Peoples Daily Newspaper, Wednesday 03, July, 2013

www.peoplesdailyng.com

Vol. 11 No. 33

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

. . . putting the people first

Sha’aban 25, 1434 AH

N150

Jonathan rejigs ‘SON ofϐicials How Nigeria can stop presidential extorting money insecurity, by Gowon, aides >>2 from importers’ >>3 IBB, others >>5 Northern Govs Forum

Yuguda eats humble pie From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

G Borno state Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima (3rd left), his Honorary Advisers on Agriculture and members of Borno state Agriculture Transformation Team, Engineer Ibrahim Ali (3rd right), and Chief Audu Ogbeh (right), assessing a poultry temperature regulator at poultry equipment factory, yesterday at Haidian, in Beijing, China.

2013 budget impasse

Reps summon Okonjo-Iweala

Senate suspends debate till Sept

By Umar Muhammad Puma & Ikechukwu Okaforadi

T

he House of Representatives yesterday ordered the Minister of Finance, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to appear

before its joint committees on Appropriation, Banking and Finance and Legislative Compliance, to explain her claims that the nation will shut down by September 2013 if the National Assembly fails to pass the 2013 budget amendments.

This is even as the Senate also yesterday suspended debate on the budget amendments as represented by President Goodluck Jonathan.

A motion under the matters of urgent public importance read

by the Minority Whip, Samson Osagie (ACN Edo), accused the Minister of consistently “insulting the sensibilities” of the parliament and inciting Nigerian workers against the National Assembly.

Contd. on Page 2

overnor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi state has rescinded his controversial decision to quit the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) following what he described as intense pressure from the northern elders.

He explained that the decision to return to the forum is in the interest of the region.

The Governor who spoke through his Chief of Staff, Alhaji Yusuf Musa Gumli, yesterday at the Government House in Bauchi said that he realized that there was no fairness within the forum when the governor of Niger state, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, conducted an open vote election.

“He quit the forum in realisation of unfairness of the past as regarding the earlier decision of the forum that nominated Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau for the Nigeria Governors Forum,” he said Yuguda said that unnamed northern elders prevailed on him to softpedal and rejoin his colleagues in the NSGF. As he put it, “it was prevailed on me that I must go back to the Northern States Governors Forum.

“Is there anything bad for someone to aspire to any political office in the land?

“Whatever comes along one’s way is the act of God and Bauchi state also faces its own insecurity problems and has never apporti0ned blame to anybody.

“For instance, the state has been battling with the issue of Tafawa Balewa crisis for years and has stepped up to the challenge.”

He dismissed allegations that the crisis in Plateau state is being instigated by Bauchi government, saying that it is wrong for the Plateau state government to associate its failure to address its insecurity challenges to Bauchi state.

Fuel scarcity: NUPENG wants Diezani, Okonjo-Iweala sacked >>5

PAGE 2

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

News CONTENTS News Editorial Op.Ed

2-10 12 13

Letters 14 Opinion 15 Metro 16-18 Business 19-22 Stockwatch 23 S/Report Property Motoring Arts

24-25 26-27 28 29-30

Jonathan re-jigs presidential aides

By Miriam Humbe, with agency reports

S

trong indications emerged yesterday that President Goodluck Jonathan might have completed arrangements to reshuffle his aides to tighten his grip on the presidency.

Reliable sources informed Peoples Daily yesterday that Hassan Tukur, who is currently the Principal Private Secretary, is under presidential surveillance and may be swept away in the wake

of the reshuffle exercise.

Our correspondent also learnt that Jonathan has appointed Ambassador Mohammed Jameel Abubakar-Waziri as State House Chief of Protocol (SCOP).

It was also gathered that a front-line media mogul from the South-South may soon be named to replace the current Chief of Staff, Mike Oghiadomhe.

With his new appointment, Ambassador Waziri replaces Ambassador Olutola Onijala who retired from service on April

29 shortly after media reports that he was continuing in office despite attaining the mandatory retirement age of 60.

Sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have revealed that several directors with the consent of Ambassador Gbenga Ashiru, the Minister, were campaigning against retirement on the grounds that if about 100 of them that were scheduled for retirement by January 2014 actually left, the Ministry would collapse.

Until his appointment, Ambassador Waziri was Protocol Liaison Officer (PLO) to the President. For the new position, he was chosen ahead of Mr. Oke Amuche, Nigeria’s Consul General in Johannesburg, Mr. Friday Okhai, Director in the office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mrs Gladys Dupe QuistAdebiyi, Director of Protocol in State House; and Ambassador Usman Baraya, Chief of Protocol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

PHCN staff: Outstanding benefits ready, says Minister

By Abdulwahab Isa

A

ll outstanding benefits of staff of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria(PHCN) will be paid this month of July, Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu

Nebo, assured yesterday.

Similarly the Minister also cleared the air on misgivings of career uncertainty of PHCN post privatization.

He declared Federal Government would not lay off workers of PHCN

but rather severe them from public service employment to enable them migrate to the private sector.

Nebo spoke at the 2nd annual national workshop of the Chartered Institute of Brokers (CIS) themed: “TransformationAgenda:

According to him, “we have great correspondence with union leaders and have agreed on all the fundamentals of the labour issues, verification of over 44,000 workers and will soon commence payment of their severance benefits.”

Reps summon Okonjo-Iweala PDP and Tambuwal’s stand on non-partisan leadership, Page 4

Int’l

31-34

Strange World 35 Digest

36

Politics

37-38

Newsxtra

39-40

Sports

41-44

Leisure

47

Columnist

48

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Contd. from Front Page He noted that the Minister’s pronouncement “is intended not only to blackmail the National Assembly in the performance of its constitutional mandate but also to incite Nigerian workers against a legitimate and important institution of government.”

The motion further alleged that Okonjo-Iweala’s statement was intended to stampede and blackmail the National Assembly into passing the proposed amendment to the 2013 budget.

The Minister was reported to have said that the Federal Government may not be able to pay salaries by September and the nation’s economy would be on the verge of collapse if the National Assembly fails to pass the N72 billion budget amendment request before it.

But, according to Osagie, there is a subsisting and valid Appropriation Act duly signed into law by the President which is the operating budget for 2013, arguing that the Minister has no right to raise such an alarm.

According to Osagie, “from available field reports, the Executive is deliberately delaying or exercising undue tardiness in the implementation of the 2013 budget.

“The Minister of Finance had consistently insulted the sensibilities of the institution of the National Assembly through her constant umbrage and blackmail of this institution.”

He affirmed that the National Assembly is alive to its responsibilities and will not be stampeded or blackmailed by any appointee of government in the discharge of its duties.

The House presided over by the

Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha, unanimously adopted the motion without debate.

Senate suspends debate on budget The Senate however said it would not be able to deliberate on the new amendments which Jonathan had proposed in the 2013 budget, indicating that consideration of the amendments would be done in September after the lawmakers have returned from their annual vacation.

The Senate, just like members of the House of Representatives also accused Okonjo-Iweala of making careless comments aimed at inciting the National Assembly against President Jonathan.

Senate spokesperson, Enyinnaya Abaribe, who briefed journalists in Abuja also pointed out that contrary to comments by Okonjo-Iweala, the Senate is not on collision course with the President but remains partners in governance.

He, however, explained that the amendment proposal in the budget which the President sent to the National Assembly in March is more voluminous than the original budget.

He said that the lawmakers needed adequate time to read through it and deliberate on them.

The Senate explained that contrary to their agreement with Jonathan, the President forwarded “voluminous” amendments rather than specific alterations as agreed in the deal that led to the signing of the budget by Jonathan.

According to Abaribe, “the feeling of the Senate and of course the National Assembly has always been that we do not expect Ministers of the Federal Republic

and appointees of the President to make comments that tend to give the impression of a collision course between the executive and legislature because we are all working towards the same purpose; and which is to make sure that we take care of the welfare of Nigeria.

“Therefore we find it not to our liking when a comment is made that tends to say that government will shut down if the National Assembly does not do anything.

“What we got from the President which is actually the third amendment is a sort of document amending the budget.

“Now, we found that these documents are even larger than the budget itself and there is no way that the Senate and even the National Assembly can consider these amendments until we come back from our vacation.

“There is absolutely no way amendments of these nature would be considered for the short time that we have until we go on our national vacation.

“We are all interested in making sure that the budget as passed would be implemented, and implemented in such a way that everybody within this country will get the benefit of why the budget was passed in the first place.

“We know that in September as the President has promised, there is going to be a new budget.

“So, when you bring a budget of this volume and then you bring another budget in September, what do you expect us to do?

Reps probe alleged oil theft Apparently concerned by the alleged brazen and unbridled theft of crude oil in Nigeria which is

estimated at 300,000 barrels per day, translating to 67 per cent of the nation’s domestic consumption of 445,000 barrels per day, the House of Representatives yesterday set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the matter.

A motion under the matters of urgent public importance by Aliyu Sani Madaki (PDP, Kano), urged the Federal Government to prosecute oil thieves in the country no matter how highly placed they are.

He explained that the move will serve as deterrent to others as well as fully equip the security forces in order to discharge their constitutional mandates as provided for in Section 217 subsection 2 (b) of the Cnstitution as well as deploy security men to man the waterways as well as carry out pipeline surveillance of oil installations.

The House also urged government to overhaul the modus operandi of the Joint Task Force (JTF) for the purpose of carrying out more proactive and dynamic security check of all oil installations and re-organize the activities of the amnesty programme by removing middle-men between the government and the beneficiaries.

The House further mandated the committee to look into the propriety of contracting the protection of Nigerian waterways and oil pipelines to private firms and report back to the House in two weeks.

The House also called on the Ministry of Petroleum to install an automated metering system for the purpose of verifying the actual oil production from oil wells, flow heads and export terminals.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 3

News

2015: middle Belt forum endorses Jonathan

T

h e Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has joined the league of sectional and regional associations campaigning for the continuation in office of President Goodluck Jonathan beyond 2015.

Second Republic Governor of Plateau state, Chief Solomon Lar, yesterday led about 70 members of MBF to the State House, Abuja, where they had a closed-door meeting with Jonathan.

A former Minister of

Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, said that the group was impressed by the performance of the President.

According to him, “essentially, we came to see Mr. President to appreciate what he has been able to do so far as contained in his mid-term report.”

“We appreciated the area of achievement and we also pointed out areas that needed further attention so that their completion will give tremendous credibility

to this government and also help those of us who are supporting the government from the part of the middle belt the credibility to speak about government. So it was a very frank exchange, appreciation and also areas to be given attention.”

According to him, leaders from 14 states in the Middle Belt region also discussed problems of insecurity, economic empowerment, solid minerals

development, the completion of key major projects, like the Ajaokuta and construction of dams in the area with the president.

Gana said that, “the interactive session pointed out a number of problems at stake, particularly the security challenges, so many people have lost their lives, property and suffered tremendously and we are expecting that the government through the processes already in place would ensure fair and just

compensation where appropriate.”

Plateau state Governor, Jonah Jang, who was also on the delegation said the group took a cue from the support being drummed for the President by the South-South.

According to him, “the SouthSouth forum is the zone of the President, so if they have started making the noise it is good because it is their President and ours is support to the good of Nigeria.”

‘SON officials extort money from importers’

By Abdulwahab Isa

T

L-R: PENGASSAN President, Mr. Babatunde Ogun, NUPENG President, Comrade Igwe Achese, and PENGASSAN General Secretary, Mr. Bayo Olowoshile, during a press conference after the unions joint NEC meeting, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

13 million Nigerians suffer from hunger, says Minister

T

he Nigerian government has announced plans to expand the use of bio-fortified crops, such as pro-vitamin `A’ cassava and orange-flesh sweet potato to address the hunger situation being faced by some 13 million people.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Akinwunmi Adesina, gave the indication on Monday in Addis Ababa at the High Level Meeting of AU Heads of State and Government on “unified approach to end hunger in Africa by 2025”.

The African Union, FAO and the Lula Institute jointly convened the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) framework.

Mr. Adesina said “much progress is being made, we are mindful that we still have challenges of malnutrition and micro-nutrient deficiencies to tackle.

“Nigeria still has 13 million people suffering from hunger, and malnutrition is still high.”

The Minister said that Nigeria had made good progress in the

target set to produce an additional 3.2 million metric tonnes of rice paddy to attain self-sufficiency in rice by 2015.

“We have already unleashed a rice revolution in Nigeria and produced 1.8 million metric tonnes of rice paddy within two years.

“This is 55 per cent of the target set for 2015 as in the dry season of 2012 to 2013; we produced a record 1.1 million metric tonnes of rice.

“This created 460,000 jobs, especially for the youth. Farmers net incomes increased by an

estimated $200 million, creating wealth for farmers and their communities.”

According to him, Nigeria has ended the approach of taking agriculture as a development programme, saying “we treat agriculture as a business.

“We should not manage poverty with agriculture; we should create wealth through agriculture,” Adesina said.

He said in the past year Nigeria had leveraged $8 billion in private sector investment commitments.

here are indications that some field officers of Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) impose levy on materials, products that are exclusively designated on SON exemption list.

Sharing his experience with Peoples Daily, a victim narrated how he got cajoled to pay N100, 000 levy on some copies of Islamic literature he imported.

Getting curious and demanding to know what the N100,000 requested meant for, he said the officers concerned promptly shifted the amount and said the levy was open for negotiation.

However, a check on SON website showed that books, newspapers, journals and periodicals grouped under SON’s broader category as unassailable or assailable (without the addition of other materials) are in the category of exempted products.

However Mr. Mathias Bassey, SON’s spokesperson, said that, “no anomaly because books are not in the exempted list.”

In January 2013, SON officially released a new regime with revised conformity assessment structure.

The programme encompasses conformity assessment and verification procedures applicable to all products imported into Nigeria except for those under the exemption list.

Implementation date for new SONCAP structure started on 1st March 2013.

The compliance verification process under the new structure involves physical inspection of the consignment and if necessary, sample selection for testing based on risk assessment criteria.

Boko Haram: 20,000 Nigerians flee to Cameroon From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri

A

t least 20,000 border communities living in Gwoza local government area of Borno state were forced to flee into the neighboring town of Ashgashiya in Cameroon Republic to escape ‘extra- judicial killings, arbitrary arrests and intimidation’ allegedly perpetrated by special troops deployed to battle the Boko Haram insurgents, representatives of the fleeing communities said yesterday.

Gwoza, about 130 kilmetres from Maiduguri, the capital city

is among the towns under heavy military operations since the declaration of emergency rule by President Goodluck Jonathan about two months ago. It is also one of the major epicenters of the Boko Haram insurgency which witnessed series of killings and bombings in the last three years.

The affected persons, comprising women, children and the elderly, from over 40 villages have now turned to refugees in Cameroon Republic after trekking for a 10 meter distance to cross over a stream and enter into the neigboring country.

Residents of the areas said

they had started crossing over to Cameroon to seek for safety two weeks ago when soldiers invaded their respective areas and allegedly embarked on selective killings.

Our correspondent reports that some youth, carried placards protesting their return.

In their separate remarks, community leaders of the aggrieved refugees told the deputy governor that they resolved fleeing to Cameroon following the ‘merciless killings and other atrocities’ allegedly meted out on them by the security forces, under the guise of hunting suspected terrorists.

Narrating their ordeals to the

deputy governor, community leader of Ashigashiya village, Alhaji Abdu Ashigashiya said that it was fear of death that informed their fleeing to Cameroon and vowed never to return to Nigeria because they believed that those killed by the soldiers were not Boko Haram insurgents but innocent civilians as some people hide under political and religious sentiments and gave their names to soldiers as members of terrorist group.

Also speaking, another community leader in Ngoshe village Malam Abubakar Saddiqi alledged that sometimes last month soldiers

came into Ngoshe town with a lists of people and arrested three who were killed almost immediately without given the opportunity for fair hearing.

According to Malam Siddiqi, “we wonder why the security forces visited their anger on us even after one of the commanders deployed to the area, assured us that no soldier who would kill anybody unlawfully, five days later, precisely on 20th June 2013, we woke up with the sound of gun shots everywhere, which resulted in the killings of eight persons including a principal, head master and an Imam of the Friday mosque.”

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

The Page 4 Report

PDP and Tambuwal’s stand on non-partisan leadership

By Lawrence Olaoye and Umar Muhammad Puma

I

f there is anything that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has contributed to national development, albeit unwillingly, it is its willingness, though grudgingly, to allow the House of Reprentatives to determine its destiny after having tried unsuccessfully to impose its leadership.

It is no longer news that the Speaker did not emerge by the PDP design but by default. Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal emerged the Speaker of the 7th Green Chamber by destiny in defiance to the grand design of the ruling party which gives little consideration to competence and acceptability.

Members of the Green Chamber who had the rare opportunity of having served with Tambuwal in the Fifth and Sixth Assembly with the understanding of the leadership qualities of the Speaker, both in the ruling PDP and the opposition parties combined, must have understudied his political pedigree to settle for his leadership in spite of stringent opposition from the ruling party.

Before the June 6th election which brought Tambuwal into office, the PDP in its usual ‘home affairs’ policy had ‘zoned’ the Speakership position to the South West which arguably could not present its first eleven from the ruling party in the zone.

Discerning members, especially from the opposition, tapped on the lacuna to constitute a formidable support base for Tambuwal, whom they could trust, regardless of their political affiliations, to become the Speaker of the most virulent, but vibrant parliament in Africa.

But the resolve of the discerning lawmakers, who voted Tambuwal Speaker, has begun to pay-off as their insistence on independence has begun to lead the nation to the path of political maturity and cohesion. This, of course, may not go down well with some people who are agents of divisiveness, feeding on disharmony orchestrated by politics of bitterness based on a thin line of differences in political ideologies. Tambuwal, who is enjoying a pan-Nigerian mandate, having emerged the Speaker with preponderant support from the opposition members in the House, has resolved to fly above partisanship in his leadership style by maintaining neutrality.

Even though he is of PDP extract, Tambuwal has demonstrated patriotism having recognized the fact that he is holding a panNigerian mandate.

To this extent, the Speaker of the House of Representatives has resolved not to limit himself to his primary party, the PDP, by

opting to lead as a statesman and nationalist. This has attracted criticism and condemnations from the conservatives who still regard politics and occupation of political offices as conquered territories that must not be used as an interactive tools for national integration but for political assertion for personal gains.

Although Tambuwal’s brand of politics is exactly what the nation needs for its integration and political development, renegades in the country’s development have begun a campaign of calumny against the Speaker, who is generally being regarded as a patriot, for having the temerity to associate with perceived political enemies in the opposition parties.

Rumours are rife in certain quarters that Tambuwal is the darling of the unregistered merger All Progressives Congress (APC) for its Presidential ticket in 2015 general election. Mischief makers in the ruling party, who would want his political wings clipped, have not relented in their campaigns to have the Sokoto born politician sanctioned by the party for alleged anti party activities.

However, apart from feeble warnings from certain quarters in the leadership of the PDP on his perceived anti party activities, that party has yet to come forward with any strict reaction to his activities as the non partisan head of the Lower Chamber.

Apparently reacting to the criticism trailing his style of leadership in the House, Tambuwal had slammed his critics recently when he stated “Preparatory to 2015, many have started introducing political doctrines that are alien to democracy and destructive to peaceful social coexistence in a civilized society; they are busy fanning the embers of partisan hate and strife.

“According to this new doctrine, it is a political offense for a member of one political party to exchange greetings with someone in another political party, it is

indeed a heinous crime for one to visit, attend the burial, birthday, coronation wedding or any such ceremony of someone in an opposing political party”.

Tambusal noted that the proponents of the shameful doctrine not only offend the sensibilities of Nigerians but constitute an affront to the whole essence of democracy and civilized coexistence just a he warned that they must be halted before they do incalculable damage to the nation’s polity.

Tambuwal pointed out that institutions are creations of the law and they must be run in accordance with the prescriptions of the laws establishing them rather than on makeshift expediencies. “While we are clamouring for the deepening of democracy, including internal party democracy, there has arisen a new group championing the obnoxious cause of the deepening of internal party autocracy and demagoguery.

“I am strongly persuaded to state once again that from the little that we know, there is dichotomy between politics and governance.

Thus there is a difference between a candidate in electoral contest on the platform of a political party and an elected official who has assumed a non partisan responsibility and taken oath to protect and preserve the constitution, to serve the people and the nation”.

He called on the leadership to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the call to non partisanship in governance, and clamoring for the deepening of democracy which includes internal party democracy. “Needless to say that generally, whenever partisan interests conflict with national interest it is partisan interests that must be sacrificed in the preservation of the national interest. The oath we take is that of constitutionalism and national service and not of suffocating partisanship,” he cautioned. The Speaker therefore reiterated the need to build institutions rather

“

But, not a few critics and political observers have conceded to the novel political ideology espoused by the Speaker as his message has resonated reasonably in the nation’s political circles. Tambuwal’s innovative political thinking, laced with nationalism and patriotism, has made those in the ruling party, and the opposition alike, to begin to have a rethink on the doctrine of ‘do or die politics’ often practiced in the country.

Tambuwal than build the individuals that would make the institutions to be subservient to them.

Similarly, Tambuwal recently in Ekiti state declared that he is not the Speaker of only the ruling party but the whole country even as he endorsed the governor of Osun state, Rauf Aregbesola, for second term based on his performance.

This comment coming from the Speaker has begun to raise certain questions in the nation’s political circles as some PDP leaders are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the Soeaker’s discomfiting statements and body language which suggests romance with the opposition.

Osun state PDP Chairman, Ganiyu Olaoluwa, in his reaction to Tambuwal’s eulogies to the Osun state governor said it was unbecoming of a national leader of the party like Tambuwal to praisesing the governor each time he was in the state.

Olaoluwa, who condemned Tambuwal’s visits and utterances in the state, explained that the actions of the Speaker in recent time raise posers as to whether he “is a member of the PDP or a supporter of Aregbesola.”

According to him, the recent action of Tambuwal was that of a “prodigal son,” thereby calling on the party’s national leadership

to check him before he spoils the party.

Already , there are indications that Tambuwal is currently under watch by the leadership of the ruling party and may be sanctioned accordingly shoud he continue to indulge in perceived anti party activities.

But, not a few critics and political observers have conceded to the novel political ideology espoused by the Speaker as his message has resonated reasonably in the nation’s political circles.

Tambuwal’s innovative political thinking, laced with nationalism and patriotism, has made those in the ruling party, and the opposition alike, to begin to have a rethink on the doctrine of ‘do or die politics’ often practiced in the country.

A chieftain of the ACN, posited that as Speaker of the House of Representatives, “Tambuwal speaks for everybody in Nigeria and not just for the members of the PDP. The PDP has been setting a dangerous precedence in Nigeria since 1999 and this is not good for our commonwealth. They use national security agencies and parastatals, ministries and even our common patrimony as PDP property. This is unacceptable.

Tambuwal is a national asset and not a PDP property to be used as they like.”

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 5

News

Fuel scarcity: NUPENG wants AllisonMadueke, Okonjo-Iweala sacked

By Umar Muhammad Puma, Justin Imo-Owo, Abuja & Edwin Olofu, Kano

P

resident, National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Comrade Igwe Achese, yesterday called for the sack of the Petroleum Minister, Mrs. Dieziani AllisonMadueke and his Finance counterpart, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala, for playing their negative roles in the nation’s economy.

Achese made this call during the National Executive Council meeting of NUPENG-PENGASSAN in Abuja.

He called on President Goodluck Jonathan to relieve them of their duties because they have refused to tell Nigerians the truth that all is not well with the nation’s

economy.

The NUPENG boss lamented that the country, which is the sixth largest producer of crude oil in the world, is still depending on finished products’ importation without refining enough petroleum products even for local consumption.

He called for the sack of the Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy for rolling out figures on how well the nation’s economy is doing allegedly to deceive the people.

Other issues raised by Achese include unfair labour practice in the oil and gas sector, casualistion of staff in the sector and non inclusion of its members in the committee recently set up by the President on oil theft the country.

He also cited the issues of bad roads across the country as well

as other labour related concerns as reasons for the current strike embarked upon by the NUPENG. Petroleum transporters reject fuel strike Meanwhile, the Association of Distributors and Transporters of Petroleum Products (ADITOP) has rejected the three day strike embarked upon by NUPENG. A statement signed by the National Coordinator of the Association, Comrade Isa Tijjani, and made available to newsmen in Kano urged the workers to resume work immediately while issues raised NUPENG is being looked into with a view to resolving them.

Tijjani disclosed that the industrial action has caused his members nationwide loss of colossal amount stressing that the continuation of the industrial

action is highly inimical to the development and growth of the country.

He rejected the forceful implementation of the action through coercion of members, adding that such practices violate their fundamental right to hold opinion.

He stated, “the Federal Government should ensure that all unions and sssociations should limit themselves to the areas of their jurisdiction and not be forcing people to join associations or unions which are not of their choice in accordance with right to freedom of assembly and speech as enshrined in the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.”

Reps urge ASUU, NUPENG to suspend strike In a related development, the

House of Representatives has appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers (NUPENG) to call off their strike actions in the interest of the nation.

In a motion sponsored by Kingsley Chinda, the lawmaker argued that the incidence of recurring strike actions in the country, particularly in the education and oil industry is one too many and a sad development to country.

He said, “that the said strike action by ASUU and NUPENG is certainly not in the best interest of Students and the teeming masses as it has paralyzed academic activities on University campuses as well as negatively affected the socio-economic activities across the country.

“Unless and until positive steps and efforts are taken to curb the incessant strike action in the Nation’s Oil industry and Universities, Students, Parents, guardians and teeming Nigerian masses would continue to suffer the negative effects of these strikes,” he warned.

How Nigeria can resolve insecurity, by Gowon, IBB, others L-R: Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, President Goodluck Jonathan, Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, during a meeting of the President’s HIV AIDS Emergency Response Plan, yesterday at the State House, in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

Ajaokuta Steel recovers N62m spare parts abandoned at port

By Miriam Humbe

A

s the Ajaokuta Steel Company gets set to engage in productive activities, its management has said it has taken delivery of five containers of Boiler Tubes and thirty-seven crates of spare parts for the Thermal Power Plant of the Company which were abandoned at the Lagos Sea Port since 2006.

A statement by Deputy General Manager, Public Affairs

& Information, Muhammed Ibrahim, said upon the arrival of the trucks, Sole Administrator of the Company, Isah Joseph Onobere, said management would continue to work assiduously to ensure that its set objective of making Ajaokuta a going concern is achieved.

The Sole Administrator said the items worth over N62 million were imported for the maintenance of the Boilers of the Thermal Power Plant in 2006 but

Strike: FG is awaiting ASUU’s response, says Minister

By Maryam Garba Hassan and Abbas Aminu Bamalli

M

inister of Education Prof.

Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’I, said yesterday that the Fderal Government was waiting for the response of the leadership of the National Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) who had embarked on a nationwide

indefinite strike on Monday.

The Minister at a press briefing at the end of a meeting of the West African and Central African Research and Network said that government had met with the leadership of the union.

But the union said on Monday that its action was prompted by government’s refusal to implement some agreements.

were abandoned along with other spare parts at the Lagos Sea Ports.

He said when he took over the mantle of leadership in November 2012, the issue was brought to his attention and he immediately requested for the consent and support of the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Muhammad Musa Sada, who approved his proposal to have the spare parts moved to Ajaokuta.

“Armed with this approval, I directed the Commerce Department to locate the items and ensure they are salvaged and brought to Ajaokuta for use.

“I am therefore happy to say that with the arrival of these critical spare parts, we have moved the dream of an operational Ajaokuta Steel Plant, one more step forward”, Engr.

Isah stressed.”

Minister harps on training of policemen

By Lawrence Olaoye

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inister of Police Affairs, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade, yesterday said his preoccupation in office is to ensure adequate training of the nation’s policemen.

The Minister, who briefed the members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s National Working Committee (NWC) chaired by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, also said efforts are being intensified to professionalize the Nigeria Police in the face of the recent challenges

of insecurity, terrorism and kidnapping in the country.

Olubolade however complained to the PDP NWC members that the service would require more funds to prosecute its programmes with the view to repositioning the police.

According to him, “We have to to look at the Police intelligence gathering and training which is key to our focus in this administration.

“Police must be given enough equipment and be protected with bullet proof vests for them to carry out their assignments.”

A

cross section of Nigeria’s former leaders converged on Abuja yesterday and proffered solution to the strings of security challenges plaguing the nation.

According to former Heads of state, Gen.Yakubu Gowon, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, former Head of the Interim national Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan, Nigerians must resolve to collectively protect the country.

They spoke at the Fourth National Civil-military Dialogue during which Gowon re-affirmed his belief that dialogue with the Boko Haram insurgent group would produce an enduring solution to the problem of insecurity in parts of the north.

For Babangida, Nigerians, irrespective of religious or tribe affiliations must shun violence and learn to live with one another in peace and harmony for the progress and development of the nation while Shonekan, urged Nigerians to be patriotic and strive towards protecting the country from threats that undermine its corporate existence.

Senate President, David Mark, who also spoke at the programme said that the military fared better under democratic dispensation.

Speaker of House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal in his remarks advocated a more robust civil-military relationship.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 6

News

CBN disburses N199bn to boost agriculture

By Abdulwahab Isa

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L-R: Former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, and Senate President David Mark, during the 4th National Civil-Military Dialogue, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

JNI backs Amnesty committee, call on insurgents to accept dialogue From Mohammad Ibrahim, Kaduna

J

ama’atul Nasril Islam (JNI) has called on the insurgents to tread the path of peace and accept the dialogue offered by the Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of the Security Challenges in the North.

The religious group made the call in a communique signed by JNI National Secretary, Dr. Khalid Aliyu Abubakar issued after the one day conference on “The Role

of Muslim Scholars in Fostering Unity, Peace and Security in Nigeria” and Annual Pre-Ramadan meeting organized by JNI in Kaduna, According to the Islamic body, anybody found culpable in perpetuating violence and aggression against peace loving Nigerians should be brought to book without partiality.

JNI recommended that since national security was a necessity, every Nigerian citizen must take sustenance of peace, tranquility and

security as a duty which must be sincerely championed by government officials, religious and community leaders. “ Government can curtail youth restiveness only by addressing the problems of unemployment, drug abuse, sexual perversion, indiscipline and undue radicalisation of any type.

“To promote sound knowledge and moral and character training among the youth, the government must make religious education compulsory in the education system, especially at the primary and

secondary levels “ Government should protect the rights of its people with a great sense of equity and justice to all for the purpose of entrenched peaceful coexistence and inter-religious harmony in the country according to Nigerian Law,” it said.

On Tafsir lecture in the month on of Ramadan, JNI recommended strict adherence to the Tafsir guidelines because of the obvious benefits particularly in terms of promoting Muslim unity and brotherhood.

FG, foreign donors plan N337bn fund for HIV/AIDS

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s the federal government plans a N337.5 billion lifeline for the combating of HIV/AIDS in the country, lack of comprehensive planning and inadequate funding have been identified as some of the factors contributing to the rise in the rate of HIV/AIDS in the country.

Consequently, Nigeria is now second behind South Africa with the highest number of people living with the disease.

A breakdown of the funds shows that the federal government will cough out N179 billion while external donors would contribute the sum of N198 billion to the national response to the disease.

President Goodluck Jonathan, who expressed worry over the trend of HIV/AIDS yesterday at the review of the President’s Emergency Response PlanforHIV/AIDS(PERP)document, stated that this was unacceptable and must be checked through a conscientious planning that would makefundsavailablelocallyandensure a robust response to the problem.

Indicating that he would want the stakeholders convergence to be remembered in the annals of the

nation’s history as a turning point in the management of the dreaded disease, the president said PERP must be an all-encompassing document that should address the provision of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) , funding, enlightenment, collaboration amongst intervention bodies and advocacy .

Noting that he would not like to see any Nigerian die of HIV/AIDS, Jonathan advised state governors to tow his line just as he dissuaded all stakeholders from over-dependence

on foreign donors for funding.

According to him, the apex government aims to ensure that 100% of Nigerians living with the disease get adequate attention. “We have to struggle to get there. This is death we are talking about. We must find a creative way to mitigate this problem,” he said.

Enjoiningallstakeholderstospend funds available to them in a judicious manner so that the gory statistics will be reversed, the president explained

about 80% of the planned fund will be spent in the states, being areas where much of the disease is reported.

Agreeing with an observation made by Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau that conflicts such as those in his state are also responsible for the increase in the prevalence rate of the disease, President Jonathan averred that advocacy is critical to the scaling down of the disease and should be incorporated in the PERP.

We stopped lopsided concessions to save over 34, 000 jobs, says FAAN From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

T

he Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) yesterday said that it had to stop the lopsided concession agreements which were aimed at stifling it out of existence and hand the parastatal over to individuals who had connection at the high places in the Presidency at the time.

Someoftheconcessionagreements the agency said were forced on it by the

highest political body in the country at thetime,includetheBuildOperateand Transfer (BOT) it had with Bi Courtney Limited, adding the concession it had with Maevis Limited and Terminal Zero Limited were not only lopsided, but were made to stifle the agency out of existence.

General Manager, Corporate Communication of FAAN, Yakubu Dati explained that the activities of FAAN was at that time being directed

by the Presidency and as a government organ, the management of FAAN did not have any choice but to abide by the directive to recognise the agreement, eventhoughitwasgrosslytiltedagainst the interest of the agency and the people of Nigeria.

“It is the same lopsided agreement theyaretakingtocourttogetjudgement and that is the agreement that some people are writing should be respected, even when those writers know that

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it had so far disbursed N199 billion of the approved N200 billion Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to 270 projects since inception.

CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. confirmed the disbursement yesterday in Abuja at a one-day workshop on tomato value chain development in Nigeria .

This amount covers 30 state governments’ projects.

Represented by Deputy Governor, Economic Policy of CBN, Mrs Sarah Alade, Sanusi said that, “the SME restructuring fund (SMERRF) has disbursed N235.00 billion to 535 projects.”

“The CBN intervened with programmes such as the N200 billion Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme and Nigeria Incentivebased Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) to support federal government.”

The NIRSAL he added, “was introduced to stimulate agricultural development in Nigeria through value chain financing and adopts a value chain approach to guaranteeing lending while banks will be free to choose which part of the chain they are interested in lending to.”

The intervention programmes he said, “build the capacity of banks to engage and deliver loans, reduce counter-part risk through an innovative crop insurance scheme, and rewards performance in agricultural lending.”

According to him, NIRSAL has issued 20 credit risk guarantees (CRG) to counter parties valued at N5.01 billion and signed a Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding on technical partnership which will give access to $100 million USAID funds to guarantee counter parties for agricultural lending.

All these initiatives he noted further, “are being implemented to improve access to finance by agribusiness at single digit interest rate and as part of commitment towards revolutionizing the sector.”

However, the CBN Governor lamented however that, Nigeria imports 65,809 tons of processed tomato paste valued at N11.7 billion annually.

this was a faulty agreement because it serves their interest at the moment.

Such arbitrary interference stopped since the late Umar Yar’adua became the President of this country and today FAAN is making a turnaround because the management has been given the freedom to operate”.

Dati disclosed that the next plan was to liquidate FAAN and share its assets to those who were already strutting around as airport managers and “these are assets owned by Nigerian citizens. We are happy they did not succeed because air travel wouldhavebeenkilledbyhighcharges and exorbitant air fares.”

PAGE 8

Photos Splash

L-R: First Lady, Mrs Patience Jonathan, presenting 1st position trophy to Onitha Tamaranlayifa of Charles Dale Memorial International School, during the opening ceremony of the 8th Pan African Congress of Mathematicians (PACOM), yesterday at International Conference Center, in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

L-R: Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, welcoming Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, during the ceremony of the newly renovated police college in Ikeja, Lagos on Monday.

L-R: Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mr. Peter Gana, and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, during a five-day workshop on fraud organised by Nigeria Police Force, yesterday in Lagos.

Photo: Olawale Rotimi

L-R: Surveyor-General of the Federation, Prof. Peter Nwilo, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works, Dr Abubakar Mohammad, and chairman, national scientific advisory group, Prof. Francis Fajemirokun, during a workshop on the adoption of transformation parameters for Nigeria, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: NAN

Executive Secretary, Plateau Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, Alhaji Salisu Musa (right), briefing newsmen on the preparation for this year’s hajj operation, yesterday in Jos. Photo: NAN

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 9

News

Nigeria targets $1bn trade volume with Czech Republic From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

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he Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Samuel Ortom, has said that Nigeria would ensure improvement in trade volume with Czech Republic from the current $100 million to $1billion.

Ortom spoke yesterday when he received Czech Republic official delegation led by its Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Thomas Dub.

The Minister pointed out that the volume of trade between Nigeria and Czech Republic grew in excess of $100 million at the end of 2012 which represent 50 percent increase over 2011.

“The balance of trade is against Nigeria and we are willing to improve the trade volume on the basis of win - win situation in the trade relations between both countries.

“We need collaboration in non oil products like solid minerals, agricultural products and agro

processing.”

Ortom pointed out that government has continued to reform Nigeria business environment to attract both local and foreign investors adding that the primary role of the Ministry was to remove all bottle necks that can hinder investment in the country.

“We are committed to attracting investment into the country and several incentives have been put in place to attract investment such as 100 % repatriation of profit,

Doing Business and Competitive Committee and Investor-Care Committee.”

He urged investors from Czech Republic to invest in Nigeria and take advantage of the large market and population as well as regional market in West Africa.

According to him, “we have Free Trade Zones in Nigeria where investors can produce for Nigeria and regional Market” “It is important to have Trade Mission and Trade Fair that will involve private sector to exchange

ideas and match making that will crystallize to trade and investment for both countries.”

Ortom noted that Nigeria can take advantage of Czech’s technology to advance food processing industry that will generate more employment opportunities for Nigerians.

Earlier, Dub explained that hey were in country to strengthen bilateral relations with Nigeria.

He said they were focusing on both entrepreneurial relationship and skills development that will enable Nigeria to benefit from cheap technology of the Czech Republic and urged both countries to support Czech – Nigeria Business Association for rapid economic development.

Nigeria to launch education research network

By Maryam Garba Hassan & Abbas Aminu Bamalli

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Wife of Niger state Governor, Hajia Jummai Babangida Aliyu (middle), congratulating new Chief Judge of Niger state, Justice Fati Lami Abubakar (left), after her sworn-in as the first female chief judge of the state by the Governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu (right), yesterday at the Government House, in Minna.

SSS parades suspected kidnappers of S/Court Judge’s wife

By Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

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hree members of a gang that kidnapped the wife, daughter and driver of a Judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, on May this year were among seven suspects paraded by the State Security Services (SSS) in Benin-City, yesterday.

The other suspects paraded were three extortionists who threatened to kill their victims and a musician who was accused of trafficking in persons.

The State Director of the SSS, Mr. Bello Tukur Bakori, who paraded the suspects before Governor Adams Oshiomhole said they confessed to the crime and that three members of the kidnappers of the Judge’s wife are still at large.

He said Mrs. Rhodes-Vivour and her daughter were kept in a house in Upper Sokpoba, area of Benin-City from where the suspects were arrested.

The Governor who was miffed that despite Government’s

warning that landlords should screen their tenants to ensure that their properties are not use used by criminal elements said the buildings used by the kidnap suspects would be demolished.

“For the landlords, we have already made the decision that anyone who aids and abets kidnapping will have his structure demolished.

“Any hotelier who does not follow the instruction of

documenting who stays in the hotel and such are used for kidnapping or human trafficking, we will demolish it.”

Oshiomhole expressed joy that the security agencies were able to arrest the gang that kidnapped the wife and daughter of the Supreme Court Justice, saying “this is a major breakthrough.”

“Majority of these criminals, about 95 per cent of them, are from Delta state.

“The lesson from this effort

is that when we report to law enforcement agents, they can be arrested but when we pay ransom, then we are providing additional incentives for the criminals to remain in business.

“Every ransom we pay is an opportunity for them to do more and for me, the message is clear, we must resist paying ransom.

“Let me use this opportunity to appeal to our parents that we must watch over our children, particularly our daughters.”

Reps urge FG to upgrade Abia Polytechnic

By Umar Muhammad Puma

T

he House of Representatives yesterday urged the Federal Government to upgrade the Abia State Polytechnic to a federal polytechnic.

Following the adoption of a motion on the matter the House mandated its standing Committee on Education to look

into the matter and report back to the House.

The Motion moved by Uzo Azubuike representing Aba North/ South Federal Constituency of Abia State, demanded more federal presence in the area.

He said that the only federal presence in Aba is the Nigeria Police and Federal Prisons Service, despite teeming population of youth yearning to acquire tertiary education.

He also noted that huge capital requirements for the running of the current polytechnic had become enormous for the state government.

According to him, “the total absence of a federal polytechnic in Abia state while other state polytechnics have been taken over by the Federal Government is not only discriminatory but will retard the indigenous technical and industrial development of Nigeria.”

he meeting of the West African and Central African Research and Education Networks (WACREN) yesterday held in Abuja to discuss pathways to the emergence of a vibrant subregional education and research collaboration platform.

The meeting which was chaired by the minister of Education Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i, comes at a time Nigeria is concluding arrangements to join the league of nations with functional Research and Education Networks through the launch of the first phase of (NgREN) to address some of the IT challenges of the nation’s universities.

Rufai’i described the West and Central African regions as the block without Regional Research Education Network which she said limits the countries’ ability to collaborate and work together in the e-sphere with obvious drawbacks on development.

She said Nigeria was blessed with huge and growing provision of marine cable capacity already delivering terabytes of bandwidth along it shorelines but need to work to put in place requisite trans-border regulations and incentives for seamless private and public sector co-operation in the evaluation of research and education infrastructure.

In his welcome address, Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Julius Okojie, said the Commission had enjoyed tremendous support from the World Bank, through the Science and Technology Education at the Post-Basic (STEP-B) Project and the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) .

He however expressed optimisms that the development when it becomes functional will boost teaching, learning and research in the country’s tertiary institutions.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 10

News Briefs

Benue police prosecute alleged cultists

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he Benue state Police Command has apprehended over 35 persons alleged to be cultists and charged them to court.

The Police Public Relations’ Officer DSP Daniel Ezeala who disclosed yesterday in achat with Peoples Daily said the suspects were arrested at the Katugun area of North Bank.

Ezeala also said that charms, guns, knives and axes were found in their possession at the time of arrest.

Cult activities are common in Makurdi, Benue state capital with Wadata, North Bank and Wurukum areas being flash points.

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

Kano Hisbah arrests boy for stealing cellular phone

K

ano state Hisbah Board has arrested a 10-year old boy, Adamu Ahmed, for allegedly stealing a cellular phone at the Rijiyar Zaki area in the Kano metropolis.

Ahmed, a resident of Dan Dago area of Kano Municipal Local Government confessed that he stole the phone belonging to is neighbor at Rijiyar Zaki.

“I stole the phone at one woman’s residence at Rijiyar Zaki area and the phone belongs to her.

“When I stole the phone, I gave it to my friend, his name is Dini to keep it for me.

“When Hisbah corps arrested me and interrogated me, I told them that the phone is with Dini,” the boy said.

From Mustapha Adamu, Kano.

Lagos cooperative societies’ assets hit N60bn

L

agos state government yesterday said the collective capital base of the state’s cooperative societies has increased from N40 billion to N60 billion with 13, 000 registered cooperatives societies.

Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Mr. Gbolahan Lawal disclosed this at a press briefing organized to herald the 2013 International Cooperative Day. According to Lawal, “we have supported several communities in the past and this year, we are supporting additional 10 communities in Badagry and Ojo zones with the production of outboard engines, fishing net refrigerators and other inputs that will boost their fish production.

“These are the measures we have put in place to assist our farmers with the subsidization of their inputs.”

Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

Chairman, Heirs Holding, Mr. Tony O Elumelu (2nd left), discussing Africa’s power sector transformation with US President Barack Obama (right), during a tour of the Ubungo Power Plant near Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Monday.

FG running down Kano economy, says MAN From Edwin Olofu, Kano

T

he north-west zone of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has accused the Federal Government of plotting to destroy the economy of Kano through an alleged policy inimical to its growth and development.

According to the MAN Vice President in the zone, Alhaji Ali Safiyanu Madugu, who spoke

with newsmen yesterday in Kano explained that there is discrimination in the sharing of electric power to the state.

He regretted that the development has led to the closure of 400 industries over the last 20 years with its attendants social-economic consequences.

Madugu said that, “this culture of discrimination has robbed Kano its status of “industrial hub” stressing that

“the property owning class no longer consider it worth the while to invest here because of the rising cost of energy.”

He noted that an agreement was reached last year with the Federal Ministry of Power to supply Kano zone that comprises Katsina, Jigawa , Kano and Niger Republic with eight per cent from the total power generation.

He said that the zone has only three per cent.

“This flagrant violation of power sharing policy to a city next to Lagos in terms of industrial development tends to expose hidden agenda to weaken the economic base of the commercial nerve centre of the north,” he said.

Madugu called on Kano state government to expedite action on the 35 megawatts Tiga/Challawa Gorge Dam Hydro Power as alternative and check to the current “discriminatory practices.”

Bauchi integrates Tsangaya into Western education From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

A

s part of measures to encourage both western and Islamic education among the Almajirai studying under the Tsangaya education, the Bauchi state government has reiterated its commitment to support the integration of both systems.

Governor Isa Yuguda expressed this commitment at the commissioning of the Tsangaya Education office in Bauchi.

He said that government provided N25 million to support the payment of N5, 000 monthly allowances to Tsangaya Qur’anic teachers.

According to him, government will also collaborate with the

Federal Government for the construction of additional Tsangaya schools and advised religious leaders to continue to pray for peace and stability in the state and the country at large.

In his remarks, the Commissioner of Education, Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed Aminu, appealed to stake holders to contribute their quota to

complement government huge investment in the education sector and advised parents to ensue the proper upbringing of their children.

Also speaking at the programme, Director General of Bauchi state Tsangaya Education, Sheikh Sidi Ali Dahir, urged government to upgrade the centre to an agency in order to enhance its operation at the grass root.

Pandemonium as robbers escape from Delta High Court

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eports said there was pandemonium on Monday at an Asaba High Court in Delta state when two notorious armed robbers escaped from the court immediately the trial judge sentenced them to death.

The men had been found guilty of two counts of conspiracy and armed robbery.

It took the strong intervention of two armed prison guards in the court to re-arrest the convicted armed robbers.

Court officials confided in our correspondent that immediately the judge pronounced the death sentence, one of them, identified as Elvis Agbofodo, escaped and was given a hot chase by a gallant prison

armed guard.

The guard traced him to the premises of a church next to the court and shot him in the leg.

The other convict, Frank Okedema, ran in a different direction before he was apprehended by another prison guard with the aid of residents.

Eyewitnesses said that court proceedings were disrupted by the escape attempt and forced the prison guards to embark on sporadic shooting.

It was learnt that other prison officials who showed up in large numbers upon receiving distress calls rushed the wounded armed robber to an undisclosed hospital.

Both convicts, it was gathered,

hail from Ekpan community of Uvwie local government.

They were reported to have robbed residents of Ekpan, including one Mrs. Omatseye Mercy of various valuables and money, in July 2010.

The convicts were also accused of raping and illegal stockpiling of weapons.

Ehwerido: Senate sets up nineman burial committee The Senate has set up a nineman burial committee to liaise with the family of its late colleague, Sen. Pius Ehwerido, just as it adjourned plenary session in his honour.

Senate Leader Victor NdomaEgba (PDP-Cross River), who on Tuesday in Abuja moved a motion to the adjournment, said the Senate

had suffered an unspeakable loss. ``There is nothing on our order paper; this is deliberate because on June 30, we suffered an unspeakable loss. One of our best and brightest passed on. ``So, I move that we observe one minute silence in his honour, and adjourn till Wednesday,’’ he said.

The Senate President, David Mark, said the proposed debate on the report of the 1999 constitution review committee which was to begin on Tuesday would also be postponed to July 9.

The Senate observed a oneminute silence in honour of Ehwerido and adjourned the session. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 11

Money Sense

Is saving money the business of everybody?

W

hile everyone has heard the term a penny saved is a penny earned most of us never live by this phrase.

There are however many ways that one can help save money, which are not as difficult to live by as you may think.

Not all tips are for everyone.

Everyone places value on certain things more than others, but if you look over some of these tips you may realize that you could try some of these out and be surprised with how much you could end up saving. These too are also only some ways you could save. Many will frown at such ideas but some will take note, once again these are just tips.

Shop for clothes at 2nd hand stores as it is popularly called (bend-down boutique). Many people have the wrong impression of used clothing stores. While some may be quit dirty, there are several that are pretty nice considering. While some items may make you wonder how they got in, there are standards they have to keep the store decent.

Most will never accept stained clothing or anything ripped or in need of repair. So many of the items have also barely even been put on and yet come at a fraction of the price of new clothes. You

can really find some great pieces at a fraction of the price and no one can tell they are not brand new.

Keep those grocery fliers to compare prices and only try to buy things that are on sale. I know this does not always work well as there could be some items on sale you need at one store yet you would have to go some minutes away in order to get others, but within reason.

When ordering telephone, cable and internet services make them work for your business.

While their prices may always seem set in stone, they not always are. While this is no secret, always be sure to pay every bill on time.

Never pay anything late. Interest charges on everything from late bills to all bills just end up costing you much more money in the long run, not to mention can tarnish your credit rating.

Cut down on the energy used in your home, replace light bulbs with more efficient ones, use a programmable thermostat, take shorter showers and so on.

Instead of purchasing anything impulsively, write it down and look at your list a day later. Stores are great at marketing and often catch people unguarded. If you are like many, you may end up buying something

you really didn’t need and may hardly even use. Waiting a day helps you to determine if it a just an impulse or if it would be a good buy.

Ask yourself, do I have enough

money to actually buy this, if you answer not really than don’t buy it, it is a simple as that. Anyone tip is use cash or cash equivalent instead of credit to keep a better eye on your finances.

Finally, while this may sound

Can we agree that money is important?

M

oney does not buy happiness.”

How many times have you heard this? Lots of times, I am willing to bet. Our culture sends us two very conflicting messages about money. The first, a message that tells us money is everything.

Celebrity culture, the rich and famous, Wall Street greediness, the twinge of jealousy we feel when we see a house bigger than ours, a car newer than our car.

Then, there’s the completely opposite message, the one that treats wealth – and the wealthy – with suspicion, that works

hard to teach us NOT to envy them, to see the limitations that wealth has and the potential trouble it can cause. In some families, it gets to the point of feeling that money is somehow dirty, that it’s not a proper topic for conversation, that flaunting what you’ve got is tacky and that being poor is almost a virtue.

Can We Agree That Money Is Important?

But money IS important, and here, today, I’d like to get all of us to agree on this one basic assumption. Whatever we feel about money, people with money, or the pursuit of money, can we at least agree that money IS important? Very important, even? We can go into more detail later on, try to define what exactly it means, to say that money is important, or what kind of money is important.

But for now, will you agree with me that dismissing money as unnecessary is a mistake?

It’s Not Having What You Want. It’s Wanting What You’ve Got “Wealth consists not in having great possessions but in having few wants” is one of my favorite quotes. Having few wants is probably the best insurance against greediness, because it’s human nature to keep wanting more, and the more you have, the more you want.

It’s a simple psychological process: you have the basics (shelter, food, clothes) and are fairly happy, although you do worry about dealing with emergency situations; you become wealthier, and you enjoy the extra luxuries very much for a few months, but then it becomes your new “normal.”

Now, surrounded by wealthier people, you look around, and you feel unhappy. They have more than you. You want more.

But when you get more, you’re unhappy again.

It’s a never-ending cycle and this is what explains why so many ultra-wealthy celebrities keep doing commercials. They have so much, but they always want more. They never get to a point where, if offered a million dollars for doing a commercial, they simply say, “You know what? No, thank you. I have enough.”

Money is an Important Tool Another quote that I like: “Money on its own is neither good nor bad. It is a means to an end.” Again, this is not to say that money is not important.

It is to say that money is not “dirty,” but money is also not everything. Money is a tool that enables you to protect yourself, to build yourself and your family a better life, and to give back to your community.

counterproductive, don’t end up being a miser either. Do your best to save money and live within your means, but don’t pinch every kobo so hard that you end up folding it in half.

Money Tip Just do it This is true on so many levels.

The self-made rich are people with the mindset that they can (and will) change their situations. Instead of waiting for good things to happen (or wondering why they don’t), they get out there and make them happen. They invest in businesses.

They start businesses. Or they invest in things that will have high returns.

Whether you’re at work, the mall, or the grocery store, look for ways to earn more money.

Don’t sit idle wishing you could do something. If you want this, you must make it happen.

Set goals – and achieve them.

Doing is a lot more productive if you know what your goals are. The rich know what they want to earn, and they set a plan before they go out to do it. They research what will earn them the money they want, then they set and accomplish goals around it.

Set small financial goals you can easily achieve to help you build your confidence. As you reach your goals, set new ones — so that you always have your sights on a new horizon.

Quote “Make sure you always hold inmindwhatyoureallywant, not what someone else wants for you” - Taken from ‘Life: Your Inside Guide’

PAGE 12

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

EDITORIAL

ast year a High Court in the United Kingdom ruled that four elderly Kenyans were substantially tortured in the anticolonial uprising staged by the MauMau movement in the 1950s. It took a British law firm and a handful of historians over ten years to win the case. The settlement, worth about 21 million U.S. dollars, incurred a hefty legal bill of about a million U.S dollars.

Following the court ruling, the British government made a modest climb down from its previously hard line position and formally accepted that it abused and tortured about 90,000 Kenyans detained during the anti-colonial uprising. In agreeing to the settlement for torture, the British government accepted to pay compensation for some 5,000 remaining survivors of the repression against the anti-colonial fighters.

The over 5,000 surviving Mau-Mau combatants might get $4,000 each, hardly anything that European counterpart can accept for the magnitude of such officiallysanctioned policy of deliberate torture. Instructively, the British government refused to say anything that would suggest they are sorry for the monumental injustice. For the British government, any admission of guilty might open the floodgates of protest against its numerous colonial-era state-sanctioned crimes against colonised people. However, we state unequivocally that the U.K.

and other colonial powers, including France, Belgium and Portugal would have to own up to the heinous crimes of colonial domination, exploitation and the expropriation of Africa people.

Apart from physical torture and plunder of resources of the various African people, the imposition of political and economic forms inappropriate to the African condition accounts for the

“

L

Britain and Kenyan Mau-Mau fighters

The modest victory of the Mau-Mau activists should be replicated across Africa perennially recurring phenomenon of crises and instability in contemporary Africa. The payment of modest compensation as Britain did is a tiny slap on the wrist for the atrocities perpetuated by the colonial powers. The foot dragging of the British authorities in only accepting to pay so little represents in the crudest form, the imperialist arrogance and insensitively that characterized the era of colonial domination.

The state of Israel has continuously benefited from the Nazi persecution of the Jews by the successor governments of Germany. The case of the Jews which

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pales into insignificance to the sufferings, torture and deaths of Africans during Europe’s slave raids has received universal attention. In many European countries, it is even a crime punishable by up to five years imprisonment to deny the Jewish holocaust, or to play down the scope of the Jewish sufferings. Outgoing President of the Islamic Republic of Iran is about the most vilified figure in the West for daring to question if the holocaust was real. But even as the sufferings of Africans in the colonial era is an undeniable fact, its perpetrators are hard in acknowledging their chilling crimes against humanity, let alone accepting and apologizing for it.

In the specific instance of the MauMau anti-colonial fighters, the case for accepting the liability of the crimes of torture and compensation was even initiated by a British law firm. It is a pity that post-colonial states in Africa, run by Africans have n0t demanded any action against colonial-era abuses.

However, this is not difficult to understand given that the post-colonial states are mere reincarnates of the colonial states.

However, nothing justifies the complacency of the former colonial powers in owning up to the crimes against humanity and seeking to pay adequate compensations to the abused persons and their descendants. The modest victory of the Mau-Mau activists should be replicated across Africa. We salute these remaining survivors of the Mau-Mau struggle.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 13

Opinion Michelle vs Patience: Same title, different styles

By Emmanuel Onwubiko

W

hile in contemplation on the extensive psychological, social and economic damage caused by the phenomenal rate of sexual violations of minors especially girls by adult sex predators in Nigeria, I was rudely interrupted by a loud broadcast by a local television in Nigeria that is publicly funded whereby the wife of President Goodluck Jonathan was shown addressing a crowd of people made up mostly of gorgeously dressed women, somewhere in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state Capital.

For some moments, I watched the broadcast of the colourful rally by the wife of the President to see if she could dwell for some minutes on the menace of rape of teenagers by adults in Nigeria, but that was none of her concern.

The glamorous event by the wife of the Nigerian President, which was bankrolled apparently with tax payers’ money, was interpreted by the media as the unofficial kick-off of the 2015 presidential campaign of President Jonathan.

President Jonathan, it would be recalled, has not declared his intention to vie for another term in 2015 but his Special Adviser on political matters - the Adamawa state-born lawyer - Mr. Ahmed Gulak, has said several times that President Jonathan would contest.

On June 19, 2013, when the wife of the Nigerian President inaugurated what is called the South-South zonal secretariat

of the Women for Change and Development Initiative - her pet project, she took plenty of time to ask the women and people of the region to vote for her husband but spent less than fleeting seconds to highlight the need for women to become sources of peace in their homes.

At the palace of the traditional ruler of the Nye-new-eli Rumueme Kingdom, Eze Omunakwe Nsiri, the wife of Nigerian President explicitly showed that her visit was political.

Her words; “I am here to thank and appreciate the role you and my people of River state played in voting for my husband in the 2011 presidential election. Rivers people voted massively for my husband. I am your daughter and my husband is your son. I want you to support him when the time comes. I know you will not disappoint us, we, on our part, we will never forget you”.

Remember that the wife of President Jonathan, just like the wives of previous Nigerian rulers, has assumed the unofficial title of the first lady even though most Nigerians now know that the presidency spends a fortune to run this unconstitutional office with all the full compliments of an executive office holder.

The “office” of the first lady of Nigeria, I am told, is staffed with some of the best schooled experts in different fields especially in public and media relations.

The title of First Lady, as we all know, originated from the United States of America where till date the holder of that symbolic title, the

wife of the President of the United States of America, Mrs. Michelle Obama does not enjoy these monumental executive privileges that the Nigerian President’s wife enjoys. She also does not engage in political battles on behalf of her husband.

From simple research on Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, we are reliably informed that the word first lady is an unofficial title used in the United States of America for the wife of the President. The concept of first lady originated in the United States where one of the earliest references was applied to Mrs. Martha Washington.

According to historians, in an 1843 newspaper article that appeared in the Boston Courier, the author Mrs. Signorney, discussing how Mrs. Washington had not changed even after her husband George became President, wrote as follows; “The first lady of the nation still preserved the habits of early life. Indulging in no indolence, she left the pillow at dawn, and after breakfast, returned to her chamber for an hour of study of the scriptures and devotion”.

The above is necessarily how a good wife of the President ought to carry herself with humility and devotion knowing that the symbolic title she carries carry no constitutional support or validity.

Although I acknowledge the scientific fact that no two people are the same but two persons carrying same unconstitutional title of First Lady ought to respect the laws of the land.

This is not the case in Nigeria whereby the wife of the president has been accused of appropriating official executive functions and the elected members of the people’s National Assembly seem helpless to restore constitutionalism in the way and manner that Nigeria’s President’s wife has gone about as if to say the office is fully recognized by the constitution of the country. A respected national paper in Nigeria recently upbraided Mrs. Patience Jonathan for some of these ‘high profile official’ functions.

But how does the wife of the United States President go about her unofficial duties of the first lady? Observers can see that the first lady of the United States has shown the highest charisma in speaking out for educational empowerment of the girl child and she accompanied her husband in the ongoing African visits whereby she was seen in an all girls College in Senegal counseling the girls to say no to rape and to consistently pursue their studies.

This reminds me of the stark reality of high rate of sexual violations of youngsters by adults in Nigeria and the silence of the wife of the Nigerian President to play a role towards ensuring that government fights the menace of the hydra-headed monster of rape.

Although, on paper the offence of rape is seen as grave but the weak enforcement of the law has made it impossible for those sexual violators of young children to face the full weight of the law.

A national voice like that of the wife of the President of

Nigeria might influence officials of government to more seriously take their jobs and to seriously fight and minimize the damage unleashed by sex predators on youngsters.

If the Nigerian first lady can devote one third of all her public speeches and events to advocating an end to the phenomenal rise in rape, then the necessary mechanism for effectively enforcing strong law against rape would be activated.

But from far away Senegal, the American first lady gave us a good lesson on how to play a good role model for the younger girls when she visited them in their secondary school, interacted with them meaningfully and offered words of encouragement.

The Voice of America, a state radio listened to by about 60 million rural Africans, reported recently that hundreds of students at the all-girls Martin Luther King high school danced and sang to welcome Michelle Obama.

Mrs. Obama praised the students for their academic achievements and urged them to stick with it, even though she said she knows it is hard for some families to afford to send their daughters to school.

The Port Harcourt ‘nearinvasion’ of Nigeria’s first lady and the Senegal’s friendly visit by the United States President’s wife, show us that though the two ladies share same title, but both operate different styles and ironically both are black women.

Onwubiko blogs at blogs@ www.huriwa.blogspot.com.

Nigeria Vs South Africa in flawed GDP battle

By Lorenzo Fioramonti

S

ince 2012, the government of Nigeria has been working to revise the calculation of economic performance with a view to producing new measures for its gross domestic product (GDP).

The central goal of this reform is to update the so-called base year, which is the benchmark for all calculations used in computing the GDP of a nation.

The base year is of critical importance as it determines the year in which prices are held constant, (which enables statisticians to distinguish economic growth from inflation), the weighing of each economic sector with respect to the whole economy and, crucially, the type of data that is included in the final calculation.

Although most higher income countries revise their base year every five years in order to account for changes in the nature and shape of their economies, the majority of low- to middle-income countries do so more sporadically, as they lack the technical resources to overhaul the national income accounts at regular intervals.

Thus far, Nigeria has been no exception and its latest revision dates back to 1990, which means that some booming sectors such as information communications technology and entertainment (especially the Nollywood film industry) are systematically undercounted in official statistics.

But what may appear to be a mere statistical endeavour may easily

trigger a political earthquake in Africa, with repercussions on traditional power balances throughout the continent.

Most estimates suggest that, as a result of the revisions, Nigeria’s GDP may increase by up to 40% in nominal terms, which means that the West African powerhouse would overtake South Africa as the continent’s largest economy in 2014. Similar leaps have happened in the past. In 2010, GDP revisions elevated Ghana to the status of a middle-income country thanks to a sudden 60% jump in nominal growth. In Turkey, the rebasing of GDP produced a 30% increase in 2008.

As I show in my latest book, Gross Domestic Problem: The Politics behind the World’s Most Powerful Number, GDP is a powerful political tool. The most important global governance institutions, from the G8 to the G20, are based on GDP credentials. Thus far, South Africa has been the only African country represented in the G20 on the grounds of the scale of its economy.

What will happen if Nigeria claims this status? Would it affect South Africa’s membership of the Brics, and would Nigeria become the preferred counterpart of Brazil, Russia, India and China? There are many who believe Nigeria’s overtaking of South Africa would produce significant effects in the governance structures of the continent.

In the past few years, Nigerian politicians have become increasingly

assertive with respect to their role in the continent and they wait for the GDP revisions to do the trick.

Several pundits already see the West African giant as the new continental leader.

Arguably, this GDP battle may ruffle some feathers in Pretoria, where policymakers fear their country may lose its traditional crown as leader of the African continent in world politics.

But the GDP battle hides more than it reveals. This is because GDP is a very misleading measure of economic performance, let alone social and political progress. Neither Nigeria nor South Africa is a healthy economy.

For many reasons, however, the former is far worse than the latter, and the whole continent would be much worse off if Lagos were to replace Johannesburg as Africa’s economic hub.

Both South Africa and Nigeria are among the least sustainable economies in the world. According to the World Bank, the depletion of nonrenewable energy in Nigeria accounted for about 25% of its GDP in 2013.

South Africa is Africa’s most polluting country and the 13th worst emitter of carbon dioxide in the world.

According to the United Nations Development Programme, both South Africa and Nigeria have experienced a significant decline in natural resources since 1990.

Although these countries enjoy relatively large pools of fossil fuels, their reliance on energy-intensive

economic growth has imposed huge drawdowns on their natural capital base, with serious risks for human health, the environment and the subsistence of local communities.

In most areas, Nigeria has been faring much worse than South Africa. The Inclusive Wealth Index (IWI) published by the UN measures the growth of produced capital (for example, GDP) against the stocks of natural resources that are depleted in the process. For the IWI, Nigeria is by far the worst performing country.

When the gains in terms of GDP are offset against the depletion of human capital and natural resources, the Nigerian miracle evaporates altogether. Rather than increasing its overall wealth, the West African country has been accumulating economic losses at an average annual rate of 1.8% since 1990. Nigeria has also overtaken South Africa in the costs associated with environmental degradation: 2.51%, compared with the 2.24% of the Rainbow Nation.

During the period 1990 to 2008, Nigeria destroyed 41% of its forest resources, one of the highest deforestation rates in the world. According to the Resource Governance Index, Nigeria falls at the bottom of the global ranking, with a very poor record in terms of transparency and accountability in the management of its oil riches, more than 20 places below South Africa.

We all know about the dire effects of multinational companies’ systematic exploitation of oil fields

in the Niger delta: environmental destruction, political destabilisation and human displacement.

But GDP regards these phenomena as “positive” for the economy, with paradoxical consequences for the way in which most African economies are designed and run. No surprise, therefore, that one of the world’s least sustainable societies is now touted as a role model for the continent.

As the UN recognises, GDP focuses exclusively on the “cash” being generated by market activities (that is, present income and production flow) whereas alternative measures of inclusive wealth highlight the importance of stocks of assets and their changes over time.

The politics of GDP makes countries blind by rewarding shortterm consumption and wholesale exploitation of natural assets at the expense of social justice and sustainability.

There is no economic success without sustainable progress, and African economies would be better off if their leaders realised that GDP-based frameworks are very misleading. If South Africa is serious about leading the continent towards a brighter future, it should develop a more comprehensive wealth-based accounting system and help the rest of Africa, including Nigeria, to do the same.

Lorenzo Fioramonti is the director of the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation, University of Pretoria,South Africa

PAGE 14

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

Letters & Opinion Why you should be a journalist

By Muhammad Jameel Yusha’u

“M

ass Comm ai kwas din mata ne” (Mass communications is a course for women), was a common adage we used to hear in our secondary school days. I can vividly remember the story one of my friends told me when I said I was going to study mass communications; he told me the story of a father who said he would rather his son or daughter become a street hawker than to study Mass Communication. Many parents assumed that for a child to be successful he has to study Medicine or Engineering or Law or Pharmacy or Accounting or Economics or Business Administration,and so on and so forth depending on how lucrative the course could be.

Then the same people who castigate certain courses will be glued to their radio to listen to the announcement for the siting of the moon of Ramadan, in the morning the same father will either pick a copy of the Guardian, New Nigerian, Daily Trust, Punch, and in recent years Leadership, Blueprint, The Nation, and People’s Daily to find out what is happening in Nigeria and around the world; in fact if he has some shares he would monitor the pages in these

newspapers one discovers an giving up to date amazing trend, information the interest by about the students from value of shares English language, Peoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, in different sociology, text messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written financial political contributions should be concise.

Word limits: Letters institutions, science, Islamic - 150 words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your at 9: 00 pm studies, library it is almost science, history, name and a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be mandatory that rushing to take addressed to: every member courses in mass of the household communications, The Editor, and not all of should leave these people are the sitting area Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, women. Then one for the Oga at 35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja. begins to think the top to watch Email: opinion@peoplesdailyng.com that, there must NTA news.

SMS: 08134607052 be something When there in this course is crises in the that is attracting middle east like people, and the answer is not far the Gulf War, popularly known in or Deutche Welle’s Ado Gwadabe from us, it is simply marketability. northern Nigeria as yakin tekun and Umaru Aliyu, most of them Almost every state in Nigeria has fasha, he quickly switches to radio retired but no tired broadcasters. a radio and television station, Kaduna to listen to Duniya ina In fact the same castigator and perhaps a newspaper. At the Labari and hear how Abubakar discouraging his children from federal level you have NTA and Jidda Usman provides analysis studying mass communication and FRCN. Lagos is the hub of the of the war with such oratory and other journalism courses forgets newspaper industry with various analytical prowess. In fact while that the first president of Nigeria, newspapers and magazines. But Uwargida (the chief or head wife) is Dr Nnamdi Azikwe, the likes of this is just part of the story; almost preparing breakfast, his attention Alhaji Abdullateef Jakande, Alhaji every government parastatal has is divided between the food and Magaji Dambatta, Alhaji Abubakar a public relations unit, the banks the vibration of the voice of Usman Imam, Ahaji Abubakar Rimi, Chief and other financial institutions Muhammad, Isa Abba Adamu or Segun Osoba and many more were Saleh Halliru of the BBC Hausa at one point or the other working as have corporate communication departments, local governments service, or Hadiza Isa Wada, Kabiru journalists. have information officers, even Fagge and Halima Djimrou of VOA, After joining the university

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in the military era, the governors, the president, the ministers have press secretaries, and having the word mass communication on your certificate helps in turning your qualification into a meal ticket in a market congested with university graduates searching for jobs. In fact my teacher Malam Jibrin Ali Giginyu, formerly of the Triumph newspapers used to say, journalism is too large to be filled by mass communication graduates only.

But what is the purpose of this long tale. It is simple, irrespective of what you think of journalism, it is a profession that provides job opportunities, and it is when the best, the honest and the brightest refuse to study or practices it, that others join to spoil the show.

Beyond the traditional journalism practices of working in print and broadcast media, there are other opportunities locally and internationally. And in this series, I will mention some of those areas that might be of interest to students of mass communication and journalism, and those who would like to venture into this profession; what are the basic things you need to do to secure a job, what are the opportunities out there, but only few people can grab, and how can you improve your skills so as to make it difficult for employers to overlook your CV? Join me for an update.

Muhammad Jameel Yusha’u can be reached by email via mjyushau@yahoo.com

What does Jesse Jackson want from Nigeria?

By Theophilus Ilevbare

O

n Democracy Day, Rev. Jesse Jackson joined the Jonathan government in towing the infamous path of ignominy as he danced to the macabre steps of the Jonathan administration’s mid-term scorecard of the Transformation Agenda. Jackson said it was obvious that the ship of the Nigerian Nation is sailing in the right course describing the transparency of President Goodluck Jonathan as unequalled in contemporary democracy. My first thoughts were to let it pass, but in the course of my interaction with concerned Nigerians in the diaspora, particularly in the US, we saw a need to bring to public knowledge Rev. Jesse Jackson’s clandestine scheme of grand deception in which his visits and long association with the country’s leaders has been shrouded.

Over the past two years, the present administration has resorted to window dressing and the former shadow Senator for the District of Columbia has being the trumpeter on the international scene. The Baptist minister, tried to pull the wool over the eyes of Nigerians during the mid-term performance report of President Jonathan.

The sight of Rev. Jackson on that day was reminiscent of former President of the United States, Carter, working in the same capacity for ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo. Jackson’s affiliation with the present administration can at best be described as a relationship of congruent characters.

When in America, he challenges the US government to be inclusive, to establish just and humane priorities for the benefit of all. Across the Atlantic to Africa, he endorses corruption, unemployment and undemocratic proclivities of an elected president.

His speech had nothing to suggest that he is an advocate of economic and social justice, but instead, it smacked of the familiar vibes of a political hireling.

As a civil right activist, his activism must be people centred.

Any government that has failed in its responsibility in providing basic infrastructure, employment, security of lives and property is not deserving of such high praise.

The rhetoric of President Jonathan and his fawning ministers does not translate to realities on ground when citizens are inundated daily with unprecedented corruption, rising unemployment, deteriorating security conditions, decaying infrastructure and impunity, brandishing useless figures in the faces of Nigerians that translates to nothing makes a mockery our democracy. Rev. Jackson, as an international activist, ought to have known better that nowhere in the world is achievement on paper equated to hard facts on ground more so when Nigerian politics and politicians are involved. The scorecard of a Nigerian President must be scrutinized before making pronouncement on it.

In Bayelsa state, the twotime United States democratic presidential nominee backed the federal government’s amnesty programme for Boko Haram.

Consequently, he was lampooned

by Nigerians for supporting the misguided and unfortunate amnesty offer. I will begin to take Rev. Jackson more seriously if he voices same sentiments to President Obama that al-Qaeda, AQIM and other members of dreaded terrorist cells on US soil be granted amnesty. He cannot feign ignorance of the stance of America on terrorism. The United States do not negotiate with terrorists let alone grant amnesty.

Rev. Jackson should be in a better position to advise and campaign against amnesty. There is no justice in rewarding terrorists who have turned places of peaceful gatherings to an abattoir, law abiding citizens are prey as they have continued to perpetrate their dastardly killings with unrestrained fervor. The Boston Marathon bombing in which not more than five people were killed resulted in a manhunt for the perpetrators, putting Boston in locked down until the suspects were apprehended.

But for whatever be the reason the government brought Jackson to Nigeria, it is clear it was for name recognition rather than substance of thought or theory.

Jackson must strive to understand the peculiarities and complexity of issues in Nigeria before making his comments.

Can the American political activist aver that his several visits to Nigeria spanning decades reflect the ideals of his Rainbow PUSH coalition in the US where good governance is put on the front burner? His long years of friendship with some of Nigeria’s

tyrannical military rulers has been fraught with umbrageous intents.

Snippets revealed he once told a group of African diplomats in New York City in 1997, that Sani Abacha was the visionary leader Nigeria needs “at this(sic) moment,” same Abacha whose regime was widely considered as an international pariah. Of Ibrahim Babangida in 1992, he said he is “The most progressive military president Nigeria deserves”. These were military dictators who have been accused of murder, embezzlement, institutionalizing corruption, men who have done everything in their reach while in power to put Nigeria out and send Nigerians to hell on earth. Rev. Jackson fought hard in the international community against economic sanctions on Nigeria when the UN was suggesting such a move in 1996 to speed up democratic changes and return the country to civilian control. It is same Jackson, who didn’t see anything wrong fraternising with a dreaded dictator that is enjoying a democratic Nigeria today. If Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was alive, certainly, he would have disapproved of Jackson’s ties with the discredited soldiers of fortune and his eccentric international activism. Reason why Jesse Jackson has lost relevance in his country cannot be farfetched.

The image of a prosperous and corruption-free Nigeria is being painted by a motley figure like Rev. Jesse Jackson to the world and Nigeria stands to lose a lot if we allow him get away with such.

Since the inception of the President Barack Obama-led

administration in 2008, Rev. Jackson - the Greenville, South Carolina born advocate - has made spirited attempts to launder the image of Nigeria to America that it is deserving of a visit by President Obama. But he has been unsuccessful in his latest mug’s game. On Obama’s second trip to Africa, he has once again boycotted Nigeria, choosing rather to stopover at countries who have demonstrated commitment to democracy, good governance and has upheld human rights.

Expectedly, President Obama does not acknowledge him as a serious politician. He is no longer considered an elder statesman in the US. So, Nigeria and other third world countries is the way to go. If the intentions of Rev. Jackson were genuine, why has he failed to work with other Nigerian activists in Nigeria or US over the years?

Jackson’s visits to Nigeria underscores the thinking of some “friends” of Nigeria in America who find it difficult to disconnect from the wealth they see in the Nigerian political elite. For them, that only is important. They care less about the intricacies and the dynamics of control of its resources. They see Nigeria and all they want is to be part of the few who milk the country dry.

Well, to the Jackson crowd, we have a duty to remind them that the struggle for civil rights, democracy and good governance

by Nigeria’s activists of yesteryears and today is not in vain.

Theophilus Ilevbare is reachable via theophilus@ ilevbare.com

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 15

Comment

Nigeria’s reluctant presidents and effect on devt

By Law Mefor

N

igeria’s leadership has never thrived on individuals’ aspiration, as the recruitment process veers off weirdly from normal. It has always been some mutative force casting aside whoever nursed the ambition to whoever they please. It is a nation that has survived on the blood of sacrificial lambs, to leave the country in the hands of who never wanted to rule, a classical case of conspiracy of an evil hue.

President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan has been a child of circumstance from the start, rising, politically speaking, from obscurity to become whatever any man alive or dead would wish. He confessed that he never dreamt of becoming the president of Nigeria. Awo, on the other hand, would have given a limb to be in Jonathan’s shoes. Or at the very least, wished for the same destiny for himself but it never came his way. Awo wanted to be Nigeria’s president. Some historians believe his betrayal of Biafra was part of his calculations to get there. Yet, everything ended as a daydream for the late sage.

Obasanjo derided the late Awo as an example of this sad Nigerian reality when he said many years ago: “A man whose life ambition eluded him deserves my sympathy”, further noting rather uncharitably that he achieved when he was barely forty what Awo laboured for life and failed to accomplish – to rule Nigeria.

Indeed the bewildering inability of the late sage (Awo) to rule

Nigeria even for 24 hours as he was known to have once begged may remain legendary. It denotes the unwavering ‘providence’ standing accused for taking it upon itself to select the nation’s leaders and what is more, making a mess of it.

It has always saddled the country with the wrong kind of leaders and underdevelopment is the result.

It is indeed the Nigerian story: those who wanted to rule the nation never came close to power: Zik, Awo, Ahmadu Bello, and many more tired out trying and woefully failing, and may have all died feeling politically unfulfilled. Only reluctant leaders, both military and civilians, suddenly found themselves there without any vision and sense of mission for the nation.

Obasanjo remains the most incredible case study in any attempt to put this phenomenon in perspective. He holds a Guinness Book record as a 2 -era President of a country purely by accident, contributing nothing to each occasion to ascend the apex power except perhaps saying yes to this providential beckon. He was said to be crying when he was prevailed upon to succeed Ramat Murtala Muhammad when the latter fell under the hail of Dimka’s bullets.

That was how the nation came about the double-barrel history of Murtala-Obasanjo regime in 1976.

Again, in 1999, the nation was saddled with another reluctant Obasanjo. He was asked by journalists when he was brought out of Yola prison if he would aspire to lead Nigeria again.

Shocked, Obasanjo retorted: “How

many Presidents do you want to make out of me?” But few months later, Nigeria was busy making another President out of a reluctant Obasanjo.

Today, the history is not different. President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan left it to be decided as usual. After all, like past Nigerian leaders, he never harbored any personal ambition all along, so it will be mean-spirited to suggest he should not have allowed himself to be goaded into it or allowing the force to sustain his presidency beyond 2015.

The President is true to form for remaining at the mercy of the providence that has been producing reluctant Presidents for Nigeria.

The President became Vice President because an Obasanjo said so, and President because the constitution imposed it and likely to return in 2015 because the Ijaw nation insists. These are all forces beyond and outside the incumbent.

Historically, we can also say such unseen hands produced an Alhaji Tafawa Balewa as Prime Minister of Nigeria (1959 -1966) even when he was not the leader of his party (Northern People’s Congress). In parliamentary practice and tradition, for not being the leader of the NPC, it was unusual for Tafawa Balewa to become prime minister. The same force produced Generals JTU Aguiyi- Ironsi and Yakubu Gowon as heads of state, even when they hatched no coups.

It nearly made a mistake with Murtala who really came with the ambition and desire to rule Nigeria and make a difference. But the force quickly corrected the ‘Murtala

error’ by violently replacing him with a reluctant General Olusegun Obasanjo.

Then also, a certain Shehu Shagari printed his beautiful posters to go to the Nigerian Senate. But the same ‘providence’ said: “No, thou art Mr. President Sir!” One Muhammad Buhari came knocking with an ambition to rule and got knocked off quickly by one experimentalist I.B. Babangida who appeared surprised that power had been that close without knowing it even after risking his life to ease out Dimka and his weird dream.

(IBB was said to be on a mission to rescue his own military career following a looming probe. His coming to power therefore could be the same way Eyadema of Togo and Samuel Doe of Liberia shot their ways to power to save their skins and career!)

Then came in one far more reluctant Ernest Shonekan in the interim who told ‘them’ to come for the mantle anytime they wanted it back since he was only a defacto head ab-initio. So, when Shonekan saw dark-goggled Sani Abacha escorted to his Aguda House by some young officers, he handed him his pre-signed resignation and prerecorded video tape from the window. Abacha, another providential head of state of Nigeria had emerged, anointed and planted as head of state-in-waiting, by an IBB that was stepping aside, and, courtesy of the same providence, as others, he went into power to represent the interest rather than nation. When he started getting ideas of his own with his transmutation plan with ‘the five

Democracy and leadership in Nigeria

By Salihu Moh. Lukman

I

n his book, The Age of Turbulence, economist and former Chairman of US Federal Reserve (1987 – 2006), Alan Greenspan asked the question, “How do we reform government and return money and power back to the American people”. This question is perhaps more valid today in Nigeria than could have been the case in the United States in 2006. Probably in response, President Obama while visiting South Africa remarked that “terrorism is more likely to succeed in countries that are not delivering for their people and where there are areas of conflict and underlying frustrations that have not been adequately dealt with”.

The question of delivery is certainly about the existence of opportunities, how citizens are able to access them and convert into income or welfare benefits.

Unfortunately, in our case, there has been systematic contraction of available opportunities, access has been privatised and virtually restricted to functionaries of government and therefore capacity to earn income or enjoy any form of welfare benefit is correlated with access to government.

This has consistently been the situation perhaps since the days of military rule, from the mid-1980s.

The coming of democracy in 1999 could have altered this but sadly has been very slow if not strongly enforcing situations of denial for most citizens. It could be argued that this is very subjective. With

prohibitive levels of poverty, which the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) estimate at an average of 69% and unemployment of about 24%, the question will be what is being done to ameliorate the situation.

It could be justified that it should not be the sole responsibility of government to ameliorate this unfavourably bad situation. However, to the extent that government responsibilities include public services and guaranteeing economic stability, government’s capacity to come with initiatives that create opportunities and widen access for citizens become important.

Two fundamental preconditions for this to successfully take place are leadership astuteness on the one hand and right sets of actions or programmes, on the other.

In summary the competence of our leaders to be able to drive governance process to produce desired results – improved welfare and higher living conditions for citizens. Issues of knowledge and experience supposedly play central roles and in a democracy whereby citizens elect their leaders, these should have been the guide.

With largely money and other sentiments, cheaply ethnicity and religion, becoming primary, the possibility of leaders emerging without any understanding of the problems facing society and therefore incapable of initiating any action or programme is very common. In fact, the dominant perception among contemporary Nigerian leaders is that the country

is endowed with all the needed resources. The major problem therefore is the share of it that gets to them, whether at the federal, state, local government or even nongovernmental organisations. This then means that preoccupation of government excludes issues of wealth creation.

On account of this, citizens are regarded as liabilities and parasites and exclusive in discussing resources of the country. This is informed by an ideological mindset that is revisionist and departs from the classical economic dictum that identified land, labour, capital and entrepreneurs as the four factors of production. In the Nigerian case, the only factor of production is land largely limited to the oil producing communities which is the one that generate virtually all the resources of government.

With the high foreign content of the oil sector, capital and entrepreneur are hardly Nigerian.

This reduced Nigerian citizens and nearly all other parts outside oil producing areas as imaginary in the psyche of our leaders. To realise the much talked about government revenue, our leaders really don’t need much in Nigeria beyond the oil producing land.

In the circumstance, all the priorities of our leaders are reduced to simplified projects that hardly go beyond buildings and physical installations without necessarily paying attention to issues of human development focusing on education and healthcare services. Classrooms and schools get constructed that

way without worrying about or recruiting teachers that can use the classrooms and schools to teach pupils and students. Hospitals, clinics and primary healthcare centres are built without concern for doctors, nurses and other medical staff to use the structures to attend to patients.

With this strongly perverted capitalist ideological bent influenced by wrong application of IMF/ World Bank prescriptions, which emphasises deregulation of public services and increased role of private sector, the dominant approach is to surrender key functions of government to private operators.

Through that, public resources get diverted to so-called private operators with zero value input.

In terms of qualification, the most important factor is relationship with functionaries of government.

Knowledge is immaterial. Thus, the resort to coercion is easy and almost given. Citizens’ willingness to respect the conduct of these so-called private operators is not stimulated by the services they provide but out of compulsion.

Yet, as citizens, we continue to hear statements about dividend of democracy and performance of governments. How can anyone be talking about dividend of democracy or performance when poverty has increased from an average of 54% in 1999 to 69% today? Where is the dividend or performance when the reward to citizens for living in a country that its government recorded increased revenue from N8 trn between 2002 and 2006 to N8 trn annually

fingers of a leprous hand’ (as Ige described our political parties then), same strange force took him out of the scene too.

Of course Abdusalami Abubakar wept profusely for the death of Abacha and ran scared for the 11 months he precariously hung on the throne before the second return of a recurring, reluctant Obasanjo. Obasanjo however wanted power by himself with his Third-Term gambit but the project, despite gulping billions, still collapsed like a castle of sand by the grace of the same forces.

Then, the same Obasanjo, acting God and electorates combined, singlehandedly produced a President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, a sick man with wellknown history of kidney dialysis, who had secured an appointment to teach Chemistry after his tenure as governor of Katsina, and an amazed Goodluck Jonathan became his deputy. But death came and good luck or providence or both smiled on Jonathan to become the President of the most populous black nation on earth!

The real problem is not whether or not the president continues beyond 2015 but what happens to a nation where its leaders have no vision and sense of mission. The Holy Scripture says that without vision a nation/people perish. So, even religion recognizes that a strong correlation exists between vision and progress of a people or nation.

Law Meforis National Coordinator Transform Nigeria Movement (TNM), Abuja today is increased poverty and unemployment?

However considered the situation simply alienates citizens and translate to outright denial.

Almost all the resources of society become controlled by the few functionaries of government and their hangers on. Citizens have very little influence, if any at all. It has been our national reality since the period of military rule and our democracy is yet to produce any alternative.

The hope of many Nigerians is that the birth of APC should translate into an alternative – the emergence of competent leaders with clear knowledge and good initiative. Should APC reduce the challenge of leadership to simple issues of ethno-religious factors, its capacity to respond effectively to the task of returning money (resources) and power to Nigerian people would have been weakened. The reality is that once ethno-religious factors are the most important qualifications, the loudest of those demanding for leadership will be empty and all they will be aspiring for is simply access these resources that are in the custody of government and covert them to privatised use.

Nigerians are hungry for knowledgeable leaders coming with good initiatives to produce a new beginning for the country. A new beginning that translates into government at all levels emerging as strong facilitators for economic activities with democratised access to opportunities for all citizens irrespective of religion, ethnicity or any other form of differences.

The primacy of knowledge and experience should therefore replace ethno-religious consideration. smlukman@gmail.com

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 17

Metro

Corn sellers make brisk business in Abuja

People buying roasted corns, yesterday at Apo Mechanic Village, in Abuja.

By Adeola Tukuru

P

resently in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), people of different classes are seen as they park their cars by roadsides to patronise corn sellers who are making brisk business. One would be amazed to see the number of cars veering off the road as they suddenly sight a corn seller.

These corn-sellers are mostly women, but you can find some young men also involved in the business and of selling the roasted corn.

Peoples Daily observed that the sellers do smile home each evening, having spent the day selling their corn for anything from N40 to N50, depending on the size of the corn. The ideal combination being coconut and corn, coconut sellers are not left out in this booming business.

Sellers exploit the demand for corn while it’s in season, carrying bags of it to offices and other business areas for those who may not have time to go out to buy during work hours. But why the great demand for this snack? Most people say it helps keep hunger in check, with some saying it actually serves as lunch.

It’s best eaten hot and corn sellers in Abuja have devised a

means of keeping the corn warm by tying it up in plastic bags inside sacks, before placing it in basins and as most would agree, preferably boiled very soft. However, there are some people who like chewing on the hard ones.

One of the corn sellers who identified herself as Blessing, a mother three lady, explained that she has been in the business for the past 5 months. She said why she chooses to sell corn in the city centre was because she makes more sale, compare to the suburb Suleja were she reside.

In her words: “I prefer selling my corn in town, because many car owners and commuters ply here.” She said that in a day, she makes a profit of N3, 000 to N3, 500, because of the patronage.

“Since I lost my husband ,two years ago, this is what I use to make ends meet and train my children in school .When am I leaving the house every morning I will join one of my neighbours ,who is mobile , I will load his boats with my basin . He is using this to assist me .

Also another corn seller, who is also in the business Madam Agnes John and her eldest daughter, said they have been at it for over three years now. She said she does not own

a farm and so buys what she needs from the corn market.

“My daughter and I have been selling corn along this road since 2009.We like here because it’s not like Wuse Market, where task force people are always chasing and arresting those selling along the road. This place is strategic, as ‘big’ people patronise us; white men too. We make good sales every day. Our basins of corn are finished, as you can see. We make a profit of over N2, 000 daily on a spot,” she stated.

According to her, the business is so good that over the years, she has been able to pay her house rent and her

Photo: Mahmud Isa children’s medical bills and school fees from the proceeds.

She did, however say that there are some challenges they face in the business, “We are sometimes chased by the task force of Abuja Environmental Protection Board. And when we are arrested, we have to pay a fine of N5, 000 before we can be released,” she lamented.

Also, Mrs Janet Aguns, another corn seller said that she also decided to sell at that spot because of the calibre of people who ply the road. “My colleagues and I make good profit here,” she stated. But the flip side: “I have been arrested up to 10 times by the AEPB task

“

This place is strategic, as ‘big’ people patronise us; white men too. We make good sales every day. Our basins of corn are finished, as you can see.

We make a profit of over N2, 000 daily on a spot,” she stated

force and had to pay N5, 000 each time I was arrested,” she complained.

In spite of the challenges however, Mrs. Aguns says she has been in the business of selling corn since 2010 and says she has been able to provide the necessary things for her family.

She would like government to provide a befitting and easily accessible place where they can sell their corn and serve customers better.

The Okonjo-Iweala Way, Utako seems to be the place to be if you are a corn seller in Abuja, as yet another seller, Rose who has been selling corn for about three years, said that business booms there. She did however complain about being arrested by the task force too.

“The task force people suddenly appear and arrest us. I am afraid when I come to sell here, because the fine is exorbitant,” she complained.

A customer, Bayo Akinlade, a Civil Servant,who spoke to Peoples Daily said the reason he patronises the corn sellers is because it serves as launch for him order than going to the restaurant to buy food. “It is even more affordable, compared to when one buys a plate of food for N300, 400 or even N500 , but with N50 – N100 corn ,one is filled.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 16

Kwali chieftaincy tussle: Minister inaugurates committee

By Adeola Tukuru

I

n the aim to avert the Chieftaincy tussle in Kwali Area Council, the Minister of State for FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide has inaugurated a Ministerial Committee on Kwali Chieftaincy Matters.

Olajumoke said the constitution of the ministerial committee is to further consolidate the efforts of Government at ensuring a peaceful resolution of the Kwali Chieftaincy issue so as to foster peace, harmony and brotherhood in the Area Council.

She said the importance of the inauguration is underscored by the need to ensure peaceful coexistence, stability and progress in the various communities that makes up the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

In her words: “The various indigenous communities in the

FCT have long standing history, culture and traditions which pre-date the colonial era. In a bid to sustain the relevance of these institutions, the Federal Government upgraded some indigenous traditional stools to various classes.

“It is worthy of note that these institutions which are legally backed-up with the Chiefs (Appointment and Deposition) Act No.7 of 1998 have played significant roles in the peaceful co-existence and overall development of the federal Capital Territory (FCT)”.

She noted that the upgrading exercise generated agitations from some Communities among which include Kwali Area Council, adding that the FCT Administration has made concerted efforts towards resolving all the issues raised.

Akinjide advised the committee to carefully review

all previous reports of various Committees in the FCT such as Justice Mamman Nasir’s Committee on the future Administration of the FCT, Dr Yusuf Beita’s Committee and Justice Abubakar Saddiq’s Committee on Operationalisation of Chieftaincy in FCT, among others.

In his remarks, chairman of the committee, Senator Philip Aduda, said, the committee is looking at two or three months to present its report.

In his words: “We are looking at two or three months from now.

We are going to look at all that (other reports) and come out with a very robust report.

“The problem with Kwali is what we have just done to inaugurate a committee that we look at all the issues that had been bothering them with a view of resolving them.

“There are two or three

traditional institutions in each of the area councils but in Kwali we have one and it seems who died few years ago and replacing him was the issue and now that the committee has been set up we are going to look into it dispassionately without fear or favor to ensure that the right thing is done in Kwali area council.

However, he said, anybody who has “ulterior motive or interest that will jeopardise the report would be advised to resign from the committee and I will not allow my personal interest to bring conflict in the discharge of my responsibility and if am found to have personal interest I should also be made to resign,” he said.

The committee chaired by Senator Philip Aduda has other members like Hon. Isa Igah Dobi, Hon. Zaphanian Bitrus Jisalo, H.R.H, Alh. Adamu Baba Yunasa, Ona of Abaji and Chairman FCT council of chiefs among others.

L-R: Hon. Isa Igah Dobi, Ona of Abaji, His Royal Highness Adamu Yunusa, Minister of State for FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, Chairman Senate Committee on Power, Senator Philip Aduda, and Hon. Bitrus Jisalo, during the inauguration of the Ministerial Committee on Kwali Chieftaincy Matters, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Gwagwalada residents urged to stop indiscriminate dumping of wastes

By Usman Shuaibu

T

he Head of Department (HOD) in charge of Environmental sanitation in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Alhaji Tijjani Ado, has called on the inhabitants in the council to desist from dumping refuse into the drainages as well as public places.

According to him, if the people

desist from dumping wastes into the drainages, it would go a long way to prevent the accumulation of refuses from the river bark.

Ado, who made the call in an interview with newsmen in Gwagwalada, also urged the entire residents of Gwagwalada to cultivate the habit of dumping refuse into the dust bins at their designated places.

He said that his leadership would continue to mobilize the

staff of the department for the evacuation of refuses, so as to make the environment clean and tidy in the area.

He further pointed out that the staff of the department had done a lot in terms of refuse collection in the neighboring communities in Gwagwalada such as Zuba, Anagada and Tunga-maje as their routine exercise or duty.

He frowned at the way in

which the people of Angwan Dodo dumped their wastes at the primary school and warned them to desist from such act.

While speaking on the allegation leveled against the staff of the department over the money being collected by them before embarking on the evacuation of refuse, Ado debunked the allegation that his staff did not collect the money from anybody before carrying out their duties.

Police advise students to be security conscious

By Usman Shuaibu

T

he former Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the FCT Police Command, Mr. Jimoh Moshood, yesterday advised the students of the University of Abuja to be security conscious in whatever they are doing in the institution.

He noted this when the Nigerian Universities Education students Association, University of Abuja branch in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) organised a one day orientation seminar for incoming students to enlighten them on the University community.

The former PPRO commended the leadership of the association for organising orientation seminar for the freshers on the need to behave well at the University environment.

In an interview, the Comptroller of Customs at the Customs staff college Gwagwalada, Comptroller Ogalu David, who represented the Commander of the College, urged students to shun cultism and examination malpractice throughout their staying in the University.

He also called on the students not to engage themselves in the crimes in any situation they found themselves at the campus, while advising the students to be aware of the friends they keep in the school.

David, who is a Deputy Commander in charge of Administration at the Customs Staff College Gwagwalada, pleaded with the students across Nigeria Universities to secure their campuses all the times to enhance learning.

On his part, the Deputy Dean in the Faculty of Education at the University, Prof Jonathan Ikerionwu, explained that the association organised the seminar for the new students to orientate them to be of good behavior in the institution.

He urged the fresh students in the faculty of education to face their studies squarely, so that they could become the master of their disciplines.

He called for the re-establishment of the Teachers’ Training Colleges to enable the teachers to have good background in the teaching profession, emphasized that teachers who went to teachers college would be prepared to teach all the subjects than the NCE teachers.

The University Don, however, appealed to the teachers across the country to do their best in the teaching profession, as according to him, the condition of teachers is improving.

On his contribution, the president of Nigerian Universities Education Students Association of the University of Abuja branch, Mr. Gambori Daib Mobolaji, urged the students to obey the rules and regulations guiding the University community.

Mobolaji used the occasion to call on government to provide enough chairs for the lecturers at their various offices, alleged that most of the lecturers in the Faculty of Education at University of Abuja were lacking furniture.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 18

Metro INSIDE FCT COURTS

Police arraign man for alleged cheating

T

he police on Monday arraigned a 34-year-old man, Derek Zwabo, of Lugbe Zone 7, Abuja in an Abuja Magistrates Court for alleged cheating.

The Prosecutor, Mr Jeremiah Elijah, told the court that one Tyoban Thomas of the same address reported the matter at the Lugbe Police Station on June 30.

Elijah said that sometime in June 2012, the complainant rented out his apartment to one Kingsley, who the accused person introduced to Thomas as an accommodation seeker.

He said the accused person collected N20,000 from Kingsley, being the payment for the rented apartment but refused to remit same to the complainant.

The prosecutor said that Zwabo could not give satisfactory account of himself during investigation, noting that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 312 of the Penal Code.

However, the accused pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Presiding Magistrate, Mr Celestine Odo, granted the accused bail in the sum of N50,000 with a surety in like sum.

Odo said the surety must have a fixed and reliable address and must reside within the jurisdiction of the court.

He also ordered that the surety must submit his passport photograph to the court and adjourned the matter to July 18, 2013. (NAN)

Student, 25, charged with reckless driving

T

he police on Monday arraigned a 25-year-old student, Destiny Atta, of Pyakasa Village, Abuja at the Wuse Zone 2 Magistrates’ Court, Abuja, for alleged reckless driving and causing accident.

The prosecutor, Mr Paul Anigbo, told the court that on June 14, the accused drove a Honda Odyssey car with registration number KE 266 EKY in a reckless manner on the Umar Musa Yar’Adua Way, Abuja.

He said the accused violated traffic rules by crossing into the opposite lane of the road, which resulted into his collision with an oncoming vehicle. ``The accused collided with a TATA bus with registration number XT 967 GG which was coming in the opposite direction, causing serious damage on both vehicles,’’ Anigbo said.

The Senior Magistrate, Mr Christopher Oba, granted bail to the accused in the sum of N100,000 and a surety in like sum.

He said the surety should either be a civil servant of not less than Grade Level 07 or someone with a landed property within the FCT. Oba adjourned the case to July 9, 2013 for further hearing. (NAN)

Construction workers busy rehabilitating the entrance of Garki Modern market, FCT.

Photo: Adeola Tukuru

Prayer warrior docked over alleged extortion A

`prayer warrior’, Emmanuel Pam, 31, residing in Mararaba was yesterday docked before a Grade 1 Area Court, Mararaba in Nasarawa State for alleged extortion.

The Prosecutor, Cpl. Inuwa Maigida, told the court that the matter was reported at the ‘A’ Division Police Station by one Blessing Nnaji, of opposite Mararaba Secondary School on June 26. ``On June 26 at about 11

a.m, at the Mararaba pedestrian bridge, Pam conspired with one other person now at large, and told Nnaji that her mother at the village is seriously sick. ``Pam asked her to bring out all valuables in her possession and keep them on the ground so that he can pray for her and the sick mother at the village. ``In the process, he lured her to a distance and told her to fetch sand for him.’’

Maigida said that before Nnaji could come back, the

accused had already made away with her Nokia X2 cell phone, valued at N13,000 and N1,500 cash.

Maigida also said that later in the evening of the same day, the accused was seen and arrested at the same spot.

He said that the offence contravened provisions of sections 97 and 292 of the Penal Code.

If convicted, the accused shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to

five years or with fine or both.

The accused pleaded not guilty.

The Presiding Judge, Mr Albert Maga, granted bail to the accused in the sum of N100,000 and a surety in like sum.

Maga said that one of the sureties must be a traditional title holder with a landed property, residing within the jurisdiction of the court.

He adjourned the case to July 11,2013 for further hearing.

(NAN)

Car thief reverses plea, bags 18 months jail term

M

agistrate Elizabeth JonesWonu of Kubwa-FCT on Monday sentenced a 24-year old welder, Dele Olayemi, to 18 months imprisonment for stealing a vehicle.

Jones-Wonu did not give the convict any option of fine, saying that there was no excuse that could justify theft.

The convict, who had pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned on June 21, changed his plea to guilt and begged for leniency

saying his father recently died and was in the mortuary.

He said he was at the vicinity when the complainant, Nnena Ogbonna, parked the Honda CRV car around Kubwa market and left without removing the key from the ignition. ``I entered the car and started driving but she quickly boarded a motorcycle and chased me. ``She caught me around the Mosque in Phase 2, Site 2, but as I wanted to run a crowd gathered

and arrested me,’’ he confessed.

But the magistrate asked, ``So, did you intend to use the vehicle to convey your dead father for burial? ``You have not given this court any reason not to convict you; you are, therefore, convicted as charged. ``You are sentenced to 18 months imprisonment without an option of fine.’’

Olayemi was arraigned in the court on June 21 for stealing a motor vehicle.

Police prosecutor Garba Abdul had told the court that the case was reported at the Kubwa Police Station on June 11 by Ogbonna, a resident of Byazhin, Kubwa, Abuja.

Abdul had said that on that day at about 5:30p.m. the complainant parked her car beside a building and entered the Kubwa market to shop but found the car stolen when she came out.

The convict had earlier pleaded not guilty to the charge. (NAN)

Businesswoman, 45, in court for alleged breach of trust, cheating

T

he police on Monday arraigned a businesswoman, Favour Aiyedogbon, 45 , of Bwari Area Council in a Wuse Zone 2 Senior Magistrates’ Court for alleged breach of trust and cheating.

The prosecutor, Mr David Udeh, told the court that the matter was reported at the Wuse Police Station by one Mrs Benedicta Emmanuel of Lugbe Village on June 30.

Udeh said in May 2011, Emmanuel gave Aiyedogbon a loan of N500,000 to invest in her business with an agreement to pay back in installment.

He said the accused remitted only N20,000 to Emmanuel and diverted the balance of N480,000 to her personal use and absconded to an unknown destination until she was arrested.

The prosecutor said the offence

contravened sections 312 and 322 of the Penal Code.

If convicted under sections 312 and 322 of the code, the accused could be imprisoned for a total of 10 years or fined or be punished with both.

However, the accused pleaded not guilty while the Magistrate, Mrs Binta Dogonyaro, granted her bail in the sum of N200,000 with a reasonable and reliable surety in

like sum.

Dogonyaro said the surety should swear to an affidavit to present the accused in court when necessary, own a landed property or show evidence of payment of rent within the FCT. She ordered that the residential and official addresses of the accused be verified by the prosecutor and court staff and adjourned the case to July 22,2013. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 2, 2013

PAGE 19

INSIDE

Academy to partner NEITI on metering infrastructure in oil and gas industry - Pg 20 Apple iPhone 5S rumored release date set for midSeptember - Pg 22

L-R: Managing Director, Bank of Industry, Ms. Evelyn Oputu, Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mrs. Sarah Alade, and Director, Development Finance of CBN, Mr. Paul Eluhaiwe, during a one day workshop on tomato value chain in Nigeria, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Financial accounts submission: NAICOM to wield big stick on erring insurance firms

By Abdulwahab Isa

U

p to six insurance firms are currently on the threshold of sanction of the industry’s regulatorthe National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), for various breaches observed in the submission of their financial statements to NAICOM at expiration of June 2013 as deadline.

Of the 18 insurance firms that had submitted their operational financial statements of accounts 2012 to NAICOM at nick of the June deadline, only three firms

have their statement approved.

They are, Mansard Insurance Plc, ADIC Insurance Ltd and WAPIC Insurance Plc. Others have fallen in various categories – either queried or still in review process, a document obtained by Peoples Daily shows.

In the category of firms whose financial statements have been queried by NAICOM include, FBN Life Assurance Ltd (queried & awaiting responses), Continental Reinsurance Company Plc (queried & awaiting responses) and Law Union & Rock Insurance

Company Plc (queried & awaiting responses).

Insurance firms like Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc, Oasis Insurance Plc, AIICO Insurance Plc, UBA Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Custodian & Allied Insurance Plc , NEM Insurance Plc and Crusader General Insurance Limited have their accounts at various review stages.

Others whose accounts are similarly on review process include, Crusader Life Ins. Ltd Zenith General Insurance and

World Bank, Australia, Canada plan support for Nigeria’s mining sector reforms

By Etuka Sunday

I

n a bid to build an economically viable mines and steel sector in Nigeria, the World Bank, in collaboration with the Australia and Canadian governments yesterday launched a 2-year program in that regard.

The program which was launched in Abuja is expected to contribute to improved employment, livelihoods, economic diversification, and the development of small to medium scale exploitation of quarry materials, gemstones, gold and industrial minerals in Nigeria.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arch.

Musa Mohammed Sada said the Road Map for the development of solid minerals and the metals sector was launched in January, 2013 and that Government

is fully committed to the operationalisation of the strategic framework.

“A lot has been achieved, but we need to collectively, as stakeholders, work harder at making Nigeria a global player in minerals and metals production and beneficiation.

“It is in this trajectory that my ministry requested for assistance from the Canadian and Australian governments to develop analytical reviews on the impacts of the reforms and provide a learning curve in the implementation of the present Road Map”, he concluded.

Earlier, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly said, “Contributions from mining as a percentage of GDP in mining rich countries are usually between two and eight percent. In Nigeria, the contributions are still low at 0.15 percent, but Nigeria has done well

to reinvigorate the sector following the first five years of its SMMRP supported reform.”

“The mining reform cycle normally has a long timeframe of over ten years, to bring its full benefit to the economy and GDP. It is important for the Government to sustain the reforms and continue to place emphasis on institutional strengthening, transparency, accountability, and governance improvements in the mining sector. ” she added.

Also speaking, the Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Jonathan Richardson said, “The new project will support Nigeria’s efforts to diversify the economy, create employment, generate revenue, and boost the socioeconomic development of the country and in line with the Africa Union’s African Mining Vision 2050 and ECOWAS’s mineral development strategy.”

Zenith Life Insurance Ltd, FIN Insurance Ltd and Standard Allied Life Assurance.

Speaking with Peoples Daily on phone yesterday on likely implications and sanctions for defaulting firms, NAICOM spokesperson, Abdulrazaq Salami said beginning from 1st of July 2013 , insurance firms whose accounts have not gotten approval seal of the regulator are liable for a daily N5, 000 penalty as contained in the Insurance Act of 2003.

Salami was quick to add that the icing on the cake is not the N5, 000 penalty which any insurance could pay, but that NAICOM is empowered by the same 2003 Act to wield a bigger stick, ranging from license suspension to revocation of operational license.

He said the accounts must comply with the principles of the new International Finance Reporting Standard (IFRS) of accounts preparation as adopted by the Federal Government.

Exchange Rates CBN

as at 2nd July, 2013 Selling Buying

$

154.75

155.75

€

235.56

237.08

£

201.97

203.09

41.26

41.53

Riyal

Parallel Rates Buying

Selling

$

157.50

158.40

€

250

253.00

£

206.00

210.00

Riyal

43.00

45.00

MANAGEMENT TIP OF THE DAY

Build a strong relationship with your new boss

Y

our boss has more impact than any other person on your success or failure at work. When starting a new job, it pays to invest in this relationship. Here’s how to get off on the right foot: Don’t stay away. Even if she gives you a lot of freedom, resist the urge to take it. Get on your manager’s calendar regularly to communicate any issues you’re facing and gather her input.

Don’t run down a checklist. Assume she wants to focus on the most important things you’re trying to do and how she can help. Focus on no more than three things in each meeting.

Clarify expectations early and often. Start during the interview process then check in regularly to make sure they haven’t shifted.

Source: Harvard Business Review

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 20

Aviation Company News

LAPO Microfinance bank

L

ift Above Organisation (LAPO) Microfinance bank limited has announced that it will by the end of the year disburse a total loan of N61 billion to its customers.

Godwin Ehigiamusoe, chief executive officer of the bank disclosed this in Lagos.

Last month alone the bank disbursed a total of N5.7billion, while a total of N46.4 billion was disbursed to low income earners in the country by the bank.

The significant growth performance of the bank was attributed to commitment and desire of its leadership to defer immediate gratification, integrity and great staff relationship.

Heritage Bank Ltd

H

eritage Bank Limited has been integrated into the Instant Pay Platform of the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS).

With this development, new and existing customers of the bank can make payment and transfer funds through Point of Sale terminal, ATMs across the country, and from any of the bank’s branches and electronic payment platforms.

Commenting on this development, Managing Director/Chief Executive, Heritage Bank, Ifie Sekibo said the integration reflects confidence in the robust information technology infrastructure and electronic payment platform of the bank.

Syringe manufacturing coy

T

he Nigerian syringe manufacturing company, Integrated Medical Industries Limited (IMI), has acquired a new independent power source worth $275million to boost its production.

According to a source, the independent power plant, IPI built by GE Jenbacher GMBH & Company, a subsidiary of General Electric is of the 624 engine variety, and is expected after installation to provide 14 megawatts of electricity to IMI’s manufacturing plant in Port Harcourt.

This, it was gathered would not only boost the production, but also create several hundred new jobs for Nigerians as well as serve as a veritable platform for the transfer of significant technology and management skills in line with the objective of its founders.

Court judgments have given FAAN opportunities to develop airport, says GM Communications Since the beginning of this year, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has been engaged in disputes with some of its major concessionaires for which the court has had to intervene. The Corporate Communications General Manager of the agency, in this interview with our Suleiman Idris laid bare the issues and explains how such agreements have been a stumbling block to the development of airports in Nigeria. Excerpts:

F

or quite sometimes now, FAAN has had squabbles with some of its concessionaires; the agency said it has reclaimed the land hitherto claimed by Chief Harry Akande’s AIC Hotel International; so what we looking forward to concerning the court judgment?

The next action is that the land has already created room for the transformation agenda which has been outlined for the airport. You know that we already have plans to expand the airport, because for over three decades the airport has been there, there has been no expansion of the facilities.

There has been quadruple growth in terms of passengers and cargo through that same facility. The judgment will now enable us to develop the place as we have plans already to build a six storey car park and also a five star hotel. They are part of the aerotropolis projects.

That judgment will enable us to give value to the Nigerian people that deserve the best.

There is still room for appeal by the company; what if a higher court rules otherwise?

We are very confident that the judiciary has become the last option of the common man and that we are receiving justice from the judiciary. Gone are the days when they usually manipulate the judicial system through the back hand method.

Then their practice usually was to go and secure injunction without the knowledge or informing the other party. But with the coming of the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, we are beginning to see some changes in the judiciary and that has given us confidence.

Apart from the legal aspect, it also raises a moral issue; you cannot appropriate what belongs to Nigerians to your family. I mean we have leaders like Awolowo who had the opportunity to appropriate but they did not because it belongs to Nigerians. Now you are taking a land that stretches almost five kilometres and you are appropriating it to yourself not for a week or two but for 50 years. That is eating the future of your generation and ensuring that your children and grand children eat the future of my children and my grand children.

That is totally unacceptable.

That is why we are trying to correct some of these; and we are happy that we are getting the best and as civil servants, we have a responsibility to protect what belongs to the people because that is why we are here. That is why we are leaving no stone unturned; We are happy that Nigerians are beginning to see justice and the aviation industry is beginning to breathe fresh air after 30 years.

The Federal High Court in Ikoyi recently ruled that the concession agreement between Societe International Telecommunication Aeronautique (SITA) and FAAN was illegal and has ordered FAAN to pay the sum of N5 billion to Maevis Nigeria Limited. Why is FAAN yet to respond to the court judgment?

We have not been served the court judgment and we cannot respond to what we read in the newspapers because we are an organisation that operates based on procedures. We have not seen the copy of the judgment. In any case, it was between SITA and Maevis. By the time we see the judgment, our legal department will be able to interpret it for us; if in fact it affects us.

Again, the Federal Government designated 13 airports as cargo terminals and you talked about facilities; What is FAAN going to build on these terminals and what was the criteria for designating these airports?

Yes, like we have said severally, it was based on the discussion and interest shown by state governments who have potentials. Potentials in the sense that, from the survey we had in 2010, $240 million was raked-in from fresh perishables such as vegetables, fruits, flowers and were done in Africa and out of Africa. Countries like Ghana, Cote Ivoire Benin Republic, and South Africa participated.

It might surprise you to know that Nigeria’s participation was zero and to think that we produce these items in high quantity and yet we don’t export them. In fact figures from the central bank indicted that we only consume 30 per cent of farm produce that we produce while 70 percent is wasted or the market is glutted

Mr. Yakubu Dati

or some perish as a result of the challenge of transporting them say Kano to Lagos.

So that is why we are saying that if we want to key into the huge amount of money that is been made in cargo we must also go a step further to designate airports as cargo terminals .To do this we are thinking of bringing in the private sector because we are providing the airport but the private sector will be the one that will provide services like refrigerators, where some of these farm produce will be kept before they are exported like the packaging, the transporting of these produce from the farm to the place where storage facilities are.

Ours is to create the enabling environment, which we have done by designating these airports such that, at the end of the day if you want to move your produce out you don’t have to travel all the way to Lagos. You can move it from Enugu or from Kano or Akure where is closest to you. Most of the countries that are exporting these products don’t produce them more than Nigeria. Nigeria is a country where you can farm all through the year. You can do irrigation during the dry season and you still have your harvest. So, we are creating opportunities for the private sector to grow and we believe that government responsibility is to create the infrastructure because government has not proven to be a good manager of

business.

Some potential investors complain that the enabling environment is not there as a result they are not investing. How is FAAN creating the enabling environment to encourage the private sector?

In the first place, that is why we are re-modelling the airports to create the infrastructure, to create the stage so that such facilities can operate and that these facilities will also help to the business. That is also why we are discussing with the Central Bank and Chambers of Commerce of the different states because these are businesses that are already ongoing but the business people are going through a lot of challenges. There are people that still move tomatoes and potatoes from one point to the other by difficult means of transportation.

All we are trying to say is that instead of going through that and incurring that loss there is an easy way out; just move it into the airport and we move it out. By the time we create that, it will now make it easier for airlines to begin to fly those routes. When airlines starts flying these routes and the terminals are ready, we would get the Chambers of Commerce and create incentives for them to operate through that, it will now be easy. It is just to stimulate business activities and it will fly.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 21

Insurance

College of Insurance underway, says ex- CIIN boss, Adetimehin

Dr. Wole Adetimehin, immediate past President of the governing council, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) is the Managing Director, Jully & Partners Insurance Brokers Ltd. Our correspondent,Ngozi Onyeakusi caught up with him recently and took time to reflect on the performance of insurance industry in general as well as the challenges and achievements recorded as the institutes’ helmsman. Excerpts: You just transferred reign of authority as chairman of CIIN to a successor; could you recount in brief your challenges and achievements?

First of all, I want thank God for making it possible for me to attend that prestigious position; that is number one citizen position in insurance body for professionals.

Without over blowing the trumpet, I valued it more because it is professional body. The opportunity is there for everybody but certainly everybody can’t be there, but for me to be there as a privileged member of the profession, I count myself lucky and worthy to be bestowed with the leadership position.

In all endeavours there are bound to be challenges but, that is why we have modern day managers; because if there are no challenges, there will be no need for managers.

What will they manage? However, out of a number of achievements, there will be challenges. I think one challenge has been that of not getting the total commitment of the entire members of the profession.

That’s a big challenge; but my hopes are high that we will continue to receive overwhelming attention from the professionals.

In what way have you used your office as the CIIN president to record monumental contributions for the industry?

When I was coming to the office, I saw a need to establish a platform that would be a mouthpiece for the industry, such that issues bordering on the growth and development of our industry can be channeled and tackled frontally. I’m very happy that it has come to stay. It will be inaugurated anytime from now. All the ground work, all that is needed to be done to actualise this dream

had been perfected.

In the years back, and before now, what we use to have was the various arms doing their own independent thing- the Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA), Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), PILA going through different channels to sort out issues directly with the commission or the regulator; Whether the interest of others has been tampered or trampled with, nobody cares. And this often generates conflict in the industry.

In other words, we never had the opportunity of coming together to speak with one voice. NCRIB can approach the commissioner and say for instance: “these are our issues, look into it, proffer solutions”; whether the underwriter, the NIA, is affected nobody knows, but under the new Insurance Industry Consultative Committee that I planned to promote, as part of my agenda while in office, and which is being promoted, is being established and will be inaugurated anytime from now. When in place, such issues that have constituted as conflict aspects in the industry will be a thing of the past; because under this new body, the NIA will sit, NCRIB will sit, ILAN will sit, CIIN will sit and our regulator, the Commissioner for Insurance will sit as chairman and we can table issues and resolve issues collectively.

If any new development is coming, the commission will brief us and we will all have the opportunity to make inputs before it becomes a regulation or a guideline. So, I am glad that it is coming up during my tenor.

Also, I saw a need as an industry or in our profession, as an Institute, we should be seen as building or creating a Hall of Fame whereby the professionals in the industry can be recognised and celebrated; a Hall of

“

I saw a need to establish a platform that would be a mouthpiece for the industry, such that issues bordering on the growth and development of our industry can be channeled and tackled frontally. I’m very happy that it has come to stay.

Dr. Wole Adetimehin Fame, where people can be recognized will serve as an inspiration to upcoming generations, because you must have distinguished yourself before you can be recognized and be featured in the Hall of Fame.

I’m glad to let you know that the principle on this has been recognised and the Hall of Fame would be established. The Committee of the Institute has been invested with this responsibility, of setting out the parameters, to come out with the modalities of picking people that are qualified or merit it; so do not be surprised when the Institute soon calls for Annual Dinner or Presidential Dinner or Award Night.

The institute is now wearing a new look; what were your efforts towards making this happen?

While in office, I tried my best to impart on all the arms of industry to drive better commitment. One, I saw the need that all the CIIN chapters will be well established. So far, we have invested in about eight

chapters; from Abeokuta to Ibadan, to Abuja, Calabar, Onitsha and Uyo, even in Ondo and Ekiti.

The whole essence was to give them full empowerment; to mobilize people to the profession, while deepening insurance penetration; creating awareness by the number of programmes of the institute running at the various chapters.

If it were to be left to the national headquarters alone, much impact wouldn’t have been made. So, with the platform, I believe it will go a long way in ensuring insurance is taking to the grassroots.

Again, with the platform we resolved to partner with a number of Nigerian higher institutions offering insurance and we have carried out accreditations with a number of them which include, Lagos State Polytechnics, Ibadan Polytechnic, Joseph Babalola University, Afe Babalola University, and University of Uyo, Institute of Management and Technology Enugu and many others.

The whole essence is to ensure that programmes being run by these

institutions are in line with what we offer at the professional level, because after their academic degrees they are coming out for practice.

Their curricula have been synchronized in such a way that they can deliver more effectively in the field.

We are also in the process of building a college of insurance and financial management. We have completed the first phase of the project comprising the Administration and multipurpose block and a number of chalets. Also, we have awarded a contract for the Phase-2 of the project. As part of the Phase-2, we have 50 room halls of residents, all in suites and staff quarters.

All these are meant to bring people from various disciplines into our profession. In the long run, our focus is that in a gathering of five, there must be in an insurance person.

Structures are being put in place, and we are getting right recognition from the government.

It is worthy of note that the Federal Ministry of Education has since approved insurance as a subject from SS1 to SS3 and to be offered as WEAC and NECO subjects. After that, you just go to university or our college of insurance, after which you become chartered. The Federal Ministry of Education has accredited our three levels of certificates, which implies that people who carry our certificate will be employed in the federal civil service; same will be with the states’ civil service, with the appropriate pay grade levels. So in the long run, you find insurance personnel that will guide and direct the affairs of insurance.

Do you feel accomplished or have you any cause to regret?

I thank God for his enablement and empowerment for being able to do this little. There’s no way anyone can finish, but by my agenda while I was coming into office, I thank God I have done fairly well in terms of accomplishment. I worked closely with my council members, especially the incoming president that is taking over from me.

What advice do you have for the new president?

Well I wish him well; He is coming on a robust platform. I’m sure quite a lot will be achieved and I and all the good people will give him all the support; I pray God will give him all the enablement to do all that he has planned to accomplish while in office.

PAGE 22

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

Economy

Insurance: CIIN new President advocates for more stakeholders’ involvement From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

T

he new President, governing board, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Mr. Fatai Lawal has stated that only way get insurance to penetrate every nook and cranny of this country is to get more people involved as crusaders for insurance.

The institute’s boss said he would focus on empowering selected institutions offering insurance as a course of study to offer quality education, reinforce activities at the College of Insurance and Financial Management (CIFM) and strengthening professional qualification for global relevance among other things.

Worried that Nigeria can only boast of only 3,500 insurance professionals servicing its over 150 million population, Lawal said that through such empowerment, insurance sector will record a significant growth in this area soonest, adding that CIFM which has been at the core of the institute’s activities in the last three years and now at an advanced stage

I

t’s been six years since Steve Jobs debuted the original iPhone in June 2007, but for the phone’s first five years, Apple had chosen to release only one new iPhone model each year, as opposed to its competitors, which have sought to release as many smartphone models as possible each and every year.

In 2013, Apple will reportedly break from tradition and release two new iPhone models for the very first time -- the sixth-generation iPhone called

L-R: The new President, governing board, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Mr. Fatai Kayode Lawal, being decorated with the Insignia of office by Chief Rasheed Alaba Williams , while the immediate past president of CIIN, Dr.. Wole Adetimehin (centre) looks on with admiration, during the investiture of the new CIIN boss in Lagos. of construction; is another area for boosting insurance education in the country.

The institute, he said, will continue to demonstrate to

secondary school students and school leavers that the insurance profession holds great prospect for them by showcasing some of the

most successful insurance professionals to them and assuring them meaningful and reward job opportunities on graduation.

Academy to partner NEITI on metering infrastructure in oil and gas industry

By Etuka Sunday

T

he Nigerian Academy of Science says it will come to the aid of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), in order to find solutions to the issue of measurement of Nigeria’s crude oil, through evidencebased research on introduction of metering infrastructure in the oil and gas industry.

The President of the Academy, Professor Oyewale Tomori made the pledge in Abuja, when he led the Academy on a courtesy visit

to the Executive Secretary of NEITI, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed.

Prof. Tomori explained that NEITI’s persistent concern, through its Audit Report that there is no reliable scientific mechanism to measure the quantity of crude produced in Nigeria, is a national issue which requires the intervention of Nigerian Academy of Science.

The Academy, which is made up of renowned scientists from major fields of natural, physical, applied and environmental sciences has promised to mobilise its members to carry out an in-depth research, in collaboration with NEITI.

The goal of the Academy will be to come out with a scientific mechanism that will introduce a metering regime to guarantee that Nigeria’s crude being extracted by companies are adequately measured to check the continued loss of revenue.

Professor Tomori said that the decision to collaborate with NEITI is as a result of exceptional demonstration of courage, integrity, knowledge and professionalism by the agency, which has earned it international recognition.

Responding, the Executive Secretary of NEITI, Zainab Ahmed described Nigerian

Academy of Science as a reservoir of knowledge whose support to NEITI could be of tremendous value. She identified the introduction of a metering infrastructure in the oil and gas industry as NEITI’s position in its audit reports which requires knowledge and technology based-on research to implement.

“A situation where Nigeria continues to rely on figures by companies who are in business for information to determine quantity of crude produced is inappropriate and unacceptable” the Executive Secretary added.

Again FAAN, AIC clashes over disputed land From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

T

he disputed land besides the terminal building of the international wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos was again a subject of contention yesterday, as security officials from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) clashed with officials of AIC Hotel International, who have claimed to rightly own the land, having gotten the concession agreement in 1998 under late General Sani Abacha.

Apple iPhone 5S rumored release date set for midSeptember

Chief Harry Akande, frontline politician during the Abacha era, said his company got the lease for the land for 50 years but had to mobilise his staff to prevent FAAN from trespassing on the land pending the final judgement of the court.

However, FAAN claims that it has obtained a court judgment last week , which awarded the disputed land to the agency. FAAN said the company brought in “thugs, armed with dangerous weapons, constituting a

threat to security and safety at the airport because they are occupying a piece of land located very close to the tarmac of the airport”.

A statement by the spokesperson for FAAN, Mr. Yakubu Dati said the agency has the statutory responsibility of ensuring safety and security at all airports in the country so, we wish to assure the public, especially aviation stakeholders”.

He said “the Authority has put measures in place to

ensure adequate security and safety at the airport, to check the nefarious activities of AIC Ltd, which has resorted to self help in the protracted concession disagreement between it and FAAN”.

A court of arbitration tribunal recently awarded 48 million dollars to AIC Ltd over losses it allegedly incurred as a result of the said revocation before it was nullified by Hon. Justice Buba of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on June 19, 2013, in response to a suit filed

by FAAN against that award.

the iPhone 5S, and a completely new “low-cost” iPhone model aimed at emerging markets, to be called either iPhone Light or iPhone 6.

But while the degree of rumors surrounding the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 indeed point to two individual release dates this year, the key question is not a matter of what or why, but when.

Apple will never release product details before they’re officially unveiled, but given the timetable announced for Apple’s redesigned mobile operating system iOS 7, it is expected to see Apple’s big iPhone launch coincide with the release date schedule of iOS 7 -- specifically in midSeptember.

But the biggest new feature inside the iPhone 5S, by all accounts, is said to be the integrated fingerprint sensor embedded directly in the “home” button, which will likely replace the need for entering usernames and passwords again and again on your phone.

Industry observers believe Apple will hold another event in October to release new iPads, including a redesigned full-size iPad and an iPad mini with Retina display, but possibly some surprises too.

(Source: Int. Business Times)

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 23

Stock Watch

Report as at Tuesday, July 2, 2013

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 24

PAGE 25

Special Report

Why African art is the next big thing

By Naveena Kottoor

W

ith major museums in London and New York showcasing leading contemporary African artists this summer, and Angola’s recent success at the Biennale in Venice, is the world of art finally putting Africa on its map?

Ghanaian sculptor El Anatsui is among the most celebrated contemporary African artists at the moment.

Among his most iconic pieces are sculptures made from thousands of bottle tops, strung together with copper wire to form enormous shimmering sheets, which undulate and fold into different shapes.

Mr Anatsui’s installations are currently on display at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York - one of the few solo exhibitions of an African artist at a big institution in the United States in the last few decades.

“El Anatsui’s career has taken on a meteoric rise,” says Kevin Dumouchelle the curator of the exhibition.

“At the beginning he was regarded as the best contemporary artist in Africa, but he made a leap and has become a global artist.”

Growing interest

Mr Dumouchelle acknowledges that most visitors are rather surprised when they see who is on display.

“There is definitely a sense of catching up,” he says.

And Mr Anatsui is not only being celebrated in New York, but also across the Atlantic in the UK. Following an invitation from the Royal Academy in London, he has created a large wall-hanging sculpture for the duration of this year’s summer exhibition.

The installation in London coincides with several exhibitions this summer of other contemporary African artists at Tate Modern - one of the leading contemporary art museums in the world.

The museum is preparing for the first major retrospective of Sudanese painter Ibrahim ElSalahi, as well as a special installation of the works of Meschac Gaba from Benin.

Tate acquired Mr Gaba’s work as part of its drive to expand their existing collection with pieces by African artists.

“Historically Tate’s international collection concentrated on art from Western Europe and North America,” says Kerryn

Greenberg, one of the curators at Tate specialising in art from Africa.

She says the new acquisitions acknowledge that some of the most dynamic and important works of art are being created in Africa.

“There does appear to be a growing interest in African art, especially in the UK. African artists are becoming increasingly mobile and visible and exhibiting internationally.”

Breakthrough Tate’s decision to expand their collection of African art was noted among curators as well as private collectors, and is widely seen to have contributed substantially to the current

buzz about African art.

Bonhams in London is the only auction house with an annual sale dedicated to contemporary African art - the first auction was five years ago.

“After years of having to push at closed doors, the recent sale in May felt like a breakthrough,” says Giles Peppiatt, director of Bonhams’ African Art department.

According to Mr Peppiatt there was a lot of interest from museums and private buyers in Europe and the United States, but also from Africa, especially Nigeria.

“People are much more interested in Africa commercially. The continent is seen as the next big thing,

“

People are much more interested in Africa commercially. The continent is seen as the next big thing, and there is an enormous amount of wealth among Africans

Flag by Meschac Gaba will be on display at Tate Modern from July

and there is an enormous amount of wealth among Africans.”

Compared to contemporary art from other parts of the world, the prices for African art are still quite modest, and investors are seeing it increasingly as a good investment.

“Public museums don’t have lots of money, so their curators have to look over the hill and see what might be the next big thing,” says Mr Peppiatt.

Africa’s increasing presence on the international art market helped Koyo Kouoh - a Cameroonian-born curator - to secure funding for the first contemporary fair for African art in London later this year.

She says the idea has been in the pipeline for years, but the increased focus on African art internationally and the increased prominence of African art professionals made all the difference.

Huge surprise “We have corporate sponsors from Africa as well as philanthropic funding from Europe. Everything is coming together.”

Ms Kouoh has just returned from the Venice Biennale - one the world’s most important events for

international contemporary art.

A record number of African countries are represented at the biennale this year and Angola managed to secure the award for the best national pavilion, the first African country to ever win the prize.

“It changes the perception of Angola. The focus is not just on war anymore,” she says.

“The award is praise for Angola but also for Africa.

African countries are getting more and more involved in promoting art and they are using art to promote their country.”

Works by Edson Chagas, a 36-year-old photographer based in Luanda, were the pavilion’s showpiece.

“It was a huge surprise,” says Mr Chagas, “especially because it was the first time we were participating.”

Born in Angola during the civil war, he was sent abroad by his parents when he was 15.

Later on he studied photography in Europe - in the UK as well as in Portugal.

“There was no art school in my country so I decided to go to London. But my goal was always to come back to Angola,” says Mr Chagas.

“I really believe that after

Earth’s Skin by El Anatsui is among the pieces on display at the Brooklyn Museum in New York

winning this award there will be more interest in my work and the works of other contemporary artists from Angola.”

Mr Chagas also hopes

Edson Chagas believes his award will spark interest in works by other contemporary Angolan artists

that the international recognition will prompt the government to use some of the country’s petrodollars to fund the next generation of Angolan artists, so that

they can be educated in the country.

“Bursaries are the first step, but we also need money to create spaces so we can reflect on our country and its

history.”

Until recently many African artists struggled to secure funding and recognition, but with the buzz about contemporary

African art among museums and private collectors, Mr Chagas and fellow artists might finally be lucky.

Source: BBCNews. com

A Vision of the Tomb by Sudanese politician turned painter Ibrahim El-Salahi

PAGE 26

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

Property FMBN: Deepening mortgage development through the NHF

By Udenna Orji

N

igeria’s housing crisis was the topic of discussion last Monday when housing industry stakeholders gathered at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja for a one day sensitization workshop on the National Housing Fund (NHF) Scheme.

Top on the agenda was how to retool the NHF to make it more result-oriented in the onerous task of providing Nigerians with sufficient mortgages to bridge the country’s estimated deficit of 16 million housing units.

The NHF Act No.3 of 1992 which set up the National Housing Fund scheme stipulates that a Nigerian worker earning the minimum national wage and above per annum in either the public or private sectors of the economy shall contribute 2.5% of his/her basic monthly salary to the Fund. The Fund provides long-term loans to mortgage institutions for onlending to contributors to the Fund for the purpose of building, purchasing and improvement of residential houses. The NHF is being managed by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).

Last Monday’s workshop was organized by the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development in collaboration with its parastatal, the FMBN, to provide a platform for engaging with stakeholders in order to reflect on the operations of the NHF and propose further necessary measures to energise and strengthen the Scheme as a sustainable mechanism for improved access to mortgage finance and affordable housing in Nigeria.

The workshop also provided an opportunity for stakeholders to be regaled with the recent positive measures taken by the FMBN to deepen mortgage development in Nigeria and indeed the reorganization taking place to reposition the mortgage subsector in Nigeria.

Ms. Ama Pepple, Minister of Lands, Housing & Urban Development informed participants that “many states of the federation that had hitherto opted out of the (NHF) scheme are now back in it. In this regard, 28 states and the Federal Capi-

tal Territory Administration (FCTA) are currently contributing to the scheme. We are confident that before the end of the year, the remaining 8 states that are yet to log unto the scheme will be brought on board as a result of the on-going consultations which I believe will yield positive results”.

“It is also significant to note that the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria is into a new dispensation of profit making, after many years of operating at a loss. In line with the provisions of the NHF Act, refunds to contributors are also being made under the present Management. I observe, however, that there may be a few delays in processing the refunds arising from insufficient knowledge of the processes for obtaining them on the part of the contributors. This is also being addressed”, Pepple said.

She disclosed that “in addition to providing increased number of mortgages to beneficiaries, through the Primary Mortgage Institutions (PMIs), the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria is granting Estate Development Loans (EDL) to a large number of qualified developers. Other new products have also been developed by the Bank to address the needs of cooperatives, informal sector workers, and Nigerians in the Diaspora.

As part of the on-going measures by Government to effectively reposition the FMBN, its Governing Board was inaugurated recently, following Mr. President’s approval of its membership. The Board has been advised to ensure that certain regulatory institutions with responsibility for ensuring remittances to the Fund in some sectors of the economy discharge their responsibilities to the Bank as specified in the NHF Act”.

Stakeholders were also informed by the minister that “the formal entry of the Mortgage Refinancing Company (MRC) into the system before the end of the year will effectively complement the FMBN by significantly expanding and deepening mortgage penetration in Nigeria. We expect that the two institutions will partner strategically by offering different but complementary windows of access

to mortgage financing in Nigeria.

The on-going consolidation/ reform of the mortgage banking sector, especially in relation to the PMI’s, will also have salutary effects on the housing and urban development sector of the economy”.

The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) last year launched an electronic collection platform to drive its NHF collection from contributors and NHF designated banks.

Tagged “NHF e-Collection Platform”, the product is designed to among other things check sharp practices within the mortgage industry and enhance fund mobilization under the NHF scheme.

The Managing Director of the FMBN, Mr. Gimba Ya’u Kumo while commenting on the new product said “the e-collection platform will address a number of problems facing the NHF scheme such as refusal of some employers to deduct their employees’ NHF contributions, failure of some employers to remit NHF contributions after deducting such contributions from their employees and failure of some employers to provide remittance schedules to FMBN. All these sharp practices enable some unscrupulous employers of labour to misappropriate NHF monies or even embezzle such funds” How does the new FMBN ecollection platform work? As soon as an employer instructs a designated NHF collection bank to pay the monthly salaries of its workers into the workers’ individual bank accounts and the bank makes the payments, the NHF e-collection platform will automatically deduct 2.5 % of the basic salary of each worker (being the NHF component of the salary). The deducted component (i.e. the 2.5% NHF contribution from each worker) is also automatically and instantly channeled into a dedicated NHF collection account generated by the e-collection platform. Equally generated are details of each worker’s contribution history, including the worker’s identity and amount contributed so far. FMBN instantly credits each contributor’s NHF account with the amount re-

Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ms Ama Pepple

Managing Director, FMBN, Mr. Gimba Ya’u Kumo mitted for the month.

Explaining further, Mr. Kumo said “the platform, for example, will make it easy for NHF contributors to check their NHF contributions using the NHF e-cards on any ATM machines nationwide, the amount of money they have contributed to the NHF scheme and thus be in a position to know if their employers are making the appropriate NHF remittances as and when due”.

A top executive at mortgage bankers, Resort Savings & Loans Plc, Mr. Aliu Oshoke told Peoples Daily that “What FMBN has done is to turn the usual pass book into an electronic card. Though you cannot withdraw with this card, with it you will know details of your contributions unlike before when you did not have any de-

tails. With this new card, you can go to any ATM or computer with internet access, log onto the FMBN portal and see details of all your contributions”. He added that the e-collection platform would help in mobilizing more funds under the NHF scheme as it would check sharp practices by some stakeholders.

Mr. Geofrey Ozoani, Group General Manager of mass housing developer, El-Salem Nigeria Limited while hailing the new NHF e-collection Platform said “it will create more awareness of mortgages among Nigerians. There is a burning need to create awareness to Nigerians about mortgages and Nigerian mortgage institutions. Even contributors to the National Housing Fund do not know what they are contributing for”.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 27

Property

Expert wants $23m proceeds from FG FG to build low-cost property in Washington D.C more houses duly accounted for - Ministry D

T

he Foreign Affairs Ministry on Friday denied media reports on the alleged misappropriation of 27 million dollars proceeds from the sale of Federal Government property in Washington DC. A statement issued by the Ministry clarified that 23.5 million dollars was realised from the sale of the three Federal Government-owned property in Washington DC between 2004 and 2007 and not 27 million dollars as reported.

It said all monies involved in the transaction were duly and completely accounted for and that former President OlusegunObasanjo duly authorised the sale.

On Thursday, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations conducted a ``public hearing’’ to investigate allegations of the embezzlement of 27 million dollars, following a petition by one Mr Daniel Elombah.

The public hearing was at-

tended by Nigeria’s former ambassador to the U.S., Prof.

George Obiozor, the incumbent, Prof. Ade Adefuye, and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the U.N in New York, Prof. Joy Ogwu.

The public hearing was, however, held behind closed doors after the Chairman of the Senate Committee, Mr Matthew Nwangwu (PDP-Imo), declared the event open.

The statement by the ministry noted that the ``press were

not privy to the comprehensive submissions of the three distinguished diplomats’’. ``Without prejudice to the findings of the Committee, we reiterate, that the sale of these properties were duly authorised at the highest level and that no fund was `missing’ as alleged. ``We, therefore, urge that patience be exercised as we await the final report of the Senate Committee’s investigation into this issue,’’ the ministry said in the statement. (NAN)

r Adetunji Adegbesan, Director, Centre for Competitiveness and Strategy, Pan-Atlantic University, has urged the Federal Government to build more houses for low and average income earners.

Adegbesan said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday.

He said one of the key challenges ``we have in this country is the provision of shelter.

“It is estimated that presently, there is a shortfall of 15 million houses in Nigeria and the houses will not automatically come but through deliberate efforts.

“Housing and real estate gulps a lot of capital, but at the same time, it is needful to consider low income earners when the houses are built.

“Government should, therefore, partner with real estate practitioners and the Nigerian Society of Engineers to build affordable houses for average income earners,’’ Adegbesan said.

He said it was disheartening that many Federal Government workers were yet to access the National Housing Fund.

“Most of the so-called available houses are too expensive; there is a dire need for cheaper ones and the payment should be spread over a period of time,’’ he said.

FMBN hosts representatives of diaspora housing group

By Etuka Sunday L-R: Mr. Paul Okomayin; Chief Temitope Ajayi ; MD/CEO, FMBN; Mr. Gimba Ya’uKumo, Mr. Gregory Ozegbe and ED, FMBN, Mr. Newman Ordia, during a visit of the Representatives of Diaspora Housing Group to the bank recently in Abuja.

Agency commences demolition of illegal structures in Kaduna

T

he Kaduna Urban Development and Planning Authority (KASUPDA) has commenced the demolition of illegal structures in Kaduna metropolis.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the demolition exercise began in Kabala Doki area of Kaduna North Local Government on Thursday.

Cross section of shop owners, who spoke to NAN, described the act as inhumane, claiming that no warning letter was issued before the demolition.

One of them, Mr David

Chukwuma said that he rented his shop in January this year at N150, 000, only to be demolished along with all his goods.

A widow and mother of seven children, MrsRoselineChukwuma of Kigo New Extension, expressed fear that she would soon lose her shop and house to the exercise.

According to her, the shop and the house had been marked for demolition and appealed to the authority to consider her plight.

Reacting to the demolition, the General Manager of KASUPDA, Ms Sarah Haruna, said the exercise was part

of the authority’s mandate to control the development of illegal property in the state.

She said all those whose properties were marked were earlier served with notice to stop work on the structures but ignored the warning.

“The demolition was carried out by the task force team of the authority for blocking the street leading to the Market road and causing obstruction of vehicular movement.

“Before the structures were erected, we served them stop work order notice, but they went ahead during weekend when they know the au-

thority will not be on duty”, she said.

The General Manager said the agency would henceforth pull down any structure erected without legal permit, adding that more houses and shops constructed illegally had also been marked for demolition.

She warned all affected persons to evacuate their property as no compensation would be paid.

“This demolition exercise would be a continuous effort until the whole metropolis gets clean and properly developed,’’ Haruna warned.

T

he Nigerians in the Diaspora Housing development Group at the weekend paid a courtesy visit to the MD/CEO of Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria in Abuja.

The Group in the course of the visit proposed to develop estates in Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt respectively for their members.

This was contained in a goodwill message delivered by the President Emeritus of Nigerians in Diaspora; Mr. Temitope Ajayi.

The goodwill of ambassador of the state of Arkansas, USA, was also delivered to the Bank, in recognition of its efforts and contributions to the Nigeria especially in the area of housing development.

The symbolic key of the Capital town of the State of Arkansas the City of Little-Rock, was presented to the MD on the authority of the Mayor in recognition of his efforts in the Housing Development.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE

Motoring New Ford Focus fun to drive

I

ntroduced at the turn of the century, the first Ford Focus was a pretty good car. It was fun to drive, versatile and available in a wide range of body styles. But as the years went on, newer and more polished rivals relegated it to mid-pack status. Not so with the current-generation Focus, which debuted for 2012 and ranks among the best picks in the compact car segment.

Major reasons to consider the 2014 Ford Fo-

cus sedan and hatchback include sprightly performance, an upscale interior, a refined ride and excellent fuel economy.

Another key attribute is the Focus’ abundance of available hightech convenience features. One such luxury-like standout is the automated parallel parking system that can neatly slip the car into a

curbside spot without the driver ever touching the steering wheel.

And of course there’s Ford’s Sync system, one of the first voice cont r o l systems to be offered in any car. The MyFord Touch interface (which consists of

configurable control screens), meanwhile, has drawn mixed reviews. Upon its debut, the system was rather finicky to use, and although Ford has improved it through software updates, it remains slow and prone to glitches.

Even if technology isn’t a priority for you, the fact that Ford offers a choice of hatchback and sedan body styles, as well as a wide range of trim levels, should give the Focus plenty of appeal. There are

even allelectric and highperformance variants.

The former, the Focus Electric, is propelled by a 107-kilowatt (143-horsepower) electric motor and can be recharged in about four hours from a 240-volt power source. Owners of the electric Focus can keep tabs on its charging state via smartphone integration. (The high-performance Focus ST is covered in a separate review.)

Well rounded as it is, the 2014 Ford Focus still faces some serious competition in the economy sedan and compact hatchback class. If you’re looking at mainstream models, you might also want to consider the well-made Chevrolet Cruze, stylish Kia Forte and sprightly Mazda 3. For electric vehicles, the established Leaf and efficient Honda Fit EV are natural competitors. Yet even in this solid grouping, the Ford Focus impresses. This sophisticated, highly refined and fun-to-drive small sedan and hatchback earn

one of the highest compliments we can pay any car: They look and feel as if they should be priced higher.

The 2014 Ford Focus is a compact car that’s available in sedan and four-door hatchback body styles. There are three

main trim levels available -- S, SE and Titanium -- as well as the Focus Electric. The high-performance Focus ST is reviewed separately.

The S model, which is only offered as a sedan, comes with 15-inch steel wheels, keyless entry, air-conditioning, power front windows, power locks and mirrors, a height-adjustable driver seat, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel and a four-speaker sound system with a CD player and auxiliary audio jack.

Move up to the SE and you get 16-inch alloy wheels, automatic headlights, cruise control, power rear windows, a trip computer, Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, a six-speaker sound system, Ford’s Sync voice-activated phone and audio player interface, and steering wheel-mounted audio controls. The hatchback is pretty similar but gets a 60/40 split-folding seatback (versus one solid folding seatback) and a removable cargo cover.

A number of optional packages are available for the SE. The SE Sport package adds sport cloth seats, rear disc brakes and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. The SE Appearance package is more

expansive and gets you 17-inch alloy wheels, rear disc brakes, foglamps, ambient interior lighting, a six-way power driver seat, leather upholstery, 60/40 splitfolding rear seats for the sedan (with a rear center armrest) and satellite radio. Choosing that package opens up a couple Interior Trend packages that provide two-tone color schemes. The SE Winter package adds heated mirrors and heated front seats.

There’s also

the M y Ford Touch p a c k age, which includes an 8-inch touchscreen display, a 10-speaker Sony sound system, a navigation system and dual-zone automatic climate control. Optional only on the SE sedan is a Super Fuel Economy (SFE) package, which adds 16-inch steel wheels with aero wheel covers, low-rollingresistance tires, rear disc brakes and a rear spoiler.

Spring for the Titanium model and you get the contents of the SE Appearance package, the Winter package and the MyFord Touch packages (minus navigation) as standard. The Titanium also has upgraded exterior and interior trim, rear parking sensors, remote start (automatic-transmission models only) keyless ignition/entry and a rearview camera.

The Titanium Handling package adds 18-inch wheels, an upgraded sport-tuned suspension, a full-size spare and summer tires.

The navigation system is optional for the Titanium. A sunroof and an aero styling body kit are optional for the SE and Titanium.

The Titanium can be had with an automated parallel-parking system.

The Focus Electric (BEV) is equipped similarly to the Titanium, although leather upholstery and the power driver seat are optional. The Electric gets exclusive xenon headlamps and LED taillamps as standard.

The front-wheel-drive 2014 Ford Focus has a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that puts out 160 hp and 146 pound-feet of torque. The S and SE models get a five-speed manual transmission standard, while a six-speed automatic (technically, it’s a dual-clutch automated manual) that Ford calls “Powershift” is optional. The automatic comes standard on the Titanium, though the manual transmission is still available as a no-cost option.

Source: Edmunds.com

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 29

Arts & Culture

FROM THE LIVE STAGE with Patrick-Jude Oteh 0803 700 0496, 0805 953 5215 (SMS only)

THE VISA BOND

I

L-R: Representative of the wife of Benue state governor, Mrs Elizabeth Alla, Miss Akata 2013, Stephanie Azer, representative of Benue state governor, Dr David Salifu, former Miss Akata, Jennifer Agashua, and State Commissioner for Tourism, Mrs Comfort Ajene, during the Awards Ceremony of Akata Fishing and Cultural Festival, recently in Katsina-Ala, Benue state. PHOTO: NAN

Abuja Jazz festival will strengthen USNigeria relationship – US Ambassador

T

he U.S Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Terence McCulley, in Abuja said the Abuja Jazz Festival would further strengthen the existing bilateral relations between his country and Nigeria. He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview that there was the need for both countries to solidify their relations through music since music is a unifying factor.

McCulley said the first edition of the Abuja jazz festival was an opportunity for both countries to share music ideas. ``It is an opportunity for us to introduce what is really essential music to the U.S, which is jazz,

and this is highlighted by Mr Stephane Wrembel and his group performing a unique type of jazz. ``The festival is geared towards bringing together the two countries in the common expression of a wonderful musical event. ``It will help to enhance mutual understanding and bridge the cross-cultural boundaries in a common expression of wonderful musical journal,’’ he said.

The ambassador said Wrembel would give master jazz classes to young Nigerians artists to educate them on the rudiments of music.

Wrembel, who is an American guitarist and composer, said the

festival would help to create bonds between Nigerians and Americans through jazz.

He described Nigerian music as amusing, saying it was a different experience listening to Nigerian music in the U.S and seeing it performed live on stage.

One of Nigeria’s musicians and a member of the Abuja Jazz Club, simply identified as Baba 2010, said the festival was all about unity. ``Music is a unifier which brings people together,’’ he said.

The event was organised by the U.S Mission in collaboration with the FCT Administration and Open Mic Forum.(NAN)

Nigerian professor wins Karl Jaspers prize in Germany

A

Nigerian professor, Chibueze Udeani has won the 2013 renowned German philosopher, Karl Jasper prize on philosophy in Oldenburg, Germany.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Karl Jasper Foundation was established 20 years ago by the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oldenburg to give awards to outstanding academicians from different parts of the world.

Udeani, also was recently inaugurated as the first black professor of Theology in the University of Wurzburg, Germany.

He was chosen based on his various research and publications on African culture and religion.

Speaking at the ceremony in Oldenburg, the founding father of the foundation, Prof Rudolf Lippe

said that, Udeani´s publications were in line with the theory of the late Jasper (1883 to 1969).

According to him, the theory of Jasper preaches mutual coexistence and dialogue among different cultures and people of the world.

Lippe criticized the theory of the late American philosopher, Samuel Huntington who said that the world of 21st century would be characterised with conflicts through diverse cultures and religions.

The 76 year old professor of philosophy however, appealed for mutual coexistence among different cultures as this would ensure peace in the world.

The Vice Chancellor of Oldenburg University, Prof.

Bernd Siebenhuner, expressed delight that the university was chosen for the foundation.

Siebenhuner said that the university and the German government had built a centre in memory of the late philosopher, adding that it would be opened in September.

The prize winner, Udeani, who expressed delight on his nomination, described the award as a reward for hard work.

Udeani, 51, hoped that the award would encourage other African academics to embark on research in various fields with a view to being recognised and improving the society.

Some of his works include Inculturation as Dialogue between the African Cultures and the Message of Christ-A case Study of the Igbo Culture and the Message of Christ and Intercultural Hermeneutics in Understanding Culture and Religion. (NAN)

have been a regular visitor to the UK since 1999. I passed through the UK on my way to Italy in 1984 but it was the passing of those days when you had to specifically get a transit visa. And even today, London remains one of my favourite cities. I am not so sure anymore beyond next year.

In the light of the £3,000 visa bond, my fear is that when my current visa expires, I might just take one final trip to London and on my way out, I simply remain at Heathrow. At least now with the Snowden experience, I now know that one can be a citizen of the world by simply claiming asylum in an airport.

There has been shouts , cries and protests over the visa bond. Our representatives and senators have cried themselves hoarse and summoning everyone to explain the discriminatory practice. But if experience is anything to write about, this will only be for a short time.

Forget the protests – we have been assured that only a few high risk individuals will be made to cough up the bond.

The question remains, how will you identify the high risk individuals? For me the first step has been to continue to wonder how Nigeria continues to find herself in such situations. I am thinking further that we should not protest the bond rather we should simply retaliate – post a bond of £25,000 on every English man or woman who wants to visit Nigeria. And to make it more effective, all those who have been here for the past twenty years are very qualified to pay the bond. What better way to replenish our scarce foreign exchange and have more money for sharing at the end of every month. In our case, it will not be a bond, once the money is paid and the payee lands on Nigerian soil the money is forfeited.

Simple. For those who can pay the bond, they will be made to pay double if they remain

for more than one week even if they have a two years visa!

Some of our friends have been shouting that we should also leave the Commonwealth of Nations. I am just wondering who will notice.

How I wish that Nigerians believe in Gandhi’s/ Martin Luther King’s philosophy – the solution to this matter is not all the talk and counter talk and the summoning and all. The solution is simply let no one go to British High Commission to seek for visa!

We all stay away. By the time BA arrives Heathrow from Nigeria with an empty plane and it happens three times, by the time VFS starts to retrench because there is no work for the workers, by the time the shop owners in Saville Row no longer see the hard spending Nigerians, by the time the home owners no longer see the buyers who buy ten apartments at once, by the time the agents offering castles for sale no longer see the willing Nigerians to buy, by the time they no longer see a man in a super carved babanriga in the middle of winter standing and shivering and waiting for a train in Victoria, by the time they no longer see men in buba and shokoto with a three piece suit covering it with a bowler hat to boot, they will rescind the visa bond decision.

But my people? Na lie – very soon the visa bond will become a status symbol! –you will hear statements like: A: I went to VFS to get a visa. I want to quickly run to London.

B: You are the high flyers.

Yo u m e a n y o u s t i l l h a v e enough money for visa bond?

A: I wish it was more! By the time I got there, I still saw a lot of people hanging around.

They should have made that bond to be £1m. It is high time all these people who go to London at every opportunity know that London is a class society and not for everyone!

This will be very soon. See you at Heathrow.

OUR GOVERNORS ARE AT IT AGAIN!

W

ho says we are not unique? Who would have believed that 36 full grown, highly accomplished men will conduct an election and the simple election has turned into this present supernatural mess?. There is nothing that I will say here that will unmake the mess – the other day I had an election at home for my kids – there were five of them and we ended up with eleven votes! One of them said, “Daddy, we also voted for the remaining babies you and Mummy are yet to have”! With an open mouth, I walked to my room to sleep.

PAGE 30

Arts & Culture

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

Daughters who walk this path Book Review

By Myne Whitman

D

aughters Who Walk This Path by Yejide Kilanko is a novel set between the early 80s and current day Nigeria and the story follows Morayo, a young girl growing up in Ibadan. In the beginning, we meet Morayo and her sister, Eniayo, who is an albino and their age of innocence as they go through primary school, making friends and getting into scrapes at home and in their neighbourhood. In this first part of the book, the setting is beautifully illustrated in words and events that bring the reader right into all the nooks and crannies of Ibadan as seen through a little girl’s eyes.

Soon after Morayo enters secondary school and begins to know what it feels like to be attracted to boys, the story becomes darker. The political atmosphere around the city and the children become more tense and disturbing and Morayo’s unruly cousin, Bros T, comes to live with them when her widowed aunt asks her father to take him in so he could have a man’s influence. While Morayo is coming to grips with the brutality to women that prevail in the wider society, Bros T adds to the mix by becoming overly attentive and affectionate, with hugs and borderline inappropriate touches. One night, when they are both alone in the house, he actually rapes her.

This begins the most painful part of the book as Morayo battles the feelings of confusion and depression that the rape raises in her. Yejide’s writing highlights all the angst and changes of an unmoored teenage girl as she goes through pain and despair that she cannot discuss with those around her. Even when she finally discloses her rape and Bros T is sent away, her parents impose a code of silence on her, ostensibly to protect her

“

More than that, Morenike had also walked the same path as a teenager and through her own story, we get to see not only how patriarchy and some aspects of Nigerian culture can work to cover and perpetuate child sexual abuse, but also we see the power and strength of women.

younger sister. On the verge of suicide, Morayo is interrupted by her Aunt Morenike and finally opens up about how what had happened has affected her. This is the beginning of Morayo’s redemption as she finds release in talking about her experience and getting support.

More than that, Morenike had also walked the same path as a teenager and through her own story, we get to see not only how patriarchy and some aspects of Nigerian culture can work to cover and perpetuate child sexual abuse, but also we

see the power and strength of women. Through the women in Morenike’s family, Yejide demonstrates how victims of abuse may overcome their pain. Morenike was raped by a family friend when she was 15, becoming pregnant and having to drop out of school.

But while Morayo’s mother could not talk about her rape with her, Morenike’s mother confronts her daughter’s rapist and ensures that Morenike has support as she goes on to give birth to a son.

The book continues as Morayo continues to university and shows how she deals with conflicting emotions of who she is and how the people around perceive her. The reader gets to see how deeply the rape had traumatized her and how the need to be in charge affects her relationships. A couple of romantic threads with male figures in her life are explored at this point which allow Morayo to learn some lessons about herself. In the end she meets an early love interest and in being open with him is able to come to terms with who she is. Still, she has to meet Bros T again and revisit her pain to be able to fully heal and move on.

Daughters who walk this Path paints the picture of women in Nigeria and who could be women anywhere. The characters are fully realized and are people anyone might recognize or identify with, and this means that the book is all the more moving and compelling. My only issue with the book was that it seemed to want to write everything about Nigeria and the cultures in one book that already has its remit defined. The foray into elections and the political machinery was unnecessary as was the introduction of the issue of inter-ethnic marriage.

Otherwise, Yejide writes very well, in language that is easy and engaging, and any reader will find themselves running the whole gamut of feelings, from laughter to tears and back, by the time the book concludes.

Sculptor seeks more funding for visual arts

M

rs Favour Anamateze, a sculptor at the exhibition of the Greek Amazon Artists, has appealed to public and private organisations to fund the visual arts.

Anamateze made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at an Abuja.

She said that visual arts, if properly harnessed, would foster development and become a money spinner for the nation.

According to her, visual

arts are very important in regenerating individual’s socialcultural and mental well being. ``It is heartwarming when you see talents who are useful in reshaping the life and ways of a particular culture. `` It is always essential for an artist to sit down, think and imagine what will be done to reshape another person’s life. ``But from what is going on in our society, the environment is not conducive for the artists to thrive on what to do. `` Artists are faced with

some challenges, ranging from finance, to space and the environment. ``It is therefore important for them to be recognised, funded and taken to the next level for their impact to really be visible,’’ she said.

Anamateze added that visual art had created a window for the performing and photo artists in expressing their needs and challenges.

She said that the visual arts had gone digital with the usage of computer in replacement of

the traditional tools and thus, required more funding.

She, therefore, called for assistance from Nigerians to support the works of visual artists.

NAN reports that the exhibition with the theme, `` Wealth of the Island’’, focused on paintings, sculptures and textiles works of five Abuja based artists.

The artists whose works were showcased are Pamela CyrilEgware, Favour Anamaleze, Ayakurai Ekpebu, Tessy Asiemo and Klaranze Okhide. (NAN)

POEM OF THE WEEK Telescope to the planets

By Abigail George

This life that I’ve dedicated myself to Is delicate– Sometimes the solitude That I ride Terrifies me, its interiors Are made of glass ceilings, At any second They can crack, Shatter and pour down shiny pieces (Silver) and I would be touched, subdued, Killed by that frozen darkness.

Like the moving black In ancient space hovering Around the planets, I Fight to exist.

Words screaming For life shift to the page– Always shifting and so I let them go.

They come in A flood, a rainbow–even In shallow waters they Still pull their weight.

These starry words have Built their home away from Home–their house is my House where I Yield to the power Of their soft waves and Engraved upon my soul Is a telescope to The wonders of The universe, the sun blazing, The moon’s belly cowering And a seasoned poet.

The song of a choirgirl She dares not Speak of the mental illness That runs in her Family.

She has stepped Into a meadow (her guard down)– Her shell of pain Wet and bitter.

She’s exiled relationships, Lives like a nun and relishes prayer.

For her meditation although cold Is a delight to her senses.

Words only have Meaning for her when flat And licking the page– And once their Vision is dead to her She rises up–her tears, salt Meeting the life-lines Of skin and air.

She prefers the coolly Detached, lusts after marked Roads opened to her By her moods.

This is how this Choirgirl swings, flies– She abandons gaiety For snow falling In the nest of her Lovely skull–this is her Season, her feast-meal.

Her sky, her footfalls On the steps–her Frightening challenges that She never speaks of to Break away from death.

QUOTE Wisdom finds its literary expression in wisdom literature Paul Ricoeur

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 31

International

Has democracy lost in Egypt?

ANALYSIS

By Larbi Sadiki

R

evolutions are not meant to be neat affairs. Quite contrary, the upheavals that follow them are inevitable. TIme and time again, history has demonstrated that chaos and disorder are an integral part of revolution.

Egypt is no exception - the same applies in varying degrees to Libya and Tunisia.

However, regardless of how we stand in relation to the June 30 campaign, it keeps alive the revolutionary flame, which militates against complacency. True, lots has been achieved; but what has not been achieved outweighs the gains of the past two years.

By celebrating rebellion - as a bottom-up, informal, un-official and collective enactment of popular will is necessary to extend the boundaries of political possibilities. The coming of the masses, once, twice, three times and more if need be, is a boon to the democratic process.

In its simplest symbolic content, popular revolts speak of contempt for power, and this is important for democratic acquisition. Taksim erupted not only over Gezi Park and its trees, but also about rejection of political iconicity. The age of grand leaders has passed. And when Mandela passes away, he will be the last true icon of modern politics.

Even he - amassing plentiful reserve of integrity and skill - did not allow himself more than five years at the helm.

The Turks gave Erdogan ten years, and anti-Brotherhood Egyptians today re-occupy the public squares because they feel President Morsi deserves no longer than one. Like those citizens who participated in the Arab Spring, leaderless-ness is what captures the imagination of the masses more so than the presence of fallible mortals at the apex of power.

At one level, this speaks to the dialectic of absence-presence in Arab iconography, in religion as in politics. Leaders are championed when they depart the scene ( Caliph Ali , Imam Hussein , Jamal Abdel Nasser ,Anwar El-Sadat , Saddam Hussein , Yasser Arafat - to mention a few). Arab political imagery is animated by the feats of the dead and the departed; not the mortals who still rule and inspire fear.

In a way, President Morsi was wished “dead” from the moment he was claimed first president of the January 25 revolution . If the forces arrayed against him succeed in forcing him out of office, they will be giving him a “birth certificate” (mummifying him) as President Morsi. For the past twelve months he has been an Ikhwani who happens to be the elected president of Egypt, not Egypt’s elected president who happens to be a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and its legal political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party.

The revulsion with fixed authority defines Arab revolution, for this author, even if the reductionism

Egypt’s mass revolts have begun a perpetual cycle of discontent, all of which are a part of the democratic process. oversimplifies more complex dynamics. That Egyptians return to protest is not a tad bit surprising.

As long as the rest - Mohamed El-Baradei , HamdeenSabahi , AmrMoussa , et. al. realise that if the deluge comes knocking at the doors of his Itthadiya palace and put him out of his misery, they will not be spared.

Egyptians, Libyans and Tunisians may have turned a corner in politics: they elect leaders only to project their past experiences of abuse of power without giving these leaders the benefit of a full term in office.

The opposition has a problem: the revolutionary ethos and its potential to be turned into a shared civic realm for coalition-building, civilianisation of politics, forming credible political life and the bolstering of social and political capital for keeping the government of the day honest has been a failure.

Despite the fact that the money poured by foreign and local donors into the coffers of many so-called opposition forces was intended to help institution-building, resorting to ‘street politics’, pursuing Facebook and twitter activism are meant to complement and facilitate, not replace, the basics of politics as the art of providing the alternative government - government-in-

waiting.

Morsi is guilty of erring on the side of political judgment by not, for instance, through cunning, appoint a different Prime Minister - even Ganzouri would have footed the bill.

There is a period of apprenticeship that cannot be short-circuited

by Islamists in either Egypt or Tunisia requiring broad coalitions or national unity government, reliance on non-partisan know-how and technocrats.

And President Morsi may have been surrounded by men not all of his choosing - the Deputy Supreme Guide or Na’ib al-Murshid, Khayrat Al-Shater , may be pulling many strings behind the scene. He has it all - money, skill, cunning, and like Morsi, the historical legitimacy of political struggle and imprisonment, which neither AmrMoussa nor Mohammed El-Baradei has got.

Rather, heavy reliance on media cacophony and social media personality cults alone do not make an opposition. In fact, many talented figures in Egypt’s opposition boast respect, acceptance and recognition in foreign capitals. And electoral performance says it all: the liberals and leftists cannot win more than handful of seats in parliamentary elections, regardless of their leaders and policies. This says something about the opposition: they are a vocal

“

bloc, but they remain unconvincing for voters.

Mass mobilisations are healthy if they bolster democratisation while not overthrowing it. As leverage on President Morsi and the elected Islamists, it should not be dismissed or belittled.

However, when the aim is to oust an elected president, then Egypt, and even the Arab Spring countries, is entering an unprecedented scenario.

In this scenario, throwing out the water of democratisation - President Morsi - may not be indivisible from the actual baby: the institutions gained from the revolution.

The energy invested into the rebel campaign is great and should not be written off or dismissed as many Arab writers sympathetic to the Ikhwan tend to do. I am of the view that this tension is positive and pushes the power-holders to account for the opposition and views from the margins of power. President Morsi’s crisis speech of Wednesday came too late - inclusion of youth (defined as 40 years or younger) in ministries should have come earlier.

And other measures may be too little, too late.

Nonetheless, the opposition’s failing lies in not investing this energy in boycotting the constitutional vote - instead of voting against it and possibly defeating it. It is obvious

And President Morsi may have been surrounded by men not all of his choosing - the Deputy Supreme Guide or Na’ib al-Murshid, Khayrat Al-Shater , may be pulling many strings behind the scene.

that the quarrel with President Morsi is not just about his economic performance and the long queues for petrol, gas shortage, and electricity rationing. It would take years of national unity governments to fix an economy damaged by Hosni Mubarak and company. This task is beyond the existing capacity of a single party.

The protests launched today will produce critical mass. That is also the aim. Unfortunately, that is where unity stops: the spectrum is wide and diverse - from the likes of El-Baradei, Nobel Laureate and a former supremo of the International Atomic Energy Agency to Ali “Spicy” Shatta , a young leader of the Ultras Green Eagles – hardcore fans of Port Said’s Masry football club , the football fans Ahlawi and Masrawi - and no doubt with a hooligan component - to youth revolutionaries, including the credible April 6 movement .

This diversity, while impressive, reveals the opposition as a fragmented movement. So while the politically savvy and disciplined will be peaceful and orderly, others will not desist from violent demonstration.

This unruly element recognises neither Sabbahi nor Ahmed Maher , April 6 Movement’s leader.

Two points are in order: One, the exclusion of Islamists in the 1970s and 1980s led to the rise of violent Islamist groups that used terror all over Egypt. That is not a scenario that anyone is contemplating.

And two, toppling an elected president and scrapping a new constitution will mean Islamists and secularists will be for years engaging each other in tat-for-tat politics, toppling each other’s presidents and achievements.

This is democratic defeatism.

Abdel Fattah El-Sissi and the army will be closely watching the developments over the next a few days. And as the glimmer of politicians rise to the occasion and use institutions to parley and revolution for confidence and capacity-building while not cancelling each other out, the soldiers may at long last fulfil the wishes of key liberal figures such as El-Baradei to intervene.

It seems as if everyone has been all along conspiring to disrupt a promising beginning earned by Egypt’s glorious revolution: Mohamed Tantawi who might have dithered as to give the presidency to Ahmed Shafiq , the judiciary which has been disbanding elected chambers, and now an opposition lost for action, almost sore losers whose institutional track record is no better than President Morsi’s.

He has failed because ultimately they have failed too - failed him in not doing the business of opposition effectively and they have together failed the fledgling democracy as the gains of two years risk being lost.

Source: Aljazeera

PAGE 32

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

International

Czech Minister urges Nigeria to share security responsibility

By Hassan Haruna Ginsau

T

he Deputy Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic, Tomas Dub has urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to share the responsibility of security in Sub Saharan Africa.

He made this known to the Permanent secretary of The Ministry, Ambassador Patrick Uhomoibi during a meeting of the continuation of the NigeriaCzech Republic bi- national commission at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on yesterday.

The Minister noted that due to Nigeria’s large size

and population, it had a great responsibility in the Sub Saharan region of Africa.

Dub re-iterated the contributions of both nations in the Crisis in Mali, and the role Nigeria played in diffusing the political crisis in Cote D’Ivoire.

Mr. Dub also urged the Ministry to collaborate with the Czech Republic beyond the areas of security, but also to work together in trade and investment, with regards to Nigeria’s aluminum industry.

He noted that the Czech Republic, like Nigeria, was going through transformation, and

the two nations could even work together in helping Nigeria realize President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda, while also noting that Nigeria had seen a sizeable amount of growth since his last visit in 2009.

The Minister reminded Nigeria of the strong 51 year relationship the nations have had and appreciated Nigeria’s support even in “difficult times” over the years, and that the two countries could “do much more”.

On his part Ambassador Uhomoibi pointed out the nations’ desire for “international peace”, thanking The Czech

Republic and other EU nations involved in the Crisis in Mali.

He looked forward to more direct investment from the Czechs, something he said would help in bringing “sustainable development” to the country.

The Permanent Secretary hoped that Nigeria and The Czech Republic would continue to have a relationship whereby “both economies benefit from one another”.

Looking to the future Ambassador Uhomoibi forecasted “new opportunities” in regards to relations between the two countries.

Obama urges Africa to stand on its own feet

“

Africa should build Africa for Africans,” President Barack Obama said when addressing a joint press conference with his host Tanzanian President JakayaKikwete at State House in Dar es Salaam.

The U.S. Presidenttold Africa to stand up on its own feet for the benefit of its peoples.

He said what the United States was doing was to help Africa to build itself, “Africans have to play their part.”

Speaking on the last leg of his three African nation tour of Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania, Obama reiterated his country’s continued support to Tanzania.

“This is my first visit to Tanzania... and I have special connection with this country.

My father is from the East African region,” said Obama in reference to his father, a Kenyan born in Kisumu.

“Habarizenu,” Obama greeted journalists attending the news conference, saying he was impressed by the way Tanzania continued to strengthen democracy, transparency, parliament and opposition politics.

He said he was also optimistic that the ongoing constitutional review process

Obama

Mandela grandson accused over grave tampering

M

embers of former South African President Nelson Mandela’s family have laid a criminal complaint against his grandson Mandla.

Police spokesman MzukisiFatyela said officers would investigate allegations of illegal grave tampering.

A public prosecutor would then decide whether to press charges, he said.

It involves the bodies of three of the ex-president’s children, who were allegedly moved from a family graveyard about two years ago by Mandla Mandela.

In a separate case, 16 Mandela family members are seeking to move the bodies back to the graveyard in the village of Qunu, where Mr Mandela, who is critically ill in hospital with a recurring lung infection, wants to be laid to rest.

The case is being heard at the Mthatha High Court in Eastern Province and has been postponed until Wednesday.

Last week, the court granted an interim order for the remains to be exhumed and moved from Mandla Mandela’s homestead in the village of Mvezo to nearby Qunu, 22km (14 miles) away.

But Mandla Mandela, who was appointed as chief of Mvezo by his grandfather, is now contesting that order.

will determine the future of Tanzania.

Obama pledged handsome financial support towards the fight against the alarming poaching and wildlife trafficking, saying his country has committed a few additional millions of dollars towards the fight against poaching in Africa.

He said efforts should be

done collectively to ensure protection of wildlife for future generations.

On his part, Kikwete thanked the United States for supporting Tanzania through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in the areas of infrastructure development such as roads, education, water and the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Under the MCC support, he said, Tanzania has been able to reduce HIV/AIDS infections by 50 percent, adding that the support has also resulted in reducing malaria and child mortality cases.

Kikwete said Obama’s and visit by former U.S. President George W. Bush were very significant to Tanzania.

electoral documents in the region.”

“We want to reiterate to them our determination to continue with dialogue to find a lasting solution to the crisis whose persistence calls for an adequate solution,” Traore added.

“Our choice was and remains dialogue,” he said, adding that he does not doubt that the country’s future leaders will also choose dialogue.

To resolve the Mali crisis, a preliminary agreement was signed on June 18 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso between the Malian government, the MNLA and the Supreme Council for Azawad Unity (HCUA) to allow for presidential

elections to be held on July 28 and for future inter-Mali inclusive dialogue.

The Malian president on the same day held talks with the country’s civil society groups including religious leaders on the organization of the presidential elections.

The MNLA swept through northern Mali in the aftermath of a military coup on March 22, 2012 and declared “independence,” which has never been recognized by the international community.

In January 2013, the Malian army fought back with the support of France and other African countries to rout out rebel groups occupying Mali’s desert north.

Mali’s Interim President Dioncounda Traore

Mali president hails rebel MNLA

M

ali’s Interim President DioncoundaTraore hails the decision by the leaders of the separatist National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) to get involved in the distribution of voter cards in the northern region of Kidal.

At the opening ceremony of the fifth session of the support group following the situation in Mali at the Bamako International Conference Center, the Malian president on Monday expressed thanks to “the MNLA leaders for accepting that Kidal is part of Mali and affirming that they are ready to support the government in the distribution of

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 33

International Asia & Middle East Insurgents attack NATO UAE jails 61 supply base in Afghanistan rebels in T

aliban insurgents including a suicide bomber in a truck killed six people in an attack on a foreign logistics and supply company in Kabul on Tuesday, police said, the latest in a string of daring assaults in the Afghan capital.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the early morning attack in an area in the north of Kabul used by a number of foreign companies supplying NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Violence is escalating across Afghanistan as NATO-led combat troops prepare to leave by the end of 2014.

Kabul police chief General AyoubSalangi said two truck drivers working for the foreign logistics company and four Nepalese guards were killed in the attack. Three other employees were wounded,

he said.

The attack began when one of the insurgents drove an explosivesladen truck into a vehicle bay in the compound north of Kabul airport, detonating an explosion that left a crater six metres (20 feet) deep and about 15 metres wide.

“It made a hole the size of a pool,” Salangi said.

Three other attackers then engaged in a gunfight with Afghan security forces for up to an hour before they were killed, Salangi said. Three vests packed with explosives were recovered from the scene, he said.

A Reuters witness said he saw the bodies of two people being carried away, although it was not clear if they were those of the attackers or of other victims.

Atiqullah, a 54-year-old truck driver for the company, said at least

four co-workers had been wounded in the attack.

“I woke up to go for morning prayer and suddenly there was a very heavy explosion followed by gunfire,” said Atiqullah, who uses only one name.

“We escaped from the compound and went to another company nearby. Security forces came in 30 minutes and rescued us,” he said.

The Taliban, in an emailed statement from spokesman ZabihullahMujahid, claimed responsibility for the attack and said its fighters had entered what it described as “an important foreign base and logistics warehouse”.

The Islamist group routinely exaggerates the impact of such attacks.

It was the latest in a series of high-profile assaults by insurgents

in Kabul.

It came a week after Taliban fighters managed to penetrate the most secure area of Kabul and attack buildings in an area that includes the palace of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

On Monday, Afghanistan’s main intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), said they had arrested a man in Kabul carrying a suicide vest and an automatic rifle who had planned to attack one of their compounds.

Another would-be suicide attacker, a Pakistani citizen, was also arrested in the eastern A f g h a n city of Jalalabad on Monday, police said.

(Additional reporting by Omar Sobhani; Writing by Dylan Welch; Editing by Paul Tait)

Iran says new U.S. sanctions will complicate nuclear issue

I

ran has played down the impact of U.S. sanctions that came into effect this week, but said the measures would complicate a resolution to the dispute over its nuclear programme.

The new sanctions, which came into effect on Monday, target trade with Iran’s shipping and automobile sectors, gold sales to Iran and handling of the Iranian currency, the rial - a further attempt to force Tehran to curb its nuclear activities.

In recent years, Iran has vigorously pursued its development of nuclear technology which Western countries suspect is masking its attempts to develop a weapons capability, allegations Iranian officials have repeatedly denied.

“We have no doubt that sanctions are a broken policy and we are surprised about why the American government and other governments who take part in these sanctions continually repeat a mistaken and failed policy,” the state television website quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi as saying late on Monday.

“Removing sanctions would

New Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd

count as a confidence-building measure and can assist in a resolution of the issue but increasing sanctions would have no result, apart from making the issue more complex and harder to resolve,” he said.

Hopes for a resolution to the

nuclear dispute were boosted last month with the election as president of Hassan Rouhani, a former nuclear negotiator who promises a softer approach to foreign relations than hardline incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Analysts say it remains uncertain

whether Iran with Rouhani as president will be more amenable to the demands of world powers that it halt its most sensitive enrichment, to a fissile concentration of 20 percent, and stop work at Fordow, an underground nuclear facility where uranium is enriched.

US, Russia ‘making progress’ on Syria peace talks - Kerry

T

Sergei Lavrov (L) and John Kerry

he US and Russia have made progress on plans to convene a conference to find a solution to the conflict in Syria, Secretary of State John Kerry has said.

“We narrowed down some of the options,” Mr Kerry told reporters after attending an Asian regional security meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.

The meeting in Geneva might not take place until August or later, he added.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said it was essential that the conference be held as soon as possible.

“There is an urgent need for the violence to end. Far too many lives have been lost already and the conflict has generated a huge and heartrending humanitarian crisis,” Ban Ki-moon said.

Mr Ban said the USRussian initiative offered the “best chance for a lasting solution”, and urged the international community to “fully commit”.

However, the conference has been delayed repeatedly, and talks are continuing on who should participate, how it should be structured and what should be discussed.

coup trial

S

ixty-one convicted coup plotters received jail terms of up to 10 years in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday after a trial that targeted rebels and drew criticism from human rights groups.

Among those sentenced were academics, lawyers and members of prominent UAE families, including a cousin of the ruler of one of the seven emirates in the oil-rich federation, a longtime foe of Islamist groups seeking a role in politics and state affairs.

Eight more defendants were sentenced in absentia by the Federal Supreme Court to 15 years in prison, in a judgement denounced by human rights groups as evidence of growing intolerance in the U.S.-allied Gulf Arab country.

“These verdicts cement the UAE’s reputation as a serious abuser of basic human rights,” said Nicholas McGeehan, Gulf researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Today’s judgements mark yet another low point for the UAE’s worsening human rights record.”

Alkarama, a Swiss-based Arab human rights group, condemned the verdicts as politically driven.

“IftheUAEwantstomaintaintheir image of being a law-abiding member of the international community, the verdict should be quashed, they should be released immediately, and their records expunged,” it said in a statement.

The state news agency WAM said that apart from the eight men sentenced in absentia, 56 were jailed for 10 years and five for seven years, while 25 were acquitted, including all 13 women defendants.

Dozens of people have been detained in a crackdown on Islamists in the past year amid heightened worries among officials about a spillover of unrest in other Arab countries.

The trial, which rights groups have said included “flagrant flaws” in procedure, was widely seen as an effort to tackle what the UAE says is a threat from the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

Many of the 94 defendants belong to al-Islah, a group which the UAE says has links to Egypt’s Brotherhood.

Al-Islah denies this, but says it shares some of the Brotherhood’s ideology.

The defendants, known as UAE94, were accused of “belonging to an illegal, secret organisation ... that aims to counter the foundations of this state in order to seize power and of contacting foreign entities and groups to implement this plan”.

The defendants had denied the charges, and some said they had been abused in detention, an accusation the state denied.

International media have been barred from attending the court hearings, which began in March. On Tuesday witnesses said police blocked roads outside the court and kept reporters away.

PAGE 34

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

International

Edward Snowden’s Gunmen Mexico asylum options dwindle killmayor Europe and Americas

Snowden

A

growing number of countries have rejected the asylum requests of fugitive intelligence leakerEdwardSnowden,asheattempts to avoid extradition to the US. Several states including Spain, Austria, Finland, Ireland, Norway, Poland,andSwitzerlandsaidapplicants had to be on their soil.

Mr Snowden, who is at Moscow airport, sent requests to 21 countries in total, Wikileaks said, but he later withdrew a request to Russia.

Bolivia’sPresidentEvoMoralessaid he would consider a request.

He told Russian television Bolivia had not yet received an application for asylum, but added: “Bolivia is ready to accept people who disclose espionage if one can call it this way.”

Mr Morales and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro are in

Moscow for a meeting of gas-exporting countries.

President Maduro said he had not formally received an asylum request, but expressed support for Mr Snowden saying he “deserves the world’s protection” from the United States.

“Why are they persecuting him?

What has he done? Did he launch a missile and kill someone? Did he rig a bomb and kill someone? No. He is preventing war,” he told Reuters news agency.

The former intelligence systems analyst is wanted by the US on charges of leaking secrets.

He accuses US President Barack Obama of putting pressure on the countries to which he has applied for asylum.

Meanwhile, French President

Francois Hollande has called for the European Union to take a common stand over allegations by Mr Snowden that Washington is spying on its European allies.

Wikileaks said most of the asylum requests, including to Russia itself, were handed to the Russian consulate atSheremetyevoairportlateonSunday for delivery to the relevant embassies in Moscow.

“Delivering an application for asylum from abroad is in principle not allowed,” Norwegian Deputy Justice Secretary PaalLoenseth told the country’s state TV. Polish Foreign Minister RadoslawSikorski said the asylum request“doesnotmeettherequirements for a formal application for asylum”.

“Evenifitdid,Iwouldnotgiveapositive recommendation,” he tweeted.

Brazil’s foreign ministry confirmed it had received a request but said that, for the moment, it did not intend to respond.

MrHollande said France had not yet received a formal request from Mr Snowden.

Mr Snowden withdrew his application to Russia after President Putin said he could stay on condition that he stopped damaging Russia’s “American partners” with his leaks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

“After learning of Russia’s position yesterday, voiced by President Putin... he abandoned his intention [of staying] and his request to be able to stay in Russia,” said MrPeskov.

MrPeskovconfirmedMrSnowden had not crossed into Russian territory and was still in the transit area of Sheremetyevo,wherehehasreportedly stayed since arriving from Hong Kong on 23 June.

Mr Snowden had previously submitted an application to Ecuador, whose embassy in London is sheltering Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, and to Iceland.

Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa said Quito would not consider Mr Snowden’s asylum request unless he managed to enter an Ecuadorean embassy or arrive in Ecuador itself.

HetoldtheGuardiannewspaperthat Ecuador would not help Mr Snowden travelonfromRussia,andsaidadecision by his London consul to give him a temporarytraveldocumenttotravelfrom Hong Kong to Moscow was “a mistake”.

Earlier, details emerged of a letter Mr Snowden addressed to President Correa, thanking Ecuador for guaranteeing “my rights would be protected upon departing Hong Kong - I could never have risked travel without that”.

Colombian government, FARC resume peace talks

T

he Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group have resumed peace talks.

Chief rebel negotiator Ivan Marquez read a statement to the press in Havana, Cuba, reiterating the FARC’s proposal to postpone upcoming presidential elections for a year to give the two sides more time to reach a peace deal.

Marquez also pushed for the creation of the National Constituent Assembly that could give any eventual peace deal a popular endorsement.

The government of President Juan Manuel Santos has repeatedly refused to consider postponing the elections after the FARC rebels raised the suggestion in early June, hoping to pressure the rebels into making concessions to end the five-decade-long conflict. The elections are scheduled to be held in May 2014.

Meanwhile, the chief government envoy to the talks, Humberto de la Calle,

restated the official stance that a peace agreement “can only be implemented if the FARC rebels lay down their weapons and return to civilian life.”

The two camps are now discussing the armed rebel movement’s transition to a political party once the rebels lay down their weapons, the second of the five central negotiating points.

In May, both sides reached an agreement on the first negotiating point, agrarian reform and rural development.

The other points include disarming, reparations for the conflict victims and the FARC’s links to drug trafficking, a trade that the rebels have traditionally taxed to fund their movement.

Before the peace talks started last November, the rebels also called for a temporary truce in the fighting to reflect both sides’ commitment to a peace deal, but the Colombian government rejected the idea, saying it feared the rebels would use a lull in fighting to reinforce their fight.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos

candidate

G

unmen have shot dead a mayoral candidate in Mexico’s forthcoming election, the latest in a series of violent attacks on politicians.

Officials said Ricardo Reyes Zamudio was kidnapped while attending a funeral in Durango state.

His body was found with bullet wounds.

The authorities have blamed the death on organised criminals.

MrZamudio’s party warned that “cowards” were trying to instil a climate of fear before the 7 July vote.

The Citizens’ Movement (MovimientoCiudadano) urged the authorities to find MrZamudio’s killers.

The party said failure to solve the crime would show that the state was unable to guarantee the security of its citizens, and would undermine the democratic process.

M r Z a m u d i o w a s campaigning to be president of the San Dimas municipality, a role roughly equivalent to a local mayor.

His body was found near Tayoltita, the main city in the municipality.

Durango has been badly affected by the drug violence that has plagued many parts of Mexico.

Organised crime in the state is thought to be dominated by the Sinaloa cartel, one of several powerful criminal gangs blamed for widespread killings.

Several candidates have been killed in attacks in different parts of Mexico in the run up to the election.

The leader of the left-wing Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) in Oaxaca, Nicolas Estrada, was found dead with gunshot wounds last week.

And two candidates in Sinaloa state, which borders Durango, dropped out of the race after a member of their coalition was killed.

Russian rocket explodes seconds after liftoff

A

n unmanned Russian rocket veered off course and exploded in a fireball Tuesday, seconds after liftoff from a launch pad in Kazakhstan.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The Proton-M rocket was carrying three satellites for Russia’s Global Navigation Satellite System,

or Glonass, reported the RIA Novosti news agency.

Glonass is the Russian equivalent to the United States’ Global Positioning System, or GPS. The rocket had just taken off from the Baikonur space center, in a launch broadcast live on television.

Seconds later, it changed

course, burst into flames and dove nose-first into the ground.

In 2010, another Proton-M rocket carrying three satellites crashed in the Pacific Ocean.

Authorities have suspended further launches of the rockets as they investigate what caused the explosion.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 35

Strange World

Thailand village where men and snakes live in harmony

Boys at the cobra village with their pets

S

ixty years ago, a doctor from Thailandhadavisionforhissmall, dustyoldvillage–toconvertitinto a major tourist attraction. And in an attempt to do so, he actually convinced

his fellow villagers to raise pet snakes in their homes, putting them in shows for tourists. Surprisingly the ploy worked, andtodaythevillageofBanKokSa-Nga in Thailand’s Northeastern Province of

Couple asks Starbucks patrons for help in naming baby

P

atrons at a Starbucks in New Haven, Conn., had an extra choice to make while ordering their coffee in the last few months when a local couple expecting a baby boy needed a little help in choosing his name.

Jennifer James, 25, and Mark Dixon, 24, narrowed their baby name choices to two, but couldn’t agree on which one would work best: she liked Jackson, while he preferred Logan, they told the New Haven Register.

So they decided to let the customers at their favorite

KhonKaen is better known as ‘The Cobra Village’, among tourists.

All of the 140-odd homes in Ban Kok Sa-Nga have at least one pet snake, which they place outside in wooden boxes. The pet snakes range from deadly ones, such as king cobras or monocled cobras, to less dangerous

ones such as copperheaded racers and pythons. The atmosphere in the village itself is always festive; it is one big snake show theme attraction. The snakes are bred in captivity and put together in daredevil shows such as – you won’t believe this – man vs. snake boxing matches. Obviously not for the light-hearted, these shows involve the handlers taunting an already enraged giant king cobra. As the snakes slither across the stage, the men pull their tails to provoke them further. Despite all the weird stunts that take place in these shows, what spooks out most tourists is the level of comfort the villagers share with the snakes. Most people are terrified of these creatures, but the people of BanKok Sa-Nga don’t even bat an eye-lid. Even the children are completely at ease; they are taught how to handle snakes, how to fight them and feed them, at a very young age.

Another disturbing aspect of the Cobra Village is the poor standard of safety. Rumors are plenty about a number of tourists having died from snake attacks. It’s unclear if they are true or not, but the locals certainly have suffered. For instance, the village’s top snake-handler, 72-year-old Bualee Chai has been bitten 21 times – a fact that he’s rather proud of. He’s been in the business for over half a century and sometimes tours Thailand with his cobras, putting on shows. For proof of his injuries, he has a few gaps

in his hands where there should have been fingers. “If I didn’t get my fingers amputated, I would have died. The last time I was bit and lost a finger was December 26, 2004. It was the exact moment the tsunami hit Thailand.”

Surprisingly, Chai refuses to take any anti-venom after a bite, because the technique for extracting venom is cruel and hurtful to the snakes. This, from a man who would not hesitate to kick a cobras head and hold it down on the stage during a show…

But it is true that these villagers truly consider their snakes a part of their families. “If one of my snakes died, I would be very sad,” says Chai.

“They’ve been with me for years. When snakes in our village die, we make offerings for them at the temple.”

But despite all the attachment that they have with snakes, the villagers of BanKok Sa-Nga do not make much money out of their snake shows. The real cash is in fact, made from something completely different – rare, locally grown herbs that are sold in the cobra show market. The most famous of these herbs is the ‘wan payangoo’, which is what is mixed with lime and used as treatment for a snake-bite. Chai claims that this herb can cure bites from any venomous animal, like millipedes and scorpions. Eating the herb is supposed to make a person feel better in 30 minutes.

Meet student who lives every day as a human doll

the results every few days.

Since the spring, they’ve received some 1,800 votes, with a number of people getting creative and suggesting other baby name choices.

“We’ve gotten Obama, Jebediah, Lincoln,” James told the New Haven Register.

In the end, Logan got the most votes. The contest ended this week, with the couple deciding to name their baby Logan Jackson. James is due to give birth in September.

The couple is keeping the “ballots” from the contest for a baby scrapbook.

Starbucks weigh in, inspired by a similar voting process the store uses to select the employee of the month.

“We saw that and thought we might as well see how it works,” Dixon told the newspaper.

Patrons at the café were invited to write their choice on a slip of paper and put it into a cup placed next to a sign that read: “Help us choose our son’s (first) name, Jackson Choosing the perfect baby name can or Logan.”

The couple counted be difficult, so one couple asked Starbucks customers for help.

Katie Lawrence

B

londe Katie Lawrence lives every day as a human doll - spending three hours each day perfecting the look.

The art student, from Camberwell, London, dresses in petticoats and pastel colours and admits to being obsessed with looking like a doll.

The 18-year-old spends hours studying Japanese culture and video games which inspire her look.

Katie scours London markets for outfits which she wears with exaggerated makeup to give her an artificial appearance.

She said: “When I walk down the street dressed like this people do a double take - some even ask to have their picture taken with me.

“I love the doll-like wide eyes that the animations have. l spend ages putting in circle lenses and two sets of false

eyelashes to get the look.

“But it’s important to me to look individual too, and that’s where my piercings come in.

“And one day I’d love to have plastic surgery to get elf ears.

“To be honest I think real life dolls Valeria Lukyanova and AnastasiyaShpagina have taken the most boring parts from anime culture to create their looks.”

Source: odditycentral. com

PAGE 36

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

Digest Babies as young as five months old can read each others’ moods

By Amanda Williams

in either video.

Prof Flom said: ‘This is the first study to show a matching ability with an infant this young.

They are exposed to affect in a peer’s voice and face which is likely more familiar to them because it is how they themselves convey or communicate positive and negative emotions.’

The next step is to test whether babies could do this at even younger ages if instead they were watching and hearing clips of themselves.

B

abies as young as five months old can read each others’ moods, according to new research.

Scientists found they understand emotional signals by getting them to match gurgling noises with paired facial expressions.

The findings comes as a study carried out by the same team showed infants can understand the moods of dogs, monkeys and the emotions in classical music.

And earlier this week British researchers reported babies just two months old instinctively know when they are about to be cuddled as their bodies stiffen up, making it easier for their mothers to pick them up.

Psychologist Professor Ross Flom, of Brigham Young University, Utah, said: ‘We found five month old infants can match their peer’s positive and negative vocalisations with the appropriate facial expression.’

Prof Flom said: ‘Newborns cannot verbalise to their mum or dad they are hungry or tired, so the first way they communicate

Added Prof Flom: ‘These findings add to our understanding of early infant development by reiterating the fact that babies are highly sensitive to and comprehend some level of emotion.’

‘Babies learn more in their first two and a half years of life than they do the rest of their lifespan, making it critical to examine how and what young infants learn and how this helps them learn other things.’

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Scientists found they understand emotional signals by getting them to match gurgling noises with paired facial expressions is through affect or emotion.

Thus it is not surprising in early development, infants learn to discriminate changes in affect.’

Infants can match emotion in adults at seven months and familiar members of the family at six months.

So in order to test their reactions to other babies, the researchers seated forty in front of two monitors, one showing a video of a happy, smiling

baby and the other displaying a second sad, frowning one.

When sound was played of a third happy baby, the participating infant looked longer to the video of the baby with positive facial expressions.

The infant was also able to match negative sounds with the video of the sad looking baby.

The recordings were from a third baby and not in sync with the lip movements of the babies

Infants can match emotion in adults at seven months and familiar members of the family at six months

What you ate at 3 determines your risk of heart disease later in life ‘Eating behaviours as reported by parents were positively associated with serum non-HDL cholesterol levels in children aged three to five.

‘The association between the eating behaviours subscore and serum non-HDL cholesterol persisted after controlling for age, sex, birth weight, parental BMI, gestational diabetes and parental ethnicity.’

She said that the findings suggested earlier intervention could be called for.

She said: ‘Our results

support previous arguments for interventions aimed at improving the eating behaviours of preschool-aged children.

‘To do so, evidence suggests promoting responsive feeding, where adults provide appropriate access to healthy foods and children use internal cues (not parent-directed cues or cues from the television) to determine the timing, pace and amount they consume.’

Source: Dailymail. co.uk

Starting children off with a healthy diet from a young age will encourage better eating habits and stave off tell-tale signs of heart disease like elevated cholesterol

By Nicola Rowe

A

child’s diet at the age of three could determine its risk of heart disease as an adult, researchers say.

A study found that the effects of unhealthy eating begin at an early age, with the tell-tale signs of cholesterol noticeable in children aged between three and five.

T h i s s u g g e s t s interventions to protect health could start much earlier, say the researchers, from St Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.

They looked at 1,076 preschool children and studied the link between eating habits and serum levels of non-high-

density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol - a marker of later cardiovascular risk.

Our results show that associations between eating behaviours and cardiovascular risk appear early in life and may be a potential target for early intervention,’ said Dr Navindra Persaud.

The association between eating behaviour and cardiovascular risk prove that starting healthy eating habits early could cut the risk of heart disease later in life

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

Benue ACN dismisses rumour of factionalization From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

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he leadership of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Benue state has dismissed rumors of factionalization in the party, maintaining that there is unity in its fold insisting that the party is working towards the merger.

State Chairman of the party, Comrade Abba Yaro, said this in a telephone interview with this reporter against the backdrop of the insinuations that there was spilt in the ACN. It was learnt from a reliable source that the there is a tussle for supremacy between the camp of the Senate Minority Leader, Senator George Akume and Alhaji Usman Abubakar a.k.a Young Alhaji, who was the party’s deputy governorship candidate in the last election.

It was further gathered that both camps had conveyed separate meetings in Wannune, Tarka LGA home country of Sen. Akume and Otukpo LGA, Young Alhaji’s home where issues of the merger and how positions will be assigned to the three parties including All Nigeria Peoples’ party, ANPP and Congress for Progressive Change, CPC after the merger were discussed.

The source said there seems to be a break away by Young Alhaji who is said not to be pleased with the way Akume is handling the ACN. This is even as Prof. Steve Ugbah who was the party’s governorship flag bearer in the 2011 governorship election has returned to America where he is resident and is alleged to have gone on sabbatical from politics.

Abba Yaro took a swipe on Young Alhaji and Prof. Daniel Saror who also attended the meeting in Otukpo describing them as lacking ‘political pedigrees’.

“Who is Young Alhaji. Is he bigger than party? The people he called to his house were his family members and not party men. Saror was not at the meeting and even if he was there, what is the political pedigree of Saror at the moment. This time around, we are not ready to negotiate the state with anybody. If the PDP is using some people to destabilize the party, it won’t work. We are working towards capturing the state in 2015. What is the strength of ANPP and CPC in the State? Meanwhile, Nelson Alapa a former member of the House of Representative who is a chieftain of the ANPP is a member of the merger committee”, he said.

PAGE 37

Jonathan vows to punish perpetrators of electoral irregularities in Oguta

By Lawrence Olaoye resident Goodluck Jonathan yesterday vowed not to spare anyone found culpable in the reported irregularities which characterized the rerun election to the Imo State of Assembly in Oguta a the weekend.

The President in release on his behalf by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, asserted that the conduct of certain persons and groups involved in the election totally negated the spirit of one man, one vote which his administration is trying to foster in Nigeria.

Speaking at an audience with a delegation from the Nigerian Senators’ Forum, President Jonathan urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the nation’s security

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agencies to take immediate steps to bring all those who played any role in the violence and electoral irregularities that marred the election to justice.

Jonathan said that it had become apparent that in order to successfully achieve his administration’s objective of entrenching a culture of consistent free, fair and credible elections in the country, it must be made clear to all stakeholders that any unlawful conduct during elections will be swiftly punished.

“Those who made it impossible for the rerun election in Oguta to be conclusive must be brought to book. We must make it clear that impunity in the perpetration of violence and irregularities during elections will no longer be tolerated. Sanctions, promptly

imposed on guilty persons, will deter others from engaging in such acts in future,” he declared.

Welcoming the Senators’ Forum’s pledge of support for his administration’s efforts to thoroughly sanitize Nigeria’s electoral system, President Jonathan said that he was glad that his advocacy for one man, one vote was winning more adherents across the country.

The President said that the Federal Government under his leadership will work with other like-minded Nigerians and the forum, which has a membership of over 500 serving and former senators, to strengthen Nigeria’s democratic institutions and deliver more dividends of democracy to ordinary Nigerians.

“There must be even greater

harmony between the executive and legislative arms of government.

We must work together to ensure that all Nigerians benefit more from our political activities,” he told the delegation which was led

by Senator Khairat Abdulrazaq Gwadabe.

Senator Gwadabe had earlier told President Jonathan that the Senators’ Forum which was established in 2003, was committed to supporting his efforts to strengthen institutions of democracy in Nigeria.

The delegation included Senators Abubakar Girei, Iyabo Anisulowo, Alex Kadiri, John Danboyi, Victor Oyofo, Emmanuel Ibok Essien, Haruna Abdulazeez and Sunday Fajimi, Sylvannus Ngele, Bala Adamu, Zeog H. Aziz and Omololu Meroyi.

L-R: Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke, Chairman, House Committee on the Diaspora, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman, House Committee on Culture and Tourism, Hon. Ben Nwucha, during committees meeting with Ministry of Culture and Tourism on the Diaspora matters, yesterday at National Assembly, in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Ajimobi’s urban renewal projects half baked- Makinde From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

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chieftain of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) in Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde has described urban renewal endevours of Governor Abiola Ajimobi as half baked projects, full of frivolities.

Makinde stated this while addressing newsmen shortly after he was honoured at 2013 Adegoke Adelabu Memorial Lecture tagged “Masterplan for

Ibadan” held at Ibadan Civic Centre.

According to the Oyo South Senatorial candidate of All Nigerian Peoples Party in the 2007 election, most of the urban renewal projects on the surface looks good but far from baked ideas.

He said no society can move forward without proper planning and research just as he maintained that there is need for Oyo state government to do more

research and planning.

“Half baked ideas would push us forward a little bit but to have the kind of development that will last, a lot of planning have to get into it.

“Development of present age has gone beyond putting half baked ideas in place to earn acceptability from the electorates, they know exactly what they want.

“The government needs to be deep, you can not have half

baked ideas to deceive people; on the surface they look good but when they really deep what will come out will last for many generations.

“The state government needs to do a lot more in terms of research and planning,” he stressed.

Speaking on his political ambition in 2015, Makinde said only God can determine the future adding that only He could put people into power.

PAGE 38

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

Politics

Head of Service advocates leadership management, succession planning

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lhaji Bukar Aji, the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, has called for leadership management and succession planning modalities in the country Aji made the call in Abuja on when he declared open a oneday workshop on Leadership Management and Succession Planning in the Federal Civil Service.

He said for Nigeria to achieve its vision of building a world class civil service, it must develop a process that would put the suggestion in place. ``The civil service we crave for is one that is highly professional, performance-driven and anchored on stewardship to the people.

He disclosed that a new leadership management and succession planning process had begun in the federal civil service. ``The process is aimed at sustaining effective and efficient service delivery.

He implored participants to see the civil service as an essential pillar of a modern state that must continue to renew and reinvigorate itself to meet up with the contemporary world challenges.

Aji told the participants to deliberate on the leadership challenges of the Federal Civil Service and come up with implementable management planning and succession planning models.

Sen. Aloysius Etok, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service Matters, assured that the Senate would continue to be in partnership with the Federal Civil Service.

He reiterated the Senate’s commitment to support the service in its current reform efforts to deliver effective and efficient services to Nigerians.

The workshop was organised by the Service Policies and Strategies Office in the OHCSF the Department for International Development’ (DFID), and Federal Public Administration Reform (FEPAR).

It was designed to acquaint staff of the new Department of Leadership and Succession Planning in the OHS Civil Service of the Federation with its mandates and functions. (NAN)

2015 elections: Cleric urges NASS to enact law against thuggery

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he Chief Imam of Apo Legislative Quarters Mosque, Sheikh Muhammad Khalid on Tuesday called on the National Assembly to enact laws that would

prohibit the use of thugs during elections.

Khalid made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

L-R: Former PDP National Chairman, Chief Solomon Lar, walking with former Minister of Information, Professor Jerry Gana, during the meeting of a delegation of Middle-Belt leaders with President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday at the State House, Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

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``If one thug is identified among the supporters of any aspirant or candidate, such should be arrested and charged for disturbing the public peace and promoting insecurity in the country. `` The cleric described as unfortunate, the situation where politicians engage the less privileged in the society in thuggery, rather than think of how to better their lives.

Khalid appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to tackle corruption and insecurity in the country, noting that the problems had hindered the progress of the nation. ``It is unfortunate that people are killing their fellow human beings like animals, and this is as a result of lack of equality of all persons before the law.`` He said Islam did not allow anyone to take the life of another human being, adding that only the court was mandated to pronounce on such.

The Imam also spoke on capital punishment, saying those calling for its abolition are insincere and against the positive development of the country. ``Islam forbids killing of people, because destroying one life is equal to destroying the entire society. ``We are sending this message to make sure that innocent citizens are protected and culprits are punished accordingly, to enhance peace and harmony in the country.’’

Khaild advised Nigerians irrespective of tribe or religion, especially, the political class, to promote peace, fairness and justice. ``There must be justice in our society to ensure equity, fairness and peaceful coexistence in the country.`` (NAN)

INEC to roll out plans for constituency delineation in Lagos

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he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday in Lagos said it would soon roll out information on the planned constituency delineation in the state.

Dr Adekunle Ogunmola, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Lagos State, said this at a one-day sensitisation tour of Lagos Mainland Local Government on ``Delineation of Constituencies and Continuous Registration of Voters’’.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the sensitisation tour would cover all the 20 local government areas of the state.

“There must be transparency, fairness and representativeness in delineation, but the problem we are going to have is that we cannot change the number of constituencies for now. ``Until there is an amendment to the constitution, but we can adjust boundaries. That way, it will be easier

Kaduna Assembly Speaker,11 members in Ethiopia for retreat he second batch of Kaduna State House of Assembly members are in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for a week-long retreat, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The 12 members were led by the Speaker, Muazu Gangara, for the retreat organised by Express Lead Consult, a Kaduna base Consulting firm, with the theme ``State Legislation and the Challenges of

He said, ``Nigerians should sponsor a bill in the National Assembly that will say no to any politician using thugs during campaign or election.

Insecurity in Nigeria``.

NAN reports that 17 members of the assembly including the Deputy Speaker, Dr Dogara Mato had just concluded a similar programme in Addis Ababa.

Ibrahim Othman, the Consultant, told NAN that five members did not turn up for the programme.

The legislators are expected to deliberate on issues of unemployment, insecurity, poverty, justice and equity,

as well as other challenges facing the state.

NAN reports that the the speaker would hold talks with AU Commission Deputy Chairperson, Eratus Nwencha and AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, Lamamra Ramtane on Wednesday.

The speaker would also visit the Nigerian Embassy in Ethiopia, where the Ambassador, Mr. Lolo Bulus is from Kaduna State. (NAN)

for us to carry out our jobs fairly’’.

Ogunmola promised that the commission would carry everybody along, and that it could not do the work alone.

The electoral commissioner said that jingles and rallies would be carried out in order to enlighten and educate the people on the importance of voting.

He also planned to meet and solicit the support of traditional rulers.

Ogunmola told the electorates that when it was time to register, they would be notified.

He said, ``Why we are not ready now is because we do not want to give you a system that is faulty.’’

He also said that all polling units must have polling booths, and that all electoral materials would be provided and delivered days before the Election Day. Ogunmola explained that following the shortcomings the commission noticed in the 2011 general elections, it was working to ensure the problems were tackled.

He appealed to the general public to give priority to the pregnant, the aged and the physically challenged at the point of voting.

The electoral commissioner also said that party agents should at all time work jointly with the security personnel.

Mr. Oladele Adekanye, the Chairman of Lagos Mainland Local Government, expressed satisfaction with the exercise.

According to him, it has given market women, religious leaders and party leaders the opportunity to say their minds. ``It is a very good exercise because people have been able to tell INEC its defects and how it can correct all its mistakes. ``If they put in place everything they have promised, then, there will be credible elections,’’ Adekanye said.

He appealed to INEC to ensure it tested the devices and the methods it planned to use in 2015, to ensure there would not be any failure of the elections. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

Almakura pledges support for religious groups From Maaji Dandaura, Lafia

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he Nasarawa state Government is always ready to support religious organisations in the state to carry out their activities efficiently.

Governor Umaru Tanko Al- makura of Nasarawa state, revealed this while speaking during the official book launch and inauguration of the Jerusalem pilgrims members for 2012 which took place at the conference Hotel Shendam road, Lafia.

He said the state Government would continue to support the Nasarawa state Christian pilgrims welfare board to enable it carry out its functions well.

The governor who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Hajiya Zainab Abdulmumuni charged the 2012 pilgrims to Israel to live exemplary lives worthy of emulation and congratulated them for a successful 2012 pilgrimage to the holy land.

Governor Almakura said, even though there are calls from certain quarters for the government to stop sponsoring pilgrims to the Holy land, he is still determine to continue sponsoring them.

Earlier in his speech, the Executive Secretary, National Christian pilgrims’ commission, Mr. John Kenneddy Okpara commended the Executive Secretary, Nasarawa state Christian pilgrims Welfare Board, Barrister Odeh Clement Magaji (JP) for maintaining a good working relationship with his board.

Mr. John Kenny Opara said his board would continue to give its fatherly advice to the Nasarawa state Board for the success of pilgrimage to the Holy land.

He said the National Christian pilgrims commission has introduced family pilgrimage to the Holy land commencing from the week of July and the pilgrimage is expected to last for one month.

Okpara advised that only spiritually-oriented people should be allowed to perform the Holy pilgrimage, and people should not see the exercise as a Jamboree.

Also speaking at the occasion, the Chairman Nasarawa state Christian pilgrims welfare board, Reverend Ken Madaki said Muslims have been sponsoring Christians to Israel, and vice versa, a clear indication that there is a good understanding existing between Christians and Muslims.

Rev Ken Madaki thanked officials of Tailor made tours, ITC tours, and the representatives of Tabar tours all in Israel for taking their time to witness the book launch and the inauguration of the Jerusalem pilgrims 2012 members.

He said the Nasarawa state Christians pilgrims welfare board is doing all it could to ensure that all those that meet the requirements of performing the Holy pilgrimage are allowed to do so.

PAGE 39

News Extra

Kebbi CJ releases 27 inmates From Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi

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he Chief Judge of Kebbi State, Justice Ibrahim B. Mairiga yesterday ordered the release of 27 inmates who have spent about a year in prison without trial.

Justice Mairiga gave this order yesterday, during his visit to the old prison yard in Birnin Kebbi adding that he gave the order based on the power conferred on him under Section 1 [1] of the criminal Justice [Release from Custody] [Special

Provisions] ACT CAP C40, 2007, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

Mairiga added that out of 27 inmates released, six were females while the remaining 21 are male prisoners with cases like intimidation, stealing, raping, homosexual marriage and other related acts. ‘’I released them because their cases are civil cases and have been in prison custody without trial. ‘’it is further ordered that all proceeding for which the prisoners mentioned above are being detained shall be

terminated’’, he said.

Justice Mairiga who expressed dismay over delays of some cases by police prosecutors, urged them to be hasten in their investigations while detention should not last more than 24 hours. ‘’Police have been contributing for the congestion of our prison and they should be considerd for a bail if the investigations are yet to be completed’’ he said.

He said that out of the 203 inmates in the prison, 72 were armed

Queue for fuel at Total filing station, yesterday at Wuse, in Abuja.

robbery cases while 65 were murder cases, expressing concern over the caliber of the prisoners he met. ‘’You people are still young, aged between 19 to 25 years old, you should think of being productive to your people and the society at large’’, he said.

The chief officer in-charge of the prison, Muhammad Aliyu Bukar thanked the Chief Judge of the state for his visit which will go a long way in the decongesting the prison.

Photo: NAN

PDP mismanaged Nasarawa’s resources in 12 years- CPC elder From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

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Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) stalwart in Nasarawa state, Alhaji Baba Sambo has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of mismanaging the resources of the state for the past 12 years, saying that Governor Umaru Tanko Al-makura has outdone it in the two years of his administration.

Alhaji Sambo stated this yesterday while reacting to claims attributed to the state PDP chairman,

Chief Yunana Iliya, suggesting that Al-makura has done nothing in terms of delivering the dividends of democracy to the people of the state.

The CPC elder described the claims as laughable, adding that the dividends of democracy from the CPC administration are there for every reasonable person to see.

“Everyone in his right sense will not deny that Al-makura has not done anything while in fact he is an emancipator of Nasarawa state, from the lack of development to development”, he stated.

He explained that for once, the people of the state have become the centre-piece of government, rather than the privileged few hanging on the corridors of power.

Sambo stressed owing to Almakura’s people oriented policies, those who had previously benefited from the abuse of public funds are now ganging up against the governor but , according him, the masses are now wiser.

“I assure you, if there will be an election today, the PDP will not get the votes it garnered in the 2011

general elections”, Alhaji Sambo declared.

On the ongoing demolition of illegal structures in Lafia, Alhaji Sambo allayed the fears of those affected by the exercise, saying the Governor chose to carry out the exercise in the interest of residents and to give the state capital a face lift.

“Such an exercise was conducted

by Gen. Buhari to sanitize our towns and cities, even though I was affected in that exercise, I later realised the need for making our cities clean”, he said.

USAID, AGRA partner four African countries to boost seeds, technologies

By Mohammed Kandi

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he US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) yesterday announced a USD 47 million partnership with 4 African countries within the G8’s new Alliance for Food Security.

A press release issued by the USAID Press Office stated that the benefiting countries of the scaling seeds and technologies partnership include Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique, and Tanzania, adding

that “the three-year partnership is intended to accelerate smallholder farmer access to transformative agricultural technologies.”

The scheme, the statement added, would “help governments strengthen their seed sectors and promote the commercialization, distribution and adoption of improved seeds and other key technologies.”

“The Partnership aims to increase production of high-quality seeds by 45 percent in three years and ensure

that 40 percent more farmers gain access to innovative agricultural technologies,” it explained.

USAID Administrator, Rajiv Shah said: “The Scaling Seeds and Technologies Partnership will help strengthen seed sectors, including regulatory systems, and create new local seed companies, ensuring that game-changing technologies can reach and improve the lives of millions of smallholders.”

“The United States will continue to support this and other New Alliance efforts through Feed

the Future, President Obama’s global hunger and food security initiative,” Shah added.

Also speaking, President of AGRA, Jane Karuku disclosed that “AGRA has been working with our partners across the continent: We have supplied 57,000 metric tons of seeds and released over 300 improved seed varieties.

This partnership with USAID will enable us to scale up this work and ensure that even more smallholder farmers can benefit from these extraordinary technologies.”

PAGE 40

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

News Extra

Minister harps on police training

By Lawrence Olaoye

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inister of Police Affairs, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade, yesterday said that ensuring adequate training of the nation’s policemen is his priority.

The Minister, who briefed members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s National Working Committee

(NWC) chaired by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, also said efforts are being intensified to professionalise the Nigeria Police in the face of insecurity, terrorism and kidnapping in the country.

Olubolade however complained to the PDP NWC members that the service would require more funds to prosecute its programmes with the view to repositioning the police.

According to him, “We have to look at the Police intelligence gathering and training which is key to our focus in this administration. Police must be given enough equipment and be protected with bullet proof vests for them to carry out their assignments.”

Responding to suggestion on the need to raise the entry qualifications into the Police

from School Certificate to at least Ordinary National Diploma, Olubolade said the ministry is seriously considering the possibility of raising the bar.

According to him, “Police Officers must have higher degrees with science background.

Fighting crimes is scientific and we must raise the bar. That is why we must raise the qualifications of those who are coming to direct

Boko Haram: Reject amnesty for atrocities, HRW urges

Briefs 25 teachers face sanction over absenteeism in Kwara

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committee set up by the Nigerian government to develop an amnesty framework for members of the militant Islamist group Boko Haram should exclude serious crimes that violate international human rights law, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to the committee made public yesterday.

Instead, the Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North should demand accountability for these crimes.

A Human Rights Watch report in October 2012 found that Boko Haram’s attacks, included the murder of civilians, which likely amount to crimes against humanity under international law.

Human Rights Watch has also documented serious human rights abuses carried out by government security forces in response to Boko Haram attacks, including dozens of extrajudicial killings, burning of civilian property, and detentionrelated abuses. Those responsible for these crimes should also be held to account, Human Rights Watch said.

“Boko Haram members have committed heinous crimes,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Justice for the gravest abuses, whether by Boko Haram or security forces, is essential for victims and building longterm peace in Nigeria.”

The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced in 2010 that it had opened a preliminary examination of the situation in Nigeria. In November 2012 the office concluded that there was “reasonable basis to believe” that Boko Haram had committed crimes against humanity. The preliminary examination may or may not lead to an ICC investigation.

From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

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L-R: Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Architect Musa Mohammed Sada, Australia High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Jonathan Richardson, representative of World Bank Director in Nigeria, Mr. Michael Wong, and representative of Canadian Embassy in Nigeria, Mr. Joseph Sebhatu, during the stakeholders workshop on the Australian and Canadian externally finance output programme for mining sector development in Nigeria, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

NIMC urges Nigerians to enrol in NIN ...’It’s free’

By Adeola Tukuru

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he National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has said that the enrolment for both the National Identification Number (NIN) and the General Multipurpose Card is free of charge.

In a press releases signed by the Director Corporate Communications,NIMC, Mr. Okwudiafor Anthony said that the only requirement for NIN enrolment is being a minimum of 16 year old Nigerian or legal resident and the presentation of an identification document that has

personal photo on it like the driver’s License, International passport, the former national identity card, voter’s card, an indigene certificate, educational institutions Identity card and others.

Mr. Okwudiafor also noted that, enrolment for NIN has started in all NIMC state capital offices and FCT Abuja. Enrolment is done Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm daily.

In his words: “All Citizens and legal residents who are 16 years and above are advised to go to the nearest NIMC office and enroll for their National Identification Number (NIN).

The Director, Corporate Communications also added that NIMC is working tirelessly to ensure that all the NIMC offices in the 774 local Government Areas in the

Buhari mourns Senator Ewherido

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

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he National leader of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), General Muhammadu Buhari, has expressed grief at the sudden demise of Senator Pius Ewherido, who represented Central Senatorial District of Delta state in the Nigerian senate.

In a condolence message issued yesterday by the National Publicity

the affairs of the force. The Police Service Commission is expected to utilize the experience of its new chairman, the former InspectorGeneral of Police, Mike Okiro, to manage the affairs of the men.”

He added that the force is equally looking into the possibility of strengthening the concept of community policing to effectively checkmate criminal activities at the grass-root level in the country.

Secretary of the party, Rotimi Fashakin, Buhari recalled the industry and legislative genius of the late Senator.

He particularly extolled the passion which Ewherido demonstrated as a member of the merger committee that gave birth to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“Indeed, he was a hero in the concerted efforts for the deepening of the nation’s democracy. This death has come at a critical time when his

experience is most needed,” Buhari said.

Buhari nevertheless condoled with the people of the Delta Central Senatorial District and Delta state in general, praying for the repose of his gentle soul and for his immediate family members that are the most affected, to have the fortitude to bear the loss.

“May the Almighty God grant them the grace and fortitude to bear the irreparable loss”, the statement added.

country commence enrolment very soon Mr. Okwudiafor emphasized that what NIMC is focusing on ID card issuance which involves creating and operating a National Database through data collection that involves biometrics from individuals and assigning an 11 digit nonintelligent set of numbers to them upon successful enrolment.

“The process of the enrolment is acknowledged with two slips, one containing your NIN and the other containing the tracking ID which indicates completion of the enrolment process. While the tracking ID helps you to monitor the process until you are given your General Multipurpose Card the NIN remains your personal number that cannot be transferred to any other person”.

According to the statement, the National Identity Management System (NIMS) would help in curbing identity theft and fraud by providing a simple, reliable, sustainable and universally acceptable means of confirming identities at all times. It would also improve the governance and service delivery and would eliminate multiple and ghost identities to enhance the national payment system in the country.

bout 25 primary school teachers in the Kwara State Teaching Service are to be variously penalized for absenting themselves from duty.

The Executive Chairman, State Universal Basic Education Board (KWSUBEB), Barrister Lanre Daibu who disclosed this in Ilorin has directed the affected teachers to report at the Board head quarters in Ilorin for interrogation.

Daibu, a former Chief of Staff and Chairman of Ilorin South local government in the immediate past administration made the discovery during an unscheduled visit to primary and junior secondary schools in Ifelodun and Ilorin East Local Government Areas.

The Chairman who sighted pupils of some schools roaming about during lessons period, expressed disappointment with the nonchalant attitude of teachers to work.

Panel on Edo ministry fire begins sitting From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

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he panel of inquiry set up

by Edo State government to unravel the circumstances that led to the fire incident which engulfed a portion of the State Ministry of Education headquarters at Iyaro, Benin City on June 12, yesterday began sitting with 10 witnesses testifying.

Those who testified included residents in the area where the ministry is located and top officials of the ministry including Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mrs. Gladys Idahor.

Residents in the locality told the panel that electricity sparked the fire started before their calls to officials of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria led to cut in power supply.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 41

FIFA U-20: Uruguay beat Nigeria again

RESULTS

Spain 2 Mexico 1 Greece 1 Greece 3 France 4 Turkey 1 Uruguay 2 Nigeria 1 Matches today Ghana vs Portugal Croatia vs Chile Iraq vs Paraguay Colombia vs Korea Rep.

Galatasaray open talks with Chelsea for Mikel

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Onyiye Ndidi tackle that gave Uruguay a penalty and the ticket for the FIFA U-20 World Championship finals at the expense of Nigeria

By Patrick Andrew

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or the second consecutive times in under a fortnight, Uruguay beat Nigeria with a similar score line at a world championship, and thus sent the West Africans crashing out.

Yesterday at a FIFA U-20 World Championship last 16 finals, Liverpool’s Lius Suarez lookalike, Nicolas Lopez, scored a brace against 10-men Flying Eagles after Olarenwaju Kayode in a rare moment of brilliance had let fly a bullet that goalkeeper Guillermo De Amor had no answer to.

The Los Chorruas had taken the lead in the 65 minutes after Samuel Okani in between the sticks for Nigeria missed timed a cross that slipped off his hands for an unmarked Lopez to jab in.

Then, he blurred his beautiful saves with unnecessary race out of his post wherein he was outpaced and beaten by Rolan who was needlessly brought down by Onyiye Ndidi

for the 12 yards kick. Lopez sent Okani to the wrong side with a skillful touch that handed Uruguay the ticket to the quarter finals.

Shehu Abdullahi had received a second yellow and deservedly sent off in the first half to add pressure to the Nigerian side that had been scrappy and somewhat bereft of depth.

However, the junior Eagles were from onset threatened but gradually came into the game Aminu Umar got in behind the Uruguayan defence, but Kayode could not turn the ball home.

The likes of Lopez and Giorgian De Arrascaeta were struggling to find their rhythm, while Nigeria faired little better as the firsthalf failed to ignite.

The Los Charruas had their best chance of the game when Laxalt’s bouncing volley after half-time almost beat Okani, before Guillermo Varela hit the inside of the post – but was ruled offside.

De Arrascaeta was next to test him, firing from a 30-yard free-kick, but the keeper – not

all to convincingly – palmed over.

The one-way pressure continued against the ten men and it finally told. De Arrascaeta swung another free-kick into the area and when Gaston Silva got ahead of Okani, Lopez was on had to tap in.

With Kayode’s goal Nigeria became lively and Micheal Olaitan, who had a good tournament with solo but his lovely grounder kissed the side of the net.

The Eagles were becoming entreprising until the misjudgement by Okani after getting into a foot race for a loose ball with Diego Rolan.

The Bordeaux man made no mistake even as the Eagles became forceful in the dying minutes with misses from Nidid, Kingsley Madu, but it was too little too late.

Nigeria got to the quarterfinals in the last edition.

Uruguay will now face Spain in the quarterfinals as the South American jinx continue to haunt the Nigerian under-20s.

n spite of Chelsea’s last week denial that John Obi Mikel remains relevant in Jose Mourinho’s plans for the Blues next season and that there was no negotiations with whoever in respect of off loading the Nigeria, a key official of Galatasaray said yesterday that discussions for the transfer of the player’s services were at advance stage.

President of the Turkish club, Ayal, yesterday confirmed that a deal is being worked out between the clubs.

The Nigeria international has made over 277 appearances for Chelsea since arriving at the club back in 2006 in a protracted transfer saga involving Norwegian side Lyn and Manchester United.

However, speculation has mounted in recent weeks that the 26-year-old could be allowed to leave Stamford Bridge as Jose Mourinho sets about reshaping his squad in his second spell as manager.

“We are interested in Mikel, and negotiations are under way,” Aysal told Sabah.

Mikel is on an extended break after competing in the Confederations Cup but was non-committal when questioned about his Stamford Bridge future earlier on Tuesday.

Chelsea have also been linked with other midfielders that could replace the Nigerian at Stamford Bridge, with Roma midfielder Daniele de Rossi and Vitesse youngster Marco van Ginkel both on the west London club’s radar.

Mikel Obi

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 43

Sports

CAF disqualifies Rangers from Confeds Cup

By Patrick Andrew

E

nugu Rangers will not play in the group stage of the Confederation Cup as they have been excluded from the competition for fielding Emmanuel Daniel CS Sfaxien of Tunisia.

In their match with player had joined the Enugu side from Shooting Stars and the Ibadan

club complained that the goalkeeper was not properly cleared for this season.

The disqualification was contained in a statement issued by CAF on its website yesterday.

Further, CAF said that CS Sfaxien will now replace Rangers for the group stage which starts July 21.

“Further to the regulatory protest of the Tunisian Club Sportif Sfaxian (C.S.S.), the

CAF Organising Committee for the Interclub Competitions has confirmed that player Daniel Emmanuel was not eligible to participate with club Enugu Rangers in match number 90, played on June 2nd 2013, against the C.S.S., since the player had not been registered in a regulatory manner, in accordance with Article 25 of the Regulations governing the competition.

“Player Daniel Emmanuel

had been given the authorisation to play with Enugu Rangers starting from April 2013. Accordingly, the player was ineligible to play with his team prior to the 2nd phase of registration, as stipulated by the Regulations of the competition (August 10th 2013).

“Therefore and in accordance with Article 28 of the Regulations governing the competition, the CAF Organising Committee for the Interclub Competitions

confirms the elimination of the Nigerian Club Enugu Rangers from the 10th Edition of the Confederation Cup 2013, for having used an ineligible player in the aforementioned competition.

“Accordingly, Club Sportif Sfaxian (C.S.S.), which had been eliminated by the Enugu Rangers in the 2nd 1/8th finals of the Orange CC 2013, is called upon to replace them in the group matches of the said competition,” the statement reads.

. . . Rangers appeal disqualification

E

nugu Rangers have appealed CAF’s decision disqualifying them from the CAF Confederations Cup following CS Sfaxien of Tunisia.

The North African team had lodged the protest against Rangers for fielding an ineligible player Emmanuel Daniel in their game last April. However, Rangers are contesting the decision because they claimed he was properly registered.

The Coal City-based team argued that they got the permission to use the player after the Nigeria Football Federation gave them the go ahead.

Their argument is strongly backed by the football federation and the League Management Company which were involved in the transfer of the player in question from 3SC to Rangers.

NFF General Secretary, Musa Amadu, said that the NFF will give Rangers the full support in the ap-

peal process.

“We are absolutely shocked that an internal transfer matter between two clubs could snowball into a situation that will see a Nigerian club disqualified from continental competition.

“We have seen the player’s contract. He signed a contract to play for Shooting Stars FC between January and December 2012, and at the expiration of his contract, duly signed for Enugu Rangers.

“The player did not start playing for Enugu Rangers until he secured his license from the LMC in April this year.

“It is also on record that the player had featured for Enugu Rangers against clubs like Heartland FC and Sunshine Stars, and even against Shooting Stars in Enugu a couple of weeks ago, without any of the clubs protesting his eligibility,” Amadu in reaction to the development.

Similarly, the LMC confirmed yesterday that player Emmanuel Daniel plays in the Glo Premier League with a valid license that recognises him as a player of Enugu Rangers.

Should CAF failed to upturn its decision against Rangers, it would mean that Nigeria will have club in the continental competition circuit for 2013.

Already, Sunshine Stars, Heartland, Kano Goalkeeper Emmanuel Daniel, who is the reason for Rangers’ disqualification from CAF Pillars and Dolphins of Port Harcourt have all exited clubs continental campaigns.

Confederations Cup, kicks out the ball during a league match

PUBLIC NOTICE

ASSOCIATION FOR COMMUNICATION STUDIES IN NIGERIA

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ASSOCIATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

TRUSTEES ARE: 1. PROF. IDOWU SOBOWALE -CHAIRMAN 2. MR. LANRE IDOWU -SECRETARY 3. PROF. DAYO ALAO -MEMBER 4. PROF. CHARLES OKIGBO -MEMBER 5. PROF. STELLA CHINYERE OKUNNA -MEMBER AIMS 1. TO SEEK TO IMPROVE MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION RESEARCH, POLICY, TRAINING AND PRACTICE, ESPECIALLY FROM NATIONAL AND INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SECRETARY

2014 W/C: Malawi plot Nigeria fall, hire Saintfiet for Sept game

T

he Flames of Malawi are not taking chances ahead of September’s trip to Nigeria for a winner-takes-all 2014 World Cup African Group F qualifier.

They have accordingly beefed up its technical crew by hiring Tom Saintfiet to lead the squad against the Super Eagles.

Already, the team have three interim highly qualified coaches, led by an African who coaches Europeans Eddington Ng’onamo, yet the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) feel that is not enough.

CHANGE OF NAME I, FORMERLLY KNOWN AS GAMBO MADAKI O S H A K U , NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AS ABDULMALIK MADAKI OSHAKU. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN RELEVANT. GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

FAM has agreed to bring in volunteer Belgian Tom Saintfiet specifically for the mission to defeat Nigeria and sail through to the final qualifying round of the World Cup qualifiers. Nigeria lead on nine points, two ahead of Malawi.

“He is in Europe an he has offered to help us for free. We will only take care of his expenses when he is here,” FAM chief executive officer Suzgo Nyirenda told Radio 2 FM on Monday.

In a press release which SuperSport.com has seen, Nyirenda further added that the temporary tenure of Ng’onamo, who at times coaches Danish teams on short stints, has been extended for three more months alongside that of his assistants Ernest Mtawali and Patrick Mabedi who recently graduated with Germany B Licence.

Hired early this year, Ng’onamo’s panel has managed a win an two draws in the group to leave the Flames with some qualification prospects.

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

HIS ABLE CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP INT’L

ADAKOLE FOUNDATION

JUDAH GOSPEL CHURCH OF ZION

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED CLUB HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

TRUSTEES ARE: ADAKOLE ALECHENU EUNICE ADAKOLE CHIMAOB OKECHI

TRUSTEES ARE: 1. BENARD EBIRINGA MAXWELL CHAIRMAN 2. LAWAN BALA SECRETARY 3. CHOMO ERIC PAM VICE-CHAIRMAN 4. DEBORAH JOHNSON TEASURER

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED CLUB HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

TRUSTEES ARE: (1) JUSTINE OMONIVIE OSUNWOKE (2) NGOZI HILARY OSUNWOKE. (3) IJEOMA OSUNWOKE (4) ONYINYE OSUNWOKE (5) CHINYERE OSUNWOKE AIMS AND OBJECTS 1. TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SOLOMON OYAKHILOME UDUEBOR 08036411184

(PRESIDENT) (SEC) (MEMBER)

AIMS AND OBJECTS 1. TO CARRY OUT CHARITY AND HUMANITARIAN SERVICES AND SOCIAL WORKS ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SOLOMON OYAKHILOME UDUEBOR 08036411184

AIMS 1. TO FOSTER PEACE. 2. TO RAISE A CONGREGATION OF PEACE MAKERS, PEACE BUILDERS ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SECRETARY

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

PAGE 43

Sports

Wimbledon: Serena’s conqueror, Lisicki, adds Kanepi to casualty list G

ermany’s Sabine Lisicki yesterday showed her defeat of Wimbledon defending champion Serena Williams was no fluke as she added Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi’ to casualty list with a 6-3, 6-3 win over to book a semifinal spot.

The German 23rd seed, who also made the last-four as a wildcard in 2011, will face either Polish fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, the runner-up to five-time champion Williams last year, or Chinese sixth seed Li Na for a place in the final.

Lisicki, who was defeated by Maria Sharapova in the semifinals two years ago, insisted that she felt no pressure coming into Wednesday’s match having downed Williams in the fourth round.

The German’s record at Wimbledon stands at 18 wins and just four losses while she is only 16-15 at the three other Slams. Kanepi has now played and lost six quarterfinals at the majors.

Lisicki, who loves playing on the surface, showed no signs of a hangover from her two-hour,

three-set triumph over Williams 24 hours earlier as the 23-yearold Florida-based German broke the world number 46 Kanepi in the opening game on a half-full Court One. She backed it up with another solid break in the ninth game to take the opening set.

Lisicki, whose ranking slumped to 218 in March 2011 as she battled a career-threatening ankle injury, suffered a brief wobble when she was broken for the first time in the third game of the second set by the 2010 quarterfinalist.

But she levelled immediately before going on to claim five of the next six games to clinch victory inside just 65 minutes on the back of 23 solid winners.

She will face Polish fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, last year’s runner-up, who beat Chinese sixth seed Li Na, 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-2 on Centre Court.

“It’s hard to be angry about something when you’re smiling and that’s why the crowd really like her. Lisicki came here as favourite and she’s looking the

player to beat.”

In the other half of the draw, France’s 15th seed Marion Bartoli beat Sloane Stephens 6-4 6-4, and Belgian 20th seed Kirsten Flipkens upset 2011 champion Petra Kvitova 6-4 3-6 6-4.

Kvitova’s defeat means there will be a new name on the women’s trophy on Saturday.

Wladimir defends titles against Povetkin Oct. 5

W

ladmir Klitschko, who holds both the IBF and IBO champion, will defend his heavyweight titles against Alexander Povetkin in Moscow on October 5.

Klitschko who is also the WBO and WBA "super champion." will attempt to establish his supremacy over Povetkin, the mandatory challenger, and the WBA's "regular champion."

Klitschko's handlers said yesterday that the fight would take

Klitschko with his four titles

place in the Olympic Arena.

"This is the best fight that the heavyweight division has to offer at the moment," Klitschko said in a statement. He and Povetkin are both former Olympic Games champions.

Klitschko's elder brother Vitali is the WBC champion. The Ukraine-born brothers have dominated the heavy division for a decade, fighting out of Germany.

Povetkin, a 33-year-old Russian, has a professional record of 26-0, including 18 knockouts. Klitschko’s stands at 60-3.

His last fight was a sixth-round stoppage of Francesco Pianeta in May. The Klitschkos rarely fight outside Germany. "I've never boxed in Moscow and I'm looking forward to many Ukrainians and Russians who will come to the arena and create a special atmosphere," said 37-year-old Klitschko, who will take part in his 24th “world” title fight.

Povetkin, who beat Ruslan Chagaev on points in August 2011 for the vacant title, also last fought in May. He stopped Polish challenger Andrzej Wawrzyk in the third round in his fourth successful title defence.

Sabine Lisicki, the new Wimbledon sensational knees in prayer after dismantling Sharapova two years ago. Her casualty list now includes Williams and Kanepi

Kaduna agog for Eagles as team arrives today

By Albert Akota

S

uper Eagles enthusiasts in Kaduna State will receive the team today ahead of Saturday's match against the Elephant of Cote D’ Ivorie in the first leg of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) scheduled for the Amadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna.

Ben Alaiya, Eagles' Media Of-

ficer said yesterday that soccer fans in the crocodile city were already anticipating arrival in the city of the AFCON champions.

The Eagles, comprising exclusively of domestic league players in line with CAF's CHAN policy, are scheduled to depart Abuja later this morning for Kaduna and would likely train there this evening.

Nigeria have not participated in last edition and as well as are yet to lift the trophy.

Cote D’Ivoire hosted the maiden tournament in 2009 and also played in the edition hosted by Sudan two years later but did not make it past the group stage in both outings.

“The Eagles have been working hard as they welcome the El-

ephants to Kaduna for the first leg qualifier on Saturday.

“The home boys have never qualified for the tournament that is heading into its third edition next year in South Africa, the same country where Nigeria won her third African senior title in February 2013 meaning the boys tortured by Stephen Keshi will do it once again,” he said.

According to the team spokes-

man, Keshi is hoping to be the first to lead the home boys to the tournament and perhaps even win it with eight members of his squad having being part of the country’s squad to the AFCON in January and the Confederations Cup in June.

Twenty three players trained yesterday under the watch of Coach Stephen Keshi and his technical crew.

PAGE 42

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

Sports Briefs Keshi expects tough tie

N

igeria coach Stephen Keshi expects a difficult game against Cote d’Ivoire on Saturday in Kaduna.

Both sides meet in the first-leg of the CAF African Nations Championship qualifier, but despite naming a strong squad, the Nigeria coach remains wary.

"On Saturday, it will be tough because we are playing against Cote d’Ivoire not against Tahiti or Gambia," he said.

"Cote d’Ivoire has equal potentials back home just like Nigeria and other top African football playing countries. So it is not going to be an easy game but we hope to have a good score line at the end of the game," he said.

Nigeria have failed to qualify for the tournament, which is open only to players playing within their country's domestic league.

3SC won't sell top stars

3

SC have said they will block star players Tony Edjomarigwe, Philip Asuquo and Ighodalor Osagona exit from the club.

The duo of Edjomarigwe and Asuquo are wanted by Pillars while Osagona has discussed with Enugu Rangers.

But a top management official confirmed yesterday that they are not ready to loss these players because they are key to the team’s success.

"We cannot afford to lose these players on any account, they are key to this team.

That they are still training with the team will tell you that they are still our players and we cannot afford to lose them to any team,” declared the top official.

Onyeudo snubs Rangers for Enyimba

G

ombe United hotshot Bishop Onyeudo has rejected Enugu Rangers for regional rivals Enyimba on a short-term loan.

Onyeudo featured for Gombe United in the first round of the Nigeria league and netted eight goals.

He was also chased by Rangers even after a top official of the Enugu club had shown in the close season that the experienced striker would only join the team “over his dead body”.

"I signed a loan deal with Enyimba today (Tuesday). I will do my best to score as many goals as I can while I am here.

I had offers from Rangers and Dolphins, but I chose Enyimba based on reasons best known to me," Onyeudo disclosed.

Uche Kalu passes medical

U

che Kalu has passed a medical to rejoin newly promoted Turkish club Rizespor and has subsequently signed a four-year with them.

Kalu, who failed to make the Super Eagles final squad to the recent AFCON in South Africa due to a major knee injury, had been forced to cancel his first contract with Rizespor.

The former Enyimba striker was certified fit for the new season after he passes Rizespor Football club medical at Bakirkoy Acibadem Hospital, according to the club’s official website.

Two kickboxers slugging it out during a contest

Kickboxing board elections before year end, says Okon E lections into the board of the Kickboxing Federation of Nigeria will be held later this year following the decision to jettison the planned concession of the federation.

This was disclosed yesterday by a member of the last board of the federation, Wilson Okon, who said that the National Sports Commission (NSC) has formally informed them that the plan to concession the federation has been cancelled.

Though Okon did not say when precisely the elections into the board will be conducted, he however said it will definitely

come to pass before the year runs out.

Meanwhile, Okon has insisted that only individuals knowledgeable in the game should contest for elective posts in the federation.

Okon, who appealed to the National Sports Commission (NSC) to allow only individuals with impressive credentials to vie for the positions, said that would fast-track the development of the game.

“The NSC should ensure that only credible persons who possess vast experiences occupy key positions in the federation to ensure the growth of the body.

“Such persons should be innovative, knowledgeable and passionate about the development of the sport. I am concerned about the quality of leadership that will take charge of the sport because kickboxing in the country needs vibrant leaders.

“The incoming board should have an idea on how to source for sponsors and be interested in exposing athletes to international competitions and technical officials to international seminars,” he urged.

Okon alleged that the fortunes of some sports continued to dwindle in Nigeria because of imposition of people with little knowledge as board members.

NVBF commends u-20 v’ball team

T

he first Vice President of the Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF), Ebenezer Morakinyo, has commended Nigeria’s U-20 women volleyball team that participated at the world championship in spite of their poor outing.

Morakinyo, who made the commendation yesterday in Abuja, said the Team Nigeria’s effort at the U-20 Women’s World Championship was lauded because it was their first international competition. Besides, he said the fledgling Nigerian side played against well exposed teams with vast experience in the game.

The Nigerian team placed

last at the championship after losing all its seven games in both the group stage and the classification round match.

The team lost its four group matches 0-3 to each of Turkey, Egypt and Italy and 2-3 to Algeria thereby placing fifth in Pool D and had to play in the classification match.

It also lost all the three matches in the classification match 0-3 to each of Puerto Rico, the U.S. and Thailand to finish in 20th place of the championship which held in Brno, Czech Republic.

The classification round match is a round robin for positions 17th to 20th.

“Their performance at the championship showed that we still need to do a lot of work to improve our playing level which is very important.

“And one thing we have to note is that they played against well exposed teams unlike our players who were just brought together for the qualifiers and championship.

“Our players have not been seriously exposed; apart from the African qualifiers which was hosted in Abuja in March, they have not played any serious international championship,’’ Morakinyo said.

He was however optimistic that the championship was the beginning for the team if they

maintain their level of discipline. “I believe that this is just the beginning for them because they are still very young.

“If they maintain their level of discipline, they will be able to go places, not only in Africa but in the world because most of them are within the ages of 18 and 19, so they still have many years of playing.’’

The seventh edition of the Federation of International Volleyball Women’s U-20 World Championship was held in Brno, Czech Republic from June 21 to June 30. Nigeria was one of the 20 countries which participated in the 10day event.

PAGE 47

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

Some Interesting Facts

A

n American Pornographic actress, Lisa Sparxxx, holds the record for Being Intimate with the most guys in a day.

She slept with 919 guys in a single day.

Holder of Guinness world record for the fattest woman, Pauline Potter, lost 100 pounds by Being Intimate 7 times a Day. In 1925 there was a short war between Bulgaria and Greece, all because a dog had crossed the border which they shared.

Eminem’s mother sued him for 10million dollars because he made offensive remarks about her in songs but she only received 1600 dollars.

The saltiest sea in the world is the Red Sea with 41 parts of salt per 1,000 parts of water.

TheeruptionofTamboravolcanoistheworld’sdeadliestVolcano in Indonesia in 1815 is estimated to have killed 90,000 people.

The Nile River in Africa is the longest river (6,825 kilometers) of the earth.

Shanghai, China is the largest city by population (13.3 million) in the world.

The Sahara Desert in northern Africa is more than 23 times the size of southern California’s Mojave Desert.

The White Sea, in Russia, has the lowest temperature, only -2 degrees centigrade.

Mostearthquakesaretriggeredlessthan50miles(80kilometers)

from the surface of the Earth.

Australia, (7,617.930 sq km) is widely considered part of a continental landmass, not officially an island. But without doubtitisthelargestislandonthe planet, and when combined with Oceania, the smallest continent on Earth.

The Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii is the largest volcanoon on Earth. It rises more than 50,000 feet (9.5 miles or 15.2 kilometers) above its base, which sits under the surface of the sea.

The Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf are connected by the Hormuz Strait.

The dormant volcano Mauna Kea (on the Big Island of Hawaii) could be considered the tallest mountain in the world. If

Leisure

you measure it from its base in the Hawaiian Trough (3,300 fathoms deep) to its summit of 13,796 feet, it reaches a height of 33,476 feet.

Someoftheoldestmountains in the world are the Highlands in Scotland . They are estimated to be about 400 million years old.

Birth Rate of Hong Kong is the lowest (7.29/1000) & Niger is highest (50.73/1000).

The Sarawak Chamber in Malaysia is the largest cave in the world is 2300 feet (701 meters) long, 1300 feet (400 meters) wide, and more than 230 feet (70 meters) high.

Northern Mariana Islands is only the country where death rate (2.29/1000) is lowest in the world.

The top three countries have the greatest number of historically active volcanoes are Indonesia, Japan, and the United States in descending order of activity.

Mount Everest 8850 meter (29035 ft) Nepal/China is the tallest mountain.

The world’s largest island is Greenland, it covers 840,000 square miles (2,176,000 square kilometers).

English is the second most spoken language (Native speakers 512 million) & the first is ChineseMandarin(morethen 1 billion speakers).

Eminem’s mother sued him for 10million dollars because he made offensive remarks about her in songs but she only received 1600 dollars.

Say what?

SUDODKU

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Varli, a 20-month-old chimpanzee and his nine-week-old pal Sutra, struck up the friendship at Myrtle Beach Safari, in South Carolina, U.S. Source: Dailymail.co.uk

www.peoplesdailyng.com

. . . putting the people first

WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

SPORTS LATEST

South Africa footballers set to honour Mandela

T

he South African football and rugby union teams will play matches at the FNB Stadium in Soweto on August 17, which has been designated Nelson Mandela Sports Day. South African sports ministry officials said the event would bring the country’s two most popular sports together in the former president’s honour.

The FNB stadium, formerly known as Soccer City, was the showpiece venue when South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup, with Mandela making his last major public appearance at the final there.

For many years, football and rugby were on opposite sides of the apartheid divide, and the ministry said it was hoped that their joint billing would unite people “in celebration and promotion’’ of Mandela’s achievements.

But it added that Mandela’s current condition - the 94-yearold is seriously ill in hospital - meant the announcement had come.

“At a time when South Africa is a nation in distress following the hospitalization of our father and icon Nelson Mandela, who also happens to be the primary inspiration behind this initiative.

The South African football team will play Burkina Faso in an exhibition match, while the Springboks will kick off their Rugby Championship campaign against Argentina.

The day will also include a match between former South African and Italian international footballers.

It is unfortunate that there is no more unity in the North as we used to know it. It is most unfortunate because the North used to be one entity — Dr. Lema Jibril lamenting disunity in the region during a special lecture

How Nigeria can punish the UK

I

n the week or so since the British Government under David Cameron announced a surprising decision to impose a £3000 cash bond on Visa applicants from Nigeria, Ghana, India, Pakistan and Sri-Lanka – all of them Commonwealth countries, we have heard a barrage of voices, most of them speaking trenchantly against the policy. However, there is a real fear that in the din of these very loud and vexatious discussions, the truth is becoming a victim as critical issues are sidelined by people who have interests that are less than wholesome.

No one, for instance, seems to be asking the question of how does Nigeria retaliate in the event that the U.K. goes ahead with this racially discriminatory policy?

You know that given the stubborn nature of U.K.’s international policy, they will not listen to any of the loud protests we have been making. The U.K. is not amenable to moral suasion. I was not too young to remember the debate in the 80s engendered by the U.K.’s decision to impose a Visa requirement on some Commonwealth citizens going into Britain. The list of those countries, as you know, was made up largely of African members of the Commonwealth and those from poor backgrounds in other parts of the world. There were no arguments or threats that were not advanced, including suggestions that the Commonwealth, stood the risk of irrelevance and disintegration.

Nothing deterred them from imposing the visa regime.

The U.K. has enormous financial problems at the moment and they are officially back in a recession. There is no indication of how long they will continue to sink deeper and deeper into financial crisis. In times like that, all nations have the bad habit of scape-goating foreigners for their difficulties.

If you are a Nigerian, you are already used to being profiled as the rogue element at all airports and public places especially in the

MUSINGS By

Garba Shehu garshehu@yahoo.co.in

Nigeria’s High Commissioner in UK, Amb. Dalhatu Tafida U.K. They blame us, not themselves for everything they fail to achieve or fix accordingly. Yet, we are not any more crooked or insincere as the British, the Europeans or the Americans. Today, there are 500 politicians in New York prisons for as varied offences as fraud, larceny and all kinds of felony. Every two minutes, a woman is being raped in New York and in this city, every minute records the mugging of a woman.

The English fraudsters stole all the money in the world’s biggest insurer, the Lloyds. U.K. Automobile maker MG Rover was so badly mismanaged that the English swallowed their pride and sold the company to the Chinese.

In America, Enron died and took with it to the graves, the famous accounting company, Arthur Anderson. Meryl Lynch’s vaults were emptied through fraudulent transactions. Millions were made homeless following the collapse of mortgage institutions and banks

such as Washington Mutual and Lehman Brothers. Mismanagement killed the Northern Rock and million others made cashless. Was it Nigerians who did these?

To avert the growing culture of theft and larceny in London, they recently set up the “Financial Conduct Authority.” That whistleblowing body did not say Nigerians caused all those financial troubles.

Why are we then targeted? I have read and really been amused by recent accounts of immigration frauds involving Nigerians caught in marriage scams. Did any of these immigration frauds happen without an Englishman or woman in cahoots with them?

If the U.K. has financial problems as we all see, do they have a legal or moral basis to burden others with them?

The fact that Nigerians are divided as a people in culture and viewpoints does not in any way suggest that we have no common interests. As clearly demonstrated by the reaction of the government, the National Assembly and the media, Nigerians won’t have anyone taking a cheap shot at them. Domestic differences do not presuppose that we don’t care for our people or our country.

Nigeria contributed to Britain achieving of the greatness of the United Kingdom. Nigeria lost valuable lives and material resources defending British global hegemony in World Wars 1 and 11.

We are not to be treated this way.

We have maintained the U.K. as a viable trading partner for over 100 years of our association. We can

U.K. has enormous financial problems at “ The the moment and they are officially back in a recession. There is no indication of how long they will continue to sink deeper and deeper into financial crisis. In times like that, all nations have the bad habit of scape-goating foreigners for their difficulties.

Nelson Mandela

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change trading partners. Look at how prosperous we have made the British Airways. All Abacha did was to cancel B.A.’s concessions and the British Prime Minister was kowtowing to the military dictator. This country’s support at international fora is almost always taken for granted by the U.K. That can change, as a mark of our protest over this silly and discriminatory policy.

Britain doesn’t listen to moral suasion. Their history, replete with facts shows that they only recognize military and economic strengths in others. The unfortunate thing for our country is that we did not have a good foreign policy from time to time. There is no doubt about the competence of Nigerian diplomats.

But the diplomats take their orders from the political leadership.

This government is totally devoid of a good understanding of world affairs. They don’t have men and women of intellectual caliber that can lead Nigeria and Africa to offset the kind of balance that has warranted this British arrogance.

On his next visit to Turkey, our President, Dr. Jonathan Goodluck should learn a few tricks from his Turkish friend, the Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey under Ataturk spared no effort to please Europe so that they can gain admission into the European Commission, now European Union, E.U. He ordered the call to prayers to be said in Turk, and not Arabic.

He banned women from wearing head scarf and the Madrassas teaching the Qur’an. He set up a directorate of Religious Affairs to ensure that orthodox Islam did not make a comeback. That still did not satisfy Europe. Even now, Europe has not given up its Turkophobia.

But Erdogan is a successful leader because he ignored much of European feelings and turned to new friends in Asia and the MiddleEast.

Today, Turkey is prosperous and a leading European economy because of the choices it made and everyone out there is talking about that country in sweetheart terms as a model for the Muslim world.

M.K.O. Abiola’s favorite proverb which I like is: “you can’t eat omlette without breaking eggs”.

Nigeria may have been tarnished in its image by corruption, scams and schemes. But we are a people with a proud history and a pride of place in the global community because of our contributions. Our government, more than any other one should be the first to recognize this. And defend it very well.

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