Peoples Daily Online

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

Vol. 10 No. 8

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

. . . putting the people first

Civil rebellion imminent in Nigeria — ex-IGP >> PAGE 2

Obasanjo shuns PDP BoT chair election >> PAGE 3

Safar 23, 1434 AH

N150

Six perish in Kogi road mishap >> PAGE 3

FG admits flaws in fuel subsidy payments

By Richard Ihediwa and Abdulwahab Isa

…As senate queries NNPC’s N240bn oil loan deal

he Federal Government yesterday admitted that hiccups from its end stalled prompt disbursement of the N161.6 billion supplementary budget for fuel subsidy approved by the National Assembly for free flow of products during the yuletide period.

This is just as the Senate has queried the N240 billion syndicated loan taken by the

Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to pay debts owed international fuel traders, saying it never at any time approved the borrowing for which the corporation has now mortgaged the nation’s 15,000 barrels of oil per day for five years.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala yesterday at a press briefing in

T

Abuja said the release of funds for the N161.6 billion subsidy was stalled by a process that entails converting the excess crude account which is in dollars to the Naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The National Assembly had approved a supplementary budget request in sum of N161.6 billion by the President late December for payment of fuel subsidy to oil

marketers with the hope of facilitating transportation during the yuletide season, but Nigerians observed Christmas and New Year midst an acute fuel scarcity.

Oil marketers reportedly besieged the CBN to verify their payments during the week but were shocked to discover the excess crude account at CBN was empty.

Explaining the “hiccups”, Okonjo-Iweala said: “The money

was approved to take care of the oil marketers and as at 31 of December, the Ministry of Finance had approved for this money to be available in the Central Bank Account and accessed by the marketers once they have presented their papers and their Sovereign Debt Notes have been issued.

“I understand what is being Contd on Page 2

OBJ advises Jonathan

Reach out to Boko Haram U.S. Congress puts Obama under pressure over sect — P3

By Abdulkadir Isa, with agency reports

F

ormer Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has said more could be done to reach out to the militant Islamist group Boko Haram to find out what leads it to carry out acts of violence.

In an interview with CNN, Obasanjo suggested the current government should adopt a dualtrack approach rather than just cracking down on the group.

“To deal with a group like that, you need a carrot and stick. The carrot is finding out how to reach out to them. When you try to reach out to them and they are not amenable to being reached out to, you have to use the stick,” he said.

He said President Goodluck Jonathan was “just using the stick” in his efforts. “He’s doing one aspect of it well, but the other aspect must not be forgotten.”

The Islamist militants, who operate chiefly in Nigeria's restive north, have carried out numerous deadly attacks on mosques, churches and businesses and are suspected of having links Contd on Page 2

Borno state Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, applying fertiliser to 5,000 hectares of irrigated wheat farm funded by the state government in New Marte, Marte local government area, which he visited on Monday. The farm is expected to create 20,000 jobs.

PAGE 2

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

CONTENTS News

2-10

Editorial

12

Op.Ed

13

Letters

14

Opinion

15

Metro

16-18

Business

19-22

S/Exchange

23

Property

24-27

Motoring

28

Arts

29-30

Civil rebellion imminent, warns Ex-NSA

By Lambert Tyem

F

ormer Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Gambo-Jimeta, yesterday warned that Nigeria is on the brink of a major political crisis if the leadership continues to trifle with the aspiration of citizens for good governance.

He accused successive administrations of neglecting the institutions that ensure the wellbeing of the nation.

Gambo-Jimeta , who is also a former National Security Adviser (NSA) sounded the warning a t national summit on security challenges organized by the police and Vanguard newspapers, explained that the militant Boko Haram sect was the consequence

G

overnor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa state yesterday bounced backed from the trouncing he received at the congresses of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) last week as the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) has recalled announced the sacked state executives believed to be loyal to the governor.

The struggle between PDP National Chairman, Alhaji bamanga and Nyako for the control of Adamawa PDP got to a climax last October when the NWC under Tukur dissolved the executive committee led by Alhaji Mijinyawa Kugama and replaced

Int’l

31-34

Digest

36

Politics

37-40

Sports

41-46

Leisure

47

Columnist

48

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Gambo-Jimeta said.

He challenged the federal government to build a robust defence and internal security system, pointing out that the duty of the government was to provide security for citizens.

He praised police officers and other security operatives that had died in the line of duty and those facing danger daily.

The former IGP called for a strong judiciary to ensure justice for the people to avoid a breakdown of the society.

President Goodluck Jonathan, in his remarks, said that the time has come to address the security crisis facing the nation, adding that the setting up of a presidential committee on police reform was part of the initiative to build the

police’s capacity, address deficiencies observed in recruitment and operations of the force.

Jonathan who was represented by the Minister of Police Affairs, Capt. Caleb Olubolade, said that the nation would remain secure under his administration.

"Federal overnment will support efforts to professionalize the police," he assured, just as he acknowledged Vanguard Newspapers' partnership with the police.

Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, stated that the summit was convened to enable critical stakeholders brainstorm on a ways out of the current security quagmire.

Nyako bounces back as NWC recalls Adamawa PDP exco

By Lawrence Olaoye

CPC and political revolution, Page 37

of bad administration.

The sect’s insurgency “is selfinflicted”, he said.

According to him, the colonial administration had its priorities clear and provided adequate funding for security forces, infrastructure and other institutions that ensured the wellbeing of the country.

But today, he said, "things are going wrong, poverty is everywhere; when you travel from Lagos to Kano, people are living in basic conditions, no water, no security; criminals are well armed, government functionaries are well guarded while ordinary Nigerians are left at the mercies of criminals.

"There is a disconnect between the people and the government,"

it with a care-taker committee, headed by Amb. Umar Damagun.

The caretaker committee was mandated to run the party in the state for three months.

National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, last October alleged that the dissolved Adamawa executive committee under Kugama flagrantly disregarded decisions of the NWC. But in a dramatic u-turn on its earlier decision, the party in a briefing addressed by its Deputy National Chairman, Sam Sam Jaja, with nine members of its NWC in attendance, declared that the decision to rescind the party’s earlier resolution was taken after an emergency meeting of the NWC.

Jaja also told newsmen the NWC was unaware of the congresses conducted by the Damagun-led care-taker committee in the state even as he insisted that Damagun was never asked to conduct any congress in the state.

Although no reason was adduced to the sudden change of mind of the members of the NWC, there are speculations that it may be unconnected with the threat from the governors on the platform of the party to engineer the dissolution of the current PDP NWC under Tukur should it refuse to rescind its resolution of the Adamawa PDP Exco.

The PDP governors, according

our source, had threatened to move for the dissolution of the PDP NWC and the decision to backpedal on the suspension of Adamawa Exco was to placate the PDP governors who are said to have fully mobilized to move against the NWC should the status quo remain.

Asked why Tukur was absent at the briefing, Metuh explained that the National Chairman was busy preparing for the Board of Trustees meeting scheduled to hold yesterday in the Presidential villa.

He said, “There is a Board of Trustees meeting today and at that meeting he is going to preside; that’s the most important issue that he is handling.”

Reach out to Boko Haram, Obasanjo advises Jonathan Contd from Page 1 to al Qaeda.

Obasanjo said he had tried to reach out to Boko Haram about a year and a half ago through a lawyer who was acting as the group's proxy, and had asked if they had external backing.

The lawyer told him that the group was receiving support from other Nigerians who have resources overseas or “other organizations from abroad,” Obasanjo said.

“If they had 25% support a year and a half ago, today that

support has doubled,” the former president said.

Analysts suggest that reaching out to Boko Haram may be increasingly difficult because the group has split into different factions, some with a domestic focus and others with a more panjihadi approach.

Resolving the issue is key to Nigeria's progress, according to Obasanjo, who now heads an eponymous foundation that is working to promote human security across Africa.

“Boko Haram undermines

Contd from Page 1 done as at this moment is that that money is being converted from dollar into naira because it is from our crude oil money. That takes a few days. A few technical issues are been done. The money is available”, she assured.

Explaining further the process it entails, she said; “as of now, 23 oil marketers have already completed their paper work for N94 billion that has been approved and issued to them.

Before your sovereign Debt Note is honuoured and issued; you have to complete your paper work. For the balance, we are waiting for the others to come and complete their paper work to complete their balance. The process is own, the money has been released and is being converted into naira by the

central bank and I don’t think there is any issue with this”.

Asked how long marketers need to endure when a sovereign debt note is issued to them, she said: “It doesn’t normally take long. If there is money in the domestic excess crude account to honour; they get it immediately.

Sometimes you have to shift money from one account to the other. Usually if the money is in the dollar account of the excess crude and we have to shift it to the domestic that means it has to be converted into naira by the Central Bank. We have to authenticate the amount and this process normally takes five days and a week between the Central Bank and Ministry of Finance to accomplish. The central bank is very strict by trying to have all

security, and anything that undermines security undermines development, undermines education, undermines health, undermines agriculture and food and nutrition security,” he said.

International rights group Human Rights Watch says Boko Haram has killed more than 2,800 people.

In a report published late last year, Amnesty International condemned the increasingly brutal attacks carried out by Boko Haram since 2009, but said Nigeria's security forces "have perpetrated

serious human rights violations" in response. A military spokesman rejected the allegations.

The U.S. State Department has accused Boko Haram of attacking mosques and churches to incite tensions between the two religious groups, hoping to drive a wedge between them. It has condemned some of the group's leaders for alleged ties to al Qaeda.

However, despite the ongoing challenges the country faces, Obasanjo said he does not foresee Nigeria ever splitting in two, into north and south.

FG admits flaws in fuel subsidy payments the documentation”.

However, querying the N240 billion NNPC loan deal, the Senate yesterday said that the National Assembly was not aware of the deal and did not approve of it.

Senate’s spokesman, Senator Enyinnya Abaribe said the deal was in violation of the nation’s law as it did not have the nod of the National Assembly.

According to him, “under the law, no government agency can borrow money without the approval of the National Assembly. We have to know if that was done first, but then the question to ask under the circumstance is; what happened to the N161billion supplementary appropriation that was approved by the National Assembly for government to take care of the

shortfall in the fuel subsidy budget, particularly to ensure steady supply of petroleum product during the yuletide”.

Also reacting, Chairman Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Magnus Abe said there is no record to show that approval was given to NNPC to borrow the money.

"As at this afternoon, there's no record of the loan deal before us. We are still trying to confirm the loan from NNPC. The committee read about the loan deal on the pages of newspapers like other Nigerians and we have had concerned Nigerians calling to ask whether the National Assembly approved the loan. We have no record of such before us," he said.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

PAGE 3

U.S. Congress puts pressure on Obama over Boko Haram T

he United States Congress has directed the State Department to forward to both the Senate and the House of Representatives, within 90 days, a report "describing the strategy of the United States to counter the threat posed by Boko Haram."

Also Congress has ordered an intelligence assessment on the “organisational structure, operational goals, and funding sources of Boko Haram.”based on a request made by the US-based Christian Association of NigerianAmericans (CANAN).

Both houses of the US Congress have already added a Defence Department responsibility to the issue which, up till now, was only

the statutory purview of the State Department.

According to a Bill, signed into law by President Obama on January 2, 2013, both the US Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense are to jointly submit the report, which the law says would be confidential.

Observers of US government see the move by the Congress and President as a confidence-building measure and a consensus, amidst criticism of the State Department's refusal to designate Boko Haram a terrorist organisation, as recommended by other US government agencies like the Justice Department and the FBI. While the new bill, now

enacted into law, does not mandate the labeling of Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO), as demanded by the CANAN, and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), US Congressional officials say it is a step in the right direction since the bill to designate sect an FTO will be reintroduced again in the new US Congress session that started last week.

Two US Congressmen - Peter King (New York) and Patrick Meehan (Pennsylvania), who are playing active roles in the push for the US government to get tougher on Boko Haram, last week assured CANAN officials that the call to designate the sect an FTO would

be re-tabled in the current Congress.

The law was one of the lastminute outcomes of last year's US Congressional session that ended with the Fiscal Cliff agreement.

Apart from the report, the US Congress has ordered both the Secretary of State and Defence Secretary to submit the new law on Boko Haram within 90 days. It also directed the US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to submit, within 180 days from the enactment of the bill on Wednesday, "a classified intelligence assessment of the Nigerian organisation known as Boko Haram."

Katsina CPC MPs: Again, court fails to deliver judgment

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

T

he judgment in the suit filed before Federal High Court in Abuja by a faction of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in Katsina state challenging the withdrawal of their certificates of return by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was again botched yesterday.

The court sitting before Justice Gladys Olotu had for three times, fixed dates for judgment that is yet to be delivered.

Supporters of the parliamentarians were for the third time disappointed yesterday as they were told that the judgment was not ready and that new date for the judgment will be communicated to parties in the matter.

Two Senators and eight members of the House of Representatives sued INEC, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Clerk of the National Assembly, CPC and 10 members of the National Assembly to court over INEC’s action which threw them out of the National Assembly.

Pandemonium in Borno as traders foil robbery From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri

Kebbi state Governor, Alhaji Saidu Dakingari (middle) inspecting Birnin Kebbi-Makera road under construction, yesterday.

Photo: NAN

Gunmen kill three in Kano From Edwin Olofu, Kano & Sam Egwu, Lokoja

U

nidentified gunmen on Monday night opened fire at a local tea joint killing three persons in Tudun Maliki area by Zoo Road, Kano. The area is a hotbed of attacks by gunmen.

Eyewitness account said the gunmen numbering three stormed the area on a motorbike and started

…as six perish in Kogi road mishap

shooting sporadically and scared away people in a nearby mosque before killing three people.

Police spokesman in Kano, ASP Musa Magaji Majia confirmed the attack, stating that three persons lost their lives while another sustained injury during the attack.

The police also said no arrest was made but investigation has

since commenced.

In another development, six persons were yesterday killed while four others sustained high degrees of injury in an auto crash on the Lokoja-Abuja expressway.

The sector commander of the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC) in charge of Kogi state, Mr. Mohammed Garba, said the

accident occurred at Karara Village around 11 am.

He said the accident happened when a Toyota Corolla with registration number FKJ634XB and Toyota Hiace GE 204 EKV rammed into each other.

He said a total of 10 persons were involved in the crash wherein four males and two females died on the spot. According to him, injured persons were rushed to Specialist Hospital Lokoja while the dead were deposited at the morgue of the hospital.

Obasanjo shuns PDP BoT chair election

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

T

he conspicuous absence of former President Olusegun Obasanjo overshadowed the election of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT) chairman held at the State House Banquet Hall yesterday.

The former president and strongman of the party had been the BoT chairman until his recent resignation.

Some members of the board who spoke to State House

correspondents shortly before the commencement of the meeting including Josephine Anenih, Governor Ibrahim Shema, National Secretary of the PDP Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Ambassador Hassan Adamu, said as elders of the party, the board is supposed to be the voice of the party.

They explained that the expectation of most members was to have a BoT chairman that will carry every member along and assist in repositioning the PDP. "The board is supposed to be very

objective and above the issue of push me I push you politics. The board knows that its role is advisory," Anenih said.

Fielding questions on the allegation that the party had already chosen the Bot chairman before the official elections, Oyinlola added that this is the pastime of PDP detractors, saying "they will always say that. Let them say."

Speaking on the same issue, Shema added that it is normal for any party or institution to decide

its leadership either by election, consensus or proclamation.

"Even in the National Assembly, decisions are taken on the basis of verbal proclamation.

The ayes always come up against the nays."

He continued: "The party is at liberty to choose the best way for it to choose its leaders. We remain the best, largest and most democratic party in the country. There is no tribe, religion, local government area or ward in the country where the PDP is represented.

S

erious pandemonium broke out in the major commercial center of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, yesterday evening, when traders foiled a robbery attack at the Monday Market.

The incident led to sporadic gunshots in the market, causing serious commotion, with everyone scampering for safety.

This came barely 24 hours after a similar incident in which unknown gunmen stormed the same market and robbed traders of undisclosed amounts of money.

It was gathered that the incident occurred at about 4.30pm when five young men, armed with assault rifles, raided the area in a commando style and fired sporadic shots in different directions.

The invaders reportedly divided themselves into two, with one group entering some shops to hold traders at gun point.

The other group was said to have stayed outside and stationed themselves at strategic locations, firing sporadically into the air, presumably to scare away anyone from coming to the aid of the traders held at gun point.

While this was going on, hundreds of gallant traders in other parts of the market were attracted by the horrifying gunshots, but summoned courage and hurriedly stormed the shops which were taken over by the hoodlums, throwing stones at the gunmen.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

PAGE 4

Navy redeploys flag rank officers

By Joy Baba

T

he headquarters of the Nigerian Navy has announced the appointment and redeployment of some of its senior flag rank officers including 49 Rear Admirals, and 106 Commodores and 69 captains.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Naval Director of Information, Commodore Kabiru Aliyu yesterday in Abuja.

According to the statement, some of the newly appointed officers include Rear Admiral DO Osuofa who was Deputy Commandant Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, now Director of Defence Intelligence Agency; Rear Admiral UO Jiibrin, former Chief of Logistics, Naval Headquarters now Director of Training, Defence Headquarters; and Commodore D. S Audu, Commander, Central Pay Office now chairman, Military Pensions Board amongst others.

Aliyu in the statement further said most of the appointments will take effect in the second and third week of January, 2013.

Politicians, religious leaders killed Nigeria, says Zuru emir From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

T

he insensitivity and noncommitment displayed by political office holders towards the welfare of the people and the acquisition of material things by some religious leaders in the country have been linked to Nigeria’s underdevelopment.

This was the submission of the Emir of Zuru in Kebbi state, Alhaji Mohammed Sani. The emir spoke at the 16th Annual Auchi Day while was marked in Auchi, Etsako West local government area of Edo state.

According to him, politicians through their greed deliberately destroy the political space and then run to religious and traditional leaders for moral correction.

Sani who was the chairman of the event and represented by the District Head of Senchi, Alhaji Muhammed Senchi, said: “Simply put, Nigeria in reality is in a mess and is plunging into confusion”.

Edo state governor, Adams Oshiomhole in his remarks, said his administration would continue to work for the development and unity of the people of the state and urged religious leaders to play their roles in building a better society.

“Under my stewardship, the government will continue to work closely with the traditional institution because they have helped to make the people of the state know that we are all one regardless of accidents of birth, language, customs and traditions.

The least obligation we owe the state is to leave it more united than we met it”, he said.

The Otaru of Auchi, Alhaji Aliru Momoh used the occasion to solicit for prayers for the continued coexistence of Nigeria, insisting that for the Country to progress, Nigerians should be more committed about what unite them instead of divisive tendencies.

NPC yet to execute Presidency order on BRISIN project From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

A

s controversy continues to rage over the implementation of the Basic Registry and Information System in Nigeria (BRISIN), a multibillion naira data integrated project conceived to provide the fundamental infrastructure for information flow from grassroots to the national level, fresh feelers indicate that the National Planning Commission (NPC) may have flouted an order from the Presidency directing the extension of the project.

Investigations reveal that the Presidency in a letter dated 26th December 2010 signed by the Chief of Staff to President Jonathan, Chief Mike Oghdiomhe

titled: “Re: Basic Registry and Information System in Nigeria (BRISIN) RELEASE OF FUNDS, OFFICIAL FLAG OFF DATE AND EXTENTION OF PILOT TO GEOPOLITICAL ZONES”, ordered the extension of the project to each state in the country’s six geopolitical zones and budgetary allocations where made to the effect.

A source in the ministry said the extension of the pilot project was to ensure immediate national impact through creating more jobs from the takeoff.

Our source however alleged that the ministry has failed to makes plans for the inclusion of other states, while stalling the release of a N300 million take-off

grant from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) ministry.

“Because of the vital importance of the project, FCT rebudgeted in 2009 and various communication transpired between Dermo Impex (the company handling the project), the Presidency and the National Planning Commission, to the point that Minister Shamsudeen Usman confirmed to President Jonathan that without BRISIN, it would be difficult to implement vision 20: 2020 and the MDG goals. At this affirmation, the President requested that enough funds be made available in both FCT and other agencies’ budgets including NPC; the President authorised the extension of pilot to one state from each geo-political zone to allow

national impact from the onset, FCT actually increased their 2011 budget but could not release it since the one budgeted and released has not been used”, our source added.

Following an exclusive report on the stalemate of the project published in Peoples Daily newspaper last year, a technical meeting was held penultimate week and a steering committee and stakeholders meeting would follow to discuss strategy for implementation and funding systems.

The project was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at its session of May, 18 2007, with initial 300 million takeoff grant released by FCT Ministry to the NPC in 2008.

L-R: Yobe state Governor, Malam Ibrahim Gaidam, receiving an award for the Best Housing Governor for 2012 from the state’s Commissioner for Housing, Malam Muhammad Ago Dala, yesterday in Damaturu. The award was presented at the Abuja Housing Show where the commissioner represented the governor.

Kwara gov warns against students’ late resumption From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin Kwara state government has reaffirmed its commitment to the provision of adequate infrastructure for educational institutions in the state to create the necessary conducive atmosphere for learning.

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed stated this yesterday when he paid an unscheduled visit to Government Secondary School, Ilorin to assess its infrastructural needs and the general state of the

school.

The governor, in an interaction with the principal and other staff of the school, said government would no longer accept a situation where students resume after holidays at will warning that the school authorities must evolve a system to check students’ excesses.

“We can’t continue like this.

The students must be disciplined. We must bequeath a working system to the coming generation.

The existing

infrastructure must be maintained.

Things were working and this was what resulted in the quality students that we had”.

The governor said a lot more was still required to move the school to the standard that would support real human capital development, one of the cardinal objectives of the administration.

He added that such unscheduled visits would continue to be paid to institutions, agencies and parastatals in the

state to ascertain their levels of performance in line with government policy of a strong emphasis on performance management, monitoring and reward through performance contracts.

Principal of the school, Dr. Abdukadir Abdulganiyu, who conducted the governor round the premises, said that the school has a total population of 650 students, including exchange programme students from other states of the federation.

Kaduna council of chiefs meets on security From Nasiru Mu’azu Isa, Kaduna

A

meeting of Kaduna state traditional rulers was held yesterday at Lugard Hall, the Kaduna State House of Assembly.

Chairman of the council and Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris,

said the purpose of the meeting was to discuss ways of ensuring peace in the state.

Idris said as royal fathers, it was imperative for the members to sit, discuss and find ways to ensure the safety and well being of their subjects. He said the royal fathers are prepared to assist in ensuring

the safety of all by engaging their subject’s cooperation to inform the security agencies in the case of any breach of peace.

The royal father said the issue of security is not restricted to the North alone but almost all parts of the country. He stressed that Nigeria and Kaduna state need

peace for growth and development in other to move to greater heights.

The Kaduna state Commissioner for Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Gaiya Haruna, said the meeting was for leaders to find a common front in the attainment of peace in the state.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

PAGE 5

Court declines granting ex-parte order against Capital Oil

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

T

he Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday declined to grant an ex-parte order registering a London High Court order freezing the assets of Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah and Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited for enforcement in the country.

Access Bank Plc which obtained the injunction last year from Queen’s Bench Division, London, had yesterday brought the application ex-parte praying the court for an order permitting the registration of the London order

and to enforce it as if it were an order of the Federal High Court.

But Justice Abdul Kafarati who heard the counsel’s arguments in his chamber asked Access Bank to put Capital Oil and Gas Industries on notice to enable them present their own side of the case.

The Queen’s Bench Division,had placed a worldwide order (Mareva injunction) against the assets of Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah and his company, Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, pending the determination of a suit brought by the bank.

The order by the UK court is

aimed at preserving the assets of the respondents pending the determination of the suit brought before it by the bank.

The bank had alleged that Ubah and his company had fraudulently diverted the petroleum products it financed under the joint venture agreement between Capital Oil and Coscharis Motors Limited.

Also restrained alongside Ubah and Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, are Rofos Navigation Limited, Xifias Navigation Limited, Heli Navigation Limited and Tutbury Maritime Limited.

The London order by Mr. Justice Cooke was given three days after Ubah and his company obtained a similar injunction last year in Nigeria restraining the bank and Coscharis Motors Limited from interfering with his assets.

Mr. Justice Cooke had ordered that until the return date or further order of the court, Ubah and company, Capital Oil, must not remove from England, Wales or any other part of the United Kingdom, any of their assets which are in England and Wales valued at over $133 million or in any way dispose of, deal with or diminish the

UN Women reiterate commitment to partnering Nigerian media

L-R: Publisher, Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Sam Amuka, Chairman of the event, Alhaji Gambo Jimeta, representative of the President, Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade (rtd), Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, Interior Minister, Comrade Abba Moro and other dignitaries after the official opening of the National Summit on Security Challenges in Nigeria, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

By Maryam Garba Hassan

U

N Women has reiterated its commitment to continue to partner with the Nigerian media which it described as “very important partner in UN Women’s work” and other relevant stakeholders to alleviate the suffering of the Nigerian woman and for its impact to be felt.

This was made known yesterday in Abuja by the UN Women representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Dr. Grace Ongile at a one-day workshop organised for UN Women with the media in preparation for the visit of UN Women Under-Secretary General and Executive Director, Michelle Bachelet to Nigeria.

She explained that gender and women are important factors in the development process which is why the United Nations deemed it fit to give it special recognition by establishing UN Women adding that her experience over the years has made her realise the role of the mass media is not to be taken lightly.

According to Ongile, with the challenges of diminishing economic resources and house earning power, the need to look at women not as commodities but as partners in progress and development is imperative and critical as a survival strategy.

value of any of their assets up to the same value.

The injunction also covers the following assets: The property and assets of the respondent’s business known as Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited at 1, Capital Oil Close, Westminster; Ibru Jetty Complex, Ibafon Apapa, Lagos State; or the sale of the money, if any of them have been sold.

Counsel representing Capital Oil and Gas Industries, Prince Orji Nwafor-Orizu, said yesterday that all the orders against assets of his client had been ex-parte which ought not to be. He said that they are waiting until they are served.

The matter has been adjourned to February 11, 2013 for hearing of the motion on notice.

Flood: Kwara govt wants dredging, dike around River Niger From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

T

he Kwara state government yesterday suggested that to avoid incessant flood disasters in Nigeria, the Federal Government needs to construct a dike as well as dredge the River Niger to channel the river towards the sea.

The deputy governor of the

state, Elder Peter Kisira who stated this during the visit of the Presidential Committee on Flood Relief to victims of last year’s floods in the state, said the measure would go a long way to avert series of flood disasters in the country.

"Kwara state is surrounded by the Kainji, Shiroro and Jebba dams. As a result of this, every year, when water comes off these

dams, nearby communities have to abandon their residences. This is the experience we have been having for many years.

"That is why we thank Mr. President for giving this special attention to those who are affected by the disaster. We are very grateful for the visit of the Presidential Committee on Disaster and Relief/Rehabilitation.

"It has been suggested that we should relocate our people who are affected by the flood. We know that it is a good one where land is available and where there will be no communal clash as it had been in the past.

Representative of the leader of the team, the Presidential Committee on Disaster and Relief/ Rehabilitation, Mr. John Owoicho in his speech, said the committee’s visit was to ascertain the level of damage and what the Federal Government could do for the affected victims.

Educationist condemns examination Ad hoc electoral staff threaten protest that’s why we at this study centre don’t do malpractice so. I’m a true Christian, I won’t lie to you, over allowances in Benue

By Zainab Yahaya Kandi

A

n educationist, Ifeanyi James, has condemned the culture of cheating in examinations which pervades the land, describing it as ungodly.

Mr. James proprietor of Abuja-based Victory Study Centre located at LGE School, Jabi, made this assertion in a chat with our reporter.

“It is ungodly to cheat in exams”, he said.

“As they say, cheating does not pay. And

cheating is ungodly”.

He enjoined students, parents and educationist alike to put in their best; adding: “Nothing good comes easy, and to succeed in schooling or education, one must put in the best possible effort”, he added.

On government’s effort in terms of encouraging private and public schools alike, the educationist said from his personal experience, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has been proactive in that regard.

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

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residing officers as well poll clerks engaged by the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC), are bracing for a show down with the commission following its refusal to pay their entitlements two months after the election.

Speaking to our correspondent while declining identification, the affected staff lamented their neglect by the commission alleging that all other officers had been paid.

Chairman of the commission, Prof. Philip

Ahire, had prior to the election in December, boasted that the commission had enough funds to pay all staff as well as adhoc staff after the elections. This was even as the state assembly had approved a supplementary budget of an undisclosed amount to the commission to conduct the election.

When contacted on phone, BSIEC Commissioner for Information, Mr. Stephen Amenger, confirmed that they owe the adhoc staff but explained that arrangements are almost completed to pay the remaining categories of the staff and urged them to be patient.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

Yuguda reiterates commitment to non-formal education

L-R: Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa'i; Task Team Leader, World Bank Step- B Project, Mr. Irasen Appasamy; and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Dr. Macjohn Nwabiala, during the National Education Sector Steering Committee meeting, yesterday in Abuja.

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauch

G

overnor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi state has reiterated the commitment of his administration to the promotion of adult and non formal education in order to ensure that the target of education for all is achieved in the state.

A press release and signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Ishola Michael Adeyemi yesterday, stated that the structures formerly meant for the College of Agric will now be used by the Adult and Non Formal Education Institute, Kangere.

According to him, the need for the college to move from its present location in Yelwa has been overtaken by recent developments.

He also declared that new structures will be added to the institute which had never been renovated since it was established many years ago just as he directed the site engineer to ensure that recreational facilities were provided because, according to him, after series of academic activities the students need to relax and recreate.

On the quality of work done at the site, the governor commended the contractor for a job well done and in accordance with specifications; urging him to ensure that the quality was maintained in all the work that will be done at the site.

Traditional ruler urges labour leaders to brace up for 2015 From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

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aramount ruler of Ukum in Benue state, Chief Daniel Dzahan, has lauded the role labour leaders in the country play in championing the cause of the ordinary Nigerians and tasked them to brace up and contest for political positions in 2015.

Chief Dzahan who made this call during a visit by the national president of Agricultural and Allied Employees Union of Nigeria (AAEUN), Comrade Simon Anchaver in his palace at Zaki Biam, yesterday, noted that labour leaders are prudent in the management of both human and material resources at their disposal.

"Labour leaders can offer Nigerians the much desired credible leadership. We know them as good managers of both human and material resources. They feel the pains of the people, because they understand the language of the common man on the streets. That is why I am urging you people to join partisan politics by coming out for elective positions".

"Today every Nigerian irrespective of political affiliation is proud of Governor Adams Oshiomhole, a renowned labour leader, because of his outstanding performance in office. Hence I implore more labour leaders to take a cue from him and offer themselves for higher service to our people", the royal father said.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Ex-PTDF boss awards N25m scholarship in Katsina From Lawal Sa'idu Funtua, Katsina

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mmediate past ExecutiveSecretary of Petroleum Technology Development Fund, (PTDF) Engineer Muttaqa Rabe Darma, has awarded scholarships worth N25 million to 102 primary school pupils going into junior secondary schools across the state.

Speaking at the award ceremony yesterday in Katsina, Darma noted that the funds formed part of his N21.6 million pension benefit where he also provided additional N3

million to cover the entire cost of the scheme.

The ex-PTDF boss noted that the 102 pupils selected to benefit from the scheme were indigent students whose parents could not shoulder the responsibility of their school fees and other needs.

"We conducted a thorough screening exercise where students taking between first to fifth positions in their respective schools were selected and a special examination was conducted for them. Out of the 760 selected from the zonal education offices across the state 102 were the lucky ones",

he added.

Darma disclosed that the scheme would cover costs of their school fees and any other requirements including books, school informs among others, adding that "in terms of education we are now your parents".

According to him, he was particular ly encourage d by the challenge thrown to them by Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema during a meeting with Katsina indigenes resident in Abuja, where he said the governor tasked them to assists in

developing the state.

In a remark, the former governor of defunct Katsina state, Alhaji Muhammad Lawal Kaita, hailed the initiative of the ex-PTDF boss which he said was the only investment that would the secure the future and survival of the society.

Also speaking, Alhaji Haruna Dalhatu, the chairman of Partnership and Initiative for Development and Alleviation of Poverty, an NGO running the scheme, disclosed that last year 52 students from the state enjoyed similar awards from the initiative.

Nasarawa revenue board to prosecute tax evaders From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

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he Nasarawa state Board of Internal Revenue has threatened to prosecute any resident found to be evading the payment of tax.

Acting chairman of the board, Usman Okposhi, sounded the warning in a speech he delivered yesterday, at the opening ceremony of a sensitisation workshop on Tax Payer Identification Number, which held at the Taal Conference Hotel in Lafia.

Okposhi warned that the board will not spare anybody who defaults in tax payment, stressing that it is determined to use the powers conferred on it by the personal income Tax Act. While maintaining that tax payment is not an option but compulsory as demanded by law, the acting board chairman disclosed that his agency has strategised for voluntary compliance with tax payment, even as he lamented that the culture of tax payment is dying

as a result of corruption and the peoples lack of confidence in governance.

Okposhi stated that with the coming of the CPC administration, the story is changing in Nasarawa, with tax payers willing to pay their tax, having seen their money at work, in the construction of new roads, water supply and the upgrade of electricity.

He maintained that with intervention from the state government to the board, which has led to the

appointment of professional tax consultants, with staff kept abreast of the rudiments of tax administration, the state is set to double its revenue collection.

He however disclosed that as a result of 2011 amendment of the Personal Income Tax Act, the state witnessed a sharp decline of about 44 percent in its PAYE collection but that the consultant has exposed hitherto unexploited revenue sources, as well as blocked leakages in the collection and remittance of tax.

Water vendors decry low sales in Jigawa

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ome water vendors in Dutse, the Jigawa state capita,l said they were recording low sales due to the harmattan season.

The vendors told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse yesterday, that the cold weather was affecting their business negatively as people now made less use of water.

One of the vendors, Abubakar Musa, said he has been selling between three and four trucks of water since the beginning of the harmattan season, unlike during the hot season when he could sell 10 trucks.

Musa said his sales during the hot season, which was N2, 000 daily, had now

plummeted to between N800 and N1, 000. He, however, said that the business had been good to him as he was able to build a house and sustain his family.

Another vendor, Habibu Babangida, said the cold weather had reduced his earnings from N1,600 to N600. Babangida said that the

situation was not also favourable to him because he was finding it difficult to sustain himself with his current earning. He said that the situation had forced many people doing the same business to embrace other businesses while some had returned to their villages to engage in dry season farming. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

Kogi pledges support to police From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

K

ogi state government has restated its readiness to support the Nigerian Police Force in combating crime and criminality in the state.

The pledge was made by the Kogi State Governor, Capt Idris Wada at a National Summit on Security Challenges in Nigeria with the theme Addressing Nigeria’s Security Challenges for Sustainable Peace and Development, held in Abuja.

In a statement issued in Lokoja, the Kogi State Deputy Governor Yomi Awoniyi who stood in for Wada at the occasion, noted that the country is currently witnessing several security challenges which he attributed to neglect of agencies saddled with Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development , Hajiya Zainab Maina (middle), United Nations Women (UNW) Country Representative, Grace Ongile (right), and Chief Executive Officer, Bronz and Onyx International, Moji Makanjuola, during a workshop for media on gender related issues, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Madalla blast: Niger acknowledges CBN’s N25m donation

Cement: FG to review N backward integration policy

From Iliya Garba, Minna

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem he Federal Government will review the Backward Integration Policy in the cement sector with a view to consolidating the success so far recorded.

Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga said during a meeting with stakeholders in the cement industry that a new cement policy would be unveiled soon.

In attendance at the meeting were: Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Lafarge Cement WAPCO Nigeria Plc, Mr. Joseph Hudson; Chairman, BUA Group, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu; Group Managing Director, Flour Mills Plc, Chief Emmanuel Ukpabi ; Chairman Ibeto Group, Chief Cletus Ibeto and Group Representative, Dangote Industries Limited, Mr. Isa Tata Yusuf.

“Following the tremendous success recorded through the introduction and rigorous implementation of the Backward Integration Policy in the cement industry, we are planning to review the entire policy to consolidate on the gains so far recorded. We have achieved everything we set for ourselves 10 years ago when the Backward Integration Policy was introduced and we want to thank all stakeholders and investors in the sector for the success story recorded so far.

“However, we want to take the next step as part of our strategy on the way forward. We are forming a group of people that will look at the cement policy in details and come up with the policy response that we need to have in place to take that next step that will make us a major exporter and user of cement in terms of consumption.”

He continued: “In 2002, the

T

major priority of the country’s Backward Integration Policy was about cement production from limestone. I am delighted to say that after 10 years of implementation of BIP, the good news is that we started with 2 million tons capacity but today we have about 28 million tons capacity of cement, investment of about $6billion; which provides direct and indirect employment for about 2 million people. And because of what we have done together, we have been able to save the country foreign exchange of about N210billion per year.

“For the first time ever, this ministry did not issue any import licence in 2012. This is a remarkable achievement and a major economic success for our country. However, we want to carry out a deeper review of the cement sector to ensure that it is more competitive not just locally but internationally because we are at a point where we should be thinking about exporting some of our products.

“This means that we need to look at the overall structure including the current pricing, availability, affordability, in

addition to developing an export strategy for the sector.”

Aganga said that the ministry would work with all the stakeholders in the sector to ensure its sustainable growth and development.

He said, “At the end of the day, this is one of the sectors that Nigeria should, and will be rightly known for as one of the greatest contributors to the Gross Domestic Product of the country. This is the key message that I want to pass across in terms of where we are today and what our plans are in terms of where we want to be going forward. I want to carry everyone along in terms of what we are looking at and incorporate your inputs into what we are planning to do so that at the end of the day, it will be a win-win situation for all the manufacturers, consumers and the Nigerian economy at large.

“Hopefully, before the end of this week, the committee will be set up. There is no industrial policy that has been as successful as the BIP in the cement industry.

So, we have a duty to make sure that we protect the sector and continue to see it grow.”

Accidents claim 27 persons in Katsina

N

o fewer than 27 persons were killed in various road accidents in Katsina state in the last quarter of 2012, year, the Sector Commander of the FRSC in the state, Alhaji Habu Dauda, has said. Dauda said) in Katsina yesterday that 114 others sustained injuries in the road mishaps recorded across the state within the period under review.

He said that during the period, 37 accidents were recorded in the state involving 62 vehicles, which led to the figures captured.

“This indicated a slight reduction in the number of road mishaps recorded in the same period in 2011 in the state when 40 accidents were recorded,” he said.

The commander expressed concern over the rate of motor accidents in the state even as there were good roads across the state.

He, however, attributed the occurrence of accidents mostly to over-speeding, over-loading, wrong over-taking and dangerous driving by drivers in the state.. (NAN)

maintaining law and order over the years.

The Governor however, advocated, discipline, motivation, training and retraining as well as better budgetary allocation and funding to the Nigerian police and other security agencies to enable them cope with the challenges .

Capt Wada described Kogi as a peaceful State following deliberate efforts put in place by the present administration.

While describing effective security as a responsibility of all, he pointed out that the State is a safe haven for doing business.

He assured the police and other security agencies in the state of continuous Government support to enable them protect lives and properties.

iger state government said it has received the sum of N25 million donated by the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN to the victims of the December 25, 2011 bomb blast in Madalla.

It also announced the receipt of the N400 million donated to flood victims in the state by the Federal Government.

The Director General of the Niger State Disaster Management Agency, Alhaji Mohammed Shaba disclosed to journalists in Minna yesterday,

that the donations which were recently deposited into the account of the agency, would be shared to the victims soonest.

He said the agency has begun identification of all those that would benefit from the donations adding that before the end of the week, documentations would be made to enable the genuine victims receive the support.

He said the board of the agency would meet on Tuesday (yesterday) to ratify the recommendations before a meeting of all the affected local government chairmen on how the distribution would be done.

Gaidam approves N5m, houses for ex-servicemen in Yobe From Uche Uche, Damaturu

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n support of the emblem appeal fund as part of activities marking the 2013 Armed Forces Remembrance Day,Yobe state Governor, Alh. Ibrahim Gaidam has approved a donation of N5 million to the Nigerian Legion, Yobe state council, on behalf of the state government.

He made the approval yesterday while presenting his speech during the celebration which took place at the WAWA Hall, Government House, Damaturu. He also made a personal donation of N500.

He commended the invaluable contributions made by Nigerian soldiers who participated and fought in the first and second world wars in defense of justice and liberty so that humanity could be emancipated from oppression and tyranny.

These soldiers, he said, have paid the supreme price as many of them lost their lives at the battle fields and left behind them wives, children and other dependents, adding that those who were fortunate to survive, returned home handicapped with various degrees of injuries. “it is therefore pertinent for us to continue to remember and recognize the commendable efforts of the fallen heroes.”, he

said.

He also expressed appreciation for the soldiers in active service particularly those currently prosecuting the war against insurgency and in the process lost their lives or sustained injuries.

He assured that his administration would continue to render every support and assistance to the ex-servicemen taking into consideration the tremendous contributions they have made towards the preservation of the unity, stability and sovereignty of the country.

He appealed to corporate bodies, religious organizations, public-spirited individuals, to complement the efforts of the state government and come to the aid of members of the Nigerian legion by donating generously to the welfare appeal fund.

Responding to the appeals made by the state legion chairman for hajj seats, the governor immediately directed the secretary to the state government and the executive chairman, Yobe state pilgrims commission to ensure that the pledge made to the council last year was redeemed this year.

He equally approved the allocation of five units of houses to the legion.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

PAGE 9

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Power, Mrs Derin Awoshika; Minister of State For Power, Hajiya Zainab Ibrahim Kuchi; Minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Reng Ochekpe; Minister of Labour, Chief Chukwemeka Wogu; Minister of National Planning, Dr Shamsudeen Usman; and Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Deziani AlisonMadueke, during the meeting of the Presidential Action Committee on Power with President Jonathan, yesterday at the State House in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

Delta abolishes automatic promotion of teachers From Adesoji Oyinlola, Lagos

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elta State government has cancelled automatic promotion of teachers in the state’s Unified Teaching Service.

The state governor Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan who announced this during the First Sunday of the year Service at the Pasture of life Church in Asaba, said the era of mass promotion of teachers in the State Teaching Service was over.

The governor said that henceforth all promotions would be based on job performance stressing that the idea was to encourage hard-work and development in the educational sector.

He said that about 1400 teachers on salary grade level 16 do not teach because of their seniority adding that this was not good enough.

“We do not like the situation because it is not just only unhealthy but counterproductive as it will not promote good academic performance by students,” he said.

Governor Uduaghan called on persons in positions of authority to strive to influence the society positively and excel in assigned duties so that they would be role models to others.

Appropriate measures have been taken to address the flood challenge to check future occurrence in the state even as he explained that the strategies adopted will effectively prevent flooding, he said.

The governor commended the Founder and Presiding Pastor of the Pasture of Life Christian Church, Reverend Jude Akhere and other church leaders for believing in the state government and for standing by him in all his governorship elections.

Okada men sentenced to 80 hours of community service

A

n Ojokoro Senior Magistrates’ Court in Lagos yesterday sentenced two commercial motorcycle operators to 80 hours of community service each, for violating traffic laws.

The duo, in separate cases, had pleaded guilty to four-count charges bordering on violation of the laws.

Magistrate A.F. Adeeyo sentenced the accused, Ismaila Oyelowo, who resides at No. 11, Oyeyemi St., Igando and Solomon Rafiu , of 48, Adelakun Close, Igando, to 20 hours on each of the four counts of their charges.

She ordered that the community service should be carried out within Ijaye/Ojokoro Local Council Development

Area.

The Prosecutor, Clara Olagbaiye, had told the court that Oyelowo committed the offences on Dec. 14, 2012, at LASU/Igando Road. ”Oyelowo drove a Suzuki motorcycle with registration number QM 20 KRD on a prohibited route without a rider’s card, crash helmet and headlamp,” she said.

In the case of Rafiu, she told the court that he committed the offences on Dec. 7, 2012 by riding a motorcycle on prohibited route without a registration number, horn and rider’s card.

She said that the offences contravened Sections 7, 14, 48 and 54 of the Road Traffic Acts of Lagos State. (NAN)

He recalled that Reverend Akhere mobilized other church leaders to pray for the success of his re-run elections and expressed gratitude for the support.

Governor Uduaghan pledged support for the expansion effort of the church adding that the

road construction leading to the church earlier abandoned would be re-awarded to a more competent contractor.

In a brief response, the Pastor of the Pasture of Life Church, Rev. Akhere preached on the sermon “2013 year of influence”.

He reminded Christians that they were uniquely created by God to influence the society positively and should increase their level of commitment in serving God this year.

Rev. Akhere pledged support for the Uduaghan administration.

Bauchi leads on public procurement law From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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he public procurement law which Bauchi state took the lead among states in domesticating after the federal government, is being reviewed to structurally make the procurement units established under it, to conform with the peculiarities of the state.

According to the Due Process Office(DPO), the review of the law now undergoing legislation, which would in due course be passed by the state House of Assembly, could not adversely affect contents of the law.

Head of Administration and Finance in the Bauchi Due Process Office, Barr. Umar Mohammed Sani, who dropped the hint, explained that the law

review has to do with the structures of the procurement units in the state.

Sani was speaking when he received members of the Bauchi state Coalition for the Improvement of Public Expenditure Management (BACIPEM) led by the Centre for Information Technology & Development (CITAD) Programme Officer, Malam Isa Garba.

Garba and his team were at the DPO to keep abreast of the progress and likely changes in public expenditure procurements and how efficient such are being carried out, as well as any improvement in the contents of the law.

“The Public Procurement Law is being reviewed but it has not been passed, it has got to do

with the structures of the procurement entities but has not affected the contents of the law”, Sani said.

Barr. Umar Sani who noted that procurement reform even in the United States of America took about 200 years to be perfected, said however that Bauchi state reform would not take that long.

Sani who also observed that tender process is the most delicate aspect of public procurement, said efficiency has greatly improved in service delivery at the DPO in Bauchi.

He also told BACIPEM that all the 69 MDAs in the state make their procurement requests through the DPO while the level of compliance on the parts of the MDAs has reached more than 90%.

Dakingari charges judges to improve judiciary From Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi

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overnor Saidu Nasamu Dakingari of Kebbi State has advised judges in the State to strengthen and improved the judiciary management system and general function of courts to facilitate access to justice for all especially the poor.

He gave the advice yesterday at the swearing in ceremony of a new Chief Judge of Kebbi State, Justice Bala

Ibrahim Mairiga. ‘’You have assumed duty at a period when there is general optimism and renewed hope, especially within the judicial legal sector’’ he said.

Alh. Saidu Nasamu said that the ongoing efforts to rehabilitate court buildings and structures as well as the provision of modern facilities, would be sustained towards effective administration and dispensation of justice.

The governor commended the former Chief Judge of Kebbi

State, Justice Ibrahim Umar for remarkable progress recorded by the judiciary through transformation of judicial system.

The governor advised other judges to cooperate with the new Chief Judge to ensure the effective dispensation of justice.

In a related development, the new Chief Judge , Justice Bala Mairiga has sworn in two high court Judges- Sabi ‘u Bala Shaibu and Faruk Hassan Bunza.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

Edo guber: Oshiomhole knows fate on Friday

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

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he Supreme Court Monday fixed January 11, 2013 to decide whether Edo State Governor, Comrade Oshiomhole has an explanation to make before the State's Governorship Election Petition Tribunal over his qualification for the July 14, 2012 governorship election, in which he emerged winner.

The governor, through in his team of lawyers led by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) had argued that the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Major-General Charles Airhiavbere (retired) did not specifically plead the issue of his qualification.

The Court of Appeal in Benin however found otherwise and ordered the parties to return to a newly constituted tribunal for the determination of whether Oshiomhole had the basic qualifications or not.

Dissatisfied with the Appeal Court judgment, Oshiomhole appealed to the Supreme Court.

Arguing the appeal yesterday, Olanipekun said there was no basis for the judgment of the court of appeal, saying that the petitioner grounded his petition on corrupt practice and none compliance with the

Electoral Act 2010, but not on Oshiomhole’s non qualification.

He said that the Court of Appeal made a case for the respondent which the respondent did not make for himself.

The petition challenges results in five out of 18 local governments.

He said that PDP honourably withdrew from the petition because it was hopeless.

Responding, counsel to Airhiavbere, Chief Efe Akpofure asked the court to dismiss the appeal and affirm the judgment of the lower court.

He said that the tribunal

agreed that there was ground to sustain the allegation that Oshiomhole did not have the qualification to run for governor.

He said that the fact that non qualification was not made a separate ground was not a basis to quash the allegation that Oshiomhole was not qualified.

Akpofure argued that the tribunal found that the allegation of Oshiomhole's non qualification was raised in the pleading but held that it was a pre election matter.

In the appeal, Oshiomhole faulted the judgment of the Court of Appeal on six grounds.

His lawyer, Olanipekun argued

that the Court of Appeal erred in law when it held that the tribunal had jurisdiction to adjudicate on the alleged acts of non-qualification of the governor in the petitioner's pleadings.

He said that the judgment of the Court of Appeal was based on sentiments and not law, saying there was no specific pleading in the petition challenging the governor's non-qualification to contest the Edo State Governorship Election.

Olanipekun said that the issue raised by the petitioner regarding Oshiomhole's qualification to contest the election was a preelection matter upon which the

tribunal had no jurisdiction to adjudicate.

He said that the Court of Appeal breached Oshiomhole's right to fair hearing when it held that the tribunal should have determined the petition against him on its merit.

He said: "By the judgment of the lower court, Appellant (Oshiomhole) is being asked to go and defend allegations which have not been made against him."

He consequently asked the Supreme Court to set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal and restore the judgment of the tribunal.

NSCDC seals 131 private guard companies in 2012

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

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igeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has sealed 131 Private Guard Companies(PGCs) between January 2011 and December 2012, report has said The NSCDC document made available on Monday in Abuja by the Corps Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Emmanuel Okeh, indicated that the companies were sealed up for not conforming with the rules and regulations guiding their operations.

It added that some of the companies were sealed for possessing invalid licenses, while others were not duly registered, indicating that the companies were penalised after an inspection of 325 companies across the country.

The document also revealed that 25 PGCs that met the guidelines were later re-opened by the corps, with 120 new companies licensed between January 2011 and December 2012.

However, it said, 344 companies renewed their licences in the period under review, adding that the NSCDC generated N149.9 million from the licensing and re-registration of PGCs in the same period.

The document further said the process for the clearance of 85 companies waiting for licenses was on.

A cobbler having his siesta in style yesterday at Agege roundabout in Lagos

photo: Bolaji Olasunkanmi

Be peace ambassadors, Zazzau emir charges new title holders T

By Aminu Imam

he Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris recently charged some newly turbanned traditional title holders in his domain to be role models and peace ambassadors wherever they find themselves.

He gave the charge while installing Dr. Muhammadu Jumare, Chairman of Kaduna state Local Government Service Commission, as Sardaunan Zazzau, Alhaji Mohammed Bello Sa'idu, Chairman, Danmunde Group of Companies as SarkinSamarin Zazzau and Alhaji Aliyu Idris as Ma'aji Karami in his palace.

He stressed that traditional institutions must show good examples for others to emulate and described peace as a necessary ingredient that would guarantee rapid growth and development.

In his acceptance speech, the newly turbaned SarkinSamarin Zazzau, Alhaji Mohammed Bello Sa'idu enjoined those who God has empowered in the country to channel their resources and energy on the youths.

Despite his immense accomplishments and distinguished lineage, many observers say Alhaji Mohammed Bello Sa'idu has remained humble and unassuming, and is regarded by the rich and poor alike as remarkably approachable.

In the last decade, Alhaji Sa’idu has been in the fore-front championing the cause of the youths and the downtrodden across every ethnic and religious divide and has given rise to his being conferred with the title of Akinkanju Atunluse of Abuja by Oba Yoruba of Abuja, Oba Olusegun Salau and OmeOkachie of Abuja by the Eze Igbo

I of the FCT, Dr. Ibe Nwosu.

So pervasive and widespread is the Madawakin Hausawa of Abuja’s generosity given that every Hausa/Fulani community in the FCT has benefited from his magnanimity which also earned him the award of "Helper of the Poor", conferred on him by the Arewa Journalists Forum and "NRA Prestigious Award for Humanitarian and Community Leadership of the Year 2012" conferred on him by the Nigerian Royalty Award in Abuja.

Speaking to a cross-section of journalists at the Palace of the Emir after the turbanning ceremony, the Vice-Chairman, Danmunde Group of Companies, Alhaji Suleiman Sambo, thanked the Emir for giving the titles to the distinguished sons of Zazzau and appealed to the title holders to continue to use their wealth and position to help the less privilege

in the society while also congratulating Alhaji Sa'idu, who is his Chairman, and enjoined the wealthy to focus more attention on the youths like the Sarkin Samarin Zazzau has been doing to earn him the title.

Sarkin-Samarin Zazzau, Alhaji Mohammed Bello Sa'idu

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

Does money buy happiness?

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adly, in our consumptiondriven society many of us have come to believe that all our worries will be solved if we have more money. Indeed, wealth has become the ultimate measure of who we are and we have become defined by it. When we chase after money for its own sake, we can damage our value system and we pay for it in time, health, and stress.

What does money mean to you?

Do you have a healthy relationship with your money? Do you worship it? Or do you use it as a tool to achieve your goals? Does your life depend on it? What really matters to you? What really make you feel happy and fulfilled?

It is important to understand your own money personality and to put it in the right perspective.

The ways in which we make money and how we spend it reveal a lot about our personality.

This relates to the emotional aspects of money such as needs, values, relationship choices, feelings about earning and career choices, spending, saving and investing. Issues of control, security, self esteem, and sense of well-being are always evident when money matters come up.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs What do we need? Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist best known for establishing his theory of the "hierarchy of needs" which he developed in the mid 1900's. This model served as a tool for understanding human motivation and development. He identified five levels of human needs that must be satisfied by a person's environment in order for What would you do in these situations? ou have a long overdue vacation planned. Two weeks before your departure, you lose your job. What would you do? a. Cancel your vacation? b. Make plans for a shorter, cheaper vacation instead? c. Go on holiday as planned, you'd better just enjoy yourself now and worry later. d. Go on an extended vacation: This might be your last opportunity for a long time!

(Like any risk, there are ways to reduce it. When booking a trip, whether a simpler trip to a neighbouring state, or an exotic island getaway to some Indonesian island, make sure you understand the rules regarding cancellation when you use bigger companies like Expedia. Some may be nonrefundable) A stock you bought just six months ago has increased in value

Y

Quote Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all time thing. You don't win once in a while, you don't do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time.

him or her to attain full potential.

Maslow's pyramid illustrates human needs stacked in layers with physiological needs at the base of the pyramid which involves the most basic needs; that is, what a person needs to stay

pleasure we will get from having more money.

Certainly, earning more makes you happy in the short term, but you quickly adjust to your new lifestyle and all it brings.

Naturally, there is that thrill of

alive, such as air, water, food, sleep, warmth, shelter and hygiene and self-actualisation and fulfilment at the highest level.

Relationship between money and happiness Why doesn't the lucrative promotion or the brand-new fivebedroom house keep us swathed in a permanent state of happiness?

We like to think that if we just had a little bit more money, we would be happier but when we get there, something is still missing. It appears that the more money you have, the more you want and that buying the car, boat or bike of your dreams, brings you transient joy rather than a deep lasting sense of fulfilment. We tend to overestimate how much

by over 30percent. What would you do? a. It was always a long term investment so you will continue to just hold b. You are certain it will keep going up so you borrow money and buy more of the same stock c. Sell part of it now, and move some of your profit to a more conservative investment Are you a conservative or risk-averse investor? Are you a moderate investor, who wants to protect your principle while achieving modest growth? Or are you an aggressive investor who will confront risk head-on with the expectation of greater returns?

Risk is a fundamental part of investing; it is the possibility that an investment will lose value. Is inflation eating away at your life savings in a bank account, because you are too scared of the stock market? Do you hear of the greatest opportunity of a lifetime and stake everything for it? Or, do you just sit back and do nothing?

The concept of risk tolerance, assumes that your ability to endure risk is a reflection of your

the shiny new car but soon you get used to it and start wanting the newer, more powerful model.

Having made a special purchase, we immediately dream of acquiring the better, "latest" version. Scientists call it 'the hedonic treadmill' - and many people spend far too much time on it.

The Hedonic treadmill Professor Emeritus Lord Richard Layard, LSE's director of the Centre for Economic Performance, in "Happiness: Lessons from the New Science" discusses the relationship between happiness and rising standards of wealth. A critic of consumer society and the all-consuming pursuit of money, he suggests that

we eventually get trapped on the "hedonic treadmill".

Our happiness begins to wane as we start to take the new positive changes in our life for granted.

Money brings temporary happiness. A dramatic change in wealth such as the move from abject poverty to financial security can significantly increase happiness, but the satisfaction will be transient; its effect will only last until the beneficiary gets used to their new status. He argues that once poverty and discomfort have been eliminated, extra income is much less important than human relationships. So how do we step off the hedonic treadmill?

What brings more lasting happiness?

Having spent several years interacting with people with various levels of wealth, I am convinced that money does not in itself create or sustain happiness.

It certainly buys things and improves the quality of life and a certain standard of living. Yes, money is important, as it helps us to pay our bills, educate our children, support our families and so on, but if we rely upon it as the key to happiness, it can be illusory as it does not usually address the real issues people experience, such as, concern for their families, problems in relationships, and work-related stress.

Money can buy food, shelter, education, and experiences, and it pays for healthcare and day-today comforts. Of course, if you don't have enough money to send your children to school, can't provide for your elderly parents, or can't afford an expensive surgery that would alleviate the pain from an old injury, it would

be hard to be happy. In that sense, money can buy happiness by eliminating some worries and bringing quick relief to financial concerns.

Beyond that, longer-term happiness is dependent upon one's personality and how fortunate one is to have the things that truly matter in life: a strong relationship with God, a loving family, good reliable friends, good health for yourself and your loved ones, a fulfilling and secure job, a safe environment, moral values and freedom. Next to these things all the money in the world pales into insignificance.

Happiness comes from giving Having money is a great responsibility because it enables one to do things. Material possessions eventually lose their sparkle then beg to be replaced.

Yet, one can make transformational gifts by helping others and even shaping or saving lives. It is through generosity that we attain the best relationship with money. By deciding to make a difference in someone else's life, you give more meaning to your own. The joy that this brings is a lasting form of happiness.

The constant message that is relayed in our society that money is the most important thing in our lives and the constant desire for more has far reaching consequences for our societal value system and morals. This unending pursuit of money has damaged family relationships, our environment and our country. If you earn your money in a healthy, honest way, and spend it wisely, you have a better chance of being and staying happy.

personality and feelings about taking chances. Your investment style to a large extent depends on your age, your life stage, your personality, your time horizon, and your financial position; it determines the types of investments that may be suited to you. If you can't sleep at night because you are worrying about your investments, you have probably assumed too much risk.

Understanding the relationship between risk and reward is an important part of investing. Generally, "the higher the risk, the higher the potential return." If you are unwilling to take at least some investment risk, then be prepared to accept low returns. Your goal should be to maximise returns without taking on more risk than you can afford or bear.

Over the past few years, we have all had hard lessons in risk.

Sometimes, investment success looks so certain that the thought of limiting any rewards with a strategy seems ridiculous, but jumping into markets fully exposed can leave you badly burnt which is what has happened to so

many people. Here are some classic strategies that will help you to manage risk.

"Don't put all your eggs in one basket". Diversification spreads your risk across various investment classes. If you put all your money in one investment, your return will depend solely on the performance of that investment. The more diversified your portfolio is, however, the lower the impact of a decline in one investment will be. Mutual funds provide the benefit of instant diversification.

An asset allocation strategy is based on the premise that the various asset classes, such as stocks, money market accounts and cash perform differently. It looks at your particular goals, your age and circumstances and helps to determine an appropriate asset mix for you.

Stocks, for instance, offer the highest returns across these three classes over the long term, but carry more risk. If you invest funds that you need for next term's school fees in the stock market, you may be forced to sell the investment to raise cash at a

time when the investment is at a loss. Bonds may not be as lucrative, but offer more stability than stocks. Money market returns whilst they may be relatively low, provide fixed income and offer the relative safety of your initial investment.

There is a natural tendency to buy stocks when prices are rising and stop buying when there is a downturn.

Cost averaging encourages you to buy more stock when prices are low and fewer when prices are high. It is a particularly useful tool in a volatile market as you can reduce the average cost of your shares.

The fear of losing money is one of the greatest psychological obstacles to building wealth. All investments carry a certain amount of risk so the question isn't whether or not to take risks; it is about how much risk you are comfortable with, give your own particular circumstance. Remember, to earn the highest return, you must assume some degree of risk. So choose wisely and don't ignore your gut instinct.

Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing - Vince Lombardi S o u r c e : www.moneyning.com

How do you feel about risk?

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

PAGE 12

EDIT ORIAL EDITORIAL

P

Clumsy handling of NIS recruitment scam

resident Goodluck Jonathan, his ministers and other aides would seem to have so perfected doublespeak into an art of governance that hardly a policy comes without conflicting explanations from the relevant officials. This sad state of affairs came into bold relief following the exposure of the recruitment scandal at the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).

According to newspaper reports, the home states of the Interior Minister and the Comptroller General of NIS, as well as those of the President and his wife, were most favoured in the recruitment exercise. When the story came into the public domain mid December last year, the Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, refuted it. In denying the story, the ministry's spokesman, Malam Salihu Dantata Mahmud, claimed the publication was "a strategy to malign the good image of the honourable minister".

However, the NIS justified the scandalous recruitment exercise, with its spokesman Mr. Olumbar Joachim claiming in a statement that the exercise was conducted clandestinely in order not to recruit terrorists and criminals into the service. But when other newspapers followed up on the story two days later, the Interior Minister directed NIS to cancel the recruitment exercise pending the adoption of a more transparent and acceptable

procedure.

But the following day, the Comptroller-General of Immigration, Mrs. Rose Uzoma, said that the minister could not cancel what had not begun. She told newsmen at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja that, "the Nigeria Immigration Service has not

“

This double speak by ranking officials does not auger well for the nation because a government that does not take the people into confidence by coming clean in its dealing with them, does not deserve the trust of the people recruited anybody recently. The purported exercise is just about to begin, no single letter of appointment has been issued to any Nigerian, and so it is real fabrication that we have been busy recruiting people from specific area of the country. We are still working out the modalities and procedure."

And over the weekend, the Minister revisited the matter by at once refuting (again) the story and

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

contradicting the NIS ComptrollerGeneral who had claimed that the recruitment exercise was yet to begin. "I would like to make it clear that the service did not engage in any secret recruitment exercise as published in sections of the media.

Our recruitment has always been open to the general public and so shall it remain. However, I suspended the exercise to enable us tackle the problem beclouding the exercise", he said.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has opened an investigation into what it considers "illegal" recruitments in the Immigration Service.

We at Peoples Daily find these conflicting claims by the Interior Minister and the NIS Comptroller General very suspicious because we do not believe that the minister would be ignorant of as fundamental an exercise as a general staff recruitment taking place in an agency under the supervision of his ministry. Just as disturbing is the silence from the Presidency even when the President and his wife were alleged to have been favoured in the NIS exercise.

Above all, this double speak by ranking officials does not auger well for the nation because a government that does not take the people into confidence by coming clean in its dealing with them, does not deserve the trust of the people.

OUR PEOPLE

OUR VISION

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

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HEAD, LAGOS BUREAU ADESOJI OYINLOLA

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

PAGE 13

Education as bedrock of success

By Popoola Christiana Dayo

E

ducation has been described as the bedrock of success in life, success in life, in business, in marriage, in fact everything in general. And the reason is obvious: without education, it is difficult for a person to progress in life.

Education does not lie only in going to school to learn; we learn in school, in the church, mosque, among our peer group, in our houses and in our environment.

Education does not apply to only children. Children learn, an adult learns; in fact everybody is obliged to learn.

People believe that it is only educated people that can write, read, and speak English fluently.

They are right, but that is not all.

The secret of every successful businessman, a happy home, and a peaceful nation, is education.

Education applies to the way we walk, how we dress, how we eat, what we say and how we say it; how we associate with people, the places we go, the kind of food we eat, what we drink and how we them, the kind of job or work we do and how we do it; the environment we live, the way our houses look like, and, to crown it all, the way we live our life.

The behavior of some people that are exposed academically is, however, worse than that of those that did not pass through schools.

They believe that the only place to learn is school, and once they graduate, they feel that they are “on top of the world,” even when it does not reflect in their characters.

Many people are suffering in this country due to lack of education.

Everything that man needs to succeed in life lies within him. But the ways of discovering, and bringing it out, is difficult for them.

But with the help of education, either in schools, homes, and religious centres, people can discover their talent, work towards it and bring reasonable things out of it.

Examples of those that are intellectually vibrant, so to say, are Alhaji Aliko Dangote; the producer of ‘Super Story’ Wale Adenuga; and some writers such as Chinue Achebe, Wole Soyinka. S Eliot among others.

Today they are prominent figures not just because of the schools they attended, but the knowledge they gathered from every angle.

Some people failed in their businesses due to the uneducated personnel and managerial skills.

Uneducated personnel in the sense that the people controlling, managing, directing, or administering the business are not qualified or competent. As an educated personnel you apply the knowledge that you have gathered either from schools, your environment, or at home, to make a successful business.

What of the marital aspect of

this? Uneducated couples believe that receiving the blessing of their parents, pastors, imams and the like is all that is necessary (paying of dowry and marriage ceremony).

Anything else is, in their belief, a waste of time and money. So all they do is after meeting their spouse, is to head for the altar; they don’t care to know anything about him or her before cohabiting with each other that will lead to pregnancy.

So many homes have broken due to the fact that either both of them are not educated, or one of them (either husband or wife) is not educated. You will agree with me that the way an educated person manages and controls his/her home is quite different from the way uneducated person does.

An educated person - either husband or wife - is exposed academically, socially, and “maritally” to so many things which help in having a happy home, unlike

uneducated persons who they spurn or abuse the little exposure they have had.

It is very difficult for an educated couple to be fighting all the time even in the presence of their children. An uneducated man sees no bad in doing that. He even goes the extra mile in bullying his wife as if he were bullying a goat or things that don’t breath ,whenever she does any wrong.

He believes that in as much as her dowry has been paid, or he has impregnated her, she is under his control like a slave. Which means that he can do whatever he likes with her. Even in terms of child bearing uneducated people bear more children without considering the economic aspect of the matter, what with the man insisting on having his way at all costs.

They believe that God is the giver of children, and in as much as they are fruitful they can be okay as God

“

Even in terms of child bearing uneducated people bear more children without considering the economic aspect of the matter, what with the man insisting on having his way at all costs

has given them the “power”. Some even said the more you have children, the more money you get, most especially if you have a lot of female children.

What they mean in this aspect is what they will get from their in-laws when the time comes for their female children to get married (dowry). They are so much interested in the money, yam, red oil, salt assorted drinks, clothes, and lots more, that year after year they keep bearing kids. Not minding how to carter for their children before they will reach the stage of marriage.

Some of the children of such people are the ones hawking on the street, begging or “crime-ing.”

Others, instead of going to school, are helping their parents in farming. Some engage in sundry labor and some even go into prostitution when what their parents have cannot sustain them.

In a nutshell, everybody is advised to be educated – no matter who you are; no matter how you are; it doesn’t matter what your age is; just believe you can be what you think you can be by being academically exposed socially, “martially”, economically and otherwise. And for those that are academically exposed, don’t stop learning because the day man stops learning is the day he dies. The sky is your limit.

Dayo is undergoing her IT with this newspaper

Agric minister and N60bn farmers’ phones T

By Pius Adesanmi

he Jonathan administration needs to buy a white cock and go wash its head by the riverside in order to know how to start a new year without irritating Nigerians. Luckily for President Jonathan, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, his Minister of Agriculture, is the one who has opted to usher Nigerians into a new year with a half-brained initiative. Last year, the culprits were President Jonathan and his fuel subsidy cabal – Diezani Allison Madueke, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, and our alienated friend, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who had serious trouble knowing which kind of fuel the ordinary Nigerian uses for his I-better-pass-myneigbour.

It seems the administration can only start a new year with steps that attract fury or scorn and contempt. Last year, it was fury.

This year, it is scorn and contempt and they are being generously heaped on the head of the Minister of Agriculture. His sin? He wants to spend sixty billion of our hardearned naira buying cell phones for farmers in rural Nigeria. I heard with one ear that the target is ten million phones – or handsets as they call it out there.

It’s been “laffomania” and “ridiculepalooza” on social media since this initiative was announced. My good friend, Kayode Ogundamisi, announced the arrival of “Harvard-trained lunatics” (I think he meant Purdue-trained though) in

government. However, before we get carried away by the hysteria, it is pertinent to look at the profile of the man in the eye of the storm.

This will help us address pertinent questions. There are several detailed online profiles of the Minister but this one from the website of the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria will do. It’s a three-paragraph bio and I don’t want to summarize it. Bear with me: “Akinwumi Adesina is Vice President (Policy and Partnerships) for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), an organization established with support from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with the goal of bringing a green revolution to Africa, and lifting millions of poor farmers out of poverty and food insecurity.

Mr. Adesina has over 20 years of experience in African agriculture, development policy and rural development. of Nigerians. Despite massive injections of subsidies, productivity remains low, with many concerns about the effectiveness of existing programmes. He won the Rockefeller Foundation Social Science Research Fellowship in 1988, which initiated his career in international agricultural development. He has worked in senior research positions in international agricultural research centres of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.

He joined the

Rockefeller Foundation, New York, as a senior scientist for Africa in 1998 and later served as Rockefeller Foundation representative for Southern Africa, based in Harare, Zimbabwe (1999-2003).

He is also an associate director (food security) at The Rockefeller Foundation, based in Nairobi, Kenya (2003-present).

Dr. Adesina helped to design, inspire and galvanize support for the landmark Africa Fertilizer Summit. He is consultant on agricultural development issues in Africa by the World Economic Forum, World Bank and African Development Bank, among other institutions. Dr Adesina was a lead organizer of the Africa Fertilizer Summit for African heads of state in 2006. He was instrumental in framing the soil health policies adopted there by over 40 African governments, the African Union the New Partnership of African Development (NEPAD), and other leading global development

institutions. Mr. Adesina has worked in senior research leadership positions at IITA, WARDA and ICRISAT. In July 2007, he received the YARA Prize for the African Green Revolution in Oslo for his pioneering work with agricultural inputs and agrodealer networks in Africa.

In 2008, he was honoured with Purdue University’s College of Agriculture Distinguished Agricultural Alumni Award, for his inspiring leadership in spearheading transformative change in African agriculture. In 2009, Mr. Adesina was appointed into the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Advocacy Group that will drive the rapid achievement of the Goals across the globe. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon described him as an “eminent personality’’ who had shown outstanding leadership in promoting the implementation of the MDGs. Dr Adesina holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics

“

Why has such a cerebral technocrat joined the ranks of the resident comedians in the Jonathan cabinet? Yes, the cabinet has comedians. One wants to go to the moon – or is it Mars – by 2015

from Purdue University (USA).

He is married to Grace and together they have two children, Rotimi and Segun.”

I have gone to this length to show that contrary to a certain impression of him now circulating like a wildfire in the harmattan on social media, this Minister has nothing in common with the caterwauling charlatans gorging in government and in the corridors of power. This is not the profile of your typical government official.

The man we have on our hands here is an intellectual with unimpeachable academic achievements, a seasoned technocrat who has cut his teeth at the highest instances of international development. The question we need to ask, the puzzle we need to address is: how on earth did the man profiled above come up with such a brain-dead idea?

I have been following Dr. Adesina quietly for a very long time.

Whenever a new government is formed in Nigeria, I check out the profiles of the new players in town to determine who is worthy of higher levels of expectation from Nigerians. My system of assessment of those running our lives has an unapologetic Apartheid ring to it.

Usually, one look at the cabinet and list of other appointees is sufficient to determine that only a few names are worthy of retention. The rest are usually pedestrian come-and-chop political jobbers unworthy of one’s attention.

Adesanmi is a public affairs analyst

PAGE 14

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

Re: Shocking story from Katsina

By Ahmed Usman Shehu

I

read with abiding interest the piece with the above headline, as published on page 15 of the Tuesday 8 th January 2013 edition of Peoples Daily newspaper and I must say that I felt scandalised by the whole shameful episode starring the wife of the Katsina State governor.

When the previous day I had read the nonsense in some papers such as Peoples Daily, one had initially dismissed the whole thing as a joke. But look and behold this: “When contacted, the Chief Press Secretary to the first lady, Mallam Abdulazeez confirmed that the directive to sack the Councillor emanated

According to her Press indicative of the mindset of those from the first lady...,” said one of Secretary, Mallam Abdulazeez, in the corridors of power in this the reports.

In my view, part of the this is as world. disgusting as it is Pray, even if scandalous. If a public official Peoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text one may ask, c o m m i t s messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written who empowered murder or any contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150 the governor’s other serious words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and wife to take such crime, is Hajia a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed a pig-headed Shema the to: action against a person who public officev should deal holder? Does the with that The Editor, constitution person? As one Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, grant any First of my 35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja.

Lady such colleagues here Email: let ters@peoplesdaily-online.com dictatorial in Kubwa SMS: 07037756364 power, or did she noted, “thank derive her God its not power from any law enacted by the first lady indeed issued the someone like her that is the the state’s House of Assembly? satanic directive, and this is council chairman or, God forbid,

WRITE TO US

state governor, otherwise she cold have set the land on fire by such recklessness.”

I totally agree with the columnist, Sonde Abbah, who stated that, and I quote: “It is a pity that there is no six-year-old girl in Katsina to admonish Madam that being a governor’s wife does not make her an empress. She should be called to order without further delay.”

Truly so. Such reckless misuse of power should not be condoned by any sane society, no matter how highly placed the sinner involved may be. After all, we are living in a democratic land called Nigeria, not in George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.”

Ahmed Usman Shehu, a lawyer, lives in Abuja.

Re: N30bn loan? Haba! Al-makura

By Rayyanu Bala

W

hile it was not the intention of this writer to join issues with anybody over an opinion that could at best be described as personal, sometime one will be left with no options than to reply to such opinions especially when such opinions were aimed at not only misleading the unsuspecting public but carried issues that were out rightly false. I felt compelled however to write this rejoinder only to correct the erroneous impression which the writer of the piece titled: Re-N30bn loan? Haba!

Al-makura (Peoples Daily Monday, January 2013) is trying to create in the minds of the people of Nasarawa state over the Al-makura led administration.

For the avoidance of doubt, Al-makura’s administration, by any measure, can not be compared with all the administrations that the state got the fortune (?) to have, since the creation of the state in 1996. There is of-course no basis at all for comparison as Al-makura led administration has, since it came on board in May 2011, demonstrated in many ways that it is far better than all the previous administrations. It is only through the Al-makura-led administration that the people of Nasarawa state begin to see and appreciate the dividend of democracy. The last 12 years of PDP administrations only took us backward instead of forward.

It is indeed an open secret that transparency in governance is among the cardinal objectives of this administration as throughout the history of Nasarawa state, it is only in Al-makura’s administration that the people of the state were able to know how much the state generates

and spent in the last 17 month that the government is in power.

The total monthly allocation to Nasarawa state is only but N2.8 bn out of which about 85% goes to payment of salaries and over head cost to ministries, departments and agencies of the state as well as servicing of monthly irrevocable standing payment order of N350 million of contractual agreement and N209 million being monthly refund of Paris Club to Plateau state. It was precisely in the light of this meager allocation from the federation account that the administration is considering looking for a loan facility. It is however instructive to note that the issue of loan facility has become like a child of necessity to administration in view of constraints the administration is facing as a result of lean revenue base of the state. For example, in 2012 out of about N104.868 billion which the state expected to generate only about N37.734billion was collected as at close of October 2012.

As to whether or not the administration will judiciously utilize the loan if eventually collected, there is indeed an Hausa proverb which says Jumma’a mai kyau dun daga laraba a ke gane, meaning the trace of good Friday is being noticed since Wednesday; in the light of this, virtually all the good people of Nasarawa state were 100 % convinced that by Al-makura’s pedigree nothing bad will happen to the loan. The loan will end up in critical sector of the economy of the state. The CPC government in the state, unlike the previous PDP government which motto is food is ready, did not come to power to amass public wealth but rather, the Al-makura administration came to power only to free the people of the state from wants and poverty which they were subjected to by the PDP.

I do not think the author of this write up in question who simply gave his name as Haruna Abdul-Rahman exists and if he does, then he is not from any where near Nasarawa state because by his referring to Al-makura’s elder brother Ahmadu Al-makura who is the Sarkin Kwandare as Tanko Al-makura’s political godfather, he has either showed his total ignorance of politics in Nasarawa state or he is being mischievous.

Equally worth noting is the fact that, Al-makura’s Kids, contrary to the claim by Abdul-Rahman, were no anywhere near corridors of power in the state talk less of being great beneficiaries of government contracts and patronages. Also I don’t know of any Al-makura’s younger brother who is on political appointment in the state who died and left behind in his private account N140million and Houses in choice locations in Lafia’ as claimed by AbdulRahman. The person who died as a result that motor accident in the convoy of the governor was Al-makura’s staff not relation. And I can confidently say that all his worth were mere speculations. He worked with Al-makura for more than 3 decades.

Since Al-makura led administration came on board, the government has never say

nor claimed to have all the solutions to the problems of the state, neither do the government gave any sign of confusions, wittingly or unwittingly, as to the focus of the administration. In fact if anything, in the history of the state we have never experienced a government that knows what it is doing and has a clear direction on what it intends to achieve than the present government.

The priorities of government were known to all in the state which indeed, centered on provisions of infrastructures and provisions of enabling environment for people of the state to actualize their potentials.

Like I said earlier on, Mr Abdul-Rahman is quite ignorant of not only the politics and psyche of the people of Nasarawa state but he is also ignorant of the development that has taken place in Nasarawa state since Almakura’s administration came on board, or else how can he say apart from payment of new minimum wage to workers, the government has not done anything directly to touch the lives of the people? Even the most ardent enemy of Almakura will not admit that he has not done anything that touches the lives of the people of the state. Suffice it however to say that the massive but

“

As for the establishment of university for the deaf, I think Mr Abdul- Rahman need to go and gets his facts right concerning the issue of university for the deaf in Nasarawa state and until such is done we can only view this as amusing

giant strides made in areas of road constructions across the state, the improvement in health care delivery as well as improvement in other sectors of the economy of the state such as education, water/ power supply and integrated rural development, were few of the achievements recorded by Almakura in the last 18 months.

Even the minister of information Mr Labaran Maku who is from Nasarawa state and a strong stakeholder in PDP in the state praised these efforts of Al-makura during the good governance tour of the state.

What is more, the claim by Abdul-Rahman that construction of airports in the state would not add or rather improve the living conditions of the people has further exposed him as someone that has pedestrian concept of development.

In fact construction of airports would greatly add values to the living conditions of the people as it would not only generate employment for our teeming youth but also serve as important source of revenue for the state.

As for the establishment of university for the deaf, I think Mr Abdul- Rahman need to go and get his facts right concerning the issue of university for the deaf in Nasarawa state and until such is done we can only view this as amusing.

Of course, the beauty of democracy lies in freedom of expression as well as freedom to hold opinion no matter how sweet or bitter such opinion appears to be but in expressing such caution ought to be taking against abusing the sensibilities of the people who are more than very wise to the antics of some misguided elements in our midst.

Bala wrote from Lafia, Nasarawa state rayanubala@yahoo

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

PAGE 15

Indigeneship: Facts and fictions

By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

M

y friend and brother, Dr. Aliyu Tilde, regularly performs unrivalled feats of public service and enlightenment through his blog for which he should receive more credit in a country that values ideas. On reflection, he may consider that his recnt posting entitled “Is the South Finally Set to Colonize the North”, is a long way off his usually exceptional standards. In this article, Dr. Tilde examines the issue of indigeneship in Nigeria’s political economy and concludes, rather magisterially “We are okay with the status quo.”

I should clarify that, like Dr. Tilde, I received the message “Senate Committee on constitutional Review is collating people’s vote via text on replacing state of origin with state of residence. Text ‘Yes’ or ‘No to 20052.3 The obvious difficulties in our current constitutional text and practice concerning citizenship and indigene-ship do not yield easily to such oversimplifications. Residency is a much more fleeting concept than “domicile” and it would have been useful to reflect also the relevance of domicile as a measure of belonging and metric of integration.

This said, Dr. Tilde’s article is severely troubling for several reasons. I limit myself here to four: It is based on verifiable historical inaccuracy; it is conceptually inarticulate; it is impermissibly deterministic; and it asserts a magisterial air that no citizen of a Republic should claim on behalf of

By Zainab Kandi and Christiana Popoola

T

he issue of fake result is a national emergency. Buying and forging of results is now a daily routine job between the ungodly printers, students and even some school administrators. Many students find it difficult to sit for examination in order to obtain a particular certificate; instead they opt for short-cut by paying some amount of money which will enable them obtain a certificate in the twinkle of an eye.

This criminal indulgence is mostly common among the well-todo people of the society, with a lot of wealthy people’s children neck-deep in it. They believe that money solves all problems, hence they never bother to study.

Good candidates are tempted to believe that ‘if you cannot beat them, join them,’ especially as they see other candidates get away with their corrupt behaviors. This behavior may be contagious as more and more candidates tend to join in exam malpractice and/or forging results. They believe that even if they are caught, they will get away with it and the end will justify the means.

The concerned authorities, including exam bodies and Federal as well as provincial governments, though fully aware of the problem, have failed to take effective steps towards eradicating this evil. The

any other besides himself or herself.

These four points are inter-related.

I’ll begin with the first. Dr. Tilde claims that “The whole indigene problem has been brought into sharp focus recently by the ethnoreligious crises in Plateau” and that it “started in the former Western Region when it wanted to exclude the Igbo from its civil service and politics. Later, Sardauna would apply it in the defunct northern region as a shield from southerner domination.” This is verifiably false.

In northern Nigeria, at least, the entire colonial project was built on the “locational”, tribal and racial segregation. On page 66 of his 2010 book, Clash of Identities: State, Society and Ethno-Religious Conflicts in Northern Nigeria, Dr. Hussaini Abdu points out that “All together, six different urban residential settlements emerged, consisting of: (a) European Reservation Areas (ERA or GRA); (b) Bariki, Lebanese/Syrian areas (found in Kano and Zaria); (c) Walled City, housing the indigenous population; (d) Tudun Wada, established by the British for northerners who were not indigenous to the town; (e) Sabon Gari, for those the colonial administrators called ‘native foreigners’ who were largely Christians from southern Nigeria; and (f) satellite village settlements.”

Outside northern Nigeria, the agelong conflicts in places like IfeModakeke (south-west); AguleriUmuleri or Ezza-Ezeillo (south-east) or Ikot-Offiong/Odukpani and Urhobo-Itshekiri (south-south), are all textured on competing indigenesettler claims and memories.

Related to this basic historical

inaccuracy, Dr. Tilde confuses citizenship/indigeneship with unitarism with the claim that “the Igbo have been the foremost proponents of a unitary Nigeria.” I confess that I found it quite difficult after many readings of his article to find the evidence for this or understand how it fitted in the logic of his narrative. More significantly, it is difficult to understand what unitarism has to do with indigeneship and citizenship. A coherent civic identity cannot in any way pre-determine constitutional architecture or geometries of power. The ANC negotiated a unitary South African Constitution built on radical recognition of both robust citizenship and robust diversity. The United States is a robust, sometimes even dysfunctional, federalism with very strong civic protections.

Fundamentally, unitarism is a matter of architecture; citizenship and any of its corollaries and antinomies are matters of entitlement and identity.

The third problem with Dr. Tilde’s ideas flows from this conceptual confusion. The audacity of his determinism is only excelled by its breath-taking persecution complex. As an illustration, in Dr. Tilde’s version of Nigeria’s history, the creation of States by General’s Gowon, Murtala, Babangida, and Abacha, is the product of the conspiracy of a nebulous “South….in collaboration with northern minority groups that have been in opposition to the ruling Northern Peoples’ Congress…” This does not even struggle to be taken seriously!

Cross-ethnic settlement patterns have some antiquity

among Nigeria’s communities.

Again in his book, Dr. Abdu reports that “by July 1914, the emir of Zazzau (Zaria) had removed the Yoruba traders who had lived in Zaria since the 18th Century to the newly created Sabon Gari.”

Coincidentally, Sheikh Othman Dan Fodiyo also established the Emirate structures that Lord Lugard would later fall in love with a century later about the same time that Yoruba communities were emerging in Zaria. But Dr. Tilde wouldn’t think much of such histories.

Somehow, the Nigeria of Dr. Tilde’s article is the product of a time warp. Time, however, has moved on, and, as much as it may appear otherwise, so has the country. At Independence, the party that led government at the Centre did not bother to field any candidates outside its region. Today, no one who dares seriously to rule Nigeria can do so without winning significant votes outside their comfort or identity zones. This is progress. Nigeria is not the product genotype or filial propinquity nor is it a village association. Dr. Tilde’s prescription would reduce the country to an ill-disguised collection of Bantustans in the name the nonexistent regional purity. The idea, for instance, that David Mark’s Ohimini Village supposedly in the north, somehow has closer affinity with Maiduguri more than 900km away (and also in Dr. Tilde’s north), than it does with Obollo-Afor, less than 30km away (but in the South) is worse than convenient invention.

But let us assume it is not, that would lead to the fourth problem

Menace of fake certificates intensity and pervasiveness of this problem can be gauged from the fact that apart from the students, some parents too positively intervene and help their children in their cheating adventures. The use of unfair means in examinations in certain areas has indeed become a thriving business for the examination mafias.

Sadly, in the same vein, many good students have been denied admission by the corrupt ones who through forging and buying of results have better scores and grades.

The best brains that could help in research and development are likely to be thrown out or frustrated while seeking admission or employment.

After obtaining the fake certificate, forgetting that they will need to go further in life, some of them can’t even write their names correctly, not to talk of other things.

As they say incoputer “lingo,” “garbage in, garbage out”; you simply can’t give what yopu don’t have, can you?

After their so-called graduation they would turn out to be halfbaked—if not unbaked—graduates who are virtually good for nothing and functional illiterates. Some employees are engaged in jobs they are not suited for since the certificates they claim to possess are not merited.

Candidates who possess certificates they cannot defend are disasters waiting to happen. They

have psychological problems arising from the way they acquired their certificates. In some instances, they will not be bold to present their certificates for fear of being assigned tasks that will require them to defend such certificates.

This has a serious implication on the gross domestic product of the country. It also has some effect on the general quality and standard of products and services. Imagine the havoc a half-baked medical doctor could wreck on human lives. What about teachers who cannot competently handle the subject they are “trained” to teach?. There is a chain effect of examination malpractices on the educational system and the society as a whole.

This problem is symptomatic of a disease in our educational system which is eating into the vital aspects of our society. This malaise is harmful for the moral and intellectual development of our youth. It is

afflicting the ethical and social fabric of our society. This state of affairs must not last for long.

There is a dire need for taking measures to put an end to this evil.

One way of dealing with the problem is to introduce effective and comprehensive legislation, providing for stringent penalties against the use of unfair means of obtaining result.

The concerned authorities and governments — federal as well as provincial — though fully aware of the problem, have failed to take effective steps towards eradicating this evil. The intensity and pervasiveness of this problem can be gauged from the fact that apart from the students, some parents too intervene and help to facilitate their children’s cheating adventures.

The use of unfair means to buy result in certain areas has indeed become a thriving business for the examination mafia.

“

The schools should put in their best effort to ensure that this dirty habit is banned. In the same vein the government is admonished to look at this situation critically in order to stop corruption and to improve our great country

I’d address in Dr. Tilde’s article. It arises from his sentence: “Let me – the North – be left alone.” I’ll be direct here: my brother, you are not the north. You are just one highly educated citizen who traces his ancestry to a community in a state in northern Nigeria. You may claim to be from Tilde Village in Bauchi State and I from Umuhu-Okabia Village in Imo State but the fact is you and I have much more in common than you with the Almajiri from Borno or I with the MASSOB activist from Ebonyi. We have both gone to good schools, acquired rarefied graduate degrees, have acquired voice as well, and, ultimately, will always – because of these – get a better deal out of Nigeria than these people you and I claim to speak for. Why would you or I appropriate their voices? Are you afraid that if we enable these people to have access to the kinds of awareness you and I have, they could make choices different from the ones you wish to impose on them?

In ending, Dr. Tilde asks the question: “What pride is there in a child that would not answer his father’s name?” I will respond: so what does pride in answering your father’s name have to do with where you are? In any case, paternity is an opinion and many children answer the names of men who are not in fact their biological fathers.

This is the problem with making a fetish of locational determinism: quite often its foundations are nonexistent and its logic is a faith system. Those are no bases for building a country.

Odinkalu, a lawyer, writes from Abuja.

General moral decadence and the high premium placed on achievements and a certificates by Nigerians has in recent times spawned fake result fraud. The general overdependence on educational certificates as a measure of one’s knowledge and competence has led to a mad rush by most people for educational certificates. In a bid to acquire such certificates, many have resorted to unethical means— foremost among which are buying and paying the administration just to acquire the certificates at all cost.

However, it is a truism that even though much has been done, it is either grossly inadequate or ineffectual at curbing the menace as we day-in-day-out see the menace take newer, dynamic and appealing forms especially with the advances in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) coupled with the general falling standards of societal norms. It is also true this menace would not have attained its present endemic state but for the fact that the major stake holders in education are at the forefront aiding and abetting the crime.

The schools should put in their best effort to ensure that this dirty habit is banned. In the same vein the government is admonished to look at this situation critically in order to stop corruption and to improve our great country.

Kandi and Popoola contributed this piece from Utako, Abuja

PAGE 16

AMAC clamps down on illegal motor parks

By Etuka Sunday

A

buja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) yesterday in Nyanya clamped down on illegal motor parks and embarked on a general sanitation exercise in a bid to ensure a hygiene in the area as well as free flow of traffic.

Addressing newsmen after the exercise, the head of the operation who doubled as the head of FCT Joint Task Force Committee, Mrs. Josephine Nnodim said the exercise was conducted in line with the continued drive of the FCT Minister to reduce the ever growing dirt in the city.

She said Nyanya has been a problem to FCT in the areas of illegal disposal of waste and traffic congestion, lamenting that a car park was created for the drivers but they refused to used it.

Nnodim further lamenting that car are often carelessly parked and abandoned, promoting criminality in the area since some of them have been turned into bed rooms.

She wondered if a normal person in his right senses would like to sleep in a car so abandoned, vowing to get rid of criminals from the area by embarking on routing checks to ensure that sanity is sustained in Nyanya.

The head of the operation also condemned the attitude of traders selling on the road since there are markets within the FCT to accommodate all of them.

Hence, she advised them to desist from the illegal roadside trading for their safety and ease of other residents.

Also speaking, the Head of Department (HOD) Environment AMAC, Abdulrazaq Abdulkareem said that the department was created last year and has been making efforts since then to ensure that Abuja Municipal Area Council is rid of all forms of dirt and unnecessary traffic.

Abdulkareem said that the department would work harder to ensure a strict compliance to all environmental laws guiding the AMAC.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

Minanuel Estate demolition: Victims appeal for resettlement

By Josephine Ella Ejeh

T

he 500 hundred subscribers of Minanuel Estate formally located along Airport Road, which was recently demolished by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) have challenged President Goodluck Jonathan to prove his genuine commitment to housing development in Nigeria by ordering the resettlement of the affected subscribers who had invested millions of Naira to acquire the property.

Spokesperson of the Minanual Estate Subscribers Union, Barrister Festus Adebayo who addressed a press conference

yesterday in Abuja, said with the resolved of the present FCT administration to pull down more estates in the territory, the Federal Government could not achieve its vision of providing housing for Nigerians.

He lamented that since the estate was demolished, the victims had not received any relief from the FCT administration or the Presidency, adding that subscribers have decided to tow the path of peace as law abiding citizens of the country.

Commenting on performance of the Federal Government in 2012 in housing development, he said: “We are worried that the present government cannot attain the promise of giving Nigerians home

ownership if Senator Bala Mohammed still remain the Minister of FCT. “We want to say very clearly that our houses were demolished and since then we have been going from one place to the other seeking for justice. Many Nigerians have condemned the action of the FCT minister and we do not have money to take the minister to court and by this we are calling on President Goodluck Jonathan to confirm his commitment in housing development by resettling the subscribers of Minanuel estate”.

Adebayo emphasised that it was impossible to believe President Goodluck Jonathan’s commitment to Public Private Partnership in housing development if his

Nyanya residents watch yesterday as thick smoke rises from the junks evacuated from Area by AMAC officials.

Photo: Sunday Etuka

Police corporal, 32, dies after refusing blood transfusion

A

Police Corporal, assigned to the Wuse Zone 3 Police Division, Abuja, died on Monday at the National Hospital after rejecting blood transfusion.

The husband of the deceased, Emmanuel

Timothy, alleged in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), that the wife, Grace, who was a member of the Jehovah witness, died because her family refused to consent to her having a blood transfusion.

“She lost her pregnancy at seven months, which resulted in a surgery to get the baby out.

After the surgery she had complications.

When she complained of serious stomach ache, we rushed her to the National Hospital where the

Chieftaincy tussle: Hausa community appeals to FCT minister to intervene

By Usman Shuaibu

T

he Hausa community in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has appealed to the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed to as a matter of urgency look into the chieftaincy tussle rocking the Hausa community since the recent death of their paramount chief.

government cannot protect the investment of the developer and the interest of the subscribers.

Reacting to the recent threat by the FCT minister to demolish another 31 housing estates in the territory, he described it “as a threat to demolish the economy of the Federal Capital Territory and indirectly demolish the economy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

He noted that all over the world, housing is a tool for economic development and a tool for poverty alleviation, wondering why housing was becoming a tool of depression, oppression and of frustration of people in the country.

According to the lawyer, Nigeria cannot have a good housing scheme no matter the extent or the number of time President Jonathan makes the promise without first restructuring the land administration system in Nigeria and especially in the FCT as well as reorganising the FCT development control.

This was as he described “the land administration system in the FCT and the development control department as suffering from the kwashiorkor of corruption and if not treated will create an unprecedented crisis”.

He further called on the National Assembly, Speaker of the House, the Senate President and other well meaning Nigerians to prevail on the Chairman, Senate Committee on the FCT, Smart Adeyemi, who according to him, the FCT minister said the land was allocated to, to hands-off the property.

“It is not democratic for houses of Nigerian workers to be demolished because of the interest of politicians or elites who can afford to buy houses at cash and carry,” he added.

Speaking to Peoples Daily in an interview in Jiwa, the spokesman of the community, Mallam Usman Bala Sambo, said since the death of their chief, the Hausa people have not been speaking with one voice in the FCT. Sambo said that the Hausas residing across the six area councils were disturbed by the way the Hausa community was neglected without the paramount

leader.

He called on the FCT minister to deem it necessary to summon all the candidates that are contesting for the position to resolve the issues amicably.

According to him, if the Hausa chieftaincy tussle is not resolved by the minister, it would generate problems among the Hausas in the near future.

The spokesman advised the

Hausa communities across the six area council to be law-abiding citizens all the times, saying with patience they would achieve their aims.

Speaking in the same vein, the Chairman of the International livestock market Dei-dei, Alhaji Yunusa Salisu urged the FCT minister to expedite action towards addressing the problem faced by the Hausa community in Abuja.

doctor said her stomach had to be flushed.

“But, before the flushing, they said she needed blood transfusion because she had already lost such much blood.

However, she did not get the blood transfusion because her religion and family forbid blood transfusion,’’ Timothy said.

When asked if he would press charges against the parents of his late wife, he said he might consider doing so.

“I have to press charges because they prevented my wife from receiving blood transfusion. Over our dead body. It is better she dies than for her to take another person’s blood,’’ they said to me.

Timothy was at the police station to report the wife’s death. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

Bwari chair demands staff commitment to devt

By Usman Shuaibu

T

he Chairman of Bwari Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Hon. Peter Yohanna Ushafa, has called on the staff of the area council to remain committed to the development of the council this year.

Ushafa, who made the call while addressing the staffers on the resumption from the New Year break, also urged the staff to partnerwith him to move the council to the next level of development.

He promised that his administration would improve the welfare of the workers in order to boost their morale at work, adding that he would organize workshop for the staff to update their knowledge.

He further said that the necessary assistance would be rendered to the security agencies so as to enable them to carry out their duties effectively.

The chairman said that the authority of the council would focus more on the developmental projects in all the ten wards in the area.

PAGE 17

Fulani/Gbagyi clash: ‘How mercenaries’ from Cameroun volunteered reprisal

By Josephine Ella Ejeh

F

acts emerged yesterday, how Fulani mercenaries from Cameroun, Edo, Katsina and other states volunteered to join forces with Fulani settlers in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) to avenge the recent killing of two Fulani men in Gwako community.

Besides, 27 Fulani settlements were razed Northern and 1500 Fulanis displaced.

The Commissioner of Police,

Mr. Adenrele Shinaba who chaired the 19-member ministerial committee constituted by the FCT administration in the wake of the crisis to ascertain the causes of the fracas gave the hint while fielding questions from journalists during the submission of its report on Monday.

Allaying fears of any possible reprisal attack, Shinaba said the committee gathered during its investigations that the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria branch in the area received series of calls from

mercenaries from the areas mentioned above, asking them about the development as they also volunteered to mobilised to join forces with Fulanis in FCT to unleash mayhem on the natives.

However, the Fulani leader in the FCT turned down their help, assuring them that there was no course for reprisal because the FCT administration was on top of the situation.

This according to him, put to rest any fear of retaliation from the Fulanis.

He told the minister while presenting the report of the committee that investigations

revealed that youths in Gwako 1 are very lawless and restive.

This, he blamed to lack of good leadership, adding that the Hakimi and village head of the area were not working together.

“We discovered that there was a police station donated to the community but the youths refused the station from operation,” he added.

He advised the head of Zuba in who’s authority the administration of community falls, “to put his ears on ground so that he is not oblivious of what is happening in the community that is within his domain”.

Doctors pledge quality healthcare services

By Usman Shuaibu

T

he Association of Resident Doctors at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH) in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has pledged to provide quality healthcare services for patients in the hospital.

The newly elected chairman of the association, Dr. Abdullahi Nasiru, who made the pledge during the swearing-in of the new executive members in Abuja, also said that the provision of quality services delivery was one of the parts of programme of the association in this year.

Nasiru said that his leadership would carry the members of the association along in the scheme of things and urged the members to work towards the progress of the association.

Speaking at occasion, the Assistant Director Legal Department of the hospital, Barr.

Christ Mamman, who swore-in the new officials charged them to carry out their duties diligently in the hospital, advised the executives not to disappoint their members on the confidence reposed on them.

On his part, the Electoral Committee Chairman, Dr Kabiru Zubairu described the election as free and fair.

A little girl buying fish from a roadside seller in Dutse village, Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-owo

8,000 indigenes for resettlement in June, says Akinjide

By Josephine Ella Ejeh

N

ine communities of over 8,000 indigenes would be resettled by the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) administration by June 2013, the Minister of State for the FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, disclosed yesterday.

She said out of the 8,000 indigenes, 3,200 are to be resettled with houses and 4,800 are to receive plots of land in Apo in Abuja Municipal Area Council and Galuwyi-Shere in Bwari Area Council.

Akinjide, who confirmed this in Abuja while reviewing the performance of the resettlement scheme of the Administration, said the three communities of 2,571 households would be resettled in the first quarter of

2013 in the Apo Resettlement Scheme while six communities of 5,172 households would be resettled by the second quarter in Galuwyi-Shere.

According to her, the three communities to be resettled in the first quarter as Garki, Apo and Akpajenya while Utako, Maje, Jabi Yakubu, Jabi Samuel, Zhilu and Kpaadna Communities are to be resettled in the second quarter. ”The FCT Administration is committed towards resolving the lingering resettlement crisis. Part of efforts to resolve the crisis was the inauguration of a Ministerial Committee on Facts Finding and the Way Forward on Apo Resettlement Scheme. This has given the original inhabitants confidence and hope of amicable resolution of the crisis which had lingered over the years. ”The Committee has made

some useful recommendations to the Administration towards peaceful resolution of the issues militating against the resettlement scheme.

Consequently, about 2,571 households are to move from Garki, Apo and Akpajenya to Apo Resettlement Town in the first quarter of 2013,” she said.

The minister disclosed that engineering infrastructure works are ongoing in the Phase 2 of Apo Resettlement Scheme and Galuwyi-Shere.

Peoples Daily recalls that the Ministerial Committee on Facts Finding and the Way Forward on Apo Resettlement Scheme had recommended the capturing of resettlement and compensation of the original inhabitants of the FCT in the National Priority Budget of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The Committee, in its report presented to the FCT Minister of State on December 13, 2012, explained that the resettlement and compensation of indigenes could not satisfactorily be funded under the FCT Administration’s Statutory Budget. ”The Committee found out that the issue of resettlement and compensation is the business of the Federal Government. It involves huge capital resources and also constituting security problems within the territory. ”The Committee recommended that the FCT Administration liaise with the Federal Government of Nigeria to include the resettlement and compensation of original inhabitants of the FCT in its National Priority Budget,” the report read.

PAGE 18

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

INSIDE FCT COURTS

Court orders man to pay N45,000 to ex-girlfriend A Grade 1 Area Court sitting in Lugbe, Abuja, has ordered one Oliver Ogenyi, to pay a former girlfriend, Mary Okorie, the sum of N45,000.

The Judge, Haruna Masanawa , who gave the judgment, held that N40,000 was the amount Ogenyi fraudulently collected from Okorie, while N5,000 was the cost of action.

Masanawa ordered Ogenyi to refund the money to his ex-lover in two instalments, holding that Ogenyi must pay the first instalment on or before February 28, 2013 while the balance should be settled by March.

He said that the court granted all the reliefs sought by the plaintiff based on the evidence before the court.

It would be recalled that Okorie, 21, had dragged her former lover to court, urging the court to compel him to refund the money he had collected from her as loan but failed to do so after they had separated.

She had also prayed the court to make her estranged lover bear the cost of the legal action.

It would be recalled that at the last hearing, the plaintiff had also told the court that Ogenyi had attempted to have an affair with her younger

sister, so she had to call it quits with him.

“I gave him the money as a loan in September 2012, when the going was good between us with an agreement to pay me back at the end of the month but he failed. Instead, he told me to go to hell or do whatever I liked. So I had to seek redress in this court. ` “To worsen matters between the two of us, he also made advances at my younger sister, so I had to part ways with him,’’ she told the court.

In his defence, Ogenyi had denied his ex-lover’s claims, saying that she dumped him after “securing’’ a new boyfriend who was richer than him.

He, however, admitted that he owed her the said amount. (NAN)

Court remands man for snatching woman’s handbag

O

ne Tony Amedu of Mpape village, has been ordered to be remanded in prison custody by an Abuja Senior Magistrates Court till January 14 which is the next adjourned date.

The magistrate, Mr. Tony Ubani, gave the ruling following the prosecutor’s objection to a bail for the accused.

The prosecutor, Mr. Abdullahi Adamu, said that one Abdullahi Umar reported the case at the Wuse police station on Dec. 30, 2012.

He said that Amedu and one Romeo, now at large, conspired and snatched a

handbag belonging to Umar’s wife at the Wuse Market bus stop.

Adamu said the bag contained a Nokia cellular phone, one Samsung Galaxy cellular phone, some jewelry and N50,000.

“During investigations, the Samsung Galaxy phone was recovered from Amedu and he could not give a reasonable explanation on how he came about it,’’ Adamu said.

The prosecutor said that Amedu’s offence contravened the provisions of the Penal Code. Amedu denied the allegations and the prosecutor objected to his bail application.

“Investigation into the matter is still ongoing. He does not have a definite address and if admitted to bail he is likely to jump bail.

“The accused is one of the `notorious’ hoodlums who hang around the Wuse Market junction at night with the intent to snatch ladies’ handbags. ``Amedu also has several pending cases before His Worship Vera Torkura and Aminu Eri on similar crimes,’’ Adamu said.

Ubani urged the prosecutor to present the facts of his argument before the court on the next adjourned date of January 14, 2013.

(NAN)

Man, 22, bags two weeks imprisonment for stealing beer

A

n Abuja Magistrates Court has sentenced Adebayo Omoh, 22, to two weeks imprisonment for stealing beer, and granted his alleged accomplice, Chukwuma Ike, 22, bail in the sum of N5,000.

The Police had arraigned the two men, both of Angwan Cement Village, Abuja, before the court for allegedly stealing six cartoons of beer.

Police Prosecutor, Simon Emmanuel told the court that Joseph Etim of Anguwan Cement Village reported the matter at the Life Camp Police Station, Abuja, on December 30, 2012.

Emmanuel said the accused entered the complainant’s shop and stole six cartoons of alcohol.

He said that on the said date, Corporal Esther Rusher, who was on patrol at Angwan Cement Village, arrested the suspects while they were drinking the alcohol at a hideout.

He added that the suspects looked suspicious and could not give a satisfactory account of their action.

Omoh, who pleaded guilty, said: “I entered the shop and carried six cartoons of beer; we sold three cartoons and when we started

drinking the remaining beer, the police arrested us’’.

On his part, Ike, pleaded not guilty, saying “I did not steal any beer’’.

Magistrate Abdulateef Abolaji sentenced Omoh to two weeks imprisonment with an option of N200 fine, and ordered that the remaining beer be returned to the complainant.

Abolaji granted Ike bail in the sum of N5,000 and one surety in like sum. He said the surety must have a traceable work and home addresses, and adjourned the case to January 10, 2013 for further hearing. (NAN)

BUSINESS

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

Email: aminuimam@yahoo.co.uk

PAGE 19

INSIDE

- Pg 22

FG’s cement policy saves Nigeria N210bn yearly

Mob: 08033644990

Business activity records upsurge in Lagos

By Bolaji Olasunkanmi

T

he hustle and bustle in Lagos finally resumed on Monday following the return of people after the Christmas and New Year holiday.

Commuters were seen early yesterday morning at the various bus-stops waiting for buses to convey them to their various destinations. The usual traffic gridlock has increased, from 7-up to Iyana Oworo to Third mainland bridge. Vehicles were seen moving at a slow pace; likewise Lagos-Ibadan Expressway axis.

Since Monday evening, at Berger Bus stop Lagos, travellers were seen alighting from different inter- state buses and luxurious buses conveying them from their villages and town; some, who spoke to our reporter said they have expended their budget at home and that they had to borrow money back to Lagos due to the hike in transportation fare.

At a popular Katangwa market, Abule Egba, business activities have resumed, as people were seen either selling wares or buying one or two things in preparation for their children's school resumption. All

Bank CEOs to undergo bi-ennial assessment test - CBN

By Aminu Imam

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he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday announced plans to conduct a bi-ennial test for Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Nigeria's deposit money banks to ensure the capacity of the chief executives.

The assessment, which will be conducted by the CBN is to ascertain whether they are fit to continue to hold sway as the heads of those institutions.

The exercise, which the CBN tagged: "Fit and Proper Persons Test" will be a key determinant whether a bank CEO's tenure is to renewed afterwards or not.

Such a decision, the apex bank said, will be depended on the level of his/her performance.

In a circular reminding all Managing Directors/ CEOs of deposit money banks and discount houses of the development, the CBN said they would be assessed based on their response to issues such as examiners report, external auditors' letters/ reports, as well as customers' complaints, among others.

the shops were opened for the commercial activities and commercial motor operators were seen making brisk money from commuters to convey what they bought to their different destinations.

A business woman, Omolake Ajiboye, who was at the Oke Arin market yesterday to get

cooking utensils and provisions for her shop narrated that it was hell to get out of the market, as the influx of people in the market was full to the brim.

A civil servant residing at Ishaga Lagos state who craved anonymity said, "We resumed on Jan 2nd, but since yesterday it has been hectic getting to my

office due to human traffic that is building up; I waited for almost one hour before I could get a bus to my place of work".

Mr. Smart Show, who has a shop at Yaba said, "Some shops were locked up last week because the owners travelled for the Christmas and New Year celebration but they are back; as

you can see, commercial activities has fully commenced; we pray for God blessing this year".

Meanwhile, the presence of policemen at Berger Bridge in Lagos yesterday displaced some of the miscreants usually seen loitering around to extort money from the commercial bus conductors.

L-R: Executive Director, Mediaworth Limited, Mr. Yinka Folami, Chief Executive, Business School Netherlands (Nigeria), Mr. Lere Baale, and Operations Manager of the school, Mrs Morenike Adeyeye, during a news briefing/facility tour of business school Netherlands (Nigeria), yesterday in Lagos.

Photo: NAN

FAAN to introduce automated toll gates at Abuja airport

By Ibrahim Kabir Sule with agency report he Spokesperson for the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Henrietta Yakubu, yesterday said that electronic toll gates would be mounted at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja, to ease traffic flow.

Yakubu said the measure would complement services at the airport and reduce vehicular movements at the airport.

"The new car parks and roads that had been opened in the airport would experience easy vehicular movements.

"The new electronic gate pass would be made available to individuals coming into the airport latest by the end of the first quarter of the year.

"The old stickers placed on cars would no longer be

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recognised, with time. ``We are trying our best to make sure that we ease the traffic flow, part of which is the new measure.

"It will also enable people to park or leave the airport easily,'' Yakubu said.

She added that FAAN would introduce automatic

trolleys for passengers' use.

She said this was part of the ministry's innovations to ensure that the airport met international standards.

James Shallangwa, the Head of Commercial at the airport, said that the use of electronic gate would ensure accountability for toll fees.

Rosneft ‘ll emerge as world's largest oil producer

By Muhammad Nasir with agency report ussia's largest oil producer, Rosnet, will become the world's largest listed oil producer with hydrocarbon output of some 4.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day

by June, this year, The Globe Mail has reported.

The company, which ranks among the world's top publicly traded oil and gas companies, has clinched an agreement to acquire

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Anglo-Russian TNK-BP for around $55 billion in a cash and stock deal. After the acquisition, expected to be completed in the first half of this year, Rosnet will lead the pack.

More crude from the state owned top producer kept Russian oil output in the world last year, ahead of Saudi Arabia, Energy Ministry data showed.

Crude output edged up almost 1 percent to a new post-Soviet high of 10.37 million barrels per day (bpd), but the increase

Management Tip of the Day

S

Forget self-esteem! you need self-compassion.

elf-esteem has long been considered the bedrock of individual success. But high self-esteem may not be all that it's cracked up to be.

Thinking you're great (which of course you are) comes with pressure to live up to your own self-image. You may live in quiet terror of making mistakes, and

He said the agency would continue to use the old car stickers until the new one was introduced.

"It will charge people on daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis, depending on how many times an individual is coming into the airport in a vehicle,'' Yakubu added.

even worse, feel devastated when you do.

When faced with a challenge, you don't need to believe in your own brilliance as much as you need to confront your flaws head on. Develop self-compassion, a willingness to look at your own shortcomings with kindness and understanding.

With a realistic sense of your abilities and actions, you can figure out what needs to be done differently next time. Being perfect doesn't lead to success, but being able to avoid the same mistake twice does.

Source: Harvard Business Review

could halt this year due to depleted oil fields in West Siberia.

Russia, whose proceeds from oil, gas constitute around half of budget revenues, aims to keep its crude production at no less than 10 million bpd until 2020.It increased its share in the oil industry to cover 50 percent after Rosneft clinched the agreement to acquire TNK-BP. In tonnes, Russia's crude production was 518.018 million last year, the ministry said, up from 511.432 million tonnes in 2011,which was one day shorter than 2012.

In December, Russia's oil production edged down to 10.48 million bpd from 10.50 million in November, a post-Soviet high.

Rosneft reported one of the largest rises in crude output among the Russian oil majors last year, with a an increase of 2.3 percent to 117.473 million tonnes(2.4 million bpd) on a daily basis to increased production at its East Siberia's Vankor field to 367,000 bpd.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

PAGE 20

COMPANY NEWS Custodian & Allied Insurance, Crusader Insurance

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wo of the industry’s players, Custodian and Allied Insurance PLC and Crusader Insurance PLC have applied to a high court for approval to merge their operations.

Some insurance companies weighed down by heavy debt portfolios and weak balance sheets, are now considering the option of corporate mergers in order to remain in business.

According to industry experts, this has become necessary following an inspectorate reports by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), which revealed that 10 insurance firms were very weak and operating below the minimum paid up capital of various segments of the insurance business.

Despite a population of over 160 million people, Nigeria’s Insurance Industry remains small with penetration still below six percent, one of the lowest levels in Africa.

CBN

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he Naira appreciated, snapping two days of decline after the central bank sold foreign-currency for the first time this year. The currency gained 0.2 percent to 156.75 a dollar, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The currency lost 0.4 percent last week.

The Central Bank of Nigeria, which sells foreign-currency to support the naira at twiceweekly auctions, resumed sales yesterday after closing for last year on Dec. 19. It sold $150 million to lenders, it said in an emailed statement.

The CBN plans to sell 166 billion naira of 91-, 182- and 364-day Treasury bills at an auction Jan. 10, the central bank said yesterday, prompting speculations of increased dollar inflows to buy the debt.

UBA

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nited Bank for Africa Plc, the Nigerian lender whose shareholders last month approved a restructuring plan, headed for the biggest gain in more than six years after its commercial banking business was listed on the local bourse.

The stock gained 9.8 percent to 5.14 naira by 1:46 p.m. in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital. A close at this price will be its biggest daily rise since Aug. 8, 2006.

The lender listed the unit at 4.26 naira per share on Monday, it said in an e-mailed statement.

UBA Capital, the noncommercial banking and capital market businesses of UBA, will be listed on as a separate company on Jan. 11.

NAMA management to deal with in-house saboteurs, says MD E

arly last December, NAMA brought an ICAO expert to train some selected Air Traffic Controllers on Performance Base Navigation (PBN), in line with the deadline given ICAO for all contracting states, of which Nigeria is a member, to adopt PBN for improved air navigation. But we learnt that the Air Traffic Officers refused to attend the course, allegedly saying they prefer the training to be carried out abroad. How true is this?

During the last quarter of 2012, there was misunderstanding between Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs) and the management of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) over training locations and other. In this interview with Suleiman Idris, NAMA’s Managing Director, Engineer Nnamdi Udoh said efforts are being made to up-grade the agency’s system performance and what he terms activities of some saboteurs within the agency. Excerpts: system to improve, but we need to put down those suggestions on the table and not rush to the media and say what is not correct and you want me to accept that what you have done is correct, no, I cannot accept that.

Everybody likes to go abroad for training, but if there is any time Air Traffic Controllers have gone abroad for training, it’s now. As I speak to you, there about 30 of them abroad-some in America, some in Egypt, some in Singapore; and what they are doing in those places is training.

And of course, if there is any training that is local and an officer says he will not attend, administrative procedure will be taken to address such indiscipline.

Training is not done abroad; Training is done both locally and abroad. People must stop using personal benefits as reason to bring the system down. Like I said, it’s an administrative thing and we will address it.

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n the aftermath of the naval helicopter crash recently in which some personalities and the crew died, the issue of safety once again was raised by some members of the public.

NAMA, as the air navigation service provider, was mentioned. As the Chief Executive of NAMA, what is your take on this?

My first reaction is: When people die, you first commiserate with families of the victims and not politicize it and make it look like these people are not human beings. And for the umpteenth time, we told the public that this is a military aircraft, so we cannot tell the world how the military operates, though we have joint user agreement of the airspace with the military, otherwise we would not known what has happened.

Secondly, when accident happened, people who are fully in charge in the Nigerian military service will carry out full investigations. I cannot even make a statement about that military helicopter crash because its not under my jurisdiction.

Talking about our airspace, I again want to assure all that our airspace is safe and super safe. An accident happening does not anyway suggest that our airspace is not safe or when an accident does not happen, that again does not also suggest that a particular airspace is unsafe.

The bottom line is, when you check your safety net, you will be

What would you say could have informed the stance of some of the ATCs in criticising you?

Engineer Nnamdi Udoh able to take a position on whether what you are doing is right or wrong; with all laid down standards and what we are doing to meet all the set regulatory standards and audited by either IATA or ICAO. That one helicopter, out of over a million operations in 2012, had an issue; therefore, people just jump into conclusion to say the airspace is not safe; Haba!

The issue of communications has been a recurring decimal when it comes to air navigation and some ATCs in your agency have been dishing out some

“

Human factor could have been the reason for anybody to start criticising me

protest memos to the media lately. What is the true situation?

My take is that people need to listen to our radios and be able to say where we are. We have even deployed Air Traffic Controllers who are in the management; they are all deployed to the airports to monitor and give us feedback. And in any case, why would anyone be saying behind our back that what we are saying is not correct? Is what we are doing not in the interest of the flying public?

We should all work together to ensure that the system work, not to be running down the system that you belong. You gain nothing by running down the system, personalities or individuals.

We made it public that the volume of traffic we are handling now are much more than what we used to handle in the past and therefore we need to do something to improve our radios, communication and sectorize, so as to handle more flights coming from the east or western sector of the airspace seamlessly and with less stress.

If anybody who work in this organisation is seeing himself as a saboteur, let him do it and saboteurs are treated in certain ways but if somebody is constructively... I mean I am not a ‘bank of knowledge’; people must suggest things to me for the

Don’t forget, I am an Air Traffic Engineer and this is the first time an engineer is becoming the Chief Executive of this agency. Human factor could have been the reason for anybody to start criticising me, but if your son criticizes you, that son need to be called in and you ask him questions - maybe because you didn’t give him pocket money for Christmas party, may be and maybe not.

That is what we are doing; We are dialoguing. The current executive has just been a little over one year old. You are talking of things that have happened years before we came in, as if it just happened yesterday.

Since being in the saddle in the past one year, we have put in our best to improve on the system and somebody somewhere within the system sees nothing good in what we are doing; It tells you then that that person has a problem and addressing the personality and or the individual becomes a distraction.

That’s why we made public what we are doing to address our issues and the safety management issues-the gaps noticed. If the systems are super and problems don’t arise, then there will not be the need for Air Traffic Controllers, there will be no need for safety management system, there will be no need for Air Traffic Engineers and other members of the workforce.

Because problems are bound to happen while running the system, that is why we are all here so that when there are problems, we work together to find solutions and not denigrate the system in the media. If issues crop up, we must address them and not pull down the system or say the system has collapsed, like they are doing.

No pilot can fly blindly. If a pilot claims that he flew blindly, then that pilot does not worth the license he is holding. If there is a pilot that says he is been flying blindly, please let us know such pilot.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

Port concessioning: Why FG shouldn’t have extended cargo scanning contract The Federal Government last week extended by six months the seven- year contract on port concessioning it signed with the three destination inspection service providers, beginning this January. Aminu Imam,in this analysis,reports that given the fact that, ordinarily, these services should have been the responsibility of the Nigeria Customs Service, stakeholders operating at ports have lent their voices against government extending the contract.

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he reason for the extension, according to the government, was to allow the Nigeria Customs Service build more capacity for the takeover of the services, despite the fact that the Service has been engaged in capacity building to the effect since 2009.

The development has not gone down well with stakeholders in the maritime sector of the economy which have criticised the federal government for extending the contract of the three service providers in the nation’s seaports, airports and international borders beyond December 31, 2012.

The service providers, namely Cotecna Destination Inspection Limited (CDIL), SGS Nigeria Limited and Global Scansystems, were in 2005 awarded a seven-year contract that commenced in January 2006 to supply cargo scanning machines on a build, own, operate and transfer basis (BOOT) as well as train Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) officers on risk management, valuation and classification.

The extension of the Service providers contract was announced in a letter dated December 31, 2012 and signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Danladi Kifasi. The letter directed the service providers to liaise with the Legal Unit of the Ministry of Finance for preparation and execution of the new agreement within one week of the date of the offer.

The letter, with reference F10361/S.56/VA/491, which was sent to the three service providers, read in part: “I wish to inform you that the President has approved the extension of the Agreement dated January 1, 2006, between your company and the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) for the Provision, Installation, Operation and Management of X-ray Scanning Equipment and Software for Inspection of goods.

The agreement which is to expire on December 31, 2012 has been extended for a period of six months with effect from 1st January, 2013.”

However, stakeholders in the sector including the licensed customs agents, the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has kicked against the extension of the contract. The group which described the extension as unfortunate noted that the

development was an indication of government’s lack of seriousness about capacity development in the sector.

The contracting of core Customs responsibilities to the private sector is a trend that is archaic and has been rested in most countries. According to the World Customs Organisation (WCO) if any country must rely on contracting core Customs services to private companies, then such a country should as well disband its Customs administration.

Experience has shown that the services contracted to private sector are usually treated by benefiting firms as mere business ventures even as organisations will go to the extremes to secure such contracts primarily for profit making.

Having critically studied the scenario, the WCO summed that such practice usually results in a situation where there is no trust in the Customs frontline and post clearance capability.

The option of contracting service providers, according to the world Customs body, has been observed to be usually more cost effective than in-house operations. nvestigations by the WCO have showed that some of the service providers offer government free cargo scanning equipment in exchange for a lucrative inspection fee. “None of this is based on risk management and mostly purely profit focussed. The concept forgoes most, if not all the modern Customs principles and standards promoted by the WCO,” the body said, adding that rather than this concept which adds no value to trade, the focus of governments should be capacity building for Customs officers.

As a consequence of critical assessments of the performance of inspection companies and inefficient capacity-building and training activities, many Customs administrations have exited these outsourcing contracts and the WCO is able to assist its members with the process of discontinuing these contracts. Hence it came as a surprise to many that the federal government extended the service providers contract despite Customs preparedness with the support of the WCO to take-over.

Before the contract extension, the Service had engaged 12,000 officers in various strategic areas in preparation for a comprehensive and seamless

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TinCan Island port, Lagos takeover programme from the service providers, a specialised software, Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) which was designed and developed by the Service to take care of all the observed defects in the risk assessment report process was ready to be deployed. he PAAR software which was solely designed and developed by the NCS manages and maintains national data on trade and security. The software is designed to efficiently handle import on the basis of pre-arrival of cargo thereby facilitating trade, ensuring security of the nation and improving revenue collection and retaining capital flights.

With much defects associated with the service providers contracts which has been found not to have been based on the NCS business requirement and also not in line with international best practices on Customs reforms and modernisation as specified in Kyoto Convention on harmonisation and simplification of trade, one cannot but wonder why the contract was extended.

There has been observed cases of duplication and multiple issuances of Risk Assessment Reports (RAR) on high FOB imports by the service providers with intension to defraud the federal government. Between February and July 2012, 414

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RARs with a value of N5.5 billion were duplicated. One particular RAR with FOB value N229 billion was found to have been duplicated by a service provider for the same consignment, thereby drawing double payment for single import.

Such incidences justifies arguments that core Customs services contracted to the private sector are usually treated by benefiting firms as mere business ventures. There is also the related issue of national security with the service provider’s operating system.

This has to do with the vulnerability of national data on security arising from the hosting of data base abroad by the service providers. here is also the issue of the absence of a harmonised risk management system among the three service providers resulting in nonuniformity in the cargo clearance procedure and inefficiency, leading to frustration of trade facilitation effort of the government.

No wonder the WCO has continuously stressed that rather than this concept which adds no value to trade, governments should focus on capacity building for Customs officers to enable them take-over the management of all core Customs services for better delivery, even as it observed that there known strategy by the service providers to prolong their contract by

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refusing to provide strategic capacity transfer.

Perhaps this strategy has worked for the service providers in Nigeria where government is still doubtful of the ability of the Customs Service to take-over from them and with a-no-penalty clause in the contract, there is no room for sanction in cases of delays and non-fulfilment of contractual obligations.

Industry stakeholders have therefore said it is therefore high time that such organisations which front themselves with the ‘be-all and end-all’ systems in Customs’ tariff and valuation appraisal rather seek a more practical and benefit-delivering model than one which not only scams governments for service and inspection fees, but also offers no benefit to trade.

According to the stakeholders, the reality in all of this should be clear. No private sector entity can replace Customs. The Customs had also consistently assured of its ability and readiness to handle inspection activities at the nation’s ports, saying the service has the technical and managerial skills needed for the provision of the vital service as many of its officials have been trained by the contractors to handle the scanning machines.

As it is presently, whether the Federal Government would allow the Nigeria Customs Service to render the inspection service effectively or not, after the extension period, only time will tell.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

FG’s cement policy saves N210bn yearly

By Abdulrahaman Abdulraheem

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he Federal G o v e r n m e n t o n Monday said it would review its Backward Integration Policy (BIP) on cement to consolidate the “tremendous’’ success it recorded so far. The Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, said this in Abuja during a meeting he held with stakeholders in the cement industry.

He told the gathering that a committee would be set up “before the end of this week’’ to commence the review. Aganga said that the review of the policy was sequel to the “tremendous’’ success recorded through the introduction and rigorous implementation of the Backward Integration Policy in the cement industry.

“We have achieved everything we set for ourselves 10 years ago when the Backward Integration Policy was

introduced; we want to take the next step, as part of our strategy on the way forward. After 10 years of implementation of BIP with two million tonnes capacity, the good news is that today, we have about 28 million tonnes capacity of cement and investment of about six billion dollars. “More so, it provides direct and indirect employment for about two million people.

According to the minister, there is no industrial policy that has been as successful as the BIP in the cement industry. Aganga hinted that the implementation of the BIP had saved the country foreign exchange of about N210 billion per year.

He, however, stressed the need to carry out a deeper review of the cement sector to make it more competitive locally and

internationally. According to him, Nigeria has reached a point where it should be thinking about exporting some of its products.

“This means that we need to look at the overall structure, including the current pricing, availability, affordability, in addition to developing an export strategy for the sector,’’ he said.

He described cement sector as one of the sectors that “Nigeria should

and will be rightly known for as one of the greatest contributors to the Gross Domestic Product of the country.

He promised to carry along the stakeholders in the implementation of the policy.

“This is so that at the end of the day, it will be a win-win situation for all the manufacturers, consumers and the Nigerian economy at large.’’

Mutual Benefits Assurance posts N916.9m PBT From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

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utual Benefits Assurance Plc said it has made a profit before tax of N916.9 million during the 2011 financial period.

Its profit before tax rose from N892.2 million in 2010 to N916.9 million in 2011, while profit after tax rose from N758.4 million to N763.8m in the years under review.”

The Chairman of the company, Chamberlain Oyibo, disclosed this during the company’s 16th Annual General Meeting in Lagos.

According to the financial report presented by Oyibo, claims incurred by the firm rose from N731.5 million in 2010 to N1.02 billion in 2011 financial period.

The chairman said that Mutual Benefits was still investing in the construction of the N3 billion Mutual Alpha Courts at Costain, Lagos. Presently, he added that the project had reached about 75 per cent completion stage and that all the 60 units had been sold out.

The company’s investment in oil marginal field, he said, was almost at its completion stage, while other investments were yielding returns in line with its projection. He said there would be possible change in its investment portfolio through its subsidiaries next year.

This, he added, had become necessary in view of the compliance requirements of the International Financial Reporting Standard.

He said that the concept of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework had also become a tool for business survival and a benchmark for measuring the operational efficiency of any entity.

L-R: Director, Monitoring and Research Division, UN-Habitat in Kenya, Professor Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, former Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. Olufemi Bamiro, Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Social Economic Research (NISER), Prof. Olufemi Taiwo, during the NISER series seminar, yesterday in Ibadan.

Photo: NAN

Ecobank opens 33rd affiliate in Equatorial Guinea

By Abdulwahab Isa

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cobank Transn a t i o n a l Incorporated, the leading pan-African banking group, on Monday announced the opening of its Equatorial Guinea affiliate.

Ecobank Ecobank Equatorial Guinea was issued a license to operate as a credit institution in Equatorial Guinea and became the 33rd affiliate of the Group in

Africa.

Ecobank’s CEO, Thierry Tanoh said: “We are pleased that the authorities of Equatorial Guinea have issued Ecobank with a license to operate as the 5th bank in the country and to support the development of the economy with access to financing. The addition of Ecobank Equatorial Guinea completes our presence in all the member states of the

Monetary and Economic Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) and highlights our leadership in the African banking sector and demonstrates our long term commitment to the African continent.”

Evelyne Tall, Deputy CEO of the Ecobank Group added, “We are particularly enthusiastic about Ecobank’s access to the Equato-Guinea market and the

opportunity to offer to our existing and potential clients our innovative and reliable products and services. Additionally our presence in Equatorial Guinea would give them access to Ecobank’s footprint across Africa.”

Ecobank Equatorial Guinea’s head office is located in the central business district of Malabo, on Avenida de la Independencia.

Nigeria needs national database to fight cybercrime – IT expert

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member of the Computer P r o f e s s i o n a l s Registration Council of Nigeria, Dr Chris Uwaje, says Nigeria needs a national database to be able to successfully fight cybercrime.

Uwaje, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Connect Technologies, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday .

He said that in establishing the database, Nigeria would meet the United Nation’s framework for fighting the crime. We need to establish a national database which would deal with everybody that is within the sovereignty of Nigeria so that you can know them because cybercrime is about people, infrastructure and domain.

“If you can register your properties like houses, the people and their places of work and have a national database, then every movement can be monitored through the use of the IT that everybody has and uses. For instance, in China now, a person would need a national identity card to log on to the internet to know that you are a person and that you are not anonymous. “I think that is the way other countries are going to respond to cyberspace control,” he said.

Uwaje said that the drive to checkmate cyberspace activities would likely result in an international control which was lacking now but might emerge in the future.

According to him, there must be a limit to which human excesses could be allowed to go

on the internet. “If you say the Internet is free and people can kill each other on it, then automatically it goes into a kind of conflict with the state which is supposed to protect life and property.

He said the need for a

moderator to define the “dos and dont’s’’ of the platform called for a governance team.

Uwaje said that the benefits of the internet outweigh its disadvantages but its misuse informed the need for control.

(NAN)

Stone crushers seek Jigawa’s government assistance

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he Stone Crushers Association, Dutse Local Government chapter in Jigawa, has called on the State Government to provide its members with modern stone crushing machines. The union said that the machine would help to ease the hardships they encountered in breaking the stones.

The Chairman of the Association, Idi Sa’idu made the call while fielding questions on Monday in Dutse Sa’idu said that the crushers were labouring hard, using local tools to break the stones.

He said that they usually set fire on the stones to burn them for four days and five hours before breaking them into pieces. (NAN)

PEOSPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

Report as at Tuesday, January 8, 2013

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

07055652553 udennaorji@yahoo.com

Housing development to drive economic growth in 2013 Pg 26

FHA to boost social housing in 2013 Pg 26

How we paid off our mortgage: Tales of 3 home owners

Pg 27

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

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Paving Stones Today's patio paving stones offer the look of natural, traditional stone products, but with the added benefit of variable sizes, colors and ease of installation. Here are some designs you can adopt to bring a touch of class to your home or office.

With its graceful simplicity and w e a t h e r e d , dimpled surface, Cassova resembles the traditional Brussels paver. It can be configured into a variety of designs, including herringbone, basket-weave, running bond or stacked-bond patterns. It also makes a great soldier course (a border to contain a gravel walk) or accent for other pavers.

Today's pavers come in all shapes and sizes making them ideally suitable for any landscape plan.

While the square and rectangular stones are more popular, there are a variety of other designs to consider, from naturallooking flagstone to special deisgns and shapes including tulip, wave, and the hexagonpatterned layout shown here.

This Plaza Stone paver features an embossed surface with soft-curved edges to give it a somewhat worn look. It is available in a variety of colors in either standard or tumbled finishes.

The installation shown combines three different sized pavers-6"x9", 6"x3", and 4"x6"-in the Oaks Blend coloration.

C o v e n t r y Brickstone pavers offer the classic look of traditional, ageworn brick.

Available in a full range of colorations, among them Haddon Blend, shown here, the bricks can be configured in a variety of patterns from herringbone and basket weave to running- and stacked-bond installations.

Bristol pavers come in 6"x 9" and 6"x 6" sizes and can be combined or used singly to create distinctive walkways, patios and focal points.

Their antique, t u m b l e d appearance and soft colorations-toasted almond, shown here-make them perfect for any house style and hardscape plan.

These aged-looking Cambridge pavers are designed to resemble the walkways and piazzas of the E u r o p e a n Renaissance.

F e a t u r i n g ArmorTec for lasting beauty and color protection, each paver offers the look of naturally-aged stone making it particularly suited for historic house styles.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

FHA to boost social housing in 2013 Stories by Udenna Orji

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ollowing the federal g o v e r n m e n t ' s determination to tackle the increasing deficit of over 16 million housing units, the Federal Housing Authority has embarked on acquisition of lands across the country some of which the Authority has earmarked for development of social housing in 2013.

The federal government is currently developing a social housing strategy for Nigeria and the FHA management is already making plans to successfully

execute social housing schemes in Nigeria.

FHA Managing Director, Architect Terver Gemade in a chat with newsmen said over 4,106 hectares of land have been acquired in 19 states of Nigeria for housing development.

He said the Authority was poised to tackle Nigeria's housing problems with greater passion in 2013.

The FHA is currently developing several housing estates in different parts of Nigeria.

He said challenges facing the Federal Housing Authority included "land acquisition

constraints, inadequate capital resources dearth of long term funds, absence of a developed finance/sustainable mortgage system, lack of government funding on infrastructure which affects the eventual cost of delivery of houses to the low / Medium income earners, community / youth restiveness, issue of court litigations, insufficient production and high cost of building materials, insufficient skilled labour, human resources issues".

Among new developments in 2013 will be "opening up new site locations i.e Social Housing

Development of 576 units of various house types in Zuba, 100 units of various house types estate development in Lokoja, Kano, Port Harcourt, Kaduna, sand filling, reclamation and development of 1000 hectares of land in Festac phase II for a New Town, developing as a matter of priority more low (30%) and medium (50%) income housing on all our estates, development of New Towns across the FCT in Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kwali and Kuje, development of additional highrise blocks of flat in Ipaja, Lagos" According to Gemade, also in 2013, "in line with the passion of

the Honourable Minister, Ms Amal Pepple CFR, emphasis will be on Social Housing Schemes for provision of suitable shelter for target groups like the poor, the low-income earners, the less privileged etc; while creating the enabling environment for private sector participation. He added that in 2013, there will be "further attempts at regeneration with Maitama, Lugbe and Festac as pilot schemes; development of The Authority's Corporate Headquarters in the Central Business District, Abuja and Inhouse human capacity development".

Housing development to drive economic growth in 2013

N

igeria’s deficit of 16 million housing units may soon be erased if ongoing meetings and collaborative efforts between the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development yield fruits. Government is said to have finally accepted the counsel from experts that a vigorous and robust housing development programme aimed at reducing the nation’s ballooning housing deficit would have a positive effect in not only providing houses for Nigerians but in reviving the comatose industrial sector. A revival of the nations ailing manufacturing sector would help mop up the swelling army of unemployed graduates now roaming the streets in search of elusive jobs.

It was to use the housing sector as one of the launching pads for reviving the Nigerian economy that led to the approval of the new National Policy on Housing and National Policy on Urban Development by the Federal Executive Council last year.

Speaking on the approval of the new policies recently, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ms. Ama Pepple said “the approved policies are veritable instruments for empowering the ministry to reposition and revitalize the sector to optimize its contributions to the development of our national economy, especially in the area of job and wealth creation as well as enhanced contribution to the GDP”. The two new policies are expected to deliver about one million housing units annually to Nigerians.

Confirming these feelers from government, Muhammed Jibrin, Chief Executive Officer of Abujabased Sun Trust Savings & Loans Ltd, a mortgage bank, said “I am aware that the Minister of Finance and the Coordinator of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala, is committed to and looking at the housing sector as a catalyst for growth and employment generation. The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ms. Ama Pepple has been holding stakeholder meetings with the sector. She has set up committees, she is doing a great job honestly and the Federal Mortgage Bank has been providing the necessary support to this effect. I know that the housing and finance ministers have been working together to

ensure that the housing sector is jump-started seriously this year.

It is on top of their radar. The idea is to create jobs in the economy.

The Central Bank needs to get involved too by providing the necessary funds and credit guarantees to the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria in particular and to the sector in general. The Nigerian housing sector is one of the most diagnosed sectors of the economy. The issues that are militating against its development are very clear.” Jibrin said.

A recent World Bank report says Nigeria has the potential to become Africa’s foremost economic power, with an average GDP of six per cent per annum, buoyed by a young and growing population of 160 million. Morgan Stanley, an investment banking institution, also predicted that Nigeria’s economy would outperform South Africa’s by 2025 to become the biggest in Africa.

The macroeconomic outlook is favourable. With an expected stable inflation rate, five per cent rural to urban immigration, and three per cent population growth, experts say Nigeria is a huge real

estate market by all standards.

Concurring with the statistics, the Jibrin noted that “in the highly developed economies, the average contribution of the real estate and housing sectors to the GDP is 40 per cent. In every economy, there is an engine room for that economy. The Nigerian housing sector can serve as that engine room as we seek to diversify our economic base. The sector has the potential to generate and create huge economic activities. The housing sector needs to consume other building materials and products such as electrical equipment, furniture, paints, roofing, cement, etc. The sector can help in developing small and large scale production of these key inputs thereby generating employment and increasing the level of national income. Addressing the housing sector problem is the same as addressing the unemployment problem and one avenue to diversify the economy away from dependence on the oil sector”.

Jibrin highlighted poor mortgage development as one of the problems hindering the development of the housing sector

and called for the use of pension funds to boost mortgage development in Nigeria. His words: “the Pension Reform Act, 2004, has made it possible for people to have a contributory pension scheme in place. The pension industry has an estimated N2.4 trillion of pension funds under management. These are mostly long-term funds and are the most qualified to support the mortgage industry in attaining its millennium development goals.

But these funds, understandably, are mostly locked up in government treasury bills and bonds. These (pension) funds have to be unlocked and made available for the real estate sector. This is because the funds are basically longterm and you may not have the problem we (mortgage banks) experience today in terms of mismatch in the maturity profile of the loans we grant, because mortgage loans are long term as against the deposits we take that are mostly short-tenured. If you do an actuarial valuation of the pension funds managed by the PFAs (Pension Fund Administrators), the minimum average number of years the money will remain with

the PFAs is about 20 years. This is what we call long term money. This is the type of money you expect should go into the housing and mortgage sector” Managing Director, Union Assurance Company Limited, Mr. Godwin Odah while blaming poor development of Nigeria’s mortgage industry on the low level of insurance penetration and awareness in the country described insurance as a mechanism for mobilizing funds, adding that mortgage and housing remained scarce because there were no funds.

“We need long term funds, which is what life insurance provides. Life insurance comes in the category of 5, 10 and 15-year plans and so on. Funds at the disposal of banks are short-term in nature and most times, have a maximum tenor of 90 days before the owners come calling and with this condition, banks can only lend short-term at high interest rates that are largely a disincentive to the entrepreneur in the real estate business. But the situation will be better if banks had insurance life funds”, Odah said.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

PAGE 27

How we paid off our mortgage: Tales of 3 homeowners

By Udenna Orji

W

hile renters dream of buying a home, homeowners dream of the day they pay off the mortgage and own the property debt-free. It’s not an easy goal to accomplish, but here, three homeowners explain why they wanted to pay off the mortgage — and how they did it.

Pay off mortgage before retirement Phil Lobel, 52, has a conservative approach to money that largely explains why he repeatedly refinanced his mortgage over a 20-year period, reducing the interest rate and shortening the term until his loan was paid in full.

“Even though everybody else seemed to take cash out and buy fancy cars and more real estate, I said, ‘What happens when the real estate drops (in value) or you reach your balloon payment on the five-year term and the low rates are over?’” he says.

Lobel, a public relations professional in West Hollywood, Calif., describes his home as a bungalow/cottage that includes a main house with two bedrooms

and one bathroom. The home includes a garage that’s been converted into a one-bedroom, one-bathroom guest house. The total space is about 1,500 square feet on a 4,000-squarefoot lot, Lobel says. He estimates the market value at $900,000.

His initial mortgage, taken out in 1993 as part of the $280,000 purchase price, had an interest rate of 7.34 percent and a 30-year term. His second loan, obtained a few years later, had a rate in the 6 percent range and a 20-year term.

His last loan, originated in the early 2000s, had a rate slightly lower than 5 percent and a 10-year term. Along the way, his payment increased in increments of 10 percent to 20 percent, and at times, he added as much as $700 extra to his payment to reduce the principal.

“I had the cash, and instead of spending it frivolously, I felt this was a wise way to go,” Lobel says. “I wanted to have a home free and clear when I retire and not have any mortgage.”

Pay off mortgage to prep for college Wendy Kerschner, 37, and her husband, Ken, 42, paid

$155,000 to buy their house in 1997. They expect to pay off their $124,000 purchasemoney mortgage next summer, a year before the eldest of their two sons completes high school and begins college. The house is a two-story stone Colonial with four bedrooms and 1 1/2 bathrooms in Lancaster County, Pa. “Four years ago,” Wendy Kerschner says, “I went to the bank and said, ‘What do I need to do to make sure my mortgage is paid off by the summer of 2014?’

The bank told me I needed to provide an extra $200 per pay.

That meant $400, or sometimes $600, a month because we pay biweekly.”

Wendy Kerschner says she and her husband could “easily afford” the extra money, despite their modest incomes — he’s a schoolteacher, and she’s a sales and marketing assistant — due to decades of careful spending habits.

The Kerschners were housepoor for their first two years of homeownership because of a car loan, Wendy Kerschner recalls.

Once that was paid off, she says, they had “$400 of play room” in their monthly budget. That spare cash wasn’t applied to the

mortgage immediately, but combined with pay raises over the years, it enabled them to make the extra payments when they were ready to do so.

“I am very frugal, but not that it hurts my lifestyle or makes me stand out in a crowd,” Wendy Kerschner says. “We take vacations — we go to water parks or amusement parks or camping, but we have never spent (much money) on the vacation. Our children have never been on an airplane.”

Pay off mortgage to downsize Patrick Mellody, 54, and his wife, Vickie, 53, took a two-step approach to mortgage freedom: First, they paid off $50,000 of a $130,000 home loan, then they sold that home and used the equity cushion to pay cash for their current home.

The property they bought in 1992 and sold in 2006 was a 3,200-square-foot house with four bedrooms, two bathrooms, what Patrick Mellody describes as an “enormous” great room and an in-law apartment.

The replacement property, bought in 2006, is a 1,200square-foot town house with three bedrooms, 1 1/2

bathrooms and a nearby park.

Both properties are in the suburbs of Buffalo, N.Y. “We only paid $82,000,” Patrick Mellody says. “It was an amazing deal.”

The Mellodys aren’t big earners. He’s a sales manager for a company that distributes bakery ingredients, a selfdescribed “volunteer budget coach” and the author of “ The Unemployment Budget,” a book about household budgeting for unemployed workers . She’s an office administrator for an oil and gas association.

To chip away at their mortgage, Patrick Mellody says the couple paid off other bills, mostly credit cards and car loans, then applied the extra money from those extinguished debts to their home loan. They also refinanced, lowering their rate from the 8 percent range into 6 percent territory and shortening their term from 30 to 15 years.

“Sometimes I was paying an extra $1,000 a month,” Patrick Mellody says. “I set a goal to be debt-free by the time I was 49, and one month before that date, I wrote a check (to buy the town house). It was a wonderful feeling and has been ever since.”

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

Mazda 3 offers a combination of power, fuel economy T

he horsepower wars that besiege luxury and sports cars, and even full-size family sedans, largely bypass the compact-car class. Whether due to cost or design, power yields to efficiency in this class. Yet the 2013 Mazda 3 is among the few that deftly combines both.

Introduced last year, Mazda's new direct-injected 2.0-liter fourcylinder engine (dubbed Skyactiv-G) returns as the star of the Mazda 3's power trio. Joined to a six-speed manual or sixspeed automatic transmission, this engine helps the Mazda 3 achieve 40 mpg on the highway w i t h o u t resorting to tricks like s p e c i a l aerodynamics or automatic transmission s h i f t programming that settles into the highest gear before you've left the driveway.

Nor has the increased efficiency compromised horsepower. The Skyactiv engine slots between the 3's base 2.0liter and top-end 2.5-liter engines, and its acceleration times are quite competitive for the class. Only the 2013 Ford Focus offers a better combination of power and fuel economy, but it only achieves 40 mpg highway with its add-on Super Fuel Economy package.

The Skyactiv engine complements the 3's other strengths, including sharp handling, a stylish interior and the available hatchback body style. But with increased competition, the 3 isn't the automatic pick it once was. The

Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus and 2013 Hyundai Elantra are all excellent choices for a small sedan or hatch. But for competitive fuel economy integrated with energetic driving character, the 2013 Mazda 3 is still hard to beat.

The 2013 Mazda 3 is available in fourdoor sedan and hatchback b o d y styles.

Both

a r e available in 3i and 3s trims that are broken into sub-trims. The highperformance Mazdaspeed 3 is reviewed separately.

The 3i SV and Sport trims are available only on the sedan. The SV comes sparsely equipped with 16-inch steel wheels, power mirrors, power windows, airconditioning, a height-adjustable driver seat, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, a 60/40-splitfolding rear seat and a fourspeaker sound system with a CD player, auxiliary audio jack and steering wheel controls. The Sport adds the Skyactiv-G engine, automatic power locks, keyless entry, cruise control, a trip

computer and a USB audio input.

The rest of the Mazda 3 trims are available on both the sedan and hatchback. The 3i Touring adds to the Sport equipment 16inch alloy wheels, keyless

ignition/ entry, dualz o n e automatic a i r conditioning, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shifter, a rear seat center armrest, Bluetooth (phone and audio streaming) and a sixspeaker sound system.

An optional package for the Touring includes a sunroof, blind-spot monitoring and a 10speaker Bose surround-sound audio system.

Those items come standard on the 3i Grand Touring, along with heated mirrors, an eightway power driver seat, heated front seats, leather upholstery, a sliding front center armrest, HD radio, Pandora audio streaming, audio text messaging receive/

reply and a navigation system with 5.8-inch color touchscreen and voice controls.

The 3s Grand Touring adds a more powerful four-cylinder engine, 17-inch alloy wheels, u p g r a d e d brakes, adaptive

automatic bi-xenon headlights, foglamps, LED taillights, rain-sensing wipers, a deck lid spoiler (sedan), sport seats and satellite radio. Most of these features are also available for the 3i Grand Touring as part of the Technology package.

The 2013 Mazda 3i SV is powered by a 2.0-liter fourcylinder engine that produces 148 horsepower and 135 pound-feet of torque. A five-speed manual is standard, while a five-speed automatic is optional.

In Edmunds performance testing, an automatic-equipped 3i with this engine accelerated from

zero to 60 mph in 9.9 seconds -slightly slow among similarly powerful sedans. EPA-estimated fuel economy is 25 mpg city/33 mpg highway and 28 mpg combined with the manual and 24/33/27 with the automatic.

The 3i Sport, Touring and Grand Touring trims get a more advanced 2.0-liter four-cylinder (Skyactiv-G) that produces 155 hp and 148 lb-ft of torque. A sixspeed manual transmission is standard, while a six-speed automatic is optional. In Edmunds performance testing of an automatic-equipped sedan, a Skyactiv Mazda 3 reached 60 mph in 8.5 seconds, which is quick for the class.

EPA fuel economy estimates for this engine put it among the class leaders: 28 city/40 highway/33 combined for a sedan with automatic transmission and 27/39/31 with the manual. The hatchback is estimated to return 28/39/32 and 27/38/31, respectively. In extensive fuel economy testing, we confirmed that this engine does achieve these impressive figures.

The 3s Grand Touring gets a 2.5-liter four-cylinder that produces 167 hp and 168 lb-ft of torque. These numbers are downgraded slightly in California-emissions states. A six-speed manual transmission is standard and a five-speed automatic is optional.

In Edmunds testing, the 3s accelerated from zero to 60 mph in 8.1 seconds with either transmission. That's a strong performance, but not much of an improvement over the Skyactiv engine and with far less fuel efficiency. EPA estimates for the 2.5-liter are 20/28/23 with the manual and 22/29/25 with the automatic -- quite low returns for the small car segment.

Source: Edmunds.com

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

PAGE 29

Artist solicits government support for Nigerian film industry

A

Nollyhood Actress, Vivian Anani, in Abuja solicited government's support for the Nigerian Film Industry in order to develop the sector properly.

She told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the industry was doing well but could do better given adequate support from government.

She said, ``the movie industry is trying; technically we are improving, 10 years back the kind of equipments we are using now was not what we were using them. ``In the area of `make up', costumes, scripting,

we are improving, so things are getting better. I also agree that we repeat stories and faces too often, this is why we need to partner to expand and train people.''

Anani, who has been a TV actress for long, said government's support would encourage artists and assist to grow the industry for the production of quality films.

NAN recalls that the Nigerian film industry, known as Nollywood, has become one of the principal forces of popular art on the continent. It has over the years grown to be a world

phenomenon, ranking third in the global movie industry in terms of revenue and value after Hollywood (USA) and Bollywood (India).

NAN also recalls that Nollywood film industry has evolved a lot since these humble beginnings and as these days, normal films are usually made on budgets ranging from N1.5 million to N2.5 million spanning seven to 10 days. NAN also recalls that the Federal Government plans to establish a national film fund to boost the growth of domestic film industry. (NAN)

Traditional ruler of Enugwu Ukwu, Igwe Ralph Ekpeh (2nd left), acknowledges cheers from people, during the 2013 Igu Aro Festival of Enugwu-Ukwu in Njikoka local governmrnt area of Anambra state recently.

Photo: NAN

Lagos Museum records 52,159 picnickers in 2012 – Official

T

he National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) in Lagos recorded 52,159 picnickers in 2012. An official of NCMM, who preferred anonymity, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the 2012 record was an improvement over the 45,113 picnickers recorded in 2011.

He gave the breakdown of the number of picnickers in 2012 to include 9,839 Nigerian adults, 1,425 foreigners and 40,895

students. ``We do record more of students' patronage than adults and foreigners. The students usually visit for either excursion or for one occasion or the other.

The museum recorded more visitors during the yuletide. ``Foreigners who visit the museum do not only indicate interest in art works displayed in the gallery, they also indicate interest to invest in Nigerian arts.

He said that visitors to the museum always expressed concern at the dilapidated state of the building and other facilities. ``Patronage will increase if the government renovates the museum and makes it more befitting, `` he said. The official told NAN that the commission was making efforts to upgrade the museum to world standard and make it more comfortable for picnickers.

(NAN)

Expert identifies tourism as major economic booster

M

r Ernest Obia, the Director, National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), has said that tourism was a major economic booster when combined with good infrastructure. Obia told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that most economies of the world were boosted by tourism, adding that various sectors of the economy blossom when built around tourism. ``When more and more people fly into the country, the

airline industry benefits. ``The tourists also looks for their food, lodging and so on and these automatically boost the respective businesses, as well as the people in it. ``With good infrastructure, tourism sites in the country will soar as tourists will travel from one part of the country to the other in search of adventure," Obia said.

The NIHORTOUR Director said that tourism reflects in an economy through employment boosts and foreign exchange, as local arts of the nation would acquire international

recognition. ``Different kinds of beautiful things will be bought with foreign currencies in most cases and these things are taken away by tourists to their various countries. ``The smallscale industries are usually the beneficiaries. ``It will likewise bring about increased tax revenue, revenue from firms and many such advantages, which will boost the per capita income and national economy," he added.

Obia said that tourism was also a major booster of friendliness through adventure.

FR OM THE FROM LIVE ST AGE STA with Patrick-Jude Oteh 0803 700 0496, 0805 953 5215 (SMS only)

Springs from a sad soil

T

his year is going to be one of many revelations. It is already showing signs of a tough year. At this initial stage one is bound to make the observation and an appeal.

First the observation – did we all notice the flow of goodwill and relief that was floating in the air at the end of 2012? There was this general sigh of relief that it was at last over! A lot of goodwill was in the air, people prayed for themselves and for others, prayed for the nation, prayed for health, joy, prosperity and laughter with no hindrances. A full communion with God. The appeal – those who stride in the corridors of power must not spoil this general air of relief and happiness. They must strive to put genuine laughter and joy in the faces of people this 2013.

You know in the last few years, we all have been forced to carry this forced smile on our faces while proclaiming ‘it is well’.

This set of people must genuinely ensure that all must be well this 2013.

In a yet to be published play which script has been sent to us in the likelihood of it seeing the stage, two characters meet in the grave. This is not new as the poet, Emily Dickinson of Amherst, Massachusetts once wrote a poem that dwelt on this kind of posthumous meeting. In the script, the two characters in adjoining chambers take another look at their lives and they sum up with the conclusion that all is vanity. Where did the accumulation they indulged in lead them? Within the deep six, this accumulation makes no meaning and who says it is a guarantee to ensure the safety and security of the inheritors?

We are still looking at the script.

This year we will carry out a lot of re-education on the value of the arts to the society. We are still losing this connection.

There is no society that should play trifle with its arts. Apart from its elevating status, the arts have the strong potential to portray us better than we are. I sometimes take a look at the rapport between some agencies /agents of government in the name of using the arts to better portray our society and I get really amused. I am not alone in enjoying this joke. Those who know also enjoy the joke. What we are witnessing is rather a

self-serving attempt to cash in on a successful home grown industry. This is not what it should be. There should rather be a systematic attempt to engage the industry to create in such a manner that it will appeal to the hearts and minds of the people. Self-serving attempts always die with the initiators and does not have meaning for the greater good.

Recall, the last general elections. Some agents/ agencies of government threw money into some of the guilds and arts organizations. Apart from tearing such bodies apart and causing general bad blood in the industry, some people who ran these guilds generally started to gloat that they have the ears of people in government. But pray, did this elevate the status of the industry?

Even as artistes, it is about time we started to take a holistic look at our individual selves and what we want to be remembered for – has it occurred to some of us that once members of the arts clans get into the corridors/ bedrooms of government the first group that they discard is the clan of artistes? They suddenly become inaccessible. Their phones are perpetually switched off and they never reply to mails.

Even if they cannot solve personal challenges, what about challenges that confront the group or members of the group that can be brought to the attention of their principals? Perhaps I am wrong in my conclusion.

Perhaps, I am not too far from the truth. Perhaps I am even ill-informed about the dynamics of government. But I am waiting to be educated on this.

In an argument that arose in the past week about the fortunes of sick members of the clan, I was told that artistes are beginning to behave like pampered children – they spend all their earnings living large and not saving for the rainy day and then when they get sick they expect government to pick up the bills.

My take on this was that our jobs are not stable or regular enough to be able to save enough for the rainy day. This is an on-going argument and contributions are welcome.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

Strange passages to Harare North BOOK REVIEW

By Ikhide R. Ikheloa Nnamdi

T

here is this thing called the Caine Prize for African Literature, whatever that means. People compete for it and someone invariably wins. There is a lot of noise making and jollification for a deserved win and the poor winner is expected to write a book.

The poor fellow always obliges and dutifully produces a thoroughly wretched book. It hardly ever fails.

There have been notable exceptions but one would argue that the writer wrote a good book despite winning the Caine Prize. One such wretched book is Harare North, written by the brilliant, perhaps gifted Brian Chikwava. He is destined to write a good book – once he finds his voice.

It is just that right now, his toes are flirting with crickets while Africa is carrying elephants on her head.

There are few books that have frustrated me more than Harare North. It is like staring in anger at a rich pot of soup ruined by an impish but talented cook.

Harare North is a meandering journey undertaken by an unnamed main character fleeing imaginary trouble back home in Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe (you get the story already, sorry!). He heads for London (aka Harare North) and proceeds to lead a wretched meaningless existence.

Saddled with a not-so-bright friend named Shingi he immerses himself in the under belly of the immigrant community in London building tricks to stay above water. It is not a pretty book but this is not just because of the wretched lives these people live in the grimy underbelly of grimy London. This is an unfortunate book for reasons that are the fault of Chikwava and publishers eager to publish and sell reams of Africa’s dignity to a willing and gullible Western audience.

What is it with African writers and stereotyping? In the 21st century many of them are still scheming their way into the pockets of gullible Westerners who truly believe that Africans are exotic lovable dolts to be watched like animals in a zoo. I am not amused.

On one level, Harare North is a brilliant book, written by a brilliant, sensitive author with the potential of shining a compassionate light into the lives of immigrants of color living desperate, furtive lives in the shadows of London. And sometimes it works. Chikwava lays bare the tricks that immigrants turn to somehow survive in London. But then, what’s with the contrived English? Harare North is engaging and heart-warming, but the contrived English gets in the way, each time. It is like finding your favorite meal infested with tiny obnoxious stones. The book offers evidence of formerly elegant prose poetry ruined by reckless experimentation with contrived English. There is no linguistic structure to it because the language simply doesn’t exist.

Profound thoughts become distressed babble under the weight of dysfunction. Not convincing, the

contrived result. Chikwava has dissipated vigorous energy to write nonsense. It is funny but it is nonsense.

This is too bad because there is all this brilliance peeking furtively out of the contrived fortress of a pretend-language.

There is something phony about contrived language, because it is, well, phony.

I didn’t like it when Uzodinma Iweala used it in Beasts of No Nation, and I certainly am dismayed that it ruined a brilliant opportunity in Harare North. Read this beauty of a sentence, reconstruct it in real prose and tell me why I shouldn’t mourn the loss of a dream novel: “Harare township is full of them stories about the misfortunes that people meet; they carry bags full of things and heads that is full of wonders of new life, hustle some passage to Harare North, turn up without notice at some relative’s door, only to have they dreams thrown back into they faces.” (p 5) Chikwava taps brilliantly into the lode of indignities and humiliation that Africans endure inside Western embassies and then promptly loses it in the fog of contrived language: “…the British High Commission don’t just give visa to any native who think he can flag down jet plane jump on it and fly to Harare North, especially when they notice that people get them visitors’ visa and then on landing in London they do this style of claim asylum.

So people is no getting that old consulate treatment: the person behind the counter window give you the severe look and ask you to bring more of this and that and throw back your papers, and before you even gather them together he have call up the next person.” (p 6) What is the purpose of this exercise?

Through the fog of artificial language, a picture emerges, of Chikwava deconstructing the method of African immigrants’ shame, and self-loathing. He explores social class stratification and tensions between the newly arrived (“native” Africans) and the veteran exiles (“lapsed” Africans) albeit in derogatory, stereotypical terms. The resulting self-loathing is

emotionally violent as African immigrants recoil from anything that reminds them of their roots. The main character just coming in from Zimbabwe complains of rejection thus. “I have bring Paul and Sekai small bag of groundnuts from Zimbabwe; groundnuts that my aunt bring from she rural home. Sekai give the small bag one look and bin it right in front of me. She say I should never have been allow to bring them nuts into the country because maybe they carry disease. Then she go out and buy us some McDonald’s supper.” P (7) It is refreshing, the candor, he even touches upon gay life in Africa’s prisons, a subject that African writers have been loath to touch or explore even in the 21st century.

Chikwava documents in exquisite detail the African immigrant’s willful determination to erase his or her African identity. The character Sekai, the “lapsed” African is always embarrassed by anything African.

“I go out and sit at the doorstep and start to use screwdriver to pick off the mud that have cake under my boots from walking around outside.

But Sekai follow me and ask me to look down on our street and tell she if I see anyone sitting on they doorstep?

Me I don’t get the score what this is all about until she tell me that this is not township; I should stop embarrass them and start behaving like I am in England.” (p14) Life in Zimbabwe and within the Zimbabwean immigrant community is the theatre of the absurd and Chikwava captures it in harrowing and comic detail. It is a tragicomedy and one never knows whether to laugh or to cry at this dark, intense, brilliant canvas: “Mother, she die of overdose. They carry she to hospital in wheelbarrow and she don’t come back. Then they take she body from the township and bury she in rural house under heap of red earth and rock. Now the spirit is still wandering in the wilderness because family squabbles end up preventing umbuyiso and this has not been done for years now.” (p16) There is more where that came from: “Shingi sleeps in the lounge; he share the room with Farayi. Two mattresses is on rotting floorboards, blankets all over, small heaps of things telling one story of big journey that is caused by them dreams that start far away in them townships. I can sniff sniff them natives’ lives squatting under the low damp ceiling like thieves that have just been catch.” (p30) If I seem to obsess mostly about the language, it is because I was distracted, distracted to drink, especially by sentences that Chikwava almost forgot to engineer into nonsense. “And then me I hear that people in the village where Mother is buried will be moved somewhere because

government want to take over the area since emeralds have now been discovered there.” (p 17) The language gets in the way in a subversive manner and it as a result the book is torpedoed by an inane contrivance. Wise profound sayings, parables and proverbs become trite under the weight of linguistic engineering.

And haunting prose is defaced by bad marketing decisions. But I must say, he is good, Chikwava, he can describe despair with a few deft strokes of the pen. “She take me to the kitchen and the air smell of bad cooking and the sink have one heap of dirty dishes and all. It’s like they lie there for donkey years. The ceiling on one corner is growing mushrooms and things.” (p 30) Interestingly enough, as I read the book, I kept thinking of Ike Oguine’s A Squatter’s Tale, plotting how to rescue Chikwava’s tale from prose abuse. There is pretty prose in there, trapped in needless experimentation: “The glass slip off my hand and come crashing on the edge of the sink bowl; it break and fill the kitchen with the kind of fright that fill the room when you have break your mother’s bestest teapot.” (p 31) Nice. Almost.

Sometimes however it dissolves into malarial gibberish and you wonder: What is the purpose of this prattle: “You always know more than you believe in over what you know because what you know can be so big that sometimes it is useless weapon, you cannot wield it proper and, when you try, it can get your head out of gear and stop you focusing.” (p 43) The book provides ample proof of autobiographical musings. It was probably not Chikwava’s intention to ridicule his heritage in which case it is a weakness of the narrative that he could be accused of creating racist stereotypes and spinning bigoted tales. A sensitive soul reading the book would balk at all these literary Sambos in black face and recoil from a Stepin Fetchit story that appears to have little redeeming value. I concede and celebrate Chikwava’s right of self expression but for me, the question is this: If this was written by a white person, would I be offended? The answer is a resounding yes. There are all these traces of bigotry and prejudice some aimed at gays and lesbians. We see the immigrant of color as a shiftless aimless buffoon.

This is just one aspect of the immigrant life. Who tells the others? In addition, the story appears to be ridiculing, and making caricatures out of African traditional customs and values.

The book succumbs to too much cynicism like too much stew on white rice. The result is aimless and purposeless, a story that goes nowhere. But then some would argue that Chikwava’s Zimbabwe is not going anywhere fast.

Regardless, this is not the Zimbabwe of Petina Gappah’s elegant stories (Elegy for Easterly), or even of Dambudzo Marechera’s brilliant angst-ridden anthems.

Should you read this book? Yes, read it, it is fun despite itself. I do miss Oguine’s A Squatter’s Tale. It is a better book. By far.

Source: Africanwriter.com

PEOPLES POEM OF THE WEEK Title: The wounded pilgrim ByAbigail George When I was a child I was afraid To speak to strangers; even then I felt estranged from the human Race, sought solace, a rare comfort In books and in between the neutral Spaces of the black letters of the Alphabet that spread itself across The pages I sought transition from Childhood to puberty; a word I am Still not very fond of; it meant growing Up behind closed doors, shutting out Dark voices; sensing there were no Clouds with silver linings only Cries of thunderstorms and lightning Streaking across the sky in the night air I was a good girl done badly by Not as bad as some yet still locked Inside a box with doll parts and the Garden of a blank canvas perfumed With the bright, still air of reality Children can only be fragile warriors But the canvas was uplifting and the words Could all fit, musings, brick by brick?

The sun on its belly ripening even more Poetry with keys, something absurdly Supernatural in effect like the holier ark Trailing behind the titan machine of my Consciousness; sometimes the story Begins at the end with no middle or Beginning; sometimes not at all but it has Educated me on so many things that blood Is thicker than water and that families Are not pulled out of the air for nothing They exist to terrorise you, to bully you, To grow you up into a worthy citizen or not For the reasons that you think.

QUO TE UOTE “The magician and the politician have much in common: they both have to draw our attention away from what they are really doing.”

– Ben Okri

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

PAGE 31

Cameroon: Fighting to save Africa’s richest rainforest

Cameroon is still to develop a national land-use plan which would, in principal, evaluate the needs of local communities before granting foreign investors access to land.

INTERVIEW

By Monde Kingsley Nfor

Monde Kingsley Nfor interviews NASAKO BESINGI, director of environmental NGO Struggle to Economize the Future.

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rotests against a controversial palm oil plantation in the Korup National Park, Africa's oldest and richest rainforest in terms of floral and faunal diversity, in Mundemba, southwest Cameroon will continue despite the arrests and intimidation of local environmental campaigners.

NasakoBesingi, the director of the local NGO Struggle to Economize the Future, told IPS "we won't stop until environmental justice is done."

The New York-based agricultural company, Herakles Farms, has been accused of grabbing a piece of this central African nation's national forest as it goes ahead with a 73,000hectare palm oil plantation despite a lack of government authorisation - there are claims that the 99-year lease agreement with the government is illegal and two court injunctions, and in the face of significant community opposition.

The contested land is a "biodiversity hotspot", a critical area that connects five protected areas in the park, and the project will disrupt the protection and growth of important wildlife, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) said in an environmental and social impact assessment in August.

A report issued in September by two Cameroonian NGOs, the Centre for Environment and Development and RĂŠseau de Luttecontre la Faim, said "there are over 20 villages with ancestral lands inside the concession, and 31 villages within a distance of the periphery, and over 25,000 people will be affected by this. They depend on that land for small-scale food production, hunting, and non-timber forest products."

About 46 percent of Cameroon's 20 million people live in rural areas, but according to a USAID country profile on property rights here "only approximately three percent of rural land is registered, mostly in the names of owners of large commercial farms." The country is ranked 131st of 169 countries on the 2010 United Nations Human

Logging truck near MbongMbang, Cameroon.

Development Index, partially due to persistent poverty.

Besingi said that he and his colleagues have endured police suppression, arrests and intimidation. His latest arrest was on Nov. 14, when the country's national military police stormed his office.

"We were told we were required for questioning at the police post, and were detained for a day without charge. But it was only following international and local pressure that we were released (on bail) under the condition that we must appear before the authorities whenever we are (asked)," he said.

Besingi explained that the palm oil plantation project was going ahead despite the lack of a formal government agreement, because Sustainable Oils Cameroon (SGSOC), a subsidiary of Herakles Farms, had the support of those in power.

"SGSOC enjoys support from some elites, the chief of Fabe village (which is on the project site) and some government representatives, including the police. They have been bought over with money and material things. These groups of people, including the government, are

misleading the people," he said.

Excerpts of the interview with IPS follow: Q: What is your interest in this campaign against SGSOC/ Herakles Farms?

A: We cannot just sit and allow a few individuals to ruin the lives of thousands. So we have to make our voices and those of the voiceless heard.

Giving so much forestland to a company that has no real development plan for the people is injustice against a people who cannot have access to one-third of the forestland. Many locals feel there are already too many protected zones in the (forest).

This massive plantation will further restrict their access to land.

Q: Bruce Wrobel, CEO of Herakles Farms, said in September that the organisation was already employing more than 500 people, and has committed to hiring among the local villages. He said that once the plantation was fully operational, it would require approximately 8,000 employees. Is this not an

“

opportunity for the people?

A: There is little evidence that large-scale plantations will effectively bring economic development to this area. Past experiences in the country show such promises ... to be false. Instead, large plantations have resulted in massive environmental degradation, the destruction of livelihoods, and the transformation of small-scale farmers and indigenous populations into low-paid plantation workers.

The company claims that it will create 8,000 jobs. However, the plantation will economically displace approximately 25,000 people who depend on that land for small-scale food production, hunting, and non-timber forest products. Thus, the net impact on employment will actually be negative.

Q: What is the problem with land management issues in Cameroon?

A: There are two fundamental problems in my opinion. Firstly, communities do not have legally-recognised land rights that secure their access to the vital natural resources that they depend on; and secondly,

NasakoBesingi, the director of the local NGO Struggle to Economize the Future, told IPS "we won't stop until environmental justice is done."

Q: What would you want SGSOC/Herakles Farms to do before operating?

A: We demand that SGSOC respect Cameroonian law and the rights of communities.

Unfortunately, SGSOC has repeatedly violated Cameroonian law. They have signed an illegal contract with the government, and have shown no respect to local communities who, on the majority, oppose the project.

Following the 1976 law governing the allocation of concessions on state lands in Cameroon, subsequent to signing the lease agreement, SGSOC was supposed to be given a presidential approval to start cultivation activities. But this was not given, so the project has been in violation of the law since 2010. Moreover, prior to its operations, an environmental and social impact assessment was not conducted.

Q: What is the opportunity cost for the SGSOC/Herakles project?

A: The opportunity cost for this project is the loss of forest revenue through the payment of environmental services, ecotourism and REDD+ activities.

All these activities can generate more revenue for the state than SGSOC can. For example, the Cameroonian Food Sovereignty Coalition estimates that if the government were to require bread makers to use 20 percent of locally-produced flour, 96,000 farming jobs would be created using just 15,000 hectares of land.

This would generate 13 times more employment and significantly larger government revenue than the SGSOC project and would leave land for peasant agriculture, conservation, and the use of non-timber forest products.

Q: What next with your campaign against SGSOC/ Herakles farms?

A: We won't stop until environmental justice is done.

We want a new agreement that takes into consideration the sustainable management of that forest and that gives the locals better access to land and alternative livelihoods. We are currently working with more than 20 community groups and international and local NGOs and using every possible channel, like IPS, to reach the international community.

Source: allAfrica.com

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

PAGE 32

Rebels capture Mali government troops South Sudan sees northern border zone within a month

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outh Sudan hopes to establish a demilitarized zone along its border with archrival Sudan within a month, paving the way for vital oil exports to resume, a southern official said on Monday.

Sudan leader Omar Hassan alBashir and South Sudan's SalvaKiir met in Ethiopia at the weekend to try to quell tensions that have rumbled since a flare-up of violence along the disputed border in April last year, the worst since the South seceded in 2011.

South Sudan became independent in July 2011 under a 2005 peace agreement which ended decades of civil war but the neighbors have yet to resolve a long list of disputes.

The southern government in Juba shut down its entire oil output of 350,000 barrels per day (bpd) a year ago after failing to agree on an export fee with the north.

It had hoped to be producing 230,000 bpd by December after agreeing in September to set up a buffer zone along the 2,000 kilometer (1,200 miles) border. But neither side has withdrawn its army from the frontier.

Both economies desperately need the oil to flow again from the fields in South Sudan through the north to a Red Sea terminal and onward to foreign markets.

South Sudan's chief negotiator Pagan Amum said Juba and Khartoum had agreed to start establishing the buffer zone and another round of talks was set for Saturday in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

"So I am very hopeful that the border implementation will be completed within the next 20 to 30 days," Amum told reporters in the southern capital.

He said Ethiopian monitors supposed to patrol the border with soldiers from both sides were waiting to be deployed after finishing their training.

South Sudan's oil minister said last week that crude would need two months to reach the Red Sea terminal after production resumes, suggesting oil exports could hit markets by mid-April if the buffer zone is operational by mid-February.

Amum blamed Sudan for the delay in securing the border and said Khartoum might decide to block the plan by making new demands.

Sudan denies it is responsible for the delay.

"We will be waiting to see on the 13th ... whether they will now allow the oil to flow and the other agreements implemented or they will come up with new conditionalities as usual," he said.

Rebels in the northern region of Mali.

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ebel fighters in Mali have captured at least 12 government soldiers along with their vehicle and equipment, reports say.

The incident on Monday took place during a government patrol outside the town of Kona and near the city of Mopti, as fears rise that the rebels, who

seized vast swathes of Mali's north, are moving increasingly closer to areas under government control.

Earlier on Monday, government soldiers fired on the al-Qaeda linked group, Ansar Dine, 60km east of Mopti.

Heavily armed Islamist groups in convoys of pick-up trucks had been reported in the Mopti region, where

government troops have been stationed since the revolt, a Malian military official told the Reuters news agency.

"The rebels have been advancing and have been sighted in several places ... We are waiting for them. If they attack us, we will fight back," said the official, who asked not to be identified.

A military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said the rebels had reached the village of Bourei, only 40km from the last town under the purview of Mali's military.

An employee of a bus company called Binke Transport also confirmed that the rebels had arrived in the village.

"There are numerous Islamists in Bourei aboard all-terrain vehicles and even armored vehicles that they have stolen from the Malian military,'' MamadouGuindo told The Associated Press.

Rising tensions "There is a real tension there, and we are considering stopping bus transport between Gao and Sevare (towns) for the security of our passengers.''

Mali's government lost control of the northern half of the country - an area the size of France - in April after the rebels took advantage of a power vacuum following a March coup that overthrew the democratically elected president.

A group called Ansar Dine has been implementing its strict version of Islamic law in the north, carrying out public executions, amputations and whippings.

An Ansar Dine spokesman declined to comment on the reports on Monday of a stepped-up rebel presence closer to the line of government control.

The UN Security Council has authorised military action to wrest the north back, but says there must first be political progress made following the military coup last year.

Kenya top officers suspended over 'fake police chief'

T

hree top Kenyan policemen have been suspended over the case of a man who allegedly pretended to be an assistant police commissioner for five years.

Kenyan Police Service Commission chief JohnstoneKavuldi said the officers had been adversely mentioned during initial investigations.

Last week, Joshua Waiganjo was charged with impersonating a police officer in Kenya's Rift Valley province.

He denied the allegation during a court appearance.

He was reportedly uncovered after flying on a police helicopter to investigate the November killing of at least 42 officers in the Suguta valley - the most deadly attack on police in the

East African nation's history.

Kenya's President MwaiKibaki ordered an investigation into Mr Waijano's case.

Mr Kavuldi said Rift Valley police boss John M'Mbijiwe, Anti Stock Theft Unit commandant RemiNgugi and Njoro Officer Commanding Police Division Peter Nthiga have been sent home, Kenya's privately owned Daily Nation newspaper reports.

He said their continued stay in office would interfere with investigations, but he maintained that the officers were innocent, the newspaper reports.

Mr Waiganjo is said to have sacked and recruited several officers in Rift Valley province while allegedly impersonating the local police chief.

In court last week, he denied

two counts of impersonating a police officer, one of illegal possession of police uniforms and one of robbery with violence.

The case was adjourned to allow Mr Waiganjo to seek medical treatment for diabetes, local media reported.

Joshua Waiganjo

CAR rebels arrive in Gabon ahead of talks

A

PrĂŠsident Denis SassouNguesso is the lead negotiator.

delegation of rebels from the Central African Republic (CAR) have arrived in Gabon, where talks with the government they are trying to topple are set to get under way in the coming days.

Talks had been expected to start on Tuesday, but a plane carrying the government delegation along with members of the country's political opposition failed to leave Bangui, the capital, as scheduled.

Denis Sassou-Nguesso, president of the Republic of Congo, said negotiations were to begin no later than Friday.

He met the embattled leader of CAR, Francois Bozize, on Monday.

Sassou-Nguesso declined to

comment on reports that rebels, who now control much of the country's north, are still seeking Bozize's ouster as a condition of the talks.

"In our capacity as mediator, we can't interpret the declarations of others," he said. "The fact that we hold to is that all the parties have agreed that we are going to negotiations."

Earlier on Monday, Eric Massi, who identifies himself as a spokesman of the rebel alliance, collectively known as Seleka, reiterated calls for the removal of the president, saying he has "lost all credibility" to lead the country.

"He has to leave power," Massi told Al Jazeera from Paris.

He rejected Bozize's offer to form a coalition government with the rebels,

instead calling for a "peaceful transfer of power".

Commenting on the delayed flight carrying the government delegation, AbdoulayeIssene, president of the CPJP, a rebel group that signed a peace agreement with the government, said passengers were told it was cancelled due to a "technical problem" and would fly to Gabon early on Tuesday.

The upcoming meetings between rebels, the government and the country's political opposition in Libreville, Gabon, come a month after fighters from several armed groups began their rebellion against a government that has wielded little power over its vast and sparsely populated north.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

Asia and Middle East

S

outh Korea has no option but to expand its nuclear power plant program despite growing public concern over safety in the wake of Japan's Fukushima disaster in 2011 and a series of scares that closed two reactors last year.

The proportion of South Koreans who considered nuclear power safe fell to 34.8 percent in a

PAGE 33

South Korea to expand nuclear energy despite growing safety fears survey conducted in November and published on Tuesday, down from 40 percent in April 2011 and 71 percent in January 2010, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.

The ministry has been sharply criticized for its role as regulator and operator of the country's

nuclear power plants, and one of its subsidiaries was accused of suppressing negative public opinion after the Fukushima disaster by not publishing polls.

A fake parts scandal closed two reactors last year and the industry suppressed details of the closure of the Kori No.1 reactor early in

Australia braces for 'catastrophic' weather

Drone strikes claim lives in Pakistan

J

One of S/Korea's 23 nuclear reactors.

Tasmanian firefighters on stand-by to fly to Western Australia.

A

t least seven people have been killed in two suspected US drone attacks in Pakistan's northwestern tribal areas, security officials say.

Both attacks took place in the Mir Ali area of the North Waziristan tribal district in the early hours of Tuesday.

In Khiderkhel, eight missiles were fired at a compound, killing at least four people, security sources told Al Jazeera. In Essakhel, meanwhile, two missiles were fired, killing at least three people.

The two attacks happened within an hour of each other. The identity of those killed could not be immediately confirmed. The US, however, claimed that an alQaeda operative was among those killed.

The two troubled reactors were fully restarted last week, easing fears over winter power shortages.

Three others are offline for maintenance and operational approval, but power supplies remain a concern amid peak winter demand expected until the end of next month.

Japan protests over China ships near disputed islands

F

irefighters battled scores of bushfires raging across southeast Australia with officials evacuating national parks and warning that blistering temperatures and high winds had led to "catastrophic'' fire conditions in some areas.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard warned the nation to keep safe as temperatures soared to more than 45C. "This is a very dangerous day," Gillard said. "It is very important that people keep themselves safe, that they listen to local authorities and local warnings."

Thousands of firefighters were on standby across the nation's most populous state of New South Wales, where fire authorities said conditions were at catastrophic threat levels - the most severe rating available - in parts of the state.

Hundreds of people were forced to evacuate homes as fires raged, according to Reuters.

Andrew Thomas, reporting from Sydney, said three different areas of the state are now at that "catastrophic" level of danger.

"I have just spoken to someone in one of the most at risk areas and he tells me that authorities have just given them an hour to get out," he said.

All state forests and national parks were closed as a precaution and total fire bans were in place.

"We are shaping up for one of the worst fire danger days on record," Shane Fitzsimmons, New South Wales rural fire service commissioner, said.

2012.

"It is an urgent priority to recover people's trust and the safety of reactors just as it is unavoidable to maintain nuclear at a certain percentage of the total power supply, considering the power supply and demand situation," the ministry said.

Shinzo Abe, Japan Prime Minister

apan has summoned the Chinese ambassador to protest against the presence of government ships in waters around disputed islands.

This is the first such protest under new PM Shinzo Abe, who was elected last month. It also comes amid reports that he wants to increase defence spending.

Chinese ships have sailed near the islands many times since Japan bought them from a private owner last year.

Both claim the islands, called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese.

The row over the islands, which are also claimed by Taiwan, has left ties between Tokyo and Beijing tense.

The dispute over their ownership has rumbled for years but the Japanese government's acquisition of three of the islands from their private Japanese owner sparked a renewed row, triggering public protests in some Chinese cities.

Since then Chinese ships have been sailing in and out of waters around the islands, prompting warnings from Japan.

Japan's Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Akitaka Saiki met Chinese Ambassador Cheng Yonghua in Tokyo to lodge a protest after four Chinese government ships were spotted in the area on Monday.

Mr Saiki "strongly demanded that such incidents do not happen again", a ministry statement said.

The move comes amid reports that Japan could increase military spending this year for the first time in more than a decade.

A Japanese official told AgenceFrance Presse news agency that the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had decided to increase the budget request by more than 100bn yen ($1.15bn, ÂŁ682.6m).

The mooted increase is not large the defence budget for the year ending in March 2012 stood at 4.65 trillion yen ($53bn).

The official said that it would be used "for research into a new radar system" and "maintenance costs for early-warning aircraft".

The Yomiuri newspaper reported similar details.

Some of the funds would be allocated to increasing defence personnel, surveillance on the disputed islands with China and purchasing new equipment, Japan's public broadcaster NHK said on its website.

The new LDP government was elected late last year, ousting the Democratic Party government of Yoshihiko Noda.

PAGE 34

Europe and Americas Russian banks should beware blacklisted Syria banks- U.S. official

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ajor Russian banks should beware dealing with two blacklisted Syrian financial institutions, a senior U.S. Treasury official said, saying U.S. and other banks could shun them as a result.

The U.S. Treasury believes Russian banks continue to deal with Syria's central bank and with the Commercial Bank of Syria, a state-owned Syrian financial institution, both of which have been blacklisted by the United States, the official said.

The official, who spoke to Reuters late Friday on condition of anonymity, declined to identify the major Russian banks concerned and his comments appeared aimed as much at them as at U.S. and other financial institutions who might deal with them.

"These major Russian banks, which are very much integrated into the global financial system and have worked quite hard over the last number of years to establish good reputations for combating illicit finance ... are now faced with really serious reputational risk for continuing to do work with the Syrian financial sector, especially these two institutions," he said.

The official said that in addition to being "designated" -- or blacklisted -- by the United States, the two Syrian banks have also been targeted by the European Unio n, the Arab League, Australia and Japan, widening the circle of banks that could shy away from Russian institutions that deal with them.

"The upshot ... is that it puts the Russian banks that are continuing to provide financial services to Syria, and in particular to the Central Bank of Syria and to the Commercial Bank of Syria, in a particularly vulnerable posture," he added.

Syria's central bank governor has been quoted in media reports as saying that the Syrian public and private sector should look to Russian banks to handle their foreign business.

It was unclear why the senior U.S. Treasury official chose to speak out about the issue now or whether it was part of a broader U.S. strategy to change Russian policy toward Syria.

The United Nations estimates 60,000 people have died in the 21-month conflict between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebels seeking to end his family's four-decade rule.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

Venezuela calls pro-Chavez rally on inauguration day

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enezuela's authorities have urged President Chavez's supporters to join a major rally on Thursday, when he is due to be sworn in for a fourth term.

Mr Chavez, in hospital in Cuba after cancer surgery, is unlikely to attend.

But Venezuelan National Assembly Speaker Diosdado Cabello said many heads of state would be in Caracas to show their support.

The Catholic Church says ministers risk violating the constitution and the opposition have called for protests.

The opposition insist new elections should be called within 30 days if Mr Chavez is unable to take the oath on 10 January.

The 58-year-old Venezuelan leader, who has been in power since 1999, has not been seen in public since his latest operation last month, and government officials have acknowledged that he has suffered complications caused by a lung infection.

The president's condition was "stable", Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said in a televised statement late on Monday.

Predicting a major pro-Chavez demonstration, the speaker of the assembly appealed to opposition

leaders to act responsibly on Thursday and warned: "We will stop any attempt to destabilise the government".

"There will be a big gathering here in Caracas on 10 January.

All of Venezuela is going to come to Caracas and be in front of the Miraflores (Presidential) Palace.

The people will be on the streets,"

Mr Cabello said.

Earlier, the Venezuelan Catholic Church said it would be a morally unacceptable violation of the constitution to allow Mr Chavez to remain in power after missing his inauguration.

The head of the Venezuelan Conference of Bishops, Diego Padron, said Mr Chavez had to

attend his inauguration when his term ended on 10 January.

"It is not our job to intervene publically, but in this case the good of the country and the defence of ethics are at stake. To alter the constitution to attain a political objective is morally unacceptable," added Monsignor Padron.

Diosdado Cabello (left) and Nicolas Maduro (right) say the constitution allows the inauguration of President Chavez to be postponed.

Earth-sized planets 'number 17bn'- Kepler scientists

A

stronomers say that one in six stars hosts an Earthsized planet in a close orbit - suggesting a total of 17 billion such planets in our galaxy.

The result comes from an analysis of planet candidates gathered by Nasa'sKepler space observatory.

The Kepler scientists also announced 461 new planet candidates, bringing the satellites' total haul to 2,740.

Their findings were announced at the 221st meeting of the American Astronomical Society in California.

Transit Since its launch into orbit in 2009, Kepler has stared at a

fixed part of the sky, peering at more than 150,000 stars in its field of view.

It detects the minute dip in light coming from a star if a planet passes in front of it, in what is called a transit.

But it is a tricky measurement to make, with the total light changing just tiny fractions of a percent, and not every dip in light is due to a planet.

So Francois Fressin of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who discovered the first Earth-sized planets set about trying to find out not only which Kepler candidates might not be planets,

but also which planets might not have been visible to Kepler.

"We have to correct for two things - first [the Kepler candidate list] is incomplete," he told BBC News.

"We only see the planets that are transiting their host stars, stars that happen to have a planet that is well-aligned for us to see it, and [for each of those] there are dozens that do not.

"The second major correction is in the list of candidates - there are some that are not true planets transiting their host star; they are other astrophysical configurations."

These might include, for

example, binary stars, where one star orbits another, blocking some of the light as the stars transit each other.

"We simulated all the possible configurations we could think of - and we found out that they could only account for 9.5% of Kepler planets, and all the rest are bona fide planets," Dr Fressin explained.

The results suggest that 17% of stars host a planet up to 1.25 times the size of the Earth, in close orbits lasting just 85 days or fewer - much like the planet Mercury.

That means our Milky Way galaxy hosts at least 17 billion Earth-sized planets.

North Ireland 'held to ransom' in flag row

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orthern Ireland is being "held to ransom by protesters" due to the dispute over the union flag in Belfast, the secretary of state has said.

Theresa Villiers called for an

Theresa Villiers

end to all street demonstrations over flags - even peaceful protests following a fifth night of rioting in east Belfast.

Rioters used hatchets, sledge hammer and petrol bombs to

attack police and their vehicles on Newtownards Road.

The PSNI fired plastic bullets and used water cannon in response.

Speaking on BBC Radio, Ms Villiers said: "It's not acceptable that those who say they are defending a union flag are actually doing it by hurling bricks and petrol bombs at police. It's disgraceful, frankly."

The secretary of state described the continuing rioting as "profoundly depressing" and said she was "fully supportive of the great efforts the PSNI are making to crack down robustly on those who continue to break the law".

She called for the protests to "come off the streets" in order to allow local politicians to hold allparty talks over flags and

emblems.

"We will not be able to get a solution if Belfast and Northern Ireland are being held to ransom by protesters," she said.

Three police officers were injured and eight people were arrested on Monday night, bringing the total number of arrests since the flag protests began to 104.

Four people have been charged in relation to the violence and are due to appear before Belfast Magistrates Court later.

"All these protests have to stop altogether, even the peaceful protests are causing disruption and even they are making it far more difficult to have a proper dialogue to resolve these kinds of issues," Ms Villiers said.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

PAGE 35

Assessing Rural Development in Yobe State

By Bashir Kadir

A

mericans have a habit of calling rural America "real America." Well, it isn't just the alliterative similarity between "rural" and "real" that makes this statement true; it is also because rural areas form the cultural and foundational fulcra of societies. It is where we all came from, and it is where we are most likely headed in the twilight of our lives. This fact is truer of societies in the Third World than it is in America which popularized the notion of the "realness" of "ruralness."

In Nigeria, for instance, almost everyone traces his descent to a rural community. What's more, the greater majority of our people still live in rural areas.

This is particularly true of northern states like Yobe, which the media always labels as rural and agrarian.

Unfortunately, over the past few years, there has been a gradual but nonetheless noticeable demographic shift from rural areas to urban centres.

This migratory trend, as most people know, is instigated by people's search for better opportunities, for the comfort and lures of modernity that urban living offers-or at least seems to. But if "rural areas" represent "real areas," that is, if rural Nigeria, to borrow the American maxim, is real Nigeria, we risk losing our realness as a nation if we neglect rural communities and cause everyone to gravitate toward urban areas. So part of the abiding responsibilities of governments should be to half or at least reduce the rural-urban migratory drift.

This imperative, fortunately, is the cornerstone of the Yobe State government's rural intervention programmes. People familiar with the thinking of the Gaidam administration never fail to remind whoever cares to know that the governor believes it is incumbent upon him to transform rural areas because they symbolize our roots and, paradoxically, our future.

Most people who live in urban areas most of their adult lives often return to rural areas in retirement. It stands to reason, therefore, that a lot of our rural folks, who actually feed the nation with their hard work, would choose to remain in their present stations if they are provided with the basic necessities of life.

The Yobe State government's rural development policies are anchored on this imperative.The government intervenes in the development of its rural areas in two fundamental ways. First, it does this directly through its relevant ministries such as the Ministry of Water Resources, which has sunk hundreds of boreholes and hand pumps in various communities across the State in the past few years, the Ministry of Agriculture, which distributes fertilizer to farming communities at subsidised rates,the Ministry of Works, which builds and renews rural roads, etc. Second, it intervenes through the appointed or elected governments inits 17local government councils.

Examples of direct state intervention in rural development are legion, but a few instances will suffice. Last year, for instance, Governor Gaidam approved N493 million for the procurement of 170 pieces of 30KVA power generators for the 17 local government areas of the state to boost water supply.

This was the governor's direct intervention outside the local government councils.

The state government, through its Agriculture Ministry, also heavily subsidizes agriculture, the mainstay of rural economic life. For instance, the governor periodically orders the agriculture ministry to sell grainsfrom the Strategic Grains Reserve to rural dwellers at highly subsidized rates. In some cases, the governor gives free grains to the less privileged in both urban and rural areas. This policy is important not only for its compassion to the rural poor, but also because it has ensured that the government often buys agricultural produce from rural farmers at prices way above the market value, which it then sells back to the community at rates lower than the current market value. This policy has the twin advantage of boosting agricultural production and providing social safety

Yobe State Governor

IBRAHIM GAIDAM nets for the poor, especially the rural poor.

Similarly, in a move designed to ease the burden of retirees in rural areas, including previous urban dwellers who have retired to rural areas, Governor Gaidam, in 2012, approved the payment of N307, 241, 268.04 for the payment of pension and gratuities to 324 retired and deceased workers at the local government level. This is certainly a creative way to make living in rural areas attractive.

Another productive way that the state government transforms rural areas in Yobe, as was hinted earlier, is through the instrumentality of local government councils. The governor makes it a point of duty to require appointed council chairmen to submit requests for funds to execute community renewal and empowerment projects. The chairmen, in turn, use their councilors and other officials to assess needs specific to various communities. For example, some communities need boreholes while others need a health clinic. Yet others may need feeder roads, etc.

Once specific needs are identified and compiled, council chairmen forward the request to the governor through the Local Government Affairs Ministry. The governor then grants approval to the requests and directs that funds be released to the councils to execute the projects.

“

It is hoped that in the not too distant future, these initiatives and many more being embarked upon by the Gaidam administration will so radically transform Yobe's rural communities that they will become indistinguishable from urban communities in developmental terms. When that happens, the term "rural" would cease to carry a tone of condescension and would merely be a label to describe the size of communities

For instance, the state government has what it calls theGrassroots Service Delivery initiative.

This multi-billion-naira initiative invests inimproved service delivery for people in rural areas to make life a little easier for them. In November last year, for example, Governor Ibrahim Gaidam approved N5.1 billion for the execution of special projects in Yobe's 17 local g o v e r n m e n t councils. He had approved N1.5 billion previously for similar projects.

The Grassroots Service Delivery initiative revolves around improving water supply, education, primary health care, agriculture, security and general administration in all of the state's rural areas.Under the water supply sector, for instance, "some of the equipment and accessories provided include solar, submersible and hand pumps, construction of steel overhead tanks, construction of concrete and cement wells, drilling of new boreholes, overhauling and repair of borehole generators and purchase of new ones, water reticulation, etc." according to a recent news story.In the education sector, according to the story, the local government councils will provide new classroom blocks and rehabilitate dilapidated ones, fence primary school premises that have not been fenced before and improve the general teaching and learning environment.

In order to guard against potential abuse of funds by people entrusted with the responsibility to execute this rural improvement initiative, the governor set up a special committee to periodically monitor, evaluate, and report back on the activities and expenditures of the people charged with the responsibility for the initiative.The governor often makes sure to publicize every release of funds and the kinds of projects to be executed to not only ensure transparency but to also make the communities know what to expect.

In addition to special funds releases, which are periodic, the local government councils themselves often submit requests to execute certain projects which they deemed critical or urgent and the governor, upon assessment, normally obliges such requests.Through these initiatives, scores of rural roads have been built and several rural areas have been opened up to the world.

It is hoped that in the not too distant future, these initiatives and many more being embarked upon by the Gaidam administration will so radically transform Yobe's rural communities that they will become indistinguishable from urban communities in developmental terms. When that happens, the term "rural" would cease to carry a tone of condescension and would merely be a label to describe the size of communities.

Kadir is a Development Specialist and writes from Sabon Pegi area, Damaturu Yobe State.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

Babies begin learning language from their mothers while they’re still in the womb

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abies start to learn language before they are even born, scientists have discovered.

Previously, it was believed that newborns begin to discriminate between language sounds within their first months of life.

But a new study indicates that babies have the capacity to learn and remember elementary sounds of their language from their mother during the last 10 weeks of pregnancy.

‘We have known for over 30 years that we begin learning prenatally about voices by

listening to the sound of our mother talking,’ said Christine Moon, a professor of psychology at Pacific Lutheran University, who led the research. ‘[But] this is the first study that shows we learn about the particular speech sounds of our mother’s language before we are born.’

Forty girls and boys, about 30-hours-old , were studied in Tacoma and Stockholm, Sweden.

The babies heard either Swedish or English vowels and they could control how many times they heard the vowels by sucking on a dummy connected

to a computer.

Vowel sounds were chosen for the study because they are prominent, and the researchers thought they might be noticeable in the mother’s ongoing speech, even against the noisy background sounds of the womb.

In both countries, the babies at birth sucked longer for the foreign language than they did for their native tongue, regardless of how much postnatal experience they had.

This indicated to researchers that they were learning the vowel sounds in utero.

Patricia Kuhl, co-author and

co-director of the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences at the University of Washington, added: ‘We thought infants were ‘born learning’ but now we know they learn even earlier.

They are not phonetically naïve at birth.

‘We want to know what magic they put to work in early childhood that adults cannot.

‘We can’t waste that early curiosity. The mother has first dibs on influencing the child’s brain.

‘The vowel sounds in her speech are the loudest units and the fetus locks onto them.’

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Babies have the capacity to learn and remember sounds of language from their mother during the last 10 weeks of pregnancy

Does the menopause really make you forgetful? Yes, but only for the first year I

f you blame losing your house keys on the menopause making you forgetful, you might be onto something.

Experts now say that the change really does cause memory loss - but thankfully the problem is only temporary.

Women of a certain age often complain of becoming forgetful many fearing it could be an early sign of Alzheimer’s.

But a new study has found menopausal women do suffer problems such as forgetting where the keys have been left or struggling to recall names.

The memory difficulties many experience in their 40s and 50s are real and appear to be most acute immediately after the change of life, reports the journal Menopause.

Neuropsychologist Dr Miriam Weber, of the University of Rochester in New York, said: ‘Women going through menopausal transition have long complained of cognitive difficulties such as keeping track of information and struggling with mental tasks that would have otherwise been routine.

Scientists say that while cognitive problems are common among menopausal women, they are not permanent

‘This study suggests these problems not only exist but become most evident in women in the first year following their final menstrual period.

‘But the most important thing women need to be reassured of is these problems, while frustrating, are normal and, in all likelihood, temporary.’

Her team followed 117 women and found those in early post menopause performed worse on measures of verbal learning, verbal memory and fine motor skill than women in the late reproductive and late transition stages.

The late reproductive Memory loss: Experts say that forgetfulness is most common in the year after a period is defined as when women first begin to woman's last period

notice subtle changes in their menstrual periods, such as changes in flow amount or duration, but still have regular cycles.

Women in the transitional stage experience greater fluctuation in menstrual cycles from a difference of seven days or more in the early part to sixty days or longer in the later.

Hormone levels also begin to fluctuate significantly during this time which can last several years.

However the researchers also found that symptoms such as sleep difficulties, depression and anxiety did not predict memory problems.

Nor could these problems be associated with specific changes in

“

By identifying how these memory problems progress and when women are most vulnerable, we now understand the window of opportunity during which interventions - be those therapeutic or lifestyle changes - may be beneficial

hormone levels found in the blood.

Dr Weber said: ‘These findings suggest cognitive declines through the transition period are independent processes rather than a consequence of sleep disruption or depression.

‘While absolute hormone levels could not be linked with cognitive function, it is possible the fluctuations that occur during this time could play a role in the memory problems many women experience.’

The participants took a variety of tests assessing their cognitive skills, reported on menopause-related symptoms such as hot flushes, sleep disturbance, depression and anxiety, and gave a sample of blood to determine current levels of oestrogen and follicle stimulating hormone.

Results were analysed for differences in cognitive performance, and if these were due to menopausal symptoms.

A series of tests evaluated attention, verbal learning and memory, fine motor skills and dexterity, and ‘working memory’ - or the ability to not only take in and store new information, but also manipulate it.

These are similar to daily tasks such as staying focused on something for a period of time, learning a new telephone number and making a mental list of groceries and then recalling specific items as required as one wanders the aisles of a supermarket.

‘By identifying how these memory problems progress and when women are most vulnerable, we now understand the window of opportunity during which interventions - be those therapeutic or lifestyle changes may be beneficial,’ added Dr Weber.

The average age of the menopause in Britain is 50, when periods stop and many women develop symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats and depression.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

ANALYSIS CPC (Congress for Progressive Change) is widely described as a movement necessitated by popular disenchantment of Nigerians in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In this piece, Ikechukwu Okaforadi, looks the how tough CPC can possibly be in the battle for Aso Rock ahead of 2015.

PAGE 37

CPC and political revolution

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hen General Muhammadu Buhari, the 2011 Presidential candidate for Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) made a speech at the Supreme Court, shortly after the apex court ruled that President Goodluck Jonathan was duly elected in the 2011 general elections, bystanders would have noticed an uneasy calm that heralded his tone and speech.

There was an unusual tranquility exuding from his voice as he managed to concede the controversial defeat in an election which many Nigerians believed was massively manipulated by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in collaboration with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Buhari’s conceding to this defeat stems largely from his ardent believe in rule of law and democracy. Before the judgment, he had vowed to go to whatever extent that is recognizable under the law to reclaim his mandates which the ruling PDP was accused to have stolen.

At several fora, Buhari had drawn inference from the case of the cold war; in other words, bipolar politics that raged for several years between the United States, representing the West and the defunct Soviet Union, represented by Russia.

He had always justified democracy as the best form of government by arguing that if the Soviet Union could fall without a single gunshot, then he would stand by democracy, urging everybody, irrespective of tribe and religion, to work for the survival of democracy in Nigeria.

The saddest episode of Buhari’s adventure in Nigerian politics remains his inability to ascend to the seat of Presidency through democratic election. He has gone to the polls four consecutive times, contending against the PDP forces; yet to no

General Muhammadu Buhari avail.

Political pundits have submitted that Buhari wept at the International Conference Center (ICC) during the last lap of his presidential campaign due to his apparent inability to over-run the PDP forces which have for long thwarted his presidential ambition.

Amidst tears and a sorrow laden voice, Buhari had declared publicly that if he failed to make it in 2011, he would never give himself again for election at whatever level. This declaration came as a bolt from the blues to many loyalists, especially those who understand Buhari’s rare attribute of integrity and strictness when his utterances are at stake.

Apparently due to aggravated pressure from loyalists who are resolute that Buhari remains the only solution for the myriad of maladies bedeviling the country for long, in addition to the clarity that PDP had already repeated the feat, General Buhari rescinded his vow never to contest election again so as to give PDP the make or mar battle in the 2015 Presidential election.

Most likely, he decided to own up the 2011 controversial defeat, having concluded to try it once and for all in 2015. In December 2012, Buhari and his political schemers started preparing for 2015 elections by reviewing the structure of CPC to boost its strength and reposition it better for the battle.

Determined to leave no stone unturned and having observed that internal variables inherent in the party also contributed to his inability to defeat the PDP, a

CPC Chairman Chief Tony Momoh CPC Renewal Committee headed by the revolutionary former minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nasir el’Rufai, was inaugurated with the mandate to reconcile aggrieved parties; set up more structures across the states and invigorate the party in the southern Nigeria where the strength is week.

Having set the ball rolling by strengthening the party, Buhari made another utterance that attracted wild criticism from the apostles of PDP and general public. This time around, he said “If what happened in 2011 should again happen in 2015, by the grace of God, the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood.” The implication of his statement is that he, in alliance with CPC loyalists, was not ready to joke with 2015 elections.

It would be recalled that the kind of civil unrest, especially in the north, which followed the loss of the 2011 presidential election by Buhari, was so severe that Nigerians thought the

nation was about to collapse, but for the timely and determined intervention by the security agencies.

With clock’s hand tick-tacking down to 2015, the CPC is exploring every avenue to ensure that it matches PDP in whatever strategy. The party, since 2012, has been stepping up its structures and strategy across the federation to ensure that no untoward story is told in 2015.

These preparations have seen numerous reforms and restructuring going on in CPC. Principal among these is the current merger talks which CPC and other opposition parties have entered into ahead of 2015 general elections. As the day passes by, the talks have remained largely fruitful, with parties declaring readiness to collapse their fences and form a strong force against PDP. Ahead of 2015, the Board of Trustees of CPC met in November 2012 and in the meeting chaired

by General Buhari endorsed the merger proposals submitted by

“

It would be recalled that immediately after the 2011 presidential election, the state chairmen of CPC in the above regions went to Lagos to hold a press conference, where they endorsed the election as free and fair

the Tony Momoh led National Executive Council (NEC). In addition, the party has also set up a special committee that will negotiate the terms of the merger for CPC, which will soon be inaugurated.

Also, Nasir el’Rufai, who heads the CPC Renewal Committee, recently reported progress to the party’s leadership.

He said that the committee was going round through the country to elicit responses from party members on how to make the party not just united, but formidable.

All these indicate how prepared the party is ahead of 2015.

Aside internal preparations, the party is also reaching out to opposition parties to ensure that PDP is forced out of Aso Rock in 2015. Speaking anonymously with Peoples Daily, a CPC stakeholder disclosed that the party is currently working hard to reinvigorate its comatose structures in the South East and South South regions. He said this will help to give the party more votes. In any case, INEC had decided to base its judgment on what truly transpired in the election rather that what the presidency dictates to it.

It would be recalled that immediately after the 2011 presidential election, the state chairmen of CPC in the above regions went to Lagos to hold a press conference, where they endorsed the election as free and fair. This was before the party’s leadership decided to institute a legal challenge against President Jonathan, PDP and INEC, for allegedly rigging it out. Since then, CPC had been silent in these two regions.

However, with a clear knowledge that the party may not win convincingly as required by the two-third majority standard of the constitution, CPC has since begun activities to select trust-worthy members who will man the spread and campaign of the party in these areas.

The Chairman of CPC, Tony Momoh, recently told the journalists that the party will acquire a bio-data capturing machine with which to register its members across the country.

He expressed optimism that this will help in the ongoing merger talks with other opposition parties.

Momoh also disclosed that the party’s membership form has been reduced to N200 to ensure that it is affordable for prospective members. Going by the above preparations and merger efforts

by CPC, one can conclude that the long awaited political revolution may have begun more so with the smooth merger talks currently going on among the nation’s major opposition parties.

PAGE 38

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

ACN hails Supreme Court’s reinstatement of Ekiti LG chairman From Olanrewaju Lawal,Ilorin

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he Kwara State chapter of Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) has hailed the ruling of Supreme Court which reinstated Ekiti Local government Chairman, Hon. Dele Abiodun, who was sacked by administration of Dr Bukola Saraki.

The party in a statement issued and signed by its state Chairman, Mr Kayode Olawepo, said the judgment had rebuked the illegalities and corruption of Saraki's administration in the state.

"Yesterday, Monday Jan 7, the Supreme Court in a unanimous judgment handed down a sharp rebuke to the illegalities, corruption and impunities of the Bukola Saraki years in Kwara state by upholding the Appeal Court ruling which reinstated the sacked chairman of Ekiti Local Government, Hon. Dele Abiodun.

"We recall that Abiodun, a staunch advocate of local government autonomy, was summarily dismissed without any form of fair hearing by the Bukola Saraki administration for no other sins than his challenge of the illegal deduction of funds accruing to his council from the federation account.

"Abiodun heard of his dismissal on Radio Kwara without any prior letter to that effect. Later his Councilors were coerced to do a kangaroo impeachment and Abiodun was, in what was akin to the Joshua Dariye saga, sent away from the seat to which the people of the council had elected him. "But, like the courts below had affirmed, the

Supreme Court said an emphatic no to the rule of thumb that was the hallmark of the Bukola Saraki administration in Kwara. This ruling is indeed a confirmation of our consistent stand that the regime was as lawless as it was corrupt - contrary to the fake appellation of 'transparent leader and democrat' being accorded the former governor by the hungry crowd in the PDP. "We salute Hon. Abiodun for his courage, belief in the rule of law and dogged fight for justice and fairness in the face of intimidation and political

victimisation.

Although Abiodun's term had since lapsed, the ruling is a victory for rule of law and fairness and a rebuke to the impunities that were the norms in that era. We hope the Kwara State will, without further delay, pay all the entitlements and the arrears due Hon. Abiodun as an elected chairman."

The party also condemned the attack on the Congress for Progressive Change(CPC) secretariat in Ilorin allegedy by some PDP thugs. "We join the CPC to call on the law enforcement agencies to bring the culprits to book in the

interest of communal peace. No political party should be allowed to constitute a threat to the existence of other parties or individuals who dare to hold divergent views.

"We note with dismay that the attack on the CPC headquarters came days after the party issued a scathing criticism of the PDP for resorting to name-calling because Kwara ACN chieftain, Mohammed Dele Belgore SAN, dared to point out a serious anomaly in the state's 2013 budget where recurrent expenditure far exceeded capital expenditure."

L-R: Counsel to Former Ogun state Governor, Mr Kunle Kalejaiye (SAN) and Mr. Akin Osibajo with former Governor Otunba Gbenga Daniel, during his trial over allegations of illegal diversion and conversion of public property to personal use, yesterday at an Abeokuta High Court III, Isabo.

Photo: NAN

10 million telephone sets: FG lacks ideas, says ANPP

By Umar Muhammad Puma

T

he All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) has said that the proposed distribution of 10 million free mobile phone handsets to rural farmers by the Federal Government is a manifest portrayal of a government lacking in ideas, considering the strategic importance of agriculture and rural development to the nation.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Emma Eneukwu, the party said the low allocation to the country’s agricultural sector in the 2013 Appropriation Bill effectively puts a question mark on the Federal Government’s readiness to tackle food security in the land.

“The fact that the 2013 national budget for agriculture is just about N81.41 billion, we

can only say that such project as the acquisition of 10million mobile phones for farmers is profligate at best, and corrupt at worst. It is a manifest portrayal of a government lacking in ideas, and therefore groping for logical means to look busy, we now wonder how it would benefit the country that almost all the funds apportioned for agriculture this year would be used to buy handsets for farmers”.

Eneukwu stressed that the Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture had earlier said that the project would cost the Nigerian taxpayers about N60billion, while the Minister, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, denied it with a vague statement that the project would be ‘‘supported through an MOU signed between the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Communications Technology

and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, with the Ministry of Women Affairs’’.

The Minister also stated that ‘‘The Universal Service Provision Fund [USPF]…will support this initiative. We intend to work with existing mobile operators in Nigeria through a public-private partnership.’’

Eneukwu described mechanization, lack of storage facilities, lack of access to farm inputs by rural farmers, poor funding, weak network between rural farmers and the food processing industries, and the worsening effects of climate change as the problems confronting agriculture in the country.

“We find it difficult to situate lack of communication gadgets in this matrix; and also considering that handsets are now as cheap as ever in the

retail markets, with Smart phones even getting cheaper by the day, it is mindboggling that the government could contrive and arrogate top priority importance to these gadgets in its development agenda. What about the more than 5,000 farmlands in many states of the federation that had been washed away last year by rampaging flood? What about the nonexistent drip irrigation infrastructure in the North”?

“We therefore condemn this proposed project. There are myriads of other sub-sectors calling for urgent intervention, even if the monies or telephones are raining down from donors and pseudo Santa Claus. In fact, there is no free lunch anywhere; if the money is tagged as free, Nigerian people always have a way of paying back, even with interests”, he said.

Court dismisses Daniel's application to quash charges

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n Abeokuta High Court yesterday dismissed an application filed by the former governor of Ogun, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, seeking its leave to reduce and quash some of the charges levelled against him by the EFCC. The anti-graft agency had on April 2, 2012 instituted a 38-count charge against the former governor bordering on fraudulent conversion of land and diversion of public funds.

Daniel, through his counsel, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, had last October filed an application to strike out counts 1-13 of the 38 charges which relate to fraudulent conversion of various plots of land belonging to the state.

Defending the application at the last sitting on Dec 14, Daniel argued that a Commission of Inquiry set up by the state government in September 2012 had already indicted Daniel over the same issues.

He also argued that the publication of a white paper by the Ogun Government through which it accepted the recommendations of the commission would affect a fair trial of Daniel's case.

The counsel further insisted that subjecting Daniel to another round of trial on the same charges would amount to double jeopardy.

Having considered the arguments of the counsel, Justice Olanrewaju Mabekoje, the trial judge, adjourned proceedings for ruling on the application to Tuesday.

At the resumed hearing, Mabekoje held that a Judicial Commission of Inquiry could not be elevated or equated to the status of a court of law. ``An indictment by a Commission of Inquiry does not amount to conviction. ``The accused person was not tried for criminal offences.

Only a court of law can try an accused for criminal charges,'' he held.

Mabekoje also held that an indictment by a Commission of Inquiry was a mere accusation which had to be proven in a court of law.

He stated that Daniel was liable to prosecution to determine his culpability or otherwise in respect of the charges.

Mabekoje, who struck out the application, however, gave the assurance that the decision of the Commission of Inquiry would not jeopardise Daniel's right to fair hearing.

The case was consequently adjourned to Feb. 22 and March 1 for continuation of trial.

It would be recalled that the court had ordered an accelerated hearing into the suit.(NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

PAGE 39

Group commends Ajimobi for crime-free Yuletide From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

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n interest group, Oyo D e v e l o p m e n t Initiative (ODI), has commended Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State over the peace and tranquility that reigned in the state during the last Yuletide.

The group, in a statement issued by its Coordinator, Dr. Adesola Okanlawon, also lauded the governor for the facelift which his administration is giving Ibadan, the state capital and other major towns and cities across the state.

Okanlawon noted with delight that throughout the Yuletide, there were no cases of violence, brigandage, armed robbery and other crimes that usually characterized the season in the state.

“We want to sincerely commend Governor Abiola Ajimobi for the setting up Operation Burst to check crime and criminal activities in Oyo State. We equally thank him for equipping the security outfit and for motivating the personnel. No wonder they are so efficient in the discharge of their duties.

“Were it not for the governor’s foresight, Oyo State would probably have been taken over by hoodlums as it used to be in the past. It is a good thing that the people of Oyo State are now sleeping with their two eyes closed, without any fear of being attacked or molested by criminals,’’ it said.

The group also described as a thing of joy the improvement in the environmental condition of Ibadan, the state capital, by the government through regular environmental sanitation, efficient refuse disposal and beautification of major roads across the city.

This, it said, had changed the face of Ibadan which used to carry the stigma of being the dirtiest city in Nigeria.

The group acknowledged the neighbourhood markets currently being constructed by the government to accommodate the traders who were affected by the removal of illegal structures within the Ibadan metropolis. It called for the support, cooperation and understanding of the people of the state, stressing that the transformation efforts of the government would begin to yield result soon

L-R: Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Imo state Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, at a function recently in Owerri.

2015: Group wants Atiku to run for president From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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Northern based political group, Northern Initiative for Democracy and Good Governance in Nigeria (NIDEGON), has declared that the former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar should vie for the Presidency come 2015.

The Chairman of the group, Alhaji Abubakar Musa-Dass made this known to newsmen in Bauchi while addressing the press yesterday.

Musa, a former state secretary to Jonathan/Sambo 2011 Campaign Organization in Bauchi, however disclosed that the group has yet to

convey its plea to the former Vice President.

According to him, good political standings, background, zeal and interest of the nation are some of the qualities possessed by Atiku and these qualify him as the only sellable candidate from the north in 2015.

Musa said that the group was working towards mobilizing the northern political class as well as former leaders and elites to throw their heavy political weights behind Atiku whom, they described as “tested and trusted.”

He stated, “We are calling on northerners, particularly the former presidents and head

of states to come together under one umbrella to salvage the region from its retrogressive trend, insecurity, unemployment, and bad leadership that have in the past retarded development.

“We are not selfish, but we know we have a lot of potential presidential materials in the northern region who can contest for the position anytime anywhere, but Turaki is ready-made, therefore, let him set the pace”, Musa argued.

He added “We have others like Buhari, Shagari, IBB and Gusau who have tested this seat and have done their own; what we are saying now is that they should support Atiku to

ensure that 2015 presidency return to northern region”.

“So we are going round the Northern states to mobilize brothers, sisters, and like minds in the region to rally round the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, to enable him take a shot at the presidency in 2015 as we cannot fold our arms to watch negative tendencies pervading the North”, Musa added.

The group chairman identified disunity and lackadaisical attitudes of the Northern leaders as factors responsible for depriving people in the North of the nation’s number one seat in the last decade.

Gaidam has delivered dividends of democracy in Yobe, by Legion boss From Uche Uche, Damaturu

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hairman, Nigerian Legion, Yobe state, Cpt. Zakari Garba (rtd), has commended the Yobe state governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaida, for ensuring the delivery of democracy dividends in the state.

According to him, the governor has executed various developmental projects executed towards improving

the living conditions of the people of the state.

The Nigerian Legion boss made the commendation in his appreciation speech during the 2013 Armed Forces Remembrance Day’s celebration and launching of the emblem week which took place at the WAWA Hall, Government House, Damaturu.

He expressed appreciation and profound gratitude for the

numerous supports given to the Council which he said has contributed immensely to the smooth running of the activities of the council.

He also appreciated what the governor has achieved in the areas of road network, portable water supply, and housing and health care delivery among others.

“The achievements recorded in these sectors have left no one in doubt that

Governor Gaidam has delivered the dividends of democracy to the people of Yobe State,” he said.

He therefore pledged the Council’s unflinching support to the policies and programmes of the government and urged the governor not to relent in his efforts in executing policies and programmes that would improve the quality of life of the teeming populace in the state.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

Fashola deploys perm secs From Adesoji Oyinlola, Lagos

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L-R: National Organising Secretary, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Youth REAP, Hon. Chidi. Chielo, National Coordinator ,PDP Youth REAP, Engineer Solomon Bamola,, South- South Zonal Coordinator, Hon. Tony Gbeleso, and Akwa Ibom state Coordinator, Dr. Archibong Otu, during the group media briefing cautioning civil societies on their involvement in political issues in Adamawa state, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

INEC no show stalls Oni’s appeal against Fayemi

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

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he Supreme Court yesterday adjourned till March 5, 2013 to hear an application brought before it by a former governor of Ekiti State, Segun Oni, to set aside an Appeal Court judgment which removed him from office and declared Olukayode Fayemi as the elected governor of the State.

Oni is challenging his removal on the ground that the suspended President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami who constituted and presided over the panel wrote the judgment of the Appeal Court

that sacked him from office had close affinity with Senator Bola Tinubu, the alter ego of Fayemi’s party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

Oni’s argument is that Salami was biased and favoured ACN in the judgment and that such judgment should be set aside on the ground of bias.

When the matter came up yesterday, the Chief Justice of Nigeria(CJN), Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar who presided observed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was not served with the hearing notice.

Chief Joe Kyari-Gadzama, (SAN) who appeared for Oni told

the court that INEC was a nominal party but deserved to be heard in the interest of fair hearing.

He however begged the court to grant a short adjournment because of the nature of the case.

Justice Mukthar consequently adjourned the case to March 5th being the earliest available date.

In the brief settled on behalf of Oni by Professor, Ben Nwabueze (SAN), he argued that bias constituted a proper ground for setting aside a judgment.

He said “Bias or likelihood of it makes a decision a nullity and is therefore a sufficient ground for the lower court to set aside its

own judgment.”

However, in a preliminary objection, Fayemi through his lawyer, Mr Olusola Baiyashea (SAN) said the Supreme Court did not have the jurisdiction to hear the appeal.

He said: “This Honourable Court has no jurisdiction to entertain this appeal, being an appeal emanating from the decision of the court below in Governorship election petition of Ekiti State arising from the Governorship election of 2007 to which Section 246 (3) of the 1999 Constitution is applicable.” He also said that there was no valid appeal before the court.

Youth group demands ‘new Nigeria’

By Okechukwu Okafoardi

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youth organisation, Concerned Citizens Group (CCG) has appealed to Nigerians, especially youths, to allow 2013 be a new beginning for the nation.

“With the beginning of a new year, we should strive to give our nation a new lease of life by shunning all forms of negative behaviours that have been pulling us back.

“Our nation has great potentials, but a few of us have been causing all sorts of negativity by engaging in activities that bring us to the insecure position we find ourselves in,” a release by the group said.

It also appealed to Nigerians

to cooperate with the security agencies with a view to bringing those behind the activities that deny the nation its deserved peace.

The release, signed by the Secretary General of the association, Hon Ahmed Saleh, called on the people of Taraba to

cooperate with their acting governor of the Alhaji Garba Umar with a view to moving the state to the next level.

It however asked them to commit Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai to prayers as he is currently undergoing treatment in Germany as a

result of the ill-fated plane mishap in Yola, for quick and brisk recovery.

The association then urged all patriotic citizen’s of Nigeria to use the New Year in burying any form of differences that cause socio-political and economic problems to our nation.

he Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) has approved the deployment of five Permanent Secretaries in the State Public Service.

According to a statement issued by the State’s Head of Service, Mr. Adesegun Ogunlewe, the affected Permanent Secretaries are Arc. Taiwo Adetunde Adedeji who has been moved from the Ministry of Housing to the Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure Development; Mr. Nurudeen OjoraAdejiyan, from Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to the Local Government Service Commission; Mr. Lateef Dada Abari, from the Public Service Office to the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

Others are Mrs. Eniola Yonwuren, who has been moved from the Civil Service Commission to the Teachers Establishments and Pensions Office (TEPO) and Mrs. Regina Iyabode Obasa from the Local Government Establishments, Training and Pensions office to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

The Statement added that the 16 newly appointed Permanent Secretaries have also been assigned portfolios. They are Dr. John Olusegun Oshinyimika, Office of Youth and Social Development; Dr. Abiola Olawunmi Awonuga, Office of Sports and Mrs. Onikepo Olufunmilayo Animashaun, Ministry of Science and Technology.

Others are Mr. Fariudeen Abisoye Akodu, Public Service Office; Mr. Olatunde Idowu Agoro, Ministry of Rural Development; Mrs. Olufunmilayo Adebusola Balogun, Ministry of Home Affairs and Culture; Mr. Waliu Abiodun Onibon, Parastatals Monitoring Office and Engr. Naheem Olayinka Sahid, Office of Infrastructure.

In addition, Mr. Jamiu Adewale Ashimi has been deployed to Local Government Establishments, Training and Pensions Office; Mrs. Omotayo Amoke Olabenjo, Civil Service Commission; TPL. Olusoga Olatunji Odunlami, Ministry of Housing; Mr. Adeyinka Tajudeen Jeje, Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission; Mrs. Modupeola Agbeke David, Education District I and Mrs. Iyabo Funmilola Osifeso, Education District VI. Meanwhile, Mrs. Ganiyat Adebola Afun and Dr. Francis Olatunde Williams, whose appointment were confirmed, are to retain their previous portfolios at the Office of the Environment and Primary Healthcare Board respectively.

NNPP commends deregistration of parties

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he National Chairman of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Mr Gilbert Agbo, yesterday described the deregistration of political parties by INEC as a welcome development.

Agbo, who made the remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said that the step by INEC would forestall

mediocrity.

“Most of the parties deregistered are not doing what is expected of them.

Every opportunity we had, we sent warnings to them to turn a new leave but they never yielded. “We are not celebrating their exit from the field, we do not as a party celebrate mediocrity, but things must be done properly according to the

constitution,’’ he said.

The NNPP chieftain said that although INEC recommended these parties, there was room to improve in their representation on the political scene. Agbo said his party was in support of the cleansing at the various levels where there were interactions with politicians.

“We have always advised them

to look inward; part of it is the complete absence of political leadership.

“We have had situations where the leadership of political parties are run by individuals, who are family members, and some are not morally qualified to be,’’ Agbo said.

He said as the party’s name indicated, it encouraged the proper thing to be done. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

PAGE 41

NPL stars top Eagles squad of AFCON debutants Stories by Albert Akota

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Azubuike Egwuekwe

layers from the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) top the Eagles squad to this month’s AFCON, while as many as 17 players will be making their AFCON debuts.

Six NPL stars namely the Rangers trio of Chigozie Agbim, Sunday Mba and Ejike Uzoenyi, Warri Wolves stopper Azubuike Egwuekwe, Godfrey Oboabona from Sunshine Stars and Gabriel

Ladipo admits NFF use juju to win matches

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he President of the Nigeria Supporter Club Dr Rafiu Ladipo, has admitted that for many years Nigeria used black magic, known locally as juju, with the hope of winning matches.

Ladipo is regarded as the country’s foremost cheer leader who has travelled the world leading thousands of supporters to cheer Nigeria to victory.

“I was carrying Super Eagles juju for so many decades until we came to realise that juju doesn’t play football,” Ladipo said on Lagos television station LTV. “We have decided to put a stop to it as there are no links between football and voodoo.

“Now we believe only in praying and fasting to help Nigeria win their matches.”

Nigeria has won the Africa Cup of Nations twice, on home soil in 1980 and in Tunisia in 1994.

There have been various allegations that players also employed juju to win places in the national team ahead of their rivals.

In 2010, former World Cup star Taribo West told a local newspaper how he sought spiritual powers in Senegal at the height of a career which took him to the likes of Inter Milan, AC Milan, AJ Auxerre and Kaiserslautern.

Ladipo will lead about 300 supporters to Nelspruit, South

Reuben of Kano Pillars is on the flight to South Africa.

This is a remarkable improvement on the final squads to both the 2008 and 2010 Nations Cups, where no player from the domestic league made the final cut.

Coach Stephen Keshi has worked with the home-based players since December 2011, a month after he replaced Samson Siasia.

The leagues of England, Spain, Africa, to cheer the Eagles to victory in this month’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Nigeria is drawn in Group C along with champions Zambia, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.

They open their campaign in January 21 against Burkina Faso.

Voodoo

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Ahmed Musa

Major League Soccer (MLS) Dike was a major shock after he scored a great goal against Catalonia in a warm-up game last week.

So too Dynamo Kiev striker Ideye, who broke his eagles duck in November in a friendly against Venezuela.

Nigeria U20 defender Omeruo, who has impressed with Dutch club ADO Den Haag on loan from Chelsea, made the final cut in only his first call-up to the full international team.

Otherwise, coach Stephen Keshi has kept faith with the tried and trusted leading up to this month’s AFCON in South Africa.

Nigeria will take on fellow 2013 Nations Cup finalists Cape Verde on Wednesday night in their final warm-up game before the biennial tournament.

They are due in South Africa on January 16.

The final squad: Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama (Maccabi Tel Aviv/

ISR), Austin Ejide (Hapoel Be’er Sheba/ISR), Chigozie Agbim (Enugu Rangers) Defenders: Elderson Echiejile (FC Braga/POR), Juwon Oshaniwa (Ashdod FC/ISR), Joseph Yobo (Fenerbahce/TUR), Efe Ambrose (Celtic/SCO), Azubuike Egwuekwe (Warri Wolves), Kenneth Omeruo (ADO Den Haag/NED), Godfrey Oboabona (Sunshine Stars) Midfielders: Mikel Obi (Chelsea/ENG), Nosa Igiebor (Real Betis/SPA), Ogenyi Onazi (SS Lazio/ITA), Raheem Lawal (Adana Demirspor/TUR), Obiora Nwankwo (Calcio Padova/ITA), Fegor Ogude (Valerenga/NOR), Gabriel Reuben (Kano Pillars) Forwards: Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow/RUS), Emmanuel Emenike (Spartak Moscow/RUS), Victor Moses (Chelsea/ENG), Ikechukwu Uche (Villarreal/ SPA), Ejike Uzoenyi, Sunday Mba (Enugu Rangers).

Don’t distract Eagles SWAN tells NFF, Minaj

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he Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) has called on Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and Minaj broadcasting corporation and all other warring parties to desist from any action that will jeopardize the nation’s interest in 2013 Africa Nations Cup in South Africa.

The body observed with grave concern that the on-going crises rocking the federation can danger the Super Eagles that in final

phase of it preparation for the continental fiesta.

SWAN equally worried that the sacked of former Nigeria Premier League (NPL) chairman Chief Ransom Baribote who headed to court to seek redress over his impeachment should adhere strictly to Article 7 (2) of the FIFA statutes to avoid undue interference.

In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja signed by it national secretary Andrew Abah, said that the president of SWAN

Mallam Saidu Abubakar has reasoned that the pending court actions would not only serve as unnecessary distraction to the federation while preparing the team for the nations cup but also further destroy the battered image of the local league.

“We are passionately appealing to all the parties involved in the criss to embrace peaceful resolution for the sake of Nigeria football at this critical period.

“The warring parties should

Nwankwo Kanu for the most finals appearances as this will be his sixth campaign having first featured at the 2002 tournament in Mali.

ADO Den Haag defender Kenneth Omeruo at 19 years and 2 months (born 17 October 1993) is the youngest member of the squad, while Joseph is the oldest at 32 years and 4 months (born 6 September, 1980).

The average age of the squad is about 26 years. The 23-man squad is made up of three goalkeepers, seven defenders, seven midfielders and six strikers.

Football pundit’s describe1 Nigeria referee for AFCON as unfortunate

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Eagles announce final 23 man squad TNFootball.com has scooped on the Eagles final AFCON squad with Bright Dike and Brown Ideye left out, while Kenneth Omeruo made the cut.

There are also five players from the Nigeria Premier League – goalkeeper chigozie Agbim, defenders Godfrey Oboabona and Azubuike Egwuekwe, midfielder Gabriel Reuben as well as forwards Ejide Uzoenyi and Sunday Mba.

Turkey, Russia and Italy have two players each, while there are three players who are based in Israel including two goalkeepers.

As many as 17 players will be playing at their first Nations Cup finals, meaning only six other players have featured at this stage of the competition previously.

This large percentage is because the Eagles failed to qualify for the 2012 competition in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

Skipper Joseph Yobo will also match the record held by

ootball analysts have described the only one Nigerian referee as unfortunate among the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to officiate in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

CAF on Monday released a list of 18 referees and 21 linesmen to officiate in the Nations Cup finals.

Peter Edibe was listed among the referees’ assistants by CAF and is the only Nigerian match official who would feature in the Nations Cup. Kayode Tijani said it was unfortunate that only one referee made the list, adding that an enabling environment should be created to ensure indigenous referees give the best officiating.

“It’s unfortunate, but we have to admit that the flaws from our referees are enormous and there’s need for them to be better organised.

“An enabling environment must be created to ensure our referees officiate well during league matches because it is the insecurities at match venues that lead to poor officiating,” he said.

Sunday Osunkwo also said that it was sad the only Nigerian referee listed by CAF was going to the Nations Cup as an assistant and not as a centre referee.

“Just one Nigerian referee on the sideline is sad. It tells you the extent to which our referees are

lowly rated in Africa. ``The truth is that our referees are not doing well but I don’t blame them because the clubs pay their indemnities, which leads to bias.

“Things have to change if we hope to see our referees in future CAF competitions. They should attend special courses and be fair and bold in officiating,” Osunkwo said.

However, Emeka Nwani expressed disappointment in CAF, saying that Nigerian referees were good but did not understand CAF’s selection criteria.

“I’m disappointed because we have good referees in the country who I feel should make the list but CAF’s selection process is what I don’t get,” he said.

In his reaction, Tony Ubani, said the development was a reflection of the growth of football in Africa, noting that at some point in time, Nigerian referees dominated the Nations Cup. “Regardless of the game’s development in Africa, the performance of referees in Nigeria has also declined.

“They lack consistency because the developmental process of football in the country has also affected the performance of referees,” the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) spokesman said.

According to Ubani, the once called giants of Africa have been relegated to the background and it’s a shame.

allow the nation interest to override personal interest as they

peruse their “he pleaded.

different

matters,

L-R: Former SWAN secretary-general, Richard Jideaka, Godfrey Gaiya, Chairman House Committee on sport and SWAN President, Saidu Abubakar

PAGE 42

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

Beat Cape Verde to boost player confidence, Erico tells Keshi

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ormer Super Eagles goalkeeper coach, Joe Erico has said it will be an AFCON boost for Eagles to win their friendly tie against the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde today.

Both sides are using the clash at the Algarve Stadium in Faro, Portugal as build-up for their 2013 AFCON campaign in South Africa.

The Islanders, who are making their debut at the biennial football showpiece, will vie for honour in Group A with hosts, South Africa, Angola and Morocco while two-time African champions, Nigeria will campaign in Group C against Cup holders, Zambia, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.

Erico said after pulling a heartwarming 1-1 draw against starstudded Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain a win against Cape Verde will boost the Eagles’ confidence heading to the Nations Cup. “I never placed undue emphasis on winning when it comes to friendly matches but having pulled a draw against the Catalonian selected a win against Cape Verde will boost the Eagles’ confidence going into the 2013 Nations Cup. “Defeat will be demoralizing and they should avoid defeat perhaps worst case settle for a draw,” said the former Nigerian shot-stopper said.

The former Iwuanyanwu Nationale coach will want

manager, Stephen Keshi to be fair and firm in the selection of the final 23-man AFCON list.

“I know he would have made up his mind on the final 23 I want to believe the choices will plug the loopholes noted in the team. I equally believe he will be fair to both local and foreignbased players,” he said.

Erico charged the Eagles to give every Afcon opponent equal attention.

“The Eagles should play every game as if it has never been played before and must avoid underrating any opponent.

“Nobody would have given Cape Verde a chance against Cameroon, every country at the Nations Cup is potential winner,

so they must take every game seriously,” he said.

The Eagles will kicks-off their chase for a third African title against Burkina Faso on January 21 in Nelspruit.

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Stephen Keshi

AFN coach appeals for more training programmes

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print coach with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Obodoechina Iwunoh, has called for regular coaching clinics for coaches to enable them to perform maximally.

Iwunoh noted that coaches that were not regularly exposed to refresher courses would have nothing new to impart.

“If the athlete being trained is more conversant with the current trends in the sport, what will you expect the coach to teach him? “That is why coaches should not be left out from training tours, because it

Shola Ameobi

will go a long way in instilling the best in the athletes,’’ he said.

He stressed that when coaches were sufficiently trained, they would be able to properly groom their wards for international competitions.

Iwunoh said in addition to proper exposure of coaches to the requisite programmes, early preparation for competitions was the only way to excel in such competitions.

“Every success story in any sport boils down to early preparations of the athletes involved in that sport; so it should be encouraged,’’ Iwunoh said.

No punishment for Ameobi – NFF Iorfa set for CAF T coaching course

he Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will not take action against Shola Ameobi following his failure to honour his invitation to represent his country nation at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.

The forward was called up by head coach of the Nigerian national team, Stephen Keshi alongside 31 others but he failed to turn up or give any reason for his decision.

The 31-year-old striker made his senior international debut against Venezuela two months ago and was set to be included in a 23-man Super Eagles squad for the Cup of Nations between January 19 and February 10.

But once Ameobi was chosen in a provisional Nigerian squad, the Newcastle United manager, Alan Pardew said the player would not be going to South Africa for the tournament without giving a reason.

Although it emerged that a clause in the contract of Ameobi allowed the English Premier League club to retain his services during the tournament, Eagles coach, Keshi did not drop him from the squad until last weekend.

In accordance with Article 36 Paragraphs 2b) and 5c) of FIFA regulations, if a player is called up, he must be released to play in the final competition organised by FIFA or a

confederation and held in a period fixed/set in the calendar.

In this event, the period of release shall be 14 days.

The NFF thus has the power to appeal to FIFA to stop the player from representing Newcastle during the period of the competition but the federation has now revealed that it will not toe that line.

“We will not be appealing to FIFA to stop Ameobi from playing for Newcastle,” general secretary of the NFF, Musa Ahmadu said.

Reminded that this may set a negative precedent, Ahmadu said “there are more important issues than Ameobi.”

“There are more important issues than Ameobi. We have players that can do well at the Nations Cup and we will not speak about a player that is not in the team,” he said.

In November 2012, Senegal invoked FIFA’s five-day rule after Newcastle United striker, Papiss Demba Cisse withdrew from the Teranga Lions’ squad for a friendly in Niger Republic citing a back problem.

The Senegalese Football Federation stated that it was not sent details of Cisse’s condition and he was forced to sit out Newcastle’s Premier League game against Swansea after FIFA upheld the claims of the West African nation.

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ormer Nigerian International and Lobi Stars Technical Adviser, Dominic Iorfa, will join top coaches across the continent for a Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) coaching course

Dominic Iorfa

Hamilton urges NWPL sponsorship

in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

The coaching course runs from 9 th to January 11, 2013.

The course is for coaches expected to lead teams for continental assignments this year.

Also to attend the course with Iorfa is former Nigerian International, Barnabas Imenger, who has returned to the technical crew of the Makurdi based club.

Imenger wiil boost Iorfa’s backroom staff in the dugout.

“I’m Nigeria’s best coach. My training schedule is dynamic so this is a good initiative,” Iorfa said.

Without a coaching certificate, Iorfa rejuvenated Lobi Stars and groomed several homegrown talents who pushed for the Nigerian double last term.

However, Lobi Stars eventually finished third on the NPL log and lost the Cup to Heartland in an exciting final last year.

As a result, Iorfa will not be in the dugout when the Super Four begins in Kano.

ormer Super Falcons’ Head Coach, Paul Hamilton has called for adequate sponsorship of the Nigeria Women’s Premier League (NWPL), to enable the country’s female football to yield better results.

Hamilton said that the stability of the league had a direct relationship with the results of the female national teams in international tournaments.

The coach, who decried the slow pace of development in female football due to poor league sponsorship, however, commended the players for their performance in international tournaments in 2012.

“We have discussed it in the past, the sponsorship of the Nigeria Women’s Premier League is poor; I even salute the players for their performance in some of the tournaments attended.

“The players are ready to get involved and do the country proud; I have even seen some of them this January, at the National Stadium,” he said.

Hamilton noted that the inability of some league matches to hold, as at when due, was due to the failure of some teams to show up, stressing that they lacked sponsors.

“In short, I praise the girls who play the women’s league because I do not know the source of their strength. At the moment they do not have sponsors.

“Their appearance at international matches itself is worth celebrating because the league has not received the needed support,’’ he said.

Hamilton said that good sponsorship would produce an uninterrupted league which would invariably position the country at the top in international competitions.

Hamilton, however, urged public-spirited individuals and corporate bodies to intervene in women’s football, to enable it to yield better fruits for the country.

Paul Hamilton

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

PAGE 43

Peoples Daily CLASSIFIED

Paterson reaches scrum-half despite Blair absence

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cotland’s record cap-holder Chris Paterson insists there is strength in depth at scrum-half, despite Mike Blair’s retirement.

The 31-year-old number nine announced his decision not to be considered for international duty.

However, Paterson maintains the future is bright for the national side, singling out Edinburgh’s Greig Laidlaw and Glasgow’s Henry Pyrgos.

Paterson added: “Laidlaw’s now playing nine for Edinburgh consistently and playing well. Pyrgos at Glasgow’s doing the exact same, with some young players like Sean Kennedy nipping at his heels.

Scotland starts their Six Nations campaign against England at Twickenham, but Paterson feels that new interim coach Scott Johnson will have one eye on the longer-term.

The 109-time capped former full-back admits pressure on the Scots has intensified after falling to 12th in the world rankings.

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Chris Paterson

Stoddart force to retire after injury

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ales and Scarlets back Morgan Stoddart has retired with immediate effect after failing to recover from a broken leg.

The 28-year-old was six games into his Scarlets comeback after 14 months out with a double leg fracture.

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Morgan Stoddart

But he has experienced “significant pain” since his return and has followed medical advice to stop playing.

Stoddart broke his left leg while winning his eighth cap for Wales in a pre-World Cup game against England at Twickenham in August 2011.

The versatile back, who played primarily at full-back, was not expected to start the match, but an injury to fly-half Stephen Jones during the warm up forced a late reshuffle.

He sustained the injury early in the second half when he was tackled by Delon Armitage, having intercepted a pass from the England player.

Scarlets eased him back into action with a second-half appearance as a replacement against Newport Gwent Dragons on 5 October.

He showed no ill-effects of the injury, making a real impact in the final stages and scored the final try in a 23-14 victory at Parc y Scarlets.

But problems gradually resurfaced in the next games and he was forced off early against Munster on 25 November in what will now prove to be his final appearance.

Johnson leads by three shots in Tournament of Champions

A

merican Dustin Johnson takes a three-shot lead into the final round of the weather-affected Tournament of

Champions in Hawaii.

Severe winds saw play abandoned on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and, with the tournament reduced to 54 holes,

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players completed two rounds on Monday.

Johnson shot 69 and 66 to lead Steve Stricker by three and Bubba Watson by four ahead of Tuesday’s final round.

Englishman Ian Poulter is 10 shots off the lead after shooting 71 and 74.

Johnson has won the last two PGA tournaments that have been shortened

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Dustin Johnson

to 54 holes.

“We had not played any golf, so I was ready to go, first round of the year, play 36 holes,” Johnson, who is hoping for a seventh win on the PGA Tour, said.

“This course is a tough walk and it’s really windy out there, but I’m in pretty good shape. I can handle it.

I’m pretty pleased with my game right now.”

PAGE 44

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

2013 Nations Cup finals

Black Stars hold fifth training session in Abu Dhabi

T

he Black Stars held their fifth training session in Abu Dhabi ahead of the 2013 African Cup of Nations.

All the 24 players in camp trained during the gruelling evening session to prepare for Africa’s top-flight competition to be hosted in

South Africa.

Coach Kwesi Appiah and his assistant Maxwell Konadu as well as goalkeepers’ trainer Nassam Yakubu put their charges through their paces for the first half of the training.

The rest of the training programme for the evening

saw the players rehearse some tactical variations and set pieces.

With all the players responding well to instructions, coach Appiah is delighted with the approach of his players during their training sessions.

“I am very happy with how all the players have trained since we arrived here on Saturday morning,” coach Appiah told Ghanafa.org.

“Training has been tough but very good for the players as I want to to achieve some fitness level before we depart

Relief for Ivory Coast as Drogba, Yaya return to training

I

Didier Drogba

vory Coast midfielder Yaya Touré has been released from hospital after being admitted with a heavy fever over the weekend, the country’s football federation said.

Touré, named African Footballer of the Year last month, missed the first two days of training in Abu Dhabi where his country’s national team are preparing for the African Nations Cup finals in South Africa.

Things are also going much better with the captain of the Ivoirian national team, Didier Drogba, after he suffered a light head injury on Sunday at training, and his participation in the continental tournament is not at all under question.

Manucho recovers from injury

A

Striker Manucho

ngola’s top striker Manucho has recovered from injury and is fit for the African Nations Cup finals, team officials said.

This comes after concerns over his availability as he did not play on Saturday when the Palancas Negras beat defending champions Zambia 2-0 in Soweto in a warm-up match for the upcoming tournament.

Angola do have two small concerns over Djalma Campos, the Turkish-based attacker and striker Yano from Progresso Sambizanga.

Djalma Campos is suffering from a reoccurrence of an old injury while Yano fell victim to a viral infection before Saturday’s game The news about Manucho will be eagerly received by Angolan fans for the ex-Manchester United forward was the player who earned Palancas Negras their place at the 2013 finals with two goals in the decisive qualifier at home to Zimbabwe in October.

He was also the team’s goal scorer at the 2012 finals in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

Chris Green

NFF vet Eagles final AFCON list

M

against the defending champions yesterday for an international friendly before they get their Nations Cup underway on January 19 against Angola.

Taoussi has selected a young squad of 23 players in which only several feature over the age of 30.

“A national team is made up of players who don’t get together often and I want to find cohesiveness in the team, it’s very important,” he told AFP ahead of the squad’s departure to South Africa.

“We’ve still got work to do to get this team ready. I

have all the weapons on the psychological front to overcome the obstacle of players who have never played in the competition before but who are capable of producing a good Nations Cup. “I’m a man who loves a challenge, I like to call on

Shittu talks on AFCON snub

S

uper Eagles defender, Danny Shittu has finally broken his silence on why he turned down a chance to be part of the 2013 AFCON in South Africa.

Shittu, 32, was named in Eagles’ provisional squad for the Africa Cup of Nations by head coach, Stephen Keshi.

But the Millwall centre-back rejected the

offer and has now explained the rationale behind his decision in an official statement released

by QSM Limited.

“I’m honoured to have been called up for the Super Eagles squad but I am disappointed to say that the timing for me this year is unfortunate as I have a lot of personal commitments which would make it hard for me

to give my ALL to the National Team as you know whenever I wear the Super Eagles jersey, I always give 100%.

“My heart will always be with the Super Eagles and I wish my team mates all the best in the coming Nations Cup tournament, he said in a statement.

Millwall manager, Kenny Jackett, had first made a statement saying

Malian referee set AFCON record

T

he final 23-man squad for the AFCON will be vetted by Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) technical committee before it made public today.

Eagle’s spokesman Ben Alaiya said the federation may not know the Eagles final squad yesterday as expected because the NFF technical committee would have to vet the list and then approve it.

“The team list was ready yesterday by lunch time, but I don’t think it will be released to the public today because the list has to be send to NFF technical committee to approve it,” Alaiya said.

“We are expecting NFF president Aminu Maigari, technical committee chairman Chris Green and sports minister Bolaji Aminu, if they arrive in time, it could make it faster to make public the list.

The official said there is anxiety in Eagles training camp in Faro, Portugal, as the players are eager to know their fate.

“There is anxiety in camp as every player wants to be on the list which is not possible, there are some players who are so confident they are on the list, but some are not,”he reported.

“The anxiety showed on faces of some players when the two-a-side training on Monday and those who stayed out were wondering whether they will make it or not.

Morocco coach hopes for ‘cohesiveness’ orocco Chief Coach Rachid Taoussi hoped that the Atlas Lions friendly against Zambia has provided his young side with a sense of ‘cohesiveness’ ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations outing.

Morocco’s turned out

to South Africa.”

The Black Stars will train in Abu Dhabi for eight more days before departing to South Africa for the tournament.

They will also play two friendly matches against Egypt and Tunisia during their stay in the UAE. Ghana will open its Nations Cup campaign against DR Congo o n January 20 before facing Mali and Niger in the subsequent Group B games in South Africa.

that Shittu will reject Nigeria’s call to be part of their pre-AFCON plans.

“I don’t think he’s going to go and I don’t think he’s been in touch with them.

At the moment that’s the decision.

“It was a surprise but it shows how well Danny has done. He’s only in the preliminary squad so that’s going to be cut down.

“But congratulations to

players who are thirsty, who are hungry. When DDay arrives, we’ll be ready.

The 1976 winners suffered a disappointing first round exit in the 2012 Cup of Nations tournament and they will be hoping to do better this year. him because he’s in there based on his performances,” Jackett had said.

The AFCON will

hold between January 19 and February

Danny Shittu

Komlan Coulibaly

M

alian referee K o m l a n Coulibaly, 42, is expected to appear at record seventh AFCON finals since he made his debut in 2002.

The Confederation of African Football, CAF, has named 18 referees and 21 linesmen to officiate at upcoming Africa Cup of Nations.

There are only two changes to the list of referees and eight new linesmen from the 2012 edition in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

The referees are expected to assemble in Johannesburg on January 15 for pretournament tests. They will be lodge in a hotel in Pretoria which will be closed to the public.

10 with Nigeria’s Super Eagles starting off their campaign against Burkina Faso on January 21.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

PAGE 45

1] Defender Bongani Khumalo says he is humbled to be named captain of an ambitious South Africa, ahead of their historic CAF Africa Cup of Nations hosting later this month.

2] Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan tells FIFA.com that he is anxious to put any bittersweet memories behind him this month when he returns to South Africa for the CAF Africa Cup of Nations.

3] Barcelona star Lionel Messi has been named the world's best player for the fourth successive year, finishing ahead of Andres Iniesta and Cristiano Ronaldo, while Spain's Vicente Del Bosque was named top coach.

4] Wales and Scarlets back Morgan Stoddart retires with immediate effect after failing to recover from a double leg fracture.

5] Heather Watson, Laura Robson, Anne Keothavong and Johanna Konta will represent Great Britain in the Fed Cup in Israel next month.

1

PICTORIAL

6] Everton captain Phil Neville believes the side that David Moyes selected to beat Cheltenham 5-1 reflected the manager's desire to win the FA Cup.

2

3

4

5 6

PAGE 46

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

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PAGE 47

Say what?

Some Interesting Facts * Dalmatians are born without spots. * Bats always turn left when exiting a cave. * The 'v' in the name of a court case does not stand for 'versus', but for 'and' (in civil proceedings] or 'against' (in criminal proceedings] * Men's shirts have the buttons on the right, but women's shirts have the buttons on the left * The owl is the only bird to drop its upper eyelid to wink. All other birds raise their lower eyelids * The reason honey is so easy to digest is that it's already been digested by a bee

SUDOKU

* Roosters cannot crow if they cannot extend their necks

Getting Started Each sudoku puzzle is a 9 by 9 grid of horizontal and vertical rows, evenly separated into 9 squares with 9 spaces each.

Instead of word clues, each puzzle’s solution is determined by the pattern of the numbers already filled in you. You solve the puzzle by filling in the missing digits so that, when completed, each row and each square will have all the number from 1 to 9; each number will appear in exactly nine spaces within each puzzle.

* The color blue has a calming effect. It causes the brain to release calming hormones * Every time you sneeze some of your brain cells die * Your left lung is smaller than your right lung to make room for your heart * The verb "cleave" is the only English word with two synonyms which are antonyms of each other: adhere and separate * When you blush, the lining of your stomach also turns red

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Yesterday’s solution

Ready for the off: Joy the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, doesn't seem to understand the hold up as she took her seat on the 6.55am London-bound Piccadilly Line tube from Cockfoster station.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

. . . putting the people first

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013

SPORTS LA TEST LATEST

Webb to referee Man United, Liverpool match

H

oward Webb has been named as the referee for Sunday's Premier League clash between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford.

It will be the first time the Rotherham official has taken charge of one of the biggest domestic club fixtures in world football since the two contested an FA Cup tie in January 2011.

In that match - Kenny Dalglish's first game back in charge of Liverpool - United won 1-0 courtesy of an early penalty from Ryan Giggs and Reds captain Steven Gerrard was sent off in the 32nd minute.

That result prompted then Liverpool forward Ryan Babel to post a mocked-up picture of Webb wearing a United shirt on his Twitter account.

The post and the accompanying tweet - "And they call him one of the best referees?

That's a joke." - saw the Dutchman fined £10,000 and warned about his future conduct.

Webb is regarded as one of the top officials in world football, and in 2010 became the first referee to take charge of the finals of the Champions League and the World Cup in the same year.

Former referee Graham Poll told the Daily Mail: "Howard Webb, as the No.1 referee as ranked by UEFA, FIFA and the Premier League, is a natural selection for the Manchester United-Liverpool match this weekend.

“He was selected for the World Cup final and the Champions League, so it is hard to argue with those credentials.

“In appointing Webb, referee chief Mike Riley is covered in that, even if the game goes badly, he can say: 'Well, I appointed the No.1 referee.

Howard Webb ADVERT: BUSINESS: NEWS: LAGOS:

0803 0805 0803 0805 0803

QUO TABLE Q UO TE UOT QUO UOTE In 2013 we cannot do things exactly the way we did them in 2012 or in the past; we must revisit our attitude to work and take the state as their own by doing their best to keep the state going — Gov. Adams Oshimomhole

Dr. Jonathan, only change can change things T

his time of the year is usually associated with a lot of religious activity.

Even those of us who are nonChristians find ourselves involved one way or the other with those celebrations, such as the exchange of gifts and visits and, now, the deluge of emails and SMSs. Even as he however rejoiced, the president of the country, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan had apparently maintained a fixed gaze on politics. Abuja, the nation's capital was swamped by his campaign posters, welldesigned and printed, announcing that there is no vacancy in the Villa come 2015. This is coming barely a year and some months into his current term of office.

My friend, Dr. Reuben Abati was 100 percent correct when he said the President needn't order the arrest of these campaigners to prove that he had not commenced an early campaign for the 2015 presidential contest.

Hear Reuben: "President Jonathan has not launched any campaign for re-election in 2015. He has not asked anybody to go and paste posters around Abuja. Whoever those people are they are acting on their own. They are not President Jonathan's agents.

They are onto their mischief."

Reuben ended by saying that since the police have their jobs cut out for them, they know what to do in the circumstance. Unfortunately for Reuben and the President's media team, much of the political class, the police force and the country's teeming population will not read this and even if they did, they will not believe them. This is considering that there is a lot of motion and movement even without words being spoken by the President in the direction of 2015.

Now, as to the question of whether Jonathan will be President again in 2015, it is difficult if not dangerous to guess. This is currently a matter before a judge. In addition, God's ways are too intricate for the mind to answer but if the President wins

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MUSINGS By

Garba Shehu garshehu@yahoo.co.in

President Jonathan another term in 2015 elections, it will not be of the freewill of the people. How many oaths of office is he going to take? And under which constitution?

What is he going to tell Nigerians that he has accomplished and for which they should hand the country to him for another four years?

To be fair, it may not be difficult pointing at some areas in which a strong performance has been recorded. The President has kept an important hold on the ruling party, the People's Democratic Party (PDP), which is important for his political life.

They have also kept an enviable human rights record especially in the area of free speech. There is progress in the Railways, electric power generation and the sustenance of democracy as a form of government through improved elections. The negatives include mounting corruption, Boko Haram, Armed robbery and Kidnapping. That the country's Military choppers are busy ferrying VIPs to private burials when Boko Haram is threatening to seize a sizeable

chunk of the Nigerian territory or has done so already is yet another sad commentary on his government.

A careful examination of Reuben's choice of words gives a sense of de javu. We have been there before. This type of campaign is not new in Nigeria.

Nigerians who want to learn from the president's poster campaign should dig to the roots of past self-perpetuation campaigns in the country.

It was started by the Military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon when he resolved that the 1976 hand-over date to civilians was unrealistic. Since then, every ruler except a few have done one form of effort or another to task the patience of Nigerians by seeking an endless term of office. Gowon fell from power following his failure to achieve this.

General Babagida, with all his shrewdness and astuteness, wit and cunning; with all those resources at his disposal, was forced to step aside by the force of popular opinion.

The case of General Abacha was even more spectacular. He was the country's strongest leader ever who did not suffer opposition lightly and broached none. He was ruthless and didn't spare anyone. Under him, nobody could call for accountability without the fear of reprisal. Abacha threw everything into it but he too failed. Without a shot being fired, Abacha too, quit the scene. The story of President Obasanjo's tenure elongation plot was reason why some us had the "privilege" of being locked in prison and other detention cells repeatedly.

As for those posters and their wall-to-wall coverage of Abuja on the New Year day, nobody can do that kind of job without

government knowing about it.

Nobody could have printed the president's posters on that scale, at a printing press without anyone getting a hint of it. No, government is behind it all.

Men on the streets know the large number of Jonathan groups putting up campaign offices under various aliases.

Anyone of them could have done this. One of such groups, the PDP National Youth Vanguard has already sprung a defense of the posters, an indication clearly that they have more than a passing interest in the campaign.

Now if the whole idea is to test the political waters or a dry run of sorts for the campaign, this thing has got the President's finger burnt and that must force him into a rethink.

The furious debate over those posters is still on. It will probably die down with a little time.

But the massive condemnations across the board by ordinary Nigerians are a pointer to what is in wait for PDP in the event that the President decides to be a candidate against the run of public opinion. This is even as no major contender for the office has yet spoken. It is a rare glimpse into what Nigerians think of the current national dispensation.

When he read the New Year message to Nigerians, the President spoke eloquently about the need for change. He said all the right things that the occasion warranted but seemed totally oblivious of the corruption and arrogance that is deeply rooted in the DNA of his cabinet members. Jonathan cannot alter that DNA no matter how much he raises his voice and regardless of any threats that he may issue.

Ministers seem not to fear him or the legislature or anyone for that matter. He needs to refresh his team. Only change will change the way things are. He must bring fresh blood if he wants to be believed. Let him find dynamic, aggressive, focused and dedicated people and bring them into his government. Many of them abound in the country if only he cares to look for them. The only question is, can he?

Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza, Utako, Abuja. Kano office: Plot 3, Zaria Road, Opposite Kano State House of Assembly. Lagos Office: No.8 Oliyide Street, off Unity Road, Ikeja, Lagos. Tel: +234-09-8734478. Cell: +234 805 727 9862. e-mail: contact@peoplesdaily-online.com; pmlnewsdesk@gmail.com ISSN: 2141– 6141