Peoples Daily Newspaper, Monday, July 02, 2012 by Peoples Media Limited

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

Vol. 8 No. 71

. . . putting the people first

Monday, July 2, 2012

Bandits unleash terror in Kebbi >> PAGE 2

7 die in Yobe JTF, Boko Haram clash From Auwal Ahmad, Gombe

he war against terror being waged by operatives of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Yobe state continued at the weekend in Damaturu, the state capital, where the security agents clashed with insurgents belonging to the Jama’atu AhlisSunnah Lid Da’awati wal-Jihad, otherwise known as Boko Haram. However, four JTF

Shaaban 12, 1433 AH

N150

Gunmen kill excouncillor, 2 others in Kano

Jigawa dismissess principal over breach of trust

Don’t rig Edo poll, ACN warns

>> PAGE 5

>> PAGE 9

>> PAGE 40

Dasuki woos militant groups By Lawrence Olaoye

he newly appointed National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President, Col. Sambo Dasuki (Rtd.) has begun to make peace overtures to all

militant groups in the country, including members of the dreaded Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunnah lid-Da’awati wal-Jihad, otherwise referred to as Boko Haram. A credible source close to the

new NSA revealed that in the face of the security challenges facing the nation, particularly with the activities of the insurgents in the North, Dasuki has resolved to reach out to all militant groups across the

country in order to bring them around the round-table for dialogue. It was learnt that he is adopting a holistic approach by not limiting the dialogue to the Contd on Page 2

“

I saw police and military vehicles going around the area picking up corpses and taking victims to the specialist hospital

”

operatives and three Boko Haram gunmen were reportedly killed in the threehour crossfire, which broke out in the Nyanya ward of Damaturu metropolis at about 6.30p.m. on Saturday, According to our investigation, the uncompleted building suspected to be hideout of terrorists was also Contd on Page 2

Somw students of the Zaytuna Madrasah in Maitama District of Abuja, during the graduation ceremony and completion of recitation of the Holy Qur’an, yesterday in the school premises. Photo: Joe Oroye

PAGE 2

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

CONTENTS News

2-11

Editorial

Op.Ed

Letters

Opinion

Metro

16-17

Business

19-22

S/Exchange

S/Report

Newsxtra

Education

Health

NNPC boss pledges transparency

he newly-appointed Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Andrew Yakubu, has pledged to ensure transparency, accountability and professionalism in the operations of the corporation. This is contained in a statement issued by the acting Group General Manger, Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Mr. Fidel Pepple, yesterday in Abuja. It quoted Yakubu as saying: “under my watch the NNPC will assiduously seek to reinforce the tenets of accountability and transparency in line with the transformation agenda of the Federal Government”. The statement described Yakubu as a man of proven integrity with a huge appetite for hard work and called on all staff members to key into his transformation programme.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that President Goodluck Jonathan had on June 26, ordered the retirement of the erstwhile GMD, Austen Oniwon and appointed Yakubu as the successor. Yakubu, who joined the NNPC in 1980, was until his recent appointment the Group Executive Director (GED), Exploration and Production. He was credited with raising the average oil production to 2.4 million barrels per day in spite of the arduous challenges. The 1979 Chemical Engineering graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, was also credited with championing the divestment process and assignment of equity to the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company (NPDC). Yakubu was also responsible for turning around the Warri Refinery as Managing Director of the refinery after the plant

exploded in 1989. The new NNPC boss hails from Kaduna state and was born on Sept. 10, 1955, in Unguwar

Heavy rainfall: Commissioner advises residents to relocate

agos state Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, has advised some residents of some identified areas to immediately relocate amidst downpour resulting to heavy flooding this month. Bello sounded the alert in a press statement signed by the Ministry’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Fola Adeyemi, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday. The commissioner identified the areas where residents should relocate to include Owode, Badiya, Aboru, Iwaya, Arowojobe in Maryland, Ajegunle Elede, and EtiOsa.

Dasuki woos militant groups Contd from Page 1

Salami: Why I wrote Jonathan – Alaafin, Page 6

International 31-34 Strange World 35 Digest

Politics

37-40

Sports

41-47

Columnist

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU The Peoples Daily wants to hear from you with any news and pictures you think we should publish. You can send your news and pictures to: letters@peoplesdaily-online.com pictures@peoplesdaily-online.com contact@peoplesdaily-online.com

Phones for News: 070-37756364 09-8734478

Boko Haram sect in the North alone but equally reaching out to other militants in the volatile South-south in order to consolidate the peace efforts in that region. Our source hinted that the NSA is also exploring possibility of constructive engagement with the Christian militants in Southern Kaduna, where persistent violence since the aftermath of the 2011 elections pose grave danger to the Northwest part of the country. Peoples Daily reliably learnt yesterday that the new NSA had a consultative meeting with Chief Edwin Clark on Saturday in Abuja, on the need to sustain the peace in the Niger Delta region. The meeting was a further confirmation of the dialogue efforts. Our source disclosed further that: “Basically, the essence is for

the leaders to reach out to their wards so that such militias would sheathe their swords and come out and make their grudges known. “This is with a view to speedily restore peace to areas hit by crises, while fostering same in those regions like the Niger Delta where relative peace has been achieved”, the source added. He however refused to disclose details of the discussions between the NSA and the Ijaw chief. Dasuki began the consultations with visits last week to Borno and Yobe states where he conferred with government officials and other notable stakeholders in the states. Governor Ibrahim Gaidam, at an open session in Damaturu during the NSA’s visit on Thursday, told Dasuki that

dialogue remained the best option to stop the activities of the insurgents in the region. He said: “Before concluding this address, let me share with the National Security Adviser an opinion I have expressed earlier on the current security challenges. In as much as Government has the power and the sacred duty to protect lives and property of the citizens whenever they come under threat, if one considers the colossal collateral damage these confrontations bring about due to the unconventional methods of the insurgents, the option of resolution through dialogue and negotiation should be pursued as a priority. “We are therefore in support of any move towards negotiated settlement provided the insurgents are willing to accept the call for dialogue”, the governor stressed.

7 die in Yobe JTF, Boko Haram clash Contd from Page 1 demolished during the clash. Confirming the incident, Yobe state police commissioner, Patrick Egbuniwe, said: “Gunmen attacked two military vehicles of the Joint Task Force (JTF) while patrolling the area by 6.30pm on Saturday. “The JTF operatives returned fire but two policemen and two soldiers were killed in the fierce gun battle that lasted three hours in the area”, he said. The Yobe police commissioner further disclosed in the aftermath of the repeated gunshots and continuous bombings that

rocked the Nyanya and the Obasanjo Housing estates that the JTF on patrol around the estates suspected a hide out of the radical Islamic sect and in efforts to get close to the site witnessed a severe resistance leading to exchange of gun battle during which several explosive devices were detonated in the hideout. He said three of the suspects were killed while a woman was arrested in the hideout. He also disclosed that one AK47 rifle and several round of ammunitions were recovered in the hide out. A resident, Mallam Isa Audu,

Wakili, Zangon Kataf local government area of the state. (NAN)

told reporters yesterday that the gunmen took advantage of the 7pm-6am curfew to attack the JTF patrol vehicles, 30 minutes to the start of curfew imposed by the governor last Thursday. The JTF operatives, Audu observed, became markedly visible to the attackers in their vehicles as few motorists or pedestrians were on the road at the time. Another resident, who put the casualty figures at 10, said: “I saw police and military vehicles going around the area picking up corpses and taking victims to the specialist hospital”.

Bello explained that the areas were very close to the lagoons, drainages, channels, river courses and the wetlands of the state. “The coming rains are unusual, while with normal rains they need not relocate. Since March till now, rain fell across the state with no serious flooding incidences recorded. “He reality of today is that, we are now in the season of unusual rains globally with similar experiences happening in United Kingdom, US, Japan and Bangladesh.’’ Bello said the residents must relocate upland during this heavy, rainy season, in order to avoid discomfort and loss of lives and property. He said the advice became imperative as the state had yet to witness intense rainfall. “The Ministry of the Environment has intensified its mid rain cleaning exercise and will continue to put in place measures that will reduce the incidence of flooding in the State. “The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) has been put on alert to assist those in need during this period.’’ (NAN)

Bandits unleash terror in Kebbi From Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi

rmed robbers yesterday laid siege to the ZuruKoko Road, Zuru Kebbi in state, attacking motorists and passengers. Residents of the area yesterday called out to the police to come to their aid, saying they were being attacked on a daily basis. Abubakar Jika, a victim of yesterday’s attack, told our Kebbi state correspondent that the bandits who were armed with dangerous weapons attacked many cars and dispossessed the passengers of their belongings. Narrating his experience, Jika said the hoodlums operated for 30 minutes, robbing motorists and passengers of cash and other valuables. When contacted the acting Kebbi Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Inspector Bala Sule Riba confirmed the bandits’ attack, but could not give details on the incident.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

PAGE 3

FG suspends repairs on Third Mainland Bridge From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

he Federal Government has indefinitely suspended the proposed repair work earlier scheduled to begin on the Third Mainland Bridge yesterday. The Lagos Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Nseobong Charles Akpabio, said the postponement of

the repairs is intended to put more measures in place to ease possible traffic congestion the closure of bridge will create. The sector commander urged all motorists in Lagos to go about their activities and wait for further information on the bridge repair. The FRSC had explained that traffic information would be communicated from time to time

via radio, television, newspapers and social media network. The commission said as the lead agency in traffic management in Nigeria, it had concluded plans to coordinate the various traffic agencies involved in the exercise. He noted that Section 15 of the FRSC Act 2007 clearly stipulated that the operation of the Corps should cover all public roads,

adding that the Corps statutory responsibility is to control and enforce traffic regulations on public roads “as we did during the 2008 maintenance work on the Third Mainland Bridge.” The Third Mainland Bridge was to have been closed for about five months beginning Sunday, July 1, to be re-opened on November 6, 2012.

Children at a support programme for orphans and vulnerable children organised by Bauchi state Poverty Alleviation Scheme, yesterday in Bauchi. Photo: NAN

Commercial banks’ total assets, liabilities hit N19.8tr From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

he total assets and liabilities of the deposit money banks (DMBs) is recorded as N19. 8 trillion, which represents 0.2 percent increase when compared with the figure obtained at endMarch 2012. According to the information made available in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s website weekend, funds sourced mainly from increase in Federal Government deposit stood at N131.3 billion, deposit mobilisation and unclassified liabilities showed N128.0 billion and N125.2 billion respectively. The funds were used, largely, in the build-up of foreign assets holdings which amounted to N114.2 billion and purchase of Federal Government securities which also recorded N83.7 billion. At N12. 2 trillion, DMBs’ credit to the domestic economy fell by 0.2 percent below the level in the preceding month. The breakdown, on a monthon-month basis, showed that, while credit to the private sector rose by 0.3, credit to the government fell by 2.1 percent relative to the level in the preceding month. Central Bank’s credit to the DMBs rose by 6.3 percent to N291.5 billion at end-April 2012, while specified liquid assets of the DMBs stood at N5. 9 trillion, representing 47.3 percent of their total current liabilities. This level of liquid assets was 0.8 percentage point above the preceding month’s ratio of 46.5 and 17.3 percentage points above the stipulated minimum ratio of 30.0 per cent. The loan-to-deposit ratio was 50.3 percent and was 29.7 percentage points below the stipulated maximum target of 80.0 per cent.

Police intensify surveillance at worship centres

Sundays bad for business, Abuja traders lament

he Anambra Police Command has intensified surveillance at worship centres, especially those centres within the Onitsha metropolis. A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent, who went round some of the centres on Sunday, observed that at least two armed policemen were stationed at each worship house, while some had more policemen around the premises. At the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity,

cross section of traders in Abuja have lamented the patronage by customers, saying Sundays were usually bad for business. A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who went round some markets and recreation centres in the city reports that few customers were seen shopping, while many shops were locked. Malam Salihu Ismail, a meat seller at Gwarimpa Market said, “normally on a

All Saint Cathedral Church, Methodist Cathedral Church and the Awada and Onitsha Central Mosque, there were police vans with a detachment of armed policemen in the premises. Other worship centres were the St Mary Catholic Church, Awka Road; Emmunaul Anglican Church, In-Land Town; Sacred Heart Parish, Odapku; and St. Stephens’ Anglican Church, In-Land Town; where not less than two armed policemen were also stationed. (NAN)

Sunday morning like this, we experience low patronage because I noticed that my customers usually buy their meat on Fridays and Saturdays''. Ismail noted that the low patronage had nothing to do with price, saying a kilogramme of meat attract between N800 and N1,000, depending on the market. Malam Hamza Danborno, a fish seller at the market also complained of low patronage but added that “the day is usually like that”. On the price of fish, Danborno said its price usually depended on availability and size. (NAN)

Subsidy probe: The guilty will not go unpunished - Jonathan By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

resident Goodluck Jonathan yesterday reiterated that those who are found culpable in the corruption that beclouds the oil sector will not go unpunished. This is as the Presidency noted with concern recent reports, comments and agitations aimed at creating the totally false impression that the Jonathan Administration is not doing enough to curb corruption in Nigeria.

A statement issued yesterday by the Special Adviser to the President Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, said that the President clearly enunciated his administration’s zero tolerance for corruption on his assumption of office and has since worked to strengthen the nation’s anticorruption agencies for greater efficiency and effectiveness. “He has appointed a tried and tested corruption investigator to head the EFCC. He declined to swear in a nominee for the

chairmanship of the ICPC when questions were raised by the public about the propriety of his nomination and clearance by the Senate; and recently nominated a more acceptable replacement. “Much of the politicallymotivated agitations alleging tardiness in the war against corruption revolve around the Administration’s handling of the reports of probes that have been undertaken into the management of fuel subsidies in the country. “President Jonathan wishes to

reaffirm, once again, that there will be no sacred cows in the matter and that any organization or individual found guilty of fraud or corruption will ultimately face the full weight of sanctions prescribed by the extant laws of the country” the statement said. It added that the report of the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidies has already been referred by the President to the EFCC through the Minister of Justice and AttorneyGeneral of the Federation.

Abati, further said that the EFCC is currently undertaking a thorough and painstaking investigation of all indictments made by the committee with a view to establishing watertight cases that will be taken before courts of competent jurisdiction as quickly as possible. He added that the report of the Committee headed by Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede which was set up by the Federal Government to verify fuel subsidy payments has also been received and is being expeditiously reviewed.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

PAGE 4

By Joy Baba, with agency report

he police have thrown more light on the circumstances that led to appearance of business mogul, Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim, at Force Headquarters, Abuja. In a statement, Police Spokesman, Frank Mb, wrote: “John Nnorom wrote a petition to the IGP alleging threats to his life by the Chairman of Air Nigeria, Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim. On the strength of his petition, Police investigators at X-Squad Unit, Force CID Abuja, saddled with the task of investigating the complain, invited Jimoh Ibrahim.” Company Secretary/Legal Adviser of Air Nigeria, Babatunde Akeem, had in April 2012, written to the Inspector –General of Police (IGP) accusing Nnorom, a former member of staff at Air Nigeria, of criminal conspiracy and obtaining the sum of $100,000 under false pretences from the company. The petition was eventually, on the order of the IGP, sent to the Special Fraud Unit (SFU), Lagos for discreet investigation. An investigation conducted by detectives at SFU allegedly led to the recovery of the money from Nnorom. The recovered money was registered as exhibit with the

Discount Houses’ total assets, liabilities decline From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

rovisional data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that total assets and liabilities of the nation’s discount houses stood at N297.5 billion at the end of April 2012, showing a decline of 14.9 per cent below the level at end of March 2012. The development was engendered, largely, by the 8.7 and 45.7 per cent decline in claims on Federal Government and other assets in that order. Correspondingly, the decline in total liabilities was attributed, largely, to the 43.4 and 44.0 per cent decline in other liabilities and other amounts owing to other financial institutions. Discount houses’ investment in Federal Government securities of less than 91-day maturity fell to N53.5 billion and accounted for 25.3 per cent of their total deposit liabilities, representing a 34.7 percentage points below the prescribed minimum level of 60.0 per cent. At that level, discount houses’ investment on NTBs declined by 34.8 per cent below the level at the end of the preceding month. Total borrowing by the discount houses was N20.0 billion, while their capital and reserves amounted to N41.8 billion. This resulted in a gearing ratio of 1.8:1, compared with the stipulated maximum target of 50:1 for fiscal 2012.

Why we summoned Jimoh Ibrahim, by police Exhibit Keeper and the suspect was subsequently charged to court. The case which is currently pending at the Magistrate Court 5, Lagos Island, Lagos State has been adjourned till July 23, 2012.

While on bail but still standing trial on the above mentioned criminal case at a Magistrate Court in Lagos, Nnorom wrote a petition to the IGP alleging threats to his life by the Ibrahim. Based on this, an invitation

was sent to Ibrahim. “Voluntarily and respectfully, Jimoh Ibrahim honoured the invitation. This is the reason for his presence at the Force CID office, Area 10, Abuja on Thursday 28th June, 2012. After a brief

interaction with detectives he was allowed to go unconditional,” Mba stated. “So far, Police investigation has not established a prima facie case of threat to life against Jimoh Ibrahim,” he added.

L-R: Chief of Army Staff, Lt.General Azubuike Ihejirika, his wife, Mrs. Nnenna Ihejirika, Chief of Policy and Planning, MajorGeneral Olakunle Akinyemi, his wife, Mrs. Abinbola Akinyemi, during a church service to mark 2012 Nigerian Army Day celebration, yesterday in Kaduna. Photo: NAN

NERC assures PHCN’s gas suppliers over N89bn debt By Udenna Orji

s gas suppliers to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) continue to wobble under a hefty N89 billion debt owed them by the PHCN, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has assured the gas suppliers that the newly introduced Multi Year Tariff Order 2 (MYTO 2) was

Lawmaker donates to families of boat mishap From Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi

enator Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi Central, Kebbi state) has donated the sum of N220, 000.00 and 35 bags of assorted grains to the families of those involved in a boat mishap on River Rima in Duku, Brinin Kebbi local government area of the state. The senator described the incident as an act of fate and called on the relations of the victims to accept it in good faith. 11 people, mostly children, died in the boat mishap, which occurred last Friday.

designed to ensure that revenue due to them would henceforth be collected and remitted to the suppliers on time. Chairman, NERC, Sam Amadi, who gave the assurance in a chat with newsmen at the weekend, said following the official take-off of the new electricity tariff on June 1, 2012, enough revenue would be generated to offset payments for gas supplied to PHCN power plants. Operators have often identified two issues as hampering the growth of the power sector in Nigeria – gas shortage and inappropriate tariff. Analysts fear the renewed efforts to generate electricity might be hindered by the gas shortage buffeting the power sector worsened by the growing debt owed gas suppliers by the PHCN. Group Executive Director, Gas and Power of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), David Ige, told newsmen recently that PHCN’s debt to the Nigeria Gas Company (NGC), the gas transportation arm of NNPC alone, was at N23 billion. He regretted that PHCN had consistently failed to pay for gas supplied to its plants adding that the power company’s debt was causing unease in the gas subsector. Gas is expected to be one of the

main drivers of growth in the Nigerian economy. Gas demand (for both domestic and export markets) in Nigeria is forecast to grow from the current level of about five billion scf/d to over 20 billion scf/d by end of 2012, with the domestic market forecast to grow to about 10 billion scf/d in the medium term. More importantly, the Nigerian domestic market is evolving at a most rapid pace with the power sector reform and the location of gas intensive industries such as fertilizer and methanol industries in Nigeria. To underscore her commitment to gas development, Nigeria on December 23, 2008 joined 16 other gas producing countries to establish an international gas organization known as the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF). The GECF is designed by its members to function in the same way as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). GECF members include Russia, Nigeria, Algeria, Bolivia, Brunei, Darussalam, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, Libya, Iran, Malaysia, Qatar, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirate (UAE) and Venezuela while Norway opted to remain an observer nation. But the Nigerian Gas

Association (NGA), while acknowledging the significant work so far done to facilitate the growth of the gas industry, has said that a lot of work still needed to be done to address such challenges as gas flaring, developing the domestic gas market to facilitate growth of the power and industrial sectors and streamlining the permit process for gas projects. Analysts believe gas will help to diversify government revenue from oil, provide additional substantial foreign exchange earnings, stimulate foreign direct investment (FDI), facilitate development of new skills and competences thus creating the much needed employment in the country while also contributing to the economic development of the nation at large. What is needed, they say, is for government to urgently put in place and implement a clear cut, gas focused policy and a robust regulatory framework for the nation’s gas industry as this will engender confidence in the industry by financial institutions while encouraging additional investment to stimulate growth, adding that there is also a pressing need to create fiscal incentives such as tax holidays, loan guarantees and duty waivers for developers and investors in the industry.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

PAGE 5

Kogi to prioritise security as CJ solicits Police cooperation From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

ogi state government has restated its commitment to protection of lives and places of worship across the state, in view of the present security realities that have suddenly taken over Nigeria. The governor, Idris Wada, gave the pledge yesterday in Lokoja, the state capital, when the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), paid him a visit. Represented by his Deputy, Yomi Awoniyi, Wada said that

government will continue to show adequate support to adherents of all religion in the State, soliciting prayers for the nation and the state for peace and stability. Earlier in his speech, Bishop Emmanuel Egbunu, state Chairman of CAN, praised the administration for its support to Christians in the State, noting the existing mutual and cordial relationship between the Governor and his Deputy as remarkable. In another development, Chief Judge of Kogi State, Justice Nasir Ajanah, has solicited collaboration

of the police force in effective administration of justice and decongestion of prisons in the state. Ajanah made the call when the newly posted Assistant InspectorGeneral of Police (AIG), Zone 8, Mr Jonathan Johnson, paid him a courtesy visit at the High Court complex on Wednesday in Lokoja. The Chief Judge said the judiciary in the state was committed to quick dispensation of justice and required the cooperation of the police especially in timely completion of their investigations “We are all engaged in the

business of admnistration of justice”, he said, adding that the judiciary was also committed to prison decongestion by ensuring that awaiting trial inmates did not stay in prisons longer than necessary. He particularly commended them and other security agencies for restoring peace to Okene and other parts of the Central Senatorial District of the state where communal and political hostilities were rife. He promised to ensure continued police-Judiciary cordial working relationship in playing

their respective constitutional roles of ensuring justice, peace and security in the country. Earlier, the new AIG, Zone 8, Johnson, said he was on the courtesy visit to the Chief Judge to introduce himself and his officers and to solicit his advice, suggestions and cooperation. “The relationship between the police and the Judiciary in the state, I was told, has been very cordial. No report of my men disobeying court orders and processes and we want to consolidate on that”, he said.

Police foil robbery in Jigawa, arrest 1 From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

he Jigawa state police command over the weekend foiled an armed robbery attempt at a GSM shop close to the Central Bank cash office in Dutse. The combined police operatives on guard at the CBN and the Police Division adjacent to the crime scene were able to arrest one of the suspected bandits while two others escaped. Confirming the incident to Peoples Daily, the state Police Commissioner, Theophilus Kayode, said that at about 2:30pm, the suspected armed robbers attacked a shop where GSM cell phones are being sold and attempted to rob one Alhaji Ya'u. He explained that, when the shop owner shouted for help the people around quickly alerted the attention of police men nearby who acted promptly. The CP added that his men succeeded in aborting the robbery, arrested one of the suspects and recovered a rifle and 30 live ammunition from him, while the other two suspects were at large. “The suspect, who gives his identity as Ikira Ibrahim, is a native of Kofar Kaura, Katsina state. He is presently in police custody and assisting our men with useful information." “When investigation is completed the suspect would be transferred to the Zonal headquarters in Kano for further action,” the CP stated. The commissioner then urged the people of the state to always inform the police about any strange person or group of people who they are not comfortable with in their environment, saying “my men are always ever ready to respond to any emergency call.” He also assured them that his command, in collaboration with other security agencies, is working around the clock to ensure the protection of lives and properties in the state. From Bala Nasir, Kano

former councilor and two others were reported killed last Saturday by suspected members of the Boko Haram sect at Kurnar Asabe in Kano while many others sustained injuries during the attack. The attackers were said to have targeted the former councilor, Malam Hussaini Adamu around 8:30 in the evening.

L-R: Mai Kaltungo and Deputy Chairman, Gombe state Council of Emirs and Chiefs, Alhaji Saleh Mohammed, former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Austin Opara, and District Governor 2012-2013 Rotary International District 9125-Nigeria, Mr. Felix Ayodele Obadan, during the N500 million fund raising dinner of the Rotary, at the weekend in Abuja. PHOTO: JOE OROYE

Tension in Jos as police defuse bombs From Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

olice bomb disposal experts over the weekend defused an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by suspected militants, in Riyom local government area of Plateau state. Speaking to newsmen over the weekend, the spokesman of Plateau State Police Command, Abuh Emmanuel, confirmed the incident, adding that the bomb

was planted on the bridge linking Golhoss to Riyom Headquarters. Emmanuel, who stated that the police received information of concerned residents about the bomb, explained thus; “On receiving the information, our men of the Anti-Bomb Squad led by Assistant Superintendent Abel Mbibi, went to the scene where the bomb was planted and detonated it without any

casualty. “They were able to demobilise the bomb, recover it and evacuate it. There was no damage to property. No arrest has been made. Efforts are on to track down those suspected to have planted the bomb,” he said. He urged members of the public to give to the police credible information that will help to stamp out terrorism, pointing out that the defused bomb was due to a

Boko Haram guns down 3 in Kano Eyewitnesses said the suspected Boko Haram members who arrived Shago Tara area of Kurnar Asabe started shooting at their target who was felled by their bullets. A 17-year-old girl and another boy were also killed in the process. This however, caused a spontaneous pandemonium as

people started scampering to safety as a result of which many others sustained various degrees of injuries. Shop owners, market women and many others closed shops immediately and left for home for fear of the unknown. A resident of the Kurna Babban Layi who declined

identification told our reporter that after the attack urged residents of the area to bear with the attackers as they will have to come back so as to finish some three other people in the area. Spokesman of the Joint Task Force in the state, Lt. Ikedichi Iweha told our reporter that he was aware of the Saturday attack.

tip off by the public that the police followed to recover the timed bomb. In a similar development, yesterday, the Special Task Force (STF) also discovered two improvised explosive devices by 9.30pm in the border area of Tudun Wada, in Jos North local government. Many residents, most of who spoke to Peoples Daily, have expressed fears over the discoveries, saying that their lives had been in perpetual danger. Meanwhile, rumours were making the rounds in Jos and Bukuru metropolis that the Boko Haram sect may likely strike today as they were not able to carry out their suicide bombing last Sunday because of the tight security measures taken by security operatives. In reaction to these rumours, the police spokesman has reassured residents that there is no cause for alarm, adding that the security will be beefed up today to prevent the plans of the suicide bombers.

PAGE 6

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

Court sentences cannabis dealer to life imprisonment in Maiduguri From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

Uhomoibhi, said Nigeria and Poland have had bilateral relationships since1960 in defence matters; adding that the two countries have worked very productively and collaboratively together for that long without problems. The permanent secretary further said that Nigeria is desirous in strengthening the relationship not only politically

but also in trade and economic cooperation aimed at attracting investors in various sectors of the economy such as power generation, construction, agriculture, textile and industry. The Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (IPPA) signed between the two countries would go a long way to promote relations if pursued by the two parties, he said.

In her remark, the Poland's deputy minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Beata Stalmach, said it was a great privilege for her country to talk about strengthening of the two countries cooperation and that Nigeria should talk about opportunities and challenges and how to build further cooperation between the two countries.

cannabis dealer, Saje Modu Askira, has bagged a life sentence handed him by Justice Bature Gafair of the Federal High Court in Maiduguri for drug trafficking. Justice Gafair affirmed that the convict is not a first time offender as he already had a pending case before he was rearrested also in connection with the same offence. He said it has become obvious that 42 years old Askira is yet to learn any lesson and practically lacks remorse insisting it will be difficult for him to be of good conduct because while on bail he was caught selling cannabis. "There is no enough evidence to prove his innocence. He is therefore found guilty as charged and sentenced to life imprisonment." The justice concluded. Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Ahmadu Giade, described the judgement as a bold step towards reducing the problem of drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking in the country. "This judgment is a welcome development. It is in line with our thinking that a desperate malady certainly deserves a desperate solution. This section of the law is a pointer to the adequacy of the law. It will surely serve as a lesson to others", Giade stated. Also the anti-drug agency's commander in Borno state, Mr. Ona Ogilegwu said that the ruling will transform the operational activities of the command in the region. "No doubt, this ruling will change the face of our operations in the state. People will also begin to appreciate the fact that cannabis carries a serious penalty in line with the NDLEA Act." Ogilegwu said the convict is a notorious cannabis dealer who was first caught in 2005 with 3.7kg of cannabis and said while on bail, he was re-arrested in 2007 with 1.7kg of cannabis. "It is the first time in the State that a drug convicts will get a life sentence" he said.

capabilities. Heritage and its Nigerian partner, Shoreline Power, have agreed to buy a 45 percent stake in OML 30 from oil majors Shell, Total and ENI. They will also buy a further 45 percent stake in other assets under the joint operating agreement for OML 30, which includes a segment of the Trans

Forcados pipeline, for a total cash consideration of $850 million, net of costs. "The acquisition of OML 30 is transformational for Heritage, providing a material change in production and reserves," Heritage chief executive Tony Buckingham said in a statement. Nigeria is Africa's leading

oil producer. Heritage said the OML 30 deal would increase its net production to around 11,350 barrels of oil per day (bopd) from 605 at present. The acquisition will be financed by a $550 million secured bridge finance facility provided by Standard Bank of South Africa, and an underwritten rights issue

raising proceeds of up to $370 million. Heritage added that the acquisition would be structured as a reverse takeover, meaning that shares in Heritage Oil would be suspended from July 2. Investment bank JP Morgan advised Heritage on the deal

L-R: Project Coordinator, Adamawa, African Development Bank (ADP), Mr. Mahmud Mohammed, National Director, Community Based Agricultural and Rural Development Project (AFDB-CBARDP), Dr. Ibrahim Arabi, and General Manager, Adamawa ADP, Mr. Jacob Vanco, during the 2012 pre-season training and interactive meeting, yesterday in Yola. Photo: NAN From Inumidun Ojelade, Osogbo

he Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, at the weekend revealed why he wrote to President Goodluck Jonathan asking him to uphold the principle of rule of law by reinstating the suspended President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, because it is part of his responsibility to fight injustice wherever he sees one. The monarch disclosed this when he paid a courtesy call on the Governor of Osun state, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, at the Government House, Osogbo, preparatory to attending a book presentation in honour of Akinrun of Ikirun, Oba Rauf Olayiwola Adedeji held at the Centre for Black Culture. It would be recalled that the monarch had caused a letter to be written to President Goodluck Jonathan asking Federal Government to toe the path of justice by implementing the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC), which directed that Salami be reinstated.

Salami: Why I wrote Jonathan â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Alaafin

Going back into history, Alaafin affirmed that it is the tradition of every Alaafin to stand up against injustice and protect his citizens wherever injustice is being meted out to them. He said by writing to the President on the need to be just in Salami's case, he is only following the tradition of his ancestors, who never tolerated or accepted within their sphere of influence any form of social injustice. "Basically, somebody must challenge social injustice. Somebody must act to defend the interest of the Yoruba race. At different times in the history of Yorubaland, past Alaafins had not been found wanting. "My own intervention in Justice

Ayo Salami's case is not the first occasion where the Alaafin will rise up to defend the cause of Yoruba nation. "When the French were making in-roads into Yoruba nation around 1880AD, my great grandfather, Adeyemi I, had to write to the British to intervene. At that time, there was internecine war in Yoruba nation. The British came, intervened and Yoruba nation was saved. "Alaafin also wrote the British to bring enlightenment and education to Yoruba nation. In 1883, the Alaafin signed a treaty with the British to open Yoruba nation to commerce and trade. So, I am just following the tradition of every Alaafin in standing up to the cause of Yoruba race."

Asked whether the Presidency replied his letter, the Oba said 'I don't need any reply. The oracle has already spoken." The monarch warned that unless the political structure of the nation is redesigned from its present unitary nature, the nation may be at risk, saying the world over, a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-lingual country like Nigeria, have always balanced these differences by operating federal system of government. Alaafin added that central government should of necessity have its powers reduced and the federating units fortified the more for the nation to grow and progress steadily.

Nigeria, Poland sign MoU on political consultation By Joy Baba

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on political consultation between Nigeria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its Polish counterpart has been signed. Addressing newsmen in Abuja yesterday, the permanent secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Martin I.

Heritage Oil to buy Nigeria assets in N131bn deal By Nasir Muhammad with agency report

eritage Oil has agreed to buy a stake in a string of Nigerian oilfield assets, known as OML 30, in a deal which Heritage said yesterday would diversify its portfolio and significantly increase its production

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

PAGE 7

Bauchi sprays homes against mosquitoes From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

s part of efforts against the spread of malaria, the Bauchi state government has initiated a state-wide spraying of individual households and communities with insecticides to rid them of mosquitoes. Chairman, Bauchi State Agency for the Control of HIV/ AIDS, Tuberculosis/Leprosy and Malaria (BACATMA), Mohammed Liman, disclosed this while monitoring the exercise in Misau and Giade local government areas. Liman said the exercise involved the application of insecticides on all inner walls of houses to kill mosquitoes and other harmful insects. Liman, who charged the Federal Capital Territory Development Control Department’s perssonal demolishing some illegal structures at secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), on Friday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Again, Army vows to stop Boko Haram From Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

eneral Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division, Nigerian Army, Maj. Gen. Jack Nwaogbo, yesterday urged Nigerians not to despair over the bombing campaign being waged by the Boko Haram sect, assuring that everything was being done to end the menace. Speaking at the interdenominational service held at All Saints Military Church, Maxwell Khobe Cantonment, to celebrate the “2012 Nigerian Army Day”, Nwaogbo stressed that the country would triumph over Boko Haram. The GOC regretted that security personnel and institutions had become the

targets of Boko Haram insurgents and urged family members of servicemen to always pray for them when they are on national assignments. Nwaogbo, who was represented by Brig. Gen. Bamidele Ogunkale, Commander, 43 Division Engineers, noted: “We are no doubt living in trying times but we appeal to Nigerians to be patient because all these attacks will soon be over. Boko Haram insurgency will soon wither away. ”To tackle the Boko Haram problem that is confronting us, which will soon be over because we are doing a lot to end it, we must sacrifice a little more”. According to him, “the situation we find ourselves

requires sacrifice to overcome. Some of our (military) husbands and parents no longer have time for us because the situation we have found ourselves has necessitated so many activities”. He appealed to Nigerians to obey constituted authorities over some of the inconveniences they have to face in the course of the war against terror. Nwaogbo stated: “Even as a General, I can’t drive out to wherever I like because there are times that instructions come at very short notices and I have to obey them because they are for our safety. ”If anything will see us through this daunting security challenge, it is prayer so that God will look down upon us and heal our land,” he stressed.

ECOWAS lauds ‘Back-to-Book’ initiative By Lambert Tyem

harge’de Programme, Principal, Agriculture, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ernest Aubee, has commended President Goodluck Jonathan for initiating the ‘Back to Book’ initiative in Nigeria. Aubee stated this at this year’s graduation lecture and award ceremony of the Pacesetters Academy held in Abuja at the weekend. He observed that “there are many factors responsible for the falling standard of education not only in Nigeria but in other countries. One of them is that our children don’t read anymore. They face a lot of attraction from information and communication technology. Nowadays, students prefer to spend long hours

browsing the internet and playing computer games.” Charging parents and guardians to be more watchful, Aubee said “reading culture must be promoted because without reading, knowledge cannot be passed on to the future generation.” Proprietor of the school Kenneth Imasuagbon, told

reporters that arrangements had been made to establish a university in the Pacesetters Group of Schools. No fewer than 115 students received awards and certificates at the event, including a posthumous one to Master Enuma Ebuka, a pupil of the school who died in the Dana plane crash of June 3, 2012.

Gombe pledges support for investors From Auwal Ahmad, Gombe

he Gombe state government has pledged to create conducive environment for local and foreign investors in the state. Deputy Governor, Tha’ada Jason Rubainu, made the pledge in Gombe while receiving the chairman, Board of Directors, Ashaka Cement Company, Umaru Kwairanga. Rubainu stressed that it was the government’s responsibility to provide a conducive atmosphere for investors to assist in the socio-economic transformation of the country. Describing Ashaka as one of the most successfula business outfits in Northern Nigeria, the

ormer Commissioner of Police in Lagos state, Abubakar Tsav, has condemned the clamour by the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) for the creation of state police as panacea to the current spate of insecurity in the country.

Tsav, who stated his opposition to the governors’ call at the weekend in Makurdi, Benue state, argued that creating state police would only aggravate the tense security situation in the country. He expressed the concern that governors and politicians could hijack the state police and

deputy governor also he emphasised the need for the company to expand its production capacity to four million tonnes annually in order to meet the demand for its product within and outside the country. Rubainu also commended the company for maintaining good relationship with its host community through the construction of school, water and health care delivery. Also, Commissioner for Trade and Investment Hamza Bokki, disclosed the state’s plans to spend over N20 billion on its secondary schools and appealed to Ashaka to upgrade its host community’s primary schools to secondary school level.

Surveyors blame govt, poor map for Lagos floods From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

he Nigeria Institute of Surveyors (NIS), has attributed the perennial flooding in Lagos state to the nonavailability of topographical maps for the state and failure of the Federal Government to charge the institute with finding solutions to the problem. National President, NIS, Bode Adeaga, stated this in Ilorin at the weekend during the 47th Annual General Meeting of the institute. He noted that many

Tsav faults governors’ call for state police From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

spray operators to be committed to the task at hand, added that the insecticides would protect against mosquito for atleast six months. He enjoined the communities to cooperate with the spray operators by providing them water for spraying, as well as removing food items, cooking and eating utensils, furniture and domestic animals before spraying. The exercise, Liman stated, would last for a month. He thanked the Emir of Misau, the District Head of Giade, their respective local councils, as well as the authorities of A. D. Rufa’I College of Legal and Islamic Studies for providing support to complement the agency’s efforts.

use them to hunt their opponents or perpetuate themselves in office. Tsav said the nation needed to overcome its teething problems while Nigerians should be tolerant of one another, stressing that only then could state police be desirable in the future.

Nigerians have illegally built structures on dedicated areas against professional advice and following the failure of government to stop them. Adeaga said the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) should work with the institute to avert flooding in the first place, instead of mitigating the effects of disasters on the people through the provision of relief materials. In a communiqué, the NIS recommended: “Comprehensive topographical maps of our cities which are indispensable in the planning of a good drainage system should be produced. Upto date geospatial information in Geographical Information System (GIS) environment should be made available to facilitate quick location of disaster areas.” It added that the federal government should ensure that all its agencies on weather and airspace management work with the NIS to avert natural disasters like flooding.

PAGE 8

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

Sokoto state Governor, Alhaji Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko (middle), cutting the tape to commission 60 brand new Toyota Corolla presented to all district heads by the state government, recently in Sokoto. With him are Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar (2nd right), and the SSG, Alhaji Sahabi Isa Gada (left).

L-R: Minister of State for Health, Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate, Director General, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), Professor Karniyus Gamaniel Shingu, and Managing Director, Nigerian Export and Import Bank (NEXIM), Mr. Robert Orya, during the signing of MoU on collaboration for production and commercialisation of NIPRISAN drugs for treatment of Sickle Cell disease, recently in Abuja.

L-R: Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, in a handshake with CBN Governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, during the graduation ceremony and completion of recitation of the Holy Qu’ran of the Zaytunah Madrasah, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Joe Oroye

R-L: Chairperson of Northern Governors Wives Forum and wife of Benue state Governor, Mrs. Yemisi Suswam, Vice-Chairperson of the forum and wife of Gombe state Governor, Hajiya Adama Dankwambo, and wife of Kogi state Governor, Hajiya Halima Wada, during the Forum’s meeting, at the weekend in Makurdi.

PAGE 9

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

Cleric appeals to Christian faithful to intensify prayers From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi Christian cleric, Reverend Ezekiel Abasu, has urged the Christian community in Bauchi state to intensify prayers for divine intervention in the security situation in the country. Reverend Abasu made the appeal during a prayer session organised by Christian political appointees held at the ECWA Church No.1, Bauchi at the weekend, saying that it is through prayer that leadership can have focus. The clergyman, who described Christian political appointees as representatives of the entire Christians in the state in leadership, charged them to ensure that in all they do they have it at the back of their minds that one day they will give account to the creator of heaven and earth who gave them the opportunity to serve. He further reminded them that what is required of them as Christians is truth no matter what it costs, pointing out that anything not done in truth will fail. He called on them to always give useful advices to the Bauchi state governor on the need for peaceful coexistence among the people of the state. He then advised the Christian faithful to support and cooperate with the Yuguda led administration to be able to provide the required leadership in the state.

Zaytunah Madrasah graduates first set of students By A’isha Biola Raji

aytunah Madrasah, a school that teaches both Islamic and Western education has graduated its first batch of students. The graduation, the which took place yesterday at the temporary site of the school in Maitama, had in attendance dignitaries like former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Central Bank Governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, representatives of both the emirs of Kazaure and Suleja, among others. According to the CBN governor who was the guest lecturer at the event, there is need to hold on to the importance of the Qu’ran through learning, understanding and practicing its teachings. “We should heed the constant reminder by the Qu’ran so, we do not die before our death,” he urged. The Director of the school, Hajia Maryam Mutallab, described the school as innovation born out of the need to have an elementary teaching of children to have Psychological and Islamic knowledge for easy understanding of other forms of knowledge. She called on Nigerians to always, remember the country in prayers saying the Madrasah is for peace and unity.

L-R: Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, Speaker, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, and Rivers state governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, during the meeting of National Association of Women Judges in Nigeria, on Saturday in Port Harcourt.

Bauchi earmarks N57m for laboratories in women’s schools From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

overnor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi state has earmarked N57 million for the construction of laboratories in the six married women secondary schools in the state.

The state Commissioner for Science and Technology, Alhaji Bala Abdullahi, made this pronouncement while speaking to newsmen in Bauchi, saying that the state has already expresses it determination to continue sustaining the Nigeria Girls Education Initiative in the

state. According to him, the construction of the laboratories in Bauchi, Katagum, Misau, Ningi, Jama’are and Dass local governments is in collaboration with the governor’s wife, Hajiya Aishatu Isa Yuguda who is the grand patron of NGEI in the

state. The commissioner said government will also spend another N15 million for the supply of laboratory equipment and chemicals for NGEI laboratories, in addition to the release of N70 million for the establishment of heavy machinery and equipment development institute in the state by the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI).

Don tasks northerners on abundant natural resources From Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

he Vice Chancellor of the University of Jos, Prof. Hayward Babala Mafuyai, has tasked northerners to look inward and harness the abundant natural resources in the region rather than relying on the oil in the Niger/Delta. Speaking at the Jatropha Curcas, Moringa and Artemisia farm-fare in Langtang South local government area of

Plateau state, Mafuyai said the North is well endowed and the institution is poised in its contribution to the generation of knowledge that would unravel some of the abundant resources in the region for the benefit of the masses. He noted that that the institution in its contribution to the generation of knowledge has cultivated Jatropha Curcas, Moringa and Artemisia which are used in

treating malaria. According to him, the university’s centre for biotechnology and genetic engineering some time four years ago, embarked on a statewide solid testing in order to ascertain the suitability of growing the plants in the state; the research showed that the plants can only grow in Langtang South, hence, the decision of the university to establish the research centre in

Gangnim Village of Langtang South LGA. Prof. Mafuyai disclosed that the farm in Gangnim would be linked with the newly created faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine of the university and urged people of the locality to take advantage of the farm by availing themselves in the process of growing the farm produce, cultivation and marketing them in order to improve their a lot.

eligible students from the ongoing NECO examinations. According to the statement, “the principal removed the names of Saminu Ibrahim Dabi, Tijjani Mati Kyarama, Ado Miko Waru and Auwalu Haruna Kyarama, which he replaced with names of those that were not registered students of the school. Before terminating his appointment, the principal was removed from his post and posted to Government Day Secondary School Sintilmawa to teach when the case was uncovered, pending the outcome of investigation into the case.

Findings of the investigation confirmed the case beyond any reasonable doubt, according to the statement. The government views the offence as grievous and a breach of public trust and therefore directed the termination of appointment of Mal. Abdullahi. In a similar fashion, the state ministry of education also announced the immediate dismissal of three primary school teachers in the state namely; Idris Bawada, a teacher at Boarding Primary School, Gumel, Buhari Suraja, Kanya Special Primary School, Babura, and Muhammad Yusuf, Guna-

Andamau Primary School, Birnin Kudu LEA for certificate forgery. Before their dismissal, their cases were thoroughly investigated by the Establishment Committee of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and due process followed in taking the decision. The cases of Buhari Haruna and Muhammad Yusuf were confirmed through verification letter sent to the Sa’adatu Rimi College of Education, Kumbotso, on the status of their NCE statement of results and the institution confirmed that the results were fake.

Jigawa dismissess principal over breach of trust From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

he Jigawa state government has terminated the appointment of Malam Abdullahi Mohammed, Principal, Government Day Senior Secondary School, Dabi for removing the names of four eligible final year students of the school from the NECO 2012 examination list. This was contained in a press statement by the state Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in Dutse. The statement said that the principal was found guilty of delisting

PAGE 10

Lagos CP commends Airtel for support From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

agos state Police Commissioner, Alhaji Umar A. Manko has commended Telecommunications Services Provider, Airtel Nigeria for partnering with the Lagos State Police Command to maintain peace and orderliness in the state. Manko who was speaking during a courtesy visit to the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, Rajan Swaroop at Airtel headquarters in Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos, thanked the telecom firm for its support and assistance to the police in Lagos, saying the police values its cordial relationship with the telecommunications operator. “I value the relationship the Lagos State Police Command has with Airtel Nigeria - that is why I decided to make Airtel my first place of courtesy call. Indeed, this is a testimony to the shared relationship with Airtel and I want to thank them for their assistance, thus far,” he said. Manko also urged Airtel to render more help in terms of mobile telecommunications partnership, saying this will go a long way in assisting the police deal with crime and other vices plaguing the society. Responding, chief executive officer, Airtel Nigeria, Rajan Swaroop, described the courtesy visit as a confirmation of the cordial relationship Airtel enjoys with the Lagos State Police Command, affirming that Airtel always looks for opportunities to impact positively on the society. “I am sure you will agree with me that the art of policing is a collective responsibility. Airtel appreciates this fact that is why we proactively engage the Lagos State Police Command and we are always willing to collaborate with them to promote public good.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

Army to redeploy more troops to Kano, says Ihejirika From Edwin Olofu, Kano

he Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Azubuike Ihejirika has said that the military authority will redeploy more troops to the troubled city of Kano. Ihejirika who was speaking to troops yesterday shortly after the commissioning of the newly built

headquarters of the Bukavu Military Barracks in Kano, assured that more troops would be redeployed to Kano to replenish the troops on ground. The army chief added that the idea behind the redeployment is a deliberate effort towards returning Kano to its position as the hub of commerce in northern Nigeria and the West African sub-

region. “New troops will join you to refresh you, so that you will continue to do the good work you have been doing. We must work hard to return Kano to its enviable position it was occupying as the centre of commerce in the north and the West African sub-region.” He urged the soldiers to carry out their assignment

Eladoga faction rejects fresh NULGE election in Nasarawa From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

R-L: Captain Michael Afolabi Oduleye of the Headquarters Training and Doctoring Command of the Nigerian Army, Minna, and his wife, Mrs. Tosin Olusola Oduleye, displaying their marriage certificate after the solemnisation of their marriage on Saturday at the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church, Durumi, Abuja. Photo: Joe Oroye

Excess water from Bakolori dam causes flooding in Kebbi From Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi

ebbi state governor, Alhaji Usman Saidu Dakingari, has ordered the state Ministry of Works to mobilise staff to dredge the river where the excess water released from Bakolori Dam

in Zamfara state enroute River Rima has caused serious flooding across Fadama land thereby submerging many rice farms along the river bank in Kebbi state. Governor Dakingari who gave this directive while inspecting the affected farmlands in Dankoji Area

of Argungu emirate, directed the state Ministry of Works to immediately mobilise to site and dredge the river to allow easy passage of water to avert further destruction. A statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Abubakar Mu’azu

Dakingari, added that the Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Sama’ila Muhammad Mera who accompanied the governor expressed appreciation and gratitude for the government’s concern and prompt attention to the flooding problem.

PDP denies attacking Oshiomhole From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

he Edo state police command yesterday, said Saturday’s reported attack on Governor Adams Oshiomhole of which suspicion fell on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is misconstrued and disturbing. The police however fingered students of the state-owned Institute of Technology and Management, Usen, for carrying out the attack apparently due to the governor’s inability to address the students who were angered by

professionally, saying that so far he is very happy with their performance. “Conduct yourself professionally I’m very happy with your performance don’t act based on anger but on professionalism. I know it’s a difficult operation you are doing, women and children must be protected at any time.”

his re-election campaign tour to the area. PDP in a release by its publicity secretary, Pham. Mathew Urhoghide, denied knowledge of the incident, saying that students of the state died from gunshot wounds sustained when some policemen opened fire on them while demanding the attention of Oshiomhole over the poor state of infrastructure in the institution. “To conceal the embarrassment, Governor Oshiomhole, through his Commissioner for Information,

Mr. Louis Odion, has accused Edo PDP of organising the attacks which he claimed were directed at his convoy. Edo PDP was not in the vicinity at the time of the incident.” A statement by the state Commissioner of Information and Orientation, Mr. Louis Odion titled: ‘Again, Governor Oshiomhole’s convoy attacked’ said two months after he narrowly escaped death following an attack on his convoy at Auchi area, Edo state governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, again came under

gun attack by thugs hired by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while his campaign train stopped at Usen town, Ovia South West local government area of the state. But the police in a press statement endorsed by its Public Relations Officer, DSP Anthony Airhuoyo, said: “The governor while on his way to campaign venue at Usen met the students of the Institute of Technology and Management and promised to address them on his way back.

ollowing the recent decision by the national body of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), to wade into the protracted crisis in the Nasarawa state chapter of the union, by dissolving the two factions headed by Adamu Salihu Eladoga, on the one hand and Ismaila Konga, on the other, and setting-up a caretaker committee, the Eladoga faction , at the weekend, described the action as “ unconstitutional, null and void and a calculated plan to further cause confusion and disaffection capable of breaching the peace.” In a press conference held in Lafia, Eladoga, flanked by other executives of the branch union, raised alarm over an announcement purportedly carried over the local electronic media, indicating that NULGE in the state is issuing forms for interested members of the union to contest for election, stressing that this is but the handiwork of unpatriotic members, used by some mischief makers who want to destroy the union. He observed that NULGE being a statutory labour organisation, has a constitution guiding its operation, adding that since the matter being disputed is still before the National Industrial Court, the action of the national body, headed by Alhaji Ibrahim Khaleel, national president, “who sneaked into Lafia”, is in breach of the document regulating the conduct of the union. Eladoga while saluting financial members of the union for their steadfastness, disclosed that the union is in receipt of a notice of discontinuance of the case before the court, challenging his second term election, by the Ismaila Konga faction, wondering why the national body should jump the gun by constituting another care-taker committee.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

PAGE 12

EDIT ORIAL EDITORIAL

Mark’s cheap but dangerous politics

n terms purely of logic and sense, there is little point worrying about Senate President David Mark’s vituperations during his opening address at last week's Senate retreat at Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital. Whether it was deliberate or the result of carelessness and verbal mis-steps that are now so common among the country's top leadership, Mark contradicted himself in respect of at least two of the major issues he raised in his speech about Northern leaders/ elders and the insecurity situation in the region. First, he said that he believed that there are Northern elders who know what is happening and should speak up, but in another breadth, he countered himself by saying that he did not believe that these leaders know what's happening. Second, he was emphatic that there are in the region leaders or elders who could move to stop the raging insurgency, but in another breadth said he believed such leaders could not now stop it. Which is which, Mr. Senate President? But below the cloud cover of these contradictious, we all know, or should know, what Mark was trying to say, which is not new, and what he was up to, which is not new either. Mark's perspective on the issue of insecurity in the North has never been a secret; it has always been obvious from his comments in both the Senate chamber and in private discussions. But his address in Uyo was the first time he was coming out so forcefully and using an important public forum to state his view. Mark, it is clear from his utterances, wanted, first, to put himself in the camp of those, including President Jonathan, who see the Boko Haram insurgency as a Northern Muslim conspiracy against the president, and, second, to portray himself as a straight-talking Northern leader who calls a spade a spade. He must have reasoned that there is political capital to be

made from this. Already, in fact, the image of a Northern leader who is telling his fellow Northern leaders some home truths is playing very well in the South and among the Northern Christian minority populations in the North. But are the implications of such cheap politics lost to the Senate President and those who now hail him? Mark wants to absolve himself and other Northern Christian leaders from responsibility for the messy situation in the North and heap all

“

Whatever it is that Mark is really up to, we urge caution. We implore him to always remember that he is a leader and that good leaders do not abdicate responsibility or keep shifting blames the blame on the Northern Muslim leaders. This may serve a narrow political end. But does it not occur to Mark that it portrays on his part a lack of sense of responsibility and leadership? Besides, is Mark, who got his position by virtue of its being zoned to the North, now telling the world that he is not a leader either of the region or of the country as a whole? Mark expressed the fear, which we too share, that an escalation of the insurgency, especially the bombing of churches, could, if not checked, lead to a religious war and, perhaps, even a break-up of the country. Yet, the same Mark is now busy not only playing the blame game but going beyond that to cast

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”

the problem in a They versus Us, Christians versus Muslims mould -which is precisely what Boko Haram and the many other criminal gangs and groups involved in a campaign of violence in Nigeria want. By presenting the problem this way, Mark is wittingly or unwittingly falling into the insurgents' trap and helping, thereby, to deepen the religious schism in the country and excite primordial passionswhich is the surest way to hasten the slide to the fate he claims to fear: a war or a break-up. We are at a loss to understand why Mark, a retired General, could not see that his utterances are capable of creating the impression in the minds of the insurgents of cracks and disunity among the leadership in the fight against terror. Mark cannot claim not to know the implications of sending such a signal to the insurgents who are getting more sophisticated by the day and are smart enough to read the signal correctly and exploit the situation. Whatever it is that Mark is really up to, we urge caution. We implore him to always remember that he is a leader and that good leaders do not abdicate responsibility or keep shifting blames. These are trying times for the country when all of us, but our leaders especially, must come together and fight together in a united front to save our country from being destroyed. As the leader of the legislative arm of government, what we would like to see Mark busy doing is leading the efforts to fashion and pass legislations that will help to ensure a more equitable distribution of the country’s resources among our people and address the situation of poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and diseases in especially the regions of the country where the insurgents are most active, life is becoming unbearable and the economy is daily being destroyed.

OUR PEOPLE

OUR VISION

CHAIRMAN MALAM WADA MAIDA, OON, FNGE EDITOR, DAILY AHMED I. SHEKARAU

DIRECTOR/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RUFA’I IBRAHIM CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER ALI M. ALI

HEAD, ADVERT/MARKETING HUSSAINI ABDULRAHMAN, CNA

ACTING EDITOR, WEEKEND RICHARD IHEDIWA

GM PUBLICATIONS ABDULAZEEZ ABDULLAHI

HEAD, LAGOS BUREAU ADESOJI OYINLOLA

MANAGER, ADMINISTRATION HASSAN HAMMANYAJI

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

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

PAGE 13

Our vanishing Northern Nigeria By Emmanuel Onwubiko

emories! Memories are like soothing balms that heals an emotionally charged human mind and drives it to the blissful experiences of the past even as the troubled spirit begins a journey of recovery and psychological balance. Fond memories are even more comforting and psychologically rich and have remained one of the best known panaceas to healing a human mind devastated by the existential realities of unprecedented scale of bloody violence and man’s inhumanity to man in our contemporary times. In one of those sober moods of fond memories, my troubled mind travelled like an adventurous strange bird from the increasingly fearful vicinity of the nation’s capital city of Abuja to those violence ravaged Northern Nigerian towns, villages and hamlets that formed substantial parts of my childhood as a Nigerian of Igbo parentage who was born, bred and educated in Northern Nigeria of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Fond memories of Northern Nigeria came flashing and flooding down towards my subconscious as I reflected extensively on the imports of some weighty comments on the ongoing terror-related violence and bombardments in Northern Nigeria as made by the senate President David Mark, Alhaji Kashim Sheftima of Borno State

By Jean Herskovits

oseph Nanven Garba was born on July 17th, 1943 and died ten years ago tomorrow, June 1st, 2002. He was a soldier, a diplomat, and a remarkable human being, but, above all, he was a patriot. He believed in Nigeria, though Nigeria often disappointed him. He believed in Nigerians and their future, though they, too, often disappointed him. Were he here with us, I am sure he would be beyond disappointment; he would be angry. Nigeria did not have to be as we see it now. You may wonder how someone who looks and sounds like me can presume to speak about “How to be a Nigerian.” I can only tell you that, in one of the nicest compliments I have ever been paid, I was regularly introduced by Joe Garba as “This is Jean Herskovits, a welldisguised Nigerian.” I cannot promise to be as verbose as Peter Enahoro’s satirical characterization of Nigerian oratory, nor to make creative use of proverbs. And although I know full well that I am not a Nigerian but simply a frequent guest here, I will tell you that my concern for Nigeria, its people, and their future goes very deep. Joe Garba had, and still has, no small influence on those feelings. Today, you will hear a lot about his accomplishments, and in Joe Garba’s Legacy, the

and even President Goodluck Jonathan. These prominent political office holders made their respective interventions on the terror-related mass killings in the North at the recent retreat of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which took place in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Before proceeding to examine the statements made by the aforementioned political heavyweights in Nigeria, a reflection into what some knowledgeable persons wrote about the concept of memories are as important as they are relevant in Nigeria of today. James M. Barrie said thus; “God gave us our memories so we might have roses in December”. Saul Bellow is of the considered opinion that; “everybody needs his/her memories. Memories keep the wolf of insignificance from the door”. Not wanting to be intellectually surpassed in his comprehension of the beautiful concept of memories, another thinker, Libbie Fuldim captured his thoughts on memories thus; “Recall it as often as you wish, a happy memory never wears out”. I ask, how true is it that happy memories of the past regarding my childhood Northern Nigeria will not wear out even when the realization is true that I am no longer safe traversing those same memorable places in Northern Nigeria because of ongoing bloody violence unleashed intermittently in places of

worship by armed Islamic insurgents in Northern Nigeria? But from the same beautiful book titled “Quotes worth Repeating”, authored by Bob Kelly, I later learnt that Charles Kuralt said thus; “The good memories are all of stopping and staying a while. I realize I have always driven too fast through life, carrying in my baggage too much impatience and apprehension, missing too many chances, passing too many good

places I encountered in my growing up years will serve as the healing tonic to encourage me to keep writing and working for lasting peace, religious freedoms and security of lives and property of citizens to be restored to our increasingly diminishing Northern Nigeria. Oh God may I be right. Memories drove me elegantly like a harmless butterfly to Kafanchan in Kaduna state which is my place of birth and I

“

In the early 1980’s, I remember vividly when I first travelled to Maiduguri, Borno state in one of my early secondary school adventures to know some uncharted territories to meet new friends and know new places. Those days were very peaceful and people had great respect for the African cultural values of hospitality and respect for life as sacred gift from the Divine creator. Not anymore people in the dust”. In complete obedience to the above statement of universal truth by Charles Kuralt, I have therefore decided to suspend my overwhelming apprehension and impatience occasioned by the unprecedented state of insecurity in our once beautiful Northern Nigeria with the belief that the fond memories of some good experiences, people and

recall going to Aduwan one primary school, formerly, Saint Peter Claver primary school with dozens of my childhood Hausa/ Fulani, Berom, Bajju, and Kataf speaking childhood friends whereby we will learn in convivial and happy serene environment with an expansive football pitch whereby some of us little boys back then would try our innocent footballing skills

As you well know, Nigeria’s myriad people date their history from long before it existed as a country. Nigeria itself is nearly 100 years old or just over fifty, depending on how you count. Some people make much of its artificial creation. Years ago Chief Obafemi Awolowo described Nigeria as a mere geographical expression. I would argue that such statements make a political point, but are historically irrelevant. Many, if not most, of the world’s nations evolved over time, with fluid boundaries, through war and conquest, even disappearing and reappearing at various times (Poland comes to mind). Sometimes geography shapes boundaries, but rarely in an uncomplicated way. Note, for instance, the history of Great Britain, encompassing England, Scotland, Wales, or of the United States, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Empires, of course, proclaimed countries and drew boundaries in places they little understood. Britain in south Asia is one example; the Scramble for Africa that led to delineating Nigeria is obviously another. Other empires drew together places with diverse histories and cultures with varying success: the Ottoman and Hapsburg

Empires; the Soviet Union later. There were many others. I suspect that, without European intrusion, southern Africa could have been consolidated under a Zulu empire (the Zulu always fascinated Joe Garba). So to my mind, what matters is not how there came to be an entity called Nigeria, but rather that such a country has existed throughout the lifetimes of all of us. During that time, sinews have grown binding its people together, no matter how much they complain about it or point to what divides them. I don’t know when people started calling themselves Nigerian, but use of the name began in Lagos, notably with the founding in 1923, by Herbert Macaulay, of the Nigerian National Democratic Party. Its focus was Lagos, with broader Nigeria scarcely figuring in the politics of the day. Macaulay and others to come were more concerned with Lagos and Anglophone West Africa than with Nigeria. A broader Nigerian identification came with students who were studying abroad. Their numbers were few as World War II approached; even by 1945 there were only some 150 in England and fewer than a dozen in the U.S., and

amid jeers and jubilations of childhood years. Memories drove me to recollecting some friendly encounters I had as a child with some beautiful Hausa/Fulani girls who showed undying love to learn to speak my language of parentage – Igbo, since in their understanding I already know their first language which is Hausa that was widely spoken even in our class rooms. Memories indeed! Fond memories took me to my secondary school days at the Teachers College Kafanchan whereby several of my bosom friends were Hausa/Fulani’s, indigenous people of Southern Kaduna, Yorubas, Gwaris, Idomas, Igalas, Igbos and a sprinkle of some few Ijaw speaking co-students who exhibited exceedingly good fraternal communion with all. I do also remember going to Katsina, Daura, and Zaria all in the old Kaduna state as part of sporting teams from my secondary school to participate in the inter-school games which were beautiful memories. These fond memories were interjected by few sectarian skirmishes between followers of the two dominant organized religions of Islam and Christianity. But these disagreements were soon settled before much blood was spilled. As children, then in Northern Nigeria, I remember invading some fresh fruit farms with my Continued on page 15

How to be a Nigerian (I) volume to be presented shortly, you may read in some of his own words his views on subjects that were central to his thinking. None mattered more to him than this country’s fulfilling its bynow clichéd potential, and he well knew how much that depended on Nigerians and their commitment to its future. That the pride in being Nigerian has diminished is, sadly, inescapable now. The national identity is frayed. Some people even talk and write openly about breaking up Nigeria—this in a country that experienced the tragedy of civil war. As an historian, and one privileged to have watched Nigeria closely since just before its independence, I will look briefly at Nigerianness over the years. To speak only about the present would be to do what Joe Garba deplored—ignoring history. As every student of history knows, however, you can use, or misuse, it to make whatever case you choose. We see too much of that now. But what I will do is put Nigeria’s experience into a larger historical and geographical context, and draw some implications for thinking about the Nigerian future that Joe Garba believed in and many here today share.

they were all from southern parts of the country. That war spurred the rise of African nationalism and its later demands for national selfdetermination—not least among Nigerian soldiers, all of them northerners, and, among them, Joe Garba’s father, fighting with the British in Burma. Meanwhile, Nigerians studying overseas had become politically active and vocal. In 1941 the London-based West African Students Union (WASU) sent a resolution to the British governor of Nigeria asking for, among other things,…a United Nigeria with a Federal Constitution based on a Swiss or USA model with necessary modifications. … Local tribal loyalty [should] be gradually transcended, submerged, and suppressed by the creation and development of Nigerian National Loyalty. However naïve that now sounds, it expressed a genuine vision, illuminating not only for our topic today but also for its constitutional foresight. Professor Jean Herkovits delivered this speech at Nigerian Institute for International Affairs, Lagos on 31 May 2012 in honour of Joseph Nanven Garba, 1943-2002

PAGE 14

By Ike Willie Nwobu

t is long last, at last. The murky waters of the current security imbroglio has again upped its level to submerge, to the death, one of the latest sacrificial lambs in the current race to wrest the country’s sanity and unity from the grips of determined terrorism. President Jonathan in a frenzied sacking spree, showed the gates out of the decision making chambers of Nigerian security to his kinsman and National Security Adviser, General Andrew Owoeye Azazi and his Minister of Defence, Bello Haliru. According to him, it was a strategizing that was aptly in dire need to respond to the changing face and tactics of the dreaded Boko Haram threat and malady to the country. With the ousting of the embattled and medially embattered Azazi, it is hoped that the country will at least have some measure of respite from the pounding to pulp of its national unity it has been groaning from in the hands of terrorism. Those who have considered the erstwhile NSA ineffective and inefficient, not to talk of lacking guile and tact can now sheathe their verbal salvos and ammunition, at least before they will have something to pipe about of the current security adviser. The media patronage that office has enjoyed in the near-fleeting period of the penultimate regime will now tend towards dimminendo, at least for now, depending on the persona and agenda of the new ole on the block. The kind of activity, attention and power command the office of the National Security Adviser under Azazi boasted of, will not be spurious and farfetched to be deemed unprecedented in the history of the operation of such offices in the history of this country, whether in the military or civilian climes. As fragile and sensitive as the subject is, the only ingredient that makes the security apparatus and system By Charles Ofoji

t is disturbing that those in charge are pretending that Nigeria is not on the brink of dipping into apocalypse. For not taking the danger posed by the terror sect, Boko Haram seriously, Nigeria has been slalomed to a cliff. Now it is either we save our country or it dunks into Armageddon. This is the threat we face. The time has expired for those in charge to downplay the peril of Boko Haram. President Goodluck Jonathan has been hammered by commentators for not been decisive enough against the terror group. Sometimes, you get the impression that he caused the insurgence. But the truth is that Jonathan inherited Boko Haram. Except that under his regime, the terro group metamorphosed into a monster ready to devour the nation. There are also indications that it has taken a political dimension. The thinking is rife that the group has been hijacked

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

The Azazi problem: The democratization of violence of a nation tick is that shroud of prove true and practicable that it rightly operational, all about the secrecy and subtlety, which for a is largely difficult if not impossible people, balance of power, greater part of the time was to sever the two. National security employment and empowerment absolutely missing in Azazi’s has always, still is and will of the people, education and as well as contrivance of overseeing that continue to be everything about civilization, office. This is apart from the the people and not a person, his socialization. How will it work in arrogation of power and influence ideas, and of course the fool-hardy a country as this where there are he enjoyed whether as a result of and baseless deception of amassing more than ten times more the unconventional fruits of the arms and ammunition. In areas unemployed people as there are camaraderie he enjoyed as the where there has been effective and employed, and the literacy and kinsman of Mr. President, or a efficient security and policing, it civilization level is at a pitiable ebb, and it does basic loss of not seem to bearing with bother the people the intrinsic who should feel demands of and act on it that office, both Peoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text more? of which messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written The PDP cannot stand contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150 o r i g i n a l up to the fact words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and mandate and that he, a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed model as officially and to: architected by constitutionally Sir Alex did not have The Editor, Ekwueme was a such powers. As sound model a result, he was Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, predicated on the object of 35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja. fairness and blame for Email: let ters@peoplesdaily-online.com aimed at e v e r y SMS: 07037756364 breaking ethnic, misfortune in religious and the country that had echoes of violence or loss will only take a casual observation tribal sentiments, but the advent of life, and it is still a mystery to to depict a sound intermarriage of Obasanjo injected both me till now that the Dana air between the two concepts. Many distortion and destruction to that and the crash was not attributed to him, terrorist activities have been masterpiece, or even the pockets of marital known to have been fouled and reverberations are still echoing differences, clashes and issues foiled by concise and peopled in the ears of the Nigerian polity which have really become worthy efforts. The concept of community today, over five years after he left of mention and note, both in the policing under which auspices office. His seemingly genial streets and in our courts of landmark strides is being calculations and projections are adjudication. As unusually and achieved in crime fighting is just the root cause of the bloodletting unconventionally as ever, he was one of many applications of the role and killings we are witnessing in the land today. He bequeathed on such affectionate bed mates with of the people. the media, and his interfaces and I am not defending Azazi, and Jonathan a very prejudiced exposures are indicative of the will of course have absolutely no system that was grossly and power wand he and his office need to, but his undoing was the unjustifiably skewed, and the wielded, albeit unprofessionally. undeserved attention he got, slippery banana peel was that he The concept of the people which excess earned him so much was ensconced with rookied and factor in relation to national criticism and snowballed with panicky people as aides and security has suffered a large dose time and intensity to one huge advisers. Yet you cannot run a of cleavaging in the hands of the mass of distraction from the government of revenge, witchAfrican, and indeed the Nigerian primary responsibility he was hunting and inexperienced version of leadership and saddled with. National security people. Principal staff run governance, but it will forever has always been, where it is government all over the world.

Azazi’s style of officiation may not have helped him, but he is definitely not the problem. The system that was supposed to swing into action to get to the roots of this dilemma simply refused to kick-start, maybe owing to his style. He is a frank person, but frankness, fact and truth may be neighbours, but they do not exactly live in one house or share a bed. The index of national security has a huge collateral linkage to the national productivity index of the country or locality, and the mobilised resilience of the people. The case studies are there for all to seeRivers State, Lagos State, and even Anambra State under Ngige. But it is pertinent to note that the first democratic kidnapping and bombing took place in Anambra State in an attempt to remove Ngige, to which option of political settlement the president of that time stooped low. Others include the Odi massacre, the Zakibiam crisis, Jos-Bauchi, and even the Timi Alaibe/Sylva crises. We have not also forgotten the Obasanjo-induced Chris Uba and Andy Uba crisis, using Adedibu as surrogate warriors. It is gladdening to know and note that the long recluse of dillydallying is now over for the president. It is also heart warming to watch the confidence of the people gradually being restored in a system and leadership that once endured the ire of the populace. But my question is; why did it have to take the death-cries of more than twenty thousand lives and souls, not talking of destroyed property and future, to jolt him into the present from his apparent slumber? Ike Willie Nwobu can be reached at ikewillienwobu@yahoo.com

by disgruntled politicians. Even at some point, the Presidency said it knew those behind Bok Haram. But up till now, none of those has been arrested. While Yobe and Kaduna burnt, while over 100 Nigerians were killed, Nigerians were chagrined that Jonathan junketed to Brazil with a 116 man entourage for an earth summit. I have no problem with the president going to represent the country abroad, so long as he first puts his house (country) in order. What I have a problem with is the fact that when the nation should be mourning the loss of such enormous number of its citizens, the president sees the Earth Summit in Rio as an opportunity to take his cronies to a samba party in Brazil. Over the years, I have been watching the crazy number of people that travel with the president or first lady each time they go abroad. It baffles me that

entity called Nigeria collapses, every other project would be meaningless. If there is information about anyone backing Boko Haram, the person should be arrested and brought to face the law. We find ourselves in extraordinary times and extraordinary action and measures are needed to overcome the turbulence. Not too long ago, former National Security Adviser, Rtd. General Azazi blamed PDP for the trouble of Boko Haram. He was quickly hushed down. Maybe that is why he has been sacked. I am still laughing. Azazi, has come a long way. What he said can never be an outburst. Rather, it may be outburst of frustration that action was not taken on the intelligence he has passed on to the president. The threat we face is not only Boko haram but also the lack of general resolve to confront that threat. Charles Ofoji can be reached at checkpointcharley@yahoo.de

WRITE TO US

The threat we face in country where the majority is living on the periphery, those in government see no need to prune down wasteful spending. Nevertheless, I have successfully resisted the lure to blame Jonathan for our inability to defeat Boko Haram. The fact remains that Nigeria was not prepared for this war. Our intelligence gathering is still primitive. A war against terror cannot be won only by wielding guns and the army and police blocking the roads. This is too reactionary. You fight terror proactively. A suicide bomber is not born. He is brainwashed into becoming one. They have to tell those who are willing to die in Allah’s name that there is nowhere in the Holy Koran where Allah approves of shedding of innocent blood and killing of women and children. They have to tell them that we are brothers and sisters and that Islam or Christianity was

imported. Someone is either Muslim or Christian mainly by accident of birth. If those that are willing to die in Allah’s name were born in China, they would be Buddhist. If they were born in India, they would be Hindus. The time has come for us as a people to erase the division brought about by religion. There should be a national reorientation of the people so that they realize that we are one black Nigerian people, even though language, religion and tribe may differ. We make ourselves a laughing stock when brothers begin to cut down brothers. It is senseless. The threat we face will not be surmounted by sacking the National Security Adviser and Defence Minister. This is cosmetic and unhelpful window dressing. It is a distraction. I expect the government to place this threat as number one national priority. Because if this

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

hief Timawus Mathias brought Asaph Zadok to me in 1988. I had just been reassigned from the Military Governor’s Office, Yola to the Gongola Press Ltd. Abdulkarim Albashir, the respected veteran journalist and founding Managing Director of the company had volunteered to return to FRCN Kaduna and work out his retirement from government service. I took over from him. I needed more staff to realize the mandate I was given to start a daily newspaper ‘with immediate effect’. Chief Mathias wanted Asaph employed and I could not reject such request from the man I called and still call “Uncle Tima”. I was happy I did. Asaph, it turned out was a very talented writer. In my over thirty years experience in newspaper work, I have edited many scripts. The pleasure of editing his scripts stands out in distinction. But my new prolific writer had his baggage of problems. People soon came to me with the story that as a student union leader at the University of Maiduguri, he had led a violent student riot against Prof Jubril Aminu who was the Vice Chancellor there. The Prof did not only rusticate him from the school but placed a curse on him – banning all Nigerian universities from admitting him and all government agencies from giving him a job. As one of the most powerful Ministers in Babangida’s government then, giving him a job was the best way to incur Aminus enmity. It was too late. The man had his job and up till date, Prof Aminu with whom I have a cordial relationship has never complained about the fact that I gave his ‘implacable enemy’ a job.

PAGE 15

I knew Asaph Zadok At the Gongola Press, we had a pleasant but stormy relationship. I enjoyed and published his scripts almost unedited. But he was a restless young man. Soon he wrote a damaging petition against Tony Zinass, his editor and a fellow Bachama tribesman. Then he followed it up with a letter of resignation. I ran to Uncle Tima and we got it resolved. He came back. I thought he had now settled down to make a career as a newspaperman so I sent him to Lagos to cover a convention of the SDP. Those were the days of Babangida’s a little to the right, a little to the left political parties. My man covered the assignment and came back with more than a story. He arrived the convention grounds and immediately metamorphosed from an ace feature write to a bubbling politician. He contested and won one of the offices at stake in the party. But how can he combine his editorial responsibility and this new political office, I asked. His answer was his usual trade mark – an infectious and disarming smile. This time I did not run to Uncle Tima but simply begged him to resign. To my great relief, he did. That smile became a permanent feature of our relationship. He had a great sense of humour. Any time he did something that he knew I strongly objected to, he would come to me wearing that smile. He did not stay long with the SDP. Next when I met him, he had crossed over to the NRC. “Why?” I asked. He gave me an analysis of Gongola state politics which turned out to be prophetic. The leading gubernatorial

gladiators in the SDP, Atiku coronation where he made Abubakar and Bala Takaya were history as the first Bachama King going to fight themselves to the ever to receive the first class staff ground. At that point, an of office. Of course, by this time, underrated NRC guber man my friend had moved at such a would emerge and carry the day. supersonic speed that he was too He was right. Alhaji Sale far gone for me. I could no longer Michika emerged to carry the day rebuke him as I enjoyed doing. with Lynn Nathan as his Deputy His constant and disarming Governor. Asaph went to the smile however made me aware Governor’s Office as an aide to his that he knew I disagreed with his venturing into townsman royalty. Nathan. Again Before this, I after a few had a stormy months he left. argument with This nomadic him when he way of life raised allegations continued of attempted until the murder by return of anthrax attack democracy in against the 1999. revered journalist The return Emmanuel Yawe and my of democracy 08024565402 at brought out royawe@yahoo.com predecessor Gongola press, Al the best in him. At the time when Bahir. When the allegations were northerners were being harassed published in the papers, I and killed by the OPC in Lagos and contacted Al Bashir and he the West, he played a prominent denied attacking the man. I role in the formation of the Arewa believed Al Bashir and Peoples Congress to protect confronted him. His answer? The northerners. He moved fast to smile. establish a web of contacts with His relationship with Godwin the high and mighty. Before long, Dabo Adzuana was another area he opened a well equipped of disagreement. I warned him consultancy office in Jos. that Dabo was too controversial Finally the Atiku Abubakar/ for a young man with a brilliant Boni Haruna camp succeeded in future like him. I reminded him domesticating him. He was made that since Dabo destroyed Tarka, the Chairman, Board of Directors every Tivman was careful with at the Gongola Press Ltd., then him. “Emma but you know I am they moved him up to become the equal to the task” was his reply. I Commissioner for Information in left him. the cabinet. Soon, there was crisis It did not take long before he in Numanthe Hamma ran back to me. Daboh had spied Bachama was fired - and Asaph on him and betrayed him before became the paramount ruler of one of their big friends. He was the Bachama Kingdom. mad. “I warned you.” I shot back He invited me to his and he got the message.

The duo continued their game of hide and seek, cloak and dagger. They did not only spy on other Nigerians. They spied on themselves. One day we met at our hide out in Kaduna and he was furiously decoding some electronic surveillance he had carried out on Dabo. He even sought my assistance to decode some of the materials that were in Tiv language! His venturing into royalty was our biggest disagreement even though we hardly discussed it. Asaph Zadok was too brilliant, ‘a genius’ in the words of Prof Aminu, too restless to be imprisoned in royal robes. I liked him a lot because of his brilliance and he knew it. But this royalty thing came in between us. We tried to lead our normal lives but it was one hell of a task going about disguised in funny costumes trying to hide our identities. Often I blamed him for disrupting our normal lives because he wanted to be a King. It would have been a little better if he ascended his throne in a normal way. Unfortunately, most of his subjects saw him as an impostor. There were many attempts to gun him down. He gave me signals of his impending death, signals I ignored. Last year he insisted I must be at the Feri Feri, the grand Bachama annual festival. When I couldnt make it, he became angry and said “Emma, do you want me to die before you come to Numan?” The other signal came when his friend Dabo died. I thought it was his normal jokes. Asaph Zadok was a good friend. He was a proud Bachama man who believed in the history of his people and their place in Nigeria. He did a lot for the Bachama Kingdom. If his people do not recognize it now, they will do one day.

armed religious rebels in most parts of Northern Nigeria which very recently sparked off retaliatory killings of Muslims by Christians in Kaduna, Northern Nigeria. The Christians for the better part of the last two years have faced a barrage of bombardments and terror-related targeted bomb attacks from professed armed Islamic insurgents. I indeed weep for our vanishing Northern Nigeria the same way that editors of the globally respected News magazine - “The Economist” lamented the melting of the Arctic and extensively reflected on what this ugly phenomenal situation means for trade, energy and the World Environment in a special edition of June 16th-22nd 2012 which they aptly titled “The Vanishing North”. I am not alone in my lamentations of the quickly vanishing Northern Nigeria since even President Jonathan, Senate President David Mark and Governor of Borno state Mr. Shettima Keshim have also collectively joined the chorus although in different tunes.

Ensconced in the serene and peaceful environment of the retreat center in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state, far away from the Northern states that have become war zones whereby Southerners and innocent Northerners have come under threat of bloody violence, theses politicians weighed in on the ongoing Northern violence and warned of imminent national disaster. David Mark of the entire speakers at the Uyo, Akwa Ibom Senate retreat made the better intervention when he promptly warned that if the killings by armed Islamic insurgents in the North are not effectively checked and defeated, then Nigeria is on the speed lane of imminent break up just like the over speeding underground train that has failed break. David Mark gave his verdict thus, “The way the exercise is going at the moment, if Boko Haram is not halted, it may result to the breakup of this country and God forbid, because people will not take it for too long.” On his part, President Jonathan who recently fired his

government to arrest the widespread insecurity and mass killings. Their words: “It is the primary duty of government to ensure security of lives and property of citizens all over the nation. There can be no excuse for failure in this primary duty. There is evidence that the state has been doing a lot to arrest the situation…much more need to be done in the area of intelligence gathering, analyzing, interpreting and security equipment procurement. The terrorist must be identified, engaged, and disarmed”. Our worst fears of imminent break up of Nigeria would be arrested and our fond memories of a nation whereby all citizens will freely exercise all the fundamental freedoms including freedom to worship, movement and right to life would remain inviolable and sacrosanct only if Government takes the right steps to stop the mass killings. Emmanuel Onwubiko, Head, Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria, writes from www.huriwa.blogspot.com.

Our vanishing Northern Nigeria Contd. from page 13

childhood friends mainly of Hausa/Fulani origin to pluck mangoes, oranges and cashew fruits to fill up our little hungry stomachs on our homeward journeys from our Teachers’ College Kafanchan that was like 30 minutes of hard trek to town where most residents stayed peacefully then. Today, Kafanchan is split into two equal segments with Christians and Moslems staying apart in distinct districts of the once lovely town. Today Kafanchan have three markets for Christians, Moslems and Igbo Women. In the early 1980’s, I remember vividly when I first travelled to Maiduguri, Borno state in one of my early secondary school adventures to know some uncharted territories to meet new friends and know new places. Those days were very peaceful and people had great respect for the African cultural values of hospitality and respect for life as sacred gift from the Divine creator. Not anymore. Those beautiful days are far gone now in Northern Nigeria with the large scale killings by

National Security Adviser General Owoaye Azazi and Defence minister Mr. Haliru Bello and hired a northerner, Retired Colonel Sambo Dasuki as Security advisor, blamed opposition politicians for playing politics with national security matter. I think some politicians in Nigeria are mischievously celebrating the unprecedented state of insecurity in the North as the demonstration of People Democratic Party-led Federal government’s failure, I do also think that the Jonathan administration has so far not effectively implemented proactive security measures to stop the bloody violence which has shifted to churches with the attendant devastating consequences on the lives of innocent worshippers. This is a war crime and crime against humanity as was recently acknowledged by the United Nations Human Rights Council. On June 26th 2012, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria met and issued detailed findings on the Northern Nigerian violence whereby they collectively called on

PAGE 16

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

Passersby foil attempt by suspects to escape

Groundnut hawkers yesterday at Area 3, Abuja.

Photo: Justine Imo-Owo

Menace of prostitutes: AEPB Shifts blame to FHA, secretariat By Josephine Ella

he Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) has denied responsibility for abating the nuisance of prostitutes in the Gwarimpa Estate, shifting the blame instead, to the Federal Housing Authority (FHA). In the same vein, the board also said that arresting commercial sex workers was not part of the mandate of the board rather that of the Social Development Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA). Director of the board, Mallam Isa Shuaibu, who stated this, spoke during a chat with journalists in reaction to a threat

from residents of Road 321, 3rd Avenue in Gwarimpa Estate. Residents had threatened to file a legal action against the management of the AEPB over alleged failure of the board to abate nuisance being constituted by operators of 'brothels and clubs' in the area. The threat followed repeated petitions by residents (copies of which were made available to journalists) through their lawyers to the board in the last five years on the same issue, which according to them yielded no result. Latest of the petition to the Director of the AEPB, Isah Shuaibu by Barrister Peter Opaluwa Okwoli, tittled 'Notice to abate continuous nuisance at G-Lounge night club, 321 Road corner shops, 3rd Avenue, Gwarimpa Abuja,

was dated April 13, 2012. In the petition, residents had alleged negligence by the board, which they further claimed, refused to act on previous letters, even after they were intimated on the nefarious activities of the night clubs, which operate during the day under the guise of eatery and restaurants, only to harbour criminals and prostitutes at night. However, responding to this, Shuaibu said: "I know that AEPB has featured prominently in removing commercial sex workers in the past but that is not part of our mandate, we were assisting the social development secretariat, which it falls directly under their purview because we had the personal and facilities. "Now some group of people hiding under the auspices of

resident association has resorted to mudslinging threatening to take the board to court. We're not afraid of courts because we know we're not doing anything wrong". The AEPB boss further said that the board had taken several steps in the past to work in collaboration with the Federal Housing Authority to abate some of the environmental nuisances in the estate. He however, maintained that the FCTA cannot take responsibility of everything, as he added that: "Managing FCT is everyone's responsibility; we have limited resources to deal with every single issue. It is actually the duty of developers to control activities within the FHA. FHA is supposed to be the custodians of Gwarimpa master plan under the FCTA not the other way round".

Abaji council gets new Etsu By Adeola Tukuru

he Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide has approved the appointment of Alhaji Abdullahi

Adamu as the 10th Estu of Yaba in Abaji Area Council. The approval was based on the outcome of the selection process on the appointment of a new chief of Yaba carried out by the king makers on Monday, June 11, 2012.

Before his appointment, Adamu who replaced the former Estu of Yaba Alhaji Yakubu Yaba, who died after a brief illness was a third class chief. Speaking during the presentation of the new Etsu, the Chairman of Abaji Area Council, Hon. Alh.

Yahaya Musa Muhammad called on the people of Abaji and its environs to support the new Estu. He noted that the traditional institution in FCT is a strong body that plays a vital role between government and the people at the grass root.

wo men standing trial for alleged theft appeared before an Abuja Chief Magistrate's Court in Life Camp, on a fresh charge of escaping from police custody. Ibrahim Buhari, 23, and Nasiru Bala, 22, both labourers, are residents of Kado village in Abuja. The Police Prosecutor, Sergeant Clement Egwu said the case was reported at the Life Camp Police Station on June 18, 2012. Egwu told the court that on the said date, he was returning with the suspects from the court, where they were facing trial for the criminal offence of joint act and theft. The prosecutor said that the accused persons, who were in handcuffs, escaped from the tricycle that was conveying them when it stopped to buy fuel. He added that the suspects were later over powered and recaptured by passers-by and handed over to him. According to the prosecutor, Buhari had earlier been convicted of the theft of generator. Egwu said the offence contravenes Sections 172 of the Penal Code. The suspects pleaded guilty to the offence. Buhari told the court: "I wanted to escape because I do not have a surety to stand for me for the first offence and I don't want to go to prison because I am innocent of the offence charged against me''. The second accused Bala also told the court that he was afraid of going to prison, saying: "I was afraid of going to prison and I did not commit the offence''. The Chief Magistrate, Hajiya Ramatu Gulma, ordered that the accused be remanded in police custody and the matter adjourned to enable the prosecutor present the record of previous conviction. Gulma adjourned the case to July 12, 2012 for further hearing. (NAN)

FCT minister decries location of military barracks By Josephine Ella

he Federal Capital Territory (FCT) administration has decries the location of military barracks in the territory, pledging to allocate new plots to the Nigerian Armed Forces in

secluded areas to reduce their overexposure to the civilian population. Minister of the FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed made this pledge during a courtesy visit by the Military Committee on Confirmation of the Status of Armed Forces Lands in Abuja. Senator Mohammed decried the

current situation where barracks are situated very close to residential areas of the civilian population which, according to him, is posing great danger to the military institution itself. "If we have the funds, the FCT Administration being the host government agency in Abuja

would have relocated the barracks to more suitable places because the Armed Forces are overexposed," he said. Speaking earlier, Air Commodore Jacob Igboneme, who led the delegation said that the committee was set up to among other things; identify all armed forces land in the FCT and

their status. Igboneme added that the committee also has the mandate of identifying all armed forces plots encroached upon and ways to get them retrieved. He pleaded with the minister to allocate land for the military to construct houses for its service chiefs.

PAGE 18

Trade Union advocates improved funding for local govts By Adeola Tukuru

n organisation, Trade Union Federation, based in France has called for improved funding for local governments in Nigeria in a bid to strengthen democracy at the grassroots. The Municipal Officer of Public Service International (PSI), an arm of the union, Mr Rolv Hanssen made the call in Gwagwalada during an interactive session with executive members of the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) chapter of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE). He said the visit was to enlighten NULGE members on the activities of PSI and brainstorm on issues bordering on local government administration in Nigeria. Hanssen said the call for improved funding of local governments across the world became necessary following its role in democratic government. According to him, poor funding of local government is an internal problem of most countries of the world that requires internal solution. He however, pledged the support of the organisation to build international network of local government to strengthen its activities and enhance efficiency in service delivery. In his remark, the Head of Information, NULGE National Secretariat Alhaji Mohammed Shuaibu said the meeting was timely considering the need for local government autonomy in the country. He faulted the joint account system of states and local governments adding that state governments had taken advantage of ambiguous section of the constitution to suppress the local government. On his part, the FCT President of NULGE, Mr Alhassan Abubakar, said the deliberations at the meeting would no doubt promote efficiency in service delivery.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

Kaduna curfew: Kerosene scarcity bites harder in Abuja By Josephine Ella with agency report

he usual long queues of kerosene buyers, characteristic of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Mega Station at the Central Area in Abuja was visibly absent last week due to shortage in supply of the commodity. Investigations have revealed that the mega station has had no kerosene to sell in the last one week, a development, officials attributed to the curfew imposed by the Kaduna state government, following the recent attacks on churches and reprisals by Christian youths. Operations Supervisor at the

filling station, Mr Stephen Yohanna, described the situation as "unfortunate" but assured the public that loading of the product would soon resume now that the curfew hours had been extended. "We have run out of stock of kerosene and that is why we are not dispensing at the moment. We get our supply of the product from Kaduna but the crisis there has hampered our operations here,'' Yohanna told the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) last Thursday. This was as he further reiterated the commitment of management of the filling station to ensuring the availability of kerosene always. A Sales Representative at the station, Mr Baba Shettima had however, said that they were

expecting two trucks of kerosene on Thursday. "We are expecting two trucks of kerosene from Kaduna, by God's grace; we will commence the sale of kerosene to our buyers by tomorrow,'' Shettima said. Other filling stations visited did not have the product as well, as Sales Supervisor at AP filling station, Mr Samson Olajumoke, Central, corroborated the fact that the curfew in Kaduna had affected supplies. "We get our supplies from Lagos, but they have not been able to supply us with the product because they themselves cannot get it due to the crisis situation in Kaduna. We are expecting to start getting it by next week (this

Traders hawking their wares, yesterday in Area 1 motor park, Abuja.

week); when we get the product, we will start selling immediately," he said. Consumers of the product have continued to lament the non availability of the product in the face of this latest development. A trader, Mrs Taiwo Ajala said that the lack of kerosene at the stations was already taking its toll on her catering business. Ajala said that the NNPC mega station was the only station where she got the product at the official price of N50 per litre. Meanwhile, black marketers are making brisk business as they are seen displaying the product in front of the various filling stations. They sold a litre for between N180 and N200.

Photos: Justin Imo-owo

Man in jail for unlawful possession of Indian hemp

30-year- old man, Samuel Dahot of Nyanya Tipper Garage has been sentenced to nine months imprisonment by an Upper Area Court in Abuja for unlawful possession of Indian hemp. The convict was charged with unlawful possession of dry leaves suspected to be Indian hemp, resisting of arrest and assaulting a

police officer, while performing his lawful duty. The convict pleaded guilty to the charges, and was sentenced by the Judge Umar Kagarko for nine months for the offences. Kagarko, however, gave him an option of N9,000 fine. The Police Prosecutor, Mr Silas Nanpan, had told the court that on June 13, 2012 one Corporal Labo

Sani, attached to Nyanya Division, while on surveillance patrol within the Nyanya Tipper Garage, arrested the convict. Nanpan said that the convict was arrested with a wrap of dry leaves, suspected to be Indian hemp. He said that Dahot resisted arrest when the officer insisted on arresting him and intentionally

fought him inflicting injury on him. The prosecutor said that during police investigation, the convict confessed that he had been smoking Indian hemp in the last 20 years. He said that the offence contravenes Sections 17 Caps Sub Sections 1A and B of Indian hemp Act 179 and 267 of the Penal Code. (NAN)

13 persons bag 100 days imprisonment for public nuisance

n Abuja Senior Magistrate's Court has sentenced 13 persons, including two women, to 100 days imprisonment each for constituting public nuisance. In the alternative, the magistrate asked them to pay a N2,000 fine each. The convicts are Michael Ogedegbe, 38; Murideen

Mohammed, 35; Tosin Olatunde, 27; James Nicodimus, 30; Francis Yohana, 32 and Sunday John, 28. Others are Elder Mopohate, 41; Ibrahim Idris,29; Abigail Nwakwo, 25; Mike Gregory,30; Daniel Opoju, 27; Ugochukwu Nnaji, 33; Ugochi Denis 26. The suspects pleaded guilty to the offence but begged for

mercy, adding that they would not indulge in such behaviour again. The Police Prosecutor, Inspector Clement Egwu, told the court that the suspects were arrested on June 26 by policemen on surveillance at the Life Camp area of the Federal Capital Territory(FCT).

Egwu said the suspects were found at the WAZOBIA Hotel, Daki Biu within the Life Camp area, disturbing public peace and constituting a nuisance. He added that the women were dressed in an indecent manner and the men exhibited behaviour that was unacceptable and dangerous to the public.

The prosecutor said the offence contravenes Section 198 of the Penal Code. Senior Magistrate Abdullahi Ilelah said that the sentence was to serve as a deterrent to others, adding that he had taken into consideration the plea of guilt by the suspects who had no previous records of conviction. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

PAGE 17

A middle-aged man shaving his beard, yesterday at a local barbing centre, in Garki village, in Abuja.

A Keke NAPEP involved in a ghastly road accident, yesterday in Apo mechanic village, Abuja. A scavenger searching for valuables in a waste bin, yesterday in Area 2, Abuja.

You can't cheat nature: A middle-aged man sleeping with newspaper by his side, A young man taking a ride behind a Pepsi Cola delivery truck, yesterday in Area 1, Abuja. yesterday in Area 8, Abuja. Photos: Justin Imo-owo

BUSINESS

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

Email: amunuimam@yahoo.co.uk

PAGE 19

INSIDE

- Pg 20

CBN disburses N144.6bn to power, airline sectors

Mob: 08033644990

Gemstone merchant calls for more investment in solid minerals

CBN Headquaters in Abuja

Lending and savings rates gap threatens economic growth T By Aminu Imam

he gap between lending to the real sector and rates on deposits is getting wider, figures from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) documents have shown. While lending rate has inched up of late, to 28 percent officially, as against 26, (unofficial rate is between 29 and 30 percent), rates on savings have remained at 3.5 percent, with analysts saying that the development is a threat to the growth of the economy. According to the CBN figures, agriculture, manufacturing and oil & gas, among other sectors are the hardest hit. Also, the rates which showed an average of 1.775 and 14 percent by deposit money banks (DMBs) on Time Deposit, which is the preference of the lower and middle classes, is capable of jeopardising the current cashless policy, and is as well a negation of the spirit of the financial inclusion policy of the CBN. Analysts have called on regulatory authorities to tackle

current uncertainties in the foreign exchange market, rising inflation, and the need to make the credit bureaus active, so as to make the credit history of borrowers available, if the much needed development was to be achieved. Samir Gadio, emerging markets strategist at Standard Bank, London said, “This is certainly a major constraint on sustainable economic development, not only in Nigeria, but in most African countries. The banks typically seek to maximise the significant spread between low savings and deposit rates and elevated lending EXCHANGE RATES

CBN CFA • £ RIYAL $

26th June, 2012 BUYING 0.2758 193.4361 241.9849 41.3049 154.91

SELLING 0.2958 194.6848 243.547 41.5716 155.91

PARALLEL RATES £ RIYAL $

BUYING 243 43 154

SELLING 257 45 159

rates. In many cases (including Nigeria), the differential between deposit/savings rates and fixed income yields is such that there is limited incentive to lend to the real economy. However, even if the CBN were to cut policy rates to record low levels (as in 2009-early 2010), there is no guarantee that the banks would lend to non-Tier I names at qualitatively more affordable rates. Clearly, there are structural distortions that perpetuate this large spread: High inflation/ market rates and the uncertain macro-economic outlook weigh negatively on lending rates. Absence of viable corporate

bond market, implying that most companies continue to rely on bank financing and the risk profile of borrowers, and longterm infrastructure projects, reducing the incentive for the banking system to diversify the loan book away from Tier I names and the government.” The CBN’s current rate as at June 15, showed that while Unity Bank charges 28 percent lending rate to agriculture, mining, oil & gas and manufacturing, First Bank charges 27.25 percent on the same sectors of the economy. Access Bank has an average interest rate on Time Deposit of 1.75 and 14 percent, while Zenith charges an average of 3.00 to 9.5 percent.

gemstone merchant in Bauchi, Abdullahi DanChina has advocated for increased investment in the country’s solid mineral resources sector. He said on Thursday in Toro, Bauchi state, that a proper harnessing of the sector’s potential through more investment would be profitable for the country. “This will assist in tackling the problem of poverty and unemployment,’’ Mr. Dan-China said. He said the mining sector’s development would not require huge financial commitment as obtained in oil exploration and processing. “When you think of the nature of investment in oil, we can understand that huge amount of money is required to get to the source of the oil. In solid mineral exploration however, most of the mineral resources are on the surface in almost all the Northern parts of the country. “You just need minimal finance to bring them up and polish so as to add value,” the gemstone merchant said. He pointed out that some of the minerals available in just one local government area of the country constitute about 10 per cent of another country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Mr. Dan-China claimed that some expensive refined stones brought from Brazil were in abundance in Nigeria without being exploited or even noticed. “The beads brought from Brazil are a kind of stone that you find when you go to Miya in Ganjuwa Local Government or even here in Toro (in Bauchi state). “These are the kind of areas wealthy people from the North should invest in to get the youths engaged. The number of youths on the streets doing nothing is frightening. Keeping them busy will reduce unemployment and criminal activities,” he said. He disclosed that he had set up a foundation to fish out and give scholarships to deserving boys and girls to study geo-sciences and other related fields in tertiary institutions.

Management Tip of the Day

Connect with your audience

reat speakers help listeners understand, relate to, and remember a message by telling stories and using analogies. Narratives make messages more engaging and help listeners connect with

a speaker. Even if you’re not a born storyteller, you can share personal stories that help illustrate your message and why it’s important. By comparing your central

point to a familiar image or experience you can immediately connect with your audience, conveying an entire experience in a few words. Source: Harvard Business Review

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

PAGE 20

COMPANY NEWS Honeywell Superfine Foods pledges to raise stake in youth development

oneywell Superfine Foods Limited has pledged to invest more in developing and promoting youth initiatives, noting that the future of every country is dependent on the development of the younger generation.

BA embarks on N1.38tr investment in aircraft acquisition

he Chief Executive Officer of British Airways, Keith Williams has said that the company was embarking on a large scale investment programme that would see the company acquire 24 B787 (Dreamliners),estimated to cost 2.2 billion pounds sterling (N1.375 trillion).

Aero updates online ticket payments

ero has announced the addition of Quickteller mobile platform as another online payment channel for her passengers.

SAA extends travel incentives to Nigeria-SA Chamber

outh African Airways (SAA), Africa’s most awarded airline has extended its bouquet of exciting benefits to corporate clientele through its corporate loyalty programme to companies, who are members of the Nigerian-South African Chamber of Commerce (NSACC).

Govt targets N21.8bn revenue from cassava export to China

igeria’s economic diversification drive may inch towards realisation soon, with plan by Federal Government to export one million tonnes of cassava chips to China, beginning from this month.

FirstBank offers single digit lending rate to SMEs By Abdulwahab Isa

ith the expiration of the June 30 deadline for banks to recapitalise their offshore subsidiaries or quit their various foreign jurisdictions, operators are jittery over the next line of action which the CBN may take. Further investigations revealed that most of the banks which are yet to recover from the mergers and acquisition (M&A) expenses are finding it difficult to convert to local bank licences by selling some stakes to local investors, while banks with ambitious offshore expansion plans are considering dropping the idea for now. The development is as a result of the fact that some of the offshore subsidiaries, particularly those inherited from the acquired banks, are not doing well. The CBN is expected to issue a circular on the issue on today. Determined to check capital flight and strengthen offshore subsidiaries for international competitiveness, the CBN had through a circular on May 18, directed deposit money banks to either raise fresh capital from the offshore capital markets via private placements or public offerings; pursue a merger or acquisition and if external capital raising fails, submit a strategy for exiting the relevant foreign jurisdictions not later than 30 June 2012. Razia Khan, analyst with Standard Chartered Bank, London notes that the conditions of these banks mean a lot to the economy

of Nigeria, which puts the CBN’s action in the right direction, adding, “Now one potential source of risk to Nigerian banks, and perhaps ultimately Nigerian tax payers, would perhaps be risky activities undertaken by Nigerian banks operating abroad.” Efforts to reach Ugochukwu Okoroafor, CBN’s spokesperson, to comment on the issue failed, as he failed to take his calls. Analysts at the Renaissance Capital (Rencap) in their recent publication, ‘Nigerian Banks’ said, “Among our coverage universe of Nigerian banks, we think UBA and Access Bank will

be the most affected, given that they have the highest number of offshore operations within the sector. UBA has operations in 18 offshore countries, while Access Bank is operational in nine. According to the managements of both banks, they face the most near term pressure in their Zambian operations, where the minimum capital requirement for foreign banks has been raised from $2mn to $100mn (and to $20mn for local banks), with a 31 December 2012 deadline for full compliance. “Access Bank is already

working on the disposal of one or more offshore subsidiaries. We highlight that while the intention of the CBN’s directive appears to be to retain capital in Nigeria, it seems more focused on the recapitalisation of Nigerian banks’ existing subsidiaries, while there is less clarity about the deployment of capital for future/new subsidiaries. On this front, we highlight First Bank and GT Bank as banks that could be affected, given their planned expansions outside Nigeria in the medium term.”, Rencap analysts said.

Acquisition of Oceanic Bank lifts Ecobank into tier one segment From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

cobank transnational incorporated at its Annual General Meeting made public its full year result revealing that the bank’s revenue in Nigeria and all francophone countries grew strongly in all markets as it increased by 31 percent to $368 million, assets increased by 19 percent to $4.7 billion, while profit after tax hit $118 million. Interestingly, Nigeria is the only country that stood alone as a unit in the revenue stream of the bank, a development which

Inflation rates from Jun, 2011 to May, 2012 Max = 12.9 %, Min = 9.3 % for period in display. Current Inflation rate = 12.7 % Source:CBN

sources described as a proof of the robustness of the Nigerian market. Highlights of the bank’s operation in Nigeria include the completion of the sale of nonperforming loans to Asset Management Company of Nigeria. The acquisition of Oceanic Bank in the fourth quarter of last year made Ecobank the second largest bank by branch network and fifth largest bank by assets in Nigeria. Consequently, revenue from Nigerian operations increased by 42 percent to $360 million, profit before tax rose by 338 percent to $38.8 million while assets grew by 150 percent to $7.5 billion. The bank did not fare well in East and Southern Africa as it recorded loss after tax of $3.5 million and $5.3 million respectively. Addressing the shareholders earlier, Group Chairman of the bank, Kolapo Lawson, said in spite of the turbulent operating environment in 2011, the bank’s total assets totaled $17.2 billion, while customer deposits rose $12.1 billion, a 52 percent rise. “Our performance was consistently strong across business segments and geographic clusters.

Earnings Report for Banks Source:Pro-share Nigeria

Revenues grew by 33 percent to $1.2 billion, continuing to outpace increases in operating expenses. This contributed to a 57 percent rise in the profit for the year to $207 million, on the basis of which we are proposing a dividend payment of 4 cents per share,” the chairman said. According to the chairman, the acquisition binge was not limited to the one in Nigeria as Ecobank also acquired The Trust Bank Limited of Ghana, an exercise which has since increased the market share of ETI. As a mark of its successful acquisition of Oceanic Bank, Fitch Ratings recently affirmed and simultaneously removed from Rating Watch Negative (RWN) Ecobank Transnational Inc’s (ETI) Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘B-’ and Viability Rating (VR) at ‘b-’. The Outlook is Stable.

CBN disburses N144.6bn to power, airline sectors By Abdulwahab Isa

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said on Wednesday that the cumulative fund disbursed from the Power and Airline Intervention Fund (PAIF) was about N144.6 billion as at December 31. The apex bank said in a circular posted on its website that the two sectors expended the money on the execution of 21 projects. From the intervention fund, the CBN said that airlines got N85.6 billion for 11 projects, while the power sector collected N58.9 billion for 10 projects. The PAIF was set up to fasttrack the development of power projects. It was also meant to support the development of the aviation sector by providing credit to the local airlines. The Federal Government had in 2009 released N300 billion as bailout fund for the two sectors.

PAGE 21

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

Market Cap records N65.37bn gain in week

arket activities closed the week with the bulls for the third session in a row as the positive outlook witnessed in two trading days in the week significantly accounted for the sustained uptrend amid impressive volume turnover buoyed by the huge transaction witnessed in the shares of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc . Furthermore, trading activities on the Nigerian bourse closed pessimistic by 0.18% to open the first trading of the week negative as against the positive outlook witnessed in the last session due to renewed sell pressure while market maintained downtrend in the second session with a

modest of -0.05%. The bulls resurfaced to dominate market activities in the third session as NSE ASI firms up by +1.06% due to renewed bargain activities amid increased market turnover. Market resumed southwards movement in the fourth session as market recorded -0.15% loss due to renewed sell pressure witnessed on the bourse. Conversely, trading activities on Friday closed northwards as sentiments turned green. Consequently, the key benchmark index inches up by +0.27% while market closed the week with aggregate gains of +0.96%. Further analysis on

acquiring banks since transaction date showed that the share price of Access Bank Plc has recorded 31.11% gain with FCMB recording -17.18% losses while Union Bank Plc leads the chart with 78.47% gain. However, Sterling Bank Plc recorded -5.51% losses while ETI also closed negative with 7.46% loss recorded. However, the All-Share Index in the week under review moved up by +0.96% to close at 21,599.57 as against an upbeat by +0.99% recorded last week to close at 21,394.77. In the same vein, the market capitalization in the week appreciated by N65.37 billion (US$435.84 million) to close at N6.89 trillion (US$45.95

billion) as against appreciation by N67.09 billion (US$447.32 million) recorded last week to close at N6.82 trillion (US$ 45.51billion). The total volume traded in the week closed at 5.38 billion units valued at N22.46 billion (US$149.73 million) compared with 924.04 million units valued at N6.29 billion (US$41.95 million) exchanged in 17,709 deals last week. The volume transaction in the week when compared with the previous week data moved up by +482.31% as against upwards movement by -65.98% recorded last week. Weekly value also went up by +256.88% as against negative position of -14.68% recorded last week.

UBA set to list on Ghana Stock Exchange From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

nited Bank for Africa (UBA), is likely to list on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) by next year. The move will make UBA the first Nigerian bank to list on the Ghana bourse out of the five -

Zenith Bank, GT Bank, Access Bank and Energy Bank. It was learnt the decision to list on the Ghana bourse follows a resolution taken by the parent company of the bank, UBA Plc, to list some of its subsidiaries across Africa and Ghana and the new move will not be an

exception. It was also learnt that the bank included Ghana because the Ghana bourse has cross border listings an example being Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI). Sources close to the bank say the bank had initially moves to

list on the Ghana bourse this year, but had to shift it to 2013 due to a number of reasons. UBA Ghana Limited is a subsidiary of United Bank for Africa Plc, which is listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange. The bank has 18 African subsidiaries across board.( Citi Business News)

NSE wants MFBs to leverage on stock market platform From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

Chief Executive Officer, Exchange, Mr. Oscar Onyema

he Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has called on the Microfinance Banks in Nigeria to take advantage of enormous opportunities available at the nation’s capital market to aid their expansion strategies and grow their businesses. The Chief Executive Officer of the Exchange, Mr. Oscar Onyema speaking during the listing by introduction, Fortis Microfinance Bank’s 1,630,091,000 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N5.00 on the floor of the NSE said that the stock market provides various benefits to corporate entities, such as microfinance banks in the provision of longterm capital. Onyema encouraged the companies to utilise the opportunities available at the

capital market as part of the financing mix for their various businesses. Onyema noted that as Nigeria’s microfinance banks sector grows, he firmly believes that the NSE was the right platform to raise capital towards this growth and expansion. He noted that the Exchange is emerging stronger and more focused and that despite recent setbacks, “we look forward to sustained recovery in the capital market as it continues to be reformed and strengthened. We want to ensure that all of your companies, listed or prospective realize the value of listing on The Exchange, and indeed forums such as this are vital in that effort”. The Chief Executive Officer call on some of these banks in the country who are still footdragging to approach the

market for listing as there is enormous benefits to be derived from such listing. He said aside from giving them the needed impetus to be recognised both locally and internationally, quoted companies are better managed because they are bound to open their books to the public for scrutiny. Onyema said with the listing of Fortis MFB on The Exchange, the company becomes the second micro finance bank to be listed on the market out of 600 licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). “The listing of Fortis MFB now bring the total listed equities on the Exchange to 200, even as the company has added an addition of N3.43 billion, thus bringing the cumulative market capitalisation to N8.1 billion”, he added.

INVESTORS NEWS BEAT

R.T. Briscoe shareholders approve bonus, 10k dividend for 2011

or the year ended December 31, 2011, shareholders of R.T. Briscoe Nigeria Plc approved 10 kobo dividend and a bonus of one for every five shares.

Premium pensions sees 91% growth in profit

remium Pension Limited, Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) in the country has earned a profit after tax of N629.58million in the 2011 fiscal year.

Share certificate dematerialisation: Investors not jittery as deadline nears

arely six months to the set date by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for share certificate dematerialisation, investigation shows that many investors are yet to embrace this change coming their way.

Equity-based funds drive Mutual Funds asset worth to new highs

quity investors have restrategised in their approach to the market, using collective investment scheme - apparently to hedge themselves against further loss of value in their investment portfolio.

Optimism trails stocks as investors rebalance portfolio for FGN bonds

O Source:Pro-share Nigeria

n the heels of mixture of bargain hunting and profiteering activities witnessed last week in the stock market, it is expected that there will be sustained bullish activity this week as market fundamentals remain strong.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

PAGE 22

Promoting job, wealth creation via the creative industry

y most accounts, creative industry refers to a range of economic activities that are concerned with the generation or exploitation of knowledge and information. It is a broad domain in which activities related to creative works’ design or production are carried out. Etymologists, however, maintain that term creative industry is synonymous with entertainment industry. A creative industry management consultant, David Parrish describes creative industry as “business with creativity’’. Creative industry, according to him, comprises design, music, publishing, architecture, film and video, crafts, visual arts, fashion, television and radio services, advertising, literature, computer games as well as performing arts. However, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), describes the “creative economy’’ as an emerging concept, which deals with the interface between creativity, culture, economics and technology in a contemporary world dominated by images, sounds, texts and symbols. UNCTAD adopted a pragmatic approach in promoting creativity and innovation in Africa in 2008 when it organised a conference on the subject in Accra, Ghana, on April 2008. The UNCTAD report on the status of the world’s creative industry affirms that the creative industry is one of the most dynamic sectors of the economy that is capable of creating jobs and wealth for the people. It states that the sector provides new opportunities for developing countries to leapfrog into emerging high-growth areas of the world economy. Moreover, the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sports says that creative industry originates from the people’s creativity, skills and talents, which all have the potential for creating wealth and jobs via the exploitation of the intellectual property. These enlightened opinions tend to reinforce existing viewpoints that a well-harnessed creative industry has the potential of kick-starting the economic growth of many countries and empowering millions of people across the world. Industry experts insist that there is no ceiling in efforts to harness the potential of the creative industry of any nation. Nevertheless, Mr. Afam Ezekude, the Director-General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), said that the intrinsic qualities of Nigeria’s creative industry could only be harnessed if the stakeholders resolved to do the right things in the right way. In his remarks at the National Creativity Day Celebration in

Abuja in April, Ezekude stressed that the NCC was carrying out a comprehensive study of the country’s creative industry so as to ascertain the exact worth of the sector in terms of job creation. He noted that the preliminary findings of the study indicated that the film sector alone was capable of contributing N45 billion to the national economy if the potential of the sector was properly harnessed. “There are strong indications that the projected N1 trillion-perannum revenue from the sector could be exceeded. “We are working in concert with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in the study to ascertain the value of the creative industry in our economy. “From our preliminary findings, however, the film sector can contribute N45 billion to the economy, the software sector can contribute N250 billion; publishing sector, N100 billion; music, N80 billion; broadcasting, N25 billion; advertising, N20 billion, while ICT, textiles and jewellery can contribute N100 billion. “This, in essence, means that the sector currently contributes less than 5 per cent of the projected sum to the nation’s economy,’’ he said. “Therefore, it can aptly be deduced that the creative industry holds the key to the transformation of the economies of developed and developing countries of the world,’’ he added. Ezekude, nonetheless, voiced concern about some factors that were hindering the growth of the creative sector; saying that the copyright laws of many developed and developing countries were weak, inefficient or non-existent in some cases. “In Nigeria, for instance, the framework for the regulation and protection of intellectual property is weak and I have, on different occasions, drawn the stakeholders’ attention to this defect. “The existing laws are not stringent enough to deter pirates

from infringing on the rights of copyright owners in the country; there is the need to strengthen the laws. “For example, N250, 000 is the highest fine ever imposed by a court in a single copyright infringement case in the history of the commission’s prosecution efforts. “Other punishments, depending on the charges, attracted at most, six months jail for a copyright infringement and these penalties are too weak to deter potential bandits from perpetrating product piracy or counterfeiting,’’ he said. Besides, Ezekude emphasised that the lack of prioritisation of copyright matters in Nigeria’s national development plans was another major factor inhibiting the development of the creative sector. He conceded that the factor particularly contributed to problems such as limited financial and infrastructure resources, manpower constraints and inadequate public awareness. “The uncooperative attitude of some stakeholders; slow judicial processes and weak border controls to check importation of pirated works were some of the factors hindering the growth of the creative industry,’’ he said. Ezekude stressed that the existence of more than 15 productreplicating plants across the country underscored the need to urgently put in place an effective protection framework. However, many stakeholders believe that Nigeria can derive a lot of economic benefits from the creative sector with the legendary exploits of writers such as Prof. Wole Soyinka and Prof. Chinua Achebe in the literary world. They, however, bemoan the fact that the rich resources of the country’s film and music industry, pottery and earthenware as well as arts and crafts are not fully utilised for national development. An expert in creativity and rural development, Mrs. Clarah Dapira said that many developing countries such as Thailand had

“

In Nigeria, for instance, the framework for the regulation and protection of intellectual property is weak and I have, on different occasions, drawn the stakeholders’ attention to this defect.

Minister of Trade and Investments, Dr. Olusegun Agagu adopted the creative industry as an alternative means of eliminating poverty at the grassroots. She said that Thailand got the idea from Japan, as the Japanese government initiated the poverty eradication strategy in 1979. “The approach is being replicated by many Asian countries such as Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand. Some African countries such as Malawi and Ethiopia have also adopted the strategy,’’ she said. All the same, Ezekude said that Nigeria could develop and maximise the potential of its creative sector if an effective protection and regulatory framework was put in place to protect creative works from unauthorised users. He stressed that efforts should be made to foster the growth of the country’s creative industry via purposeful legislation which would give the regulatory authorities the powers to curtail the aberrant activities of pirates. Ezekude also underscored the need for more efficient and speedy judicial process in Nigeria, while ensuring stricter border controls to stem the importation of pirated works. However, NCC’s Director of Legal Services, Mr. Mike Akpa said that the commission was making extra efforts to check piracy and stamp out imports of pirated products. He said that apart from its

periodic anti-piracy raids, the commission had also signed an agreement with an ICT company as part of plans to stimulate increased creativity in the industry. Akpa noted that under the agreement, patent owners of creative works would now earn some money for the use of their works. He assured all the stakeholders that the NCC would strive to protect the copyrights of inventors of creative works, in line with its zero-tolerance on piracy. Akpa, nonetheless, stressed that the interests of all the copyright owners of creative works in the country were being promoted by the NCC via effective and decisive measures. He said that the measures included the Copyright Notification Scheme, which was introduced to allow authors to have credible evidence of their copyrights. Akpa, however, stressed the need to stimulate the citizens’ participation in programmes aimed at promoting the growth of the creative industry via pragmatic public awareness campaigns He also urged all the stakeholders to work as a team in ongoing efforts to harness the potential of the creative industry for wealth creation. Jude Zoho wrote from News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

PAGE 24

PAGE 25

Nigeria: A rugged road to high returns By Tim Cocks

omb blasts, gun attacks, airline crashes, kidnappings, industrial-scale oil theft, armed robberies and fraud costing billions of dollars. Such things might give pause to anyone thinking of opening a business. In Nigeria, they happen with alarming frequency, and yet investors just keep coming. The reasons are many: alluring returns in this high-risk frontier market; a huge and growing population with latent potential for a consumer boom; light crude oil ideal for making motor fuel; and sophisticated financial markets.

“We know it’s not risk free,” says Charles Robertson, global Chief Economist at Renaissance Capital. “But look around the world and find another economy with 160 million people growing at 7 percent with such potential. It’s a struggle to find them.” Nigeria can look like it’s teetering on the cusp of chaos, but it is also Africa’s second biggest economy and top oil producer. “Nigeria is the best kept secret in the world. Anybody who doesn’t invest in Nigeria only has himself to blame, going forward, if he misses out,” industrialist Aliko Dangote told Reuters in an interview at his Lagos office. “I don’t really know of

The biggest cement factory in sub-Saharan Africa, Obajana

any place where you can make as much money as you make in Nigeria.” As Africa’s richest man, he should know. Last year, the cement tycoon’s Nigeria investments boosted his personal fortune more than fivefold – a bigger rise than anyone else on the Forbes list of world billionaires - to $13.8 billion. Dangote is from northern Nigeria, where Islamist insurgents of the Boko Haram movement have killed hundreds in daily gun and bomb attacks this year in a bloody antiestablishment offensive. Dangote, whose interests are mostly in the south, with some exposure to the north, does not let the violence

affect his business decisions. “Boko Haram have not destroyed any business here. They have not gone to any factory and planted a bomb,” he said. “Because of drugs barons fighting with the Mexican government, does it mean no one will go and invest in Mexico? No. People are rushing there.” “ D e m o g r a p h i c Dividend” Trumps Instability? Still, if you want an example of how violence and political instability in Nigeria can slice millions of dollars off your profit margin, look no further than PZ Cussons. The soap maker announced two profit

warnings in the first quarter of this year, blaming a hit to sales from social unrest in Nigeria, its biggest market, where it makes a third of its revenue. The country erupted into strikes and protests in January when President Goodluck Jonathan’s government made an abortive attempt to end a popular fuel subsidy. The strikes lasted only a week, but the central bank said they cost $617 million a day. The violence in the north also worsened around that time. “Insurgency in the north clearly had a detrimental impact on PZ’s business, and on (food maker) UACN, which has

distribution hubs there,” Matthew Pearson, Standard Bank’s head of African Equity Product, told Reuters on a visit to Lagos. But in the longer term, both firms are betting Nigeria’s big population will turn into a massive consumer market. “The demographic dividend is colossal,” Pearson said. A failure to recognize such long-term opportunities in emerging markets astounds Stephen Jennings, CEO of investment bank Renaissance Group. “Whether we are talking about political evolution in Russia, or economic development in Africa, there remains a clear overemphasis on current difficulties and constraints, and an under-appreciation of the pace and magnitude of modernization and structural change,” he told an investor conference this week. Some clearly appreciate it. The CEO of South Africa’s Shoprite, Whitey Basson, said in February he saw scope for 700 stores in Nigeria, up from two now, arguing that even if 60 percent live in poverty, the other 40 percent still outnumber South Africans. And oil companies like Shell are making enormous profits in Nigeria - and renewing onshore licenses despite the fact that armed

President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote

Pz Cussons Nigeria Plc

gangs steal a growing portion of their oil. Foreign direct investment into Nigeria has hovered between $6 billion and $8.5 billion since 2007, World Bank figures show, apparently unresponsive to its various crises. Fear of officialdom Business people say the risk from such insecurity pales compared with that of government interference. J o n a t h a n ’ s administration says it is working to remove impediments such as corrupt officials and onerous bureaucracy, but they admit it is a huge task. “Look at the port. That’s a bigger investor concern than bomb blasts or plane crashes,” said Tony Elumelu, chairman of Lagos-based Heirs Holdings, a fund that invests across Africa. Corrupt officials at Lagos port - one of the busiest in Africa - slow down deliveries to extort money from

importers, a bottleneck to growth and cause of Nigeria’s high living costs. “For many businesses, the difficulty of getting goods cleared ... is their biggest complaint,” Elumelu said. “The good news is the government is now taking action to improve it.” Such “official risk” is what oligarchs like Dangote can use political ties to mitigate. Not everyone has such connections, but players with dominant positions in markets that don’t require much governme nt cooperation can still fare well. “If you look at Nigeria Breweries, short of expropriation, it’s going to continue to effectively print money, because of the size of the market irrespective of the management of the country,” said Fola Fagbule, Vice President of Origination and Coverage at Africa Finance Corporation. Other sectors, such as infrastructure, face

daunting hurdles from obstructive officials. Telecoms firms need licenses. They need land to put up masts. They need permits to set up base stations. All complain of extortion by officials to keep stations open. The downside was enough to persuade Vodacom to pass up investing in Vmobil - now owned by Bharti Airtel - in 2005, citing an “inappropriate level of risk”. Yet telecoms is now one Nigeria’s most profitable sectors, and Nigeria is Bharti’s most profitable African market. In his last year as Vodacom CEO in 2008, Alan Knott-Craig said he regretted the decision not to set up shop in Nigeria. Vodacom is now making moves to come back. Rival MTN had no such qualms, and today it is Nigeria’s leading operator. Among the risks it faces are “poor infrastructure, lack of

security, vandalism, multiple taxation, overregulation unlawful interference with telco infrastructure by government agencies and ... prejudicial court judgments,” says Funmilayo Omogbenigun, MTN Nigeria’s corporate affairs manager. Despite that discouraging litany, Nigeria remains MTN’s biggest cash cow, making $2.5 billion in core profit in 2010 and again in 2011. The telecoms success has raised hopes for Nigeria’s moribund power sector, if the government gets round to privatizing it. “Nigeria’s often surprised on the upside, and telecoms is a classic example. People are looking at power in the same way,” Fagbole said. “It looks messy, it looks difficult, but if you sit on the sidelines and it turns out to be this massive honey pot, you’ll live to regret it.”

PAGE 26

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

China's first female astronaut emerges from space capsule into Mongolian wasteland

We did it! Astronauts (from left) Liu Wang, Jing Haipeng and Liu Yang smile and wave as they soak up the sun back on familiar soil By Emma Reynolds

hina's first female astronaut climbed excitedly out of a capsule to find herself in a strange wasteland. For a moment, she may have thought herself in some far-off planet as she gazed around the sprawling terrain of Inner Mongolia. Liu Yang, 33, completed the 13day mission to the country's space station site along with commander and veteran astronaut Jing Haipeng, 45, and crew mate Liu Wang, 43. The Shenzhou 9 parachuted into China at 10am (0200 GMT) as the

government declared the first manned mission to the Tiangong 1 module a giant step forward for the country's ambitious space programme. The three, all experienced air force pilots, were lifted on to folding chairs and appeared in good health. They smiled, waved, saluted and talked about their mission to an orbiting space station prototype as state television ran live footage from the landing site. 'Tiangong 1, our home in space, was comfortable and pleasant,' said Ms Yang. 'We're very proud of our nation.' Space programme commander General Chang Wanchuan declared

Triumphant return: The spacecraft's re-entry capsule lands safely in the Siziwang Banner of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

the mission 'completely successful.' Premier Wen Jiabao added that the mission marked 'absolutely important progress' for the space programme. The mission included both remote control and piloted dockings with the module and medical monitoring of the astronauts as part of preparations for manning a permanent space station. China's next goals include another manned mission to the module, which was originally scheduled for later this year but which may be delayed, depending on an evaluation of the Shenzhou 9 mission and the condition of the

Tiangong 1. China has been extremely cautious and methodical in its manned missions, with more than three years passing since the previous one, and all four have been relatively problem-free. Chen Shanguang, director for the Chinese Astronaut Research and Training Centre, told a news conference that preparations and selection of astronauts were already under way for the Shenzhou 10 mission. Tiangong 1 is due to be retired by around 2020 and replaced with a permanent space station will weigh about 60 tons, slightly

smaller than NASA's Skylab of the 1970s and about a sixth of the size of the 16-nation International Space Station that China was barred from participating in, largely on objections from the United States. Possible future missions could include sending a rover to the moon, possibly followed by a manned lunar mission. Launched on June 16 from the Jiuquan center on the edge of the Gobi desert in northern China, Shenzhou 9 is the latest success for China's manned space programme, which sent its first astronaut, Yang Liwei, into space in 2003. Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Making history: A thrilled Ms Yang clambers out of the capsule after helping to pave the way for her country's developing space programme

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

Covenant versity graduates 88 First Class students

he Covenant University Ota, Ogun state, said 88 students would be conferred with first class degrees out of 1,389 graduates during its 7 th convocation ceremony scheduled for June 29. The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Aize Obayan, disclosed this to newsmen at the sideline of the institution’s convocation lecture in Ota. The theme of the lecture is “Expanding the Frontiers of University Education in Africa; Current Contexts and Future Pathways.” Giving the breakdown, Obayan said that 10 of the graduating students were less than 19 years. She also noted that 646 of the graduating students’ bagged second class upper division, while 576 others would be honoured with the second class lower division. The vice-chancellor noted that 79 students would be graduating in the third class level, adding that the school of postgraduate studies of the institution would graduate 89 students. She noted that of the 89 students, 70 were in the masters’ degree category while 19 others would be honoured with the Doctor of Philosophy degrees (Ph.D). Obayan said the university in its first 10 years had laid a solid foundation that would continually create a platform to pursue its mandate of raising a generation of new leaders. She said that the university as a whole was looking forward to being situated and located in global platform. Earlier, while delivering the convocation lecture, Dr Akin Oparison, emphasised the need for Africa as a whole to redefine its leadership concept towards managing and repositioning its reputation before the comity of nations. The former vice-president, human resource, Shell Downstream (Africa), noted that Africa was a major exporter of talents to the west in recent times. He added that it was time for it to rise above every hurdle that had been brought about by poor leadership. “We must begin to renew our thinking and perception about how we see ourselves and how we tell our stories before the international community. (NAN)

Ohuabunwa: Atiku says education key to transformation F By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

ormer Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has said that Nigeria’s drive for socioeconomic development will be better served by huge investment in education. The former Vice President stated this while commending the academic excellence of a Nigerian, Mr. Emmanuel Ohuabunwa, who broke new grounds at the Johns Hopkins

University, USA. Mr. Ohuabunwa, a Neuroscience graduate of Johns Hopkins University emerged as the first Black man to attain a grade point average of 3.98 out of a 4 point scale, a feat which has already earned him a scholarship to study Medicine at the prestigious Yale University. Atiku, in a statement signed by his media office in Abuja, noted that reading

through the story of Ohuabunwa’s academic excellence in The Punch of Tuesday, June 26, 2012 was “a very cheering experience.” According to him, “the story of Ohuabunwa is a clear testimony that Nigeria will, one day, unlock its full potential as a great nation where every young man and woman will engage in a healthy competition for scientific and technological innovations.”

The former vice president noted that our current challenges notwithstanding, Nigeria must take the lead in the race to move Africa away from poverty and despair and transform the continent into an intellectual powerhouse. He therefore called on government at all levels to be serious with their commitment to investment in education, saying: “no amount of money spent on education is ever too much.” “We need young men and women like Mr. Ohuabunwa (and I know that many of them abound) for Nigeria to rise above current challenges. Our youths must take up the challenge of re-writing the story of Nigeria, and it is important the youths get the necessary encouragement and tools from government through adequate investment in education,” Atiku said.

Senate leader hails Ohuabunwa’s academic feat By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

L-R: Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i with the Minister of state, Education, Chief Nyesom Wike during a recent meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan on Education matters at the State House, Abuja. Photo: Joe Oroye

2 SUG contestants disqualified for poor GP T wo students seeking to contest election into the Student Union Government (SUG) of the

Ondo to provide 50 buses for students

he Ondo state Commissioner for Education, Mr Remi Olatubora, says 50 additional shuttle buses for students in the state will soon arrive. Olatubora made this known in Akure while monitoring the free transport service for students inaugurated by Gov. Olusegun Mimiko on June 12. He said the governor had ordered the release of the money for the purchase in addition to

PAGE 27

the initial 20 already in operation in Akure. The commissioner also said his ministry was making arrangements to ensure the success of the scheme, adding that residents of the state were appreciative of the government’s gesture. Olatubora said the buses would set out at 6.00 am to pick up students at designated bus stops and urged them to take their studies seriously. (NAN)

Plateau Polytechnic, Barkin Ladi, have been disqualified for poor academic performance. Mr Fwogos Gyang, Chairman of the SUG Electoral Commission, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos that one of the candidates disqualified was Christopher Gande, who was eyeing the presidency. “The two students did not meet up the 2.50 CGPA minimum academic record required to contest for any position in the SUG election scheduled for this weekend,” he told NAN. According to him, the SUG constitution stipulates that for any student to be eligible to contest for any position, he or she must have a minimum of 2.50 CGPA. “We cannot afford to put

students of poor academic standing in any of the union’s positions as that would be detrimental to the quest for academic excellence that this great institution is trying hard to promote,” he said. Gyang explained that it was a difficult decision to take, but quickly pointed out that the constitution must be respected. Some students of the institution, who spoke to NAN on the impending election, however decried the poor enlightenment on the exercise, especially as it affected the qualification of candidates. They also lamented the inability of the candidates to properly mobilise and convince students for support through intensive lobbies and campaigns.

he leader of the Senate, Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), has congratulated a Nigerian, Mr. Emmanuel Ohuabunwa, for exhibiting academic excellence in the John Hopskin University in the United States of America. According to Ndoma-Egba, “Nigeria is very proud of the achievement of this young man, and his story should stimulate other young Nigerians to reach for excellence in their field of endeavours.” It will be recalled that Mr. Ohuabunwa, a 22-year old Nigerian emerged as the first Black student to attain a 3.98 grade point out of the obtainable 4.0 grade point, thus winning an induction into Phi Beta Kappa Society, a prestigious honour group that features membership of 17 US Presidents, 37 US Supreme Court Justices, and 136 Nobel Prize winners. Ohuabunwa is also expected to proceed on scholarship, to the prestigious Yale University to study medicine. A statement from the Office of the Leader of the Senate, however, said that a time has come when Nigeria must invest heavily in education in order to overcome the problem of intellectual brain drain in the country. He said, “The story of Mr. Ohuabunwa has further reinforced the need for us to revive our education sector and harness the inherent potentials of our youths. “I therefore wish to express my congratulations to Mr. Ohuabunwa and also encourage other young Nigerians to take after him.”

PAGE 28

By Sani Adamu

y most accounts, basic education in Nigeria is facing a lot of challenges. These challenges, according to educationists, include inadequate infrastructure, shortage of qualified teachers, paucity of funds and, above all, inadequate instructional materials. The experts note that the situation has particularly hindered the performance and growth of basic education which, they add, is the foundation of the education system. This explains the raison d’être behind the educationists’ commendation for President Goodluck Jonathan’s recent decision to introduce a free textbooks distribution programme for public primary and junior secondary schools in the country. The programme entails the distribution of 14 million textbooks and 4.92 million library resource materials to primary and junior secondary schools nationwide. Under the programme, pupils in Primary One and Primary Two will receive textbooks for English Language, Mathematics, Social Studies and Basic Science and Technology, while the junior secondary schools are to receive only library resources materials. In his remarks during the inauguration of the programme, the President urged all stakeholders in the nation’s education sector to support government at all levels in efforts to lay a solid foundation for quality education in the country. Jonathan, who was represented by Vice-President Namadi Sambo, expressed the Federal Government’s determination to deal with the challenges confronting the country’s education sector. “All the stakeholders in the book and instructional materials chain, including researchers, who produce the textbooks; pupils and teachers, who utilise these materials; as well as parents, who exercise tremendous influence on the educational process, must understand the inextricable linkage between the three components. “I, therefore, call on all stakeholders to support government at all levels, to ensure that our education sector, particularly the basic education sub-sector, provides a solid foundation for the attainment of quality education in Nigeria. “We must do all we can to ensure that textbooks and instructional materials bring added value to our educational process. There is no better opportunity to make this clarion call than this very important event,” he said. Jonathan explained that the free books distribution exercise was part of the government efforts to encourage stakeholders in the sector to undertake joint efforts to improve the quality of education in the country. He noted that the procurement and distribution of the books had been an integral part of the Federal Government’s basic education delivery programme. Jonathan stressed that the government’s goal was to strengthen complementary interventions in the initiation of quality programmes that would

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

Boosting the quality of basic education in Nigeria pave the way for the achievement of acceptable standards in basic education output. The President, nonetheless, expressed the hope that the current investment of the government and ongoing structural, institutional and governance reforms in the education sector would reverse the declining quality of education. Commenting on the programme, Prof Ruqayyatu Rufa’i, the Minister of Education, said that N16.6 billion had so far been spent on the supply of textbooks and library materials to public schools across the country. She stressed that the distribution of the instructional materials was a component of the government’s four-year strategic plan aimed at improving the quality of education. ufa’i, who underscored the importance of instructional materials to the success of the government’s education policy, directed the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to monitor the distribution and usage of the books. Besides, Chief Nyesom Wike, the Minister of State for Education, said that the initiative aimed at addressing the scarcity of appropriate textbooks and instructional materials in public primary schools. He noted that the dearth of textbooks had particularly constituted “a serious impediment to the quality and effectiveness of our education system. “The textbooks English Language, Mathematics, Social Studies, Basic Science and Technology are for distribution to pupils in all public primary schools. “Also procured for distribution to junior secondary schools are assorted library resource materials totalling 4.92 million,” he said. Wike stressed that the distributed textbooks and instructional materials were meant to complement the efforts of state governments in tackling the challenges facing the basic education system. The minister, nonetheless, urged the private sector to develop a robust book industry in the country to facilitate the fulfilment of the Federal Government’s education policy. He said that such efforts would enable students at the basic education level to have access to effective learning materials at affordable costs all the time. “The Federal Government, through the UBEC, would continue to invest and play a leading role, in partnership with stakeholders, to provide and meet the teaching and learning needs of the basic education system,” Wike said. “The ministry will ensure that all learners have sustainable access to relevant textbooks and other learning materials at a ratio of a textbook per pupil,” he added. To add value to its investment,

Education Minister, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i the Federal Government has also inaugurated a 97-member committee to carry out a needs’ assessment survey of all the 104 unity schools in the country. Inaugurating the committee, Wike said that the exercise became imperative in view of the deplorable state of the schools’ facilities. He said that the dearth of facilities in the unity schools had provoked serious public concern on the quality of teaching and learning in the schools. Wike said that apart from insufficient budgetary allocations, several other factors had also contributed to the deterioration of the institutions’ facilities. He, however, conceded that the impressive increase in students’ enrolment over the years had overstretched the capacity of the facilities of some of the colleges. “Furthermore, many of the existing buildings and other infrastructure have aged considerably due to lack of maintenance, thereby eliciting concerns about the health, safety and suitability of the teaching and learning environment. “The poor state of infrastructure in Federal Government Colleges clearly negates the drive and commitments of this administration to providing quality secondary education for Nigerian children. “We cannot expect optimal performance or achievement from teachers and students who are physically, mentally and psychological harassed by poor educational facilities and unfriendly learning environment. “Although progress is being made through various targeted interventions, the challenge of addressing the existing infrastructure deficit in Federal Government Colleges, brought about by decades of sustained neglect, is huge,” he said. ll the same, Wike underscored the need to adopt a concrete plan of action with lucid implementation strategies, as part of efforts to accomplish the objectives of the government’s education policy. He stressed that this was one of the most pragmatic ways of

addressing the perceptible drawbacks, particularly those relating to the systemic decay of the colleges’ infrastructure. Wike noted that the needs’ assessment survey of the unity schools entailed the preparation and adoption of a “Physical Infrastructural Development Action Plan and Strategy” for each of the 104 colleges. He enjoined the committee to assess the physical conditions of the schools, the quality and adequacy of existing facilities such as classrooms, libraries, laboratories and technical workshops as well as sporting facilities. He said that the committee’s terms of reference included ascertaining the number of teachers available for the subjects taught in the colleges and identifying existing gaps in terms of the teacher to student ratio. Responding, Dr Victor Okene, the committee’s Chairman, said: “We want to assure the minister that we will carry out our duties diligently and we hope that the report will guide the government in planning and policy making. “We want to have Federal Government Colleges that can be compared with similar institutions elsewhere in the world.” ep. Farouk Lawan, the former Chairman of House of Representatives’ Committee on Education, commended the ministry for the quality and purpose of its programmes, pledging the legislature’s readiness to partner with the ministry in efforts to achieve the programmes’ goals. “I must acknowledge that over the last couple of years, the Federal Government has tried to contain the challenges facing our education system in so many ways,” he said. Lawan said that the problems, which students encountered which acquiring tertiary education, should also be addressed. “I believe that the challenge is not just for the Federal Government alone; it’s a challenge for all of us in this country,” he added. “I hope the state and local governments will equally commence a programme akin to the books’ distribution project to enable our children to have access to quality learning materials which are so critical to the maintenance of standards in our education system,” he said. Sharing similar sentiments, Sen. Uche Chukwumerije, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Education, noted that the textbooks’ distribution programme was a major step toward the laying of a strong foundation for the growth of Nigeria’s education system. He urged UBEC to ensure that the instructional materials got to the end users without any hitches, adding that it would be an embarrassment if some the

materials ended up in the markets as wares on sale. oncerned observers, however, insist that the government must adopt purposeful strategies to boost the quality of the country’s education system which has experienced a lot of decay over the years. They stress that the poor quality of the basic education system, for instance, has started to take its toll on the students’ performance in external examinations such as NECO and WAEC. Their concern appears wellfounded, as some of the observers note that out of the over 3,000 candidates who sat for the 2004 Common Entrance Examination in Bauchi State, for example, only nine candidates passed with good grades. They also note that only four, out of the over 8,000 candidates who sat for the 1999 Senior Secondary School Examinations in Bauchi State, scored five credits and above. Expressing similar worries, Prof Muhammadu Abdullahi of the Department of Science and Technical Education in Bayero University, Kano, said that Nigeria must reform its education system to enable it to achieve the goals of its development agenda. “This is because education is the major contributor to the economic development of any nation, as it changes the people’s performance,” he said when he delivered a lecture at the recent National Conference of Colleges of Education in Katsina. Saying that the development of any country was hinged on level of its growth in science and technology, Abdullahi stressed the need for the government to reform the country’s education system so as to foster national development in a pragmatic way. “Our education at this point should aim at reorienting Nigerians to adopt a productive culture rather than a consumption culture by effectively programming our educational system towards science and technology,” he said. Abdullahi urged the government to prescribe the minimum number of subjects which candidates could sit for in Senior Secondary Certificate Examination, while introducing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into the school curriculum. By and large, there is a consensus of opinion among stakeholders that parents and guardians should reciprocate government’s gesture by showing more commitment to the education of their children and wards. “This is the surest way to justify the huge investments of the government on the free books distribution project and other education programmes,” some of them say. (NAN Features)

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

By A’isha Biola Raji

lot of drivers, especially the commercial drivers think it is not possible to drive without the influence of drugs. This is a misconception that had been in existence for a very long time. It is expected that, with the level of civilization, this false impression will be waning but it is rather on the increase. As a driver, what makes you think you will perform better when you smoke or drink any substance that can induce impaired vision or make you very excited that you find it difficult to concentrate? It is like eating with the devil without a long spoon which automatically ends up with the devil having a filled day. It is difficult to imagine the effect of drugs in your ability to perform your daily duty of driving. The effect differs, based on individuals, drug type, and time length of drug in the system and the possibility of the drug having been taken with other drugs or alcohol. Cannabis which is referred to as igbo can impair vision or concentration as it causes the person under its influence to lose concentration. This brings about the question, why would a driver want to lose concentration in order to drive, is it to die or live, or for him not to be aware of death when it eventually claims his life that is probably not important to him? Some experts claim that smoking cannabis has similar effect on driving ability as drinking four pints of beer. Also, reports show that in the majority of fatal accidents that occur on our roads where cannabis has been detected in a driver’s body, alcohol has also been detected. Alcohol alone or in combination with cannabis increases impairment and accident rate. Some drivers think that cannabis is a ‘safer substitute’ to drinking, but it can cause fear, tiredness, unclear insight and a sense of confusion. All these can cause a driver to lose control at the wheel. A lot of lives have been carelessly lost due to this unnecessary drug indulgence which calls for immediate action from the federal, state, down to local government level. There are packs where these drivers load passengers, one would wonder why there are no NDLEA (National Drug Law Enforcement Agency) in these parks testing these drivers before they are allowed to load. Cannabis is the most commonly used drugs among Nigerian drivers even though the effects fade after a matter of hours, it can be detected in the blood for up to four weeks. In theory, this can compromise the driver if they are tested positive, even if their driving was not adversely affected at the time. What would it take government to curb the menace of drug abuse when we have such agency that can detect this drug in our kitty? The major cause of accidents on our roads is human factor, the FRSC (Federal Road Safety Commission) can teach road signs for the next hundred years, the fact remains that, there is need to

PAGE 29

Indiscriminate use of drugs: Time to end road accidents

sanitize road work as a profession. It is important to put a stop to the use of drugs and other harmful substances; there is also the need to give the profession of driving prestige. Early this year, three concerned agencies, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) blamed multiple road accidents in the country on the abuse of prescribed and non-prescribed drugs by motorists. They jointly identified this as the major problem at the official flag-off of NAFDAC’s Sensitization Campaign on Dangers of Drug Abuse for Road Transport Employers and Workers, an idea initiated by Miss. Shifau Bello, a corps member who served with NAFDAC in Abuja. In his address at the flag-off Director General of NAFDAC Dr.

Paul Orhii said the agency has also identified the need to work with other relevant agencies in combating the rise in the abuse of drugs preparations in the country in respect to the alert received from the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). He explained that, there is a high incidence of abuse of cough remedies containing codeine particularly by okada/achaba riders, sniffing of solutions in cold patch used by vulcanizers,

inhalation of petrol and nail polish, sniffing of sand scooped from filthy gutters and pit latrines and mixing monosodium glutamate (white magi) with cola drinks which are all dangerous to health if misused. He said the use of such products without proper prescription can lead to decline in economy as people suffer its consequence. In their various speeches, the Chairman of NDLEA, Alhaji

“

Early this year, three concerned agencies, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) blamed multiple road accidents in the country on the abuse of prescribed and non-prescribed drugs by motorists

Ahmadu Giade, Deputy Corps Marshal, planning and statistcs Mr. Adeyemi Onigidan representing Corps Marshal FRSC, Mr. Osita Chidoka and representative of D.G National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Mr. Emmanuel Obi all pledged their support for the need to sensitize commercial road users on the dangers associated with drug abuse especially among motorists. In his address, the President of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) said the menace of drug abuse is not limited to road workers alone as it cut across all classes of life and should be dealt with objectively to curb all the social vices associated with it. This type of event is one, of numerous events that are always being organized to address such issues as drug abuse especially among drivers. It is pathetic to notice that these drivers visibly abuse drugs without fear of being caught by any law enforcement agent. One can easily notice park of hot drinks flying all over the place in our motor parks with young ladies pretending to sell herbal drinks but are instead serving herb with a sizable amount of hot drinks mixed inside. Surprisingly, there are several beer parlour located within the park, one would wonder who give these people license to sell in such a place where safety of lives should be the major concern of all. It is high time the country stood up to put a stop to the life threatening activities of Nigerian drivers which can be realized by active presence of NDLEA officials at every park whether it is private owned or public park even illegal parks or what can be referred to as mushroom parks along our roads.

PAGE 30

oing simple, cost effective things to stay healthy today will keep you from spending more money down the line. The truth is, the cost of treating chronic disease can be devastating enough to cause job loss; it is cited as one of the top reasons why people go broke. The high cost of good health is becoming a major concern in this country. Let us take a look at how big a bite our medical costs are taking from our savings. Get a load of this study that proclaims that an average family will be paying more in health care over time, thanks to rising prescription drug prices (among other things). With so much money spent on health, the best way to neutralize this assault on our budgets is to preserve our health and well-being as much as possible. You can keep your medical and insurance bills in check by becoming more fit. Here are some tips on the subject: Spend less on a simpler life Take stress out of your life: We are a workaholic nation where vacations are not as popular as they are in other countries. We love chasing the Joneses, and all this results in our physical and mental exhaustion, and growing complexities in our lives, all for the greater glory of material wealth. If your life is full to the brim and you are no longer able to stop and smell the roses, then you’re doing a number on your health. One of the first steps to better health is by gaining better control over your life. You can start by simplifying it. Doing so should bring down your stress levels and take some pressure off your system. Would you consider? • Downsizing your life • Downsizing your home to deal with less expenditures and maintenance? • Or just decluttering your surroundings? We are told by health experts that the environment contains toxins that relentlessly invade our bodies and systems, and unfortunately, it is something we cannot always control. For instance, we can often find ourselves exposed to vehicle fumes, smog and even second hand smoke any time we leave the comfort of our homes. Just visit a large city and you’re inhaling less than fresh air! Then there are chemicals in

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

Affordable ways to keep healthy and fit

pesticide, home and beauty products (e.g. hair spray and cosmetics) and food (especially the non-organic kind). If you work in an old building, you could be facing the assault of toxic materials as well. We can’t escape our environment but one thing we can possibly control is the amount of stress we subject ourselves to. Stress impacts your body in the same way terrible

toxins do, so do your best to avoid it. Keep yourself top shape by developing simple habits Besides watching what we eat, there are other ways to make sure we stay healthy. • Watch your hygiene (wash your hands often): Avoid getting sick by washing your hands often. Unless you

don’t mind catching a short time cold or flu once in a while • Visit your doctor for annual tests: Routine tests can detect problems early on before they develop into real trouble later. Don’t let it grow into a big issue that costs a lot to deal with. • Sleep earlier: Your body heals and repairs itself and does its regulatory job while you are sleeping so give it the rest it deserves to keep you moving along well the next day. A lifetime of bad sleeping habits will no doubt take a toll on you and this is one easy way to avoid getting sick. • Lose weight: There are a lot of ways to tackle this challenge, and many articles have been written to discuss all those strategies. But here are some favorite tips on how to lose weight carefully. Simply adapt good eating habits and you will drop the pounds! Spend less on affordable exercise Get yourself moving with exercise: Who says we cannot lose weight or become healthier without the help of professional trainers or gym memberships? A lot of people find the extra

motivation by signing up for classes, whether it be for dancing, weight training, yoga, tae-kwon-do or other forms of sport. Exercise can certainly be much more enjoyable in the company of others. However, one can still do the necessary physical activity in the comfort and privacy of one’s home, where you will also be happy not to spend a dime. You should weigh the costs of buying exercise equipment against how much use and value you get out of them. Don’t waste your money on things you don’t use! What’s nice about exercise is that most activities are pretty affordable. You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to keep yourself active. Treat your body like a well-oiled machine and keep your metabolism humming and revved up by burning excess calories. You also don’t need to pay up to get moving. Even a brisk walk is considered quite healthy so if you can manage a regular exercise regimen comprised of sustained activity for 30 minutes a day, at least three times a week, then you should be in good shape. www.theDigeratiLife.com

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

ANALYSIS By Charles Onunaiju

ormally, a presidential election held after the toppling of a hated dictator in a popular uprising should be a joyous occasion - a celebration that marks the culmination of a legitimate process of political transition, steered collectively by the people who have chosen the ballot over coercion to shape their destiny. But this familiar script has not been followed in Egypt, where Mohamed Mursi, a Muslim Brotherhood candidate, has become the country's first elected President. A power grab a few days ahead of the final round of polling by a military clique called the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has interrupted, if not derailed, Egypt's transition to democracy. SCAF's avoidable intervention turned the presidential election overnight into a grim tussle between those who recognised and were desperate to stem the high tide of counter-revolution, and the remnants of the old guard, well networked with the military and big capital, equally determined to stage a comeback. Egypt's militaryled administration's first target seemed to be Parliament, which had been freely elected nearly six months ago. In a stunning judgment, less than a week before the elections, the highest court of the land dissolved Parliament and opened the door for SCAF to take pervasive control of legislative and financial powers. The court's ruling expectedly generated a political firestorm; with accusations flowing thick and fast that under SCAF's watch Egypt had witnessed a "judicial coup". Soon after the court's order, Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh, a moderate Islamist and a former presidential candidate, alleged that the collusion between SCAF and the judiciary had resulted in a "military coup". But far from being despondent, he predicted that the military's stratagem to manipulate and usurp power would be short-lived. "Anyone who believes that Egypt's millions of revolutionary youth will allow this to pass must be delusional," he asserted. Egypt's young activists, who were at the heart of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, agreed that the ruling marked a major assault on their aspirations for democracy. "We are now legally, constitutionally, and directly under military rule/dictatorship," tweeted Gigi Ibrahim, a young activist who emerged as one of the stars of the 18-day revolt that brought down the autocratic rule of Mubarak in January 2011. Many youth activists were of the view that the court's ruling was part of a larger plot hatched by SCAF to bring back the remnants of the Mubarak regime to power. Ahmed Maher, the founder of the April 6 Youth Movement that pioneered the anti-Mubarak uprising, described the order as provocative: "The verdict means the ousted regime is being re-established and revolution must continue," he said. Others in the youth brigade also concluded that the protesters must now be prepared for the long haul, notwithstanding the inability of the liberals so far to meld a prorevolution critical mass. "No revolution gets settled in 18 days or 18 months. If we all agree that this is a war with the regime that will last for several years, then why is everyone suddenly panicking and saying it's over?" wrote Hossam ElHamalawy, a social activist on the website jadaliyya.com. The court had also ruled that Ahmed Shafiq,

Mubarak's last Prime Minister and the face of the counter-revolution, would be allowed to run for the presidency despite the passage of an earlier law by Parliament, endorsed by SCAF, which prohibited members of the former regime from running for office. The ruling left little doubt that the high judiciary, gelled during the Mubarak era, had become a tool of the military top brass to siphon off power from a democratically elected Parliament. The conspiracy to grab power also seemed to have considered all the other familiar ways in which the opposition could stage a counterattack. Anticipating street protests - probably radiating out of the iconic Tahrir Square - to raise public awareness about the military's misdeeds, SCAF had armed itself with draconian powers. Just ahead of the "judicial coup", it decreed that the army could carry out arbitrary arrests and haul detainees before military courts, a clear expression of its readiness to deny people civil liberties and basic human rights. Many saw in the measure sharply defined lines of a re-emerging police state. But the military top brass was not finished yet. As the counting was under way and a dispirited public seemed distracted, yet another decree aimed at sapping the power of an elected presidency was issued. The generals ruled that the incoming President would not have the power to declare war unless SCAF approved of the decision. The message was clear - a civil administration had no right to curtail the hefty powers and privileges that the military had accumulated over decades. Another notification further clarified SCAF's mindset of functioning as a state within a state. The website of the Egyptian daily Al Ahram reported that SCAF had formed a military-dominated National Defence Council. While it would be headed by the President and also include the Speaker of Parliament, the Defence, Interior and Foreign Ministers, it would be packed with officers drawn from the military. These include, among others, the chief of staff of the armed forces, the naval and air force chiefs, the chief of military operations, the director of Egyptian general intelligence and the chief of the military judiciary. The announcement had the distinct flavour of deja vu, reminiscent of the old Turkish model where real power was concentrated in the military despite the presence of an elected civil administration. Already, the military seems to have made up its mind to curtail the longevity of Egypt's first elected presidency. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Sameh Ashour, the head of SCAF's advisory council, said that the incoming President would last only until the time a new Constitution was drafted. "The upcoming President will occupy the office for a short period of time, whether or not he agrees,"

PAGE 31

Egypt: Anatomy of an unfinished revolution Mohamed Mursi

observed Ashour. "His office term will be short despite the huge efforts exerted in the election campaigns." Familiar with all the tricks in the trade of keeping rivals out - a legacy of Mubarak's 29 years of authoritarian rule - SCAF has ensured that a new Constitution is drafted in such a way as to defend its core interests. Under its new ruling, SCAF can appoint a new constituent assembly, in case the one emerging from the dissolved Parliament, which is already in existence, encounters "obstacles". The draft Constitution will then be subjected to a public referendum. Egypt's democracy campaigners reacted with dismay as the implications of the military's decision to stamp its diktat on all organs of the postMubarak state began to sink in. "The new constitutional declaration completed Egypt's official transformation into a military dictatorship," wrote Hossam Bahgat, director of Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, in an online comment.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

Hosni Mubarak

Mohamed ElBaradei, elder statesman and former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said that the military's declaration was a "grave setback for democracy and revolution". "SCAF retains legislative power, strips president of any authority over army and solidifies its control," he tweeted. The Muslim Brotherhood condemned the decree as "null and unconstitutional". Aware of the challenges that lie ahead, the Muslim Brotherhood has correctly sensed that irrespective of Mursi's elevation to the presidency, public celebrations or grandstanding are luxuries that it can ill-afford. Familiar with SCAF's predatory instincts, the Brotherhood is, instead, preparing for agitations in the days ahead to preserve whatever little remains of Egypt's fast receding democratic space. While it has decided to engage the military in a political dialogue and has planned to impose pressure on it by knocking at the doors of the judiciary, it is focussing in earnest on mobilising

The generals ruled that the incoming President would not have the power to declare war unless SCAF approved of the decision. The message was clear - a civil administration had no right to curtail the hefty powers and privileges that the military had accumulated over decades.

street power, as a preparation for a prolonged confrontation with SCAF. Hopefully, the run-up to the elections has served as a wake-up call to the fact that while Mubarak is gone, an intricately networked dictatorship, which includes the military top brass, big business and landlords, is impatient to stage a comeback. The elections have also shown that in a divided Egypt, Islamists and secularists are nearly evenly split. It no longer requires a rocket scientist to figure out that unless the liberals and Islamists unite into a working coalition against SCAF, the crafty military elite will manage to outwit them again. On their part, some of the liberal activists disenchanted with both Mursi, the Islamist, and Shafiq, a Mubarakera remnant, may have got it wrong when they decided to boycott the elections. Their absence at the polling stations was acutely felt in Cairo, where Shafiq triumphed over his Islamist rival by a wide margin. Similarly, Hamdeen Sabbahi, the rising star among the secularists, may have missed the point when he recently announced the formation of a secularist coalition that would equally oppose the Muslim Brotherhood and the SCAF. Among the pro-democracy campaigners, Hamalawy, the socialist, may have hit the nail on the head when he wrote in his insightful piece that the "revolutionary camp lacksâ&#x20AC;Ś a coherent united front that coordinates between the different revolutionary groups in the capital and the provinces". He warned: "And in such tough times, when the counter-revolution is in full steam, the need for such an organisation becomes more urgent."

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

PAGE 32

Swedes Schibbye and Persson mark year in Ethiopia jail

wo Swedish journalists convicted in Ethiopia for entering the country illegally and supporting terrorism have now spent one year in prison. Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson were captured together with rebels from the Ogaden National Liberation Front. On the eve of the anniversary of their arrest, the pair said in a statement that the biggest challenge for them now was "psychological". They have always argued that they were just doing their jobs as journalists. "It has been the longest year in our lives," photojournalist Person and reporter Schibbye said in the statement conveyed via Swedish diplomats who met them at the prison earlier this week. "Initially we only focused on eating, keeping warm on the cement floor and not falling ill. Today the challenge is psychological. Prison kills your intellect." Ethiopian prosecutors had asked for longer sentences of up to 18 years, but the presiding judge decided last year that 11 years was appropriate. Human rights group Amnesty International has said the journalists were prosecuted for doing "legitimate work". But Ethiopia's government spokesman Bereket Simon has said the journalists were "red handed" co-operating with "terrorist organisations". Media reports have suggested that the reporters would not appeal their sentence, but rather apply for clemency. Schibbye and Persson were captured by Ethiopian troops during a clash with ONLF fighters on 1 July. The men acknowledged during their trial that they had held talks with ONLF leaders in London and Nairobi, before entering Ethiopia from Somalia and meeting about 20 members of the group 40km (25 miles) from the border.

Lawyers for Johan Persson (L) and Martin Schibbye (R) said that "prison kills your intellect"

t least 19 people have been killed in attacks at two churches in Kenya's eastern town of Garissa, according to the country's Red Cross. yesterday's attack in the normally quiet Garissa is the latest in a series that has rocked Kenya since it deployed troops into southern Somalia last October to hunt down al-Shabab fighters who are said to have links to al-Qaeda. Garissa is serving as a military base for operations against the Islamist fighters. Witnesses said bodies lay scattered in the blood-spattered churches as scores of wounded were rushed to hospital. "It is a horrible sight to see," said Hussein Abdi, a resident of Garissa. Regional police chief Philip Ndolo said a total of seven attackers hurled grenades inside the Catholic Church and the African Inland Church before opening fire with guns. Two police officers were among the dead. The assailants struck the churches, which are 3km (two miles) apart, at around 10.15am (0715 GMT). "The goons were clad in balaclavas and hurled the grenades at the Catholic Church and the [African Inland Independent Church] in the town," Ndolo told the Reuters news agency. Christian worshippers have

Scores Killed as grenade attacks hit churches

The assailants were clad in balaclavas and used guns and grenades on two churches [Reuters] been previously targeted in grenade blasts that left two people dead in March and April. The Vatican described Sunday's attacks as a "horrible and very worrying" act. "The bloody attacks in Kenya in the town of Garissa against two churches, including a Catholic

cathedral, during Sunday prayers, are a horrible and very worrying fact," Federico Lombardi, the spokesman, told Vatican Radio. Garissa is not far from the Dadaab refugee camp, where a Norwegian aid delegation was attacked yesterday and four of its members taken hostage in their

own car, which the kidnappers drove towards the Somali border. Recent attacks in Kenya are believed to be the work of groups sympathetic to al-Shabab, the Islamist group fighting to overthrow the Somali government, Al Jazeera's Nazanine Moshiri said.

their hostages would head for Somalia - some 100 km from Dadaab - Oguna said that he was still hopeful they remained inside Kenya. "We are thinking that they are in Kenya, we are making every effort that we can, and we are hopeful of a positive outcome," he added. A Kenyan driver was killed and two others were wounded during Friday's attack on the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) aid convoy travelling through the refugee camp. Kenya police said that the four foreign aid workers are a Canadian, a Filipino, a Norwegian and a Pakistani. Aerial searches were ongoing while vehicles and troops on foot searched the remote scrubland on either side of the porous border with Somalia. Al Jazeera's Nazanine Moshiri, reporting from Nairobi, said details

remained sketchy. "We understand that this was a high-level delegation that was touring the camp on its outskirts when they came under an organised ambush of about a dozen Somali armed men. One vehicle got away and they other was taken and driven toward the Somalia border some 80 miles away," our correspondent said. "The vehicle was abandoned and it is unclear if the abducted workers were put in another vehicle and their whereabouts are still unknown", she added. Elisabeth Rasmusson, secretarygeneral of the NRC, was travelling in the convoy when it was attacked. "We had just left the camp and we were just going out towards the ... main road towards Dadaab city, and that is where we were attacked. So we were actually attacked in what is recognised as the safe part of the camp," Rasmusson said.

attacks. The Islamist Ansar Dine group backs strict sharia,

Islamic law, and considers the shrines of the local Sufi version of Islam idolatrous.

â&#x20AC;ŚKenya steps up search for kidnapped aid staff

Kenyan troops invaded Somalia in October after a spate of kidnappings on its territory in late 2011 [AFP]

enya's security forces have stepped up their search on the border region with Somalia for the kidnappers who killed a Kenyan national and seized four foreign aid workers from the outskirts of Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp.

"The search is intensifying and more security forces have been sent to make every effort possible but, so far, no one has been recovered," Cyrus Oguna, the Kenyan army spokesman, told the AFP news agency on Saturday. Despite fears the gunmen and

Ansar Dine fighters destroy Timbuktu shrines

hardline religious group occupying northern Mali has destroyed 15thcentury mausoleums of Sufi Muslim saints in Timbuktu and have threatened to demolish the remaining 13 UNESCO world heritage sites in the fabled city, witnesses have said. The attack by Ansar Dine group on Friday came just four days after UNESCO placed Timbuktu on its list of heritage sites in danger after the seizure of its northern two-thirds in April by rebels. "They have already completely destroyed the mausoleum of Sidi Mahmoud

(Ben Amar) and two others. They said they would continue all day and destroy all 16," Yeya Tandina, a local Malian journalist, said by telephone. "They are armed and have surrounded the sites with pickup trucks. The population is just looking on helplessly," he said, adding that the Islamists were currently taking pick-axes to the mausoleum of Sidi El Mokhtar, another cherished local saint. "It looks as if it is a direct reaction to the UNESCO decision," Timbuktu deputy Sandy Haidara said by telephone, confirming the

Islamists rebels of Ansar Dine near Timbuktu, in rebelheld northern Mali

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

PAGE 33

Turkey scrambles F-16 jets on Syria border

urkey has scrambled six F16 fighters jets near its border with Syria after Syrian helicopters came close to the border, the country's army says. Six jets were sent to the area in response to three such incidents on Saturday, the statement said, adding that there was no violation of Turkish airspace. Last month, Syrian forces shot down a Turkish jet in the border area.

The incident further strained already tense relations between former allies. Turkey's government has been outspoken in its condemnation of Syria's response to the 16-month anti-government uprising, which has seen more than 30,000 Syrian refugees enter Turkey. On Friday, Turkey said it had begun deploying rocket launchers and anti-aircraft guns along the border in response to the downing

Journalist admits defeat in Iceland vote

hora Arnorsdottir, a 37-yearold respected journalist with no political background who just had a baby, has acknowledged defeat against incumbent Olafur Ragnar Grimsson in Iceland's presidential election. Grimsson, a 69-year-old socialist who has held the largely ceremonial post since 1996, looks set to win a record fifth straight term in office according to preliminary results. With 41.6 per cent of votes counted, Grimsson was seen garnering 51.2 per cent of votes, while Arnorsdottir, who interrupted her campaign for a week in May to give birth to her third child, was credited with 34.8 per cent. "This has been a valuable experience. Now I will take a holiday, attend to my new daughter and the other children and go on maternity leave and think how I can put this experience to use," Arnorsdottir told public broadcaster RUV. "To get more than one-third [of votes], I'm overwhelmed. I of course hoped to win," she said, adding she had no plans to run again in four years: "This is something you only do once in a lifetime." Arnorsdottir, a journalist with no political affiliation had called for a change after Grimsson's 16 years in power. She was seen as a fresh face at a time when many Icelanders clamoured for a new breed of politicians to clean out the ranks following the country's devastating economic crash in 2008. She decided to run after reading an official report on the crash and found that, especially when it came to "ethics and our political system, ... nothing had really changed". Some 236,000 people were eligible to vote on Saturday, with opinion polls in the final days of the campaign suggesting that Grimsson was headed for a comfortable victory. Polling booths closed at 2200GMT, and results began trickling in soon after that. Grimsson, a socialist, said his political savvy was needed as Iceland, which is recovering rapidly from its crash and already returned to growth, tackles thorny EU membership talks and an October referendum on a new constitution. "Iceland is now at a crossroads. Behind us are difficult years. Ahead are decisions on the constitution and our relationship

with other countries in Europe," the silver-haired president wrote in an article published in daily Morgunbladid on voting day. "There is still turbulence in the continent's economy and in many areas ... The president ... shall assist the country in tackling the biggest issues; they will determine the fate of Icelanders for decades," he wrote. Grimsson is, like a majority of Icelanders, opposed to EU membership for fear the North Atlantic nation will lose its sovereignty. The left-wing government applied, however, to join the bloc in 2009 after the financial and economic crash that saw Iceland's three biggest banks collapse and required a $2.1 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund. Arnorsdottir led in the polls initially, after Grimsson announced in January that he would not stand for re-election.

France introduces breathalyser law

of its F-4 Phantom jet on 22 June. The move came after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that Turkey had changed its rules of military engagement and would now treat any Syrian military approaching the border as a threat. Syria said the Turkish F-4 was shot down by air defence fire inside its airspace. Turkey insists it was downed by a missile after briefly entering and the leaving Syrian

airspace. The plane crashed in the Mediterranean, off the coast of the southern province of Hatay. Its pilots are still missing. Mr Erdogan spoke of Turkey's "rage" at the incident and described Syria as a "clear and present threat". Nato condemned the attack and voiced strong support for Turkey, after Ankara invoked Article 4 of NATO's founding treaty, which entitles any member state to ask

for consultations if it believes its security is threatened. Four of the six jets were scrambled on Saturday from the airbase of Incirlik in response to two occasions of Syrian helicopters flying close to Hatay province, Sunday's army statement said. Later, two more F-16s took off from a base near Batman, in southeastern Turkey, after Syrian helicopters were spotted close to the province of Mardin, it added.

Turkey has put its forces on alert for Syrian military movements close to the border.

Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, left, was first elected president in August 1996 and has since served four four-year terms [AFP]

new motoring law has come into effect in France, whereby it will be compulsory for drivers to carry breathalyser kits in their vehicles. From Sunday, motorists and motorcyclists risk facing an on-thespot fine unless they travel with two single-use devices. The law is part of a government initiative to reduce the figures of drink-driving related fatalities. The new regulations, which exclude mopeds, will be fully enforced and include foreign drivers from November 1, following a fourmonth grace period. Anyone failing to produce a breathalyser after that date will receive an 11 euro fine. French police have warned they will be carrying out random checks on drivers crossing into France via ferries and through the Channel Tunnel to enforce the new rules. According to French media reports, alcohol is responsible for at least 30 per cent of fatal accidents in the country. Ethylotest obligatoire, the French website informing the public on the new legislation, reported that by the end of June, only 37 per cent of French citizens had bought breathalysers.

Every motorist travelling through France is expected to carry the breathalyser kits, according to new legislation [AFP]

PAGE 34

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

Hong Kong leader sworn in as protests swell

ong Kong's new Beijingbacked leader has been sworn in amid rising public discontent over widening inequality and lack of full democracy in the semi-autonomous southern Chinese financial centre. Tens of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets later on Sunday in an annual protest that is an occasion for ordinary people to air their grievances over a range of issues. Al Jazeera's Rob McBride, reporting from Victoria Park in Hong Kong, where protesters had begun to gather, said the annual event is where various political groups come together. "If you have a grievance, you come out on this day to air those grievances." "It has to be said, though, given the events of what has been taking place today with the new chief executive, more people have come out than usual." Leung Chun-ying took office in a morning ceremony overseen by Chinese President Hu Jintao, becoming Hong Kong's third chief executive since more than a century

Iran shrugs off latest EU oil embargo

s a new European Union oil embargo on Iran goes into effect, the country's oil minister and central bank governor have promised that the economy will easily survive. "The sanctions have had no effect on Iran and will have none," Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi told the ISNA news agency on Sunday. He was also quoted on the website of state broadcaster IRIB as saying that "these sanctions have existed for many years and nothing has happened, and one should not anticipate anything new". But oil market observer bodies and analysts say that the embargo, coupled with US financial sanctions ramped up on Thursday, will increasingly gut Iran's vital oil exports. The International Energy Agency says Iran crude exports in May appeared to have slipped to 1.5 million barrels per day as the market braced for the embargo well below the 2.1 to 2.2 million barrels Iran insists it continues to sell abroad. Iran is the second largest producer in OPEC and earns about 80 per cent of its foreign revenue from exporting crude. Oil accounts for about half of all government revenues. The EU measures are intended to pressure Iran over fears that it is developing nuclear weapons. Iran denies the charges. Mahmoud Bahmani, the central bank governor, told the semiofficial Mehr news agency on Sunday that Iran will "confront" hostile policies and has enough hard currency reserves to meet its import needs. Qasemi and other officials admitted the "illogical" embargo had reduced exports to EU nations, but they said other nations had stepped forward to buy the oil.

of British colonial rule ended and China regained control of the city 15 years ago. There were sporadic scuffles between demonstrators and police outside the convention centre where the event took place. A demonstrator who tried to interrupt Hu as he began his address was bundled away by security officials. The man, one of the guests

invited to the inauguration, waved a small flag and yelled slogans calling for China's leaders to reverse their condemnation of the brutal June 4, 1989 crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square. He also called for an end to oneparty rule in China. Hu took no notice and continued to read his speech, but the incident marred what was supposed to be a carefully orchestrated visit.

A protester interrupted the inauguration ceremony, yelling slogans against the Tiananmen Square crackdown [Reuters]

Leung, a police officer's son and self-made millionaire, replaces career bureaucrat Donald Tsang, who took office in 2005 and is barred from another term. The 57-year-old takes over Hong Kong's top job amid swelling public anger over a yawning income gap, skyrocketing property prices and rising unease about mainland China's growing influence. A protester interrupted the

inauguration ceremony, yelling slogans against the Tiananmen Square crackdown [Reuters] "We will focus our energies on major and pressing issues," said Leung, who outlined plans to even out Hong Kong's widening inequality. He vowed to provide more affordable housing and land for property development, though he also said "there is no need for a major reversal of policy".

Leung Chun-ying (pictured above with his wife, Regina) took office in a morning ceremony [Reuters]

World powers agree to Syria transition plan

nternational powers have agreed that a transitional government should be set up in Syria to end the bloodshed there but left open the question of what part President Bashar al-Assad might play in the process. Peace envoy Kofi Annan said after talks in Geneva on Saturday that the government should include members of Assad's administration and the Syrian opposition and pave the way for free elections. "It is for the people to come to a political agreement, but time is running out," Annan said in concluding remarks. "We need

rapid steps to reach agreement. The conflict must be resolved through peaceful dialogue and negotiations." The Geneva talks had been billed as a last-ditch effort to halt the worsening violence but hit obstacles as Russia, Assad's most powerful ally, opposed Western and Arab insistence that he must quit the scene. The final communique said the transitional government "could include members of the present government and the opposition and other groups and shall be formed on the basis of mutual consent".

But in a victory for Russian diplomacy, it omitted language contained in a previous draft which explicitly said it "would exclude from government those whose continued presence and participation would undermine the credibility of the transition and jeopardise stability and reconciliation". Al Jazeera's Peter Sharp, reporting from Geneva, said that the removed text "was presumed by Russia to suggest that President Bashar al-Assad would not be able to take part in the new government. And they put their

foot down". "Now we have got a new text that says the new government would include members of the government and opposition, but they will be there by mutual consent," he said. Sergei Lavrov, Russian foreign minister, said he was "delighted" with the result as it meant no foreign solution was being imposed on Syria. Rebels and opposition politicians outside the country are likely to reject the presence of Assad, his family or his top aides in any transitional government.

Protests in Japan as nuclear reactor restarts

ozens of protesters in Japan have shouted and danced at the gate of a nuclear power plant after it restarted, the first to go back online since the country shut down all of its reactors for safety checks following the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Ohi nuclear plant's reactor No 3, in the western Fukui Prefecture, returned to operation on Sunday evening despite a deep division in public opinion. Last month, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda ordered the restarts of reactors No 3 and nearby No 4, saying people's living standards cannot be maintained without nuclear energy. Many citizens are against a return to nuclear power because of safety fears after the Fukushima accident in March last year. Crowds of tens of thousands of people had gathered on Friday evening around Noda's official residence, chanting, "Saikado hantai," or "No to nuclear restarts." Protests drawing such numbers are extremely rare in Japan, often known for orderly conformity. A demonstration in Tokyo protesting against the restart and demanding Noda resign was planned in a major park on

Sunday. Although initially ignored by mainstream local media, demonstrations across the country have grown as word spread through social media. Protests have included Japanese celebrities, such as Nobel Prize-winning writer Kenzaburo Oe and Ryuichi Sakamoto, who composed the score for the movie The Last Emperor. All 50 of Japan's working reactors were gradually turned off in the wake of last year's massive earthquake and tsunami, which sent the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant into multiple meltdowns, setting off the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. But worries about a power crunch over the hot summer months have been growing. Oil imports are soaring and officials have warned about blackouts in some regions. The government has been carrying out new safety tests on nuclear plants, and says Ohi No 3 and No 4 are safe to restart. Protesters like Taisuke Kohno, a 41-year-old musician among the 200 people trying to blockade the Ohi plant, are not so sure. Kohno said protesters were facing off against riot police and planned

to stay there day and night. "It's a lie that nuclear energy is clean," he said. "After experiencing the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, how can Japan possibly want nuclear power?" Kansai Electric Power Co, the utility that operates Ohi in central Japan, was not immediately available for comment Sunday. It said on its website that a nuclear reaction restarted Sunday afternoon at the No 3 reactor, a key step for it to begin

producing electricity. Fukushima Dai-ichi, in northeastern Japan, went into meltdowns and exploded after the March 11 tsunami destroyed backup generators to keep the reactor cores cool. In the latest problem at the crippled plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co, its operator, said the cooling system for the spent nuclear fuel pool at reactor No 4 broke down on Saturday, and a temporary system was set up Sunday.

Japan's nuclear reactors have all been shut down since the Fukushima disaster [Reuters]

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

PAGE 35

Murderer hid â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;in prison roof before climbing to freedom with makeshift ropeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

ohn Massey, 64, has escaped from custody THREE times He was jailed for 20 years in 1975 but went on the run in 1994 Massey was released but jailed again after breaking terms of his release to visit his dying father Police warn public to stay away from 'potentially dangerous' man He fled Pentonville Prison in north London yesterday evening Massey shot bouncer Charlie Higgins dead outside a pub in Hackney, east London, in 1975 in a 'drunken moment of madness' A convicted murderer hid in the roof of a prison before escaping over a wal l w i t h a makeshift rope in a major security breach. John Massey, 64, went to the gym at Pentonville Prison before sneaking into the roof where he waited to make his get-away. The killer, branded 'potentially dangerous' by police, has escaped from prison twice before since being jailed for shooting a bouncer outside a club in east London 37 years ago. A local cafe owner said: 'My friend is working in the prison and he said that the guy went to the gym and then hid in the roof and waited for everyone to go. 'He just waited and then escaped from there.' The Ministry of Justice refused to comment on how Massey escaped from the prison in Islington, north London, last night. He was reported missing at 6.30pm - although it remains unclear when he was last seen by prison service staff. A major manhunt is underway today for the killer, one of Britain's longest serving prisoners, after he escaped unnoticed. Police last night carried out door-to-door enquiries in Daring: Massey apparently climbed over a wall at Pentonville Prison using a makeshift rope, it was revealed today

an attempt to find out where he had gone. The Ministry of Justice said today they had launched an investigation into the escape from the jail which holds up to 1,250 Category B and C prisoners. Scotland Yard have advised members of the public not to approach Massey and instead call 999 if he is spotted. He was ordered to serve 20 years behind bars when he was jailed for life for the 1975 shotgun murder of Charlie Higgins, 36, in Hackney with a sawn-off shotgun. Friends have described the revenge killing as a 'moment of drunken madness'. The jail houses Category B and C prisoners - and not the most serious Category A cases. Oscar Wilde spent time inside Pentonville before being transferred to Wandsworth in the late 19th century. More recently, Pete

Massey, who was then a carpenter, killed the doorman because he and two friends had been thrown out of the pub following a fight.

Lifer: Massey was jailed in 1976 for murdering a bouncer outside an Essex club after a drunken row Doherty (below) spent six weeks inside for possessing cocaine last year, while Boy George and George Michael have also been held there. In 2008, Blake FielderCivil, Amy Winehouse's then husband, was jailed at Pentonville for causing grievous bodily harm. The prison, in Islington, north London, holds up to 1,250 inmates and has been used since 1842. Convicted arsonist Julien Chautard escaped from Pentonville by clinging to the underside of the security van he arrived in three years ago. Terence Harper, 29, was also jailed after a jury at the Central Criminal Court found both men guilty of murder. After 18 years behind bars, the killer escaped in 1994 while on a home visit with a prison guard. M a s s e y w e n t o n t he run and spent three years in Spain before he was put back in prison. He was eventually let out in June 2007 to live in a bail hostel in Streatham, south

On the run: Murder convict John Massey escaped from Pentonville Prison yesterday

Pentonville Prison has held some notorious inmates down the years. London, and got a job as a shop fitter. He wanted to live with his sister in north London - but was forced to live in the bail hostel which he found more restrictive than his prison cell. He also had to be back each night. But in order to visit his dying fath er Jack, 82, in Kentish Town, he breached the terms of his release in November of the same year. He stayed with his father for four days until his death but he was forced to give himself up after armed police hunted him down. Prison officers refused to give him permission to attend his father's funeral days later. In May 2010 he walked out

of Ford open prison, West Sussex, to be with his seriously ill sister Carol. He was refused permission to leave the prison temporarily on licence - and was told he could not be taken to visit her in hospital because the staff were not available. In an interview with the Guardian earlier this year, he said: 'In desperation, I walked out and went straight to the hospital - ironically, the same one where my dad had died.' She died two weeks later, but rather than hand himself in he went to live with his 85year-old mother Carol in Camden, London. It took police ten months to find him - living his mother's home.

Murder scene: The Cricketers pub in Hackney, east London where John Massey, now 64, shot dead bouncer Charlie Higgins, 36, in a revenge killing in 1975

PAGE 36

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

How broken heart syndrome protects the grief-stricken from dying P

eople who suffer from intense grief after the death of a loved one are often said to be at risk of dying from a broken heart after developing symptoms of cardiac arrest. But scientists studying ‘broken heart syndrome’ have found the condition may actually have a protective purpose by stopping the organ being pumped with too much adrenaline. Around one or two per cent of people who are initially thought to have suffered a heart attack are diagnosed with the syndrome, also known as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Patients - mostly older women - experience symptoms that resemble a heart attack, but tests reveal no blockage in the coronary arteries - instead the heart has a balloon-like appearance caused by the bottom of the heart not contracting properly. The same condition is sometimes seen in people who are injected with adrenaline to treat severe allergic reactions. The Imperial College London study on rats suggests the body changes its response to adrenaline by switching from its usual role in stimulating the heart to reducing its pumping power. Although this results in acute heart failure, most patients make a full recovery within days or weeks. The researchers believe this switch might have evolved to protect the heart from being overstimulated by the particularly high doses of adrenaline the body releases during stress. Professor Sian Harding said:

‘Adrenaline’s stimulatory effect on the heart is important for helping us get more oxygen around the body in stressful situations, but it can be damaging if it goes on for too long. ‘In patients with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, adrenaline works in a different way and shuts down the heart instead. This seems to protect the heart from being overstimulated.’ Researchers simulated the condition by injecting high doses of adrenaline in anaesthetised rats - heart muscle contraction was suppressed towards the bottom of the heart, as in Takotsubo patients. Results showed the rats were protected from a fatal overstimulation of the heart suggesting adrenaline acts through a different pathway than usual, with this switch protecting the heart from toxic levels of adrenaline. The study also examined drugs that might be useful for treating broken heart syndrome - finding some beta blockers used to treat high blood pressure, angina and heart failure, reproduced or enhanced features of Takotsubo - giving new insights into the protective effects of these drugs. They also found Levosimendan, a different type of drug given in heart failure to stimulate the heart without going through the adrenaline receptor pathways, had a beneficial effect. Dr Alexander Lyon, also of Imperial College London, said: ‘Currently it is not fully known how to treat these patients. Insights from this work show that the illness may be protecting them from more serious harm.

'Broken heart' syndrome most often affects grieving older women. ‘We’ve identified a drug treatment that might be helpful, but the most important thing is to recognise the condition, and not to make it worse by giving patients with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy more adrenaline or adrenaline-like medications. ‘We hope the findings from this work will lead to new treatment strategies for these patients during the acute phase of their illness, and to prevent recurrence.’ The study was funded by the

British Heart Foundation (BHF), the Wellcome Trust, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Academy of Medical Sciences. Dr Shannon Amoils, research advisor at the BHF, said: ‘This is a fascinating study which presents a possible explanation for the signs of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, a rare condition that’s usually preceded by intense emotional or physical stress. ‘Patients usually have symptoms that resemble those of

a heart attack but nearly all fully recover after a short time. ‘The study also provides new insights into how the heart may protect itself from stress, which opens up exciting avenues of exploration for research. ‘We must remember though that this is a study in rats, and the findings need to be confirmed in people before we can be sure of their relevance to patients.’ The study was published in the journal Circulation Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Beating arthritis is all in your head: Pain of joint condition can be eased through counselling

Widespread: Rheumatoid arthritis affects almost 700,000 Britons and is said to be more prevalent in women.

Arthritis sufferers could have their pain eased by learning to cope with the condition through counselling, scientists have claimed. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) could help rheumatoid arthritis victims manage their pain by allowing them to control their debilitating symptoms. Experts believe psychotherapy treatment works because it helps people focus on overcoming negative thoughts, which alter the way they feel. A resulting positive outlook helps keep pain and adversity in context, allowing arthritis sufferers to cope with the condition. The 104 rheumatoid arthritis sufferers who took part in a recent study were selected

for one of several treatments. The study, carried out by Louise Sharpe from the University of Sydney and published in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, compared CBT with its separate components of cognitive therapy and behavioural therapy. Patients who took part were analysed at the start, posttreatment and six months later on, where disease activity, joint function, disability and psychological functioning were measured. The results found that cognitive therapy, which involves identifying and changing dysfunctional thinking, behaviour and emotions, was an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, and that behavioural

therapy was not necessarily needed. Clare Jacklin, of the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society, said the organisation ‘welcomes psychological intervention for people living with rheumatoid arthritis’. She told the Daily Express: ‘Existing and emerging evidence suggests it (psychological intervention) plays an important role in patient care yet very few people with RA are offered such interventions. ‘Those who are, often have to display symptoms of depression before any referral is made. ‘Prevention is better than cure and we believe everyone with a diagnosis should be able to access psychological support and therapy as required.’ Source: Dailymail.co.uk

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

PAGE 37

Nasarawa Assembly byeelection: Litmus test for CPC, PDP ANALYSIS

ith the demise of the m e m b e r representing Awe north at the Nasarawa State House of Assembly (NSHA), late Alhaji Yakubu Faransa, who died on the 30th of May at the national hospital , followed by the subsequent fixing of 7 th July for the conduct of the bye-election to fill the vacant seat, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the stage is once again set for the two rival parties straddling the political landscape in the state to flex their muscles and demonstrate their control or lack of it over the political machine operating in the state. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which had ruled the state for twelve years and which lost the gubernatorial election only a year ago, still controls the Assembly, with 20 out of the 24 members coming from the party. Not only that, the vacant seat was formerly occupied by a member of the party and pundits would readily agree that the PDP will attempt to show that it remains the party to beat in the state. It is however expected that the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), riding on the tail of its recent victory both at the polls and subsequently at the courts, will marshal out its arsenal, in a bid to dislodge the grip of the PDP on the Assembly, even if just by a single seat. No matter how one views the situation, the political dynamics permeating the polity for now, leaves no room for certainty. Parties involved in the bye-election, particularly the two political archrivals, must go about the exercise fully conscious of the fact that the game plan has changed. Unlike in previous dispensations, elections have evolved into a more participatory, critical venture, calling for a total overhaul of preceding approaches, with the electorates becoming ever conscious of their roles in the emergence of political leaders. Quite unlike the time when the party alone decided the outcome of an election. Not long ago, all that a candidate vying for a political office needed to do was to clinch the ticket of the ruling party at the primary election and for

As the people of Nassarawa state prepare to elect a replacement for a member of the state Assembly, late Yakubu Faransa, who died recently, our Correspondent, Ali Abare-Abubakar, examines the strengths of the two leading political parties in the state, PDP and CPC, and submits that the election would be a battle of the Titans.

PDP Chairman, Bamanga Tukur sure, such a person merely passed through the rigmarole of the general election before being declared winner. By emerging victorious in the 2011 gubernatorial election, Governor Umaru Tanko Al-makura, demystified the incumbency factor when he denied former governor Aliyu Akwe Doma of the PDP, the chance for a second shot at the Lafia Government House. What that implied was that even with a sitting governor, there is no guarantee that the CPC will win the election, since all the parameter that defined incumbency have been exposed, thrown into the dustbin of history. An outsider, far removed from the establishment, is quite capable of upsetting the apple pie! So for any of the parties to emerge victorious at the polls on the 7 th of July, there is the urgent need for them to imbibe an entirely different approach and like Alhaji Abdulhamid Kwarra, a former majority leader at the state Assembly recently observed, three things are key to deciding the success or failure of a party. These including the popularity, the acceptability of a candidate and logistics, would be the determining factors when the electorates troop out to elect the next Assembly man from Awe

CPC Chairman, Chief Tony Momoh north constituency. On their parts, INEC in collaboration with all the security agencies in the state, has assured both the electorates and the parties of a level playing ground. In separate discussion at a stakeholders meeting, Alhaji Ahmad Makama, Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), the same man who supervised the election that saw to the defeat of a party in power, assured that the Commission has put everything in place to create a level playing ground for the four parties contesting in the bye-election, namely; ACN, ANPP, CPC, and PDP, with the last two being major contenders. Addressing stakeholders recently at the headquarters of the Commission in Lafia, the REC outlined the programme of activities leading to the 7 th July exercise; cautioning the political parties against conduct capable of disrupting the exercise, assuring them that arrangements have been finalised to conduct a credible, free and fair byeelection. For the PDP, the Awe byeelection provides the opportunity for the party to assert its control at the grass root, as well as confirm its

grip on the state legislature. Granted that the PDP has established structures across the nook and cranny of the state, a party machinery that existed for the past 13 years, with a workable network that when galvanised, could effectively deliver. If this seeming dormant structure is rightly motivated, then the chances of the party clinching the seat will be bright. Also, by fielding Alhaji Musa Saidu, twice chairman of Awe local government area and a grass root mobiliser, a man who, pundits say, is popular and acceptable and who is in control of several youth organisations in the area, the PDP, has so far, not only brightened its chances but sent a message across that it intends to retain its seat at the assembly. At an emergency stakeholders meeting held last week, at the secretariat of the party, speaker after speaker, harped on the need for the party to put its acts together and to assert its control of the political set up in the state, by winning the Awe bye-election. Chief Yunana Iliya, state chairman of the party, was emphatic when he told those who attended the meeting, “the late Yakubu Faransa was PDP, the seat belongs to the party and we must take our

thing!” For the CPC, a mere child of necessity, a party that lacks structure and visibility, success at the Awe byeelection is hinged on the popularity presently being enjoyed by Governor Umaru Tanko Al-makura, even as the party machinery in the state is subsumed within the administrative structure. At a rally in Awe, Almakura, while presenting the CPC candidate, Alhaji Umaru Tanko Tunga, a former aide to the governor, who resigned from his position to contest the election, told the crowd to “vote for the CPC candidate because they are used to voting Umaru Tanko.” The populist approach to governance adopted by the CPC government on its own is sure to put the party in good stead but feelers around the state indicate that this alone, may not give the party the desired result, to dislodge the PDP’s control at the Assembly, even by a single vote. Investigations by Peoples Daily showed that there is a rising discontent among the population, particularly politicians who at the start, played significant roles in the emergence of the governor but who now felt jettisoned, who use any forum to express their discontent, with some making known their intention to frustrate the efforts of the party. But a major obstacle that could scuttle the ambition of the party to add up to its membership at the state Assembly is the general perception that “people are hungry”, a parlance meaning that money is not in circulation. For the ordinary citizen, dividend of democracy is better appreciated when politicians dish out money and everyone is happy. The frugal, reformist stance of the CPC administration has the capacity to weaken the massive support being enjoyed by the government, even with the positive change sweeping across the state. As both parties go to the trenches, it remains to be seen which of them will emerge victorious in the 7 th July bye-election.

PAGE 38

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

Reps propose establishment of social security agency By Lawrence Olaoye

he House of Representatives has concluded plans to initiate and pass into law a bill aimed at the establishment of a social security agency in the country. The agency when created would help in the improvement of the socio-economic well-being of the citizens as practiced in some advanced economies in the world. The bill programmed to be sponsored by Rep Bassey Eko Ewa, is titled "A bill for an Act t establish the social security agency which shall provide a framework for a workable social security scheme and the issuance of social security number system in Nigeria for other incidental matters." The agency, according to the bill, shall formulate policies for government's approval and implementation, establishment of social security numbers to Nigerians, administer social welfare schemes and management of the agency's activities with the view to ensuring a functional welfare schemes and registration of social security number for all Nigerians and the unemployed. On commencement of its operation, the agency is to establish and run programmes for unemployed graduates and the fit but not educated and not employed citizens as well as set up small-scale agro-allied industries to engage the massive unemployed citizens. It will also ensure the training and educating of orphans and abandoned babies and getting them ready to work in agro-allied factories and other small scale

industries. The bill also empowers the agency to source its funding though grants an monies from Federal and State governments, corporate and non-governmental organisations, individuals, government agencies and parastatals which shall be called 'social security fund'. Section 10(iv) further empowers the agency to draw one percent charge called social security from Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and saved for the agency from all individual companies, contractors seeking tax clearance for whatever purpose. It can also draw one percent social security tax from Federal

Housing Authority (FHA), Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Federal Ministry of Works and other bodies charged with he private corporate and company buildings in the FCT as part of approval cost for such erection to take off. All banks operating in the country are also expected to contribute one percent of their annual profits dividends as social security tax, and be liable to a fine of N5 million in case of default, while all government corporations including Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Tin Mining Corporation, Gem Stone factory, Immigration, Customs, PHCN,

NPA, Water corporations are to offer one percent o their yearly profits as social welfare contributions to the agency. Another related bill to be presented seeks to amend the Nigeria Security Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) Act, Cap N8, LFN, 2004 to provide social security\protection to all eligible citizens of Nigeria who are ordinarily resident in Nigeria, whether employed both in the private and public sector, unemployed and aged without discrimination and related matters. The sponsor of the bill, Babatunde Adewale, also canvassed for amendment of certain clauses in the Employees Compensation Act 2010.

n line with the call for memoranda from the people by the National Assembly in the process of the constitution amendment, the Osun state government has canvassed for a return to parliamentary system of government. The South-West state equally canvassed for the return of regional system of government as practiced in the first republic. The 15-man committee set up by the state governor, Rauf Aregbesola, headed by Barrister Gbadegesin Adedeji was saddled with the responsibility of coming up with recommendations in form of memorandum that will be submitted at the National Assembly. In furtherance, the State Committee with the leadership of a legal luminary in their recommendations submitted to the Senate Committee advised that there should be constitutional recognition for the six geo-political

From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

ot being convinced by the ruling of the Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja over the pre-election matter FHC/ LKJ/CS/52/2011, the defendant through his counsel has put motion on notice for stay of execution of the judgement A copy of the appeal made available to journalists in Lokoja yesterday by the counsel to the defendant, Barr Emmanuel Haruna reads in part that the execution of the judgment should wait until the determination of the appeal filed by the applicant. According to the motion on notice being sighted , the grounds of appeal includes "the issue of jurisdiction constitutes special circumstance that can ground an application for stay of execution of judgment pending appeal", adding that "appellant has filed Notice of Appeal raising a real issue of jurisdiction The paper further stated that "The decision of the trial court cannot be supported having regard to the weight of the evidence adduced on record". Earlier on Friday June 29, 2012 the federal high court in Lokoja under Justice Iyang Ekwo had ruled that the application by Mr Gabriel Olofu concerning the pre-election primary in Olamaboro state constituency held on January 9, 2011 was valid

Northern students condemn NANS over NLRC By Augustine Aminu

L-R: Niger state Governor, Dr Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu, Senator Zaynab Kure, and Senate President David Mark, during the just concluded 2012 Senate retreat, recently in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State Capital.

Constitution amendment: Osun seeks return to parliamentary system By Lawrence Olaoye with agency reports

Pre-election in Kogi: Defendant files notice of appeal

zone /regions; that the geo-political zones or regions constitute the federating units, replacing the present state designate and that they should be created based on considerations of culture, land, nationality and political expediency. The document entitled "Memorandum of the state of Osun on the Review of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria also recommended that each region, when constitutionally recognized, should be allowed to make and have its own constitution and that the proposed amendment should have a clause for selfdetermination. The memorandum also proposed that membership of the Senate should be on part-time basis and receive sitting allowances to be determined by the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission (RAMFAC) while the salary and emoluments of members of the House of Representatives should not be higher than that of the most

senior public servant in the employment of the central government. It also proposed that only matters bordering on the collective interest of the generality of Nigerians like Foreign Affairs, Defence, Currency, among others, should be left with the Central Government. The memorandum stated inter alia: "Constitutional recognition should be given to geopolitical zones/regions; that the geo-political zones or regions should be the Federating Units and that the geo-political zones/ regions should be created using such parameter as culture, land, nationality and political expediency. More powers should be taken away from the centre to the Federating Units. "Amendment of the Constitution should include a clause for self-determination. The National Assembly should be bicamera but election to the House of Representatives should reflect extant Electoral Act incorporating

Justice Uwais Panel reports in its entirety. In view of the above, chapter 1 of the 1999 Constitution should be amended to make the Constitution supreme in areas allocated to the Central Government. In the event of any inconsistency or conflict between the laws of the Geo-political Zones or Regions and that of Central government, it should be resolved by the Central Supreme Court. The right of self-determination should be guaranteed by the Constitution." On the power sharing, the memo also proposed devolution of power to the federating units. Other far-reaching amended proposed include: parliamentary democracy; concrete constitutional roles for traditional rulers; creation, administration and control of local Government be left to the federating units either states Houses of Assembly/that of the region; removal of Land use Act; National Youth Service corps (NYSC); Code of Conduct Bureau and establishment of regional police.

he National Association of Northern Nigerian Students has condemned what it described as a planned campaign against the Director General of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Mr. Peter Igho, by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). This was contained in a statement issued by the group's Director of Media and Public Affairs, Comrade Isah Seidu describing the planned action of NANS as a setback to the anti-corruption crusade in Nigeria. According to the statement, information reaching the group's desk has revealed that the apex body of students in Nigeria was being used by some elements in the society to score cheap political points by attempting to blackmail Ighoh on certain allegations which the organisation has confirmed to be baseless, frivolous and meaningless in any formal discourse. He also warned that the NANS should be aware that it was used as focal point in the actualisation of the nascent democracy being enjoyed by Nigerians and must not allow itself to degenerate to the abyss by anti-democratic elements. "Information available to us has revealed that our sister body which is the apex body is planning to protest over the activities of some corrupt public officers in the country which we wholeheartedly support in our drive to rid Nigeria of systemic corruption".

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

Kwankwaso commends Rep over empowerment initiatives

he Kano state Governor, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, has commended a member of the House of Representatives, Suleiman Goro, representing Fagge Federal constituency over efforts to empower women and youth in the area in order to become self reliant. According to a statement signed by Bala Salihu D/Kudu, Director of Press to the Deputy Gobvernor of Kano state, Kwankwaso gave the commendation through his Deputy, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, while leading the distribution of 250 sewing machine to women in the area procured by Goro. Ganduje stated that the gesture was in line with Kwankwaso's initiative toward fighting against poverty among the women and youth in the state. He also added that the initiative was in line with the state governor's programme which includes Lafiya Jari, Poultry keeping, tailoring, among others economic development. According to him the government is already planning to provide women with cattle for them to become excellent in producing milk, and meat for economic development. Ganduje laso described Goro as worthy of emulation by his colleagues in the House of Representatives because of his efforts to complement Governor Rabiu Musa's initiative in empowering women and youths in the state. According to the Deputy Governor, the gestures shown to the women by Goro have touched all lives of Fagge community and it was done under the platform of kwankwasiyya philosophy of transparency and honesty. Earlier, Goro disclosed that he provided the items in order to complement the governor's efforts to achieve his goal in uplifting women and youth their economic status. Goro, enjoined the beneficiary of the programme to utilize them judicially by so doing would enable the government and house member to intensify their efforts of empowering them.

PAGE 39

Nyako directs CoS to oversee Information Ministry From Blessing Tunoh, Yola

overnor Murtala Nyako has directed the newly appointed Chief of staff CoS to the Adamawa government house, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abba Jimeta, to oversee the affairs of the state ministry of information. A statement signed by Nyako's chief press secretary, Maijama'a Adamu, and made available to Peoples Daily

indicated that the directive was with immediate effect. Jimeta was the Commissioner for Information to the governor during his last tenure, but was the only Commissioner nominee, out of the 27 names submitted, out rightly rejected by the Adamawa state House of Assembly after which he was named Chief of staff. It may be recalled that while the screening process

was a smooth ride for most nominees, Jimeta was not asked any question by the state Assembly under the leadership of Speaker Ahmadu Fintri but was told to submit his curriculum vitae and leave the Assembly complex. The twenty six nominees who scaled the screening have since been sworn-in and allocated to their respective ministries, that of information

had remained vacant until this directive. In a civic reception organized by the Jimeta community in honour of the new chief of staff, the commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs, Dr. Salihu Bakari, said the appointment and exploits of the celebrant is an indication that loyalty pays and urged public office holders to emulate his ways.

L-R: President, Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Peter Esele, Edo state Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole , President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, and other labour leaders, during a rally organised by the labour unions in support of Governor Oshiomhole's re-election, at the weekend in Benin.

91 candidates jostle for 20 LGs in Ogun From Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji, Abeokuta

head of the July local government elections in Ogun state, the Independent Electoral Commission has officially disclosed that 91 candidates are in the race for chairmanship position in the 20 local governments areas in the state. The disclosure is contained in a list released by the electoral body at its office located in OkeIlewo, Abeokuta, which also showed that the two factions of

the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were cleared for the poll. In all, 15 political parties got the nod to participate in the election, which also has 717 candidates jostling for the councillorship slots in the 236 wards in the state. The parties include Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN), Labour Party (LP), All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), Community Party of Nigeria (CPN) and All Progressives Grand Alliance.

Others are Action Party of Nigeria, African Renainnance Party, Republican Party of Nigeria, Peoples Salvation Party, Peoples Redemption Party, Congress for Progressive Change and Citizens Peoples Party. The list, which was given to each of the representatives of the parties by the screening committee chairman, Mutiu Agboke, showed that five of the chairmanship candidates failed screening while two did not show up for the exercise. Similarly, the screening

committee did not clear 23 councillorship candidates for the election while 75 of them were absent. For the chairmanship positions, 35 candidates emerged from both factions of the PDP, while twenty got the nod to run under the ACN, and 14 for the PPN. For the councillorship post, PDP factions produced 369 candidates, ACN; 234 while PPN also got its 92 candidates cleared for the election. One candidate from the ANPP withdrew from the chairmanship race.

Accord Party woos others over INEC's deregistration plans From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

ccord Party, AP, has appealed to other political parties slated for deregistration by the the Independent National electoral Commission (INEC) for failing to secure at least one seat during the 2011 General elections to join its fold.

A statement endorsed by National Publicity Secretary, Dr Samson Isibor, said Accord Party was not among over 50 political parties stated for deregistration having secured 13 House of Assembly and House of Representative seats in Oyo and Delta states. The Statement added that,

'Accord Party is widely spread all over the three geo-political zones of the federation…The Accord party is represented at the National Assembly by five House of Assembly members from Oyo and Delta States.', he said. Meanwhile, Police in Edo State have vowed to arrest and prosecute under-aged voters as well as

unregistered voters at the July 14 2012 Governorship election. The warning is contained in eight paragraph communiqué issued at the end of stakeholders meeting with officials of security agencies (INEC), Political parties executives and Governorship candidates for July 14 2012 election.

The communiqué added that there would be total restriction of vehicular movements except for those on essential duties/accredited party Agents, Observers and Media. 'All parties agreed to work towards a violent-free election, devoid of rigging and other actions that infringe on the electoral Act 2010 (as amended)'.

PAGE 40

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

Any attempt to rig Edo gubernatorial election will be cataclysmic - ACN warns By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

R-L: President Goodluck Jonathan, and Edo state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate, Major-General Charles Airhiavbere, acknowledging cheers from the supports, during the PDP gubernatorial final campaign, on Saturday in Benin, Edo state capital.

Nigeria cannot support illegality, says FG

By Lawrence Olaoye

he Federal Government has vowed to resist illegality by any of its citizens living abroad just as it acknowledged that about 9941 of its citizens are currently languishing in various prisons across the world. This was the consensus reached between the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs led by its chairperson, Rep Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at a meeting in Abuja. The meeting which reviewed the activities of Nigerians abroad as it affects the image of the country , said that though the

ideals of citizen diplomacy was still in operation, it would not support illegality by any Nigerian abroad. Speaking at the meeting, Rep Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje said the number of Nigerians serving various jail terms abroad was a source of concern to the Committee as it affects the image of the country. Ukeje said that though the committee would not support illegality, but would appreciate any support the Ministry as well as the Embassies and Nigeria Missions abroad can do to them as a citizen of Nigeria. She said that the information at the committee disposal showed that majority of them are in various jails abroad for consular and drug related matters, wondering what the ministry can

do to minimise the upsurge. Responding, the minister of foreign Affairs, Mr Gbenga Ashiru said that majority of Nigerians in jails are for consular offences which in most cases, Nigerians are at fault. ``What is illegal is illegal, Nigeria cannot support illegality. If you have six months visa, do not over stay but operate within the limit'' If your stay has expired, and you are not through with what you are doing, please come back home and renew your visa, as against violating the laws of another country'', he said. The Minister said that the best the Nigeria Embassies and Missions could do was to go and visit the Nigerians in prisons and see how they are faring.

Ashiru said that the Ministry was constrained by paucity of funds occasioned by the cut in the ministry's budget, and such, could not do much in terms of financially assisting Nigerians in jail. He appealed to the lawmakers to assist the Ministry in mounting up a campaign for Nigerians to be good citizen when they travelled abroad and not do anything capable of tarnishing the image of the country. The minister, however, said that the ministry has directed all its missions abroad to defend and protect Nigerians to any level if their rights are being infringed upon by the visiting country. ``We owe it a duty to protect our nationals anywhere in the world where their rights were infringed upon. It is our responsibility'', he said.

Senators reject Taraba PDP exco, says Suntai violated PDP Constitution From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

wo Senators from Taraba state, Sen. Aisha Jummai Alhassan (Taraba North) and Abubakar Tutare, have rejected the state executive appointed by Governor Danbaba Suntai. According to the Senators, Governor Suntai on his own appointed his loyalists as members of the executive committees without any congress in violation of the PDP guidelines for the conduct of the congresses. In a petition to PDP National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, the Senators alerted the national leadership of the party that as a

result of lack of consensus in the manner the executives of the party at the Ward and state level, emerged, the party now has two factions but that they have restrained the aggrieved members of the party from setting up parallel executives. "That is a complete breach of our party constitution and a violation of the directives given by the national headquarters and Mr. President in his speech at the last NEC meeting held before the congresses. Also, that is injustice done to us and a total denial of our supporters' right to choose people that we want to lead us in the party. "Sir, this position is totally unacceptable to us. We and our supporters do not accept and

therefore don't recognize the governor appointed executive of the party, especially Mr. Victor Bala, the appointed state chairman." Senators Alhassan and Tutare further disclosed that since Bala was made the state chairman by the governor, he has been threatening to sanction members of the party that relates with their senator for insisting that proper congresses must be organized in the state. "It was directed by the national headquarters that all stakeholders, especially members of the National Assembly, be involved in the consensus process. Sir, there can never be true consensus where some stakeholders are excluded from the process. "The governor constituted

committees for the congresses at all levels excluding us and directed that none of our supporters should be considered as consensus candidates. Our supporters complained and insisted that they were interested in some of the party positions, and since they were not considered in the consensus process, and that they should be given forms to contest. They were denied that too as the governor had already taken and was in possession of the nominations forms. While calling on PDP chairman to revisit the congress in Taraba state, they said "the situation as it is now is very bad, tension is further mounting day after day and our supporters who are treated as outcast in the party are beginning to get anxious and impatient".

he Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has warned that any attempt to rig the July 14th gubernatorial election in Edo State will trigger a chain of cataclysmic reactions, the end of which no one can predict. In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the warning became necessary in view of the desperation of the PDP to capture Edo State at all cost, first as a trophy for its new Chairman who is bent on ensuring his party wins the first election under his chairmanship, and also as a foothold for the President's presumed ambition for 2015. It said events leading to the election have shown that the PDP is bent on creating an atmosphere that will be hostile to the holding of a free, fair and transparent poll. ACN therefore called on its members and supporters in Edo State to resist any attempt by the PDP to rig the forthcoming poll, saying they must not only turn out en masse to vote for Gov. Adams Oshiomhole, on the basis of his performance in office, but must also stay behind until the votes have been counted and the result announced, contrary to the 'vote and go' rigging strategy of the PDP. ''Already, the trend is glaring: At least two attempts have been made on the life of Gov. Oshiomhole, first when a truck rammed his convoy and killed many after narrowly missing him, and then last week when suspected political thugs attacked the Governor, top government officials and ACN stalwarts in Usen town. Add that to the cold-blooded killing of the Governor's Principal Private Secretary, Olaitan Oyerinde, and the evil machinations against the Governor and his party begins to manifest. ''The strategy is simple: Go after the Governor and scare off his teeming supporters, and then hope they will fight back, thus precipitating chaos that will then be capitalized upon by the PDP Federal Government to declare a curfew, at best, and a state of emergency, at worst. But while we urge our members and supporters to be peaceful and to resist playing into the hands of the PDP, they must be vigilant, they must know that it is against the Electoral Act for anyone to ask them to leave the polling station after voting. They must not leave until the votes have been counted and the results announced,'' the party said. ACN said what happened in 2011 must not be allowed to repeat itself, when gullible international observers, after witnessing a seemingly orderly process in which patriotic voters queued and cast their votes, then returned to their hotels to declare the elections free and fair, without witnessing the events at the collation centres where most of the rigging took place.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY JULY 2, 2012

PAGE 41

Spain S rout Italy to retain title in style

By Patrick Andrew with agency report pain became the first European team to ever win three back-to-back international tournaments as they defended the European Championship with a comfortable 4-0 win over Italy with goals from David Silva, Jordi Alba, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata in Kiev. The victory in an excellent final full of attacking intent meant they became not just the first team to win back-to-back European Championships - either side of their maiden World Cup triumph in 2010, but stamp their of ‘tiki taka’ despite being criticsed as boring. The game was effectively over at half-time after Spain cut through their opponents with two incisive passes. First it was Andres Iniesta who found Cesc Fabregas to cross for Silva to head home; then it was Xavi whose fine through-ball reached left-back Jordi Alba to calmly slot home. Italy responded well to going behind and effectively matched their opponents in the possession stakes, though they had to wait until a few minutes after the half hour mark to create a scoring chance, which saw Antonio Cassano’s shot well saved by Iker Casillas. But Spain increased their lead four minutes before the interval through a first international goal for left-back Jordi Alba. The Valencia man sprinted onto a defencesplitting pass from Xavi before tucking the ball past a helpless Gigi Buffon. The Azzurri threw on striker Antonio Di Natale at the start of the second half and he had two good chances within five minutes of the restart, the second of which forced Casillas into an excellent save at close range. The world champions retained the same formation that they had deployed in previous games and dominated in possession and indeed in all other technical departments, a display that forced the Italians to lose their offensive and even defensive rhythm. Things were made worse for Italy when third substitute Thiago Motta hobbled off with a hamstring strain in the second half and, unable to make any more changes, the ten-men of Cesare Prandelli stood no chance when Fernando Torres and Juan Mata netted simple efforts late on. Spain attacked from the start with intent and ended the game in much the same as they had started it with quick pass passes and positional play that mesmerised their opponents. However, it was not all Spain because Iker Casillas was compelled on a number of times to stretch full length to makes and equally punched the ball out of danger.

World and European champions, Spain showing off their hard won trophy after routing Italy 4-0 to become the first to win the European championship back-to-back yesterday

PAGE 42

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY JULY 2, 2012

NFF clueless on FA Cup draw

he Round of 16 lineup is now complete in the 2012 Federation Cup but it is still unclear when the draws would be held. Investigations by SuperSport.com reveals that no date has yet been selected ahead of the Round of 16 stage of the competition organized by the apex football governing body, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). Spokesman of the NFF, Ademola Olajire confessed that he had yet to receive any information about the

Keshi, Eagles coach

arely three days to the 2013 CAF Nations Cup final phase of qualifyinmg draw scheduled for Johannesburg, South Africa on July 5, Super Eagles Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, holds no fear for opponents and has accordingly declared that the Super Eagles are capable of confronting any opposition with minimum hassles. The draw for the final round of the qualifying series will be held on Thursday and Nigeria are among the 15 teams seeded and they will be drawn against 15 unseeded teams.

date for the Round of 16 draws. “I don’t have that information yet. I don’t know when the draws will be held,” Olajire told SuperSport.com. Meanwhile, technical adviser of the reigning Cup champions, Heartland, Lodewijk de Kruif said he was disappointed but not surprised at the development. “To be honest, It’s no surprise that the federation does not have this information at this moment. It is not right at all as this should have

been known even before the last round of matches were played,” de Kruif said. The Heartland gaffer also expressed hope that the ‘right centres’ would be chosen ahead of the last 16 of the competition. “I spoke to the coach of Dolphins (Stanley Eguma) after the last round of matches and he told me that they had to play (against Plateau United) on a very bad pitch (at the Emmanuel Atongo Stadium, Katsina-Ala) somewhere in the North. “We don’t need these

sorts of things. I recall last year, my team played in a very good pitch in Kaduna at this stage. There are some very good pitches in the country. I like the pitch in Ilorin,” he revealed. The Dutch tactician also took the time to voice his opinion on his side’s chances as regards retaining their title. “The competition is hard as it gives teams a chance to get a continental ticket. It will be hard (to retain our title) but I hope that we can do it,” he stated. The 16 teams left in the

Nations Cup: Bring on any foes, Keshi calls out to CAF

“We won’t run away from any team for the final qualifiers. Any team we are drawn against, we will be fine,” said Keshi, who will be at the draw alongside top officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). Top of the unseeded teams are Senegal, who Keshi refused to play against in a friendly in January as he had only just resumed as Eagles coach. Malawi, who are already pitched against Nigeria in the qualifying tournament for the 2014 World Cup and forced the Eagles to a 1-1 draw in Blantyre last month, could also be matched against Keshi’s team.

Togo, who Keshi qualified to the 2006 World Cup, as well as Niger and Botswana, who both featured for the first time at the AFCON finals in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea earlier this year, are also in the second pot of teams not seeded. The Eagles coach said he was not shocked that seven-time champions Egypt were ousted out of the competition by less fancied Central African Republic. “I was not surprised (that Egypt crashed out). That’s one thing we need to realise in Nigeria, it’s not our birthright to beat the other team. We have to plan. The Egyptians planned for a year and we planned for just a week and you want to win?” he

asked rhetorically. “I’m not surprised, its football, there are no longer small teams and so whoever comes our way, we will take seriously.” In the meantime, Keshi

competition will be divided into four groups of four teams each in four zones across the country. QUALIFIED TEAMS Prime Fc Sharks Fc Lobi Stars Gombe Utd Kwara Utd Crown Fc Heartland Fc Rangers Fc Nasarawa Utd Dynamite El-Kanemi Samba Fc Warri Wolves Plateau Utd Enyimba Kano Pillars has said he is satisfied with his team after his first three competitive games in June. Nigeria beat Namibia 10 and then drew 1-1 in Malawi in World Cup qualifiers before they defeated Rwanda 2-0 to reach the final round of qualifiers for the 2013 AFCON. “I’m satisfied with the team so far. In the coming matches, we will give other players like Obafemi Martins and Obinna Nsofor a chance in the team as well,,” he said.

Godfrey Oboabana

Pillars make lucky sixteen

ano Pillars became the final team to confirm their place in the round of 16 of the Federation Cup following a routine 2-0 win over Kaduna United at the Rwang Pam Stadium, Jos on Sunday courtesy of Mannir Ubale’s brace. Neither side could find the breakthrough in an even first which saw that had clear cup goal scoring opportunities at a premium. Pillars eventually got their noses in front when Ubale poked home in the 61st minute. The former Bayelsa United attacker was to get his second soon after as Pillars cruised home at a canter. Head coach of the team, Baba Ganaru was pleased with his side’s exertions on the day. “To be honest, the first half was very even as both sides played well. Kaduna United is a good side playing in the Premier League. They have also won this competition before so we had to play well to get a result against a very experienced side,” Ganaru told SuperSport.com. The trainer also expressed gratitude over the ability of his side to avoid been added to the number of big scalps thus far in the competition following failures recorded by Dolphins, ABS, Sunshine Stars and Akwa United. “We had to be careful because this competition is full of surprises but we are happy we got the job done in the end,” he concluded.

Dedevbo off for Azerbaijan WC draw

ead coach of N i g e r i a ’ s Flamingoes, Peter Dedevbo will be accompanied by team secretary to witness the draws of the FIFA Under17 Women’s World Cup in Azerbaijan on July 6. The duo will leave Nigeria on July 4 aboard a Turkish Airline from Murtala Mohammed International Airport

Joseph Yobo

Lagos to Turkey before connecting a flight to Azerbaijan. Dedevbo has expressed little fear ahead of the draws insisting that going past the quarterfinal stages of the competition remains a priority. “I do not want to bother myself with the teams who will be in our group, I look forward to playing any team but above all I want

is to improve on our last outing,” he said. Nigeria defeated Kenya and Zambia in the qualifying rounds to book their ticket for the World Cup scoring 12 goals and conceding just 1 goal en route. Nigeria crashed out at the group stages of the world cup in New Zealand in 2008 but reached the quarterfinals in Trinidad & Tobago 2010 where they

were eliminated by eventual winners Korea Republic. Teams at the 2012 World Cup will be drawn into four groups and matches will be played in two cities of Baku and Lankaran from September 22 to October 13, 2012. Nigeria are joined by The Gambia and Ghana as Africa’s representatives in the competition.

Sunshine train in Benin for Esperance

onfident Sunshine Stars will train in Benin City for their CAF Champions League clash against champions Esperance on Sunday. Coach of the Nigeria Premier League side Gbenga Ogunbote

revealed that the move is to ensure that his team remain focused on the home game against the crack Tunisian club. “We need all the concentration for this encounter. It’s our first game of the group phase

and there is a need for us to start on a high note,” Ogunbote said. “I know it would be a difficult encounter considering the fact that they are the defending champions but I am confident that we would

get the three points a stake.” The Sunshine Stars coach admitted his team are under pressure to win as they are the only Nigerian club still in contention for continental glory this year.

“We are under pressure naturally, but I am convinced we will manage this well,” assured the man who guided the Akure club to the semifinals of last year’s CAF Confederation Cup, where they lost out to another

Tunisian club Club Africain. “Esperance are good side and I am looking forward to do our best to start well in the group with victory against the defending champions. A win will hugely boost our morale.”

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY JULY 2, 2012

PAGE 43

Lampard set to join Beckham at LA Galaxy

Transfer The season is over. Clubs are counting their blessing as well as losses and would like to make amends and even beef up their squads where noticeable lapses exist. And the transfer market is agog barely 24 hours after major European leagues dropped the curtain. And so to keep abreast with latest rumours, we begin daily doses of movements within the market both for players and coaches like.

Seedorf leaves AC Milan for Botafogo

etherlands legend Clarence Seedorf has left AC Milan to join Brazilian side Botafogo in a record two-year deal. The Surinam-born 36-yearold, who ended 10-year stint at

Clarence Seedorf

AC Milan this summer, has won the Champions League four times with three different clubs. Botafogo say his contract is the most lucrative deal ever handed out to a foreign player in Brazil. “It is the biggest contract for a foreigner made by a Brazilian football club,” said a Botafogo statement. Seedorf, who has won 87 caps for his county and was part of the BBC’s punditry team for this summer’s European Championship had been linked with a move to the Premier League but has opted for Brazil instead. Rio de Janeiro-based Botafogo sit eighth in the Brazilian league with three wins from six matches.

Tottenham plan shock move for Arsenal star

ottenham incoming boss Andre Villas-Boas is ready to make an audacious move to bring Arsenal winger Theo Walcott to White Hart Lane. The Portuguese is hoping to put his Chelsea nightmare behind him and be a success as Harry Redknapp’s surprise successor and he already has a list of transfer targets to place his own stamp on a side which finished fourth last season. Porto’s Portuguese international Joao Moutinho is on also on his wishlist but the shock name on it is Walcott. Walcott only has a year of his Emirates deal to run and could fancy a new challenge. Villas-Boas won’t flinch at trying to pull off the surprise deal. Walcott only has a year of his Emirates deal to run and could fancy a new challenge. Villas-Boas won’t flinch at trying to pull off the surprise deal.

Swansea City trail £3m Spanish defender

wansea City is on the trail of Spanish centre-back Chico Flores. The Evening Post understands Swansea is interested in the Genoa defender and may be prepared to pay as much as £3 million. Genoa are looking to offload the 25-year-old, who has three years to run on his contract and finished last season on loan at Real Mallorca. After breaking through at hometown club Cadiz, Flores

Chico Flores

spent a loan spell at Barcelona B before signing for Almeria. He featured 27 times during the 2009-10 campaign as Almeria preserved their topflight status, and impressed enough to earn a four million euro move to the Italian giants. But Flores, who has three caps at under-21 level, featured just 15 times for the Serie A side the following season and arrived at Real Mallorca a month before Michael Laudrup left the club. Swansea is keen to recruit another centre-back as Steven Caulker has returned to Spurs after a superb season-long loan spell at the Liberty. There had been talk of the England Under-21 defender coming back to South Wales for a second stint, though that seems unlikely until the White Hart Lane club appoint a new manager and he has the opportunity to assess his squad. Mallorca hoped to sign Flores permanently but is probably not able to compete with Swan- Sea financially.

Frank Lampard

A Galaxy is ready to make a fresh move to prise Frank Lampard away from Chelsea and make him a team-mate of David Beckham in the USA’s Major League Soccer. The club believe they can put together an offer that can make it worth Lampard’s while to move to the USA, even though the midfield player has one year left on a £130,000-a-week Chelsea contract and is due a substantial loyalty bonus if he completes the final year of his deal. Frank Lampard has won the Champions League trophy and three Premier League titles at Chelsea Leaving Chelsea would clearly be a wrench for Lampard, 34, who has become an iconic player at the club since moving there in 2001. He has won the Champions League, three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and two League Cups in the club’s most successful era. Chelsea would ordinarily not want to lose such an illustrious player but, if Lampard did want to go, it would lower the wage bill and help Chelsea meet UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations, which requires them to cut their losses or face being banned from Champions League football. LA Galaxy remains hopeful that those factors will mean they can pick up Lampard without paying a transfer fee. One possible replacement for Lampard would be Luka Modric, but Tottenham have put a £45million price tag on their Croatia playmaker, despite no manager being officially announced at White Hart Lane.

Arsenal swoops for Italian keeper

rsenal has joined the chase for the Palermo and Inter owned goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano, reports Sky Sport Italia. The custodian’s future is in doubt given that neither Palermo nor Inter want him as their No 1 custodian for 2012-13. Viviano is of interest to Fiorentina and Torino, with a loan deal for the Italian international suggested as a real possibility. However, it is being reported that Arsenal could become a destination for the former Bologna net-minder.

City cool on Van Persie talk

Arsenal made an initial enquiry two months ago and has reignited that interest in recent days for the 26-year-old. With Manuel Almunia unlikely to be handed a new contract when his current deal comes to an end next month and with both Lukasz Fabianski and Vito Mannone failing to impress when called upon Arsene Wenger may well feel he needs another custodian to keep current Gunners number one Wojciech Szczesny on his toes and 6ft 5in Italian Emiliano Viviano is a player who could be ideal for the

job. The big Florence born keeper is on the fringes of Cesare Prandelli’s national team set-up, and could well do with a new challenge to kick start a career that appears to have stagnated in Italy over the past 18 months. Viviano had impressed during his second spell at Bologna but an injury ruled him out of much of last term before he moved to Palermo in January and a move to the Premier League side may well be of interest to the Italian international.

oberto Mancini has cooled talk of a bid for Arsenal striker Robin van Persie. The Manchester City boss is a big admirer of the Dutchman, who scored 30 Premier League goals for the Gunners last season. But with only a year remaining on his contract, Van Persie has been linked with a £25million move to the North West. However, Mancini has moved to play down speculation the 28-year-old could join fellow ex-Gunners Samir Nasri, Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure at the Etihad. The Italian said: “Van Persie? He is an Arsenal player and I don’t want to disrespect Arsene Wenger. “We have four strikers and we will start the pre-season in five days, its unlikely there will be major changes in such a short time.” Mancini insists his favoured attacking quartet of Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli will all is at the club next term. He added: “It will be difficult that Edin goes away. Tevez will remain too, unless he wants to change team.”

David Silva

City slaps £80m price tag on Silva to warn off Madrid

anchester has slapped a w o r l d - r e c o r d £80million price tag on Real Madrid target David Silva. The Premier League champions are fearful Real is trying to unsettle the brilliant midfielder, who plays for Spain in Sunday night’s Euro 2012 Final against Italy. City hope that Real will now drop their interest after being told to put up or shut up by valuing Silva at the same world-record fee paid for Cristiano Ronaldo three years ago. Reports in Spain have suggested that Real coach Jose Mourinho has been given a £45m budget to get

Silva. He is also prepared to offer Karim -Benzema or Gonzalo -Higuain in part exchange. But City have no intention of selling Silva, -recruited from Valencia for £26m two seasons ago after Madrid failed to follow up their interest in the player. The Blues have already opened talks with Silva, 26, about extending his contract by a further two years to 2016. It would keep the Gran Canariaborn midfielder at the club for the peak years of his career and earn him an incredible £220,000-aweek.

PAGE 44

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY JULY 2, 2012

Felix runs fastest 200m in 14 years

wo-times Olympic silver medallist Allyson Felix ran the sixth fastest 200 metres of all time as she won the US Olympic trials in a blazing 21.69 seconds over the weekend. The performance, the fastest in the half-lap event in 14 years, set Felix up for a London showdown with Jamaican Olympic Veronica Campbell-Brown, who has defeated the American in the last two Games. World and trials 100 metres champion Carmelita Jeter finished almost a half second behind Felix in 22.11 seconds. An excited Felix said after the race, “I was thrilled with my race. I feel like everything came together. I felt like I executed today and ran a great curve, which is something I’ve been working on.” Sanya Richards-Ross, the trials’ 400m winner, also made the US team in a second event by finishing third in 22.22. But Felix’s training partner Jeneba Tarmoh missed a spot on the team in the 200 with a fifth place finish in 22.35. The sparkling race came minutes after world indoor hurdles champion Aries Merritt had cruised to the year’s fastest 110 metres high hurdles in a lifetime best 12.93 seconds despite wet conditions. “I had a great start and I’m a build hurdler, I get faster as I go. I fulfilled my dream today,” said Merritt, who became the 14th hurdler to break the 13-second barrier but remains behind the world record of 12.87 set by Cuban rival Dayron Robles. World champion Jason Richardson, who had broken 13 seconds for the first time in the semifinals, was second in 12.98 while Jeff Porter claimed a surprising third in 13.08. Ailing American record holder and Olympic medallist David Oliver missed out on a trip to London when he

Allyson Felix

Christian Taylor

Bolt blames distractions for losing to Blake in 100m final

amaican runner Yohan Blake shocked the track world on Friday when he beat the

world recorder holder Usain Bolt in the 100m dash at the Jamaican Olympic Trials.

But barely 24 hours later, Bolt advanced reasons why he lost to his training partner.

Yohan Blake vs Usain Bolt

finished fifth, running 13.17. Felix clearly did, though, with her stirring run through the bend and down the home stretch. “It was fantastic,” coach Bob Kersee told Reuters after watching Felix cruise home in her bright neon compression leg sleeves. “To run 21.69 in these conditions shows what kind of world class athlete she is. At 80 metres (into the race) she was digging.” Felix, Tarmoh and Kersee said no decision had been made on how the two would decide their controversial third-place tie in the 100 metres. Under newly adopted tie-breaking procedures, the athletes have a choice of a coin flip or runoff if one of them does not give up her 100 metres spot. “I don’t think the world would accept a coin flip at this point,” Kersee said. “The other two options are up to them.” USA Track & Field officials have told Kersee and the athletes any runoff should take place on Sunday, the final day of the trials. World triple jump champion Christian Taylor showed he was ready to claim gold in London with the best mark in the world this season, 17.63 metres. Global indoor winner Will Claye also looked like a medal contender as he bounded 17.55 metres. Olympic silver medallist Hyleas Fountain dominated the heptathlon with 6 419 points. Sharon Day and Chantae McMillan also booked trips to London. In the women’s high jump, indoor champion Chaunte Lowe did not allow the rain to slow her. Lowe cleared an impressive 2.01 metres to win on misses over collegian Brigetta Barrett, who mastered the same height. The 36-year-old Amy Acuff made her fifth US Olympic team by coming out of a two-year retirement to place third at 1.95 metres.

According to him rather than the superior skills of Blake, the movement by runners next to him that made him to get a bad start was the problem. The Jamaican Observer reports Bolt to have said that his fellow racers flinched in both the finals and the semifinals: Bolt said in the finals he saw Nesta Carter beside him flinch. “I lost focus and when the gun went I was not focussed,” and in the semi-finals “the guy next to me moved and it threw me off; I see these guys in my peripheral vision and it is kinda hard to ignore them so when they move its gonna throw me off a little bit and I got left and when I get left it is hard.” No false start was called, but track and field officials may be hesitant to call a false start because of the IAAF’s oneand-done rule. The current rule disqualifies a runner after just one false start. Bolt was disqualified in the semifinals of the 2011 world championships. Though he’s the world’s fastest man, he’s not the world champion. “I’m not alleging any wrongdoing on behalf of Jamaican track officials. It’s more they are giving athletes the benefit of the doubt. In the face of a rule so harsh, who can blame them?, the report Asafa Powell said.

RESULTS MEN’S 110M HURDLES 1. Aries Merritt 12.93 2. Jason Richardson 12.98 3. Jeff Porter 13.08 MEN’S 20KM WALK 1. Trevor Barron 1:23:00 2. Tim Seaman 1:27:29 3. Nick Christie 1:29:47 MEN’S TRIPLE JUMP 1. Christian Taylor 17.63 2. Will Claye 17.55 3. Walter Davis 16.69 WOMEN’S 200M 1. Allyson Felix 21.69 2. Carmelita Jeter 22.11 3. Sanya Richards-Ross 22.22 WOMEN’S HIGH JUMP 1. Chaunte Lowe 2.01 2. Brigetta Barrett 2.01 3. Amy Acuff 1.95 WOMEN’S HEPTATHLON 1. Hyleas Fountain 6419 2. Sharon Day 6343 3. Chantae McMillan 6188

Turkey claim treble, as Martina wins 200m C

h u r a n d y Martina led a Dutch onetwo in the men’s 200m on the fourth day of the European athletics championships in Helsinki, Finland, on Saturday, while Turkey claimed three gold medals on the track.

Martina, who was stripped of his secondplace finish in the Beijing Olympics 200m behind Usain Bolt because of a lane violation called by the US team, clocked 20.42sec, with compatriot Patrick van Luijk taking silver in 20.87sec.

Running into a headwind on a wet track after heavy intermittent showers at the Olympic Stadium, Martina held his nerve to turn on the power from the bend, outstripping Van Luijk, with Briton Daniel Talbot taking bronze in 20.95.

There was a similar outcome in the women’s 200m, with Maria Ryemyen leading a Ukrainian one-two, timing 23.05sec ahead of compatriot Hrystyna Stuy (23.17). France’s Myriam Soumare took bronze (23.21) from Viktoriya Pyatachenko by four-

hundredths to deny a podium sweep for Ukraine. Cameroon-born Frenchwoman Ida Antoinette Nana Djimou recorded a personal best of 6 544 points to win the heptathlon and hand France a fourth gold medal of the

championships. The 26-year-old Nana Djimou posted personal bests in the long jump (6.42m) and javelin (55.82m) in Saturday’s action before safely negotiating her weakest event, the final strength-sapping 800m.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY JULY 2, 2012

PAGE 45

England loses their second wicket in pursuit of 252 to beat Australia in the second one-day international at The Oval.

Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake are set for another showdown in the Jamaican Olympic trials after both advanced to 200m final.

The Irish Open fourth round is under way at Royal Portrush with Welshman Jamie Donaldson leading the field going into the final day.

Michael Phelps beats big rival Ryan Lochte by 0.09 seconds in the 200m individual medley final at the US Olympic trials.

Former world champion Scott Harrison targets another title after ending his six-year absence with a stoppage win.

Chris Paterson thinks Scottish Rugby's target of winning a World Cup or Grand Slam is not unrealistic.

Britain's star gymnast sleeps with an ice machine on her injured knee and dreams of wing walking.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY JULY 2, 2012

PAGE 47

Rotarians Again, Bundrage stops Spinks to retain IBF title battle polio through soccer

he Rotary District 9125 enlisted in the fight against the polio the scourge that has ravaged some parts of the country by organising a football match last weekend aimed at kicking it out of Nigeria. The friendly duel between the men’s wing of the service organisation and the Inner Wheel, which is the women’s wing of the body, took place at the Old Parade Ground, Abuja. The highly entertaining match, that attracted fans from various rotary clubs as well as enthusiasts and ended two goals apiece, was meant to draw attention to the scourge as well as ways of arresting it. Commenting after the game the new governor of the district, Felix Obadan, said the match was used to usher in Rotary year 2012/ 2013 of the district. It is also to create awareness and promote the polio eradication efforts in Nigeria. That is why we wear aprons with the inscription: kick polio out. It is symbolic because our mantra has been to kick polio out of the world. Remember also that many Rotary ambassadors are football stars. Similarly, president of the Inner Wheel Club, Garki, Habiba Pat Eluame, said after the game that they opted to use football to sensitise the public about the growing menace of polio because sport is a veritable instrument for capturing public attention. Also, Dr Victor Onwukwugha, the outgoing president of Rotary club of Abuja, who is also the incoming Assistant Governor for District 9125, said, going by the gains of the exercise, the district would make the novelty game a quarterly event to boast the heath of Rotarians. Nze Kanayo Chukwumezie, the outgoing president of Rotary Club of Asokoro, said the exercise shows the unity among Rotarians, adding that the friendly game between the men and women produced an atmosphere of friendliness. The Inner Wheel is the women’s wing of the service organisation, although women have been fully integrated in the Rotary, such exercise is an advocacy to ensure that polio is kicked out of Nigeria finally.

Cornelius Bundrage

ommy Oosthuizen will defend his IBO super-middleweight title in the main fight of a tournament in Manhattan, New York, on August 2. The undefeated South African would meet Rowland Bryant at the Roseland Ballroom in a tournament to be presented by DiBella Entertainment, according to IBO, which announced the fight on its website. Oosthuizen impressed the Americans when he beat Marcus Johnson on

ornelius Bundrage stopped Cory Spinks in the seventh round to retain his IBF junior middleweight title in Indio, California, on Saturday night. The rematch lasted two rounds longer than their encounter in St Louis two years ago, when Bundrage won by technical knockout in the fifth. Spinks, a 34-year-old southpaw, was knocked down three times in the seventh round before referee Ray Corona stopped the bout 2 minutes 32 seconds into the round. Bundrage improved his professional record to 32-4-0, including 19 knockouts. Spinks dropped to 39-7; 11 The 39-year-old Bundrage was making the second defence of his title and posted his third consecutive victory. On the same card, junior middleweight Erislandy Lara improved to 17-1-1; 11 by beating Freddy Hernandez (30-3-1 no decision

and 20 knockouts) on points over ten rounds. The scores were 99-90, 98-91 and 95-94. Featherweight Gary Russell (20-0; 12) stopped Christopher Perez (23-3; 14) in the third round. In Aguascalientes, Mexico, Cristian Mijares beat Eusebio Oseju on points over ten rounds in a super-bantamweight bout. Mijares, a former champion in two divisions, improved to 46-6-2, with 21 stoppage wins. And in Torreon, Mexico, middleweight Marco Antonio Rubio knocked out Jorge Cota in the seventh round. Suffering his first defeat, Cota dropped to 121, with 11 knockouts. Rubio, who was rewarded with the IBF International belt, now stands at 54-6-1; 47. Robert Ortiz knocked out Abraham Gomez in the fifth round of a junior welterweight bout to take his record to 25-0; 21. Gomez dropped to 22-4; 8 KOs.

... As Tommy defends title in New York points in Miami, Oklahoma, at the end of April. The victory improved his record to 19-0-1, including 13 knockouts. Now he faces Bryant, who stands at 16-1; with 11 s t o p p a g e wins. Oosthuizen’s handlers have not announced the fight in South Africa. It would be recalled that Scott Harrison has stopped Gyorgy Mizsei in his first

fight in nearly seven years. The former WBO welterweight champion, now 34 years old, beat the Hungarian teenager in the fourth round, taking his record to 26-2-2, with his 15th knockout. Mizsei’s record dropped to 7-1; 3. Harrison was stripped of his WBO title after a series of alcohol-related incidents. On the same bill, John Simpson knocked out Paul Appleby in the sixth round of a super-featherweight

bout. Another boxer on the come-back trail, heavyweight Jason Estrada, beat Alex Gonzales on points over eight rounds in Rhode Island on Friday night. Estrada improved to 194; 5 and Gonzalez, from Puerto Rico, dropped to 207; 10 in a bout between former Olympians. But Hasim Rahman’s come-back plans have taken a knock. The

tournament in which Alexander Povetkin was scheduled to defend his WBA heavyweight title against Rahman has been cancelled. Rahman, a former heavyweight champion, and Povetkin were set to meet in Hamburg, Germany, on July 4. The promoters have announced that the American veteran has a cyst on one of his hand and will be unable to fight.

Wimbledon Open: Serena, Yaraslave in epic serves for quarterfinals ticket S

Serena Williams

erena Williams, 13-times grand-slam champion, is not losing sleep over her Wimbledon fourth-round clash against a player who won the first set of her last match without losing a point. The powerful Yaroslava Shvedova stands between the American and the quarterfinals in today’s clash following her defeat of Italy’s Sara Errani 6-0 6-4 after winning the first 24 points of the match. So in “the zone” was Kazakh wildcard Shvedova against the unfortunate Errani that she did not even realise that it was the first time in a grand-slam tournament that a set had been won in such a manner. She will need to find the zone again, however, if she is to worry Williams, a player well known for her ruthless streak. The American fired down 23 aces, a personal record, as she beat China’s Zheng Jie in a tense three-setter on Saturday and knows a thing or two about the second week of majors. The four-times Wimbledon champion was predicting a tougher test for Shvedova. “She’s such a solid player,” Williams said. “I look forward to it. Hopefully I’ll be able to win a point in the first set.” So far, on the evidence of this year’s Wimbledon, few could argue with Frenchman Gilles Simon’s controversial comment that the men’s game is much more interesting that the women’s. While the men’s singles has seen seismic upsets, late-night epics, marathon matches and fairytale comebacks, the women have been left largely in the shade. That is not the natural habitat of Williams and world No 1 Maria Sharapova, who will both be aiming to move through the gears on last16 day - known at Wimbledon as Manic Monday when all the men’s and women’s fourth-round matches are scheduled on a bumper day for the fans.

Sharapova, bidding to go one better than last year when she lost in the final to Petra Kvitova, has avoided any problems so far without hitting top form but will need to be sharp when she takes on Sabine Lisicki - the player she beat in last year’s semifinals. Belgium’s Kim Clijsters is still lurking dangerously in the field. Playing with the relaxed air of a woman on her farewell tour, she has yet to drop a set. Angelique Kerber, though, will be a formidable test and the German’s third-round victory over Christina McHale was her 43rd this season more than any other player. Defending champion Kvitova, who has reached the last 16 under the radar, faces Francesca Schiavone while Ana Ivanovic, looking a little more like the player who once reached world No 1, faces second seed Victoria Azarenka.

Yaroslava Shvedova

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

. . . putting the people first

MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012

SPORTS LA TEST LATEST

Spain erupt in joy after historic Euro 2012 win

paniards are jumping for joy and blasting off fireworks from all corners of the country to celebrate their soccer team's historic 4-0 win against Italy in the European Championship. Tens of thousands gathered in central Madrid to watch their team beat Italy, marking a memorable run of wins. Spain became the first team ever to win a Euro, then a World Cup and then another Euro. Spain has the highest unemployment rate in the 17nation eurozone and recently asked for a bailout to prop up its hurting banks. But fans say the win erased that misery and proved that the country is resilient. Antonio Ferrillo in Madrid said: ''We needed this win to counteract the suffering caused by the crisis, which seems endless.''

Wimbledon 2012

Cilic beats Querrey in second longest match

arin Cilic beat Sam Querrey in five hours 31 minutes, the second longest match in Wimbledon history. Cilic, 23, finally won the third-round match 7-6 (8-6) 64 6-7 (7-2) 6-7 (7-3) 17-15 at 21:02 BST. It was still less than half the length of the longest match in Wimbledon history, when John Isner beat Nicolas Mahut in 11 hours five minutes in 2010. The match surpassed the mark of five hours 28 minutes set in 1989 when Greg Holmes beat Todd Witsken 5-7 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 14-12. Cilic and Querrey embraced at the net at the end of the match, and the Croatian said such a long affair was tough both mentally and physically. "The difficult thing is that you are always thinking you are close, that you are going to break, but the game keeps going and the set is getting longer, and still you have to be really focused not to miss any easy balls," he said. Cilic, who became Queen's champion after David Nalbandian was disqualified in the final, is anticipating a different style of match against Andy Murray today.

ADVERT: BUSINESS: NEWS: LAGOS:

0803 0805 0803 0805 0803

QUO TABLE Q UO TE UOT QUO UOTE It really doesn't matter if the person ou deser ves to be ffor or gi ven. orgi giv hurtt y you deserv who hur For gi veness is a gift y ou gi ve y our self orgi giv you giv your ourself self.. You ha ve things to do and y ou w ant to hav you want move on — Real Live Preacher

Decoding David Mark When a dog sniffs at a shoe, you can be certain it will take it away — Hausa Proverb

t the end of November last year, I posted a comment under the translated Hausa proverb above, when the chorus of demands that Northern leaders should find solutions to the insurgency by the JASLIWAJ (aka Boko Haram) was becoming loudly registered. I recall my good friend Bishop Mathew Kukah querying me about its meaning when I sent the comments to him, and I explained that the proverb warns of an impending event, or a suspicion that remote signals would translate into certain events. Within one week in that November, last year, Mrs Sarah Jibril, Special Adviser to President Jonathan and Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, who carries his cross like a sword all the way to the Presidential Villa both demanded that Northern leaders (read: northern Muslims) should do more to curtail and eliminate the insurgency. The messages in both comments were the same: put out the fire you lit before it consumes the whole nation. It will be useful to recall some parts of that comment I made in November, 2011: There have been other comments which suggest that Northern leaders resent their inability to install Shari'a in the North; or their loss of political power, and have therefore created Boko Haram to provide a violent alternative to achieve political goals… The emphatic repudiation of the linkages by spokesmen of the insurgency does not appear to have changed minds among those who are bent on visiting the entire Boko Haram phenomenon on the scheming or failures of Northern leaders. The dangers in attempts to identify the Boko Haram insurgency as a Northern issue, and to hold its leaders responsible for it, are many. One is that the view will inform the adoption of the wrong strategy to deal with the problem. Resources and energy will be directed at chasing politicians and the clergy, while the problem grows. Another is that the fight against a national threat will become politicisized and pitch sections of the country against each other…. Thirdly, a strategy which seeks to blame Northern leaders for responsibility or failure with regards to Boko Haram will merely feed the insurgency. It will burn the bridges which the

311 689 606 327 454

7458 1765 3308 1969 0344

FIFTEEN MINUTES with Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed drbabaahmed@yahoo.com

Senate President David Mark administration may need to build towards a resolution. It will make most Northern leaders multiple victims, because they are neither safe from Boko Haram nor from the government. It will create new enemies for an administration which needs all the support it can get from politicians, traditional rulers, the clergy and the public in its fight against the insurgency. Above all, it may give the administration a false sense of accomplishment when it thinks it has identified the enemy, whereas it is far from doing that. The North should vigorously fight this attempt to isolate it and blame it for a problem which has made it a worse victim than all other parts of the country… So, did Senator David Mark even hint at the need for Northern leaders to find solutions to the insurgency at a retreat recently? Whatever he said, or said he did not say, the point is that the nation's number three citizen alluded to the existence of a Northern problem for which in plain terms, Northern leaders (Muslim, clergy, politicians) have full responsibility. Senator David Mark is in good company in this respect. Virtually every one, from the President down, who is not a Northern Muslim has pointed accusing fingers at the Northern Muslim community. A polite version of this concert is one which suggests that a community which harbours the insurgency at great cost to itself should be

more active in the search for solutions. A more popular version is one which suggests that Northerners should know members of the insurgency and should do something about them, or continue to pay the price. Either way, the Muslim North is accused of anything from complicity, to indifference, to collaboration, or to active support. The vigorous verbal gymnastics made by Senator David Mark to reduce the damage which he thought his comments may have caused were actually all unnecessary. Long before he joined the chorus, the North of which he now insists he is part and parcel, has been redefined by both the JASLIWAJ insurgency, its effect, and the reactions of Nigerian leaders. The concept of a political North is now fiction. There is a Muslim North which is being defined by unceasing violence, damage and destruction which will take it the best part of two decades to mend, assuming that it does begin soon. It is the base and the hostage of an insurgency which has no respect for traditional values, institutions or structures. It is impotent against a movement which strikes it at will; and against a state security apparatus which treats it as the enemy. Its economy is crumbling; its social values are being challenged and eroded by spreading poverty and the impotence of its leaders; its political fortunes have crashed; and it may remain largely peripheral to the political process for many years to come. Then there is the North of christians and ethnic minorities who live in fear of bombs from people they used to share a political affinity with. This is the North that seeks desperately to redefine itself, and create an identity from the vestiges of deep roots with the far North, and cultivated sentiments of minorities and victims. If there is any value in what Senator David Mark said, or did not say he said, or said he did not say, it is that Northern Muslims should wake up to the reality that

the rest of Nigeria (including Northern christians) see the JASLIWAJ insurgency as essentially a Northern Muslim issue. Denying responsibility for it, or throwing their hands up in hopelessness will not win them sympathy or respite. The more the insurgency takes root in the Muslim North, the higher the price it will pay. If this insurgency lasts for another one year, even at current levels of hostility, the economy of the far North will be completely devastated. Its population will be among the most traumatized in the world, and it is quite conceivable that the insurgency will be stronger than it is today. The far North may as well forget any claim to the right to offer leadership in Nigeria, under whatever guise or arrangement. It will be a spectator in a political system which has room only for tribes and religious faiths, and in which intense competition will expose its frailties and weaknesses. It will reach out in vain to the rest of Nigeria for a national endeavour to find solution to a national problem. The challenge for the Muslim North is to take a hard look at itself, and pull itself out of its paralyzing stupor. There will be no helping hands from parts of the nation which stand to benefit from the devastation of the North. There will be no help from the leadership which thinks the North should put out its own fire, or be consumed by it. There will be no help from Northern christians who see only threats and hostility from an insurgency which treats them as legitimate targets. Northern leaders with genuine commitment to its interests and fortunes should now step forward and summon the courage to look their own problems in the eye. Berating Senator David Mark or other politicians from the North who distance themselves from its problems merely expose the poverty and impotence of the region. President Jonathan appears to have given substance to the perception that JASLIWAJ is a northern Muslim problem by appointing a Northern Muslim as his National Security Adviser. There is also talk of appointing another Northern Muslim as Minister of Defence. This may be dangerous tokenism, or it could be an opportunity for the Muslim North to engage in some critical self assessment. Either way, the Muslim North needs to know that it is on its own.

Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza, Utako, Abuja. Lagos Office: No.8 Oliyide Street, off Unity Road, Ikeja, Lagos, Tel: +234-09-8734478. Cell: +234 803 606 3308. e-mail: contact@peoplesdaily-online.com ISSN: 2141– 6141