

Right after we broke up, my sister started 'talking' with him and even broke up with her boyfriend for my ex. (She lied to her ex telling him that they just need some time apart and maybe they could get back together in 2 weeks.)

She's leading him on. I feel so bad for my sister's boyfriend because it really hurt him and he's so down to earth.

My ex and my sister are now together. Before now, she was always talking crap about him to me and all our friends,

complaining of how annoying he is and how much she hates him but now, they are together.

My sister told me that I never cared for my ex in the first place. She told me to just "get over it When they know I'm around, they get all over each other right in front of me and it just breaks my heart. I try to pretend that it doesn't bother me at all but I can't help to show my emotions when it hurts so badly.

Someone asked her if she would care if I died. She said, "No, she's not my problem. I wouldn't cry or anything." It's hard having to deal with stuff like that every day. I just don't understand what to do. Please help!

—Anonymous

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

Beauty Tips

Pre-wedding beauty treatments for brides (1) E E

very bride wants to look and feel good on her wedding day.

Some brides may increase their gym visits to tone-up and get a healthy glow, while others will try to get some more beauty sleep. Here are top beauty tips treatments beauty regimes that will ensure you achieve a radiant beauty for your special day.

With a mixture of home treatments and self-indulgent spa treats, all brides deserve a prewedding beauty treat.

Facials: Every bride will benefit from having regular facial treatments, but if this isn't an option due to time or money, then book in for a one-off facial before your big day. Facials are beneficial because they deeply cleanse the skin, boost circulation, hydrate and help bring skin to its natural balance.

For maximum results, facials should be enjoyed every four to six weeks. It is advisable to begin having treatments six to 12 months before your wedding date. However, do not have your final facial too close to the big day - about 12 to 14 days before would be advisable, just to allow your complexion to settle.

Skincare: Make sure you have a good skincare regime, especially in the

weeks prior to your wedding day.

An effective skincare routine should make your skin look and feel healthy. Make sure you cleanse tone and moisturise your skin twice a day (morning and evening) and ensure all make-up is completely removed from your skin at night, to prevent clogged pores.

If you are not satisfied with your current skincare routine, visit your local beauty salon or dermatologist before your wedding day. If you are thinking of trying new skincare products, ensure you test them out weeks before your wedding in case they don't suit your skin. No bride wants to be spotty or blotchy!

Exfoliation: Exfoliating your skin regularly is one of the best things you can do for your complexion as it encourages new cell regeneration, which results in brighter looking skin. Exfoliation should be done twice per week, if you do it more often than this, you risk stripping your skin of its natural oils which could result in blotchy skin or a dull skin tone. Face and body scrubs, particularly those containing fruit extracts or mineral microbes, will give your skin a boost as quickly as it takes you to have a shower, so it's a perfect pre-wedding beauty treat.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

PAGE 20

Digest Royalty: Secretary Peggielene becomes king of her village in Ghana

F

i v e years ago Peggielene Bartels was working as a secretary just outside Washington D.C. She lived in a humble onebedroom apartment and when she was not typing letters and answering phone calls, she spent her time cooking and doing household chores.

Then late one night in 2008 she was awoken by a phone call at 4 o’clock in the morning.

On the other end of the line was her cousin, from Otuam, a small fishing village on the coast of Ghana.

And in that brief conversation on a warm summer’s night, the 55year-old was congratulated on being the new King of Otuam. ’I said, “listen, it’s 4 o’clock in the morning in the U.S., I am very tired, let me sleep,” remembers Bartels. ‘I thought he was trying to really play games with me.’

The previous King of the African village, who was Bartel’s uncle, had just passed away.

The village elders, who remembered Bartles from the times she had visited with her mother, had taken a liking to her and decided to anoint her as their new ruler.

Bartels took it as her calling and decided to accept the kingship, becoming the first female King of Otuam, reigning over approximately 7,000 people.

King Peggy was no longer the same ordinary administrative assistant who had worked for nearly three decades at the Ghanian Embassy in the United States.

Bartels, who was interviewed by CNN, said: ‘It never ever occurred to me [that I’d be Otuam’s King].

‘I realized that on this earth, we all have a calling. We have to be ready to accept it because helping my people has really helped me a lot to know that I can really touch their lives.’

Bartels, who has been living in the U.S since her early 20s, was born in Takoradi, southern Ghana, in

1953.

She studied in England before moving to the United States, where she became an American citizen in 1997.

But after inheriting the throne, Bartels still works at the Ghanian Embassy in the U.S. And for a month every year, she uses all her holiday to spend a month in Otuam.

For 11 months of the year she types letters, answers phone calls and books appointments. In her small apartment she cooks, does the laundry, makes her own bed and drives herself.

For the one remaining month of the year she is called King (the traditional title of Otuam’s ruler), and stands outs as a gold crownwearing scepter-holding King who lives in a grand palace.

Villagers bow to her when they see her and she is often addressed as ‘Nana’ - an honorary title given to royalty and women with grandchildren.

She told CNN: ‘When I am back home they see me as their King and they want to pamper me.

‘They have to cook for me, they have to carry me around and they

Royalty: Peggielene Bartels became King of Otuam over night after village elders chose her despite the fact she was in the U.S. working as a secretary have to protect me from people.

They want to do everything for me which I usually refuse ... Sometimes I say to them “please, don’t bow.”

Bartels says life in the African fishing village is not all about luxury, especially in an impoverished community like Otuam.

When she is there - and even when she is not - she works to improve the lives of her people.

She adds: ‘To be a King in an African village or some places like

Humble beginnings: Peggielene, right, working as a young secretary around 1980 with a former Ghanaian ambassador to Washington

Reigning monarch: The new King is lifted high in a royal palanquin so all the people can see her. A royal red umbrella is lifted above her head to protect her from the sun

this, it’s not like European Queens where everything is on a silver platter for them.

‘I have to really work hard to help my people. I have to give myself to people to better their lives.’

Her successes so far include helping poor families pay school fees and installing computers in classrooms.

With the help of fellow Americans she has also provided the village with its first ambulance, as well as access to clean, running

water.

When she is not in Ghana, her royal duties do not stop, for she wakes up at 1am every morning to be informed of events in the community.

King Peggie’s tale has been documented in a book written by her and author Eleanor Herman and is to be made into a film after Hollywood star Will Smith bought the rights to the book.

Queen Latifah is to play King Peggie.

King Peggy writes: 'Here I am with the pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church, Be Louis Colleton, at the Covenant Ceremony in May 2010. Happy Day!'

The royal funeral of Peggy's uncle held in the village in Ghana

PAGE 24

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

PAGE 25

Kannywood

Entertainment Nollywood Reasons Davido parted ways with manager, Asa asika revealed!

Men are deceitful they run when you I want serious relationship —Ummi

Ummi B. Bashir is a well known singer in the north who has been entertaining her fans with scintillating love songs. In this interview with Nasiru Mu'azu Isa, she shares the stories behind some of her songs plus, why men deceive women.

H

o w long have you been in music?

Well, I can say between three and four years.

W h a t motivated you to go into singing?

I had an Arabic teacher w h o encouraged me to go into singing.

Did you face any challenges o r problems w h e n y o u told your

parents about your decision?

I faced a bit of a problem because they had a negative perspective to the whole industry.

There were a couple of friends who had to go talk to my parents before they finally agreed.

How many albums do you have so far?

I am about to release three albums. One of the challenges of doing an album is finance because I want to release both video and audio. Gradually I am sorting out the finance and the work is almost done.

Among all the songs that you have released which ones are the most popular.

My most popular include, "Maruwalle", "Samari ba kudin Aure" and "Leke" which I sang because of women who peep at people from their houses.

How do you cope with your fans, especially the men who may not only b e interested in your songs but in you as well?

I have been able

to cope with my fans very well.

Some of them think we are arrogant and inaccessible but that is not true. Most of time people complain we do not answer our telephone calls but the fact is that when we are in the studio, usually our handsets are switched off but I want to appeal to all my fans to be patient and I love them all for their support. I want them to realize that without their support and love we would not be here.

What is the story behind "Samari ba kudin Aure"?

Actually the full name is "Samari ba kudin Aure, mata suna bidar Aure" which roughly translate to "young men have no money for marriage while the ladies are ready for it".

The problem is that nowadays, men are so deceitful and they like showing off. They come up with

all sorts of stories but when you ask them to formally come out, they run away.

They prefer to have a girlfriend rather than someone who is ready for a long term relationship.

You must have reached this conclusion based on your experiences?

No. It did not happen to me but associating with others you get to hear a lot of stories and you know a musician can pick the subject of their songs from anywhere not necessarily their own experiences.

Are you married?

I am not yet married but I am getting ready for it very soon.

How soon?

Well, soon. Since I have the intention, it can happen anytime.

But you must have a boyfriend for now?

Well, I am still waiting for Allah's best choice for me because men nowadays are just liars and most of them come with ulterior motives. So, yes, I am in the single and searching mode.

Most guys may disagree with you on that because they say after investing so much time and effort in some girls; they run away and go for wealthier men.

What do you say to that?

Well, you cannot blame the girl for that. It just means he has better wooing capabilities (laughs).

Every girl wants to get married to someone who can take care of her.

Don't you think that is selfishness on the part of the girls?

You may be right but it goes both ways, both sides have their faults. Some girls are just out for the money. In the song I was saying nowadays girls like those with cars and money.

What is the story of "Leke?"

I travelled to one village and on my way into town I kept seeing women peeping from their houses, from doors and some even across the fence. Some of them were half naked, just tying wrapper around the waist and everyone can see them. You know our culture and religion frown at that and that is the reason why I sang the song.

For some of the women I met and saw waiting for their husbands to go out and you find them outside peeping at men from the fences of their houses.

From where did you start your singing career?

In school, I was among the students identified as having a lovely voice. So, the teacher always gave me poems and Islamic songs to memorize and recite. I do all genre of songs including Islamic songs. I get invited also to sing at events both secular and religious.

Why is it that most of our musicians rely on singing a t weddings, naming ceremonies a n d a l s o sing for politicians instead d o i n g albums so that y o u r fans can e n j o y y o u r songs just as your counterparts in the south?

T h e truth is those ones o v e r t h e r e h a v e m o r e access t o funding t h a n some of up here a n d t h e i r knowledge of the business is better than ours.

What have been some of y o u r challenges so far?

The biggest problem I once faced was that I was contracted to do a song for a turbaning ceremony and I was paid but I spent the money. After I finished the song, the computer crashed and that was one of the toughest times I faced and eventually I missed the ceremony because I had to do the song all over again.

There appears to preponderance of love songs among our northern musicians, what is the

reason?

The fact is that love as a theme is forever fresh regardless of how much of it is done. Other issues come and go but love is always there, in hardship or joy and that is why you find a lot of people singing love songs.

What sort of help do you think artists in the north need?

Many ways actually, by providing us with good quality studios or to sponsor the production of our songs or through good marketing offers because amongst us there are people who need such support.

Have you ever tried seeking sponsorship from corporate bodies or banks and others?

So far, I have not made any attempts regarding that. But it is part of the plans to engage them.

What is your advice to those who want to join the industry and to the people out there?

For those who want to join, come in with focus and determination. It is not easy but if you come in with a focus and you know what you want, you can make it.

For the people out t h e r e , please if you think we have d o n e anything wrong or if you find mistakes in our w o r k , please let us know instead of g o i n g r o u n d a n d insulting us. Don't forget that we are also human and we are liable to make mistakes.

t is no longer news that David 'Davido' Adeleke has parted ways with his one-time manager, Asa Asika, but what has put asunder between them might be unconnected to the unnecessary demands Asa is said to be making from him, Davido, a thing HKN, his record/management company frowned at. www.nigeriafilms.com's sources quipped that issues related to money was the primary issue that separated the once-upon-a-time friends. We learnt that while Asa was requesting for a bigger package from Davido in respect to money made from shows and endorsement deals, the selfacclaimed 'Omo Baba Olowo' reportedly felt Asa may have milked enough from him with his excessive demands for money.

Recall that back in 2010, when Davido returned to Nigeria from the US, fate brought him and Asa together. Shortly after they met, Davido told Asa of his intention to hit the Nigerian music industry big time and Asa offered his assistance and Davido agreed to make Asa his manager, a source who claimed to know the two too well divulged to us.

Also, we learnt that HKN believed Asa was trying to assert more authority on Davido than the label because he claims to have made Davido to a superstar only for the label to take the glory and try to sideline him. "Asa and HKN always get on their nerves because Asa tells HKN that without him, there won't be Davido. So, the label became uncomfortable with that. They have

to make him go by all means and Davido had no choice than to listen to them, the source squealed to us.

Meanwhile, there are

insinuations that Shank's manager, Yemi Energy may be replacing Asa Asika as talks are said to be seriously underway.

Enebeli's Burial; Nollywood, an industry full of hypocrites

T

h e burial of Nollywood legend, Enebeli Elebuwa, may have come and gone, but my heart still bleeds, not for his loss, but for the level of hypocrisy displayed by some Nollywood big-wigs that attended the burial and gave 'fake' speeches and eulogies to the late actor.

Though I didn't attend any of the burial event held in Lagos, but when I watched on TV, highlights of the tribute night, which was held at O'Jez located inside the National Stadium in Surulere, I was fumed with anger at the way those who spoke about Enebeli described him as a 'colossal' loss to Nigeria. I then wondered why do some folks don't fear God. No wonder the bible says 'the heart of a man is full of wickedness'.

My particular anger fumed at one actress, I wish to mention her name but I will refrain from doing that, but she is tall and recently married to a man from my state.

She was almost crying and went as far as kneeling like she was leading a worship service at a church, praying that Enebeli's burial should be the last in Nollywood.

At that point, I felt like punching my TV in anger, if only the punch would get to her from the TV. I asked myself this question, 'where were all these people when Pa Enebeli was bedridden at the hospitals he was admitted at for close to a year'? At

Enebeli Elebuwa a point, they turned the veteran actor's plight at St Nicholas Hospital, Yaba, and St Tropaz Hospital, Surulere, both in Lagos, into a cheap publicity stunt for themselves.

Some who went to visit him at his then Lagos hospitals would take pictures of themselves with the ailing actor and send to the media

to make news out of it.

As I watched the tribute nite in anger, I told myself that only Stella Damasus, Segun Arinze and RMD and possibly Ibinabo were the worthy people to give speeches at the tribute nite because they truly stood by Enebeli.

I must personally commend Stella for her effort in helping to

save Enebeli's life. Even though she never liked the press to talk about it, but she was really there for the actor. She was responsible for Enebeli's hospital bills while in Abuja before the Delta State government, through RMD, transferred the late actor to India, where he eventually died.

I begin to wonder, why is there no love in Nollywood? The actresses are busy premiering multi-million naira movies, buying expensive cars that runs into millions of naira, yet, one or two of their veterans are dying because they can't afford a hospital bill of just N300,000. What a 'fake' life!

It took Lagos State, Seun Oloketuyi, and other spirited Nigerians to raise some money for Ngozi Nwosu. If not, maybe her 'fake' colleagues would have searched for the best adjectives to qualify at her 'burial', God forbid.

I weep for Nollywood. I wish to vent my anger further, but I just want to comport myself because I may go beyond bounds.

But one thing I am sure of, nothing lasts forever. I wish those in Nollywood can have a good change of mind and always help each other and not wait to give 'fake' speeches at burials.

Like the popular Yoruba saying 'aabo oro la nso fun omoluabi, t'oba de'nu e, a d'odindin' meaning 'a word is enough for the wise.' .

Upcoming Singer, KCEE Lambasts NBC Over Ban Of Some Music Videos

A

member of the defunct KC Presh music group, KCEE has lambasted the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) ban on some musical videos by some Nigerian singers.

KCEE took to popular social media site, Twitter, to label those in the broadcasting regulators as 'drunk'.

According to KCEE, "I think we have some drunk people working in NBC, what's wrong with the videos they just banned?" KCEE asked on twitter.

Early this morning, news went viral on social media that some music

videos have been reportedly banned by the NBC over 'offences' raging from suggestive dance moves to vulgar lyrics.

Interestingly, some of these banned music videos have been receiving massive airplays on various TV stations for over six months.

P-Square's recently released Alingo was also banned just as Taliman's 'Koma Roll' music, which has been on TV stations for over six months, was banned too.

Story by Osaremen Ehi James/ Nigeriafilms.com

KCEE

PAGE 26

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

Hollywood/Bollywood

Denise Van Outen is a biker chick I

t seems wearing vibrant, glitzy numbers night after night may be starting to have an effect on Denise Van Outen.

The bubbly TV presenter decided to instead channel her inner biker chick as she made her way around Manchester on Thursday morning.

Denise is in the city ready to perform in yet another show for the dancing contest tour.

And she decided to take some time off before baring the flesh once more in another glittery show stopping number.

The 38-year-old instead decided to shun any kind of colour and went for all over black as she wrapped up in the chilly January weather.

Van Outen showed off her newly acquired tan as she stepped out in a black leather dress.

Clearly in the mood for leather she also wore ankle boots with stud detailing to add to the biker effect.

She even carried a leather bag as she wore black tights and kept warm in a faux fur coat.

Denise was clearly in a content mood as she smiled at passersby, tying her blonde locks up in a tight bun.

Ranveer Singh leaves Priyanka Chopra in tears

R

ecently, on the sets of Gunday, Ranveer's behavior did not go down too well with Priyanka Chopra.

The actor was so full of energy and hyper excited that he pulled Priyanka's hand with great force, leaving her in pain.

Reports state that the actress was almost in tears dur to the pain.

A source present on the sets revealed, "When it happened for the first time, Priyanka did not complain.

However, when Ranveer continued to be rough, she started feeling a strong ache in her arm. At one point he almost twisted her arm, prompting her to yell at him and 'take it easy'."

After this horrid incident, Ranveer has started to mend his ways. "He is maintaining a distance. He was obviously not hurting her deliberately. He just seems too exuberant all the time," added the source.

Making a confession and apologizing for his harsh behavior, Ranveer said, "We were shooting an intense scene in which I had to grab Priyanka's arm. I din't realise the force I was using. Later I saw that she had been bruised. I apologize to her profusely."

Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh is always lively and bubbling with energy. But this attitude of his can be a turn off sometimes.

Sandler uses chaps to stave off a rattlesnake attack on hike...

Biker chick: Denise Van Outen steps out in Manchester in a leather dress with ankle boots as she takes time out

Shahrukh Khan & Katrina Kaif will spend Valentines Day in Muscat

C

onfirming the news, a source close to Katrina said that the two will be performing in Muscat.

"Yes, she will be performing with Shah Rukh Khan in Oman on February 13. The show will also have performances by actress Preity Zinta and Pakistani actorsinger Ali Zafar," revealed the source.

The show is scheduled on Valentines Day eve. Srk and Kats will get groovy to the songs of their super hit flick Jab Tak Hai Jaan.

SRK and Katrina have made it to the list of one of the most good looking couples on screen. They have become the talk of the town ever since Jab Tak Hai Jaan happened. Also, the couple have come under the scanner because of SRK's fiery relationship with Kat's "ex-lover" Salman Khan.

Now, we are all aware that the once upon a time good friends Shahrukh and Salman are now the worst Bollywood enemies, who don't see eye-to-eye anymore.

Reports also suggest that Salman Khan's decision to pair up with Priyanka Chopra, SRK's very special friend for the Dubai show, was a way to get back at Shahrukh for wooing Salman's ex-lover Katrina, on-screen in the Yash Chopra romantic film.

This Valentines day, Shahrukh Khan and Katrina Kaif will be performing together for the first time in a musical show. This would be their first live show in a concert abroad.

I

t seems Adam Sandler may not be the biggest fan of snakes.

The actor pulled on a pair of riding chaps to act as rattlesnake protectors for a stroll in the hills in Los Angeles recently.

His wife Jackie didn't seem bothered, and was happy to stick to her jeans.

In fact it seems she was more concerned about the chilly weather, as she wore a scarf, woolen jacket jeans and a pair of

black boots.

Along with his heavy duty calf and shin protectors, Adam wore a pair of denims, a hooded blue top and a red T-shirt.

The father-of-two will be hoping to get his high-grossing comedy career back in track after starring in back-to-back critically derided flops.

Jack and Jill, which was released in 2011, achieved the feat of being his most poorly received movie to date, grossing only $150m and sweeping the Golden Raspberry Awards.

Meanwhile last year's That's My Boy did not fare much better among critics, a l r e a d y b o a s t i n g several Razzie nominations, and did even worse at the box office, making just $58m off a $70m budget.

He is hoping to rebound with Grown Ups 2, which is a follow-up to the w i l d l y successful 2010 buddy comedy, which also Looking after number one: Adam Sandler wore featured Chris rattlesnake protectors while wife Jackie went Rock and David without in Los Angeles recently Spade.

PAGE 28

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

Cuisine Masa

M

a s a is a northern staple.

Its preparation is similar to pan cake. Though the recipes may have variations across households, the basic premise is constant. Masa is round or oval shape. You can add some onions and ginger to your masa. With a chilled glass of zobo drink, you're set to have a rich breakfast to see you through the day.

Masa Ingredients: -1.5 cups raw rice -1.5 tablespoons cooked rice -1.5 teaspoons active dry yeast -4 tablespoons sugar -2 cups water at room temperature -½ teaspoon ground kanwa (cooking potash) -½ teaspoon salt?

Direction: 1. Soak the raw rice in 5 cups of water overnight 2. Dissolve the sugar and kanwa in the 2 cups of water and add the yeast. Set aside in a warm area for 10-15 minutes, until very frothy.

3. Drain the rice and grind in a blender with the yeast and kanwa mixture to make a smooth batter. Add the cooked rice, and blend to combine well.

The batter should be very thick 4. Pour batter into a large bowl, cover and leave in a warm place for 8-12 hours. You want the mixture to rise, collapse and ferment.

5. Add salt and a little bit more sugar if needed.

6. Heat your pan over medium heat. Wipe a few drops of oil over it, Stir the batter and

pour in 3-4 tablespoons, depending on the size of the pan.

7. Flip after 2.5mins and cook the other side for another 2 minutes. Keep making until you use up all the batter.

Serve Masa as a snack or eat for lunch or dinner with good pumpkin soup for breakfast

Pots & Pans

With Hajiya Ramatu Usman Dorayi

Zoborodo (Hibiscus drink)

Z

o b o is made from the dried calyces (sepal) of the hibiscus plant flower. Although the drink is known by different names all over the world (Zobo, Hibiscus tea, bissap, wonjo), the flavor profile is very similar, the drink usually has a tangy flavor profile.

Recipe Ingredients: -1 cup dried Hibiscus Sepal ( Zobo Leaves) -4 cups boiling water -Juice of one lemon -Sugar to taste Direction: 1 . Set the leaves in a large bowl, cover with boiled water.

Set aside for 2-4 hours (this will allow the drink to steep) Or boil in water instead of steeping.

2 . Pour the drink through a sieve or strainer to separate the fluid from the leaves 3 . Add some ice, lemon juice and sugar to taste.

Note: The drink can be served hot or cold. The amount of water used is based on preference. Also experiment with food flavors like pineapple, vanilla and berries for some diversity.

The drink stains easily so be mindful when handling it.

Iced zobo drink in a glass

PAGE 29

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3 FEBRUARY, 2013

Womanhood

Age 30 is turning point for women T

h e age 30 is often a turning point for women. Once a woman reaches the age of thirty, she will likely start to experience, or even increasingly experience, some visible effects of the natural aging process, such as fine lines, wrinkles, sagging skin, tiredlooking skin and weight gain. There is good news, however. By adopting some basic healthy habits and a series of disciplined regimens, women can maintain their youthful looks long past the age of thirty. Here are a few steps every woman should adopt to keep her looking good into old age.

The first step is to get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day. Exercise helps you maintain your body in better shape, keeps your metabolism up, helps you look leaner and toned, gives you a healthy glow and often gives you more self-confidence.

Eating a balanced diet, drinking lots of water and taking vitamins help a great deal. A balanced diet full of fruits, vegetables, proteins and whole grains will help keep your weight down, improve the appearance of your skin, keep you looking healthier and help your immune system stay strong. Try to limit your caffeine intake and drink green tea or herbal teas instead. Drink lots of water to keep yourself hydrated and your skin looking better.

Take vitamin

supplements regularly to help your body get all the vitamins and minerals it needs.

Practice good skin care habits for mature skin. In addition to cleansing your skin twice a day, pay special attention to exfoliating and moisturizing your skin. Also use anti-wrinkle creams containing alpha lipoic acid or retinol before you go to sleep at night. Before you leave the house, don't forget your moisturizer and sunscreen with an SPF protection of 30 or higher. In fact, try to limit your exposure to the sun.

Keep your stress levels under control, as stress can cause premature aging.

Participate in yoga, meditation, exercise classes or anything else that keeps you calmer, happier and less stressed.

Dress appropriately and well. To look more youthful, you don't necessarily have to dress younger than you are, but certainly do not dress as if you were older than you are. Dress your age but in high quality clothes that fit you well, and let your personality shine through.

Don't be afraid to dress creatively and elegantly.

Live your life passionately, enthusiastically and with a sense of humor. People who enjoy life and what they're doing come across as younger, more vibrant people. People like being around people like that always.

Be up to date with your skin care regimen

PAGE 30

Archives

Alhaji Ahmadu Bello entertaining Mr.Duncan Sandys. (Grand Kadi on Mr. Sandys´ right)

Judge James S. Watson with Alain Locke, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Mbadwie, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Clarence Holt.

A 'durbar' of local aristocracy ,celebrating Nigerian Independence in 1960.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

Do you have old pictures for memories?

Send them to julius2001_a@yahoo.com

Eugene Keazor (Head of the UN Police Contingent to the Congo 1960- Gen Ironsi headed the Military contingent) in beret- 2nd row behind Colonel Joseph Mobutu (Mobutu Sese-Seko) shortly after he overthrew Patrice Lumumba.

Emmanuel Ifeajuna being feted after he won the commonwealth gold for high jump in 1954. Far right is Sir Mobolaji Bank Anthony. To the left is Sir James Robertson, Governor General of Nigeria.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

PAGE 31

Leisure WORD SEARCH

With Augustine Aminu

Photo of the day

A Real Lagos Child

Find the words of the things dads like from the bottom in the Dad word search grid. The words can be forwards or backwards, vertical, horizontal, or diagonal. Circle each letter separately, but keep in mind that letters in each word may be used in more than one word.

Word Search Puzzle —Things Dad Likes C H I E

L D S

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BASEBALL BASKETBALL CARS CHILDREN COACHING DAUGHTERS FAMILY FOOTBALL GAMES GOLF

HOCKEY HOME HUGS KISSES NEWSPAPER SONS SPORTS STORIES TELEVISION WORK

Quotes A family is like a forest, when you are outside it is dense, when you are inside each tree has its place.

A united family eats from the same plate.

A family tie is like a tree, it can bend but it cannot break.

If I am in harmony with my family, that's success.

Brothers love each other when they are equally rich.

Dine with a stranger but save your love for your family.

There is no fool who is disowned by his family.

Home affairs are not talked about in the public square.

If relatives help each other, what evil can hurt them?

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Money Proverbs Make some money but don't let the money make you.

It is no shame at all to work for money.

He who loves money must labor.

By labor comes wealth.

Poverty is slavery.

One cannot both feast and become rich.

One cannot count on riches.

Money is sharper than the sword.

A man's wealth may be superior to him.

The rich are a l w a y s complaining.

CARTOON

PAGE 34

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

Business Feature

“We are committed to diversifying the nation's economy” W

hat is the role of NEXIM Bank in e n h a n c i n g Nigeria's economy?

The Nigerian ExportImport Bank (NEXIM) was established by Act 38 of 1991 as an Export Credit Agency (ECA) with a share capital of N50, 000,000,000 (Fifty Billion Naira) held equally by the Federal Ministry of Finance incorporated and the Central Bank of Nigeria. They own equal proportion of the bank's asset. As at today, the CBN has fully paid its twenty-five billion while the finance ministry is yet to fully pay its own.

We provide finance, risk bearing facilities like credit insurance and guarantees, trade and market information.

And then when I came on board I introduced other financial services to assist some SME's that have good initiatives but cannot reduced it to approved bank financial proposals capacity that enables them to attract the needed financial support from banks.

In nutshell, we are the trade policy bank of Nigeria. As at today, the CBN has fully paid its N25 billion but the Ministry of Finance is yet to fully pay its own. We provide finance and risk bearing facilities like credit insurance and guarantees, trade and market information.

When I came on board, I introduced other financial services to assist some SME's that have good initiatives but cannot reduce it to approved bank financial proposals capacity to enable them to attract the needed financial support from banks. In nutshell, we are the trade policy bank of Nigeria.

But your activities do not seem to make much impact for now?

When I came in I met a total non-portfolio of N14.6 billion out of which N10.32 billion was by far lost in line with presidential guideline. In fact, shareholders of the bank had forgotten about the bank because over the years there was no return on their investment. Paid up share capital from January 1991 when this bank was set up till August 2009 when I came in was N15.85 billion. That was what I met in the books. And this amount was further depleted by accumulated loss of N9.3 billion. So, there was no money with which to operate and the staff I met on ground had significant skill gaps, some of them could not

Managing Director, Nigeria Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank, Mr. Robert U. Orya, in this interview with Augustine Aminu, discusses developments in the bank and affirms that it is committed to deepening the non-oil export sector of the nation's economy.

Mr. Robert U. Orya understand and speak the language of the industry. As a result, most banks had severed relationship with NEXIM Bank. In spite of all these, the operating costs were escalating and there was no money. It is not as if I am criticizing the previous management but the fact is that they derailed from the mandate of the bank which was set up to diversify the economy away from oil. The previous management was lending to both oil and non-oil sectors. So, when we came in, we needed to have a strategic direction for the bank; by first of all finding out why the bank was in such a deplorable condition, why there was bad debt because almost about 22 per cent of these loans were bad and about 59. 09% of them were completely lost in the

process.

In the process, we discovered that two pillars that one would ordinarily find in any good modern organization to perform maximally were not there as they were lacking.

There was clear lack of adherence to good governance structure and absence of a robust business management framework.

Even in an ordinary small enterprise, not even to talk of a bank, there is no way you can do profitable shopping, track and mitigate risks because there is no way things can be done in a proper structured manner. So, what we did was to put a strategic direction in place. And, because we did not have enough money as at that time, we decided to look at those non-oil sector

“

We are a government agency but we have commission retention right of the returns on investments made by the two government agencies that are the shareholders of the bank and we must be able to justify the investment.

businesses, just four of them that we believe have high growth potentials in terms of generating jobs for Nigerians and foreign exchange. So, we came up with a five-year strategic plan to re-position the bank and determined the sectors that we will play key roles.

Part of it is looking at how to bring in highly skilled professional staff who understand the technicalities of the international export markets. This is because at certain point they won't be representing the bank as they are representing Nigeria, and they should be able to talk with confidence.

It was at that point when we came in that so many staff retired while others got employed and promoted. And, we knew that going forward; we have to make this bank a performance driven entity.

Yes, we know that we are a government agency but we have commission retention right of the returns on investments made by the two government agencies that are the shareholders of the bank and we must be able to justify the investment.

So far, what has been the result of these initiatives?

When we came in and

started managing the company, not purely as government agency but like any other enterprise because we are a government agency in charge of trade policy with commercial orientation. And, looking at the huge potentials and opportunities due to the size of the Nigerian economy, we realized that there was a lot of under-utilisation of the essence of the existence of the bank itself; and we needed to first put the bank on a strategic direction, and look at new people who can come in while looking at the other processes to make the bank performance driven. And then the two key pillars like proper governance and robust risk management structure that were missing in the bank were instituted. As a finance credit bank, it is not just about giving out money in form of loans to interested SMEs or investors but there are lots of initiatives the bank has to put in place to make it stable and efficient trade facilitator.

So, we came up with a strategic approach through which we ensure that the bank follows the customer to the market in order to know what is happening to the loan. It is not just sitting in the office and say give him or her loan without caring to know what is happening to the money or how it is being utilized.

How do you do such monitoring?

What we do largely is to complement what the commercial banks do in the export sector. So, therefore there is the need to do things right. But what we have is that most of people are involved in trading activities in the sector without recourse to formalizing the process. So, the first thing we did was to find a way of formalizing these activities that are done by the SME's. For instance, if you get to Kano, you find a number of people that are in various trades across Borno state up in to Niger Republic and other neighbouring countries. But going forward as a nation, Nigeria should be able to make her export sector more competitive so as to maximize the huge potentials of the sector.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

PAGE 35

Feature

Polio Eradication: A goal in sight?

By Nasiru Mu'azu Isa

N

igeria is one of the most entrenched reservoirs of wild polio virus in the world. It is the only country with ongoing transmission of all three serotypes: wild poliovirus type 1, wild poliovirus type 3, and circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2.

States in the north of the country are the main source of polio infections elsewhere in Nigeria and in neighbouring countries.

In 2009, operational improvements in these northern states led to a 90% decline in cases of wild poliovirus type 1 and a 50% decline in overall cases compared with 2008.

Unfortunately there was a significant increase in cases in 2012 (88 cases, compared with 30 cases for the same period in 2011).

More than 90% of all cases are from eight persistently-endemic northern states: Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara Recent WPV 1 outbreak (most dangerous strain) in Katsina, accounted for 40% of all new cases in the country over past 6 months.

While overall immunization coverage continues to increase across northern states, more than one-third of children in four worst-performing states of Borno, Kano, Sokoto and Yobe are under-immunized.

A traditional ruler enlightens the people on polio eradication Part of the challenges facing supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) include children missed due to operational challenges. In some areas (notably parts of Yobe and Borno), insecurity complicates operations (but is not primary challenge to eradication).

In Nigeria currently, the National Health Care Development Agency in its efforts to eradicate polio in

Nigeria especially in the Northern region has embarked on a campaign to educate the public through the engagement of traditional and religious leaders but most appropriately imams of Juma'at and daily prayers.

The Royal fathers have so far done an excellent job of allaying the fears of their subjects through extensive public engagements and display of trust by using the vaccine on direct family members in public.

The program now aims at engaging the imams through an interactive workshop where the information is discussed through an open and frank manner.

“

A little boy tries to stand tall despite his condition

"Imams are very influential people, when they speak to their congregations, it's not just about speaking to their ears but their minds and by the time the imams are convinced and they speak, you see the mindset of people change

Through extensive research, imams have been chosen as the most credible and more in touch with the public. Imams through the five daily prayers are in direct contact with a large number of members of the public as such the need to educate and engage them in the campaign.

Among the dissenting voices against the polio vaccination program in Nigeria are religious leaders in the north, citing their reason for the objection that, the vaccine is a means for the western world to deliberately reduce the Muslim population through sterilization by application of the vaccine.

Since the engagement of the traditional rulers, a significant impact has been made though a lot more needs to be done and research has shown significant change in perception of the northern public as a direct result of the royal fathers intervention.

In a nation where basic health care is difficult for ordinary citizens to access, this program which has so far visited ten states and trained over 15,000 imams and 30 Juma'at imams in every local government they have visited seems to be making an impact by imparting knowledge through the imams.

Of the 30 imams being trained, 3 chosen out of every local government are expected to go back and train others which so far have been ongoing.

The program was in Kaduna to engage imams from five local government areas in Kaduna which include Kachia, Kaduna North, Birnin Gwari, Chikun and Zaria.

During the workshop, Dr. Sani Gwarzo of the Federal Ministry of Health, one of the resource persons of the workshop in his presentation explained the need to educate the Imams as

they are among the most respected and believed of all leaders.

Dr. Gwarzo said it became necessary to engage the Imams so that they can explain to their congregations in a way that will make them understand the need to immunize their children against the Polio virus which has so far destroyed the lives of a lot of children in the North.

"Imams are very influential people, when they speak to their congregations, it's not just about speaking to their ears but their minds and by the time the imams are convinced and they speak, you see the mindset of people change and it changes permanently and you don't have to follow people around during every immunization round, people become convinced and permanently committed and they become committed to a goal which is successful eradication not just accepting immunization" he observed.

Dr. Gwarzo noted that of all the nations ravaged by Polio in the world only Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan are still struggling with the virus.

In his presentation, he gave harrowing examples of quack herbalists destroying sights of children and destroying lives forever because of the public's lack of knowledge and understanding of these issues.

One of the most touching and impactful moments of the workshop was during the video presentations, as the videos of harrowing life experiences of kids suffering, and the evils of quack herbalists were being played out on the screen, it was obvious that the viewers were very touched by these experiences.

Here and there you could hear murmurings of indignation and sympathy for the victims of such abuse.

Another important aspect of the workshop is the feedback sessions, because as Dr. Gwarzo explained, the view of the imams is necessary in understanding their perceptions about the polio vaccine which in turn is a lesson learnt for the program sponsors.

One of the major bonuses of educating the imams Dr. Gwarzo noted is that with their involvement and advocacy for the need to immunize children, a lot of other childhood ailments will also be eradicated.

Some of the imams expressed their acceptance and joy in the workshop saying past perceptions have changed and they were willing to go back and educate others.

As the workshop continued with Dr. Gwarzo engaging them in Hausa and Arabic as well as citing Islamic text, it was clear to see the beginning of understanding and perhaps the end to polio in Nigeria in the eyes of the participants.

PAGE 36

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

OUR MISSION “To be the market place of ideas and the leading player in the industry by putting the people first, upholding the truth, maintaining the highest professional and ethical standards while delivering value to our stakeholders”

OUR PEOPLE

OUR VISION

CHAIRMAN MALAM WADA MAIDA, OON, FNGE DIRECTOR/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RUFA’I IBRAHIM EDITOR, DAILY ABDULAZEEZ ABDULLAHI

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“To be a reputable, profitable, innovative and technologically reliant media company offering world class services and products”

Re: Sovereign wealth fund Abuja new transport policy and matters arising

T

here has been a mixed reaction about the new transport policy introduced in the Abuja city centre by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) within the past two weeks or so. Though the new measure was introduced by the Senator Bala-led administration to primarily reduce or at least control and de-congest the worsening traffic situation in the city centre, many commuters and some members of the mini buses transport union see it from a different perspective and have even risen against it.

Under the planned policy, high capacity buses and the mini buses are allowed to ply some specific routes in the city centre. More than 500 of the high capacity buses have been secured to ferry commuters from one part of the city to the other. Specific areas will be plied by the new buses to usher in sanity in the Abuja transport sector as actions by some motorists, especially the drivers of these mini buses, often make things difficult for commuters and the general public.

Under 24 hours of the introduction of the new transport order and especially after action had been taken on the issue by the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), owners of the mini buses angrily reacted to the new policy and engineered a lot of confusion in the city which necessitated the temporary suspension of the policy by the FCTA. Immediately the new system was introduced, owners of the mini buses and their drivers ganged up and recruited touts and other dangerous characters who chased away the high capacity buses and scattered its takeoff.

In order to properly review the policy and allow for proper sensitization of the new scheme, the FCTA Minister, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed decided to postpone the take off of the new policy until the next three weeks or so. FCDA officials, especially the AEPB insist there was need to put a stop to the dangerous activities of the mini

WRITE TO US Peoples Daily Weekend welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150 words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed to: The Editor, Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, 35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja.

Email: opinion@peoplesdailyng.com bus drivers and touts which had hindered the smooth operation of previous transport policy in Abuja for many years now resulting in the continued sufferings of commuters and transport owners generally.

It was reliably learnt that on the day the new scheme was introduced, touts and the mini owners used dangerous weapons to chase away owners of the high capacity buses at the Nyanya, Mararaba and Karu axis. The touts were even said to have threatened to burn some of the new buses and the owners fled away to save themselves.

Officials of the Abuja Transport Association had showed their anger and dislike for the new system when they mobilized their members and other aggrieved commuters to stage a peaceful demonstration in Abuja. They disrupted bus services along some major roads, notably the Julius Berger roundabout in Wuse, Aminu Kano Street and some roads in Wuse II adjourning the Banex Plaza end of the street in Maitama.

Motorists and commuters who ply roads in the FCT and its environs have always suffered incessant harassments and attacks from these touts while hiding under the guise of being members of the Abuja Transport Workers’ Union.

The introduction of the new system is intended to checkmate the activities of these touts and mini bus drivers apart from the fact that it will strengthen the movement of vehicles within the city and also drastically reduce criminal activities

in not only the city centre but other parts of the FCT. Even though the new policy is intended to bring about orderliness among motorists and to correct the existing clumsiness on Abuja roads, the issue has not gone down well for the mini-bus owners and some commuters who regard it as a deliberate act to deny them their means of livelihood and survival. But what is really the grievance of the bus owners and their drivers? This group of people have complained that over 20,000 persons or so will be rendered jobless if the new system is allowed to take-off since the mini buses would lose their customers.

The owners of these buses are also not comfortable with the new system as they perceive it is a means of marginalizing them and eventually easing them out of the business of road transportation within the FCT.

But this information is not true.

While introducing the new system recently, the FCT Transport Secretary insisted that it is aimed at sanitizing the present confused state of the transport system which did not favour commuters. He said the policy will also be friendly to the people and that commuters will be better off under the policy as jointly planned by the FCTA and the private bus owners.

The FCT Minister had spoken about serious security challenges and the need to sanitize the entire transport system for the benefit of the generality of Nigerians, especially FCT residents who use buses as their means of transportation to and from their places of work or to the market and other places of social engagement.

In introducing the new system however, it is necessary for the FCTA/ FCDA and other stakeholders to make sure that the new buses are adequate in number and its fares should not only be reasonable but affordable to the poor masses, especially in view of the fact that majority of workers in the city centre are poor or middle income earners who reside in the satellite areas of the FCT. They travel long distances every day to and from their places of work. They need palliative measures.

Biu, a veteran journalist sent in this piece from Abuja

“

Motorists and commuters who ply roads in the FCT and its environs have always suffered incessant harassments and attacks from these touts while hiding under the guise of being members of the Abuja Transport Workers’ Union.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

PAGE 37

Opinion Democracy on the bench T

By Arowolo Ajisafe

he unwarranted judicial harassment of the two senators and nine National Assembly members of the CPC is a pointer to seeming vulnerability of our democratic dispensation to post-election scheming plotted to forcefully reverse, or infamously annul, the expressed will of the electorate.

It used to be the military marauders but now the fear of a judicial junta has become the essential wisdom of the political class which they trivialize at their ever present peril. The very fact that the pronouncement of judges can undo the outcome of a politically correct democratic process stands out as a monumental mockery of the supposed sovereignty of the people and the much-touted separation of powers. In the view of democrats such undue interference is akin to subjecting the judicial process to the post-verdict review of a peoples’ parliament, an unheard of travesty of justice indeed.

The facts of the Katsina case are simple and straightforward even by the ambiguous tenets of the constitutional and electoral laws brought to bear on the democratic process in the country.

Of course it should be the business of the party national headquarters to hold primary election in the states in the interest of fairness to all contestants and to provide for an independent umpire. Logically, it is the party headquarters that will subsequently

inform the electoral body of the outcome of that process, complete with the list of those elected. The function of the delegates of the electoral body as observers is decidedly in support of the observance of regulations by the national officials organising the congress, only relevant in reporting breach.

Once these procedures have been correctly followed there should be no contention on the conformity of the outcome with the expressed wishes of the electors, much less the provision of a backdoor route to question or supplant a concluded process. It was on this transparent pedestal that the Katsina CPC federal legislators secured and actualized their mandated election and rightful place in the respective chambers of the legislature, with the full concurrence of the electoral body which accordingly issued them with the credentials of election. Amazingly, these legislators have today become victims of a circuitous circumvention of established due process facilitated by, wonder of wonders, a court of law whose aberrant stance on this matter has outraged even the judiciary on account of its contempt for the principle of adherence to judicial precedence set by the Supreme Court.

While the blatant disregard of the Supreme Court’s supremacy over lower courts in setting precedence is no doubt an outrageous ouster of the legality of the offending lower court pronouncement, it

is not half as abominable as the added injustice of turning a blind eye on glaring illegalities out of obvious desperation to penalize the victims. For example, those whose case has just received the blessings of the Federal High Court, Abuja emerged from an election organized by the very candidates defeated aided and abetted by the now suspended Katsina state CPC Chairman, contrary to the regulations; not surprisingly INEC refused to recognize the flawed election; when they sought and obtained the endorsement of the Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by Justice Abdul Kafarati for their taboo election it was merely a temporary reprieve as the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja agreed with ALL the arguments of the CPC and consequently set aside the judgement of the Federal High Court and averred that by the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and the 1999 Constitution (as amended) the party at the National Level is the only organ empowered to organise primary elections and NOT any of its branches and therefore the Katsina state Chairman of the CPC “cannot usurp the powers conferred on the National Executive committee....and any such act...without any evidence he was delegated to so act is outside statutory provisions and such act is invalid;” and finally at the Supreme Court in SC/157/2011they were clearly told that courts do not have the right to nominate candidates for or on behalf of political parties, as the Constitution

stipulates that candidates to all elections must be members of and sponsored by a political party. It specifically chided the Federal High Court, Abuja for assuming jurisdiction on the matter.

All the while, the lawfully elected legislators were denied membership of the legislature ostensibly due to the pendency of the appeal processes instituted by those who emerged from the flawed process who sat tight until recently when INEC cancelled their certificates of return in compliance with the Supreme Court verdict. Interestingly it is yet another Federal High Court that has set aside the Supreme Court’s verdict without any negation of the well-established illegalities highlighted by the court of superior jurisdiction.

This highlights the albeit dubious process by which even an outrageously aberrant pronouncement of a lower court that holds the highest court of the land in utter contempt and ridicules the presumed sovereignty of the peoples successfully thwarts the democratic process with impunity. The tragedy of this detestable episode is that the judiciary has inflicted upon itself another injury that is fatal to its purported role of independent arbiter in a democracy thereby making the stroke of a pen just as lethal as the AK 47! Justice denied is injustice, period.

Arowolo Ajisafe, a political analyst, wrote from Ibadan

Open letter to Kaduna state Governor Be wary of sycophants

By Abdullahi U. Usman

T

he swearing-in of Alhaji Muktar Ramalan Yero on 15th December 2012 as the 19th Governor of Kaduna state marked the beginning of another journey in search of the elusive dividends of democracy and also herald moments of expectations by the good people of Kaduna state. There are numerous tasks awaiting the new helmsman in the areas of health, education, employment, enabling environment for investment, human integration and security of lives and property. Out of all these challenges, the most fundamental and critical aspect of governance is the issue of adequate security which can bring about development, progress and social cohesion. The fragile nature of Kaduna state demands a leader who can balance the diverse interests of the equally diverse people and blend them into one so that there will be less friction or clash of interests and ideas.

Your Excellency, we commend your efforts so far regarding certain laudable steps you have taken since you took the mantle of leadership. Your decision to permanently address the case of the 2011 post-presidential election riots is unequalled in the history of the state as you awarded the sum of N150, 000 to each of the victims.

The appointment of Mallam Ishaq Hamza Dan-mahawayi as Secretary to the State Government as well as the donation of 40 vans to Operation Yaki, the state’s security outfit further demonstrated your readiness to move the state forward.

The assistance to victims of the postpresidential election violence is a gesture

that will impact positively on the living condition of the affected persons and also neutralize the perception that the state government deliberately left the internally displaced persons to their fate.

However, Your Excellency, there is need to go beyond this line of action by finding means of evacuating those people who are still at the Hajj camp at Mando and other camps across the state, by further providing all necessary support for them to be moved out. By so doing, the Mando Hajj camp can be rehabilitated and put to its proper use.

In order to realize this objective, we suggest you create a committee that will assist your administration on peaceful relocation of all the people concerned. The composition of the committee, we suggest, should comprise the state’s SSG, representatives from the Emir of Zazzau, National Hajj Commission, Kaduna Pilgrims Welfare Board, JNI, CAN, NUJ, State Emergency Management Agency, Commissioner of Police and Director of State Security Services.

Also suggested are representatives of two organizations that assist in the management of displaced persons, including the Red Cross and Hajj Crescent Initiatives. We also suggest that you include Dr. Bashir Kurfi of ABU Zaria for his vocal role on the plight of victims of the postelection riots, especially those at Hajj transit camp.

Clearly, the release of some vehicles to Operation Yaki as part of measure to boost

its operations is also commendable step even as Your Excellency should also look into the welfare of the security personnel. Although security agencies are under the Federal Government’s overview, it will not be out of place if the state government boosts the morale of these officers and men manning the state security posts, as initiated by your mentor, Vice President Muhammed Namadi Sambo.

Furthermore, there is the need to have reliable toll-free lines for members of the public to serve as central emergency lines for Operation Yaki because the GSM lines currently being used are not reliable. Such toll-free lines can also be used to reach the fire services and other agencies in cases of emergency. If the Governor does this, you will go down in history as one of those who solved emergency problems just as it’s obtained in the developed countries.

There is equally the need to revisit the Millennium City project conceived by Vice President Namadi Sambo because it is an understatement to say that Kaduna metropolis has become densely populated with the attendant disadvantages. It has therefore become imperative to go back to the drawing board and revisit that project.

Finally, Your Excellency, we expect you to be a man of few words and much more actions and do not be carried away or be misled by activities of sycophants who champion the cause of ethnic and religious differences.

We pray to Almighty Allah to guide you as you continue to control the wheel of the ship of the state.

Abdullahi U. Usman, President, Kaduna Good Governance Forum, No.3 Malaysia Street, New Layout Kawo, Kaduna.

“

In order to realize this objective, we suggest you create a committee that will assist your administration on peaceful relocation of all the people concerned.

PAGE 38

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

Onlin comments Why Africa should wake up from slumber

David Mark .Senate President according to Peoples Daily said the National Assembly would not tolerate extra-budgetary spending in the name of Centenary celebration.

Government (PDP) is never short of ideas to empty our treasury.

Michael Reign

My brothers and sisters please beware that these white people's economies are crumbling, therefore, they want to re-colonise us through usafricom and euafricom, say no to this.

Bingi Mugabe

R e p l y C e n t e n a r y celebration, government (PDP) is never short of ideas to empty our treasury.

Michael Reign

BUK student arrested planting bomb

Twin son axes mother to death

I suggest that the student be properly dealt with and also torture him to confess who the sponsor is. Good job well done by the passerby and the police.

Okere Chima May God Almighty continue to expose the evil doers; also I pray security agencies and government will wake up to their responsibilities to deal properly with the culprits so as to give sign of warning to those who have the same intention of this madness.

Kachallah Musa

Jonathan appeases governors with $1bn Make sure you send Chime's own to him in London or give it to his Ghana-must-go Bishop.

One day Nigeria will be ashamed of itself. Five hundred million to a governor for security, one billion to president's wife for chop-eighty percent of the population does not know where their next meal is coming from. Nigeria; Shame to the shameless, shame, shame, shame. Any way the place is a state-of-nature.

Odogwu Aganaga

Recruitment, promotion irregularities rock Army This story is too anecdotal and one-sided. Did the writer confront the COAS or someone in a position to speak for him

This world is really coming to an end. May Allah safe us.

Ameen Kwaifa

Two Indians, 10 others paraded for bunkering, pipeline vandalism with these figures for his/her reaction? What is the source of those figures? Assuming that these figures check out as correct, what military policy is it in violation of? Did some zones not show enough interest to fill their allotted quota? Did you investigate this? This story flunks the basic rule of investigative journalism for leaving all of these and more unanswered questions. It might actually be defamatory and actionable in a litigious society.

Odogwu Aganaga Ihejirika is unserious senior officer. He has shown the entire nation that an Igbo man shouldn't be given power in this country. He's trying to tear Nigeria apart and God will not allow him to do so.

Jide Kabbir It seems 1966 is about to repeat itself. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan should take note of this dangerous dimension before the situation consumes him.

Sani

ReplyIt seems 1966 is about to repeat itself. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan should take note of this dangerous dimension before the situation consumes him.

Sani

What a reflection of federal character in the composition of the Nigerian nationals. So even in crime, there must be a national representation.

Meet 'Aduniya': The shoe maker I wonder why our leaders hate us.

Development does not mean infrastructure.

Develop the people and the infrastructure can come out of their heads.

But they won't do it. They prefer we are empty-headed, so that we grovel before them.

Abdullah Musa

Katsina legislators: INEC, NASS yet to enforce court's order The court is established as the third arm of government in order to see that every citizen gets justice from whatever is done to him or her unjustifiably. Let INEC and NASS obey the court's directive since it has done its work.

Imrana Yandoma Senator Abdu Yandoma and Senator Ahmad Sani Store and 8 others are the elected members INEC has right to return their certificates in order to correct the Federal

Scape-goating the achaba To be candid with you, most of this Okada ban has political undertone. Take my state, Taraba, we had never experienced any form of insurgency, nothing, but because our governor, Suntai wants to punish those that did not vote him in the previous election, he decided to extend his wickedness to the okada riders whom he perceived as his enemies. Thank God nemesis has caught up with him. I pray that the new governor would revisit that unpopular policy for the benefit of all.

Muhammad Auta

Hajiya Zahra NaNono dies at 60 Allahum-magfirha, warham-ha, wa'anta khairur rahimin! Allahum-ma Nawwir Qabruhu bi nurul Jannah, Sulaiman Ayagi

Jaiz Bank asset base hits N11bn.

We showed them the way Shaba I am calling on those non Muslims to understand that nothing will harm them if this system exists because Islam is always calling for brotherhood.

Let's join hands together and liberate our treasury from those capitalist Nations.

Sadiq Ibn No public funds for centenary celebration Don't spend public funds for Centenary Celebrations,

Nigeria is wonderful! May God save us.

Ahmed

Keshi not 'bothered'

by Odemwingie outburst Keshi made a mistake leaving Ozase behind; he did this and was chasing Amoebi, who I refer to as the laziest striker in the premier league.

We may get to second round, if we are lucky, but he should forget the cup, not just him, but Nigerians. My problem with indigenous coaches is they cannot grow above sentiments, if Ozase is bad, then what of Balotelli?

Michael Alade

Republic of Nigeria.

Faruk Yandoma Into your hands o Lord! I commit Nigeria Judiciary and Legislative arm. May your fire burn and consume every contrary spirit operating in such chambers. Amen.

John O

Saraki's achievements measured by bags of rice distributed, says Kwara CAN We are aware of the antics of an opposition so it is nothing new.

D .S Mohammed

PAGE 39

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

International

World's oldest marathoner, Fauja Singh to retire

At the age of 101, Fauja Singh is finally hanging up his running shoes.

S

ingh, an Indian-born Brit, gained international attention when he started running marathons as a spry 89-year-old. This week, after

nearly 13 years, he announced that the Hong Kong Marathon on Feb. 24 will be his final race.

In a distinctive yellow turban and long beard, Singh

earned the nickname the "Turban Tornado" for being devilishly fast, at least in his age bracket. Singh set race records for his age group when

he was in his nineties and in 2004 carried the torch for the Athens Olympics.

In 2011 he earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest marathon runner when he competed in the Toronto Marathon at age 100.

Singh credits his success to a healthy lifestyle that includes no smoking or alcohol and a vegetarian rich diet.

After the Toronto race he spoke to the media through his coach Harmander Singh about his accomplishments.

"He said he achieved this through the help of God, but even God must be getting fed up with helping him," Harmander Singh said.

While Singh won't be competing anymore, he doesn't plan on completely giving up on the sport. Instead Singh is planning on a lighter daily routine, just eight to nine miles of running a day.

"I will keep running to inspire the masses," he told the Times of India. "Running is my life and I really would not have stopped competing if I had not crossed the age of 100."

New York mourns as her "mayor for life," Ed Koch dies at 88

F

ormer Mayor Edward Koch, 88, who presided over New York City during the turbulent late 1970s and '80s and came to personify the city with his wry and outspoken style is dead, his spokesman said.

As mayor from 1978 to 1989, the faorceful, quickwitted Koch, with his trademark phrase "How'm I Doing?," was a polarizing figure and the city's constant promoter.

Koch died of congestive heart failure at about 2 a.m. at New York-Presbyterian hospital following a year of repeated hospitalizations, George Arzt, his spokesman, said.

Former Mayor Ed Koch (L) introduces current Mayor Michael Bloomberg as he opens his Manhattan campaign office and kicks off his bid for re-election in New York, March 29, 2009.

During his three terms in office were also marked by racial tensions, corruption among many of his political allies, the rise in AIDS and HIV, homelessness and a high crime rate. In 1989, he lost the Democratic nomination for what would have been a record fourth term as mayor.

Born into a Jewish immigrant family in the Bronx on December 12, 1924, Edward Irving Koch went on to attend City College and earn a law degree from New York University.

According to Reuters, the city's Mayor, Michael Bloomberg said the flags at all city buildings would fly at halfstaff in Koch's memory.

Congo's M23 rebels say peace deal possible by end-February

S

atisfied with the speed of negotiations, Congolese rebels reveal plan to sign a peace deal with the government by the end of February that would end their tenmonth revolt, but Kinshasa said "capricious" demands from the rebels could cause delays.

The M23 rebels have carved out a fiefdom in eastern Congo's North Kivu province that has dragged Congo's eastern region back into war and displaced an estimated half a million people.

Bertrand Bisimwa, spokesperson for the rebels and a participant in the talks, said negotiations had already covered substantial ground.

"We still have a lot of business to cover but if we keep this speed I think it's possible by end of February we'll have finished talks and signed an agreement," Bisimwa told Reuters in Kampala.

Meanwhile, Reuters reports that Government spokesman Lambert Mende who was less optimistic said: "We were hoping to have things finished by the end of February but M23 have made lots of capricious extra demands, which is slowing down the process".

Boxer Omar Henry dies at 25

S

adly, though, Henry only became a star in death, when he died at 25 Friday in a Chicago hospital following a short fight with gall bladder cancer.

Henry, who was 12-0-1, was supposed to fight on Showtime on Nov. 16. But he didn't feel well a few days before the fight, went to see his doctor and was diagnosed with Stage 4 gall bladder cancer.

He posted a series of heartwrenching messages on his Facebook fan page in which he pleaded for prayers and support.

Perhaps the most tragic was his Jan. 9 post, when he said he hoped to live to celebrate his 26th birthday on Feb. 8.

Egypt opposition return to streets, wants Mursi out

F

ollowing the deadliest violence of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi regime's seven months in power, thousands of his opponents returned to the streets of Egypt on Friday.

Men in black shirts of mourning marched through the Suez Canal city of Port Said, scene of the worst bloodshed of the past 9 days, chanting and shaking their fists.

Protests marking the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak have killed nearly 60 people since January 25, prompting the head of the army to warn this week that the state was on the verge of collapse.

For the Port Said marchers,

Friday was also the first anniversary of a soccer stadium riot that killed 70 people last year.

Death sentences handed down on Saturday against 21 Port Said people over the riots fueled the past week's violence there, which saw dozens shot dead in clashes with Anti-Mursi protesters chant anti-government slogans at Tahrir Square in police.

Cairo February 1, 2013

Boxer Omar Henry died Friday at 25, Boxer Omar Henry craved the spotlight and hoped one day to become the undisputed super welterweight champion.

PAGE 40

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

Feature Katsina Vocational Centre: tackling youth unemployment through skills acquisition

By Nasiru Mu'azu Isa

K

atsina State is a largely agrarian society where 80 per cent of the communities solely depend on farming activities as source of food and revenue earner. Sadly, with the changing government policies agriculture was relegated to the background which put a lot of farmers out of their farms.

Admittedly, the reign of Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa as the governor of defunct Kaduna State made obvious efforts to establish industries that would serve as catalyst for economic development as well as employment generation hubs. Hundreds of youth got employed in such industries until the subsequent nonchalance and poor government policies that ensured their untimely demise forcing teeming workers to join the already mass unemployed folks in the country.

It has continually been said that the menace of unemployment is a clear precursor to a number of social vices such as drug abuse, thuggery, and broken homes. This sad scenario has become a source of worry to some well-meaning individuals in the society.

Worried by the socio-economic crisis bedeviling the society, a retired Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji M. D Yusufu has, in April, 2002, established Katsina Vocational Centre, (KVC) to serve as a community based volunteer self-help project and fight against the growing menace of drug abuse , criminal recruitment and apathy among the young people in the State.

The key objective of the Centre, according to its coordinator, Malam Danjuma Katsina is to identify and rehabilitate young people who have lost hope and are in danger of carrying out anti-social acts within the community because

A physically challenged student receives cash donation at the centre they are frustrated by lack of meaningful employment. The coordinator similarly added that in pursuing these goals, the vocational centre is concentrating on developing the sense of dignity and self-worth of the participants. The operational method of the Centre shows how it devised its own curricula of methods and projects that are intended to strengthen the programme's impact on social environment in which it operates.

Malam Danjuma Katsina maintained that the first phase of recruitment into the centre involves identifying potential participants which is being done through a system of personal contact and direct cooperation from the communities and quarters where potential miscreant youth are found to be gathering.

The Centre also provides skill acquisition training to youth in over 20 areas. Some of these trainings include Computer, Perfume Make, Tailoring, Dying, Handcraft, Knitting, GSM Repairs, Electronic, Auto Mechanic, Welding, and Woodwork among others. Trainees at this centre include both boys and girls who attended daily classes for training and motivation. The Coordinator of the centre stated that at the end of the training a certificate is issued to the trainees.

He then noted that during the administration of Late Umaru Musa 'Yar'adua as governor of the state, he authorised the acceptance of the Centre's certificate for employment into the civil service of the state, affirming that the centre is working hand in hand with

Alhaji M.D Yusuf presenting certificate to a graduate of the centre

the state ministry of education to ensure im provement in the quality of their training and provide guide in the implementation of its curricula. As at today, the coordinator disclosed, the centre had graduated over 7, 000 youth most of which are now either on government employment or on self-employed business.

The coordinator argued that the centre was able to achieve remarkable success because of the personalities behind its conception.

He remarked with delight that those who pioneered it to fruition include among others, late ABU Zaria radical scholar, Yusuf Bala Usman, Professor Al-Qasim Abba, Dr. Abubakar Saddiq, and Justice Musa Danladi Abubakar. The centre, he stressed, also receive support from well-wishers in the state that include, a business mogul Alhaji Dahiru Mangal, Alhaji Abdul'aziz Maigoro, Justice Umaru Abdullahi, Alhaji Bilya Sanda and many others. Moreover, Malam Danjuma Katsina praised the Controller-General of Customs Service; Alhaji Dikko Inde who built and promised to equip with modern facilities the permanent site for the centre in Katsina state.

The centre has had eleven graduation ceremonies, where the grandaunts were presented with certificates and working tools to enable them to be on their own.

Prominent personalities from across the country have been attending the graduation ceremonies and delivered motivational papers on youth development. Records has shown that those who delivered papers at the past graduation ceremonies include two former EFCC bosses, Alhaji Nuhu Ribado and Mrs. Farida Waziri, CBN Governor, Sunusi Lamido Sunusi, former minister of agriculture and water resources, Dr. Abba Sayyadi Ruma,

former president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Umaru Abdullahi, Sarkin Tudun Nufawa, Kaduna, Alhaji Yusuf Nadabo, Professor Abdallah Uba Adamu, Professor Maiwada Muhammad, Justice Musa Danladi Abubakar among others.

The centre nevertheless has been enjoying huge support from the state administration since the time of Late 'Yar'adua and as Malam Danjuma posited, the administration of Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema gives assistance in "every year we graduate students the state government support us with working tools for the students to be on their own," after graduation.

Another interesting aspect of the centre is its collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA) Katsina state office and the Nigeria Prison Service, Katsina. In the case of NDLEA, the centre has joined hand with the agency in the rehabilitation of young drug addicts through skill acquisition training while prison inmates were also trained to have something to hold on after seeing off their jail term. In few weeks' time, however, the centre, with the support of South-Korean Embassy, would begin the training of interested persons on Judo and other related sports to interested persons in Katsina.

A physically challenged GSM repair graduate from the centre who is a Nigerien, Malam Auwal Isa Maradi told Peoples Daily Weekend that he received a training at the centre and after graduating he returned home in Niger Republic where he set-up his GSM repair business. Maradi maintained that while at home their government saw his potential and therefore set-up a centre similar to KVC and was made the coordinator guiding the training of selected youth. Isa Maradi noted that he is in Katsina based on an invitation of the KVC to provide some training on GSM repairs to physically challenged persons at the centre.

A female graduate of the centre, Amina Inuwa also told Peoples DailyWeekend that she studied tailoring at the centre in order "to enable me to have something that would generate revenue for me even after getting married". She disclosed that after graduation, the centre gave her a donation of a sewing machine and some money to start with, adding that although she would soon get married but her joy was that she would not be idle in her husband house.

However, the coordinator of the centre, Malam Danjuma Katsina assured that with the completion of their permanent site, the centre is now ready to roll out its second phase of its programme which is the establishment of similar centre in Funtua and Daura. This, he said, would ensure easy access to the potential trainees from across the state

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

PAGE 41

Weekend

John Mikel Obi

Emmanuel Emenike

Vincent Enyeama

Elephants, Eagles in titanic clash Stories by Patrick Andrew

B

y Sunday evening, either Nigeria or Cote d' Ivoire shall have been eliminated in the chase for Africa's most prestigious trophy- the Africa Cup of Nations.

Both will lock horns in a dreaded battle for a place in the semi-final of the Nations Cup. Indeed, it is a duel between thecontinent'snumberonerankedteam and arguably Africa’s most delectable and successful team, aligning in battle of the giants.

The Elephants of Ivory Coast arrived in South Africa as top favourites. That has not changed. They were first to book a quarterfinal ticket but had to struggle to draw level against hapless Algeria. All through, they have been anything but top-brand in comportment and character. Still their credentials remain intact.

The Super Eagles' paths to this stage were even rougher. Not until 10 minutes to the end of the encounter against the

Walyas Antelopes when Victor Moses slotted in a penalty and then proved a true 'Moses' with a second goal did the Eagles breathed a sigh relief.

Far from being top quality, yet they trudge on.

Unarguably, the Ivorians parade top class players in Yaya Toure- Africa's current best footballer- Didier Drogba, the Chelsea legend, Gervinho, Salomon Kalou, goalkeeper Barry among others.

They are experienced, battled-tested warriors whose only undoing in the past had been want of unity. That seems to have been sorted out. No, think little of their belaboured displays and Drogba's questionable form. All that will pale into insignificance when they take on the Eagles.

True, the Eagles aren't convincing yet. Not with the nerves wrecking, tepid performance against the Walyas Antelopes and the lackadaisical approach to games as evident by the displays against Zambia and Burkina Faso. They are a work in progress and showed flashes of what they could be

capable of in the opener against the Stallions before they went into slumber.

However, under rate the Eagles to your peril because they are likely to up the ante aware that victory over the Elephants would amount to no mean feat and a possible scaffold to international reckoning for most of the fledglings in the squad.

The Eagles' area for worry had been the defence, but that seems to have been sorted except that Coach Stephen Keshi needs to decide the wind backs. Neither Efe Ambrose nor Elderson Echiejile have been convincing and could provide the avenue for the Elephants to exploit.

But the Elephants are equally venerable especially in the centre back where the physical strength and pace of Emmanuel Emenike and Victor Moses could come handy for the Eagles.

However, the battle will be at the midfield where Yaya Toure hold sway and has been in spectacular form for Man City. Mikel Obi, Chelsea's 'pack the bus' exponent will take the battle to Yaya.

Here, whoever wins will have the

strikers when they buried the ball into the back of Nadir Lamyarghri’s goal, creating an air of optimism and belief that Igesund’s side had turned a corner.

They will be put to the test, however, when they come up against a Mali side who continue to impress in the tournament.

For Mali, the tournament has represented much more than a football game for the country; it has given their nation hope and belief that greatness can be achieved amidst a civil war.

Coach Patrice Carteron has

admitted that they will be playing for the fans back home, as they look to make it a second successive semifinal berth.

Seydou Keita is sure to charge at the Bafana who will be missing the serves of Anele Ngcongca, who featured in all three games to far, but is suspended.

Nonetheless they have been boosted with the return of Majoro, who was forced to miss out on the previous fixture after sustaining a gash to his calf which required seven stitches.

Didier Drogba

edge. Keshi must therefore bring in Reuben Gabriel- the no-nonsense Kano Pillars' midfielder that did a Yeo-man's job throughout the qualifiers. Or with Onazi Ogenyi and Obiora Nwankwo pairing him in the absence of Fengor Ogude, who had done the dirty work of marking that freed Mikel to release those visionary long passes.

The Eagles are young, seem gullible , what they lacked in age they could make up for in youthful stamina, zest and determination in much the same manner Ghana did at the 2010 World Cup and Zambia’s sheer fierce of character that proved profitable against individually gifted squads like Ghana and the same Ivory Coast last year.

The sides have met five times at the Nations Cup finals with two wins for Ivory Coast, one for Nigeria, and two draws.

The Ivorians have won the most recent match-ups – 1-0 in the semifinals of the 2006 Cup of Nations in Egypt and a 1-0 win in Sekondi-Takoradi in a group game at the following tournament in

Ghana.

Nigeria edged it on penalties after a 2-2 draw in a famous 1994 semifinal in Tunis and also pipped their regional rivals 1-0 in a group tie in Algiers in 1990.

The other draw was in a group match in Lagos in 1980 with the Eagles going on to win their first continental trophy. So, the stage is set for revenge; one that could just provide the needed vista for greater reckoning.

Baf ana dar e Mali ffor or semif inal tic ket Bafana dare semifinal tick

S

o u t h Africa Quarterfinals match against Mali will be interesting. The Bafana are hosts but that may for nothing against Mali that is packed with experienced, skillful and disciplined side.

South Africa managed to progress out of the group stages of the African Cup of Nations for the first time since 2002 when they dazzled in a 2-2 showing against Morocco in the final fixture of Group A. Siyabonga Sangweni and May Mahlangu looked like veteran

Seydou Keita

PAGE 42

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

Suspense: As Hawks, Stallions battle to raise bar

By Patrick Andrew

T

he Stallions of Burkina Faso are surely one of the three surprise packages at the 29th edition of the AFCON. The others are Cape Verde and Togo, who boosted their credentials by qualifying against all odds to the knockout stages.

Surely, at least one of them must bid goodbye to the fiesta today.

Firstly, the Stallions’ 4-0 drubbing of the Walyas Antelopes was their only Nations Cup win since 1998 when they defeated Tunisia on penalties in a quarterfinal match back in 1998. That means they had played 15 games without victory.

The Burkinabes were considered outsiders in the group of death but they shocked Africa by edging out the defending champions Chipolopolo of Zambia after forcing Nigeria to energysapping draw and eventually topped the group.

This in itself is a huge success for the Coach Paul Put tutored side enough for him to say that they have already achieved their target, as they aim for their best ever finish in the Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

Indeed, since debuting in the continental fiesta, they have played in eight editions of the continental spectacle, but had only made it past the first round once, when, as hosts,

they achieved a fourth-place finish in the 1998 edition of the competition.

The Stallions face another surprise of the tournament, the Hawks of Togo, who like the Burkinabes, achieved the unimaginable by edging out the likes of Algeria and Tunisiatwo nations with solid pedigrees- to seal a quarterfinal spot for the maiden time in their history.

It's difficult to favour any of the two sides considering that Burkina Faso won a friendly international 3-0 against Togo in August last year whilst in 2009 another friendly finished 1-1.

That was under different mentality and objective.

History beckons on both as the eventual winner stands to seal a semi-final slot. That indeed will be historic. And they have the squad to achieve the feat.

Tottenham's forward Emmanuel Adebayor is something of a cult figure in Togo. That credential stood out when the country's president had to persuade him to rescind his initial decision to opt out of the squad.

His presence has paid off.

He leads Togo's charges with depth and zest, has been splendid in form and performance and will surely replicate same character and drive in their historic quest for a possible semi-final berth.

His equal in the Stallions Alain Traore will be watching sorely from the sideline no

Emmanuel Adebayor, the Togo tal- Aristide Bance, the workaholic Stalisman will lead the charge against lions forward will be call for an histhe Stallions. toric victory. thanks to injury. Traore's depth, vision and tenacity will definitely be missed.

Kossi Agassa, the safe hands between the sticks has been in spectacular form and should remain especially with the

complement of Serge Akakpo and experienced Dare Nibombe marshalling the defence for the Hawks.

Of course, with the duo of Alaixys Romao and Komlan Amewou knitting plots from

the middle and shelling the supplies to the ever daring and masterly Adebayor, whose sleek display had dealt in opponents, working tirelessly with Jonathan Ayite and Serge Gakpe, the Hawks could perch

on the Stallions for food.

However, that may not be easy considering the delectable manner the Stallions had fluttered over dreaded opponents in this tournament.

That may well be made up for by Jonathan Pitroipa and Djakaridja Kone drilling Hawks midfield to create chances for workaholic Aristide Bance: pacy, fiery, and strong, the attacker feels no compunction causing no little havoc on unwary defences.

As the last man of defence, whether Abdoulaye Soulama or Daouda Diakite in goal for the Stallions, the wall defence is sure to be uncompromising as ever with the duo of Bakary Kone and Mohammed Koffi stamping their authority.

Black Stars, Blue Sharks in giants vs giant-killers clash

C

a p e Verde have provide the nominiumAfrica football saying. Making its maiden appearance in the Africa Cup of Nations, the Blue Sharks were considered outsiders in the race for the trophy.

Not any more. They held South Africa and stunned Angola to secure a second-place berth at the knockout stages.

Today, they face the second most successful team in the tournament’s history: Ghana, who have won the trophy four times and played in eight finals.

Ranking 155th out of 204 nations a decade ago and now 70th, their rise has been meteoric.

That's understandable: national

passion, careful planning and zeal to enlist in the comity of soocer powers.

Such has been their determination that its coach took timeofffromhisjobasanairtraffic controller at a tiny island airport to lead the team – with tips from Jose Mourinho.Amazingly, they knocked out four-time African champions Cameroon to make it to the tournament. Their qualification into the quarterfinals has convinced doubters that the win was no sheer fluke.

Against Ghana that had a slow start to the tournament, with a draw against DR Congo and an unconvincing 1-0 win over Mali, they sure will have nothing to lose. The Black Stars enlivened their game Niger

Asamaoh Gyan and other Black Stars in training. (giants)

Republic beating them 3-0.

Today same if not higher performance will be required of the to beat the Blue Sharks.

Last November, Ghana beat Cape Veder in a friendly 1-0.

However, that will hardly count.

Coach Kwesi Appiah knows because only four players in his squad then are available for selection now. Nonetheless, influential midfielder Mubarak Wakaso had recovered from his knee injury and could even start in midfield alongside the highly impressive Christian Atsu, who replaced him against Niger on Monday.

John Pantsil, Asamaoh Gyan, will have load on their hands as they work to contain Nando and co in their quest for honour.

Coach Lucio Antunes- a

friend of Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho- has gained from his tips enough to threaten Ghana. They have obvious limitations in terms of international experience and the strength of their domestic league, but Antunes has forged a Mourinho-like work ethic into his team and the sum is greater than the individual parts.

Antunes does not give much away when he speaks other than to say he has met his objectives in getting Cape Verde this far, but there is some talent in the side, most obviously from the self-styled Platini (Luis Soares) in attack, Ryan Mendes in midfield and captain Nando in defence.

Should the Black Stars choose to treat them with kid gloves, they will only have themselves to blame.

Fernando Neves (aka) Nando will lead the Blue Sharks against the Black Stars.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

PAGE 43

2013 January transfer window ends in glamour The January transfer ended in climax on Thursday with clubs across the globe working right up to the last minute to acquire and offload players before the opportunity passed. It was a day which saw some big names in the world of football makes their move, with David Beckham and Mario Balotelli finding new clubs. Stoke City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Queens Park Rangers were the big movers in England in chasing one of the best players in January transfer window.

A

r s e n a l has confirmed the signing of defender Nacho Monreal from Malaga for an undisclosed fee on a long-term contract. The Spaniard, who predominantly plays at leftback, has made nine appearances for his national side and was welcome by manager Arsene Wenger.

QPR have finalised the permanent signing of midfielder Jermaine Jenas on an 18-month contract and the loan signing of winger Andros Townsend until the end of the season. They also worked out a club record fee to secure the signing of Anzhi defender Christopher Samba on a four-anda-half year deal.

Stoke City has confirmed the signing of England international goalkeeper Jack Butland on a permanent deal from Birmingham City. He has signed a four-and-a-half year contract worth up to £3.5m and will head back to Birmingham on loan for

David Beckham the rest of the season.

Fulham have signed Cameroonian midfielder Eyong Enoh on loan from Ajax until the end of the season. The 26-year-old has 27 caps for his country and played in the UEFA Champions League against Manchester City earlier this season.

Everton have finalised the signing of 18-year-old defender John Stones from Barnsley for an undisclosed fee. The England U-19 international has signed a five-anda-half year deal.

30-year-old French midfielder Mathieu Bodmer has moved to Saint-Etienne from Paris SaintGermain on loan until the end of the season.

USA International Brek Shea has completed his move to Stoke City from MLS side FC Dallas in a deal worth £2.5m. The 22-year-

Mario Balotelli old winger signs a four-and-a-half year deal at the Britannia Stadium.

West Ham midfielder Alou Diarra has moved to Stade Rennais on loan until the end of the season.

The French international has almost 50 caps for his country and the former Bordeaux and Marseille midfielder has made three league appearances for the Hammers.

Tottenham Hotspur has confirmed that young attacking midfielder Ryan Mason has joined FC Lorient in Ligue 1 on loan until the end of the season. The 21-yearold moves to France after three appearances for the first team in cup competitions this season.

Liverpool has confirmed that goalkeeper Alexander Doni has signed for Brazilian side Botafogo on a free transfer. He has not played for the club since the final game of the 2011/12 season and he made four first-team appearances for the Anfield outfit.

Fulham have completed the signing of Bulgarian international full-back Stanislav Manolev on loan until the end of the season.

Ligue 2 side Monaco has confirmed the signing of Toulouse forward Emmanuel Riviere on a four and a half year contract. The French forward has played at all youth levels for his country and scored his last goal for Toulouse in a 2-0 win over Sochaux in December.

Valencia has announced that midfielder Fernando Gago has moved to Argentinian side Velez Sarsfield on a six-month loan deal.

The holding midfielder has almost 50 caps for his national side and moved to the Mestalla last year.

After unveiling David Beckham at a press conference, Paris Saint-Germain has confirmed that former Liverpool midfielder Mohamed Sissoko will

join Fiorentina on loan until the end of the season.

Newcastle United has confirmed the signing of 17-yearold Swiss defender Kevin Mbabu from Servette on a three-and-ahalf year deal.

Napoli has signed Porto defender Rolando on loan until the end of the season, the Serie A club has confirmed.

Aston Villa has confirmed the signing of Yacouba Sylla from French Ligue 2 side Clermont Foot.

The 22-year-old midfielder will wear the No18 shirt.

Cagliari has confirmed the signing of Uruguayan midfielder Matias Cabrera, the Italian club has announced. The 26-year-old has joined the Serie A relegationbattlers for an undisclosed fee from Uruguayan side Nacional.

Levante sign Greek defender Loukas Vyntra has signed a deal until the summer of 2014 following his release from Panathinaikos.

Fede Fernandez has joined Getafe on loan from Napoli for the rest of the season. The 23-year-old defender, capped 11 times by Argentina, has welcomed a chance to play in Spain.

Inter Milan have signed Zdravko Kuzmanovic and posted photos of him on their official website! After three and a half seasons at Stuttgart, the Serbian midfielder arrived at the Centro Sportivo Angelo Moratti this morning to train with his new team-mates for the first time.

Nacho Monreal Liverpool forward Daniel Pacheco has joined Sociedad Deportiva Huesca on loan until the end of the season.

Fulham have confirmed the loan signing of Urby Emanuelson from AC Milan until the end of the season.

Real Zaragoza has

announced that they have signed 22-year-old forward Rodri on loan from Barcelona 'B'. The former Sevilla forward had a medical yesterday's morning before joining his new team-mates in training.

Lyon defensive midfielder Sidy Kone has joined Ligue 2 promotion hopefuls Caen on loan for the rest of the season. The 20-year-old Malian's temporary move was confirmed by Caen on their official website.

Norwich City have signed striker Luciano Becchio from Leeds

Christopher Samba United in a swap deal for Steve Morison.

Real Valladolid has confirmed the signing of winger Rama Valdet from Swedish club Orebro. The 25-year old has agreed a deal until the end of the season with an option to extend it if he is able to impress in La Liga.

Robert Acquafresca has completed a deal to join Levante from Bologna, with the 25-yearold striker telling the club's website he is happy to have completed negotiations.

Palermo confirms signings of Alessandro Faurlin from Queens Park Rangers on loan and Diego Fabbrini from Udinese. Both of whom were unveiled by the club yesterday.

Lazio have confirmed the signing of former Portugal Under21 international Bruno Pereirinha.

Granada has completed the signing of Diego Buonanotte from Malaga.

The Argentinian midfielder has agreed a four-anda-half year deal, according to Malaga's website.

Torino have completed the loan signing of Pescara forward Jonathas until the end of the season, after the 23-year-old Brazilian only found the net once

this season for the relegationthreatened side.

Mario Balotelli's move to AC Milan has now been confirmed by Manchester City. The Italian international has signed a deal until the end of June 2017.

FC 1.Kaiserslautern have loaned Ilian Micanski and Leon Jessen to FC Indolstadt.

Paris Saint-Germain has confirmed on their official website that youth academy graduate Adrien Rabiot has gone on loan to Toulouse until the end of the season.

Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez has confirmed that midfielder Paul Scharner is to rejoin the club on loan from Hamburg until the end of the season.

Portuguese champions FC Porto have secured the signing of 15 per cent of a very exciting talent - their current playmaker-in-chief Joao Moutinho. They club now own the player outright.

Stuttgart has signed 22-yearold Romanian versatile midfielder Alexandru Maxim on a deal until 2017 from Pandurii Targu-Jiu. Palermo has completed the signing of Newell's Old Boys winger Mauricio Sperduti, tying the 26year-old down to a three-and-ahalf year contract the club confirmed on its website.

Genoa has confirmed on their website the additions of defenders Mattia Cassani and Daniele Portanova, while loaning out two players.

Cassani has joined on loan from Fiorentina with the potential for the move to be made permanent at the end of the season. Portanova joins on a permanent deal from Bologna.

Dinamo Zagreb's 18-yearold playmaker Mateo Kovacic have a medical yesterday ahead of a move to Inter Milan, the Croatian club have confirmed.

Jack Butland

PAGE 46

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

City Life

With Stanley Onyekwere 08138559513

Man gets two months imprisonment over N600, 000 fraud

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Magistrates' Court in Wuse Zone 6, Abuja, has sentenced one Aminu Abubakar, 35, of Jabi, Abuja, to two months imprisonment for criminal breach of trust and cheating.

Abubakar, who pleaded guilty to a two countcharge of criminal breach of trust and cheating, told the court he did not intend to cheat but that some p r o b l e m s c a me up at his home town which necessitated spending the money.

He however, pleaded for the court's leniency, saying that it was the work of the devil and that he would not do it again. He added: 'my Lord, I know it is my fault, but have mercy on me'.

The Magistrate, Musa Jobbo, said he cannot let him

go unpunished adding that punishing him will serve as an example to others not to commit such offence.

"You (Abubakar) will serve the sentence in order to serve as a deterrence to those who would like to commit a similar offence'', Jobbo explained.

Accordingly, the Magistrate sentenced Abubakar to two months imprisonment for cheating.

He also ordered the convict to pay N600, 000 as compensation to the complainant.

Police Prosecutor Musa Abdullahi had told the court that one Jamilu Babawo of Niger Court, Gaduwa Estate, reported the matter at the Utako Police Station in Abuja on January 23.

According to him, Babawo gave the convict

N600, 000 on October 12, 2012 to construct a borehole for him in his house, adding that an agreement was signed to that effect.

Abdullahi said the

convict did not execute the job but converted the money to his personal use; and the convict had been avoiding the complainant before he was later apprehended.

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be forgiven, saying "I know that I have done something bad but if you will forgive me, I promise to go back to my work as a bricklayer; and I will never come near drugs again and please consider that my mother is old and sick".

After the plea of Olaitan, Justice Obaseki-Adejumo sentenced him to 7 months imprisonment with an option of N50,000 fine.

Obaseki-Adejumo, who said the sentence considered the fact that the accused was a first-time offender, however, warned the convict to stay away from crimes and not go near drugs as that if re-arrested, the court would have no mercy on him.

Ealier, the NDLEA prosecutor, Mrs. Bridget Viashimah, had told the court how the convict was arrested while in an 18seater commercial bus with a shuttle bag held closely to

A

n Ibadan Chief Magistrates' Court on Thursday sentenced one Chinedu Wisdom, 31, to one-year imprisonment for illegal possession of medical equipment with an option of N20,000 fine.

The prosecutor, Sgt. Foluke Adedosu, had told the court that the defendant committed the crime on March 13, 2012 at Eleta area of Ibadan.

Adedosu said the defendant had entered the room of one Adefunke Yusuf and stolen the sum of N50,000. He added the action of the defendant contravened Sections 390(9) and 430 of the Criminal Code Cap 38 Vol. II Laws of Oyo State, 2000.

A

IGP Mohammed Abubakar

...As Court convicts bricklayer over possession of Indian hemp adiq Olaitan, 23, was yesterday given an option of N50,000 fine or seven-month imprisonment after pleading guilty for unlawful possession of 2.8 kilogrammes of Indian hemp.

The convict, who appeared before Justice Abimbola Adejumo-Obaseki, of the Federal High Court in Ibadan, had earlier pleaded not guilty on January 22, when he was first arraigned, in a dramatic twist at the resumed hearing, raised his hands in the dock in an attempt to seek the audience of the court to change his plea to guilty.

Accordingly, the presiding judge granted his request and ordered that the charge be re-read to him in view of the new development.

Olaitan, thereafter, pleaded guilty but asked to

Man, 31, jailed for illegal possession of medical equipment

Man, 48, in court over lover's death after sex

“

He however, pleaded for the court's leniency, saying that it was the work of the devil and that he would not do it again. He added: 'my Lord, I know it is my fault, but have mercy on me'.

CITY BRIEFS:

his chest; and when officers inspected the bag, they discovered wraps of the drugs.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Olaitan was arrested by

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officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) while conducting a search on the Ijebu-Ode/ Ibadan road, on October. 4, 2012.

...Orders defence counsel to produce witness in German woman's law suit

ustice Oluseun Shogbola of the National Industrial Court, on Thursday, ordered a defence counsel, Miss Pat Offor, to produce its witness

by Feb. 20 or have its case foreclosed.

Shogbola gave the order after Offor told the court that her witness was not in court, owing to ill health.

NAN reports that a German woman, Mrs Jagus Margot, sued the

management of Kojo Motors Limited before the National Industrial Court, alleging unlawful termination of employment.

Margot, in the suit, alleged that she was employed by the defendant, Kojo Motors in October 2009 as a Marketing Manager; however, Kojo management terminated her appointment in November 2010 without any reason.

Got interesting stories about life or happenings in your neighbourhood? Contact CityLife, and let others read about them. Send suggestions/comments with your names and phone numbers via mycitybeat2pml@gmail.com.

48-year-old bricklayer, Lawrence Chukwuma, whose lover allegedly died shortly after he had sexual intercourse with her, on Thursday appeared before an Ebute Meta Magistrates' Court in Lagos on a charge of manslaughter.

Chukwuma, a resident of 23, Oke-Morosun, Magbon in Badagry, Lagos, is facing a count charge over the death of Miss Lucy Joseph, 28, before Magistrate Okunsanya Badejo.

The prosecutor, Cpl. Cyriacus Osuji, who alleged that the bricklayer committed the crime on Dec. 1, 2012 at his residence said: "the deceased complained of a chest pain shortly after the intercourse and was confirmed dead the same day in a hospital."

Court remands 'mai suya' for sodomy

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Kaduna Magistrates' Court on Thursday remanded in prison custody, a butcher, Adamu Gambo, who was arraigned on a one count charge of committing an offence.

Gambo, 28, of Nassarawa Road

by Cinema, Kaduna, who sales ``suya meat'' in the area, was accused of hypnotising his neighbour, Michael Onunna and had anal sex with him.

Police prosecutor, Insp. Simon Usman told the court that Gambo had committed the offence on Jan. 13, 2013 when he gave Onunna sedated `suya meat' which knocked the victim unconscious.

CITY QUOTE "Whenever I happen to be in a city of any size, I marvel that riots do not break out every day: Massacres, unspeakable carnage, a doomsday chaos.

How can so many human beings coexist in a space so confined without hating each other to death?"

—Emil Cioran

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

PAGE 47

From the Pulpit Beware of ingratitude and pride (I) "A bout that time, Hezekiah became deathly ill. He prayed to the LORD, who healed him and gave him a miraculous sign. But Hezekiah did not respond appropriately to the kindness shown him, and he became proud. So the LORD's anger came against him and against Judah and Jerusalem." (2 Chron 32:24-25 NLT) Hezekiah was sick and God healed him. But then there followed a disappointing remark. The Bible says Hezekiah did not respond appropriately to the kindness shown him, and he became proud. The New Century Version renders 2 Chron 32:25 thus: "But Hezekiah did not thank God for his kindness, because he was so proud. So the LORD was angry with him and the people of Judah and Jerusalem."

I had read this passage many times and have written and preached on it. I had thought that that Hezekiah was ungrateful to God for healing him. But I was wrong. I needed to read another account of this incident to discover that Hezekiah actually thanked God. He even wrote a poem to thank God but this is not included in the account of this incident recorded in 2 Chron 32.

Hezekiah's gratitude to God But Prophet Isaiah records in Isa 38:9-20 Hezekiah's poem to thank God when he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness.

Hezekiah says in Verses 17-20 of his thanksgiving: "Indeed it was for my own peace that I had great bitterness; but You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, for You have cast all my Matthew 7:7-11

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h i s brief passage contains a lot for the education and edification of every child of God in every age. The privilege and power of prayer is not left on the unreachable branches of a tree of philosophy but the branches are low enough for all members in the family to pluck the fruits. In these verses, the Lord has not given us some deep well of theological mystery with nothing to draw with; He has brought the supply of every need to the table and we do well to come and dine.

The opening verse supplies the key to the interpretation and application. We are to ask, seek and knock. These three verbs are in the present imperative in the original text. That simply means that they demand continual, repeated action.

Ask and keep on asking until you receive; seek and go on seeking until you find; knock and continue until the door is opened. Pray and keep on praying until the Father answers according to His promise.

The whole process is put in the family setting. We are not asking as a beggar from an unknown stranger, we are asking as a trusting child from a loving Father. We are not seeking as a traveller seeks water in a desert, we are seeking fruit as a member of the family in the family garden. We are not knocking at the door of a house guarded by wild dogs, we are knocking at the door of our Father’s house Who is waiting to open the door and receive us.

sins behind Your back. For Sheol cannot thank You, death cannot praise You; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth.

The living, the living man, he shall praise You, as I do this day; the father shall make known Your truth to the children. 'The LORD was ready to save me; therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments all the days of our life, in the house of the LORD.'" (NKJV) So from that Scripture, I was able to correct my thinking that Hezekiah was not grateful to God. But does it mean that 2 Chron 32:24-25 was wrong that Hezekiah did not respond appropriately to the kindness shown him, and he became proud? No. The point is that there is a time lag between when Hezekiah prayed to the LORD and he healed him giving him a sign and when Hezekiah did not respond appropriately to the kindness shown him, and he became proud. There was an interval between these two events during which an incident happened that showed that Hezekiah did not respond appropriately to the kindness shown him, and became proud.

Isaiah 38:1-8 explains the sign that God gave Hezekiah for his recovery which 2 Chron 32:24 did not give details of. "'I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city. And this is the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing which He has spoken: Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.' So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by

which it had gone down." (Isa 38:68 NKJV) God healed Hezekiah and added fifteen more years to his life.

The third day he went to the house of the Lord after God fulfilled the sign he had asked for in preference to the sign that prophet Isaiah had told him. "And Hezekiah answered, 'It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees; no, but let the shadow go backward ten degrees.'

So Isaiah the prophet cried out to the LORD, and He brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the sundial of Ahaz." (2 Kings 20:1011NKJV) It was after his healing that he wrote the poem of thanksgiving in Is 38.

Hezekiah's ingratitude and pride But Hezekiah missed it thereafter; he was backslidden as it were, and this is a lesson for everyone to be consistent in his walk with God and ensure that he maintains a right heart; every child of God must aim to finish well. You must be continually grateful to God and continually humble yourself Hezekiah regressed into pride when the ambassadors from Babylon came to visit him after he had recovered from his sickness. "At that time Merodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. And Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures - the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory - all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that

GREEN PASTURES

By Pastor T.O. Banso cedarministryintl@yahoo.com GSM: 08033113523 Hezekiah did not show them." (Isa 39:1-2 NKJV) Hezekiah got carried away. Pride made him show the ambassadors from Babylon his silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, all his armory and all that was in his palace. It is this incident that 2 Chron 32:24-25 refers to when it says that Hezekiah's was lifted up and he did not respond appropriately to the kindness God had shown him. Hezekiah went on a vanity show, and God allowed it for a purpose. 2 Chron 32:31 says, "However, when ambassadors arrived from Babylon to ask about the remarkable events that had taken place in the land, God withdrew from Hezekiah in order to test him and to see what was really in his heart." (NLT) This is also recorded in 2 Kings 20:12-18.

What did Hezekiah hope to benefit from this show off? - Ego boosting! Pride blinded Hezekiah's reasoning and he failed God's test to know what was really in his heart.

Since the visit by the envoys had to do with his miraculous recovery from deathly sickness, he should have used the occasion to point the envoys' attention to God who made it possible just as he had written a poem when he had recovered, a very commendable thing. Rather Hezekiah chose to attract attention to himself; he went on ego trip. His

wealth and accomplishment entered his head.

I cannot finish this message today; l will continue next week.

Beware of ingratitude and pride.

Don't let so called success enter your head. Humble yourself before the Lord; be continually grateful to him.

TAKE ACTION! If you are not born again, kindly say this prayer now: "0 Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day.

I confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and surrender my life to him today. I invite Jesus into my heart today. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you Jesus for saving me and making me a child of God" I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations!

You will need to join a Bible believing, Bible teaching church in your area where you will be taught how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon.

May the Lord make you a Cedar Christian. May you grow into Christ in all things becoming all God wants you to be.

Knocking heaven’s door until it is opened 1. IMPORTUNITY IN PRAYER SYMBOLIZED BY KNOCKING Matthew 7:7,8; Acts 12:13-16; Luke 11:5-10; 18:1-8; Genesis 18:2333; 32:24-28; Deuteronomy 9:18-20; Daniel 9:2,3,10-14; Acts 12:5-12; Hebrews 4:14-16.

“Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Comparing Matthew 7:7,8 with Luke 11:5-10, it is obvious that the Lord is teaching us and calling us to importunity in prayer. We often give up too soon, just before the door to heaven’s storehouse is opened.

Our lack of supply is often the result of our lack of importunate supplication. A few of us are ignorant of what is in the storehouse for us.

Others knock at the door of the storehouse so feebly that they are barely heard. So very few ever knock continually with a firm hand of the prayer of faith.

There was a great famine in Egypt. The famine had spread beyond Egypt to other nations. To meet the needs of all people Joseph had beforehand filled the vast storehouses in the land. As the people came from all the lands “Joseph opened all the storehouses” (Genesis 41:56). Everyone who came received enough sustenance from the opened storehouses. Jesus is waiting for us to come and knock at the door.

Whatever our needs are, the door will be opened and we shall be satisfied with justification, salvation, regeneration, transformation,

FAITH DISCOURSE WITH

Pastor W. F. Kumuyi provision, restoration, sanctification, impartation, protection, preservation and finally, glorification. We are not knocking only to stop after receiving an initial supply of grace, we keep on knocking until we receive abundant grace, sufficient grace, grace for every need.

2. INTENSITY IN PRAYER SIGNIFIED BY KNOCKING Matthew 7:7,8; Luke 13:25; 11:510; Hosea 12:3,4;1 Samuel 1:9-20; 1 Kings 18:41-46; James 5:16-18; 2 Kings 20:1-6; Acts 4:23-31; Romans 10:1-4.

The fervency of our prayer and force of our faith often show how important our request is to us.

Coming back to the illustration of knocking, the desperate man who is knocking at the door to meet a pressing need will knock differently from a casual visitor with no definite purpose. Those who knock casually in prayer often have wandering thoughts in prayer; they are formal

and repeat the same phrase each prayer time; they do not have any specific need in prayer; they habitually sleep off when praying; they lack freshness of thought and have no grip on any promise of God; they do not remember what they have prayed for and they are not conscious of their spiritual state.

Like the Laodiceans, they are lukewarm in the closet, too lazy to seek urgent remedy for their spiritual malady.

Intensity in prayer is demonstrated by the righteous whose fervent prayer avails much.

Watch Jacob at Peniel; observe Elijah on mount Carmel; visit with Abraham as he intercedes for Sodom; follow Moses to the mount where he pleads for backslidden Israel on the verge of destruction; kneel beside Daniel as he prays for Israel’s seventy-year captivity to end; feel the great heaviness and continual sorrow in Paul’s heart as he cries in prayer

for the salvation of his kinsmen according to the flesh, and you will catch a glimpse of what it means to knock with importunity and intensity.

3. INIQUITY IN PEOPLE SPECIFIED AS STUMBLINGBLOCK WHILE KNOCKING Luke 13:25-27; Psalm 66:18; Isaiah 59:1,2; Jeremiah 5:25; Ezekiel 14:1-11; Isaiah 1:4,12-20; Psalm 32:510; Ezekiel 18:30-32; 2 Timothy 2:19; Job 22:23-28.

God is so eager to bless us and if we are as eager to be blessed, our spiritual stature will change so quickly that it would be difficult to recognize us. Our lack of thoughtfulness is often our greatest hindrance. We hinder ourselves more than any enemy, demon or Satan can ever hinder us. Holding on to iniquity or sin is the major reason we knock and knock in vain.

Sin is dangerous and deadly in itself and it also hinders the opening of heaven’s door of blessing. We commit two evils against our soul in one stroke: we poison ourselves with iniquity and at the same time prevent remedy and infinite goodness from coming to us.

Repentance and cleansing in the fountain of Christ’s blood will remove all hindrances. Then, we shall pray and God will answer; we shall knock and the door will be opened; and we shall also decree a thing and it shall be established unto us.

BIG PUNCH "In view of these humongous allocations, a few legitimate questions arise. What did she do with all these allocations? What impact did it have on the education sector? One wonders if our educational system would have been better today if these allocations were properly applied."

– Minister of Information, Labaran Maku hitting back at former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili

SATURDAY 2 — SUNDAY 3, FEBRUARY, 2013

The richness of the Intellect

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peaking at the G8 Economic Summit in Davos on January 24, 2013, David Cameron, British Prime Minister, found it compelling to single out Nigeria as an example of a nation almost totally lacking in transparency, one that suffers from a 'massive, massive gap' in credibility.

Cameron said: 'I want this G8 to lead a big push for transparency across the developing world, and to illustrate why let me give you one example. A few years back a transparency initiative exposed a huge hole in Nigeria's finances, an eight hundred million dollar discrepancy between what companies were paying and what the government was receiving for oil - a massive, massive gap. The discovery of this is leading to new regulation of Nigeria's oil sector so the richness of the earth can actually help to enrich the people of that country.

'And the potential is staggering. Last year Nigerian oil exports were worth almost a hundred billion dollars. That is more than the total net aid to the whole of sub Saharan Africa.

So put simply: unleashing the natural resources in these countries dwarfs anything aid can achieve, and transparency is absolutely critical to that end.

So we're going to push for more transparency on who owns companies; on who's buying up land and for what purpose; on how governments spend their money; on how gas, oil and mining companies operate; and on who is hiding stolen assets and how we recover and return them.'

This brings us to the point of our discourse. A debate has been going on about whether Sokoto is the poorest part of Nigeria. Sokoto denies the claim, citing in one instance the impressive number of its citizens who go to hajj annually. Sokoto's argument would have been strengthened more if it had also cited the number of its citizens who pay zakat, a pillar of Islam which is inseparable from hajj, the number of institutions of education, health and social services established by its wealthy and powerful citizens

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to show the real prosperity of the people. Sokoto, by which we mean also Kebbi and Zamfara, should go further and explain why it is the case that their children constitute the bulk of the Almajirai roaming the streets of Nigeria.

It must be conceded, however, that in human and material terms Sokoto is not at all poor and never was, for even now, it sits on a vast quantity of gold and, possibly also, on oil and gas, while it lies below inexhaustible reserves of wind and solar energy.

And everywhere opportunities abound for agriculture, industry and commerce.

Above all, it has the human resource capable of raising a nation to the greatest height possible. Poverty in Sokoto is induced and perpetuated by the same forces which have made the whole of Nigeria poor.

What makes the poverty of Sokoto much worse and much more inexcusable, however, is that it has failed to harness and unleash the richness of its intellect, as a result, it lacks the capacity therefore to unleash the richness of the earth for development and prosperity. Sokoto is a Muslim environment by virtue of which it should be a shining example in regard to the preservation of human dignity and cultivation of knowledge.

Two weeks ago we encountered Adam on a street in Sokoto, a human being, not an animal, left to stay aimlessly and precariously, neither in the care of his family, the society nor the state, and deprived of what is due to him by right and by custom as a human being food, education, shelter, health, human care and dignity. Worse, Adam is not an isolated case, he shares his destiny - condemned to anonymity and ignorance, never to be anybody in his own society - with millions of others in what is supposed to be a Muslim society. His right to basic education is flagrantly denied.

The bone of contention, or rather the excuse, for all this is that Muslims insist on the centrality of the Quran in the education of their children.

But what self respecting society is there which is willing to throw away its values and

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way of life? Another excuse is perhaps English language. But experts say that a child who masters his mother tongue will master a second language much faster and easier. Many children in Nigeria have lost their mother tongue and are, sadly but naturally, incapable of achieving proficiency in the English language.

Time has passed when government thinks it must dictate to people on education.

Consensus and mutual respect is the way. Sokoto is in the best position to lead the way in providing the kind of education the society craves

spoilt for choice, we may point to Ibn Khaldun, for the simple reason that he went through a system of education which was similar to the one that produced the founders of Sokoto and he is intellectually a known figure in Sokoto, directly or indirectly, as he is quoted by Shehu Usman Dan Fodio in one of his works while Muhammad Bello, the architect of the Calphate, echoes his philosophy of urbanization in thought and policy.

Ibn Khadun [1332-1406] was born in present day Tunisia. He started his

WEEKEND Ibraheem Sulaiman sa427420@gmail.com

Gov Aliyu Wamakko for, and which it richly deserves, in terms of relevance and quality.

UNESCO observed some years back that education in Northern Nigeria can only succeed and its pace accelerated when it is anchored on the Quran.

Northern leaders must work hard and collectively to break this crippling but self inflicted impasse - and quickly, too.

Let us assume that our Adam, whose fate hangs in the balance, were educated properly, what could he possibly become? Of the many examples available, for we are

education with the Quran, which he memorized in early childhood. He then studied Arabic, Quran, Hadith and Sharia, along with mathematics, philosophy, and other subjects. He worked in various capacities in different countries and continents, as secretary of state, an advisor, a diplomat, a Grand Qadi, a Professor, a University President. He was also at other times a prisoner or an exile.The only constant factor in his life was scholarship. And in 1377, more than six hundred years ago, Ibn Khaldun wrote his famous Prolegomena, The Muqaddimah, as an introduction to his World History. The book, written in just six months, contains, he says, the 'New Science' he had founded, and a new science indeed it had proved to be, as attested to by many eminent scholars across the world.

Ibn Khaldun has been long recognized universally, thanks to The Muqaddima, as the father of philosophy of history and social science. Now he is being acknowledged also as the father of modern economics, who has influenced, in one way or the other, the greatest minds of modern times, especially Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Thomas Malthus, Karl Marx

and John Keynes. 'In his chosen field of intellectual activity [Ibn Khaldun] appears to have been inspired by no predecessors,' Prof Arnold Toynbee observes, 'and yet, in the Prolegomena ... to his Universal History he has conceived and formulated a philosophy of history which is undoubtedly the greatest work of its kind that has yet been created by any mind in any time or place.' Wikipedia notes that the British philosopher, Robert Flint, locates Ibn Khaldun high above many of those the world has for centuries held as being at the pinnacle of intellect. 'As a theorist of history,' Flint observes, '[Ibn Khaldun] had no equal in any age or country until Vico appeared, more than three hundred years later.

Plato, Aristotle, and Augustine were not his peers, and all others were unworthy of being even mentioned along with him.'

Prof Sorinel Cosma writes: 'Ibn Khaldun developed outstanding skills in observing and analyzing the economic, political and social developments of his time. He is considered by some as a father of modern economics. He was the first to systematically analyze the functioning of an economy, the importance of technology, specialization and foreign trade in economic surplus and the role of government and its stabilization policies to increase output and employment.

Moreover, he dealt with the problem of optimum taxation, minimum government services, incentives, institutional framework, law and order, expectations, production, and the theory of value.

'Ibn Khaldun is a successful theoretician who discovered a great number of fundamental economic notions centuries before their official birth. He discovered the virtues and necessity of a division of labor long before Adam Smith, the principle of labor value long before Ricardo and the role of government in stabilization policy long before Keynes.

Ibn Khaldun's policy recommendations are as relevant today as they were during his time. The countries that follow them will prosper, and the ones that reject or ignore them will suffer.'

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