Peoples Daily Online

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

Vol. 10 No. 9

Thursday, January 10, 2013

. . . putting the people first

21 rooms, artefacts destroyed in fire at Alaafin’s palace >> PAGE 3

Plot to bring back sick Suntai uncovered >> PAGE 3

Safar 24, 1434 AH

N150

Senate summons IGP for failing to arrest Maina >> PAGE 30

PDP crisis: Jonathan moves to save Tukur

…suspends BoT election to avert defeat

By Lawrence Olaoye and Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

P

resident Goodluck Jonathan yesterday moved to save the job of the National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),

Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, when he summoned the members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to a reconciliation meeting at the Villa.

This is coming on the heels of speculations that the President

had to suspend the election scheduled to produce the new Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) on Tuesday when it was becoming clearer that his perceived candidate, Chief Tony Anenih, was on the verge of losing the contest to Chief Ahmadu Ali,

who has the backing of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

It was gathered that the suspension of the BoT meeting and the composition of the special committee headed by Prof. Jerry Gana was a ploy to avert defeat by the President.

However, wading into the PDP leadership crisis, Jonathan, at the meeting asked the NWC members to reconcile and work with Tukur in the interest of peace and progress of the party.

The PDP NWC members are Contd on Page 2

L-R: Chairman, Christian and Muslim Alternative to Conflict Organisation, Alhaji Mohammed Gashash, Director of the organisation, Alhaji Murtala Abubakar, and Vice-Chairman, Prof. Daniel Babayi, during the inauguration of its executive members, yesterday in Kaduna.

Photo: NAN

AfCON 2013: Nigerians may not watch matches live, warns BON

By Albert Akota, with Agency report

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illions of Nigerians will not watch the 2013 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) live as Nigerian

television stations may not beam live broadcasts of the tournament due to hitches in paying for the broadcast rights.

The Chairman, Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), Abubakar Jijiwa told a news

conference yesterday in Abuja that BON made up of Nigerian television stations, might not broadcast live matches following what he described as a tussle over payments for the broadcast rights.

The development has already sparked anger among administrators and ehnthusiastics with the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) seeing it as a bad omen for the nation’s football fortunes.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles is one of the 16 participating teams in the tournament holding in South Africa from January 19 to February 10. Nigeria is drawn in Group C alongside defending Contd on Page 2

PAGE 2

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

CONTENTS

Yobe, Zamfara, Kebbi get federal varsities

News

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

2-10

Editorial

12

Op.Ed

13

Letters

14

Opinion

15

Metro

16-18

Business

19-22

S/Exchange

23

S/Report

24-25

Earth

26-27

Update

28-29

T

he Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved three more federal universities to be sited in Zamfara, Kebbi and Yobe states.

This is just as President Goodluck Jonathan, has ordered his ministers to buckle up to deliver the dividends of democracy the federal government promised Nigerians.

President, who yesterday presided over the first FEC meeting in 2013, however, did not indicate what sanctions he would apply for non performance.

The Minister of Education, Prof Ruqqayat Ru'fai who

accompanied the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku to brief State House correspondents after the meeting, said that the new universities would be sited at Gusua in Zamfara state, BirniKebbi in Kebbi state and Gashua, Yobe state.

Prof. Ruf'ai said the decision was to ensure that all the states have federal universities in order to expand the opportunities for university education available to young Nigerians in all parts of the country. She said the nine federal universities approved last year have commenced academic programmes, adding that the newly approved ones would off in the 2013/2014

session.

On his part, Maku said the president gave the ministers a “marching order” to deliver even as he spelt out the priorities of his government for the year.

"Mr. President gave us a marching order to work harder, faster and deliver results. He said we must all buckle up and make sure all our agencies deliver results. Last year was very good for the country, by the grace of God, Nigerians will see greater results this year. We are looking forward to greater synergies, we are looking forward to greater results this year. All is set for greater performance for government in the year 2013," the

minister said.

The minister said President Jonathan believed some remarkable achievements were recorded in the first year of the administration especially in laying a solid foundation in critical sectors of the economy like oil and gas and transport.

Meanwhile, the World Bank has increased Nigeria's shares, placing it on the same level as 15 other countries.

Speaking on this at the post Federal Executive Council (FEC) briefing yesterday, the Minister of State for Finance, Lawan Yerima Ngama said "this endorsement is welcome.

We now have significance voice".

Why Jonathan hasn’t signed 2013 budget H opes of early signing of the 2013 budget may have dimmed as President Goodluck Jonathan is said to be very upset with the adoption of a oil benchmark of $79 for the budget as against the $75 proposed by the executive.

Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Joy Emordi had last Tuesday admitted that there were

some disagreements between the President and the federal legislature over certain provisions in the budget but failed to give details of the actual issues in contention.

However, a member of the National Assembly who prayed anonymity hinted yesterday that the adoption of the $79 per barrel instead of $75 is at the center of the disagreement over the budget

which was passed on December 20, 2012.

The source said the President is deeply upset because the Federal Government had already predicated its major fiscal decision including transactions with international bodies based on the $75 it proposed. It was however, gathered that the Presidency had already reached certain business agreements

with international monetary bodies based on the benchmark it proposed.

“There is a major disagreement between the Presidency and the National Assembly over the budget and the crux of the matter is that the President is not happy with the National Assembly for adopting an oil benchmark of $79 per barrel against the $75 per barrel he proposed”, the source said.

PDP crisis: Jonathan moves to save Tukur Katsina: Like Acholonu, like Shema, Page 4

Newsxtra Int’l

30 31-34

Digest

36

Politics

37-40

Sports

41-46

Leisure

47

Columnist

48

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU The Peoples Daily wants to hear from you with any news and pictures you think we should publish.

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Phones for News: 070-37756364 09-8734478

Contd from Page 1 sharply divided over Tukur’s handling of the crisis in the Adamawa chapter of the party and subsequently reversed an earlier decision taken to sack the state Executive Council (Exco) led by Alhaji Mijinyawa Kugama over the conduct of congresses in that state.

The disagreement in the Tukur’s led NWC came to the fore on Tuesday when ten out of the 12 members of the NWC met without him and resolved to annul the recent congresses conducted in Adamawa state by the Caretaker Committee chaired by Amb. Umar Damagun set up by the national leadership of the party last October.

Tukur had seen the action the other NWC members, as amounting to betrayal as he maintained that all the officials were in attendance

when the caretaker committee was mandated to conduct the congresses.

Tuesday’s decision by the 10 NWC members followed a threat by governors elected on the platform of PDP to have all of them (NWC members) removed from office unless they restored the state executive committee of the party in Adamawa loyal to the state governor, Murtala Nyako.

At the end of the meeting with Jonathan which took place at House 7 in the Presidential Villa, Tukur told State House correspondents that the NWC members have resolved their differences, describing the members as the "first family of the PDP. “Like any other family, you may have some disagreements but based on principle, not any other thing. You resolve it. And we

have resolved our differences. Some differences, it is good to bring them to light, examine them and find out why you have the disagreement and you go back and do what you believe is right,” he said.

Responding to questions on his allegation of betrayal of trust over the meeting of 10 NWC members who excluded him, the party boss noted that the situation has been resolved adding, "first of all, there may be some misunderstanding and people keep things when they don't go through them. That is why we are here.”

Pressed to disclose the status of Adamawa PDP Exco and the congresses, he declined but however said that the NWC would address the issue at the appropriate time.

But before the NWC members

went to the villa to answer the presidential summon, a mild drama played out at the Wadata Plaza headquarters of the party when Tukur snubbed some of his colleagues in the NWC at the main entrance of the party secretariat when he came in around 10:58am.

Some members of the NWC who were apparently on their way out of the PDP secretariat to the Villa were on the ground floor of the building when the siren blasting convoy of the party chairman drove in.

His police escort stopped all movements as Tukur walked into the building and the three NWC members (name withheld) who were descending the stairs as he climbed up were snubbed by the angry chairman who just walked past them without saying hello or acknowledging their presence.

AfCON 2013: Nigerians may not watch matches live, warns BON Contd from Page 1 champions Zambia, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.

Jijiwa, who has pleaded with the federal government to step into the matter said there was need to inform Nigerians on the development and efforts by BON to ensure that the hitches were surmounted.

“There is the need for BON to inform Nigerians on efforts made so far to secure the broadcast rights for the competition and to say that the situation is not encouraging at all. We believe this is the time for the government of Nigeria to intervene on behalf of the people of Nigeria, especially since the 2013 AFCON is only 10 days away”, Jijiwa said.

He explained that the situation arose following the brick wall BON had met in terms of the acquisition

of broadcast rights from the concerned bodies. The BON chairman said it had started negotiations since November 1, 2012 with an offer of $1.2 million to JCM-African Sports Consulting, after a letter from it on October 19, 2012.

“After it rejected that offer about two weeks later, we increased it to $1.5 million but the company insisted on eight million euros”, he said.

Jijiwa said BON was to repeat the offer on November 27, 2012 after it learnt from LC2 it owned the rights, only for the company to on December 5, 2012 direct it to CFOOT Ltd for negotiations.

“Because of problems of time at this point in time and the fact that the competition is already branded, thus limiting our possibilities of advertising, we had

to make a new offer. “We thus, on December 12, 2012 offered to CFOOT either $1million for all the 32 matches or $300,000 for selected matches, with CFOOT rejecting this on December 21”, he said.

The BON chairman, who is also the Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), said JCM-African Sports Consulting had since been interceding on its behalf with CFOOT on its price.

“So far, CFOOT has not responded, while we have only seen a letter from FTPA, a legal firm representing LC2, threatening BON on the rights issue”, he said.

Jijiwa said BON felt it had done all that was necessary for it to secure the rights and felt embarrassed by FTPA’s letter since “we at no time pronounced that

we have the rights”.

He said the organisation was confident that its members would not breach the rules to go on and broadcast the matches, without paying for the rights.

“We are professional broadcasters, and we will not broadcast any match we have not agreed with the rights owners on payment. It is a matter of honour and obligation and our members are aware of this. Even the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) is aware of this development too”, he said.

However, reacting to the development, Chairman of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) FCT Chapter, Mr. Kayode Adeniye said that failing to show such high level of matches to Nigerians would portray a bad image for the country.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

Katsina: Like Acholonu, like Shema Power without responsibility is the prerogative of the harlot over the ages – Graham Greene in The Brighton Rock.

T

here is a sense of déjà vu in the irresponsible display of power by Katsina state first lady Hajiya Fatima Ibrahim Shema when she haughtily sacked a Supervisory Councillor in the state two weeks ago.

In 1996, Mrs. Thelma Ngozi Acholonu, wife of the then Military Administrator of Katsina state, Navy Captain Emmanuel Acholonu, had gone the devilish length of, yes, roasting five Government House gardeners by a bonfire for allegedly stealing monogrammed dinner sets, belonging to the state government. The missing items consisted of plates and cutleries.

The futile effort to suppress the news of Mrs. Acholonu’s heinous act is playing out now with equally futile attempt to deny the role of Mrs. Shema in the sacking of the councillor.

Newspaper reports on Sunday had it that on the directive of the Katsina state First Lady, the appointment of the Supervisory Councillor for Water and Sanitation in Matazu local government, Hajiya Hadiza Ibrahim, was summarily terminated.

The termination letter, MTLG/ADM/36/VOL.1, which read in part: “I am directed by the office of Her Excellency, Hajiya Fatima Shehu Shema to issue you this letter because of your misconduct and behaviour. You are therefore directed to handover all official documents in your possession to your director with immediate effect, please”, gave the reference letter from Mrs. Shema as GH/KTS/GWO/41/C. The termination letter was signed by the local council’s staff officer, Malam Bala Lawal Yaro.

But in a swift refutal, the Governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Malam Lawal Ahmed Matazu had described the reports of the sacking as incorrect. In a signed statement, the Governor’s spokesman had averred that, “Mrs. Shema is not on the staff of Matazu LGA, does not get involved in local or state administration and never ordered the sack of any councillor. The staff of Matazu LGA who signed the letter is on his own. We are surprised that a staff of Matazu LGA could stoop so low as to issue that directive when everyone knows that he does not take his instructions from Mrs. Shema”.

More surprised, indeed, must be the larger society at the Katsina first lady’s mighty ego, which gave her the audacity to transgress beyond her matrimonial bounds and devilishly dabble into state

Fondly referred to as the home of Heritage and Hospitality, Katsina state has, not by choice, now earned the dubious distinction of becoming the home of megalomanic first ladies, writes Abdu Labaran Malumfashi

Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema of Katsina state

Hajiya Fatima Shehu Shema

matters, especially after her spokesman, Alhaji Abdul’aziz Imam, came clean by admitting his principal’s guilt.

Unlike the Governor’s mouthpiece, Alhaji Abdulazeez confirmed the directive to sack the councillor as coming from the first lady, telling newsmen that, “yes the letter emanated from the first lady’s office.”

Back in 1996, a security detail attached to the Government House, who got the wind of the wickedness Mrs. Acholonu was planning for the five accused gardeners, had had the presence of mind to alert newsmen before too much harm was done to them.

And soon as she sighted newsmen, this writer , then with the now rested Kaduna based Democrat Newspaper inclusive, approaching the area where she was supervising the torture of the five who were all undressed to only their briefs, Mrs. Acholonu fled from the scene muttering “these stupid people are here”. But not before she gave an explicit order that under no condition must the newsmen be allowed near the scene and the victims, or to file the report of the incident. But a very senior government official, who also arrived to the scene after the torture had begun, directed the security officials (Police and SSS) to let the newsmen on the scene, but pleaded with us not to report what we saw. Some did not, but others, including yours faithfully, did.

As a result of government’s determination to kill the story, only Democrat Newspaper published the report of the NGO’s briefing, with the headline, “NJF to drag Katsina state to court over torture”.

With that report, I joined the league of the victims of government’s heavy handedness, as I was detained by the SSS for 10 hours (from 8 am to 10 pm) for “filing a false report”. But my detention, according to a source in the SSS, was a face saving measure for the failure of the service to find the venue of and stop the press briefing by the NFJ. I was also declared a persona non grata and barred from entering the Government House until the then Secretary to the State Government (SSG) came to my rescue some two weeks later. A week after my detention, the SSS Director in the state invited, for the first time according to him, members of

When news of the torture hit the newsstands the following day, all hell kind of broke loose with a number of NGOs streaming to Katsina to investigate. One week after, one of the NGOs, the Dr. Bashir Kurfi-led Network For Justice (NFJ), came to address a press conference. But on getting wind of the planned news conference, the government did all it could to truncate it by sending out security agents to all possible venues, including the Katsina Press Center, the Correspondent Lodge, the Katsina Motel and some hotels among others, to prevent journalists from congregating.

But the NFJ outsmarted the security operatives by discreetly inviting to and addressing the journalists at the Katsina High Court, which was located close to both the headquarters of the Police and the State Security Service (SSS).

“

But in a swift refutal, the Governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Malam Lawal Ahmed Matazu had described the reports of the sacking as incorrect. In a signed statement, the Governor’s spokesman had averred that, “Mrs. Shema is not on the staff of Matazu LGA, does not get involved in local or state administration and never ordered the sack of any councillor

the correspondents’ chapel to what from then became a bi monthly ritual; an informal forum for the “exchange of information and ideas” as the spook put it.

Sadly for one of the torture victims, he did not live long after that harrowing experience. He was hospitalised soon after the traumatic incident for a heart related problem and remained in the hospital for nearly two month.

Two days after his discharge from the hospital, he died. I should know, because he was a distance cousin of my wife, a fact I came to know only after his death.

It is sad that in Katsina not all of the first ladies will be remembered fondly after they might have exited the stage.

First ladies are supposed to add value, especially where their spouses rein supreme, not to become irritants and nuisance to the society, as is evidently the case in Katsina state. Even some of the so-called NGOs run by first ladies are simply nothing but avenues for siphoning public funds. But burning people on the mare suspicion of stealing, or sacking a government appointee, is surely taking the “purview” of the self-serving office of the wife of a governor or, even, that of the president, to a ridiculous level.

This is hoping that Governor Shema does not allow this wicked meddlesomeness by his wife to stand.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

PAGE 5

Displaced Nasarawa Tiv community protest at gov’s residence From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

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embers of the Tiv community in Ekye development area of Nasarawa state, yesterday staged a peaceful protest at the residence of Governor Umaru Tanko Almakura, to press their demand for a speedy reconciliation of farmers embroiled in ceaseless skirmishes with herdsmen in the area, which has led to the loss of several lives, as well as damage to property.

George Zauka, who led the placard-carrying members of the community, informed the governor of their plight, stressing that a whole community of Tivs in Rukubi, Ogpata and Agima, who have been displaced as a result of internecine violence and who have taken refuge in neighbouring communities, could not return to their homes because of the lack of security.

Zauka pleaded with the governor not to listen to the

advice of his lieutenants who report to him that peace has returned to the area, as according to the Tiv leader, “you have a kind heart and everyone is seeing what you are doing in the state.

Don’t let these people mislead you because peace is yet to come to our area”.

The Tiv community leader informed the governor that even though his kinsmen yearned to go back to their homes and their farms, the security situation on

ground prevented most of them from returning, urging the governor to provide them with enough security to enable the displaced persons return home.

He narrated that a week ago, one of their kinsmen and his son were attacked and killed while on their farm, while the wife of the man was mercilessly beaten.

Responding, Governor Almakura thanked the people for what he described as “peaceful,

civilised conduct”, saying that his administration is ever poised to hearken to the plight of the people, “particularly, the abandoned and downtrodden”.

He announced plans to resettle the community as well as provide them with relief materials, as according to the governor, “most of you are farmers and because of the crisis you can’t go to your farms. So we will provide you with food and other stuff to rehabilitate you”.

Al-makura stated that a temporary security base will be established in the area pending the return of peace.

STF arrests nine for allegedly possessing arms

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he Special Task Force (STF) maintaining the peace in Plateau state, yesterday, arrested nine persons for allegedly being in possession of sophisticated fire arms. STF Media Officer, Capt.

Salisu Mustapha, who paraded the suspects before newsmen in Jos, alleged that they were arrested around Du, Shenabe and Bisichi villages in Jos South local government area of the state.

Mustapha listed the items recovered from them to include one AK-47 rifle, one FN rifle, one sub-machine gun, one locally made shot revolver and a locally made long revolver. Also recovered from the suspects were a bayonet, a knife and two rounds of 9mm ammunition.

“We received a distress call through our recently launched emergency telephone lines around 10.20 p.m. on Tuesday about sporadic gunshots in the villages and responded to it immediately.

When our men got to the scene, they combed the areas and accosted the nine suspects who tried to get away in four vehicles but luck ran out of them as they were arrested”.

The media officer said the suspects claimed that they were invited by the villagers to secure them, following an alleged attack on them by some cattle rustlers.

According to him, the suspects claimed that they actually exchanged fire with the rustlers in Du village. Mustapha said the suspects also claimed that it was in the process of trying to ambush the rustlers that they were arrested by the task force.

He said preliminary investigation had revealed that the suspects acquired the weapons from various sources within Plateau state. “Even if there was an attack on the villages, they (suspects) have no right to be in possession of such sophisticated weapons which are not licensed.

They have no right to take the law into their hands. They should have used the emergency lines to call our men for rescue”, he said.

Mustapha warned individuals or groups bent on fomenting trouble to shelve such idea as the STF was ready to arrest them.

“People who have made themselves enemies of peace should be prepared to face the full wrath of the law”, he said. (NAN)

Sokoto state Deputy Governor, Alhaji Mukhtar Shagari (left) and the Governor, Alhaji Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko (2nd left), commissioning 250 housing units for 2010 flood victims in Silame local government area, on Tuesday.

Cynthia: NAFDAC to make Rohypnol, Swinol prescription drugs

By A’isha Biola Raji

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ational Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), with approval from the Ministry of Health, has taken steps to control the use of Flunitrazepam of which Rohypnol and Swinol are registered brands in Nigeria, to be solely prescribed by doctors in order to reduce the menace of rape.

Director General of the agency, Dr. Paul Orhii made this known yesterday in Abuja at a press

briefing.

Rohypnol – registered in Nigeria by Roche Nigeria Ltd as a 1mg tablet, and Swinol – also registered by Swiss Pharma Nig Ltd, are brands of Benzodiazepine mostly prescribed for treatment of short-sleep disorder (insomnia). Its misuse can however result in loss of memory (amnesia).

According to Orhii, when the drug is used negatively, the victim under its influence forgets all occurrences at the time.

He also pointed out that the drug is associated with the risk of

sexual assault.

Speaking further, Orhii said there had not been any reported case of misuse until the death of Cynthia Osokogu which had prompted NAFDAC to convene a meeting of National Drug Safety Advisory Committee and met with Marketing Authorisation Holders who submitted a risk management plan.

However, the agency will mandate the submission of quarterly reports on the distribution and use of the medicine.

He appealed to the general public especially ladies to be on the lookout as it concerns intake of drinks. He said: “I wish to appeal to members of the public particularly young ladies to be wary of association with criminally minded individuals who might use the drug to take advantage of them”.

It would be recalled that Cynthia Osokogu, a student of Nasarawa State University, was murdered in Lagos by suspects still undergoing trial who were alleged to have drugged her with Rohypnol.

Women hold intercession for Wada Student sets up NGO to From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

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arious religious organisations in collaboration with Ministry for Women Affairs and Youth Development, Kogi state yesterday in Lokoja, held prayers for the quick recovery of the state governor who is still recovering following his involvement in a road crash in which his Aide de Camp was killed.

The prayer which was held at the ministry's conference hall was at the instance on the

Commissioner for Women Affairs and Youth Development, Mrs. Mameh Patience, who described the need for quick recovery of the governor as most expedient for the transformation agenda to blossom.

The women from different religions and denominations embarked on special intercession to save the governor from untimely death and pleaded for mercy for quick recovery.

The prayer session drew participants from ministries, departments and agencies.

promote female education

From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

I

n order to promote female education in the country, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) Nigeria Female Students Network (NIFEST), has been established to champion the issue of girl child education in the country.

The NGO which was established by Comrade Blessing Alaofin, a student of the Kogi state

University, is aimed at bringing all female students in the country together in order to champion a common cause in the promotion of female education in the country.

In a chat with newsmen in Lokoja, the founder, Blessing Alaofin, said her organisation is out to support female students who are in financial difficulties in order to assist them to complete their educational career in their respective courses.

PAGE 6

We'll not stop roads construction, Zamfara gov insists From Salisu Zakari Maradun, Gusau

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amfara state government has pledged to continue providing good roads in order to create access to markets particularly in the rural community so as to promote commercial activities.

Governor Abdulaziz Yari made the disclosure at a forum in Gusau, capital of the state, recently.

The governor explained that if roads are provided, a friendly environment is created for potential investors into the rural economy, thereby contributing to the realisation of development goals and aspirations.

According to the governor, the multiplier effects of good roads in terms of impact on rural economy were obvious.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

Alleged fraud: EFCC declares ex-Rep wanted

By Lambert Tyem

A

former member of the House of Representatives, Chief Gbineje Obukowho Napoleon, has been declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged breach of trust.

The former lawmaker who represented Uvwie, Sapele and

Okpe Federal Constituency of Delta State in the National Assembly between 2003 and 2007, is wanted for breach of trust and illegal diversion of N281,280,000.00.

EFCC spokesman Wilson Uwujaren said the suspect repeatedly failed to respond to invitations by the anti- graft agency, and has gone underground to evade arrest.

The Commission said the 46 year-old suspect is light complexioned and speaks Urhobo and English languages fluently.

His last known address was: Plot 1 Ogumbo Road, Olonkonla Close, near Aja, Lagos (Residential) and No. 23A Otumba AdelekeAdeshina Street , Lekki Phase 11, Victoria Island, Lagos (Business).

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From Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi

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L-R: FCT Commander, Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Dennis Obiefule; Abuja Municipal Area Council, Area Commander, Godwin Akpan; and Principal Staff Officer Operations, Yusuf Onuya, during the command media briefing on it activities, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Man, 23, charged for robbery with toy gun 23-year-old man, MbahUchenna, who allegedly robbed his victim of valua b l e s w o r t h N500, 000, was yesterday charged before an Ikeja Magistrates' Court, Lagos.

Mbah, who resides at Badagry Expressway, Lagos, is facing a two-count charge of conspiracy and robbery.

The prosecuting counsel,

ASP Barth Nwakaoye, said that the accused and others now at large conspired to commit the alleged offences on Dec. 8, 2012 at at No. 39 Jadesola Oshodi Street, Aguda, Lagos.

He stated that the accused armed with gun allegedly robbed Mr. E l u c h u k w u O k oye of a blackberry phone, jewelry and clothes.

Nwakaoye said that when

of Netherlands in Nigeria Mr. Bert Ronhaar who paid him a courtesy visit.

Aliyu noted that investment in the mineral sector of the economy, would not only be beneficial to the investors but improve the economic base of the state and employ youths.

"We need to change our character and attitude to succeed instead of waiting for transfer of technology", he said, adding that

the Niger state government would cooperate with the Netherlands in the areas of agriculture, commerce, flood control, tourism, mining and environmental sanitation.

It has therefore set up a ministerial committee to discuss with the Dutch Embassy in Nigeria on the issues.

Ambassador Ronhaar disclosed that the successes recorded by his home government

From Bolaji Olasunkanmi, Lagos

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Mbah was arrested and interrogated, he claimed that he usually use toy gun to operate.

The prosecutor said that the offences contravened Section 1 (2), Firearms Special Provision Act, Cap 146, Laws of Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1990.

The accused's plea was not taken.

Magistrate A.O Isaac adjourned the case to January 21

Niger gov wants foreign investors in mineral deposits From Iliya Garba, Minna

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iger State governor, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu has asked local and foreign investors to assist the state in the exploration of the mineral deposits just as he assured them of favourable business environment in the state.

He disclosed this yesterday at the Government House, Minna while receiving the Ambassador

Sylva: Niger Delta leaders move against Dickson From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

Dakingari vows to bar physically challenged from Hajj overnor Usman Saidu Dakingari of Kebbi State has vowed to delist elderly people and the physically challenged from participating in Hajj exercise this year, due to the problem the state and the country faced during last year.

Dakingari made this statement yesterday in Birnin Kebbi while receiving the report of the 2012 Hajj Committee headed

by Alh. Garba Dandiga. ''I directed the State Pilgrims Agency to stop the elderly who are not physically fit from embarking on hajj exercise'' he said.

He commended the committee for the prompt submission of its report, and the Hajj agency for hard work, saying that some of the problems would be averted if this is implemented.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the2012 hajj committee, Alh Garba Dandiga appreciated the efforts of the state government for the hitch free exercise and the orderly conduct of Kebbi State pilgrims during the hajj.

The Committee according to him, recommended that the elderly be screened by health personnel to determine their fitness before they are allowed to ma

The Commission implores anyone who has useful information about the whereabouts of the suspect, to notify its offices in Abuja , Port Harcourt , Lagos , Kano and Enugu or report at the nearest police station.

came from hard work and patience saying that "we did not achieve all these in one day".

Mr. Ronhaar, who said that the federal government was yet to seek its assistance in the area of flood control as a result of the devastating flood of 2012, said that Nigeria is not on the list of countries that the Netherlands supports in terms of aids and financial assistance because of the wealth of the country.

iger Delta leaders have risen in defence of the exgovernor, describing the recent attack on Sylva as a ploy to whip up sentiment that would make the ex- governor unpopular and also divert attention from Dickson's poor performance.

The leaders were irked by Monday's castigation of former governor Timipre Sylva by the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Duate Iyabi who claimed that the Dickson administration inherited a paltry N4,451 from his predecessor and N50billion bond his predecessor secured.

Rising from a meeting in Lagos yesterday, Chairperson of the Publicity Committee of the Assembly of Niger Delta leaders, Mrs. IbifuroTatua, said in a statement that Dickson and his collaborators were executing a plan to discredit and hang Sylva.

"It's obvious that the intention of Dickson and his associates is to destroy Sylva completely apparently because they consider him an obstacle in their life mission to control Bayelsa State and its people" the leaders alleged.

Rather than address issues of development, the leaders accused the governor of resorting to cheap blackmail, blatant lies and diversionary tactics.

"When Sylva took office, he not only inherited an empty treasury but a huge debt burden, which for the sake of decency and respect for his kinsman and predecessor, he refused to disclose publicly" the leaders said.

Reviewing Sylva's tenure, the leaders said the ex-governor performed excellently in most sectors to the envy of his foes.

"Sylva devoted his energies and state resources to solving the problems of infrastructure in the state, training the youths in Information and Communication Technology in India, sustaining overseas scholarship, protecting oil installations in the creeks, ensuring life changing developmental projects, attracting foreign investments, laying solid foundation for growth and investing in skill development and job creation centres", they said.

Insisting that Sylva's humility, simplicity and humane disposition made him a friend of the masses, the leaders said his commitment to principle in the practice of politics, the rule of law and the best democratic tradition of fairness and justice were some of the attributes that brought him into collusion with the enemies of democracy.

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PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

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he authority of the University of Ilorin has lauded Monday’s ruling of the Supreme Court in the suit concerning the university and 44 of its lecturers who were sacked but later reinstated based on the court's directive.

In the ruling presided over by Justice Mohammed Mahmoud, the lecturers, who sought the court’s intervention to compel the university to pay them for their unearned sabbaticals, and again for the university to promote them and backdate such promotion to cover the period of their absence, were told in unequivocal terms that their demand was unreasonable, as it is a misreading of the earlier judgment of the apex court ordering their reinstatement.

The university’s Deputy Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr. Kunle Akogun, in the statement said, “Monday’s landmark ruling has now laid to rest the pesky antics of the lecturers. The attention, energy and efforts of the management will now be directed towards pursuing its set goal of running a first class citadel of learning.

“The ruling is consistent with the university’s argument that

Unilorin 44: Varsity lauds Supreme Court ruling the June 12, 2009 judgement of the same court that ordered the reinstatement of the lecturers, was clear and unambiguous.

“It only covered the payment of their salaries and allowances, conditions which the university has since fully complied with”.

The statement added that “right from the beginning, the university has always drawn the attention of well-meaning members of the public to the fact that the suit was frivolous and tantamount to abuse of judicial process by the lecturers.

"The management will continue to build on the progress already recorded by the university, especially its unbroken record of academic stability as well as its top rating among the universities in Nigeria. " We are very passionate

about these records and we intend not only to sustain them but to break more grounds so as to serve the country and humanity better.

“We are however happy that the landmark judgement of the

apex court has put to rest all the antics to draw the hand of the university's clock backwards. It is hoped that the lecturers will now settle down for their primary responsibilities of

teaching, research and community service and put behind them other distractive activities that will, in the long run, not be in anybody’s interest”.

Flood report for rehabilitation purpose, says CBN From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

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he federal government committee on flood and relief has said that the ongoing inspection of all the flood disaster areas across the country would be used to plan for proper rehabilitation of victims across the country and reconstruct infrastructure damaged by the flood.

Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and member of the Presidential Committee on flood relief and rehabilitation, Mr. Tunde Lemo, stated this on Wednesday in Pategi, Kwara state during an assessment tour of the communities that were affected by flood in the state late last year.

Lemo, who was represented

by Mr. John Owoicho, said the committee was preparing a comprehensive report on havoc caused by the flood for onward transmission to the federal government.

He said the report would be used by the government for full rehabilitation of the victims and reconstruction of infrastructure.

The CBN Deputy Governor said the committee has been holding meetings with development partners- World Bank, United Nations and their agencies to solicit more assistance for the victims.

The Etsu Pategi, Alhaji Ibrahim Umar, thanked both the federal and Kwara government for their prompt responses to the plight of the victims.

Gov Aliyu canvasses unity among legionaires

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overnor of Niger State, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu has called for cooperation among members of the Nigerian Legion to enhance development in the state.

Making this known yesterday in Minna at the 2013 Armed Forces Emblem Appeal Week and Remembrance Day Celebration, he said there was need to revamp the organization and eschew corruption to attract development.

Governor Aliyu expressed regret on the level of corruption that has become the order of the day and called for immediate checks on the activities of the state Legion to enable the government assist them at

any time.

He said the occasion was used to commemorate the roles of our ex-servicemen and women who died during the various military engagements particularly in the first and second world wars as well as other operations in Nigeria and abroad and appealed to people to extend kindness to them.

Earlier, the Acting Chairman Nigeria Legion, Niger State Chapter, WO2 Abubakar Musa Kutigi, had commended the state government for providing funds every year for this celebration and called on spirited individuals to always support the mission of the legion in the state.

L-R: Expert on oil and gas, Professor Dan Omoweh; Executive Director, Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (CLSD), Dr. Otive Igbuzor; and former Board Chairman, Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, Professor Asisi Asobie; during a workshop on transparency and accountability in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria organised CLSD, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Legionaires reap N7m from Bauchi emblem launch From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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auchi state chapter of the Nigeria Legion has realised a total of about N7million with the Bauchi state government donating the sum of N2million and a promise of a 16seater bus for the smooth operation of the group.

Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda, announced the donation during the 2013 Armed Forces Remembrance and Emblem Appeal Week held at the executive council chambers of the Government House in Bauchi.

Yuguda commended the

Legion, the umbrella body for retired military personnel, for supporting government in its efforts to ensure adequate security of lives and properties in the state.

The governor who saluted the fallen heroes for laying their lives for the survival of the country in various wars, assured that their efforts would not be in vain as government would continue to do things that would keep the country as one indivisible entity.

He also said his administration was enjoying collaboration with the Legion as most its members are part of the vigilante groups in the state.

According to him, the country would not have been what it is today without them laying down their valued lives just as he commended the security agents in the country for participating in peacekeeping missions around the world.

Earlier in his address, Chairman of the Bauchi State Chapter of Nigerian Legion, Musa Yakubu Duguri commended the Isa Yuguda led administration for supporting activities of the Legion and pledged to always support the government in its security efforts in the state .

Katsina destroys ‘illegal structures’ From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

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atsina State government has begun to pull down of illegal structures built on roadsides and waterways across the state, the commissioner of environment, Alhaji Aminu Ibrahim Safana said.

The commissioner who made the disclosure while supervising the operation yesterday in Katsina, added that the areas

where the exercise affected include Murtala Muhammad Way, IBB way along Mobil Filling Station, NIPOST Office and teachers service board.

Other affected areas were Nagogo Road, GRA roundabout, Daura road, WTC road, Mani road, Kofar Kwaya new layout and Steel Rolling Mill roundabout, all within Katsina metropolis.

He noted that the exercise was

aimed at stopping people from indiscriminate building of illegal structures on the roadside and waterways for the protection of lives and property.

Safana stressed that the government was determined to provide permanent sites to most of the street hawkers for their smooth business operations, adding that the government was doing its best to secure the environment.

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PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

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PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

Benue ALGON boss lambasts predecessors From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

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he new Benue State chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, Mr. Terna Kester Kyenge has lambasted his predecessors for allegedly assuming larger than life images and playing notorious roles in the State.

Mr. kyenge who made this condemnation during a parley with the media yesterday in Makurdi, vowed to fight the state government in the face of any illegal deductions of local

New Dutse varsity signs MoU with American university From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

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he Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State has signed a Memorandum of understanding with North Dakota State University, Fargo, USA for the strategic development of joint institutional programmes.

This was disclosed to newsmen by the ViceChancellor, Professor Jubrila .D. Amin on his return from the signing ceremony yesterday, which was also attended by the university’s Registrar, Malam Yusuf Adamu.

According to Professor Amin, the agreement would facilitate the joint development and implementation of innovative projects aimed at improving the capacities of the academic and non-academic staff as well as students of the two universities.

The main areas of cooperation are joint research, collaborative training workshops, and exchange of staff and students.

He said North Dakota State, located in the upper Midwestern region of the US shares similar geographical, ecological and environmental characteristics with Jigawa State, making the Federal University Dutse and North Dakota State University ideal partners in joint research efforts to improve the conditions of their immediate localities.

According to him, the expected areas of research would be agriculture, life sciences, security preparedness and rural development adding that one of the objectives of this linkage is to share knowledge through capacity building programmes and workshops that will include professional development of teachers, non-academic staff and students.

Prof. Amin said that the Federal University would benefit immensely from the extensive experience of North Dakota State University, especially in applied areas such as agriculture and food systems and the use of new technologies in higher education.

governments’ allocations, adding that he would speak out against any undue interference in the affairs of the body by government.

He pledged collaboration with the state government, maintaining that since the local governments are yet to be autonomous, they remain an instrument of the State.

The ALGON chair stated that his vision was to galvanize the third tier of government for development, assuring that the new crop of council chairmen have what it takes to deliver dividends of democracy in their areas.

He decried inadequate funding of some local governments like Makurdi and Gboko to enable them cater for security challenges facing them as well as bank overdrafts drawn by some councils .

Kyenge sued for cooperation with the media to enable ALGON achieve its set goals.

Nasarawa state governor, Alhaji Tanko al-Makura, addressing people from Ekye development area of the state who were protesting the spate of insecurity in their community, yesterday at the state capital, Lafia.

Photo: NAN

Group berates stakeholders for Adamawa PDP Crisis From Umar Dankano, Yola

A

non-governmental o r g a n i z a t i o n , Adamawa Concerned Citizens, has described the lingering political crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party in the state as a calculated attempt to distract the ongoing meaningful projects embarked upon by Governor Nyako administration.

The organization disclosed the is development in a press statement signed by it’s chairman, Alhaji Husseini Gambo Jimeta, lamenting that stakeholders behind the internal squabble over its (PDP) controversial congress, are doing it for their selfish

interest and not for the electorate in the state.

“Professor Aminu and Co. are respected elders and stakeholders of the party but ironically, they were nowhere to be found when Governor Murtala Nyako was campaigning for the elections in the state. Even the recent local government poll, they refused to participate. Now they are telling the whole world that they regretted voting Nyako into power. That shows how mischievous and unpatriotic these people are” he said.

The statement added that, the gang-up against Nyako in Adamawa was not unconnected with the tactical edging out of the so called

stakeholder of the party, especially the acclaimed “Adamawa Elders Forum Members” who are used to sharing the state’s resources as loot monthly.

The group called on President Jonathan to use his good office as leader of the party to affirm his authority over lingering crisis with a view to address it before it degenerates to anarchy.

According to the group the Nyako and Kugama’s sin was the backing of Jonathan to power and denying their kinsman former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the process to eliminate their political structure ahead of 2015.

UNIBEN don claims cure for HIV/AIDS

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rof. Isaiah Ibeh of the University of Benin, yesterday, announced the development of a new drug that can allegedly 'cure' HIV and AIDS. Ibeh, who is the Dean of the School of Basic Medical Sciences of the university, told reporters in Benin that the herbal drug had undergone "series of successful tests".

He said, "We are at the threshold of making history, in the sense that we seem to have with us something that will permanently take care of what over time seems to have defied all solutions. "We are talking about the latest discovery of an oral drug made from plants extraction in Nigeria for the possible cure of the pandemic, HIV and AIDS virus."

According to him, research

on the project was started in 2010 and culminated in the development of “Deconcotion X (DX)-Liquid or Bioclean 11 for the cure of HIV and AIDS".

"The existing retroviral drugs are intervention drugs for the management of AIDS but our new discovery is a possible cure”, he said.

"We have tried to look at the product first; its toxicological analysis and discovered that it has a large safety margin.This means that if animals or human beings are exposed to it, they will not suffer any serious harm at all from the exposure.

It also helped us to know the quantity we can conveniently give to animals and will feel secure that nothing untoward will happen.

"We have also done the bacteriological analysis on it,

after which we looked at its effect on the virus and the result was quite revealing and refreshing”.

Ibeh also said that the drug had been exposed to series of medical examination both in Nigeria and in the USA. He added that the drug had performed well on patients with the HIV virus and had shown evidence of total restoration of damaged tissues.

"The result showed an increase in the body weight of the individual administered with DX. The body weight was statistically significant when compared with the control group”. He said further tests were being conducted to determine "at what point will a patient become negative after being administered with the drug?" (NAN)

Traffic gridlock returns on Keffi-Nyanya highway

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ommuters plying the Nyanya-Keffi highway now groan as heavy traffic returns after the Yuletide period.

Some commuters who spoke in separate interviews in Abuja on Tuesday, said they enjoyed the road during the holiday period.

One of the commuters, Mr Thompson Balogun said, ``You can see that the gridlock is back and we have started spending hours again on the road. 'I had hoped that the government would have used the little opportunity of the ease on the road to do something that would make the gridlock to finally cease. Nothing was done, and we now resume our sufferings in absolute hopelessness and helplessness''.

Another commuter, Mr Jeremiah Uzodike, said: ''New year, new stress for commuters on this road; we just hope that very soon a far-reaching solution will be found. This has been the trend during the Yuletide. When there was exodus of people to their home towns, the gridlock disappeared”.

'The Yuletide is over, the agony has returned. ''For how long shall we continue to go round and round in this unending vicious circle?''

Uzodike asked.

Mrs Patricia Tamara implored the government to come to the aid of the commuters on the route. ''Both the FCT Administration and the Nasarawa State Government should come together and fashion out a way forward to alleviate the sufferings of the people. (NAN)

PAGE 11

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

Effective ways to reduce fuel bill I

n our world of rising expenses, there is need to always cut costs where ever the opportunities arise. In a fast moving economy like ours, the bill for fuel is a remarkable component of our budget.

Even the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has indicated that cost of purchasing petrol has contributed to the increase in expenditure. So, here are some tips on how to reduce your car fuel consumption, these tips are adopted from Aaron Gold: Slow down One of the best ways to save gas is to simply reduce your speed. As speed increases, fuel economy decreases exponentially.

You will save a lot of fuel and your journey won't take much longer.

Check your tire pressure Under-inflated tires are one of the most commonly ignored causes of crummy MPG. Tires lose air due to time (about 1 psi per month) and temperature (1 psi for

every 10 degree drop); underinflated tires have more rolling resistance, which means you need

to burn more gas to keep your car moving. Buy a reliable tire gauge and check your tires at least once

a month. Be sure to check them when they are cold, since driving the car warms up the tires along with the air inside them, which increases pressure and gives a falsely high reading.

Check your air filter A dirty air filter restricts the flow of air into the engine, which harms performance and economy. Air filters are easy to check and change; remove the filter and hold it up to the sun. If you can't see light coming through it, you need a new one.

Accelerate with care Slow starts are an obvious fuelwaster but that doesn't mean you should crawl away from every light. If you drive an automatic, accelerate moderately so the transmission can shift up into the higher gears. If you accelerate to speed then have to brake right away, that's wasted fuel.

Get back to nature Consider shutting off the air conditioner, opening the windows

office. So, how am I supposed to be different? I am normal. I am as most of us are. It never strikes us that we can be truly wealthy irrespective of what surrounds us.

We can be that "exception". We deserve to be rich. " We never 'decide' to get wealthy If you have not yet identified a dream in your life, a single purpose in your life for which you are ready to sacrifice anything, you are not done with Step 1, and unless you are done with Step 1, all other steps are meaningless. In fact, all the subsequent steps after your dream are so common for everyone and available in books and across multiple internet sites that anyone can learn from them and follow them. But your dream is something that will not be available anywhere else. It has to be searched and dug out from inside of you. A dream would be something that excites you, that single purpose of your life that

ignites you and makes you passionate about everything that you do. Most of us want to jump over the first step of identifying our true dream because identifying that takes time and effort. It takes a lot of time and lot of effort. Unfortunately, there is no short cut here as this is the true beginning of being wealthy. " We always have enough excuses The choices that you decide every day make your destiny.

Most people say:"I am too old to fight for my dream now", "I have a family to support and secure", "It is too early for me to talk about retirement or freedom", "I don't have time", "Money is not a very good thing to have", "Money cannot give you happiness", "I am busy", "Happiness is a state of mind",... and the list is endless. You should note that its either you make excuses or you make money, certainly not both. The choice is in your hands.

" We do not appreciate delayed gratification Most of us understand compound interest calculation but it is very rare for someone to truly appreciate the amassing power of delayed gratification. In this fast-paced world, we are all looking for instant results, and if we do not see instant results, we want to change our goal itself.

Well, nothing worthwhile in life can be achieved without spending enough time and effort. It takes time to get rich and growth is exponential. You have to have patience in the first few years.

When it seems you would never reach the goal, you will suddenly realise the amazing exponential power of compounding. Do not quit your goal till the compounding power triggers off its magic. " We are all in our comfort zones I heard a story of a fish that said to its peer "what is wrong with my life? It is just going to be fine"

the peer said, lying in the fish aquarium inside a house. Doesn't that sound familiar? Nothing wrong actually - they are being fed on time, they are being saved from their potential enemies, they are being taken care of with clean water - and then why should they try anything different? Perhaps, they forgot the real meaning of life - to "live" and "experience" life and the situations it poses on you. It is a very similar story for most of us.

We have got so use to our comfort zones that it pains to make an extra effort to "live" life. We have to step out of our comfort zone to explore all the opportunities around.

Finally, while most of us want to get rich, only 1percent of us who will learn the skill to manage the above 5 constraints, will actually get rich. It is a fact that not everyone can be rich, you should however decide to be rich.

as you want to continue to improve, or even maintain a high level of excellence. The reward is that being really good at something you've earned through your own hard work can be immensely satisfying.

Here, then, are the six keys to achieving excellence we have found are most effective for our clients: " Pursue what you love.

Passion is an incredible motivator. It fuels focus, resilience, and perseverance. " Do the hardest work first.

We all move instinctively toward pleasure and away from pain. Most great performers, Ericsson and others have found, delay gratification and take on the difficult work of practice in

the mornings, before they do anything else. That's when most of us have the most energy and the fewest distractions. " Practice intensely, without interruption for short periods of no longer than 90 minutes and then take a break. Ninety minutes appears to be the maximum amount of time that we can bring the highest level of focus to any given activity. The evidence is equally strong that great performers practice no more than 4 ½ hours a day. " Seek expert feedback, in intermittent doses. The simpler and more precise the feedback, the more equipped you are to make adjustments. Too much feedback, too continuously can create cognitive overload,

increase anxiety, and interfere with learning. " Take regular renewal breaks. Relaxing after intense effort not only provides an opportunity to rejuvenate, but also to metabolize and embed learning. It's also during rest that the right hemisphere becomes more dominant, which can lead to creative breakthroughs. " Ritualize practice. Will and discipline are wildly overrated.

As the researcher Roy Baumeister has found, none of us have very much of it. The best way to insure you'll take on difficult tasks is to build rituals specific, inviolable times at which you do them, so that over time you do them without

having to squander energy thinking about them.

S o u r c e : www.moneyning.com

and enjoying the breeze. It may be a bit warmer, but at lower speeds you will save fuel. That said, at higher speeds the A/C may be more efficient than the wind resistance from open windows and sunroof.

Clean out your car The more weight your car has to lug around, the more fuel it burns.

Downsize or hybridise If you are shopping for a new car, it is time to re-evaluate how much car you really need.

Smaller cars are inherently more fuel-efficient, and today's small cars are safer and roomier than ever.

Don't drive If you can avoid driving, you will save fuel. Take the BRT, and consolidate your shopping trips.

Walking or biking is good for your wallet and your health. And before you get in your car, always ask yourself: "Is this trip really necessary?"

Why everyone will never get rich M

ost of us want to get rich, with a few exceptions. But then why is it that 99 percent of the world's population is not rich? Why is only 1percent really rich? What stops us from achieving a real wealthy status?

We want it, isn't it? We work hard for money, then what is missing?

I realised that there are few key traits that we lack, which result in most of us living a life of mediocrity. Manoj Arora, personal finance experts list five key reasons for most of us not being wealthy as desired: " Being wealthy does not strike us The fact that we have been born and brought up in an environment where we have hardly seen rich people around us, makes us believe that it is a norm not to be extremely wealthy and that wealth comes only as an exception to the fortunate few. We have never had rich friends, rich neighbours, and rich colleagues at

Getting much better at what you do O

ne of Ericsson's central findings is that practice is not only the most important ingredient in achieving excellence, but also the most difficult and the least intrinsically enjoyable.

If you want to be really good at something, it's going to involve relentlessly pushing past your comfort zone, as well as frustration, struggle, setbacks and failures. That's true as long

Quote People are definitely a company's greatest asset. It doesn't make any difference whether the product is cars or cosmetics. A company is only as good as the people it keeps - Mary Kay Ash

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

PAGE 12

EDIT ORIAL EDITORIAL

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Central African Republican on the boil

he impoverished but resource-rich Central Africa Republic (CAR) is in the spotlight for the familiar travails that bedeviled the country at independence. The country with a population stands of 4.4 million acquired notoriety in the early 70s when its maximum ruler, Emperor Jean Bedel Bokassa, ordered the killing of protesting primary and secondary students. Its current embattled president, Francois Bozize, came to power about a decade ago in an popular uprising that sacked former President Ange Felix Patesse.

Three weeks ago, a rebel group known as Seleka, which means “Alliance” in the local Sango language, swept through at a lightning speed that have left the Bozize regime scampering for help.

The traditional source of the kind of help that has kept him in power all these years evaporated early when French President Francois Hollande declared that French troops would only protect French citizens trapped in that country and not to lift a finger in defence of the regime. The United States quickly evacuated its about 40 citizens, including the ambassador, to Kenya and hinted it would do nothing to save the regime.

The rebels sounded quite upbeat about kicking out the regime by force. President Bozize has offered to form a government of national unity with the rebels, but the confident

insurgents are not impressed. Rebel spokesperson Juma Narkoya told the international media recently: “We are not convinced of the commitment made by Bozize; he has always spoken but he never keeps his word.”

Meanwhile, the rebels who have taken over 10 cities in the north appear poised to strike at the capital,

“

CAR is rich in gold, uranium, timber, but its peoples are among the poorest on earth. We challenge the country’s power elites to show greater sensitivity to the plight of their people Bangui, a city of an estimated 60,000 people. They have urged the government to release their supporters it has arrested as a mark of goodwill and confidence-building measure. The rebels argued that the government reneged on its promise to integrate the insurgents in the national army back in 2007, and this time they would not be deceived again.

However, the insurgents will need

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”

more than sheer military force to assume and hold power. African Union Commission chairperson, Nkosazana Zuma, has warned the rebels to be wary of a military victory as that would earn them heavy sanctions, including CAR’s suspension from the union. AU chairman, Benin Republic’s President Boni Yayi has stressed the imperative of a political solution.

The sub-regional body, the Economic Community of Central African States, a 10-member bloc, has warned the rebels to curb their appetite for military victory. But whether the rebels would insist on first achieving military victory before exploring political settlement is difficult to say.

On our part, we want to advise the rebels to take advantage of regional interest in the conflict put their grievances on the table and demand that agreements, when they are reached, are respected. In our view, the government’s response of rounding up relations of the insurgents is helpful, and we urge it to release them as a gesture of goodwill.

CAR is rich in gold, uranium, timber, but its peoples are among the poorest on earth. We challenge the country’s power elite to show greater sensitivity to the plight of their people. We believe that a Dialogue remains the best path to any viable and sustainable political settlement.

OUR PEOPLE

OUR VISION

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

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER ALI M. ALI

HEAD, ADVERT/MARKETING HUSSAINI ABDULRAHMAN, CNA

ACTING EDITOR, WEEKEND JAMILA NUHU MUSA

MANAGER, ADMINISTRATION HASSAN HAMMANYAJI

HEAD, LAGOS BUREAU ADESOJI OYINLOLA

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

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

PAGE 13

Dickson and his face-saving pranks

By Doife Ola

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onday’s claim by the Henry Seriake Dickson administration in Bayelsa State that it inherited from the immediate former governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, a state treasury with N4, 451 was at best the outburst of an illegitimate governor troubled by an attack of conscience.

It is interesting that one year after Sylva left office, Dickson is still obsessed with the ghost of the former governor.

Sylva never contested elections with Dickson. Sylva was illegally excluded from running for reelection by the forces that forcefooted Dickson into office and foisted on Bayelsa the ignominy that Dickson and his gang have been frantically trying to whitewash with Sylva’s name. But they have continued to fail and fail quite resoundingly. Bayelsans and Nigerians have since become wise

By Anthony Chuka Konwea, P.E.

B

igotry and corruption are the two core existential threats confronting Nigeria in its stuttering march towards genuine nationhood. In a number of recent write-ups with general slant on nation-building, this writer has sounded the alarm on the danger which corruption in high and low places poses to the future of the country. Indeed such essays as ‘The Unholy Trinity – National Interest vs. Regime Interest’, ‘Who Is The Thief-InChief? - Parts (1), (2), and (3)’ and ‘To You Looters, Rejoice!!!’ have reflected extensively on the phenomenology of corruption in Nigeria.

At first glance, bigotry and corruption appear to be completely unrelated. At a higher level of abstraction however we notice that there is indeed a connection between the two. My loot! My religion!! My children!!!

My tribe!!!! There you have it. The link between bigotry and corruption is ego and the celebration of self. It is the same self-enhancing ego which motivates the cornering of the common patrimony for personal gratification that instructs the consideration of one’s creed, one’s tribe, one’s children and every other thing associated with one’s self as definitely superior and quasi infallible while denying other creeds, other tribes and other peoples’ children their space under the sun and their very right to coexist in peace.

And so even as you read this piece, it is quite possible that a number of our compatriots in Northern Nigeria, defenseless men, women and children, all bona fide Nigerian citizens like you and me, are having their throats slit or their innards bombed out by cowardly savages going by the name of Boko Haram terrorists. They suffer all these atrocities for what crime? Chiefly that they happen to be Christians and occasionally that they happen to be moderate Muslims who do not support wanton

to the gang’s deception.

Bayelsa State has never had it so bad. Bayelsa is mourning the Dickson disaster.

Everyday, all you hear is that some phoney amounts have been saved, but nothing is happening in terms of delivery of projects and good life to the people. Rather than concentrate on what leadership ought to be, Dickson and his gang are busying chasing Sylva’s shadows, like the Biblical evil man who runs when no one is pursuing him. This clearly shows how confused he is.

As for the questions of Bayelsa State debt profile and bond, contrary to insinuations in the Dickson outburst, Sylva ran the most prudent and transparent government Bayelsa has seen since the Fourth Republic. In spite of the enormous challenges Sylva faced when he took over from Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the state’s debt profile was not anywhere near what Dickson and his gang

want the world to believe throughout Sylva’s stay in office.

By our records, we would have concluded payment of all our outstanding debts, except the bond, by February 2012.

The N50 billion Bond that the Bayelsa State Government under Sylva took was on an even key as at the time Sylva left office. It was a project-specific loan; all money was paid directly to the contractors. No money came to

the Sylva government. And the projects for which the loans were taken were almost completed at the time he left office.

The Sylva government had no chance of mismanaging the bond. The question of rising interest rates on the bond does not arise so long it is being serviced according to terms.

Besides, the state government’s commitment under the bond was to end by

“

Given the cowboy manner Dickson came into office, we are not surprised that he has problems with memory. All we can advise him and his gang is that they should stop these face-saving pranks with Sylva’s name, for it will never confer legitimacy on them

2013. We do not know the kind of arrangements Dickson and his gang made that extended the commitment to 2017, as they claimed on Monday.

Moreover, when we left office in January 2012, the state’s monthly allocation from the Federation Account had not come.

Sylva did not handover to Dickson. We are aware that Dickson has taken several loans and signed questionable Irrevocable Standing Payment Orders, while at the same time claiming to be saving money for Bayelsa State.

However, given the cowboy manner Dickson came into office, we are not surprised that he has problems with memory. All we can advise him and his gang is that they should stop these facesaving pranks with Sylva’s name, for it will never confer legitimacy on them.

Doifie Ola is the Media Adviser to Chief Timipre Sylva

Savagery in the savannah murderous acts against their peaceful unarmed compatriots of different faith. Their tragic fates and their innocent blood shed ostensibly in the name of protecting and avenging Islam are acts of human bestiality against fellow human beings crying out to God day and night for divine justice.

And so before our very eyes, the map of Nigeria is being progressively redrawn. Vast areas of northern Nigeria particularly in the northeastern part of the country are gradually being effectively excised and isolated from the rest of the country via ethnic and religious cleansing.

The sovereignty of the Nigerian state over segments of its own territory is being challenged daily with reckless impunity.

The notion that Islam cannot coexist peacefully with other faiths and creeds is a fat lie. We have as proof to the contrary, the situation in the south western part of Nigeria. One must pay unqualified tribute here to the Muslims in South-Western Nigeria and other peaceful Muslims elsewhere in Northern and Southern Nigeria, who against all odds have stoutly refused to emulate the murderous hate-filled activities of radical Islamism.

In all my years of existence on earth, I have never heard of Muslim youths in South - Western Nigeria and they exist there in significant numbers, going on a rampage and killing their fellow compatriots just because they are so-called infidels, Christians or pagans. Indeed moderate Muslims in South-Western Nigeria by their peaceful co-existence with their neighbors of differing faiths, make a far better case for potential conversion to Islam by any one than the murderous, cowardly, radical Islamic terrorists of Northern Nigeria.

If you truly believe your religion is superior to other

religions, and that you are headed to paradise while others are doomed to go to hell, your attitude towards others at best should be one of loving sympathy and at worst one of derisory pity.

Certainly your attitude should not be one of murderous hatred except perhaps if you are not content with the strictures of your religion and are envious of the liberties granted by others’ faith.

In any case, you are not making a good sales pitch for your faith if all we see associated with it is radical bigotry sandwiched by butchery of the defenseless and bombing-out of the innocent.

There is a fundamental contradiction in radical, intimidating religious activity.

You can never truly and genuinely convert someone to your religion by force or by intimidation if that is your main goal.

Any conversion by intimidation is at best a timorous conversion. It is well said that a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still. If the unnecessarily premeditated clash of faiths in Nigeria were purely and simply a battle for minds and a contest for new converts, surely the radical Islamists would concede that they have lost the tussle hands down by a wide margin due to their brutal methodology.

Personally I do not believe that the radical Islamists are daft enough not to concede defeat in the battle for minds if ever there

was one. That they persist in their brutal methods leads one to the inescapable conclusion that a battle for fresh converts is not their main intention. Their intention is something darker, something far more sinister.

And so we must recognize all this talk of radical Islam in Nigeria for the ruse that it truly is. Radical Islam as practiced in Northern Nigeria is a Trojan horse for geopolitical domination. What is going on here is that on the pretext of defending their faith which in any case is not being threatened by anybody, radical Muslims in Northern Nigeria are engaging in acts of intimidation and latterly terror in order to secure geopolitical advantage and preeminence for themselves and their sponsors in the nation’s affairs.

Since in any case, you cannot subsequently convert to your faith a person you have just slaughtered and since we do not see the threat a simple peasant Christian family in Northern Nigeria, struggling to eke out a living in these harsh times, poses to Islam, we insist that the murderous activities of the Islamic terrorists in Northern Nigeria and their sponsors have nothing whatsoever to do with the propagation of or defense of Islam but everything to do with a geopolitical power grab.

Recognizing the fundamental threat radical Islamists pose to the State, all patriotic Nigerians,

“

There is a fundamental contradiction in radical, intimidating religious activity. You can never truly and genuinely convert someone to your religion by force or by intimidation if that is your main goal

moderate Muslims, Christians and pagans alike, must rise up, stand shoulder to shoulder in unity and stoutly resist them whenever and wherever they emerge. It is not for nothing that progressive Muslim countries like Turkey and even quite a few Muslim monarchies like Saudi Arabia and Morocco hold radical Islamists in their countries on a tight leash.

These countries having correctly assessed the danger, appreciate that radical Islamism has very little to do with Islam but everything to do with a prehistoric, antiquated, feudal power grab no more, no less.

Rest assured that no amount of appeasement would satisfy the radical Islamists until they subvert all State institutions, overthrow the State and erect a new radical Islamic state fashioned to suit their peculiar whims and caprices. The short but brutal rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan, where young girls were stopped by decree from going to school and young men were stopped by decree from shaving their beards is still fresh in our memories. Is that the sort of country we want to bequeath to the next generation of Nigerians?

The concurrent battles going on in post-Mubarak and predominantly Muslim Egypt between moderate Muslims and the Muslim Brotherhood backed President Mohamed Morsi should serve as a timely reminder.

Now it has been advanced by some that moderate Muslims, particularly those in SouthWestern Nigeria, are not pious Muslims. Not being a Muslim myself, I am not in a position to comment on who is a pious and who is not a pious Muslim. What I do know and I have certainly been around, is that vice and virtue cut across the entire length and breadth of Nigeria regardless of creed, tribe, age and gender.

PAGE 14

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

N60bn phones: Questions for Mr. Reno omokri and his principles

By Kikiowo Ileowo

I

n his controversial style of using social media, Reno Omokri, the Special Assistant to the President on new media, on Thursday, the 3rd of January 2013 took to the platform to further explain the President’s much belated New Year gift to Nigerians as revealed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Basking in the euphoria of a similar gift to Nigerians on the 1st of January 2012 through the removal of fuel subsidy that lead to a week of national protest, President Jonathan this time around unleashed his 2013 gift on the Nigerians with a policy for the purchase of 10 million cell phones valued at about N60 billion to 10 million rural farmers.

In his message on Twitter, Reno Omokri said “One of the aims of this administration is for Nigeria to be self sufficient in food production”,

By Bayo Oluwasanmi

A

lbert Camus yearned for a country that an honorable man could love and love justice too. Majority of Nigerians are convinced that Nigeria is not such a country.

There is a widespread disillusionment among Nigerians about Nigeria. These are times of dramatic conflict between the forces of good and evil.

All who are not lunatics are agreed about certain things: That it is better to be alive than dead. Better to be adequately fed than starved.

Better to be free than a slave.

Selfish people desire those things only for themselves, their families, and their friends. They’re greedily content that others should suffer.

Fact is, we as a people have become so connected and intertwined that we cannot insure our own prosperity except by insuring that everyone else achieves the same.

If you wish to be happy yourself, you must work to see others are also happy.

There aren’t many issues in Nigeria today that incite and excite public outcry with untamed anger as the looting of our treasury by both the Senate and House of Representatives – the National Assembly.

The ravenous hunger for stealing on the part of the assembly members is demonic. The competition to out thieve the thief in a theater-cruelty style is unmatched. Our common sense is outraged and our decency violated by the spiritually harmful influence of their chronic stealing syndrome (CSS).

It is unduly fastidious and punitively grinding to attempt to abbreviate the extent of their misappropriation and malfeasance.

No one is sure how much has been stolen from the nation’s coffers.

Many if not all of the brazen – faced thieves of the looting spree in a coordinated exodus escaped the dragnet of the impotent EFCC, the government anti-graft watch dog.

The National Assembly members have made us smug and content with stealing because people do what people see. They’ve made stealing fragrant and sweet.

Vanguard’s sarcastic editorial of May 12, 2011 titled “It is our Turn to Eat” aptly summarized the objective of the Abuja law makers.

Our politicians believe stealing

adding that “The FIRST priority of a According to the National highlight of the population of and unemployed people is FOOD SECURITY. One way Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s employed to ensure food security is by ensuring population as at 2011 stood at Nigerians as well as the age grade that farmers are informed of best 164,385,656. The same Bureau in they belonged to. The report shows that persons practices”. aged 0 - 14 Continuing, he said y e a r s “...to ensure that constituted they plant, irrigate 39.6% of the and harvest at the Peoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text t o t a l right time, SMSs messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written population of are being sent to Nigeria, those our farmers by contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150 aged, between agric experts at the words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and 15 - 64 (the ministry.” a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed economically He further to: a c t i v e added that, “For population), those who have an The Editor, objective mind, 60 constituted billion divided by 56.3%, while Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, 10 million farmers those aged 65 35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja. gives you a unit years and Email: let ters@peoplesdaily-online.com cost of 6000 Naira a b o v e SMS: 07037756364 per phone.” constituted 2%.

Now let’s begin The report by asking where Mr. Jonathan got 2010 released the report on research went on to state that of the the 10 million Nigerian farmers? it carried out with the title “The 92,384,738 who are economically This is a joke intended for April 1st.

Labour Force Report”, with an active, 67,256,090 of them are in

the labour force out of which 51,181,884 are employed, and 16,074,205 are unemployed.

The question Mr. Reno and his principal needs to answer is where exactly are the 10 million farmers?

Are they from the army of the unemployed 16,074,295 or from the already employed 51,181,884. If their answer is the former, what exactly are they producing that Nigeria has not become a hub of everything food related?

Now, understand that a large portion of food production in Nigeria is done through mechanized farming which makes use of less manual labour. The ‘farmers’ Mr. President wants to provide handsets for are subsistent farmers who produce what they mostly consume in their homes. I have a garden at the back of my house, does that qualify me as a recipient of the ‘Jonaphone’?

Kikiowo Ileowo is reachable on @ileowo4ever on twitter

fraud, and corruption. They’re partners in crime.

Their insensitivity to the needs of the people that sent them to Abuja makes the people’s faith grow dim, and hope ceases to illuminate the future.

Sometime ago, some fools among the legislative thieves with a couple of Aso Rock idiots went overseas to lure as it were, investors to Nigeria.

These brainless Abuja thieves forgot basic economic requirements of factors of production and factors of location of industry.

Who wants to invest in a country ruled by armed robbers, rapists, kidnappers? Who wants to invest in a country that boasts of 24/7 black out?

Who wants to invest in a country without road networks? Who wants to invest in a country without treated water to drink? Where there is no safety and security? Where you have to bribe the high and the low?

Of what use are the legislative thieves who claim to represent the people? The Lagos-Ibadan road was build over 34 years ago. No road in the world that I know of has eaten so many human lives like Lagos-Ibadan road.

Yet, the callous legislator-thieves are proud to represent the constituencies under which the road falls. The same goes for Benin-Ore road, Aba-Port Harcourt road, MaidiguriMinna road. The list goes on.

With their incurable disease of CSS, the welfare of their constituencies takes a back burner. Their primary assignment in Abuja is to chop and steal till they drop!

In order to curry corruption from the president, they have completely ceded their constitutional powers to the president. The president is the chief legislator; he’s the chair tender’s board for contracts.

The president is the oil and gas minister, the agric commissioner, the aviation minister, the health minister, the voice of Nigeria, the funeral director, the telephone minster. In short, he’s the executive, legislature, and the judiciary.

Then one wonders, what the hell are the zombies in the national assembly doing? Where is the separation of powers? Where is the check and balances? The assembly voted additional N63 billion the president doesn’t need or ask for in the 2013 budget.

The passage of the budget was done pronto without scrutiny or

treated water? Build hospitals for humans? Construct 21st century schools and equip them with internet?

Create jobs? Provide safety and security? Construct decent public housing? How much money for God’s sake?

Look at what they’re doing to our people: They steal their land by moving the boundary markers.

They steal their livestock and put them in their own pastures.

They take the orphan’s donkey and demand the widow’s ox as security for a loan.

They pushed the poor off the cliff.

The needy must hide together for safety.

Like wild monkeys in the wilderness, the poor must spend their time looking for food, searching even in the desert for food for their children.

All night our people lie naked in the cold without clothing or covering.

The poor are soaked by showers and they huddle against the rocks for want of home.

They snatched a widow’s child from her breast taking the baby as security for a loan. The poor harvest food for them while they themselves are starving.

The poor press out olive oil without being allowed to taste it.

The groans of the dying rise from the city and the wounded cry for help yet, they ignore their moaning.

There are three flavors of foolish: simpletons, fools, and mockers.

Simpletons are naïve, usually because of their youth; fools are morally numb and mindless, and mockers are aggressively defiant and cynical.

But they’re all alike in one way: they pay no attention to wisdom and suffer consequences.

For once, can the legislative thieves apply some wisdom and just do something right for the people who elected them? In the words of Rodney King “Can we just get along?”

Now is the opportunity for them to right historical wrongs and leave a legacy of service, justice and fairness.

What is to be done?

The answer lies with Richard John Neuhaus: “Truth spoke to power and power was deaf. Love appealed to power and power was heartless. Humility petitioned power and power was cruel.

Reason argued with power and power was stupid. Now violent power must address violent power.”

Bayo Oluwasanmi is reachable at byolu@aol.com

WRITE TO US

Legislative thieves at work is an additional perk to their unjustified outrageous pay. Their jumbo pay and allowances are scandalous as well as criminal.

They’re paid for everything from the absurd to the ridiculous: Allowance for wardrobe, for furniture, for car, for sitting on committees, for sneezing, for absenteeism, for eating, for personal hygiene, for having sex with their spouse and concubines, for fighting same set of lovers, for talking on the phone, for lying, for bribery, and for corruption!

The governor of my state of Maryland in the US makes $150,000 per year while the police chief of Washington, District of Columbia is paid $250,000 per annum. The highest paid governor in the US is the California governor who is on $173, 987 per year.

As of 2010 US Senators and members of US House of Representatives make $174,000 per year.

Nigerian senators and reps make millions. No one is sure how much they’re paid. Their salaries and other illegal fringe benefits are monstrously humongous. They’re scared as hell to disclose it hence it is shrouded in diabolical secrecy!

Time and time again, the assembly members beat the broken drums of tantalizing, teasing, and mocking sounds of promise and hope.

Their meaningless and ineffective drum beatings have isolated and discredited them from those they feign to represent.

Their political pendulums oscillate between romantic illusions to blindness and cruelty. The attitudes of these intellectually and culturally sterile law makers will light the fire next time.

Their representation is often secured by fraud, bribery, and even murder. It’s no wonder they employ and deploy the powers of their office for selfish and mercenary ends.

Agreed the president is known for his crass incompetence, criminal negligence, and astonished cluelessness. What about the assembly members who are supposed to represent the interest of their various constituencies?

Of course, they too are handicapped.

The majority of assembly members are loosely controlled criminals and ex-convicts.

They have been neutered by greed,

pruning.

By now, with the killing feast perpetuated by the Boko Haramists, one would have expected the legislative thieves to summon the president to intimate them what his plans are to liquidate the blood thirsty villains.

In the assembly of real humans, the toothless and gum-less EFCC, the anti-graft government watchdog, would have been scraped and replaced with an independent body free from any interference from Aso Rock.

They have no solution to the greed and violence, distrust and spiritual apathy that are eating the very heart of our nation because as evil characters they are held captive by their sins.

All good store managers periodically take stock of their inventory. They carefully examine their goods to see what they have on hand and what they don’t. What they need to buy for their shelves and what they need to throw away.

And they do this at regular intervals.

When was the last time the legislative thieves took inventory of services to their constituencies?

When was the last time they felt the pulse and pain of their home base?

What bills or proposals have they initiated to restocking the shelves for the people’s needs?

What job creation programs for the army of the unemployed in their respective constituencies have they suggested, debated, discussed on the floor of the house?

What has been their reaction to the moribund health care system of the country?

What’s their answer to the sagging education standard that is falling faster than the power outage of PHCN? The only bills initiated and passed into laws are appropriation bills, gas and oil bills, jumbo allowances, hyper inflated budgets, and other dubious statutory allocations.

The people’s business has never been given the priority and importance it deserves. Most of their time is spent junketing the globe for weddings, funerals, birthdays, awards, lectures, seminars, retreats, and other frivolous and stupid engagements.

How much really do they need to construct good roads? Provide

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

PAGE 15

Tambuwal: The gentleman Speaker clocks 47

By Imam Imam

R

ight Honourbale Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, is 47 today. To his country men and women however, it is not attaining the milestone that is of much concern to them, rather, it is the direction which the amiable lawmaker from Kebbe/Tambuwal federal constituency is leading the country that has continued to elicit positive reactions from people across all walks of life.

Since his election to the exalted position of the Number 4 citizen of Nigeria, Tambuwal has continued to thrill Nigerians with his innovative approach to leadership and lawmaking. Within the period of the coming of the present dispensation in 2011, Tambuwal has demonstrated some of the best known attributes of leadership regarding issues that affect the nation directly.

A lawyer by profession, a politician by popular will, an accomplished leader by popular choice, a legislator by trust, Tambuwal has shown enough political dexterity to make him one of the most respected political figures in Nigeria today. His meteoric rise in the legal profession and politics has reaffirmed his position as a master tactician in disciplines built on the philosophy of self respect, fair play, hard work and the spirit of give and take.

Nigerians need no soothsayer to admit that their dear country is in a period when challenges of nationhood, political self-doubt and intense security tests have temporarily become the defining features of life. However, civilisation remains a work in

progress in Nigeria as the Seventh House of Representatives tries to provide that critical balance that sustains a meaningful presidential democracy and holds up hope for a new Nigeria. No one encapsulates that hope than Tambuwal.

As argued by some scholars, the basic challenges of leaders reflect two fundamental, enduring aspects of leadership. First is the humanity of leaders in revealing their hopes and fears, traits and instincts. Second, is the unchanging agenda of leadership, in all times and places, as revealed in the setting of goals, plans, purpose and strategies, and working through with other people to actualise their vision in a world that is often uncertain, recalcitrant and sometimes perilous.

To appreciate the legislative footing of the Seventh House in its attempt to fill the void created by the challenges of leadership confronting Nigeria, one needs to revisit its inaugural agenda. I will recall here the kernel of the legislative blueprint which was unveiled June 28, 2011 and remains a study in specific prescriptions.

It traversed constitution amendment, revival and diversification of the economy, employment generation, strengthening national security, curbing corruption, tackling general infrastructural decay, improving health system and the educational system.

According to Speaker Tambuwal, in his inaugural speech titled 'Time To Remake Nigeria,' "Over the next four years, the House of Representatives will pursue an aggressive legislative agenda to reposition itself as a key branch of government able and

determined to deliver on the key elements of governance. We make to state and with great assurance that the legislature has come of age.

It is a new day, a new House of Representatives and we are prepared to meet and surpass the expectations of the people to represent their best interest."

Perhaps I needn't add that in a move that verged on statesmanship and humility uncustomary to previous sessions, Speaker Tambuwal graciously conceded that the House accepted responsibility for failures and unconscionable gaps in meeting its brief. "We will be responsive, transparent and accountable in all we do. My period of service as the Speaker of this hallowed chamber will restore the House of Representatives as an institution where the will of the people is done," he told Nigerians.

Almost two years on, the Lower Chamber has kept faith with this agenda. It's people-oriented footing bears this out. The Seventh House has been at the fore-front of defining important national issues for public discourse.

American business executive and author, Jack Welch, once argued that today's hierarchical structure gives the leader in organisation, or appropriately, chief executive officer (CEO), control over strategy, organization and information by creating an organization with its 'face towards the CEO and its ass towards the customer.' The system described by Welch may be right in business and to some extent some governmental institutions, but what we have seen in the House of Representatives under Tambuwal is an institution with its face firmly fixed towards

the people. Tambuwal has used his considerable experience towards the development making the legislature a people-oriented entity that elevates participatory lawmaking to an art.

As he celebrates his birthday today, it is not just the intriguing narrative of how he was elected Speaker of the House that should resonate with political scientists.

That experience should also serve as a reminder of the many profound achievements we could record if we rise above the inhibiting considerations of tribe and religion.

At 47, Tambuwal's youth points to a future of hope and possibilities. Besides, his apparent willingness not to be encumbered by the political exigencies or doublespeak that had stunted our progress is quite inspiring. For him, what matters is the nation's interest. Call that an unyielding idealism and you won't be entirely wrong.

Born in Tambuwal town into the royal family of Waziri Tabuwal, young Aminu attended Tambuwal Primary School, and Government Teachers' College, Dogon-Daji also in Sokoto State where he obtained the Teachers Grade 11 Certificate in 1984.

He then proceeded to Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, where he studied Law, graduating with an LLB (Hons) degree in 1991. He did his one year compulsory legal studies at the Nigerian Law School, Lagos, obtained BL and was called to the Bar in 1992.

Besides studying for law degree, the Speaker has attended several courses abroad, among which are the Telecoms Regulatory Master Class-Bath UK, 2004; Lawmaking for the Communications Sectors -

BMIT, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2004; Regulating a Competitive Industry-UK, Brussels, 2005; Tulane University - International Legislative Drafting, 2005; Stanford Graduate School of Business - Influence and Negotiation in 2008, among many others.

He was first elected into the House of Representatives in 2003 on the platform of the opposition All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP).

Since then, he had served as Minority Leader and Deputy Chief Whip of the House. He was the Leader of the Nigerian Delegation to Africa, Caribbean, Pacific and European Union Joint Parliamentary Assembly and had served as the Regional Representative of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).

He was a member of the National Executive Committee, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), member, International Bar Association, Alumnus, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard, USA, Alumnus, Stanford Graduate School of Business, USA, Alumnus Tulane University, USA and a recipient of the Honourary Doctor of Law Degree from the Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto.

No doubt, Tambuwal's candor, nationalistic outlook, ability to make fair and inclusive decisions, maturity and his desire to interact freely and affectionately with all members in the House in a professional context, has today earned him the confidence of his colleagues and all Nigerians alike.

To this great man of ideas, I say a happy birthday.

Imam Imam is the Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs to Speaker Tambuwal

Poverty alleviation, good governance and conflict resolution

By Muhammad Jameel Yushau

D

r Mathew Hassan Kukah, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, presented a seminal paper at our recent public function. The paper, presented via a recorded message as he was unable to attend the meeting physically, focused on poverty alleviation, faith and intolerance. As contained in the communique of the conference produced by Dr Musa Aliyu and Malam Sulaiman Baba, Dr Kukah "explained that diversity should be seen as an advantage to the society as it enhances growth, although in Northern Nigeria the reverse is the case due to the failure to manage it well in view of the crises the region faces.

He therefore advocated respect for human dignity as opposed to simply tolerating each other and significant boost to governments' poverty alleviation policies. He also urged the Diaspora communities to, in addition to financially lending support, contribute ideas towards tackling the challenges and elevate the status of the country internationally".

The next speaker was Dr Abdullahi Shehu who presented a paper that focused on the role of Diaspora in addressing good governance and poverty

alleviation. As summarized in the communiquĂŠ, Dr Shehu "lamented the poor living conditions of the people even when compared to smaller and much poorer African countries.

Poverty, he posited, could result in anarchy and possibly snowball into violence or terrorism and therefore must be tackled head on. He also emphasized the need for good and accountable leadership in the country, which he said is a prerequisite for peace and security. To the NMFUK, he advised the organization to continue in its bid to support the people back home in various ways with even further commitment".

Before the end of the conference, a documentary, produced by Blue bandit Films, was shown to the participants on the projects undertaken by the Nigeria Muslim Forum, UK; the orphan sponsorship scheme, the healthcare outreach programme, the disaster relief and Zakat collection and distribution.

Of course, organizing conferences by Nigerians to look at the problems of the country and suggest ways of addressing them is not a new thing. What however makes the NMFUK winter conference different is that it was built on a platform that is action oriented. Already the Forum is

sponsoring the education of orphans at N6250 per month to cover the cost of education, medicine, clothing and feeding per orphan.

The sponsorship comes from individual donors who take care of an orphan and interestingly some of the sponsors are not even Nigerians.

Secondly the conference is built on a successful healthcare outreach programme for rural dwellers, with one successfully conducted in Kibiya, and as I am writing, another health care project is being concluded in Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara State. The Forum intends to acquire a mobile clinic in the future to help facilitate the outreach programme to every part of Nigeria.

The last one year has been very

productive with so many accomplishments recorded. But truth be told, when you look at the potential of the members of NMFUK, more could be achieved.

This is a Forum that has so many accomplished talents including professors, consultants, engineers etc. While the charity status of the Forum was a game changer, more effort should be tailored towards sustaining the current momentum. By Allah's mercy the organization is blessed with very hardworking and visionary individuals, and they need the support of every one to succeed.

In the last one year, I learnt something very important. For you to succeed, you need to be ambitious even though ambition alone is not enough to guarantee success. I also learnt that in

“

For you to succeed, you need to be ambitious even though ambition alone is not enough to guarantee success. I also learnt that in leadership, there is nothing more important than working and being surrounded by people who have similar vision even if you differ on the process of delivering on the vision

leadership, there is nothing more important than working and being surrounded by people who have similar vision even if you differ on the process of delivering on the vision. As long as you meant well, the road will become smooth along the line even if it appears to be rough at the beginning of the journey. It is also clear that you can have the best ideas, as many people do, but those ideas will mean nothing if you do not do the basic preparation that will lay the foundation to uplift those ideas to a greater height.

For me personally, I couldn't be more grateful for the support I received while serving as the President (Amir) of Nigeria Muslim Forum, UK. It was an organization that offered me the rare opportunity to serve it twice in the last seven years, and I thank Allah (SWT) for his bounties. It is now time to step back so that other people can have the opportunity to build further on what we started collectively. I wish my successor, Malam Sani Muazu Makarfi, the new chairman of the Board of Trustees, Dr Abdulahi Shehu and the entire team a successful tenure as they work to strengthen this young but great charity.

Jameed is a public affairs analyst

PAGE 16

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

Housewives lament scarcity of local chickens in markets

S

Traditional musicians entertaining a lady yesterday in Wuse, Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Conjoined twins die in National Hospital

T

he National Hospital, Abuja, on Tuesday confirmed the death of the conjoined twins, saying they did not die during separation.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the twins were born to a 17-year-old woman, Safiya Sani on Thursday, January 3, 2013 at Mararaba Medical Centre, Mararaba Gurku in Nasarawa state.

They were later transferred to the National Hospital, Abuja.

The Director, Chief Clinical

Services of the hospital, Dr Obasi Ekumankama, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the twins had not been separated before they died.

Ekumankama, who confirmed to NAN that the twins died on Sunday when medical investigation was yet to be completed, said the bodies had been deposited at the mortuary for autopsy.

The director also said the twins had some connection in the heart,

down to the abdomen and the upper side of the intestines.

“The doctors carried out medical investigations and they were supposed to complete the investigation on Monday to know to what extent they were connected.

“You cannot operate on them until you know what you are going to do.

The initial thing showed there were some connections in the heart and between the intestine the upper side of the intestine”, he said.

Ekumankama said that part of

the outcome of the investigations showed that the twins were joined from the thorax to the abdomen called thoraco-abdominal conjoined twins.

He said other investigations that were to be carried out included a CT-Scan to determine if they had one liver.

The director, however, said that if the investigations were successfully carried out, a team of seasoned experts would have been assembled to carry out the operation to separate them.

AEPB to partner with local, state govts to rehabilitate beggars

By Josephine Ella Ejeh

A

s part of efforts to completely rid beggars off the streets of Abuja, the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) said it would henceforth partner with states and local governments in the country to rehabilitate beggars picked from streets in the Federal Capital

Territory (FCT).

The Head of Information and Outreach Programme of the AEPB, Mr Joe Ukairo, who said in the last three weeks the board made a massive arrest of 144 beggars and destitute persons, added that the board had adopted stricter and sustainable measures of evacuating beggars from the streets.

He said forthwith the board would take pictures and personal data of all beggars arrested in the FCT before returning them to their states of origin to enable it know those who return back to the street.

His words: “We discovered that they still come to the street after evacuation but this time around we are taking more stringent

measures to make sure they don’t come back. What these beggars do is when they see our vehicle coming they run away but now there are undercover approaches adopted by the board to tackle this problem”.

This was as he revealed that the board would contact their various state and local governments to be involved in their rehabilitation.

Mararaba community urges FG to provide facilities in border town

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araraba residents have called on the Federal Government and Nasarawa state government to provide facilities for people residing along the border town.

They made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Nasarawa state .

The residents said that they only enjoyed water, electricity and good roads while in Abuja during working hours, but found life unbearable in their various homes.

Mr Enoch Ejiofor, a civil servant, appealed to the federal authorities to liaise with the Nasarawa State Government to

assist in the provision of amenities to people in the area.

Ejiofor noted that the population of Mararaba was increasing daily due to the migration of people to the area.

“As you know, the demolition exercise in the nation’s capital has forced a lot of people to relocate to this area, and this has seriously increased the population in Nasarawa state.

This has overwhelmed the capability of Nasarawa state Government and there is a need for the Federal Government to liaise with the state to make life easy for the populace,” he said.

Ejiofor, who observed that the

residents hardly accessed their homes during rainy season due to the poor condition of roads, appealed to government to come to their aid.

Also commenting, Mrs Eno Ita, a petty trader, said that the environment was becoming more dusty due to the poor condition of roads which were not tarred.

“The present condition of our environment, including the hot weather have caused sicknesses such as cough and catarrh. I am appealing to government to also consider our state of health as it is beyond our capability,’’ she said.

Ita who also complained of the lack of facilities such as electricity,

water and healthcare centres.

Mr Muhammed Musa said that sleeping at night had become difficult due to the epileptic power supply and the hot wather.

Mrs Juliana Ike noted that in spite of the poor environment, the cost of rent was prohibitive. Ike appealed to the Nasarawa state Government to prevail on landlords in the area to bring down rent.

She added that this would ease their burden.

Many residents also have appealed to the governments to arrest the uncontrolled development of structures in the area with the attendant problem of crime and criminality.(NAN)

ome housewives in Abuja have expressed concern over the scarcity of locally bred chickens in the various markets around the federal Capital.

The respondents made their views known in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

Mrs Oke Johnson, who said she preferred local chicken to hybrid ones, expressed shock over the scarcity of local chicken.

“I noticed that our locally bred chicken cannot be found easily now; what you see now is hybrid breed chickens which are anything but tasty. “All we eat now are all denatured food — polished rice, hydrid breed fruits and vegetables; that is why we experience all manner of illnesses; please can someone help us recover ourselves.’’

Mrs Nana Akpan, who said she often bought local chicken from villagers, said she recently noticed that the number had reduced significantly.

She urged the government to encourage production of local chickens, rice and fruits, among others.

“I prefer local chickens and eggs but to my dismay; I cannot see them to buy, and when available, they are very expensive. I wanted to buy an egg and I was told it is N50 each against N20 or N25 for the hybrid breed chicken eggs which are bigger in size,” she said.

Mrs Sandra Ani, who was on a visit to Abuja from Ndoni, Rivers state, noted that other local foodstuffs were also scarce.

Ani said that as a young girl, it was fun rearing and feeding local chicken and gathering their droppings for the farm.

“Let us go back to the old times and do it better; It was another means of creating employment and alleviating poverty. When you keep these animals you can confidently sell them off when you are faced with money problems,” she advised.

NAN observed that in most markets in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) local chickens and eggs were scarce and when seen, very expensive.

The small sized local chicken currently goes for between N1,500 and N1,800 as against N700 to N900 a year ago.

Mr Emmanuel Okoh, a dealer in chicken at Karu Market attributed the scarcity to the lack of patience on everyone’s part — farmer, seller and consumer.

Okoh noted that people engaged in businesses that yielded returns very fast and as such would not want to waste time rearing local chicken which took some time to mature. Also, the seller wants fast money while the consumer wants a sizeable chicken at lower cost.

(NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

INSIDE FCT COURTS ‘Bone setter’ gets 80 lashes for accusing wife of adultery

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alam Inusa Adamu, a 6 0 - y e a r - o l d traditional bone healer, has been ordered by a Lugbe Area Court, Abuja, to be given 80 strokes of the cane for falsely accusing his wife of adultery.

Delivering judgment in the case, the Judge, Haruna Masanawa, also dissolved Adamu’s 12-year-old marriage to his wife, Ramatu, which was blessed with two boys and a girl.

Masanawa, however, deferred the execution of the judgment to January 16, 2013 when he would give order on the custody of the children aged 10, eight and six, respectively.

Ramatu, had urged the court to dissolve her marriage over Adamu’s constant allegation of adultery against her.

She told the court that she never indulged in adultery and no one, including her husband, had ever caught her in the act.

She also accused her husband of being irresponsible, having left the burden of caring for their children’s healthcare and school fees for her alone to shoulder.

The 45-year-old housewife, who is a food vendor in Lugbe, also told the court that she was the one responsible for feeding and rent of the family’s rented apartment.

She had, therefore, prayed the court to dissolve the marriage forthwith and let her have custody of their three children.

Adamu, however, told the court that he still loved his wife and wanted reconciliation.

“She is my only wife and we have lived together peacefully for 12 years and have three lovely children. I do not know what has come over her. She has changed suddenly and has become disrespectful and would just hiss whenever I tell her to do something,’’ Adamu said.

He said that though he had accused his wife of cheating on him, he agreed that he had failed to provide any evidence or bring witnesses to confirm his allegations.

Masanawa, the Judge had told Adamu that as a Muslim, he should swear in court with the Qur’an to the allegations he levelled against his wife or be flogged 80 times.

In a dramatic twist, Adamu agreed to the option of flogging.

The Judge, then dissolved the marriage (NAN)

PAGE 17

AEPB driver suspected of killing 12-year-old girl A

n Upper Area Court in Kubwa, Abuja has remanded a driver, Shaibu Bala, 30, in prison custody for allegedly causing the death of a 12-year-old girl by dangerous driving.

Police Prosecutor, Peter Odeh told the court that the case against the accused, who is a resident of Suleja , Niger, was reported at the Kubwa Police Station on January

1, 2013.

Odeh told the court that the accused, a driver with the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), converted an official vehicle to commercial use when the accident occurred.

“He used the vehicle, a Toyota Hiace bus with Reg. No. CT 203 AOY, to convey passengers from Garki to Suleja on New Year Day. “The vehicle somersaulted

several times along the KubwaAbuja Expressway, killing a 12year old girl, Chinoso Nnagwuguim, on the spot, while 18 others escaped with different degrees of injuries,’’ he told the court.

The prosecutor said that during investigation, it was discovered that the accused was driving without a licence.

He said the accused was

Ware hawkers yesterday at Zuba on Abuja-Kaduna road.

reckless, dangerous and inconsiderate to other road users, but the accused pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The prosecutor applied for an adjournment to enable the police to produce witnesses. The presiding Judge, Malam Munir Mohammed, ordered that the accused be remanded in prison custody, and adjourned the case to January 11, 2013 for hearing. (NAN)

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Police arraign man, 35, for allegedly defiling 5 year old girl

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he Police yester day arraigned a 35-year-old driver, Ibrahim Akin, before a Gwagwalada Upper Area Court for allegedly defiling a fiveyear-old.

The police arraigned Akin, a resident of Zuba, Abuja, on a onecount charge of gross indecency.

Police Prosecutor, Martha Paul told the court that on December 23, 2012, the accused assaulted a five year-old-girl by putting his finger into her private part.

She said the offence, which contravened the provisions of Section 285 of the Penal Code, was

reported by one Cajethan Ubughu of Angwan Dodo at the Gwagwalada Police Station.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty, and his counsel, Mr Ayam Michael, prayed the court to grant him bail.

Micheal made an oral application for bail on the grounds that the charge before the court “remains an allegation, until the contrary is proven’’.

“The accused is a father of a onemonth-old baby and if he is sent to prison it will affect the child in a way. We know that the offence is not ordinarily bailable, but we beg

the court to grant him bail. The surety to take him on bail, if granted, is present in court,’’ he said.

Ayam further said that if granted bail, his client would not jump bail and would keep to all the conditions of the court.

The prosecutor did not object to the bail application.

The Presiding Judge, Mr Babanginda Hassan, granted the accused bail in the sum of N200,000 with a surety in like sum.

Hassan said the surety must reside within the FCT and must

be a civil servant or own a landed property.

He also said that the surety’s passport photograph should be attached to the bail form.

The judge ordered that the address of the surety should be made available to the prosecution counsel.

He also ordered that if by close of work on Wednesday, the accused was unable to meet the bail conditions, he be remanded in prison custody.

Hassan adjourned the matter to February 20 for hearing.

(NAN)

Man bag jail term for stealing phone, international passport

A

21-year-old Ibrahim Abubakar has been convicted and sentenced to two months in prison by an Abuja Senior Magistrates Court for stealing a phone and an international passport.

The Police Prosecutor, Corporal Francis Tanko, told the court that one Angulu Emmanuel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), reported Abubakar at the Wuse Zone 3 Police Station.

Tanko alleged that Abubakar committed the act at the Sheraton Hotel, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja.

He told the court that the accused and others, who are now at large, went to the Ladi Kwali Hall of the Hotel and stole a Nokia Phone, valued at N56, 000 belonging to one Hammed Tanko.

The prosecutor said that the convict and his colleagues also stole an international passport with No: A01138195 belonging to one

Mohammed Bello.

The prosecutor said that the items were recovered from the accused.

After arraignment, Abubakar pleaded guilty to the charge.

He told the court that he went to the hotel to eat with his friends and he saw the phone on the ground and I picked it up.

“I then put the phone in my pocket. Afterwards, someone raised an alarm that I was a thief. Please

have mercy on me. I stole because of my sick wife,’’ he said.

In his judgment, Senior Magistrate Haminu Eri convicted and sentenced Abubakar to two months in prison on each count charge of joint act and theft contrary to Sections 79 and 287 of the Penal Code.

Eri, however, gave an option of fine of N500 on each count and also warned the convict to desist from bad acts and be of good character. (NAN)

PAGE 18

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

Civil Defence Corps seals up 3 private guard companies for failure to meet guidelines

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he Federal Capital Territory(FCT) Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, on Tuesday, sealed up three illegal private guard companies in the territory.

They are Vault Security Company Ltd, Bright Star Security Ltd and E-Control Security Ltd. Mr Abdullahi Kofaroro, the FCT Commandant of the Corps, said the defaulting companies failed to honour several invitations requiring them to make amend.

Kofaroro, who was represented by the command’s Officer-inCharge of private guard companies, Mrs Florence Akalawu, said the companies had been operating without meeting the requirements for setting up security companies.

“We served them several letters asking them to obtain the necessary clearance, but they failed to meet the requirements, and so we have no option than to close them down. Kofaroro said that the defaulting companies were operating without obtaining the compulsory licence from the Corps and paying N500,000 registration fee.

“Also, one of the directors of a security company must be a retired security officer, but this requirement was not complied with by the affected companies. ``So, we had to close them down as they posed security threats to the society,’’ he said.

He explained that the inclusion of a retired officer in the management of a security company was to ensure that the necessary training was giving to security guards at all times.

“The companies will remain sealed until they meet all the requirements. Any of them that re-opens its offices or removes the seal will be prosecuted,’’ Kofaroro said.

All efforts by News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to speak to the owners of the affected companies proved abortive as they could not be reached.

The corps closed down 131 private guard companies nationwide between January 2011 and December 2012 for same reasons. (NAN)

Traders waiting for patronage, yesterday in Nyanya market.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Doctor recommends early scan of pregnancies to dictate abnormalities

A

medical doctor has advised all pregnant women to undertake an early scan of the foetus to enable experts detect possible abnormalities.

Dr Angel-la Smart, the Medical Superintendent in charge of the Mararaba Medical Centre in Nasarawa state gave the advice in an interview with

the News Agency of Nigeria in Mararaba yesterday.

She said that the advice become necessary after at a woman delivered a conjoined twins in the centre.

Smart said the abnormalities were not detected during anti-natal because the scan was done at the 38th week of the

pregnancy.

She said that early detection of abnomalities would enable the medical team and the family know what to do in such an eventuality.

“At 36 weeks, it is very difficult to pick such diagnosis, so it’s advisable that the routine thing should be done, which means a woman should have at

least three scans in her pregnancy or four,” she said.

Smart stated further that the scan was better done especially in the first and second trimesters when such diagnosis can actually be made.

She also advised that women should be educated on the importance of scan during pregnancy.

Education board plans more toilets in FCT schools

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he Federal Capital T e r r i t o r y ( F C T ) Universal Basic Education Board has said there are plans to increase sanitary and toilet facilities in FCT schools this year in line with global best practices.

Mr Adamu Noma, the Board’s Director, disclosed in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesday in Abuja.

Noma said the board had undertaken various sensitisation campaigns on hand washing, personal hygiene and open defecation across schools in 2012.

He said that the board’s focus for 2013 would be on the provision of toilet facilities, in line with the budgetary provisions for the year.

“Those schools that don’t have boreholes, we want to make sure that within the ambient of the budget we will capture them and then those that don’t have toilet facilities it is our intention to make sure that we provide toilet

facilities to all schools that don’t have adequate toilet facilities within our budgetary provision.

“If you look at the number of schools, we will not be able to provide all these facilities at the same time. We have about 125 primary schools, 127 junior secondary schools and 173 (ECCDE) Early Child Care Development Education Centers,” he said.

Continuing, he added: “We have taken it upon ourselves to make sure that every school in the FCT is provided with toilet facilities because we don’t want to undermine the availability of toilet facilities, we know that is very important, and schools that don’t have toilet facilities, we are capturing them. We want to make sure that every school has adequate toilet facilities so that students and pupils do not go to the bush to defecate.

He said it was very risky for

children to go to the bush to defecate as they could be beaten by reptiles or get themselves injured by sticks, by others things that are found there in the bush which are injurious to their health.

He said the board had to replace traditional sanitary methods with modern trends of water facilitated systems to reduce attendant diseases and encourage hygienic techniques or personal hygiene.

“In the school environment we make sure that the environment is properly kept very clean and we provide sanitary facilities for instance in classes we provide wash hand basins and towels plus soaps where whatever they go out and touch any dirty materials, when they come back to their classes, they wash their hands with clean water and then use the towels and clean them.

“In addition, we make sure that toilet facilities are provided in our schools, we provide toilet facilities for the pupils, we provide for boys and girls separately and we equally provide for staff, males and females separately,” the director said.

While urging schools to adopt alternative measures of harvesting water for the dry season, Noma re-emphasised the use of toilets during the dry season in spite of the imminent water challenges.

“We will advise our school pupils to patronize the toilet facilities that are provided. Like during the dry season, where we have some challenges, some taps during the dry season, you find out that in the rural communities, the borehole may not be functional at that point in time, and then the streams might have dried up so they will find it very difficult to access water,” he said.

BUSINESS

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

Email: aminuimam@yahoo.co.uk

PAGE 19

INSIDE

- Pg 20

Benue protests continued closure of Dangote Gboko plant

Mob: 08033644990

GSM: Subscribers seek stiffer penalty against operators

T

elephone subscribers on Tuesday in Abuja called for stiffer penalties against GSM operators for providing poor quality of service in the country.

The subscribers made their feelings known in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

A cross-section of the subscribers noted that the poor services rendered by the operators had worsened despite the recent ban on promo services by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC). Mr Silas Daniel, a businessman, described the services of some of the service providers during the yuletide season as ‘’terrible’’.

Daniel noted that some of the operators had inundated the subscribers with unsolicited text messages during the yuletide period at different rates.

“They will bombard you with series of text messages and a lot of promos that sometimes get you confused. They will tell you there is a free call to this call at “so-so’’ time and you might bump into the wrong hours”, he stated.

“You will think that you are making a free call but before you know it, your credit will go. NCC should be able to put up strict and

stringent measures to be able to punish offenders because they are taking Nigerians for a ride; these things are not done elsewhere even in South Africa and other parts of the world.

These are not done, they are not acceptable.’’

Daniel said that the destruction of some of the GSM masts in some parts of the country should not be used as an excuse for poor services. He urged the operators to partner with local communities and private security outfits to ensure security of their installations nationwide.

Miss Rosemary Onyemenan, a youth corps member, called for a downward review of tariff and appealed to the industry regulator to prevail on the operators to expand their network to rural areas.

A civil servant, Mr. Michael Vershima complained about the frequent “error in call connection’’ from his service provider, adding such interruptions could have safety and security implications. He also appealed to operators to stop charging for voice notifications made to subscribers during active calls. (NAN)

13 % derivation: Delta oil producing communities’ agitation gets more backing

By Abdulwahab Isa

T

wo new communities in the Niger-Delta region, Ika and Aniocha Local Government Councils of DeltaNorth Senatorial District of Delta state have joined the league of oil producing communities in Nigeria.

A joint statement issued by Chief William Igere-Delta, Pastor Macpherson KuroboBayelsa, Chief Harry OpaksRivers and Saviour James Okon-Akwa-Ibom confirmed the entrance of the communities.

The statement said a delegation of (10) traditional rulers, their chiefs, women and youths of Akumazi, Umunede, Ute-okpu, Ute-erume, UteOgbeje, Ekuku-Agbor, Nsukwa, Olodu, Ewuru, Idumuesah and Ejeme visited the leadership of the oil and gas producing communities of Nigeria, Chief.

Senator. F.S. Okpozo and Chief.

(Dr) Wellington Okirika (CON), to express their appreciation and thanks for the purposeful leadership that these two great leaders have offered in the struggle for direct payment of 13% Derivation Fund to oil and gas producing communities of Nigeria.

The delegation were received by Chief Senator

Okpozo and Chief.(Dr) Wellington Okirika (CON), at the Warri residence of Chief Okirika.

Speaking during the ceremony, the spoke person for the delegation. Hon. Okafor Wallace said that they have followed very closely the agitation and advocacy of the oil and gas communities for direct payment of 13% Derivation Fund to oil and gas communities.

In this words: “13% Derivation Fund is a constitutional matter that must be implemented to full benefit of the people of the oil and gas communities”.

He express gratitude and thanks for the efforts so far.

They pledged to join the struggle for the direct payment of 13%. to host communities .

L-R: Director-General, Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, and Chairman, Orbit Technologies and Investment Limited, Prof. Yakubu Ochefu, during the signing of MoU between NTDC and Orbit Technology on direct capturing of hotel staffs (pilot face) in the FCT, Abuja yesterday.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Kano state govt sets up 37 microfinance banks K From Edwin Olofu, Kano

ano state government has established 37 microfinance banks in addition to the existing seven in the state, with a view for the lessprivileged to have access to soft loans.

Speaking during an occasion marking the establishment of the 37 new microfinance banks in Kano state at a grand occasion at Government House, Kano on Tuesday, the Kano state governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso disclosed that the banks would create more than 740 direct job opportunities in addition to various chances that will emerge when the banks start full operation.

He said that Kano state is lagging behind in most of the banking sector where there are only 8 microfinance banks in the whole state, while 13 other local government areas have no commercial bank at all.

Kwankwaso added that his administration had embarked on various poverty eradication programmes launched throughout the state, including the

establishment of new 21 Institutions to train the teeming unemployed youth in various skill acquisition programmes.

He hinted that his administration has just approved the acquisition of 1,000 brand new Toyota Corolla cars for distribution to young graduates who will use them as “Amana luxury taxis”.

In this regard, he further explained, the government is working with Institute of Transport Technology, Zaria, for the training of the beneficiaries.

This is in addition to 1,000 normal taxis and 500 buses that were earlier bought and distributed at a subsidised rate to people from all the 44 LGs of the state.

Speaking earlier, the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) who is also the Danmajen Kano, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, disclosed that the CBN has changed its policy on microfinance bank framework, which barred state governments from establishing such banks ‘’because of lack of serious management and political loans among others.’’

However, he pointed out that

Management Tip of the Day

What you really want from an informational interview

I

nformational interviews help you explore career options and make connections by giving you a safe environment to ask pointed questions. But there’s a risk: If you don’t make a good first impression, you can torpedo the relationship. Find a balance by

being upfront about the help you’re asking for. You may not know exactly where you’re headed, and that’s OK. But you still need to come across in a way that inspires confidence and makes others want to help you.

Create a brief positioning statement before you start to

make inquiries. It doesn’t have to be 100% clear, but it should give a general sense of what you want. If you aren’t sure, or you’re interested in more than one potential career, just be as specific as you can.

Source: Harvard Business Review

this policy is being considered for review in such a way that state government will now be allowed to set up and owned the microfinance banks as a result of the seriousness exhibited by the Kwankwaso administration.

He observed that all the poverty alleviation programmes are working very well which, according to him, is the reason, why Alhaji Aliko Dangote endorsed and invested in some of them.

The CBN governor said this is the first time the CBN has granted any state government the licenses to establish 37 microfinance banks in the state.”It is remarkable and those of you watching the industry you will testify that this is the first time that the CBN is approving the licences for a state government to set-up microfinance institutions.

“Up to few weeks ago, the policy was very clear that we will not allow government to own banks because of a history of mismanagement, of political interference and political loans.

“But the commitment and determination shown by the government of the Kano state and the experience that we have seen with other empowerment institutions such as partnership of Aliko Dangote had surely made the Central Bank to have a change of mind and for the first time we approved these 37 banks, and we are actually changing the policy now because of Kano state”.

“So, I would like to congratulate the state not just for setting this institution but for being the first to obtain this licences’’ the CBN Governor concluded.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

PAGE 20

COMPANY NEWS FBN Microfinance Bank

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BN Microfinance Bank, a subsidiary of First Bank Nigeria Plc, has rewarded its customers who have been part of the ‘My Daily Savings’ product.

The bank, in a statement made available to our correspondent on Tuesday, said prizes such as bags for scholars, rice, LCD TV, freezers, and a grand prize of tricycle, popularly known as Keke Marwa, were distributed.

The bank noted that the forum was an avenue to relate closely with customers and listen to their issues, while acquainting them with activities in the bank.

Lagos Literail

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overnor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos state on Tuesday said the first section of the 10 lanes LagosBadagry Expressway would be completed June this year.

Fashola, who disclosed during an inspection tour of ongoing projects across the state, added that the level of work on the National Art Theatre and Alaba-Mile 2 rail stations are in advanced rate to ensure early completion.

“In order to finish the road, the contractor didn’t go on vacation during the festive period; all these is geared towards ensuring that the project is delivered ontime for residents use.”, he stated.

Meantime, Fashola also flag-off the trackwork of the blue lite-rail at Alaba Suru, Coker-Agunda Local Council Development Area, (LCDA).

Oando Plc

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igeria’s leading Indigenous Oil and Gas industry, Oando Plc is set to declare a major profit of about N11.7 billion for its activities and operations in the year 2012, a positive news for a Company that has its eyes set on ‘becoming a leader’ in the energy industry.

Meanwhile, on December 28,2012 the indigenous firm had initiated the process of issuing rights of about N4.548 billions shares to existing shareholders, with a view to raising about N54.6 billion from the capital market.

The Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Wale Tinubu, assessing the rights issue stated that with the company’s aggressive strategy to raising capital, it once again revealed its intentions and goals of exploring more of the Upstream than the downstream.

NACCIMA Benue protests berates CBN decision on continued closure of MPR Dangote’s Gboko plant •LG loses N15m in revenue T T From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

By Ibrahim Kabir Sule

he people and government of Benue state have protested the continuing closure of Gboko plant of Dangote Cement which was temporary shut down as a result of cement glut, occasioned by massive importation of cement into the area.

Chairman Gboko Local Government of Benue state, Mr. Nahan Zinda decried the continuing closure of the Dangote Plant, saying his local government has lost about N15million in weeks.

“Since the company was closed cement price has gone up; Our people have been jobless and suffering. It may also lead to antisocial behaviours. Our women who are doing petty businesses outside the gate are also complaining bitterly.

He called on the Federal

Government to expedite action by doing all takes for the factory to be reopened.

Chairman of the Quarry Community Mr. Donald Tser also regretted that the closure of the factory has halted all commercial activities in Gboko Local Government. “We are afraid that our children may resort to antisocial behaviour and this is dangerous for Nigeria. We are calling on government to hasten the process of re-opening the plant”, he lamented.

Mrs. Grace John, who spoke on behalf of women traders in Gboko, said social and commercial activities have virtually come to a halt and life is becoming difficult.

She appealed for the quick reopening of the plant in the interest of women traders.

This is coming as the Federal

Government, through Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, intervened in the manufacturers-importers face-off, saying the manufacturers have saved the nation N200billion in foreign exchange in 2012 that could have gone into cement importation.

It could be recalled that Dangote, the biggest employer of labour in Nigeria outside government, through a statement has attributed the glut to the massive importation of the product in the region.

Experts have said between 2010 and 2011, cement manufacturing in Nigeria have saved the nation a staggering N270billion. The amount it costs the country to import cement yearly had dropped from N300 billion to N30 billion.

Lubricant manufacturers want tariff on base oil reduced From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

T

he Lubricant Producers Association of Nigeria (LUPAN), which is the umbrella body of lubricant producers in the country, yesterday called on the Federal Government to review downward the high import duty on base oil, which is the chief raw material for the production of lubricants.

The Vice-Chairman of LUPAN, Alhaji Ado Mustapha Mohammed, who is also the Chairman/ C E O o f A m m a s c o International Limited, one of the fastest growing independent lubricants marketing company in Nigeria located in Kano, made the appeal for the duty to be reduced so as to encourage genuine local production in the nation’s quest to industrialisation and self reliance.

Similarly, the association highlighted the need for the Federal Government to raise the existing tariff regime on imported lubricants to 50 percent in order to discourage importation and protect local industries.

LUPAN also expressed its concern over what he called threat to the lubricant industry, by indiscriminate importation of substandard lubricants and adulteration of member’s products. He said this has led to economic loss to consumers of such unwholesome products which most often result in

frequent breakdown of machineries, environmental pollution as well as undue competition for local producers as they

come very cheap to unsuspecting customers.

LUPAN, which recently raised an alarm over the rate at which adulterated and fake lubricant products are being peddled in the Nigerian market, warned that this development portends danger to users, the nation’s economy and could crippled the local industry if urgent steps were not taken to arrest the disturbing trend.

It could be recalled that the Director-General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Mr. Joseph Odumodu, while receiving during a recent courtesy call by some executive council members of LUPAN, said that SON is embarking on registration of all products including oil lubricants in the market within the next few months.

The association reiterated the company’s commitment to partner with the SON in all fronts to ensure sanitisation of the market devoid of substandard, fake and adulterated products in the country.

LUPAN expressed confidence in the SON under the leadership of Mr. Odumodu to ensure standards are adhered to by manufacturers to bring the much needed sanity in the oil Lubricant market, and more importantly, that consumers have value for their money.

he Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), has said the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to retain Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 12 per cent, could defeat government’s intention of ensuring single digit interest rate.

NACCIMA National President Dr. Ademola Ajayi, in a statement said this may continue to jack-up the cost of borrowing by the real sector, which presently swings between 17 per cent and 28 per cent.

“According to our investigations, we believe that retaining the MPR at 12 per cent is not the best option for now as this will definitely have negative implications of increasing costs of production, decline in output, possible layoff of workers to worsen unemployment levels, locally manufactured products would continue to be more expensive and uncompetitive against foreign products, and a discouragement for intending manufacturers” he said.

He said NACCIMA wishes to counsel that the CBN should address the main causative variables, e.g. the unabated factor of excess liquidity in the system, etc., adding that, this if reviewed timely, will allow both interest and inflation rates to fall to a more comfortable level and would spur real sector desired growth.

“We must not allow industrial productivity in the economy to remain stagnant or to decline as the retention of high MPR will not deliver the country from conflicting price signals and global uncertainties as argued by CBN, but rather continue to spell hardship for the citizens by way of cost of funds” he stated.

NACCIMA also back calls for re-erection of toll gates at strategic locations on highways for additional security reasons.

Ajayi, said it supports the reintroduction of toll gates in the country not just for revenue collection or for road maintenance but for security reasons.

“Nigeria could complement the efforts of security agencies and enhance security surveillance, with adequate security gadgets installed (as at airports) for detecting movements of dangerous weapons by persons/groups across the country, and also for apprehending criminals and dangerous goods”, he said.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

PAGE 22

Oyo partners with Wemabod Estate on auto-mart From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

T

he Oyo State Government has entered into partnership with Wemabod Estates Limited on the construction of an ultra-modern auto-market in Ibadan, the state capital.

The state Commissioner for Trade, Investment and Cooperatives, Mr. Bayo Olagbenro, made this disclosure while speaking with newsmen shortly after an inspection tour of some of the neighbourhood markets under construction in Ibadan yesterday.

Olagbenro said that the construction of the auto-market was on a public-private partnership arrangement with the firm.

The commissioner, who said that work had already commenced on the site of the market located at Sango area of the city, added that when completed, all auto-sellers currently spread across the metropolis would be moved to the new market.

While assuring that the market would be a good site to behold when completed, Olagbenro said that the move

was to further clean up the state capital and sanitize the operations of auto-dealers who, he said, are currently spread all over the place.

He also assured of the speedy completion of the neighbourhood market at Scout Camp, Challenge, Ibadan currently being constructed for the traders who were moved away from the Molete under-bridge.

The commissioner said that work had also commenced on other neighbourhood markets spread across the state capital to create a conducive atmosphere and neat environment for traders to ply their trade.

He also said that the plank sellers currently at the Temidire Market on New Ife Road would be relocated to a new place in Egbeda very soon in order to

pave way for the construction of an ultra-modern market near the newly-inaugurated motor park.

Olagbenro solicited for the cooperation and understanding of traders in the state, saying that government was not out to punish them or anybody but to make life better for them through the provision of basic infrastructure.

CBN sells N66.9bn forex at WDAS

T

he Central Bank of Nigeria sold foreign exchange worth 43.2 million dollars (N66.96 billion) at its bi-weekly Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS) yesterday. This information was contained in the apex bank’s website after the auction.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the WDAS sale yesterday was smaller than the one conducted on Monday at which 150 million dollars was sold. A dealer, who preferred anonymity, said that the action of the apex bank was to control foreign exchange in the system.

“The small amount of forex sold this time around is because it is the second auction in the year. ``Again, most Nigerians abroad came in with foreign currencies during the Yuletide and that means that there is still much foreign currencies around,`` he said.

The official exchange rate remained at N155.79 to the dollar at Wednesday’s auction.

The dollar has remained at N155.79 to the dollar since the Dec. 19, 2012. A total of three banks participated at Wednesday’s auction against 15 banks that participated at Monday’s auction. (NAN)

Blackmail against aviation minister uncovered, says Ministry

By Ibrahim Kabiru Sule

T

he ministry of aviation yesterday it has uncovered an “advanced plot” currently being executed by some paid individuals capable of distracting the Minister, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah, from consolidating on the recorded gains which is aimed at tarnishing and blackmailing the image and her reputation.

The Special Assistant to the Minister on Media, Joe Obi made this known in a statement issued to journalists. According to the statement, “Our very reliable sources indicate that the hireling, who has been paid huge sums of money running into several millions of naira to execute the hatchet job will employ a very familiar strategy of calling a Press Conference to carry out his mischief and peddle his falsehood. The hireling, we are told will brandish documents containing false, unfounded and out rightly malicious information intended to impugn the integrity of the Honourable Minister.”

The minister however described those hired to have been sponsored by some “big players and stakeholders” in the aviation sector as the recent reforms embarked by the minister “displaced them and literarily taken their ‘milking

cows’ away from them.

“This change of strategy to blackmail and character assassination, our sources further reveal, follows the failure of several, more civilised ways in the past to stop the Honourable Minister from pursuing her rescue mission in the sector” the statement read.

“We are equally informed that this latest planned onslaught hopes to take advantage of the seeming disagreement between the Honourable Minister and the National Assembly over the Dana Airline issue. We however make haste to stress that the Honourable Minister has tremendous respect for the institution of the National Assembly and all its Resolutions and enjoys a very cordial working relationship with the body. Efforts to pitch her against the National Legislature on imaginary allegations of disagreements will therefore fail woefully.”, it further said.

The minister therefore assured the flying public that this ongoing plot will not distract her from the current efforts to ensure a world class safety, terminals, services and comfort in the Nigeria’s aviation sector and advised the public to disregard these “shenanigans” that do not mean well for the industry.

Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, UBA, Mr. Phillips Oduoza and top management staff of UBA in a group photograph with some of the bank's Most Valuable Performers (MVP) during the recognition ceremony organised by the bank to recognize and appreciate its top performers, recently.

DANA Air: ‘why paying compensation is slow’

By Stanley Onyekwere

R

easons have emerged as to why there is slow pace in payment of compensation to some families of the 153 deceased victims of the Dana Air ‘June 2012’ air mishap just as the airline resumed domestic flights last week amidst the outstanding victims’ cry for justice.

This is coming on the heels of recent wide-spread criticisms trailing the perceived slow in payment of compensation to all the beneficiaries of the 153 victims who are yet to be paid their full compensation.

According to the Special Advisor (SA- Technical) to the minister of Aviation, Victor Elias Oche, the slow in some payment for these painful loses is that there are incidences where a Victim’s family have four to five persons claiming right to the money due for the late person, which must be duly investigated by the relevant authorities before payment can be made.

“The slow we have in some payment for these painful loses or to some of the people that lose their dear ones is that you have a family where four to five persons are trying to claim the same money; and so we need to reconcile and be careful that the rightful person gets what is due for the late person, and it is judiciously used”, he explained.

Elias, who was speaking on phone during a Raypower FM programme, ‘political platform’ on Tuesday, and monitored by our reporter points out; ‘beyond making these claims it is time for us to investigate, and make sure that what you(beneficiary) say is the correct thing and if you are not sure you can ask us questions.’

He said the ministry is opened to people; adding ‘safety has come; safety will remain; and safety would be encouraged in the aviation sector.’

On what the minister is doing in 2013 to reposition the state of infrastructure in the

sector, the spokesperson assured Nigerians that the minister is firing on all cylinders to make sure. The vision of the president is the transformation agenda, which the minister has keyed into.

“Beyond the physical aesthetics done in the 22 airports last year, we want to extend and strengthen the issue of runway lighting system, landing system and cargo facility in our airports.

Particularly, the issue of enhancing cargo system in our airports is significant due to the fact that Nigeria is only imports, and we don’t export”, he expressed.

He said, “Ethiopia, for example, made over seven hundred and forty-eight million dollars from flower export alone.

We want to strengthen the cargo system and make sure it is viable, and have the rural farmer in all villages in Nigeria, to be able to make more money in dollars by connecting them to the global world”.

PEOSPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

Report as at Wednesday, January 9, 2013

PAGE 23

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

PAGE 24

PAGE 25

Worry mounts over poor reading culture in schools Mr. Mark D.A Osang, Regional Co-ordinator Scripture Union Nigeria

The saying that if you want to hide a treasure from an African person you should put it in a book because you will never get an opponent, underscores the poor reading culture in Africa. Nigeria is no exception. This position was recently reechoed by a number of stakeholders, at a special Quiz competition organsied by Scripture Union of Nigeria in Abuja. Etuka Sunday x-rays the burning issue….

R

eading is an act of searching for knowledge. An act of analysing what has been registered in the mind of the reader. It is also an interpretation given to a wide variety of complex issues in the eyes and mind of the reader.

Whatever the eyes see is analysed or interpreted in the mind and the meaning is given

adequately.

Reading can be done either from an inscription on stones, walls or the printed word from ink or toner on paper, such as in Books, Newspapers, Magazines, Leaflets, Notebooks or electronic displays such as Computer, Televisions, Mobile Phones or E-readers as suggested by the encyclopedia.

Reading has a way of

tasking the brain for answers raised in the minds of the readers. Although reading is difficult, it must be done if one must achieve anything meaningfully sine one cannot do without it.

In line with the words of Prof. Oyetunde T.O, the importance of reading cannot be quantified.

To be academically sound, one needs

to read and study well. For students to pass their examinations they are expected to read their notes and textbooks and that means that they can only succeed in school by reading.

Outside school, one needs to read. For example, you may need to read instructions on medicine bottles, you may need to read road signs, you may

need to read manuals on how to get something done, you may need to read newspapers , and you may need to read letters from friends and relatives or even magazines.

But today, as Okezie Chukwumerije puts it, books are as scarce as reliable pipe borne water in Nigerian homes. You may find large screen television, the most

Deekor Precious, the overall winner 2012 Scripture Union National quiz competition

Cross section of students who participated in the competion

expensive stereo and home entertainment systems, the most luxurious couches, but you will search in vain for books. Even when some Nigerians keep books in homes, these books are, not infrequently, solely for decorative purposes.

Poor reading culture has affected us negatively as individuals and as a nation. The popular belief now is that, with or without proper education one can still make it. But can you blame them? Students who forged certificates, bought JAMB results, and paid ttheir way into schools or got

admissions through what is commonly known as “connection” would ever believe in the power of manipulation in all life struggles.

The trend is even worse in our higher institutions, where high standard is required. The rich parents hire professional examination writers for their brainless children. Not only that, they bribe lecturers to write projects for them and award them grades they do not deserve in their final examinations. Some ladies even trade sex just to get favours from the lecturers.

“

Books are as scarce as reliable pipe borne water in Nigerian homes. You may find large screen television, the most expensive stereo and home entertainment systems, the most luxurious couches, but you will search in vain for books. Even when some Nigerians keep books in homes, these books are, not infrequently, solely for decorative purposes

Consequently, a student who is supposed to graduate with a pass degree, gets second class upper and a third class material gets first class upper degree.

Worse still is the fact that these students would find their ways into mushroom institutions as lecturers. A situation that can be best described as a “vicious cycle”.

They are half-baked therefore they will also produce the next generation of “certificated illiterates.”

Some reasons were advanced by Godwin Egu, a manager, Press and Books, Scripture Union Nigeria, Ibadan. He said that reading culture has declined because people are engaged in other things like the internet, movies and as a result, they are not reading books the way they should.

He said unlike the generation before, where Secondary School Students competed on the number of books or novels they have read in a week, now such things are no longer in existence which is worrisome.

He spoke in this position with other stakeholders in a quiz competition organized by Scripture Union Nigeria for Secondary School Students in Abuja-an effort to encourage and promote reading culture in Nigerian schools.

He said before now we used to have essay and quiz competitions at various levels to motivate and promote reading culture in schools but that has changed.

Now teachers are not being paid well therefore they engage in other things instead of giving proper education to the students. He said some urgent steps like motivation or scholarships should be taken to make people get back to reading books.

According to him, reading culture should be inculcated in children at their formative stage, because for transformation to be possible, the Nation must have

transformed citizens who will drive the transformation.

He said libraries in schools should be revived. Every school should have a library. It should be seen as abnormal not to have library because we all benefited from school library. Students should have access to library to read innovative books that would be of benefit to them and the society. They should also invest in books instead of buying recharge cards to make unnecessary calls.

On the part of government, he said that government should build and equip school libraries because a functional library would help the declining reading culture.

Also recently there was a renewed effort from Mrs. Tola Gbogboade, the founder of “Reading is Fun” book club to inculcate reading culture in the Nigerian children. According to her, many Nigerians do not have the reading habit except during examinations and that such habit was not proper for a growing child as reading educational books broaden one’s horizon.”

Gbogboade said “to most people, reading age is the same as the chronological age, but research has shown that it is never the same. Reading age is either higher or lower than chronological age.

Most children are not reading because they think it is not fun to read, but there is a lot of fun in reading when it is inculcated in these young ones. I saw book clubs in America, and I said to myself, the Nigerian child should also be exposed to such knowledge”, she said.

According to the U.S President, Barack Obama the future belongs to young people with an education and imagination to create.

Therefore the future of this country depends on the coming generation.

The Federal Government must ensure that reading culture is encouraged in Nigerian schools with any means possible because Nigeria can’t afford to risk the future of the next generation of leaders.

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PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

EMERGENCY UPDATE

Pictures from a rescue effort by officials of NEMA during a flood late last year in Ibaja Local Government Area of Kogi state.

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PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

EMERGENCY UPDATE

NEMA warns against harmattan, fire outbreaks

By Mohammed Kandi

N

ational Emergency Mnagement Agency (NEMA) has cautioned Nigerians against harsh weather condition as well as fire outbreak during the harmattan.

South-West Zonal Coordinator, Mr. Iyiola Akande, who gave the warning said the advice becomes necessary following the effects of extreme weather including excessive rainfall and flooding in the country last year.

Akande said there was the need to prepare against risks associated with early dry season, adding that, “NEMA is appealing that all disaster management and municipal authorities should enlighten the public on avoidable fire incidents during the period.”

“All community leaders should be involved in educating Nigerians, particularly those living in peculiar environments – such as those dwelling in thatched houses, especially in rural areas. We need to be cautious about the use of firewood or other smoldering objects and heating materials and where such cannot be avoided, the fire should be put out immediately after use,” he stressed.

Akande, who said it was dangerous to warm rooms with burning charcoals during harmattan, added that exposure of children, and other vulnerable

people to harsh weather could cause pneumonia, asthmatic and sickle cell anemia attacks.

He said: “At times, efforts to warm room may lead to fire outbreak. Therefore, Nigerians should be reminded of the possible effects of such activities.’’

According to him, the weather could cause cold and catarrh, and advised people to wear warm clothing to minimise the likelihood of contracting these diseases.

The NEMA coordinator, who also urged people to wear sun glasses to protect their eyes, noted that the seasonal wind was dusty and harsh. He said: “The state

ministries of Health and Environment should create units to enlighten people about how to cope with the dry season.”

“During harmattan, the eyes are directly exposed to harsh weather, especially dust particles carried by the wind. This can lead to itching and redness of the eyes, especially in individuals with allergic eye disease,” he said.

Akande, who also advised people to take a lot of fluid to compensate for loss of water in the body through respiration, also, cautioned pilots to note that visibility has been reduced due to high concentration of dust particles in the air.

NEMA D-G, Muhammad Sani-Sidi

NEMA’s Operation Eagle Eye in NorthWest Zone in collaboration with the FRSC Officials intercepted an overloaded commercial vehicle during their surveillance.

A scene from the flag-off ceremony of Workshop on "Setting Up A Community Resilience Network, Peace Brigades Among NEMA Stakeholders and Volunteers Across The Six Geo-Political Zones" held recently in Kaduna.

YOUTHS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY

By Abubakar Jimoh abujimoh01@yahoo.com

2013: Building a disasterresilient community (I)

W

“

e hope! We hope that there will be a better mobilization of interventions to prevent rather than having to respond. In too many places we find ourselves involved in humanitarian response that could have been prevented. So there has to be more focus on development and helping people to cope, survive and build their lives and their livelihoods, rather than allowing them to become so fragile that any shock causes them to become dependent on aid”, says Operations Director of United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), John Ging in a recent interview.

Over the years, disaster management in Nigeria has been perceived by many as mainly humanitarian relief supplies with huge funds expended annually on perennial emergencies making the some state governments to pay little or no attention to the key phases of disaster management— preparedness and preventions.

With the accelerating cases of global warming from which Nigeria is presently taking her own share, there is need for a conventional orientation to disaster management, which in the words of Olusegun Ojo and Adedayo Ogundimu (2008) involves the conceptualization of ideas and mapping out of strategies to influence the development planning process.

More importantly, community empowerment through enhancement of local capacity for the people concerned, using available materials and strategic methods in their domains as well as inculcate in them useful skills and knowledge that would facilitate adequate responses to hazards when they occur is an informed choice for positive action to avert disaster-related problems.

In disaster management, stakeholders must remember that an empowered community is a veritable tool for sustainable development actions. DirectorGeneral of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Muhammad Sani-Sidi, once reminded us that inadequate preparedness and lack of sustainability in our development options result to a major disaster.

Similarly, there is no doubt that, if the State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) and Local Emergency Management Committees are skillfully installed, mobilised and deployed by the state and local governments, their involvements and participations would constitute immense force of social change that could bring about effectiveness and sustainability in the states and grassroots’ response to manageable hazards and grossly, national development.

Since the occurrence of hazards takes place in a community and the people suffer the impacts of the hazards and the degree of resultant

damage by such hazards most, there is the need for the vulnerable communities to step up their level of preparedness. In this case, one could ask, why must we wait for disasters to strike before we provide avertable humanitarian reliefs?

To achieve effectiveness in the conventional orientation to disaster management, there must be a formalized sensitization of the state and local governments to recognize that disaster management is not limited to humanitarian aids, but also helping the victims to plan and mitigate against the effects of disasters. By so doing, the local leaders in their socio-economic and political realms would be made to accept primary responsibility to protect their communities from disasters.

In a bid to attain disaster-free societies, the Youths Against Disaster Initiative (YADI) has advised that, the state and local governments should realize the fact that they cannot count on help coming from other jurisdictions in the first 24 hours of a catastrophe. For a sound and effective disaster management, it is recommended that local authorities should be prepared to take charge of the initial management of the emergency for at least 72 hours when help may come from elsewhere.

At various levels of government, we cannot deny the fact that to set a well formalized and institutionalized administrative capacity experienced staff, personnel training and retraining programmes are seriously required. The possibility of this is doubtful without the establishment of effective and well-funded SEMAs and LEMAs throughout the 36 states in the country.

Unexpectedly, it was reported in NEMA’s 2010 Annual Report that only 23 out the 36 states have SEMAs backed by law; while most of them have no financial provisions or administrative structures to enable them function effectively. The major arms of government are mandated to facilitate the full implementation and integration of emergency management programmes at the state and community levels.

While lamenting on inadequate funds for disaster management administrations by state and local governments, Clementinal l.

Aisueni in 2010 reported: “It is difficult for the NEMA’s training department to fully coordinate and monitor the training of the staff of the Agency and other stakeholders at the six Centres for Disasters Management and Development Studies. In the year 2010, the department did not enjoy the solicited support of State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) and the Local Emergency Management Committees (LEMCs) towards sensitization on Disaster issues. The usual reason from them is lack of fund for collaboration with NEMA”.

PAGE 26

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

Environment budget for 2013 W

e must sing Hallelujah that the Federal Ministry of Environment was not Oteh-nized on budgetary allocation by the National Assembly. Remember that the Senate Committee on Environment earlier threatened to give zero budgetary allocation to the federal ministry of environment, for what it considered as an unsatisfactory budget implementation of its 2012 capital projects.

I must praise the wisdom of members of the Senate Committee on the issue of the presentation by the environment ministry to justify its 2012 budget performance before it, which would have affected its allocation in the 2013 budget.

The threat by Senator Sarakiled committee that it would not hesitate to give zero budgetary allocation to the ministry, or any of its agencies, on any on-going or new projects if they were not convinced of their capacity to utilize the funds allocated to them in previous years, was by me in order.

Since the return of democracy in 1999, it is on record that no government has ever implemented the yearly budget more than 75 per cent only to come the following budget year asking for fund for the same projects.

It has been explained that what has been responsible for the seeming slow implementation of budgets was the fact that some projects had no planning and design prior to their approval release of resources. That fact is that economic growth without environmental concern has always produced horrific consequences, which we are seeing today.

Economic and environmental policies which do not improve the lives of the poor majority of our people are not socially or politically sustainable.

The overarching goals of alleviation of poverty in our economic development can only be met if we ensure good environmental policies implementations.

I must praise the wisdom of members of The Senate Committee on Environment for allowing the budget for the 2013 to sail through.

The issues raised by the committee were germane, as the environment ministry should be at all time be defending its expenditures, on how capable it is and its agencies of using the funding its gets.

Since the return of democracy in 1999, it is on record that no government has ever implemented the yearly budget more than 75 per cent only to come the following budget year asking for fund for the same projects.

What happened to some of the ecological projects that were advertised about six years ago, after which they were alleged to be awaiting ministerial approval till date, only to recently found their way to the Office of the SGF

and the Minister of Environment for signing, preparatory for execution?

This is the question; the House Committee on Environment has asked the Office of the SGF, FMEV and EFO to provide an answer.

This was the outcome of the adoption of a motion on the ecological projects sponsored by Hon. Sekonte Davies (PDP, Rivers).

Has any answer been provided till date?

The committee claimed that

ENVIR ONMENT ENVIRONMENT WATCH

By Ambrose Inusa Sule, mnes globenviron@yahoo.com 0703-441-4410 (sms only)

in the area of the implementation of the 2010 capital budget.

The senators blamed the executive for consistently failing to implement budgets to its statutory requirement, and that the government had failed in what seemed to be the only way the people feel the impact of governance.

Records indicate that the federal ministry of environment implemented only 47 percent of

Many buildings and other properties worth millions of naira were lost during the last floods across many states. these procurement processes have been time barred, having been moribund for those numbers of years, because ecological problems are time related and progress with years and weather.

The committee equally directed the SGF and the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Ecological Fund Office to suspend action and, “the projects, if allowed to commence now, would be deficient in current status of the extent of the ecological problem and will, therefore, add to the number of abandoned projects in the country.” In their wisdom, the projects in six states should be readvertised in compliance with the Procurement Act of 2007.

The projects in question were those located in Akwa-Ibom (N1.31 billion); Zamfara (N412 million); Lagos (N258.46 million); Gombe (N383.75 million); Borno (N289.76 million); Delta (N308.49 million). Its over two months since the House Committee on Environment was mandated to ensure compliance and evaluate the state of these projects in line with the current realities and report back to the House in four weeks.

It is sad that 17 Ecological Fund Office projects for which procurement processes started in 2006/2007 were still undergoing various processes of procurement

as late as year 2012 contrary to provisions of the Procurement Act of 2007. The House should not fail to unravel and make public the abracadabra behind these projects.

The issue of poor implementation of budgetary

allocation by the executive did not start today. In 2010, Senate Committee on Environment once threatened to cut the budgetary allocation of the Federal Ministry of Environment due to the ministry’s abysmal performance

Minister of Environment, Hajiya Hadiza Jibril Mailafiya

the capital section of their 2010 budget, while they recorded 100 percent expenditure of the recurrent budget. It was discovered that the ministry’s total allocation in the 2010 budget was N29.522bn, but till August of that year only N10.115bn was released to the ministry by the Ministry of Finance. In 2011, it recorded less 45 percent.

There’s no doubt that the poor performance of the budget have been caused by both administrative hitches in the ministry and late releases of funds by the ministry of finance.

One could imagine that the ministry got their first tranche of the 2010 budget in August (four months to the end of budget year), and could not conclude the administrative process of awarding the contracts and deploying the funds until a month later. This has always been the attitude by the ministry of finance.

The senate committee said that since the ministry could not afford to implement the budgets, they will consider cutting down on the amount of capital projects allocated to the ministries.

I hope that the ministry of environment will perform better in 2013 considering its unsatisfactory budget implementation of its 2012 capital projects.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

PAGE 27

LG boss decries bush burning, tree felling

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hairman, Makarfi Local Government, Kaduna State, Alhaji Abdu BalaGangara, has called on the public to desist from indiscriminate bush burning and felling of trees to safeguard the environment from desertification.

He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Zaria on Monday that the acts were major factors responsible for rapid desert encroachment in the area.

Bala-Gangara expressed the need for people, especially farmers, to desist from the act saying 95 per cent of people in the area were farmers and assured them of the council’s readiness to provide adequate agricultural facilities to them.

The chairman said the council would also give priority to the provision of health care facilities, education development, women and youth empowerment.

According to him, poverty and youth restiveness can best be tackled through job creation. He observed that education was the backbone of societal growth and development, adding that the council would make efforts to provide sound and qualitative education to the people.

“This will certainly be achieved through motivating the teachers by organising seminars, workshops and educative programmes for them with a view to updating their knowledge,” he said.

Jigawa Govt. clears typher grass on Hadejia River to check flooding

T

he Jigawa State Government has said that it has started clearing typher grass along Hadejia River basin to check perennial flooding in the state.

Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Relief Management Agency (SEMA), Alhaji Aliyu Waziri, said this in Dutse during the presentation of relief materials donated to the state by the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA).

Waziri said that the clearing exercise was designed to ease the flow of water to check flooding and enhance agricultural activities. The Secretary, who attributed the perennial flooding to the blockage of water ways caused by typher grass, said that several kilometres of the river had been cleared of the grass.

“Typher grass clearing exercise will check flooding and enhance effective utilisation of water resources by fishermen and farming communitie,” he said.

He said that the state government was also sensitising communities on the need to desist from erecting structures and dumping of waste on water ways.

According to him, the state government has allocated plots of land to victims of the flood to enable them to resettle on higher grounds.

Earlier, Alhaji Isa Suwaid, the NPA’s Public Affairs Manager, said that the agency had donated 600 bags of rice; 7,000 insecticide treated nets; 1,300 blankets and 1,400 matresses to flood-affected families in the state. (NAN)

Kainji Dam

River Benue: Ministry plans to construct dam to mitigate flooding

By Mohammed Kandi

T

he Federal Ministry of Water Resources plans to construct a new dam on the Benue River to mitigate the effects of flood in the country.

This is contained in a communiqué issued to journalists recently in Abuja as an outcome of the Strategic Meeting for Performance and Agenda Setting for the Water Sector held on January, 4th and 5th. Part of the objectives of the meeting was to review the performance and achievements of the Ministry in

the year 2012 and to set targets for the year 2013, the communiqué stated.

It also on how to achieve the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) agreed with President Goodluck Jonathan in the performance contract signed with the Minister of Agriculture in August 2012.

“The meeting reviewed all the reports presented by all the Parastatals and Departments and acknowledged their satisfactory performances within the limits of available fund with overall 99.95 per cent fund utilisation of

the amounts released,” it stressed.

According to the communiqué, a Nigerian technical delegation from the ministry was sent to Cameroon for bilateral cooperation and management of trans-boundary water issues including flooding.

It said that there was an agreement by the Nigerian and Cameroonians to jointly manage the water releases from the Lagdo Dam and the Lake Nyos in Cameroon, adding that, “the possibility of construction of new Dams in Nigeria on the Benue

River as a means of mitigating floods from Benue river system was discussed during the meeting.”

The statement also said that the statutory role of the ministry in regards to flood control, channelisation, drainage, hydrological network, monitoring and de-silting of dams (a process of cleaning dams) was also reviewed at the meeting.

It noted that all the parastatals and departments of the ministry had satisfactorily utilised the funds made available to them for their project implementation.

Lagos gets medical wastes disposal managers

L

agos State now has special medical waste managers to be in charge of proper disposal of medical waste to guard against injuries from such waste material, an official said.

Chairman, Association of Wastes Managers of Nigeria (AWAM), Mr. Olabode Coker, disclosed this at a forum of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.

The association is an umbrella body of more than 360 private operators responsible for waste disposal in the state and was established to drive the state government’s Private Sector Participation (PSP) programme.

According to Coker, the special private operators have been enrolled by the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) for the management of the medical wastes.

“We also have a department called the Medical Wastes, whose

functions are to carry out wastes from the hospitals, both private and public hospitals and Medical Centres.

“It was realised that syringes used in the hospital are dangerous and easily, people can get infested with either hepatitis or HIV and all these things. So we now realised that such product has to be handled in a better way; so we now have new companies who are specifically dealing with medical wastes.

“Their wastes are not sent to the dump sites. There is something called auto-clave machine at Oshodi, where the medical wastes are treated. So that from now, you can hardly find, see syringe dropped for the dump site, they are well fitted with the auto-clave machines by LAWMA,’’ he explained.

He said the medical wastes were not disposed at the normal garbage dumps because of the

health hazards associated with the syringes, surgical blades and other wastes.

Coker said that there were more than 30 PSP operators responsible for the evacuation of the medical wastes under the special unit.

According to him, the PSP operators otherwise called waste managers, formed part of the 360 companies licensed by LAWMA to manage wastes in the state.

“I’m sure we don’t have more than 30 PSP operators, they don’t use compactors, they have these small small vehicles because in all hospitals in Lagos now, they give them cartons where they put their syringes.

“Then apart from the syringes and blood-related wastes, the other wastes in the hospital are carted by PSP operators. But the particular syringes and some other medical wastes that may bring some infections to some other people, those are the things

that medical wastes we are concerned with.

“So, they are not using compactors at all, but it saves the government and the people a lot of danger,” he said.

The chairman gave an indication that fees charged for waste disposal might be reviewed in 2013 owing to rising operating costs. Coker said that the PSP operators had been involved in waste management in the last six years and that the tariff had not been reviewed.

“I am not in position to tell you exactly what it will be now until we actually finalise everything with LAWMA, which is the regulatory body for the PSP operators. We started charging N100 per room, N200 per shop and N500 per flat about six years ago, when diesel was selling for N37 per litre but now diesel sells at N160 per litre,” he stated.

(NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

PAGE 30

Tai Solarin varsity gets new VC From Bolaji Olasunkanmi, Lagos

P

rof. Oluyemisi Oluremi Obilade, A professor in the Department of Continuing Education, Faculty of Education of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, has been appointed as the vice chancellor of Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ijagun, Ogun state, with immediate effect.

This followed the sacking of his predecessor, Prof. Segun Awonusi.

However, no reason was given for the sack, as at press time yesterday.

Obilade holds a doctorate degree in Education from the OAU Ile-Ife; an executive business education certificate of the Harvard Business School, Harvard University in the United States. She has over 30 years, teaching experience as is married with four children.

Senate to summon IGP for failing to arrest Maina

By Richard Ihediwa and Ikechukwu Okaforadi

C

hairman of the Senate Joint Committee on Establishment and Public Service and State and Local Government Administration, Aloysius Etok, yesterday disclosed that the Senate will summon the Inspector General of Police, Abubakar Mohammed, to explain why he failed to arrest and provide chairman of the Presidential Pension Task Force Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, as directed by the Senate President, David Mark.

It would be recalled that the

Inspector General of Police was directed late December last year by the Senate to arrest Maina who had variously refused to honour invitations to give explanations to some issues regarding the management of the pension fund, but failed to appear.

On this basis, Etok wondered why the Senate President, signed a warrant of arrest and the Inspector General of Police ignored the order, saying that the Senate is left with no other option than to invite the IGP to come and explain why he could not arrest Maina.

According to Etok: “We want to know if Maina is above the law of the land! The IGP must tell us

his own fear and whether it is beyond his power to arrest Maina.

We are seeking to know all these from the IGP”.

He further recalled that in the committee’s report which was submitted to and adopted by the Senate in June last year, it was made clear that the continued existence of Maina’s task force is illegal and should be discontinued immediately.

Etok argued that nowhere has a task force existed beyond six months, adding that this argument was also supported by the former Head of Service who appointed Maina.

“Chief Steve Orosanye; former

FRCN Precious FM Lafia off air for want of transmitter

Kano state donates N15m each to slain legislators’ families

From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

T

he Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN)-owned Precious FM in Lafia, Nasarawa state, has been off air for close to a month now as a result of the failure of a transmitter.

Sources at the station disclosed to our correspondent that some power and RF modules in the transmitter, which have been running since the station came on air but have not been serviced, failed, leading to the shutting down of transmission for close to a month.

The temporary shutting down of transmission at the station, which has provided alternative information to listeners across the state, however did not go down well with residents of the city of Lafia, as according to them, “we have been denied access to information and have been left in the dark”.

Malama Hauwa Musa Usman, a resident of Millionaires Quarters, lamented the unavailability of the Precious FM, saying that she missed her favourite programmes on the station.

She urged the authorities to come to the rescue of listeners by making sure the station comes back on air.

When our correspondent visited the station in Akurba area, workers were seen milling around.

Meanwhile, our reporter gathered that about 50 newly employed staff were recently posted to the station, which according to sources, have more than enough staff to man it.

Head of Service, Prof. Oladapo Afolabi also said this. Likewise, the incumbent Head of Service, Bello Sali as well as the Minister of Finance said it”, Etok pointed out.

While noting that Maina is a bad example in the public service and should be relieved of his appointment and prosecuted, Etok regretted that Maina had always claimed that he has been spending N500 million monthly to pay police pensions, but the committee recently discovered that he was spending between N600 million and N1 billion monthly to pay actually.

“The difference between N500 million and the actual amount is the margin of fraud and we have said that he must return the money to government’s treasury.

We calculated the money and it was over N9 billion.

“We’ve also stated in our report that we found Maina to have ridiculed the system by awarding contracts through splitting to the tune of N1.8 billion without any authorised approval”, he said.

From Edwin Olofu, Kano The barge that caused explosion at the MRS Oil and gas company tank farm, yesterday at TinCan Island in Lagos. Photo: NAN

Suleja bombings: Suspects enter ‘no case’ submission

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

T

he ongoing trial of six suspected Boko Haram members accused of carrying out multiple bombings in Suleja, Niger state and parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in 2010, yesterday assumed a different dimension as the suspects filed a no-case submission before a Federal High Court in Abuja.

The defense counsel made their submissions after the prosecution closed its case by tendering a black Honda Civic car allegedly used by the suspects to transport improvised explosives devices (IEDs) as an exhibit.

When the case came up yesterday, prosecuting counsel, Thompson Olatigbe called the last witness for the prosecution, Mr.

Olaoye Obafemi Kehinde, an exhibit keeper for the State Security Services (SSS), who tendered the said car with registration number: Borno AG94MNG, as exhibit.

The trial judge, Justice Bilikisu Aliyu, and all the counsel as well as the suspects, moved to the car park of the Federal High Court to inspect the vehicle, which was consequently admitted as evidence after the defence counsel, Mr. Nureni Sulyman, and the accused persons, raised no objections.

The vehicle was the one in which some of the suspects were travelling in when they were arrested at Gummel Junction at Kachia, Kaduna, on July 27, 2011.

In his submission, the defence counsel, Mr. Nureni Sulyman told the court that: “We are

applying for no case submission”.

Justice Bilikisu Aliyu ordered that the application for a no case submission must be in writing, and gave the defence two weeks to file and serve the prosecution with the submission.

The prosecution was also given two weeks from the date of service to reply to the application and the matter was adjourned to February 6 and 7, 2013, to hear the application.

The suspects, Shuaibu Abubakar, Salisu Ahmed, Umar Babagana, Mohammed Ali, Musa Adamu and Umar Ibrahim were docked on a five-count charge bordering on terrorism.

They were docked on September 30, 2011 for allegedly masterminding series of bomb blasts in Suleja, Madalla, both in Niger state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

K

ano state government has donated N15 million each to the families of late Danladi Isah Kademi and Ibrahim Abba Garko, erstwhile members representing Gaya and Garko in the state House of Assembly who were killed by gunmen in separate attacks in Kano city recently.

Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso while presenting cheques to the families at Government House Kano, added that government has also offered free scholarships to the children of the deceased and a three-bedroom flat for each in the metropolis.

He said his administration found it necessary to assist the bereaved families to cushion their grief.

Governor Kwankwaso who described the deceased legislators as great Nigerians who died serving their fatherland, assured that government will continue to support their families.

In their separate remarks, Malam Ibrahim Abba Garko, son of the late Ibrahim Abba Garko and Babannan Isa Kademi, thanked the state government for the kind gesture, emphasising that the assistance will help them to address some of their family commitments.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

PAGE 31

Uganda: Not all that comes from the East is wise INTERVIEW

By Moses Ngorok

C

hina has pursued a bold policy of reaching out to countries in Africa in ways that advance Beijing's agenda.

When America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold.

A phrase repeatedly and calculatedly used in American diplomatic circles to emphasize America's superior economy and bully weaker economies to submission. Recent trends signify a change in circumstance where weaker economies especially African economies instead of catching a cold can afford to rudely rebuke America for its sick ways. The change in attitude is unimaginatively linked to the 'new brother' or sister whichever way you see it, that these countries have in China.

Looking East has never been this promising, like natures arrangement, a lot of warmth emanates from the East with an increment of Chinese investment in the mostly despondent states of Africa. This is not to say that the relationship between China and Africa is something new.

Historical ties between the two can be traced as far back as the 10th century BC. What is apparent is the renewed vigor with which China has invested in the African Continent, putting question marks to its motives.

The most common explanation for China's increasing interest in Africa is that China is desperate to secure a steady supply of the raw materials it needs to sustain its remarkable economic growth. China's leap into the circle of the G8 has come with great sacrifice to its natural resources which have been exhaustively used. For example, the change in circumstance, where China, once Asia's leading oil exporter is now turned largest importer of the same. No doubt China's hunt for natural resources, oil chief among them, is one of the primary factors driving its political and economic strategy, particularly in the developing world.

Although China's main interest in Africa is to desperately secure a steady supply of raw material, there remain other secondary considerations which are likely to breed the envy of any state; that is simply that China has more money than it can spend.

The Chinese government

President Yoweri Museveni needs a place to invest its surplus. The Chinese economy has since 1975 grown at a steady of 8.4% p. a (per Patrick J. Keenan). This rapid growth has seen China transform from a Martial Arts state to a reservoir of wealth. The Chinese Government has quite rightly used this surplus to promote its strategic objectives thus the renewed interest in Africa.

No doubt there is still, even after the initial one, a scramble for Africa's resources. Serious competition to woe African leaders' signatures on contracts remains the order of the day.

Above this stiff competition China has triumphed. China has pursued a bold and sophisticated policy of reaching out to countries in Africa in ways that advance Beijing's interests and are attractive to many African governments.

When the Chinese compete for investment opportunities in Africa, they often have an advantage that other countries do not have. The

President Hu Jintao Chinese take a neutral economic, political stance unlike the United States and other wealthy governments that make a bullish approach to these opportunities. China provides subsidised loans to governments in the developing world that are more often than not unconditional. These loans are also at below-market rates.

The benefit for China is that its support for Africa leaders' pet infrastructure projects helps it gain access to resources--mainly oil--that the Chinese economy needs.

China's unparalleled nonchalance towards dictating terms and conditions on these grants makes it a favorable partner to many Africa states. Africa's reliance on the west is slowly diminishing paving way for a rebuffed Sino-Africa partnership.

This symbiosis has to date remained unfettered with Africa largely gaining from it.

Countries like Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe , DRC have positively benefited from

“

Chinese aid.

However, projections into the future do not paint a rosy picture.

Chinese loans have inevitably become the ideal source of funding for most African states because of the expediency of acquiring them.

As an African bureaucrat said, "it takes only one meeting with the Chinese and a contract is signed", whereas it takes a much longer time to procure a "western" loan. The expediency in procuring Chinese loans is attributed to China's noninterference policy. China grants monies to African countries without dedicating the terms of use and any form of accountability.

This presents issues in accountability and invariably promotes corruption. Chinese policy of aid makes an assumption that all leaders will use the money to promote development in their countries which is not usually the case.

This presents a conundrum since in many poor countries, the path to wealth almost invariably leads through political office.

This is

Chinese loans have inevitably become the ideal source of funding for most African states because of the expediency of acquiring them.

particularly true in resourcerich states in which the government controls access to the revenue generated by resource extraction. When this is the case, those in power have an incentive to maintain tight control over access to resources, and incumbency can emerge as a substantial advantage. Broadly speaking, evidence supports this intuition. For example, other things equal, states that derive a substantial portion of their revenue from oil wealth tend to have regimes that are longer-lived and less democratic than would otherwise be expected.

There is doubt as to the genuineness of China's aid to Africa. In Africa we live in a culture of aid where the rich have a moral duty to give alms to the poor. This culture represents Africa's Achilles.

Countries of t e n r e c e i v e a i d without second thought, the repercussions to be felt much later.

Several countries discover that they were exploited years after they appended their signatures to contracts. China like its 'Western' counterparts has securing its interests as its primary objective, everything else is secondary.

Under this guise more often than not, African countries are to curse their actions.

Being poorly institutionalised makes it much difficult to sieve genuine aid from chaff.

Source: allAfrica.com

PAGE 32

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

South African wine region hit by violence NATO forces needed in Mali, says AU's

T

he Malian conflict was an "international question" and Nato should intervene just as it had done in Afghanistan, Mr Yayi said.

However, the campaign against the militants should be led by an African force, he said.

The UN last month approved plans to send some 3,000 African troops to Mali.

UN officials said they did not expect the force to be deployed before September.

Mr Yayi, who is Benin's president, called for Nato intervention after talks with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa.

"Nato should play a part and the African force would lead the way as was done by Nato in Afghanistan," he said.

"This is an international situation."

Nato took command of the international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan in 2003.

Several Nato members, including the US and France, say they will help to train an African force for the Mali operation, but have not offered to send ground troops or launch air strikes.

Mr Harper said Canada - a Nato member - was not considering direct military involvement in Mali.

"Obviously we are very concerned about the situation, and the development of essentially an entire terrorist region is of grave concern to everybody in the international community," he said.

The Islamists and Tuareg rebels seized power in northern Mali - an area the size of France - in the chaos following a coup in the capital, Bamako last year.

Their ranks had been bolstered by fighters from Libya, who crossed into Mali after the overthrow of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's government in 2011.

A Nato bombing campaign helped Libya's militias to oust Col Gaddafi's government.

The African Union's chairman Thomas Boni Yayi has called for Nato to send forces to Mali to help fight militant Islamists who have captured the north.

S

outh Africa's police have fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse striking farm workers in the wine-producing Western Cape region.

The workers barricaded roads and threw stones at police in De Doorns town, a top grape-producing area outside Cape Town, local media reported.

The strikers, who pick and pack fruit, are demanding their daily wage be more than

doubled to about $17 (ÂŁ11).

South Africa has been hit by a series of wildcat strikes since last year.

Talks between trade union and employer representatives to avert a strike on the farms broke down earlier this week.

"We have been met with naked racism and white arrogance," said Nosey Pieterse, the general secretary of the Agricultural Workers Union.

South Africa's labour

relations are fraught with racial tension, more than 18 years after white minority rule ended.

Most farm owners are white while their workers are black.

The region, home to South Africa's multi-billion dollar wine industry and a popular tourist destination, is extremely beautiful, but inequality is jarring, correspondents say.

Police spokesman Lt-Col Andre Traut said about 50

Police build blocks to stop protesters in De Doorns town.

protesters had been arrested in protests across the Western Cape, the South African Press Association (Sapa) reports.

The anti-riot force had been deployed to contain the unrest, he added.

"We are taking action, and arrests are being effected," Lt-Col Traut is quoted as saying.

The workers, many of them seasonally employed to pick and pack fruit, say they cannot survive on a daily wage of about $8, Reuters news agency reports.

"We are struggling. School is starting and we don't have money for school clothes," said Lena Lottering, 35, a mother of three.

Another worker, Aubrey Louw, 47, told Reuters he had worked on the farms since the 1970s when he received 45 rand ($5) a day.

"Now we get 65 rand. What is that? We want 150 rand," he said.

"Farmers would rather employ security guards and buy new cars than pay us."

The farms were hit by a similar strike last year, when two workers were killed in clashes with police.

Police killed 34 striking workers at the Marikana platinum in South Africa's North West province in August, in the most deadly security force action since white rule ended in 1994.

UK University suspends Uganda ties in gay law dispute

A

UK university is suspending accreditation for courses at a Ugandan university, in response to proposed legislation against homosexuality.

The University of Buckingham says it has been "increasingly concerned" about the proposed anti-gay bill and its "constraints on freedom of

speech".

As such the university says it will no longer validate courses at Victoria University in Kampala.

Buckingham says it will make "viable arrangements" for existing students.

The private UK university says the decision has been agreed with Edulink, the

owners of Victoria University.

It will affect seven courses accredited by the University of Buckingham, with around 200 students.

The courses include business management, accounting, journalism and computing.

Homosexual acts are already illegal in Uganda - but

the proposed bill would increase the penalties.

The bill proposes longer jail terms for homosexual acts, including a life sentence in certain circumstances.

World leaders have condemned the proposals and foreign donors have threatened to cut aid if gay rights are not respected.

UN seeks to deploy drones over DR Congo

T

he UN peacekeeping department has asked the Security Council to back the use of surveillance drones for the first time in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The UN wants to use the drones to monitor the vast eastern DRC border, where Rwanda has been accused of helping rebels fighting the government. Rwanda denies the charge.

The introduction of drones would be a major shift in UN peacekeeping operations, but Rwanda opposes their use in the DRC and other countries are also suspicious.

Herve Ladsous, the UN peacekeeping chief, said he had asked the Security Council for the means to strengthen its DRC

operation.

"So more helicopters, perhaps some with night vision, river capacities and then this question of aerial surveillance equipment - drones," he told the AFP news

agency. "I explained to the Security Council how necessary we think this is."

Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, is expected to reinforce the case for drones in a

Herve Ladsous, UN peacekeeping chief

report he is preparing on strengthening the UN mission in DRC. The calls for action came after M23 rebels swept aside government forces and UN peacekeepers as they took the key provincial capital of Goma in November.

DRC is already the UN's biggest peacekeeping mission, with more than 17,000 troops.

But the forces are spread thin in the huge country and the UN is under orders to cut costs.

Western countries have backed the UN plan. "The UN needs additional modern resources - in particular drones - to be better informed, more reactive," France's UN mission said in a Twitter statement.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

Asia and Middle East

I

ndia says one of two soldiers killed in an alleged cross-border attack by Pakistan troops in the disputed territory of Kashmir was beheaded.

Pakistan has rejected accusations that it killed any Indian soldiers or fired across the Line of Control (LoC) which divides Kashmir.

India called the attack "barbaric" and summoned Pakistan's top envoy in Delhi over the incident.

Claimed by both countries, Kashmir has been a flashpoint for over 60 years.

A statement from the Indian foreign ministry said the soldiers' bodies had been subjected to "barbaric and inhuman mutilation" which was "in contravention of all norms of international conduct".

India's chief military spokesman told the BBC one of the soldiers had been beheaded by the Pakistani army.

Troops searched the area afterwards but could not find the head, the spokesman said. India believes the Pakistanis took the head with them when they retreated.

The spokesman confirmed the body of the other soldier had been mutilated but would not give any further details.

The Pakistani foreign ministry says India's allegations are "baseless"

PAGE 33

India says Pakistan 'beheaded' its soldier in Kashmir and it is willing to have a UN investigation.

A Pakistani military official said Pakistan had verified the facts on the ground and found "nothing of the sort" had happened.

He denounced the Indian claim as "propaganda" to divert

attention away from a clash on the LoC two days earlier.

Pakistan said one of its soldiers was killed on 6 January after an Indian incursion. India denies its soldiers crossed the line.

India says a patrol was attacked

by Pakistani soldiers near the Line

Morsi to mediate talks between Fatah, Hamas leaders

E

This coffin in the Kashmir town of Rajouri was reported to contain the body of an Indian soldier killed by Pakistani troops.

Syrian rebels 'free' Iranian hostages in swap

S

yrian rebel groups have freed 48 Iranians captured last year in exchange for prisoners held by Syrian security services, according to Iran's state-run Press TV. The report did not specify the number of prisoners freed by the government, but said the group included Turks.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Turkish humanitarian aid agency IHH said that the Syrian government would free 2,130 prisoners in exchange for the Iranians.

Bulent Yildirim, the head of IHH, was in Damascus to help negotiate the deal.

"This is the result of months of civil diplomacy carried out by our organisation," a spokesman for IHH, Serkan Nergis, told the AFP news agency.

A spokesman for the Free Syrian Army, Ahmed al-Khatib, confirmed the deal, and said it was worked out through negotiation by Turkey and Qatar.

The Iranians were captured in Damascus in August by rebel groups, who said the prisoners were members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Rebels released a video showing Iranian military identification cards, allegedly taken from the captives.

Tehran denied this, saying they were pilgrims visiting a Shia shrine in Syria.

The hostages had been a major bargaining chip for the opposition; Iran is one of Syrian president Bashar alAssad's closest allies.

This is the first major prisoner swap since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011.

of Control (LoC) on Tuesday. It says two soldiers were killed in the firefight near Mendhar, 220km (140 miles) north of the Indian city of Jammu.

The battle lasted about half an hour before "the intruders retreated back towards their side"

of the LoC, an Indian statement said.

Defence Minister AK Antony told reporters that the "Pakistan army's action is highly objectionable and also the way they treated the body of the Indian soldier is inhuman".

Pakistan's high commissioner in Delhi was summoned to a meeting with the Indian foreign secretary.

gyptian President Mohammed Morsi is set to mediate talks in Cairo between the leaders of Fatah and Hamas to help implement a unity pact signed in 2011.

Egypt helped broker the deal between Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who heads the Fatah party, and Hamas's Khaled Meshaal.

The Islamist movement ousted Fatah from Gaza in 2007 after winning Palestinian elections the previous year.

Observers say tensions appear to have eased in recent months.

On Wednesday Mr Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority (PA), and Mr Meshaal will first "meet Egypt's intelligence chief before holding a three-way meeting with President Morsi," Egyptian spokesman Yasser Ali told the AFP news agency.

The reconciliation accord signed two years ago was meant to pave the way for a joint interim government and joint elections in 2012 but negotiations stalled.

Bahrain activist Sayed in first court hearing

A

Mahmoud Abbas (R), and Khaled Meshaal (R).

Sayed Yousif al-Muhafdha (Middle)

leading Bahraini human rights activist has made his first court appearance since being detained three weeks ago.

Sayed Yousif al-Muhafdha, vicepresident of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), was arrested at an illegal gathering in December.

His case has been adjourned until 17 January and he remains in custody.

Nabeel Rajab, the president of BCHR, is serving a two-year jail term for his role in demonstrations last year.

Mr Muhafdha has been charged with using the social media to disseminate false news. If convicted he faces up to two years in jail.

Mr Muhafdha had already been held for 12 days in November after being arrested while monitoring an anti-government protest but was released without charge.

International human rights organisation have expressed dismay at what they call an orchestrated campaign by the government to curb protests online and in the streets.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

PAGE 34

Europe and Americas New strain of norovirus spreads around the world

A

new strain of the winter vomiting disease norovirus has spread to France, New Zealand and Japan from Australia and is overtaking all others to become the dominant strain in Britain, health officials said on Wednesday.

The norovirus variant, known as Sydney 2012, was identified in a scientific paper last week and Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) said genetic testing showed it was now causing more cases in England and Wales than other strains.

Sydney 2012 does not carry worse symptoms than others but, like other norovirus strains, it can cause violent and projectile vomiting, diarrhea and sometimes fevers, headaches and stomach cramps.

Norovirus cases have risen earlier than expected this winter in Britain, across Europe, Japan and other parts of the world.

Although norovirus mostly causes just a few days of sickness, it is responsible for millions of infections every year and is notorious for its ability to evade control.

In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say norovirus causes 21 million illnesses a year, with 70,000 cases requiring hospitalization and around 800 ending in death.

Ian Goodfellow, a scientist who has studied norovirus for 10 years, describes it as "the Ferrari of the virus world" and "one of the most infectious viruses of man".

Latest HPA data showed a dip in reported norovirus cases over the Christmas period - something scientists had predicted - but with 4,140 cases so far in England and Wales, infections are still 63 percent higher than at this time last year.

For every laboratoryconfirmed case, scientists estimate there are 288 unreported cases, since the vast majority of people affected don't go to a doctor. This means the number affected so far in Britain is more than 1.2 million.

"The emergence of a new strain does not mean that it causes more serious illness, and managing outbreaks and those with the illness remains the same," said David Brown, director of the virology reference department at the HPA. "Noroviruses mutate rapidly and new strains are constantly emerging. At the start of the season it is normal for outbreaks to be caused by a range of different strains. However, as the season progresses, particular strains are more successful and become dominant."

There is no specific treatment for norovirus infection other than to let the illness take its course and try to stay hydrated by drinking regularly. Symptoms usually last around two days.

Venezuela assembly delays Chavez inauguration

T

he Venezuelan National Assembly has approved a request by President Hugo Chavez to postpone his inauguration for a new term in office, which was scheduled for Thursday.

Mr Chavez is in hospital in Cuba after cancer surgery, and has suffered complications caused by a lung infection.

Legislators voted to give Mr Chavez as much time as he needs to recover.

He has not been seen in public since his last operation a month ago.

The government insists that the inauguration is a mere formality for an incumbent leader and can take place at a so far unspecified later date.

The opposition argues that Mr Chavez's current mandate expires on 10 January and is calling on the Supreme Court to rule on the issue.

The court has scheduled a news conference at 14:00 GMT on Wednesday.

"Right now in Venezuela, without any doubt whatsoever, a constitutional conflict has arisen," opposition leader Henrique Capriles said.

The opposition is trying to tread a fine line between expressing its views and avoiding anything that could be construed as an attack on a suffering Mr Chavez, says BBC

Hugo Chavez supporters hold a prayer session for the sick leader.

Mundo's Abraham Zamorano in Caracas.

According to the opposition, Mr Chavez should be declared temporarily incapacitated with the current Speaker of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, not Vice-President Nicolas Maduro, taking over as caretaker leader.

They argue that Mr Maduro,

who was appointed by Mr Chavez not elected, will cease to be vicepresident on 10 January.

President Chavez, who has been in power since 1999, was re-elected in October for a fourth term.

After weeks of speculation, Mr Cabello announced to legislators that Mr Chavez had requested to be sworn in at a later date before the

Supreme Court, according to Article 231 of the Constitution.

"On the recommendation of his medical team, the process of postoperation recuperation will have to be prolonged beyond 10 January, [as a result of which] he will be unable to present himself on this date to the National Assembly." he said, reading a letter from Mr Maduro.

Ex-governor in North Korea with Google chief, seeks American's release

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Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (L) with Google Chairman Eric Schmidt(R).

ormer New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt began a controversial private mission to North Korea on Monday that will include an effort to secure the release of an imprisoned American.

The trip comes after North Korea carried out a long-range rocket test last month and as, according to satellite imagery, the reclusive state continues work on its nuclear testing facilities, potentially paving the way for a third nuclear bomb test.

Footage from North Korean state television showed Richardson and Schmidt at the Pyongyang airport on Monday evening.

"We are going to ask about the

American who's been detained. A humanitarian private visit."

Richardson said.

Richardson's efforts to seek the release of Kenneth Bae, a KoreanAmerican tour guide who was detained last year will mark the latest in a series of high-profile visits over the years to free Americans detained by Pyongyang.

The delegation comprised Schmidt, his daughter, Richardson and Google executive Jared Cohen, according to South Korean news media and it arrived in Pyongyang on a flight from the Chinese capital, Beijing.

The mission has been criticized by the United States due to the sensitivity of the timing. The

United States does not have diplomatic relations with North Korea and the isolated and impoverished state remains technically at war with U.S. ally South Korea.

"We continue to think the trip is ill-advised," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in Washington. Last week she said the main U.S. objection was that the trip came so soon after North Korea's much-criticized December 12 rocket launch.

South Korea is in the midst of a transition to a new president who will take office in February, while Japan, another major U.S. ally in the region, has a new prime minister.

New trial for Polish soldiers over Afghanistan killings

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he eight civilians, including women and children, died in the village of Nangar Khel when Polish troops opened fire on a wedding party in August 2007.

Military prosecutors appealed to the Polish Supreme Court after seven soldiers were cleared of war crimes in June 2011, citing lack of evidence.

The court upheld the acquittal of three - ordering the re-trial of the others.

The judge said the men had given conflicting accounts of why the village was attacked: At times they said they were responding to Taliban fire, at others they said they were following orders or that their ammunition was faulty.

Those facing a retrial have been named as Andrzej Oscieki, Lukasz

Bywalec, Damian Ligocki and Tomasz Borysiewicz.

Three young children were among those killed when Polish soldiers, members of the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), attacked the village in Paktika province, with up to 24 mortar rounds and automatic weapons.

It was the first time Polish soldiers had been accused of violating the Hague and Geneva Conventions protecting civilians.

The men accused were from Poland's 18th Airborne-Assault Battalion and prosecutors initially called for sentences of between five and 12 years.

In defence, they said they had come under fire and had been aiming to hit Taliban militants,

insisting that the civilian deaths had come from faulty mortar equipment.

Prosecutors said the deaths took place several hours after a different

patrol had come under attack.

Poland has about 2,500 troops serving as part of the 130,000strong Nato-led force in Afghanistan.

The Four Polish soldiers acquitted of killing eight civilians in southeast Afghanistan are to go on trial again.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

PAGE 35

Good Samaritan horrified as car destroyed after helping crash survivors A Good Samaritan was forced to watch firefighters destroy her car to free two crash survivors she had allowed to shelter inside.

The emergency services cut the top off of Janice Dunlop's Vauxhall Vectra to release the motorists who had been involved

with a collision with HGV. Paramedics had asked Mrs Dunlop if they could sit in her car to wait for an ambulance.

But when the emergency vehicle arrived to take them to hospital the pair could no longer move.

Paramedics tried to remove

the man and the woman for two hours, but when they failed firefighters were called in to remove the top of the car.

After cutting through the frame of the car four fighters lifted the roof clean off and put it onto the hard shoulder.

The two people who had been

sitting in Mrs Dunlop's vehicle were put onto stretchers and taken to a waiting ambulance.

The crash happened on Sunday on the A27 out of Arundel, in West Sussex, when a Viridor lorry lost control and hit two cars, one of which was left mangled.

Janice Dunlop, inset, and her Vauxhall Vectra.

Datta Phuge spends $25,000 on solid gold shirt to pick chicks

Datta Phuge

D

atta Phuge may be a nice guy, but the millionaire from Pune, India, probably wouldn't give you the shirt off his back.

There's a good reason: That shirt cost him $25,000 and is made of solid gold.

Phuge, a 32-year-old moneylender, recently hired a team of 15 goldsmiths to make the shiny shirt and they needed to work two weeks worth of 16-hour day shifts to get the gold threads just right.

The end result is a 22-karat gold shirt weighing more than 7 pounds and consisting of 14,000 gold flowerings, interwoven with onelakh spangles, Oddity Central

reported. The shirt was assembled on a fabric base of imported white velvet, and comes with six Swarovski crystal buttons and a gold belt.

To make it extra fancy -- as if that's possible -- the gold guys also crafted matching cuffs and a set of rings from the leftover gold, according to the Mirror.

It might seem like conspicuous consumption times 10, but Phuge considers the shirt an investment that will keep appreciating.

"People buy cars and go on holidays abroad," he said, according to the Los Angeles Times. "For me, gold is the ultimate passion. That is the reason I have spent a whopping amount of money on the shirt."

Truth be told, there's another reason: The chicks.

"I know I am not the best looking man in the world, but surely no woman could fail to be dazzled by this shirt?"he said according to MSN.co.nz.

Amazingly, some people aren't taking a shine to the garment.

The Pune Mirror asked Indian fashionistas their opinions of Phuge's shirt and the comments included gripes like "too dramatic and impractical to wear," "it has no structure or shape," and "I see it more as a novelty item."

The lorry tipped onto its side blocking the road.

A spokesman for the West Sussex Fire and Rescue said: "A lorry and two cars were involved in an accident.

"One male and one female adult were extricated from car using hydraulic rescue equipment and taken to hospital by ambulance.

"The lorry driver got out unharmed. The crash involved two private vehicles and a HGV." Mrs Dunlop is not the first Good Samaritan to see her vehicle destroyed after giving shelter to crash survivors.

In 2011 Natalie Brain had the roof cut off of her Rover 200 because paramedics feared the victim she had allowed to sit inside had damaged her spine and thought taking her through the door was too risky.

In 2009 Sean Carter, 42, was driving through Nottinghamshire when he saw a Citroen roll three times and allowed the young driver to wait for the ambulance in the warm in his Ford Focus.

But paramedics feared he may have suffered spine injuries and insisted on sawing the roof off so that the man could be taken to the ambulance in a horizontal position.

Despite the car being a write off the injured driver's insurance never paid out the cost had to be shouldered by Mr Carter's own company.

Shooting victim stumbles into bar filled with nurses in Minneapolis, survives

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man staggered into a Minneapolis bar around 1 a.m. Sunday, and the bartender thought he was asking for a shot.

The man was actually saying he had beenshot.

Luckily for the shooting victim, a 22-year-old whose name has not been released by police, Maxwell's American Pub was filled with nurses that night, the Star Tribune reported. Three different groups of nurses just happened to be inside the establishment, with a total of six nurses in all.

Psychiatric nurse Tim Carew, 40, told the Tribune that the man, who was suffering from six gunshot wounds, was "leaking blood" and that "he needed to lay down or risk going into shock."

Carew said the nurses applied pressure using bar towels and used the victim's belt to make a tourniquet. They were able to successfully slow the bleeding until paramedics arrived to transport the man to a hospital.

Nurses who had gotten blood on them were later tested to make sure they had not contracted any diseases.

Maxwell's picked up the tab for all the nurses present.

The shooting had occurred at Bobby and Steve's Auto World, about a block away from Maxwell's, WCCO reported.

Police told the station that shots were exchanged between two cars before a security guard joined in the fray.

According to the Star Tribune, the wounded man was not one of the shooters.

The unidentified man will

The Maxwell's

reportedly survive the shooting, which EMT Kyle Murdock -- who was not involved in this incident -- says is extremely lucky, given the circumstances.

"There's a huge risk of infection when you are treating someone in a non-sterile environment," Murdock told The Huffington Post. "Obviously he would have died without intervention, but an infection from non-sterile treatment could still kill him after."

PAGE 36

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

How doctors are using Coca-Cola to treat painful stomach blockages D

octors are using Coca-Cola to treat a painful stomach condition, sparing patients from surgery.

They have discovered that the fizzy drink is highly effective at dealing with a condition known as a gastric phytobezoar.

This is a stomach blockage which, unless it is successfully removed or destroyed, can subsequently lead to a bowel obstruction.

It is often caused by certain fruits which do not digest properly - for instance, in Asia many cases are a result of eating persimmons which are particularly prone to form blockages.

A variety of treatments are available to treat it, from lasers and non-surgical endoscopies to the last resort of full surgery.

Now, new research has shown that Coca-Cola has a success rate of more than 90 per cent in treating the condition.

This is because it has chemical ingredients that do a similar job to gastric acid - in helping to digest fibre - while the bubbles help speed up the process.

Even the Diet and Coke Zero options work, because they have the same basic ingredients as the ‘full fat’ version, said the report published in the journal

Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

The researchers from the University of Athens went through published academic papers that detailed 46 patients with the ailment who were treated with Coke in hospitals worldwide over the past 10 years.

Of those given Coca-Cola, exactly half saw the drink destroy the blockage completely and a further 19 only needed

Chemical ingredient in the drink do a similar job to gastric acid - in helping to digest fibre - while the bubbles help speed up the process.

Doctors have discovered that Coca Cola is highly effective at treating stomach blockages

non-invasive treatments as a result of Coke’s help.

Only four needed full surgery, giving Coca-Cola a success rating of 91.3 per cent.

The study reported: ‘CocaCola administration is a cheap, easy-to-perform and safe procedure that can be accomplished at any endoscopy

unit.’

Coca-Cola has an acidity rating of 2.6 on the pH scale because it contains both carbonic and phosphoric acid.

The researchers added: ‘It resembles gastric acid, which is thought to be important for fibre digestion.

‘In addition the bubbles

enhance the dissolving mechanism.’

If the Coke does not completely destroy whatever is causing the blockage then it is likely to make it smaller and soften the phytobezoar making it easy to remove without the need for full surgery, the report said.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Mothers should leave their babies to cry if they wake in the night, says leading expert I

t’s an age-old debate that divides parents the world over: should you let a baby cry when it wakes the night, or rush to comfort it?

Indeed, infants waking up nocturnally is the most common concern reported to paediatricians by parents of newborns.

Now, a leading child development expert is aiming to settle the matter once and for all.

Professor Marsha Weinraub, a child development and parentchild relationship expert from Temple University in Philadelphia, says the majority of infants are best left to selfsoothe and fall back to sleep on their own.

She said: ‘The best advice is to put infants to bed at a regular time every night, allow them to fall asleep on their own and resist the urge to respond right away to awakenings.’

Her new research, published in the journal Developmental Psychology, looked at the sleeping habits of more than 1,200 babies.

Professor Weinraub said: ‘By six months of age, most babies sleep through the night, awakening their mothers only about once per week. However,

not all children follow this pattern of development.’

During the study, the patterns of night time sleep awakenings of infants aged six to 36 months were measured.

The findings revealed two groups: sleepers and transitional sleepers.

‘If you measure them while they are sleeping, all babies — like all adults — move through a sleep cycle every 1.5 to 2 hours, where they wake up and then return to sleep,’ she said.

‘Some of them do cry and call out when they awaken, and that is called “not sleeping through the night”.’

Her team asked parents of more than 1,200 infants to report on their child’s awakenings at 6, 15, 24 and 36 months.

They found that by six months of age, 66 per cent of babies - the sleepers - did not awaken, or awoke just once per week, following a flat trajectory as they grew.

But a full 33 percent woke up seven nights per week at six months, dropping to two nights by 15 months and to one night per week by 24 months.

Of the babies that awoke, the majority were boys.

The transitional sleepers tended to score higher on tests that assess a difficult temperament that identified traits such as irritability and distractibility.

And, these babies were more likely to be breastfed. Mothers of these babies were more likely to be depressed and have greater maternal sensitivity.

‘Families who are seeing sleep

problems persist past 18 months should seek advice,’ Professor Weinraub added.

Furthermore, it is important for babies to learn how to fall asleep on their own.

‘When mothers tune in to these night time awakenings and/or if a baby is in the habit of falling asleep during breastfeeding, then he or she may not be learning to how to

Waking in the night is linked to a difficult temperament, irritability and being easily distracted, researchers say.

self-soothe, something that is critical for regular sleep,’ she said.

She added that the link between mothers feeling depressed and their babies waking is another area that would benefit from further research.

Child development expert Marsha Weinraub says it is best to leave babies to self-soothe rather than rushing to comfort them.

One theory is that mothers who are depressed at six and 36 months may have been depressed during pregnancyand this prenatal depression could have affected the baby’s neural development and sleep awakenings.

But it’s also important to recognise that sleep deprivation can, of course, exacerbate maternal depression, she said.

‘Because the mothers in our study described infants with many awakenings per week as creating problems for themselves and other family members, parents might be encouraged to establish more nuanced and carefully targeted routines to help babies with selfsoothing and to seek occasional respite,’ she said.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

PAGE 37

CPP expresses support for LG autonomy

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L-R: FCT Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Alhaji Ali Gulak, Minister of FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed, and Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Professor Viola Onwuleri, during a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan, recently at the State House, in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

PDP National Youth Vanguard endorses acting state chairman

By Nasiru Mu'azu Isa

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group Known as the National Youth Vanguard of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has resolved to support and endorse the decision of Kaduna State Chapter of the party to mandate the Deputy Chairman of the party act in the absence of the substantive chairman.

According to the communiqué issued and signed by the Coordinator of the group,

Nuhu Sani and his Public Relation Officer, Mr. Rilawanu Abdullahi ,respectively the group stated that it resolved to support the leadership of Alhaji isiayaku Birnin Gwari.

The Communiqué further referred to an instance when Chief Vincent Ogulafor , the then National Chairman of PDP resigned his position of National Chairman and his Deputy, Alhaji Bello Halliru Mohammed, was made the chairman of the party at the national level.

It stated ''When Dr. Bello Halliru Mohammed, the then Acting National Chairman of the party was made the Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the National Secretary of the party, Alhaji Kawu Baraje was mandated to serve as Acting National Chairman, a position he held until the end of the tenure."

With the reference, the group appealed to the well meaning party supporters to honor and partner with

movement in their effort to ensure strict adherence to the provision of the party constitution and that of Federal republic of Nigeria.

The group also extended their heartfelt condolence to the government and good people of Kaduna State over the untimely death of late Sir Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa as well as resolved to support the current administration in Kaduna State led by Alhaji Muktar Ramalan Yero.

FG urged to implement budget without further delay

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ome experts yesterday urged the executive and the legislative arms of Federal Government to resolve their differences in the 2013 budget and get it signed it into law without delay.

They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that previous budgets had failed to yield the desired results because they were passed in the first quarter. Dr Tunde Adeoye, a Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, University of Lagos, said that further delay

in signing the budget would have adverse effects on the economy.

Adeoye told NAN that failure by the Federal Government to sign the budget early could slow down the tempo of business activities this year. He advised the executive and the legislature to resolve their differences on the budget and sign it into law immediately. “It is important that they sort things out now so that the implementation of the budget will start from January

and not later,” he said. The don attributed the poor implementation of past budgets to late signing by the president.

Dr Oluyombo Onafowokan, a Lecturer in Department of Financial Studies, Redeemers University, Mowe in Ogun, said that signing the budget late would retard the develop of infrastructure projected in the budget.

Onafowokan advised the government to sign the budget as a matter of priority to enable government

to achieve its lofty goals.

Mr Olumide Adegoke, the General Manager, Standard Alliance Insurance, said that the 2012 budget performed below expectations because it was signed in the first quarter.

He said that late signing of budgets was crippling the economy as the Federal Government was the major spender in the economy.

Adegoke said that the different interests of the two arms of government should not override the national interest. (NAN)

ational Chairman of the Citizens Popular Party (CPP), Mr Maxi Okwu, yesterday expressed support for the autonomy of local governments in the country.

He said this in a telephone interview with the news Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja “I am not in support of the caretaker committees by the governors. It amounts to breaching the constitution by dissolving the elected local government councils, “ he said. According to him, local governments should be run by democratically elected members who “truly represent the interest of the people”.

He advised state governors in the habit of imposing caretaker committees on the councils, to avoid the act, saying it breached the constitution. He said it was only the state houses of assembly that could dissolve local government councils through appropriate laws.

Okwu said that governors who were against the councils’ autonomy did so for personal interest. He alleged that some governors had a way of postponing the election of local councils, to divert their funds to personal use. Okwu called on state houses of assembly to oversee the affairs of the councils and stop the unwarranted deductions by some governors.

(NAN)

Benue Assembly suspends debate on 2013 budget

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he Benue House of Assembly has suspended debate on the state’s Appropriation Bill for 2013 , the News agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. The Majority Leader, Mr Paul Biam, moved the motion for the suspension yesterday at its plenary session.

He said that the decision was to enable the Standing Committee on Appropriation to re-examine the contents of the bill before re-presenting it to the house NAN reports that the motion was seconded by Mr Terkimbir Kyange, representing Ushongo Constituency.

Ruling on the motion, the Speaker of the House, Mr Terhile Ayua, said the committee needed to re-examine the contents so that it could enlighten the House.

The speaker also stressed the need for punctuality of members to enable the House attend to pressing issues affecting the people.

He warned that late coming at plenary sessions would no longer be condoned. (NAN)

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PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

Benue ACN chieftain wants opposition parties to merger From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

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chieftain of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN in Benue state, Hon. Mrs. Helen Ikpambese has challenged opposition leaders in the country, particularly in Benue state, to adhere to the law in ensuring that the much orchestrated merger of political parties comes to fruition.

Ikpambese gave the challenge yesterday when she hosted her constituents to a New Year party in her home town, Jato-Aka, Kwande local government area.

The occasion attracted bigwigs of the opposition party across the state including the Senate Minority Leader, Sen. George Akume. Ikpambese, who is being speculated to be

eying the House of Representatives seat in 2015, expressed confidence that if the merger succeeds, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which has impoverished the masses would be pushed out of governance of the country.

“I am pleading with our leaders, Sen. Tinubu, Dr. Akume, Buhari and all others who are involved in this

initiative to put aside their personal egos and selfish ambitions and consider the sufferings of the people of this country in ensuring that the merger is achieved”, she pleaded.

She frowned at the November 24, 2012 local government election in the state describing it as a “sham” even as he noted that the

party’s refusal to go to court did not indicate that it conceded defeat but that they decided to leave Suswam and the PDP to God. She called on the people not to lose hope but keep faith with the ACN, saying the party is now more prepared to spring surprises and take over government in Benue State come 2015.

Al-makura not planning cabinet reshuffle, says Aide

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L-R: Vice-Chairman, Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Senator Alkali Jajere, INEC National Commissioner, Alhaji Abdulkadir Oniyangi, Chairman, Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Andy Uba, Secretary of the Commission, Alhaji Abdullahi Kaigama, and INEC National Commissioner, Dame Gladys, during the Senate Committee on INEC inspection of fire disaster at INEC building, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo Justin Imo-Owo

Gov. Uduaghan gives ministry 2 weeks to issue C-of-Os

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ov. Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta yesterday gave the Ministry of Lands, Survey, and Urban Development two weeks to issue Certificates-ofOccupancy (C-of-O) to land applicants. He also said that individual applications for certificate of occupancy on private land should be ready within two months for applicants who met all the ministry’s requirements.

Uduaghan gave the charges while briefing newsmen in Asaba on the decision taken after evaluation assessment of some of the state ministries’ performance. The evaluation was tagged ``Delta State Dashboard: a peer review mechanism initiative of the governor”. The governor, who decried the N7 billion monthly state wage bill, noted that the delay in issuance of C-of-O to applicants had caused the state valuable investment opportunity.

He blamed the applicants for the delay and urged the ministry to educate them on what they should do to ensure quick release of the certificate. ``The applicants should be given a list of what to do and should be educated on how to do it.

``We expect the ministry to go on public enlightenment in order to adequately inform the applicants. ``We have set a target that for individual’s application on private land the certificate of occupancy must be done within two months if the person has completed all requirements. ``But for government land, the Certificate of Occupancy must be ready within two weeks,” Uduaghan said. He said that the ministry had achieved 60 per cent mapping of the state but given two years to achieve the remaining 40 per cent. He also said that the ministry had produced

master plan for Asaba, Warri, Sapele, Effurun, and other 21 communities across the state. He tasked the ministry on sustaining the master plan by pulling down buildings without approved plans and building on wrong places such as natural water channels.

Uduaghan also tasked the Ministry of Environment and the Waste Management Board on revenue generation and general environmental challenges, including the activities of oil explorations activities in the state.

He told the ministry to ensure that the approved recycling plants in

Asaba and Warri became operational in six and nine months, respectively. Uduaghan also directed them to relocate the Asaba dump site outside the airport area to avert any hazard that might be caused by smoke from the dump.

He ordered them to complete all drainage projects in major cities before the next rainy season, adding that issues of climate change should be taken seriously to curtail flooding.

On the wage bill, the governor said government would take critical look at all the ministries, departments and agencies since it was obvious that something was wrong. (NAN)

Fayemi dissolves Ekiti cabinet From Inumidun Ojelade

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kiti state governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has announced the dissolution of the state's executive council.

According to a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Olayinka Oyebode, Fayemi communicated the decision to members of the

council during Wednesday's meeting at the Executive Council Chamber, Governor's Office, AdoEkiti.

He directed the Commissioners and Special Advisers to hand over to the Permanent Secretaries in their respective ministries. The Governor thanked all the executive members for their support for the government in the

last two years, adding that the dissolution and the re-constitution that would follow are aimed at revitalising the administration and positioning it for greater performance.

He said: "This is a moment of change and transformation in all that we are doing. This is not a statement about an individual not pulling their weight enough."

he Senior Special Assistant on Media Affairs to Gov. Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa State, Mr Sani Mairiga, yesterday dismissed speculations of cabinet reshuffle in the state. Mairiga told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lafia that Al-Makura had no immediate plan to carry out a major cabinet reshuffle. “As far as I am concerned, I don’t know of any plan by my boss to carry out cabinet reshuffle. “He is entitle to reshuffle his cabinet anytime he so desire, subject to the approval of the state House of Assembly. “But for now, nothing like cabinet reshuffle of Al-Makura’s administration,” he said. The spokesman said that all the commissioners and other members of the cabinet were performing their duties satisfactorily in their assigned portfolios. He, however, added that “this does not mean that the governor cannot reshuffle his cabinet anytime he wishes”. Mairiga pointed out that the governor and all the commissioners were working assiduously to ensure that democracy dividends were delivered to the electorate in the state. He urged the media and the general public to disregard such ‘rumour’, saying: “it is the figment of the imagination of those who do not wish the Al-Makura administration well’’. The media aide also appealed to opposition parties to support the CPC-government in the state and avoid unfounded criticism capable of heating up the polity. “Nasarawa State belongs to all of us, we are all working for the betterment of the people. “Let us all support the present a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ’ s developmental efforts and shun baseless criticisms that would not take us anywhere.’’

(NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

PAGE 39

PDP has failed Nigerians, says Kaduna CPC Chairman

By Nasiru Mu’azu Isa

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he Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) Chairman, Kaduna state chapter, Alh. Amadu Yaro, has observed that, the ruling PDP at the national level has woefully failed to provide the basic amenities to Nigerians.

Yaro made this known in a meeting with the beneficiaries of Hon Ahmed Rufai Chanchangi educational schoolarship in Kaduna. According to

him, the ruling PDP at the national level has failed the people because it has not provided the teeming Nigerians, especially the people at the grassroot levels, with basic amenities that would improve their living standard.

He added that the PDP is only out to deceive Nigerians but not ready to ensure good leadership to Nigerians. " This injustice is too much and many Nigerians are suffering because of the PDP’s poor leadership, but we are hoping that if our party, the

CPC, forms the next government especially at the federal level Nigerians’ living standard will be hugely improved" Amadu said.

He noted that "we believe that change is imminent in Nigeria as a result of PDP’s poor leadership in Nigeria."Amadu also called on Ahmed Rufai not to relent in his efforts towards assisting the children of the less privileged in the state, especially through the scholarship he initiated.

He called on the parents whose children are

the beneficiaries of the scholarshipscheme to ensure that their children did not misuse the opportunity.

The chairman then appealed to Nigerians to join the CPC for better change in Nigeria. He also urged

Nigerian politicians especially the elected leaders to emulate Ahmed Rufai's gesture so that there will be an improvement in the educational standard especially in the northern region.

In her remarks at the occasion, Ahmed’s mother Hajiya Maisarari Ahmadu Chachangi observed that change in Nigeria will only come if people have the fear of God. She said "We will have change in Nigeria if we have the fear of God”.

Commission fixes April 20 for Edo LG poll

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he Edo Independent E l e c t o r a l C o m m i s s i o n yesterday fixed April 20 for the local government polls in the state.

This is contained in a statement signed by the commission’s Chairman,

Mr Solomon Ogoh, in Benin. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that there are 18 councils in the state. The statement said details of the procedure for the conduct of the polls would be published in a time-table to be issued by

the commisson. The state House of Assembly in 2012, passed the Local Government Council Election Bill after a resolution asking the governor to dissolve the two-year old caretaker committees. (NAN).

L-R: Chairman, House Committee on the Diaspora, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa; her colleague, Hon. Habeeb Mustapha, and President, GOPIO International, Mr Ashkook Ramsaram, during the 11th Indians in Diaspora Convention, yesterday in Kochi, Kerala, India.

Photo: NAN

Why Ijebu-Igbo stool is still vacant, by Commissioner

Advert

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gun Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Muyiwa Oladipo, says the inability of government to install a monarch for Ijebu-Igbo is due to a pending case at the Supreme Court.

He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abeokuta yesterday that government would install one for the town as soon as the case was concluded. He said the state could not act or do anything since interested families and groups had yet to resolve their

differences, either in court or outside.

“It is true that there was a judgment at the Court of Appeal in Ibadan sometime last year. ‘’But that has been appealed against at the Supreme Court and until after the determination of the case, we can’t do anything regarding the installation of the monarch.

“We have no any other interest than that of the rule of law; I can boldly assure you that we will not waste any time after the Supreme Court judgment.

“The Olu of Ilaro stool and

so many others were vacant for years and to the glory of God, we have been able to resolve most of them. ‘’No one should blame a government that has spent less than two years in office for stool that has been vacant for 18 years,” he said. The commissioner advised warring families and groups to unite in the interest of peace and age-long tradition of the town. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the stool has been vacant for about 18 years while various families are claiming the Orimolusi stool. (NAN)

Yero seeks support of opposition parties

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ov. Mukhtar Yero of Kaduna State yesterday appealed to opposition parties to cooperate and support his administration in developing the state. Yero made the appeal when members of the Coalition of Political Parties paid him a visit to commiserate with the government and people of the state over the demise of late Gov. Patrick Yakowa.

“What I expect from the

opposition parties is cooperation and support, and also to try to be fair in whatever they are doing to the ruling party.

“Because without having proper cooperation and understanding, we will find it very difficult to do what is right.’’ He reiterated the commitment of the administration to partner with other political parties in order to secure, unite and develop the state.

Yero assured members of the opposition parties that the government would redeem its pledges to the people. He said the government would welcome advises and constructive criticisms that would be beneficial to the state and enable it to perform better. “ It is always good to criticize and make comments that are positive and will make the government to adjust and also do the right thing.” (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

PAGE 40

Kwara AG explains ex LG chairman reinstatement From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

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L-R: Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President, Dr. Reuben Abati, Secretary, Peoples Democratic Party Board of Trustees (PDP BOT), Senator Walid Jibrin, Nigerian Ambassador to Canada, Chief Ojo Madueke, and former Information Minister, Prof. Jerry Gana, brief journalists outcome of PDP BOT meeting, on Tuesday at the State House, in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

Commissioner harps on vocational skills T

he Kaduna State Commissioner for Commerce and Industries, Alhaji Gambo Lawal, yesterday underscored the need for vocational training and skills to national development.

Lawal said that vocational training was a great contributor to government’s effort to spur national growth and development.

He spoke at an interactive session between donors, trainers

and trainees of vocational training programme of Zaria Education Development Association (ZEDA) held in Zaria. Represented by Alhaji Abdulfatah Yusuf, Director, Kaduna Community Resource Centre, the commissioner observed that no country would succeed without vocational skills.

“Vocational skills complement government efforts geared toward building a virile nation. ``Government alone cannot

provide job for all Nigerians hence the need for collective efforts.”

Lawal charged ZEDA to intensify effort at training more youths on vocational skills to make them selfemployed.

The Chairman, Board of Trustees, ZEDA, Alhaji Abdullahi Nuhu-Bamalli, advised that emphasis should be given to youths with trade wisdom to enable them actualise their talents. According to him, trade is very vital to

human existence and solicited for more support from donors to pave way for the training of the youths.

Presenting a paper on “Vocational Training Programme of ZEDA”, the Chairman, Educational and Vocational Training Committee, Dr (Mrs) Madinatu Shehu said the scheme had succeeded in addressing challenges arising from hunger, poverty and idleness among the youths. (NAN)

Merger: PDP plans to implicate Buhari, Tinubu, others, ACN alleges From Adesoji 0yinlola, Lagos

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he Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has alerted the nation to alleged desperate measures being planned by the PDP-led Federal Government to discredit and silence key opposition leaders involved in the ongoing plans to form a formidable platform to confront the PDP in 2015 In a statement issued in Lagos on Tuesday by its National

Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the paranoia over the merger plans has driven the PDP-led FG to resort to imprudent and crude tactics aimed at tarnishing the image of key opposition leaders, especially ACN leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and his CPC counterpart Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, as well as their close political associates.

It said Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is particularly a prime target of

these evil machinations because of his status as the leader of the country’s second biggest party, his progressive credentials as well as his electoral value, adding that as far as the PDP-led government is concerned, getting him out of the way is the best way to ruin the merger plans. ‘’For the Jonathan-led Administration, and not minding its deceptive aloofness from it all, the race for 2015 has started in earnest and it is a do-

or-die affair, and all means foul and unfair are on the table to cripple the opposition, by ensuring that nothing will be left of the integrity of its key leaders even if they are fortunate to make it to 2015 ‘’These opposition leaders are considered as constituting a clear and present danger to the electoral fortunes of the PDP in 2015, hence must be stopped at all costs and by whatever means,’’ ACN said.

Amaechi silence better welfare for Legionnaires

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ov. Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers has assured the state chapter of the Nigerian legion of better welfare package and improved standard of living. Amaechi gave the assurance at the Emblem Appeal Launch as part of the 2013 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration in Port Harcourt on Tuesday. Represented by Mr George Feyii, the Secretary to the State Government, the governor pledged continuous partnership with the legion in the state.

He urged the citizens and well-

meaning Nigerians to contribute to the emblem launch, noting: “the State Government will make sure that the welfare of legionnaires in the state is given proper attention. “This government must do everything possible to ensure that the families of the fallen heroes are not neglected, this will make our serving officers to work gallantly,’’ he said.

The governor urged Nigerians to support security measures put in place by government to ensure peaceful coexistence in the state. “This annual event is held to remind us of the

supreme sacrifice of our falling heroes, but I want to appeal to us to support the issue of security in the state. “The business of security should not be left in the hands of the State Government alone. “Security is a business that all residents and citizens must put efforts together to achieve collectively.

You all must give your maximum support,” he said. The state Chairman of the Nigerian Legion, retired Col. Philemon Chinda, had earlier expressed worry over the welfare and needs of the families of the fallen heroes and wounded veterans.

“What we are doing today is to bring comfort and happiness to our brothers whose sorrows seem to have no end,’’ Chinda said. He thanked President Goodluck Jonathan, for approving a new pension scale for the military pensioners, and his plans to pay the 53% pension arrears before the end of the first quarter of 2013.

Chinda also commended Amaechi for his efforts and determination to ensure safety of lives and property of Rivers people and others doing business in the state.

(NAN)

wara State AttorneyGeneral, Kamaldeen Ajibade, has said the former Ekiti Local Government Chairman, Hon. Dele Abiodun was ordered to be all his entitlements and not that he should be reinstated.

Ajibade in a reaction to the Kwara Action Congress of Nigeria (AC N) statement said “the case came up last Monday at the Supreme Court Abuja. It was meant for an appeal to be heard in respect of the judgment of the Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court justices were of the opinion that appeal will eventually be an academic exercise since the tenure that is being question is no longer existing. The tenure had expired and there is nothing to be reinstated.

“So because of this the entitlements of the erstwhile Chairman which was deposited in interest yielding account since 2007, the court advised that it should be given to him. It is not that the government is bringing any fresh money to be paid to him.

“There is already money in an interest yielding account. There was no judgment of the Supreme Court. In fact there was no hearing on that matter that day. What was done was advice by the justices as to the means to get or settle this matter out of court. It has nothing to do with judgment. There was no unanimous judgment of the Supreme Court. There was no pronouncement, it was just advice. The Appeal Court only set aside what was done then in 2007. ”The basis was that before an appeal could be allowed, what was due to him since the tenure had expired should be deposited in an interest yielding account.

And that was done. But because of the appeal lodged on behalf of the Chief Judge, other appellant, there was no way he could access that money. So what the Supreme Court could do to make him access that money was to get the appeal withdrawn. So the appeal was not heard.

There was no judgment from the Supreme Court over the issue.

“The Supreme Court is of the opinion that there is no longer any subject matter and they did not want to give a judgment in futility,” he explained.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

PAGE 41

Eagles will lack nothing at 2013 AFCON – Minister

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he Sports Minister, Mallam Bolaji Abdulahi, has assured that the Super Eagles will lack nothing in terms of welfare at the forthcoming South Africa 2013 Nations Cup. Addressing the players and officials in company of Director of Elite Athletes, Dr Bolaji Ojo-Oba and NFF President Alhaji AMinu Maigari, Abdulahi said that President Goodluck Jonathan has approved all his requests for a successful outing at the Nations Cup. “ I want to win the Nations Cup as a Minister, you the players also want to win the championship, but I may not achieve my aim if you the players don’t think you need to win the championship”, he said rhetorically.

The Minister said he believes there is no team as talented as the Nigerian side in the coming

championship and again reminded the players to give Nigeria and President Jonathan a New Year present by winning the championship with the talents available.

Maiagari thanked the Minister for finding time in his tight schedule to visit the team in camp. Saying he knows the workload of the Minister and he was sure that the team will not let Nigerians down at the SA 2013 championship. Head Coach Stephen Keshi spoke in similar vein before skipper of the side gave a motivating speech.

“Honourable Minister, you have moved us with your speech on the history of Nigerian football and the Super Eagles and I must say we want to write our names in gold in South Africa and I can assure you that I and my mates will work extra hard to achieve our set objectives.

Court stops NNL on Nembe city

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he Nigeria N a t i o n a l League, (NNL) has been stopped by a Kano based court from forwarding the name of Nembe city FC as one of the clubs that qualified from the second cadre of the Nigerian league to

play in the elite division.

Nembe city, which gained promotions to the premier league at the end of 2011/2012 NNL season, was permitted to play in the last NNL season following the inability of Kano based Dalkat

Victor Baribote, chairman of Nembe city

FC to register for the season, leading to its decision to sell its division position to the Bayelsa state based side.

IN an interim injunction with number K/470/2012, which was submitted to the secretariat of the NNL last week the court, presided over

by Justice W.A Omar.

The court noted that following case instituted by the management of Dalkat babes FC of Kano, challenging the legibility of the sale of the club, it has urged the Nigeria Football Federation, (NFF) and

the NNL to stop further transactions with Nembe city FC, including forwarding its name as one of the promoted clubs to the NPL, pending the determination of the case, which was adjourned to 7th of January.

Speaking on the court order, chairman of the NNL, Chief Emeka Inyama urged the parties involved to endeavour to settle the matter peacefully in order to avoid a disruption of the ongoing national league and the premier league, which is yet to begin.

Michael Essien

Essien plans another big charity match in Ghana Stories by Albert Akota

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hana star Michael Essien is planning to host another big football match in the country in June following the huge success of the previous game he organised.

The Real Madrid star has confirmed he will organise a charity football match between Africa 11 and World 11 in Accra on 8 June.

The match dubbed the “Essien Game of Hope” and it will be played at the Accra Sports Stadium, the venue of a charity game two years ago that attracted some of the world’s biggest football stars.

“This year it will be the ‘Essien Game of Hope’ as he looks to raise funds for five charities (to be selected) in Ghana,” the midfielder’s official website said.

“I am excited about the latest chapter in the work of the Michael Essien Foundation. “We have decided to organise another Africa 11 v World 11 game in Accra on the 8th of June 2013 and this time we are calling it the ‘Game of Hope’.

“I have always aimed to provide hope and inspiration to ordinary people so they can make the most of their lives.

“Our aim is to bring world stars (past and present) to Accra just as we did in 2011 and to hopefully use the game to raise enough funds for those in need.

“The Peace game was mainly to spread the peace message but the Game of Hope will be used to raise funds for the needy in our society.”

Some big names like Ashley Cole, Freddy Ljunberg, Nigel Di Jong, Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou, Emmanuel Adebayor and Asamoah Gyan as well as Stephen Appiah played in the game with Marcel Desailly and George Weah coaching the two teams.

Essien hoped that Ghanaians will turn out in their numbers to “support us again just as they did in 2011.

We are lining up some big names and I am confident we can get them all back to Ghana again.

Organisers of the event indicated that the players will be flown to Accra on a private plane a day before the match.

FCT FA lauds coaches for doing the nation proud

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he Chairman of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Football Association, (FA) Alhaji Musa Talle has lauded it coaches for doing the nation proud in their respective national teams.

He disclosed this in Abuja yesterday during the official reception of the victorious FCT U- 13 football team.

Telle revealed that the FCT has provided the highest number of coaches to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for national teams added that the laudable achievement was ascertained following the FCT football coach’s

seminar and tournament which served as an avenue for them to been considered by the NFF. “FCT have had the highest number of coaches that have served in the various national football teams in the last few years, also have the highest numbers of coaches that had attended the CAF organized course for both Grade ‘B’ and ‘C’ licenses.

“The NFF has also approved the grade ‘C’ license course to be organize specifically for the FCT coaches this year as well as assisting the leadership of the territory to ensure they actualize the laudable project.

“We have also organized match commissioners’ seminar for all the FCT based match commissioners to ensure that only best comes out of FCT at every point in time, “he said.

Talle however noted that the FCT FA will work within its reach to ensure it return one of the it club from Nigeria National League to Premier League next football season as well as supporting the FCT women’s clubs.

He called on corporate organizations in the FCT and Nigeria at large to embrace the development programs of FA to ensure it sporting activities meet the set target of the board.

Alhaji Musa Talle

IGP releases officers for national league actions

N IGP, Mohammed Abubakar

i g e r i a National League, (NNL) returnee, Niger Tornadoes FC of Minna got a boost to its campaign to return to the premier, when it got the approval of the Inspector General of

Police, (IGP) M o h a m m e d Abubakar for the release of its officer, Atama Ibrahim, to play for the team in the 2012/2013 NNL season which is currently in its third week.

Ibrahim, who has

since been signed and registered by Tornadoes for the new season was delayed joining the team because his police job, before his request was granted by the police.

The Nigeria Police force Deputy Public

Relations Officer, (DFPRO), who disclosed this in a recent interview in Abuja noted that decision to release the play in the Nigerian league was as a result of the interest which the IGP has for sports

development, stressing that his pedigree in sports administration has begun to yield dividends in the process of repositioning the Nigerian Police Sports sector.

Tornadoes, which

was relegated to the National League after many years in the elite division has also promised to use the legion of its retained players with the few new sign on to stage a quick comeback to the premier league.

PAGE 42

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

Akpan joins Reading

Super Four to decide champs – Afelokhai

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ano Pillars’ goalkeeper, Theophilus Afelokhai has said his side’s Matchday 1 Super Four opponents, Heartland will not be twice lucky over the Pyramid City side.

Cup holders, Heartland edged the Nigerian Primier League (NPL) champions for the Charity Cup shield in Port Harcourt and Afelokhai said it will be payback time when both sides clash at the start of the Super Four tournament at the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano.

“It’s an encounter we’ve looked forward to after the painful defeat in the Charity Cup tie in Port Harcourt. I think the Super Four tournament will once and for all decide the best team in the land.

“The re-match against Heartland is welcomed and we’re prepared to make up for the Charity Cup defeat and once again prove to Nigerians that we’re the best team in the land.

“We’re not under any pretence that the tournament will be cheap given the quality of opposition, we’ve assembled the best legs, the spirit is high among my teammates and I’m confident we’ll deliver the goods at the end of the day,” he said.

Afelokhai whose side will kick off their African title chase against Olympique de Bangui of Central African Republic next month said the Super Four challenge will equip them for the continental assault.

“The Super Four tournament is a commendable event and I’m sure it will equip us for the Caf Champions League assignment.

“We want to actually challenge for the Africa’s title as well as the domestic shield,” he said.

Afelokhai was named Best Goalkeeper of the 2011/12 Premier League season by the League Bloggers Awards (LBA).

The competition begins yesterday at Sani Abacha stadium; Lobi Stars faced Enugu Rangers while Kano Pillars battle Heartland at the same venue.

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Hope Akpan

nglish Barclays Premier League club, reading have confirmed the signing of 21-year-old Hope Akpan from League One side, Crawley.

The midfielder, who joined Crawley from Everton in 2011, has agreed a three-and-a-half year contract.

Reading manager, Brian McDermott told the club’s official website: “I’m delighted to have signed Hope, we have known all about him for a very long time.

“He has a great pedigree coming through the ranks at a top Premier League side in Everton.

“There were a lot of clubs in for him during this window, but once he heard of our interest this was the only place he wanted to play. He’s 21 and is a player we feel can play at this level.

Reading said the deal is subject to final ratification of all the paperwork from the football authorities, but they expect that to be a formality.

Despite being born in England, Akpan has declared his intention to represent Nigeria the country of his parents at international level.

Big welcome for Adebayor in Togo

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mmanuel Adebayor enjoyed a warm homecoming when he returned to the West African country of Togo to prepare for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament.

The hometown hero had originally said he would not participate in the 2013 tournament due to what he said was bad management of the Togolese national program.

Togolese president Faure Gnassingbe invited Adebayor to discuss how to improve Togo’s football infrastructure earlier in the season. After their talks, Adebayor announced he had changed his mind and was ready to play for his

country at this year’s AFCON. Adebayor said he hoped this would be Togo’s year to shine as he spoke of a missed opportunity after the 2010 tragedy that occurred while Togo’s team was travelling to that year’s AFCON in Angola.

While travelling through the Caibinda province of Angola, the team bus was attacked by gunmen and three officials from the team were killed, and several others injured. The Togo team withdrew from the tournament that year.

“It is true that the AFCON in our career, the career of a football player, it’s always nice to play.

This is a celebration for us.

“This is the festival that

is on our continent.

Especially, I have to represent my country Togo, for me it is a source of pride,” he said.

“Well, my life before all.

You know what happened in Cabinda (Angola) we were going to play the AFCON. I had put all my life into it. I said the AFCON 2010 in Angola was my AFCON, that I could win the cup as captain.

“You know how it ended for us, so I hope this time if I am part of the group, I hope this time it will be a little better for me, a little better for the players and for everyone,” he said on the two-year anniversary of the attack.

The Tottenham Hotspur player said he is also looking forward to helping

improve the country’s football program and infrastructure after his talks with the president.

“It is the head of my country, I am a citizen, he appealed to me. He asked me how to make Togolese football go forward. We talked and I see that wants to invest in it, he wants to

change Togolese football for good, so I’m ready for that. I have always fought for that,” he said.

Togo will face some of the toughest early match-ups in the tournament which starts on January 19, as they are grouped with Ivory Coast as well as Tunisia and Algeria.

Emmanuel Adebayor

NTTF wants NSC to engage para-athletes with competitions

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n umpire with the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) Pius Asaba has appealed to the National Sports Commission (NSC) to structure programmes that would keep physically challenged athletes engaged.

Asaba said that efforts should be made to pay the para-athletes some form of stipend to reward their commitment to training. He added that most of the para-athletes faced challenges in the course of transporting themselves to the stadium for training sessions.

“Physically challenged athletes undergo a lot of stress in transporting themselves to the stadium just to train.

“And they should not be discouraged with little or no competition organised for them in a year in spite of their trainings,” he said.

The umpire also said that the para-athletes had been steadfast, against the backdrop of neglect by the NSC. “These athletes take their various sports seriously as a way of distraction from the disappointments of life. “Because they are really not profiting from sports but still persist because they find joy in doing what they are doing.

Yakubu Adesokan

Association seeks NFF’s recognition for championship

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he Chairman, Local O r g a n i s i n g Committee (LOC) for the All Stars Female Football Championship Oluwole Santana, has urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to recognise the competition.

The championship is organised by the Amalgamation of Nigerian Female Football Coaches Association.

Santana said that the championship, which was started in 2000, was aimed at discovering young female talents for the various national teams.

He said that nonrecognition of the championship by the NFF

was not encouraging and appealed for the football governing body’s support.

Report had it that the 13th edition of the competition is scheduled to hold from Jan. 8 to Jan. 19 at the Hockey Pitch of the National Stadium, Lagos.

“The NFF should come around and support this championship because the championship is for the development of female football in Nigeria.

“If we stop this competition, it will be the end for female football at the grassroots because most of the club owners and management come here to scout for players.

“It is these clubs that play at the Nigeria Women

Professional League and that is where the national teams also scout for their players. So, you can see how important we are,’’ he said.

Santana said that no fewer than 35 players had registered for the 13th edition, adding that he was optimistic the number would increase.

He also decried the lack of sponsorship for the competition, saying it was disheartening that a competition of such importance would be ignored.

“We are appealing to corporate organisations and Nigerians to please help us because the competition is funded

through contributions by the organisers.

“The coaches who are members of the association contribute monthly dues and this is what we are using for logistics.

Aminu Maigari

“Peoples Daily Sports learnt that national players like the late Felicia Eze of the Super Falcons, Mercy Akide, Ann Chiejine, Kikelomo Ajayi, were discovered from the championship.

He said participants would undergo training by different coaches to ascertain their strength and weakness before they would be allocated groups.

For now, the girls are still undergoing training till Jan. 11 before the competition will start proper on Jan. 12.

“We want to train the girls to some extent because most of them are unrefined. After training they will be grouped.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

PAGE 43

Australian Open: Baker, Ward win opening matches

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ritish players enjoyed a successful start to the Australian Open as Jamie Baker and James Ward won their opening matches in qualifying.

Scotland’s Baker beat Julio Cesar Campozano of Ecuador 6-3 7-5, before Londoner Ward saw off Serbia’s Boris Pashanski 6-4 6-3.

Three wins are required to make the singles main draw at Melbourne Park.

The women’s qualifiers begin on Thursday, with Anne Keothavong and Johanna Konta in action for Britain.

Konta plays Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia in the opening match on Court 14 at 00:00 GMT, while 22nd seed Keothavong takes on American Grace Min in the second match on Court Five.

They will hope for similar conditions to those enjoyed by the men on Wednesday, with Melbourne avoiding the kind of stifling heat experienced elsewhere in Australia during the last few days.

Baker was watched by a large British contingent on Court 14 that included his good friend Andy Murray,

and he saw off Campozano in straight sets.

Ward, ranked one place below Baker at 247 in the world, is looking to emulate last year’s effort when he came through qualifying, and he made a solid start.

Pashanski might be ranked considerably higher at 172 but the Serb was second best throughout their match, losing his cool several times as line calls went against him.

Ward will play Germany’s Mischa Zverev in round two, while Baker meets Italy’s Matteo Viola.

Price set for world title shot

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avid Price has expressed readiness for a world title shot fights, including his bout against American Tony Thompson on 23 February.

Heavyweight Price’s 16th paid fight will be against former two-time world title challenger Thompson in Liverpool.

Thompson, 41, has a wealth of experience at the highest level, losing three times in 39 fights, including twice to current WBA, IBF and WBO title-holder Wladimir Klitschko.

Klitschko knocked Thompson out in six rounds in his most recent fight in July but Price believes the American is a big step up in class.

“To be fighting someone who fought for a world title only five months ago, it’s a massive step up in class.

David Price

It’s up to me to prove I belong at that level.

“I don’t want to be treading water, fighting domestic fights and defending the Lonsdale Belt all the time. I need fresh challenges to take me to the next level and Tony Thompson is the perfect fit.

Price’s manager and promoter Frank Maloney said purse bids for a potential British title defence against Manchester’s Tyson Fury have been put back to February, while adding the fight was unlikely to happen in 2013. The 29-year-old Price, who is undefeated in 15 fights, conceded a match against Fury was more likely to happen if Fury wins a world title.

Fury’s stated aim is to fight for a world title in 2013, against either Wladimir or Vitali Klitschko, who holds the WBC title.

Johnson wins Tournament of Champions in Hawaii

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merican Dustin Johnson made a winning start to 2013 by claiming a fourshot victory at the weatheraffected Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.

After three days of play had been suspended due to severe winds, the

tournament was reduced to 54 holes with two rounds played.

Johnson started on Tuesday with a three-shot lead and secured victory with a five-under 68 for a total of 16 under.

Johnson’s Ryder Cup team-mate Steve Stricker

finished second.

Ian Poulter, the only Briton in a 30-man field, finished 11 shots off the pace.

Stricker, who won the tournament last year, carded a four-under 69.

Stricker was always facing a tough task in catching Johnson, who

Burns postpones WBO lightweight title defence

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icky Burns proposed defence of his WBO world lightweight title will not take place this month, his manager Alex Morrison has confirmed.

The 29-year-old from Coatbridge was due to enter the ring in Glasgow on 26 January against an unnamed opponent.

Burns endured a frustrating time in December when opponent Jose Ocampo pulled out of their fight in London just days before the bout.

Ocampo was a late replacement for the original challenger, Liam Walsh, who had been injured in a car accident.

Morrison hopes to confirm details of Burns’s third defence of his lightweight title, and his seventh world title defence in total, later this week.

“We want to make sure that we get the right opponent for Ricky,” his Glasgowbased manager continued.

Burns’ preparations for his next bout will begin this weekend when he travels to Norway to spar, where one of his partners will be the man he defeated in his first world super-featherweight title defence, Andreas Evensen.

made a great start to the final round with three birdies in his first eight holes.

A double-bogey on the par-four 13th dropped him to one under and briefly threatened to derail his hopes.

Brandt Snedeker (69) finished third while 2012 Masters champion Bubba Watson (71) and 2011 US PGA winner Keegan Bradley (70) finished joint fourth on nine under.

Fourie receives UK visa lifeline

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Ricky Burns

Dustin Johnson

ormer England flanker Hendre Fourie does not have to leave the United Kingdom, despite fears he would be deported by the end of the month.

The 33-year-old South African-born player was forced to retire from playing earlier last week because of shoulder injury and as a consequence had his contract cancelled by Sale. ”If an individual’s circumstances change and they no longer meet the terms of their specific visa they can apply for a visa of a different type.

A UK Border Agency spokesman said: “His visa has not been curtailed at this time he’s not required

to leave.

He has been in the country for eight years and also played for Rotherham and Leeds.

Fourie, who has a child who was born in the UK, was only six months away from qualifying for British citizenship and is now in talks with his union, the Rugby Players’ Association, about his legal options.

“His employment contract with Sale Rugby Club has been terminated and his employer has rightly informed UKBA of this decision.

“If an individual’s circumstances change and they no longer meet the terms of their specific visa they can apply for a visa

of a different type.

“Mr Fourie has been informed of the process and the various options available to him. It is entirely up to him if he chooses to explore any of them further.

Hendre Fourie

Ennis to stay at Sheffield despite stadium closure

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essica Ennis’s coach says the athlete has no plans to leave Sheffield following the news that the city’s Don Valley Stadium could be demolished.

Olympic heptathlon champion Ennis shares her training between the outdoor Don Valley Stadium and the indoor English Institute of Sport nearby.

UK Athletics recently announced plans to move towards a single, elite-level base in Loughborough but Minichiello said he did not think politics was involved in Don Valley’s potential

closure.

The document also raised the possibility of re-opening the city’s smaller Woodburn Road Athletics Stadium, which was closed 18 months ago to save

money.

But Minichiello said it would take more money than is being proposed to improve the facilities to the required level.

After winning gold in

London, Ennis has revealed former UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee wanted her to move to London before the Games, a suggestion she resisted.

PAGE 44

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

2013 Nations Cup finals

New stars waiting to shine in South Africa The 2013 CAF Africa Cup of Nations comes just one year after the last finals because of a switch in the future dates and it means there is a familiar look about many of the players chosen to compete in the tournament in South Africa.

But, as is always the case, there will be some new stars to look out for, and this edition promises to unveil potential new heroes for fanatical African fans to enthuse over, these are some profiles of new young stars to look out for at the AFCON.

Ahmed Musa (Nigeria)

Christian Atsu (Ghana)

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uper Eagles winger, Ahmed Musa believes the only gift that assuages Nigerians is the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations trophy.

The CSKA Moscow star said that the fans, who last celebrated a Nigeria triumph at the Nations Cup 19 years ago, deserve a trophy for their support over the years.

The ex-Kano Pillars star who is poised for his Nations Cup

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hana have produced more than their fair share of teenage prodigies in recent times and the 20-yearold from Porto is the latest off their fabled production line.

The winger is already a sensation in Portugal where comparisons are being made with Lionel Messi, perhaps a little prematurely, but flattering nevertheless.

He enjoys the left side of the attack and could be the man to watch out for replacing Andre Ayew and possibly cementing a starting line-up berth for the Black Stars.

Originally from Kasoa in southern Ghana, he was picked up early by Porto, who has nurtured him through their youth ranks and on loan to Rio Ave last season.

Christian Atsu

Ryan Mendes

Ryan Mendes (Cape Verde Islands)

Abdelhamid El Kaoutari

Abdelhamid El Kaoutari (Morocco)

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fter several seasons impressing with his pace and ability to run at opposing defenders in Ligue 2, Mendes moved in July to Lille and a chance to play in the top flight of French football.

It has been a heady time for the winger from the tiny island of Fogo, whose path to club football in Europe came after being spotted in a youth tournament.

He was just 18 when he played in the event at Le Havre and found himself being chased by scouts and agents.

He signed for Le Havre but not before having a talk with a representative of Portugal’s Benfica, who are the best supported side in the Cape Verde.

Three seasons at Le Havre made his reputation before Lille coach Rudi Garcia snapped him up. Mendes was the top scorer for the Blue Sharks in AFCON qualifiers.

Abdelkader Oueslati (Tunisia)

T

he 21-year-old winger won his first cap in the decisive qualifying game for the 2013 Nations Cup finals, impressing enough to earn a place in the squad for the tournament in South Africa.

Born in France, he has come through the ranks at Atletico Madrid where he played first with the B team before being promoted to the first squad this season where he made his debut in August against Levante, before suffering a fracture that sidelined him for two months.

In Spain, he is known simply as ‘Kader’ and is being tipped as a name for the future.

debut in South Africa, insisted that the Eagles would not be intimidated by some countries who claimed favorite of the trophy. ”Personally, it won’t be hard to face them. I have faced a lot of world-class players especially in Champions league, the Super Eagles have played at top level, so there is no reason to be afraid of facing any country in South Africa,” he declared.

I

Ahmed Musa

t is hard to expect 2013 will be better than last year for the 22-year-old defender, who won Ligue 1 with home town club Montpellier and went to the Olympic Games in London with Morocco’s under-23 side.

El Kaoutari is a product of the French provincial club, who won a first-ever French championship last season, and came through their famous youth system to forge a place in the starting line-up while still a teenager.

He played at the UEFA U-19 Championships in 2009 for France but then switched his allegiance to the country of his parent’s birth and won his first cap 18 months ago.

Faouzi Ghoulam (Algeria)

T

he 21-year-old defender has had stellar league campaign with St Etienne this season and is the latest French-born player to be persuaded to Algeria’s cause after playing at youth level for France.

He was selected to the Algeria squad for the tournament without winning a cap and will go into the finals with little international experience but plenty of exposure to some of the top strikers in France.

He will also be closely watched as the transfer speculation around the left back has been quiet vociferous.

Both his parents come from Algeria and sporting genes run deep in the family because his elder brother Nabil ran for France at the World Cross Country Championships.

Faouzi Ghoulam

Thulani Serero (South Africa)

T

Abdelkader Oueslati

he diminutive 22-year-old midfielder is just back from a groin injury that has stymied his season so far. He moved to Ajax Amsterdam in mid-2011 after being voted the best player in the South African Premier Soccer League.

But his first season in the Dutch league saw him get limited playing time as he struggled with adaptation, form and injury.

The new campaign began brightly however as he got among the goals early only to suffer another setback.

Coach Gordon Igesund is taking a gamble on his fitness but insists Serero is a viable and valuable option, even if operating at “60 percent of his potential”. He has eight caps, but only one in a competitive international.

Thulani Serero

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

PAGE 45

P I C T O R I A L

Lyon's stunning defeat to Epinal, Lionel Messi's fourth Ballon d'Or, Frank Lampard's landmark goal and Xabi Prieto's Bernabeu hat-trick feature alongside Lazio's excellent first half of the season.

Bradford boss Phil Parkinson felt his side's Capital One Cup 3-1 win over Aston Villa was better than beating Arsenal.

Britons Jamie Baker and James Ward record victories in the opening qualifying round at the Australian Open in Melbourne.

Dustin Johnson makes a winning start to 2013 by claiming a four-shot victory at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.

Four-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi says the one thing missing from his trophy cabinet is the World Cup, claiming he would swap his personal awards for success with Argentina.

British heavyweight David Price says he will be ready for a world title shot within his next five fights.

PAGE 46

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

Mexico grassroots football programme are growing stronger ahead 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, says De la Torre After achieving global successes at youth national-team level, Mexican football is fully focused on making the leap with El Tri’s senior side, currently under head coach Jose Manuel de la Torre.

The respected supremo has certainly made a promising start to his time at the helm, having claimed victory at the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup thus securing a spot at the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 and guiding Mexicocomfortably through to the six-team final round of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil.

As he continues to prepare his charges for the decisive ‘Hexagonal’ phase of Brazil 2014 qualifying, ‘Chepo’ De la Torre graciously took time out to speak exclusively to FIFA about this June’s Festival of Champions in Brazil, the current form of Tri striker Javier Chícharito Hernandez and his burning desire to “take Mexico to the very top”.

W

hat are your hopes and expectations for Mexico’s FIFA Confederations Cup campaign this year?

It’s very important for us to be involved in a competition of this calibre.

This is a very strong tournament featuring the champions of all the confederations, which will help us find out where we’re at in footbaling terms.

Of course it’s going to be very tough, but we’ve got pretty high expectations. Mexico has been growing stronger for some time now and we need to prove that at major tournaments and with the senior national side.

From a squad perspective, this competition will be a further opportunity to bed in the many youngsters that have been brought into the group, right?

Definitely! It’s going to be a good way of testing the mettle of those youngsters who’ve been breaking through, to see if they’ve got what it takes.

I know there’s still some way to go, so it’s hard to say who might be selected or not, but there are a lot of lads chasing a place in the squad and in the team. These decisions will be tricky for us to make, but this competition will be an important benchmark.

How else could this tournament prove useful, in terms of logistics ahead of Brazil 2014?

Yes, that too. It’ll be played around the same time of year as the 2014 World Cup, which means it could give us an idea of everything that might come up in the future.

But, we’re not getting carried away, because we’ve not guaranteed our ticket [to Brazil 2014) yet.

We’re going to be cautious, even though it (the FIFA Confederations Cup) is the precursor to the World Cup. Chícharito has a great attitude. Whether he’s had a great game and scored a couple of goals or hasn’t been able to find the net, he’s still the same person.

Where do you rank CONCACAF football in global terms right now?

It’s really come on a lot. In fact, at the Olympic Games (in 2012) we saw two teams from the region reach the knockout stages (Editor’s note: Honduras exited in the last eight).

There were some worthy opponents there, and Mexico came away with the gold medal. That boosts the profile of the CONCACAF Zone.

The region has been gradually on the up, increasing standards, and that will help us when it comes to taking on teams from other confederations.

Mexico have in recent years won world titles at youth level but have yet to claim a global crown at senior level. How can they take that next step?

By consolidating [our success at youth level, it’s all part of a process that’s been in place for a long time, during which both the game’s leaders and club owners made the decision to invest a little more at grassroots level, in training people better and in becoming more competitive at international level.

That’s helped Mexico achieve results at youth level, but this entire process needs to be capitalised on by the senior squad.

As we spoke about at the beginning, we’ve got competitions coming up which will give us the chance to watch and get the most out of our young players.

I think they can really help us take the next step that Mexico needs to be at the forefront of the footballing world.

In fact, you called up several members of that Olympic squad in the previous round of FIFA World Cup qualifiers. How are they adapting to life with the seniors?

Very well, as we’ve followed them very closely all the way through the ranks from U-17 to U-23 level. We’re in constant communication, attending their training sessions and when they play competitions.

That gives us more information on the players and helps us get to know them better. They know they’ve got the chance to progress or position themselves better at any time.

That’s why they were involved in the Jose Manuel de la Torre

game against El Salvador and they did a good job. They’re young but they’ve already gained a lot of international experience, and they’re able to take on any opponents anywhere and play the same way they would in Mexico.

It’s been quite pleasing. It’s been good to introduce them gradually when opportunities have come around, because they’ve gone about establishing themselves and adapting to life with the senior squad.

Of course, we see them being involved in the future too.

One of your higher-profile players, Javier Hernandez, has been subjected to very mixed treatment from the Mexican media recently. In psychological terms, how do you work with a player in this situation to prevent it affecting his performances?

Chícharito has a great attitude.

Whether he’s had a great game and scored a couple of goals or hasn’t been able to find the net, he’s still the same person.

He’s a guy who’s mentally very Javier Hernandez strong, who never gives a ball up as lost. He just keeps going and going, something we see him do constantly at Manchester United.

He doesn’t pay much attention to what the press says. When he’s come in for criticism he’s stayed on the same path, and continues to be a player who gives his all for the national team.

And that always puts him back in a position to stay in the squad by playing well and scoring goals. Whatever people say about him, he’s still the same lad.

The final six-team qualifying round of CONCACAF Zone qualifying is approaching. Is there more pressure on Mexico’s shoulders given their status as regional giants?

You have to be realistic; we’re always going to be in that situation. But I don’t like to put any labels on my team, and I think the only thing that can give us that status is getting good results.

Of course, the fact the region’s sides are growing stronger makes qualifying harder.

It’s not going to be easy, but Mexico knows that, understand that and have always found a way of trying to get the results they want. In this case our goal is to seal our ticket for the World Cup. What happened and what’s been done before is behind us, it’s in the past. It’s not useful anymore, it doesn’t count.

That said, it does help us validate the work we’ve been doing, which is something we have to justify constantly. That makes us prepare better and not leave anything to chance.

For the first time in a while, Mexico has an abundance of attacking talent to call upon. How do you keep so many players happy when there isn’t room for everyone?

The players have things clear; they know the competition is fierce.

They also know that their national-team chances mainly come down to what they do at club level that’s their calling card.

We’ve always had a very good level of communication with club coaches, so we know what’s going on with the players, as well as how they’ve behaved and reacted in different situations. That helps us include the players who best fit the national squad.

They know that, because it’s something we’ve spoken about constantly. The problem’s always about deciding who to select, but better that than having nobody to PUBLIC NOTICE choose from!

Mexico hasn’t played five consecutive games at a FIFA World Cup final tournament since the THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE 1986 edition on home soil.

NAMED MINISTRY HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS Is breaking through that COMMISSION FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE invisible barrier an extra COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: motivation for you?

1. PASTOR ONWUIEGBUZIE BLESSED EMMANUEL It’s not about making a 2. PASTOR (MRS) BEST ANTHONIA ONWUEGBUZIE name for myself, it’s about 3. BRO. CHUKWUMA ANAMENECHI. furthering Mexico’s cause.

4. EVANG.UKAEGBU CHIOMA 5. BRO.AFOLABI JOEL OLAYINKA. It’s about Mexican players AIMS AND OBJECTIVES realising they can achieve 1. TO PROPAGATE THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. any goal, like they did at the Olympics.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE Yes, I take a measured AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, approach and don’t like to ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. get too carried away, but SIGNED: we’ll always dream of BASIRU OLUMUYIWA reaching the very top. And 08062073630,08021272072 this case is no exception.

RESTORATION OF HOPE MINISTRY INTERNATIONAL

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

SPORTS LA TEST LATEST

South Korea bans 41 players for life

F

orty one South Korean players have been handed worldwide lifetime bans following a match-fixing scandal in the country's K-League, world governing body Fifa said on Wednesday.

The 41, charged after a domestic match-fixing investigation dating back to 2011, received lifetime bans from all football activity by the K-League and the Korea Football Association's disciplinary committee with Fifa's Disciplinary Committee extended the sanctions to have worldwide effect.

South Korean sport has been marred by match-fixing allegations in professional soccer, volleyball and baseball, forcing the government to declare war on the issue.

In February soccer officials scrapped the K-League Cup competition as part of sweeping changes brought in to avoid a repeat of last year's match-fixing scandal.

Ten other players involved in match-fixing were given worldwide bans by FIFA in June while in March; South Korea's volleyball association banned 11 players for life in a bid to curb corruption in domestic sport.

PSG may land Ronaldo

L

eonardo has insisted there is "zero contact" with Cristiano Ronaldo, but acknowledged Paris SaintGermain's heavyweight financial clout means they could now attract the Portuguese superstar.

With some •250 million spent on the squad since Qatar Sports Investments took over in the French capital in the summer of 2011, PSG have become major players in the global transfer market.

Leonardo did concede his club is now in a position to compete for the ex-Manchester United man's sought-after services should they be for hire.

“PSG has become a club where anything is possible. But he has a long contract with Real Madrid and you don't just leave a club like Real Madrid like that.

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QUO TABLE Q UO TE UOT QUO UOTE 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.

— Mohammed Gambo-Jimeta

My 2012 heroes A

s the year 2012 wound down I rushed to offset outstanding duties and last minute chores. On the last Friday before Christmas, December 21st , having completed a small editing assignment, I went off to the Abuja Environmental Protection Board offices (AEPB). My intention was to finish at the AEPB quickly, fit in some last minute shopping before the Christmas and New Year holiday, and return to the office to clear up a few other things.

Sure-P for real Of course, I did not make it back to the office that day. I rushed headlong into the ever-swelling Abuja traffic and was slowed almost to a standstill. After driving round in circles, I finally got to the AEPB. I had forgotten the labyrinth of roadblocks mounted against the BH around the many military installations surrounding the AEPB. The front foyer area was unusually crowded with dozens of people. I had to navigate my way through the crowd, many of whom were clad in navy-blue SURE-P t-shirts. At least some people are feeling the impact of our 'subsidy' savings, I thought.

As I walked, I could feel the eyes of the assembly on me: many elderly women, and a substantial number of young people. Some sat on the ground. They were eager for whatever stipend was apparently being paid in this SURE-P environmental job.

Nigerians are suffering, I thought as my eyes met that of a woman perched astride a culvert. I greeted her as I snaked my leg over the slab and continued round the edge of the crowd, against the outer wall and into the building Ordinary, decent hardworking Nigerians are facing hardship and want that should not be - in this oil rich, vastly endowed country. It's a thought that often crosses my mind these days. I felt embarrassed as I passed them, selfconscious at no doubt looking to them like some spoilt and overpampered woman of privilege.

Hard-working and hardwearing Nigerians are my heroes of 2012.

They have endured government neglect and everimminent poverty for all these years only to be faced with the fear of 'terrorism'. Ordinary Nigerians, mostly poor people, are the ones who have been killed by church bombs and free-wheeling gun attacks on homes, markets and mosques. Even today in the New Year 2013, they are still dying... in Zamfara, Kano and Maiduguri.

As usual, except for a handful, we don't know the names of the

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CAR TEL OPIA CARTEL TELOPIA With Aisha Yolah ayolah06@yahoo.com 08086296783 (text only please)

Nigerians protesting fuel subsidy removal last January. dead because they are not VIP's. For once the National Television Authority (NTA) did show us the rural hamlets and mud-houses of the Zamfara village where the latest attack took place. These valiant people's effort to protect themselves, in the face of government failure has made them targets. Impunity's unknown gunmen. Yes, 2012 brought a new level of suffering to Nigerians.

On the Plateau and elsewhere inter-communal conflict has been a long time in the making. It's the result of an abdication of responsibility by the Nigerian state towards the pastoralists who roamed this land since ancient times. We eat the meat and dairy foods they produce but give them no quarter. In the urban crisis centres in Jos and Kaduna we demonise, label and profile each other to serve the sinister ends of a political class that has lost its sense of compassion.

No compassion left It is an attribute which evaporates among the more upwardly mobile classes. By the time you get to those in charge of public offices and private enterprises, genuine kindness is hard to find. Only a caricature shows up during Ramadan or on Sunday's.

But some real compassion was seen during the protests that erupted nationwide this time last year. Nigerians protected each other while they prayed. The spirit of neighbourliness and deep generosity was naturally not recognised by those who have lost this gift of compassion. President Goodluck Jonathan still insists that food, drinks and entertainment were supplied the same way he once supplied the Jonathan Must Run campaigners.

No, indeed ordinary Nigerians are actually far more thoughtful, decent, understanding and knowledgeable than those who purport to lead them. A lawyer colleague told me how he took part in the January protests marching on the streets for the first time in his life. He found himself striding side by side with eminent jurist and office cleaners. It was exhilarating just hearing him describe it!

Overcome by futility Alas, the eminent jurists who are no longer in government proved no match for the boots of those in government from Lagos to Kano. But finally we were all undone by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) leadership. I remember how my heart sank at the tone of the NLC president's

voice, as I listened to that late night radio report. I was at home in Kano.

I knew even before he had finished talking that we had lost... My lawyer friend says he will never take part in another protest again because he was 'overcome by the futility of it all'.

My 2012 heroes are the millions who reside in Abuja's slum suburbs and urban ghettos around the country, artisans, craftsmen, mechanics, guards, cleaners and street-sweepers; the millions of farmers and rural poor who still find the strength to feed an ungrateful country with the grain, tubers and legumes they produce mostly with their bare hands.

Then of course there are the pitiable black uniformed men who, forced to face bullets without bulletproof jackets, do so with stoic courage. Many have been gunned down as they sat at the gates of their superiors' palatial residences or 'protected' government's thousands of VIPs. Some policemen have been shot as they trudged home, or as they got to their own doorsteps.

Those who do not have innocent blood on their hands are my heroes. On Christmas Day I had a lump in my throat as I drove past sergeants and inspectors lining Abuja's main roads. They stood guard, each man standing alone in the sun, thirty yards or so from nearest colleague. Only a few stood in pairs, even fewer were lucky to have a little shade from an occasional tree.

Police escort They stood, sweating in their horrid black uniforms. Few have the nicer blue shirts. They stood knowing that anyone driving past would have had a clear, clean shot at each of them. Sitting ducks, without rudimentary walkietalkies let alone bullet proof protection. I saluted each man silently. Surely it is most unfair that the thugs who have brought us to this pass are safely ensconced behind 10-foot high walls and bullet-proof SUV's procured with the money that should have put 'light' in our police stations and protective jackets on our policemen.

And among these privileged classes there are a few exceptions who really do talk the talk. Like a few brave media houses, lawyers, activists and professionals. Like the man for whom I currently work.

His endless patience, good manners and generosity is truly admirable. 2012 has taught me just how good a people ordinary Nigerians are, far better than their leadership.

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