Peoples Daily Newspaper, Saturday 10, August, 2013

Thugs kill one, Rivers crisis: Amaechi shuns injure four in PDP peace talks Kastina violence

Vol. 3 No. 51

>>Page 10

>>Page 6

Amaechi

SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Shema

SHAWWAL 3-4, 1434 AH

N150

Masari explodes...

Northern Govs have failed

lHow APC will fight PDP rigging in 2015

>> Pg 7,8,9

Heavy rains blight Sallah celebrations in Kano >> Pg10 pg 21

We’ve carried out pg 2 100 successful heart surgeries at National Hospital — Consultant

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

PAGE 2

Prime Interview

We’ve carried out 100 successful heart surgeries – surgeon Doctor Adamu Yahaya Baba is the senior consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon, and Head of the Department of Surgery, National Hospital Abuja. In this interview with Hameed M Bello, he outlines what heart surgery entails, the various cases that could lead to a heart surgery, the successes recorded in heart surgeries at the hospital and the challenges impeding greater achievements in carrying out heart operations in the country. Excerpts:

W

hat exactly does a heart condition entails medically speaking?

A heart condition is too broad to look at; it can either be a medical heart condition or a surgical heart condition. I would rather dwell on surgical heart condition which I specialize in as a surgeon. Surgical heart condition broadly can either be congenital, which means that the patient is born with it, or acquired, which is as a result of the patient’s interaction with the environment, his diet and some other influences. Heart surgery involves the blood vessels around the heart, the heart itself and the covering of the heart and its internal structure.

Any operation around these areas is considered as heart surgery.

At what point will a patient be recommended for a heart operation or surgery?

Right from the day of birth, a patient can have the need for a heart surgery, if he has a congenital heart defect which he is born with. Some severe cases of congenital heart condition could result in irreversible damage to the heart within the first few weeks of birth if it is not corrected. There are some heart conditions that usually repair themselves, but a few others that refuse to correct themselves after the time they are expected to do so will have to be operated to be corrected. We are talking of what we call Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD), that is a hole in the heart, or a Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA).

You should simplify these terms for readers to understand better The difference between VSD and PDA is that in VSD, the hole is right inside the heart, while in VSD it is outside the heart. The heart has four chambers, two upper and two lower ones. The two upper ones are called the arterial, and each one is called arterium. The barrier between the arterial is called inter-arterial septum.

The one between the two ventricles of the lower chambers is separated by inter ventricular septum. If there is a hole in the septum, it is called Ventricular Septal Defect. If you have a hole within the heart like that, it may close on its own if it is small and depending on the location of the hole. If the hole is too large, it may over flood the lungs and if nothing is done, it may destroy the lung and heart permanently. Such patient will need to have surgery done. If the patient is very unstable for an operation, you can reduce the flow of blood in the early part of the patient’s life, of blood that goes to the lungs so that it does not destroy the lungs before you are ready for the operation.

There are those born with insufficient blood flow to the lungs. There are different conditions that can give rise to that. Such patients will need procedure that will increase blood flow to the heart pending when they are fit enough for a total repair of the

anomalies that are within the heart.

Sometimes, it could be wrong connection between the blood vessels.

In such cases, there is need for repair also.

Those I have mentioned are the simple types of a hole in the heart.

You can have a case of complex hole in heart in which both the upper chambers separation and the lower chambers separation have a common window. This is worse because the flow across will not be much and if nothing is done it could result in quick damage of the lungs.

What exactly does it mean for a heart condition to become inoperable if left unattended after sometimes?

For both the simple and complex hole in heart, the blood flow to the lungs is increased above the usual amount because the pressures on the sides of the heart are not the same. The pressure on the left is very high because it pumps blood for the body’s general circulation.

The pressure on the right is usually low because it pumps blood only to the lungs. So if you have a hole in the heart that allows communication between left and right, it means the body will preferentially push more blood to the lung because the pressure in the lung is lower than the pressure in the body system.

So more blood will rather go to the lungs than go to the body. That means the lungs will now be left to handle a lot of flow. It tries to control it by forming adaptive measures and if nothing is done early, this adaptive measure will make the heart inoperable after sometime.

At what age can that occur in the life of a patient?

It is not measured in terms of number of years but on the amount of flow and how much pressure.

Initially the body will want to increase the thickness of the muscles of the blood vessels so that it can withstand that pressure, but as time goes on, it increases the thickness of the inner lining of the blood vessels.

This will now be followed by fibrosis that is permanent scars within the wall. When this occurs the heart becomes irreversible, it cannot be operated anymore. As the pressure rises, it will come to a level that the pressure in the lungs and the blood vessels become equal, or the one in the lungs overtakes that in the body and cannot be operated.

So far, how many heart surgeries have you carried out at the National Hospital, and how many have been successful and unsuccessful?

We have done quite a number and I cannot remember the exact number now. But from 2006 till now, we have done close to over twenty and all have been successful, and we thank God for it. This rough figure is just for the PDA. We have done some other heart related surgeries. The one that will require you

to open the heart and operate will require an artificial heart and a lung, no centre in Nigeria is doing that regularly now except when we have an organized mission coming in. We used to do that in Enugu for sometime but it has stopped. The one we generally do in most of the centers now is PDA, or cases of problem with the covering of the heart which is called pericardietum or something related to the blood vessels around the heart. When it comes to conditions that require you stopping the heart before you operate, it is no longer a routine operation in Nigeria for now, that is where we have some challenge. We need more commitment from the government in terms of finances and training of necessary personnel because it is a team work. Doctor Adamu Yahaya Baba But so far, those other surgeries surgery is a composite surgery. are going on successfully. The num- It is a cohesive operation and the ber I gave you is for the PDA alone, government needs to be commitwe have done other operations re- ted because it requires technollated to the heart too. ogy transfer. Everybody needs to Generally, from 2006 to be trained. It is not enough to send now, how many successful one or two persons here and there. heart surgeries have you done It is team training like a football generally? team. So that you will understand It should be approaching a hun- each other within a short time bedred now. cause time is very important in When will it be recom- heart surgery. You can’t have people mendable to go abroad for a who don’t understand each other heart surgery? and you have to explain everything For those operations that we do, all the time. That way the outcome it is not necessary for Nigerians to will be very abysmal. Very few heart go abroad. The ones we insist that centres can run heart surgery if you people should go out is the one re- do not groom them. What we really quiring the stoppage of the heart. need is a centre that will mentor the But correcting a hole in the heart take off of heart centers. The menthat does not require stopping the toring group will oversee the take heart and those cases are handled off of the centres and then gradually perfectly well here, and there is no withdraw and allow the local team need to travel abroad. to take charge. That is how it is done As an expert, what could be everywhere in the world. The other done to make all heart surger- alternative which is a bit expensive ies including the one requiring is that a mentoring group coming in the stoppage of the heart to to work with the local team dedicatbe handled in Nigeria without edly. That means that government travelling abroad? must reserve money so that the paI think what the government tients can have the operations done needs to understand is that heart at an affordable rate. I don’t think

the government has been committed enough to explore either of the two options. What is done is that you send one person here, he trains and come back, you send another person there he trains and come back, when they are all back, virtually nothing is done. When you do the first operation and the patient dies, everybody runs away, because nobody is ready to experiment life.

And in heart surgery, you talk of success rate of up to a 100 percent.

If you have a centre with 50 to 60 percent success rate or mortality, I am sure people will run away because nobody wants to lose their loved ones. That is the challenge we are having.

Apart from the National Hospital in Abuja, what other centre around the country carries out heart surgeries like you do?

University of Nigeria Enugu is a very prominent centre, you have the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ife is also coming up, we have University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, we have University of Benin Teaching Hospital and University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital.

As a surgeon, what advice will you give people with heart conditions, and what precautionary measures can be adopted to prevent heart related conditions?

Mothers should be a bit careful in the habits we are engaged in while pregnant that could affect the baby. Some drugs and alcohol we take can contribute to heart defect in the baby. But in the genetic cases that are inherited, there is nothing that could be done about that.

There are other heart diseases that are common in our environment that are related to some infections due to poor hygiene. Those ones we need to improve on our hygiene.

Also when you take a lot of fat in the name of enjoyment, you will have a lot of cholesterol in your system and that can result in heart condition that will require an operation.

Avoiding fast food can also reduce the risk of heart condition, including reducing consumption of meat.

Good eating habit, a lot of exercise, avoidance of smoking can improve heart condition.

What are the specific kinds of food to eat and the ones to avoid?

Usually, we discourage people from eating fast food. Proper home meals are better. Fish is better than meat because the kind of cholesterol you get in fish is the positive one while the one in most of the meat is negative one that is harmful to the body. If you must eat meat or egg, you should take less of them. You should take a lot of vegetables, they are very important so that you will maintain good weight and health.

Hypertension, though not a heart condition can aggravate a surgical condition. If you are up to the age of forty, you should regularly check your blood pressure to ensure it is not high. If it is high you have to be on your drugs regularly to ensure the pressure does not shoot up to avoid other complications that could give rise to a surgical condition. High blood pressure does not only affect the heart but the kidney, brain, eyes and the body generally.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 - SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

News Feature

PAGE 3

Nigeria’s demand for cement on the rise

D

angote Cement Plc, a major market share holder in Nigeria’s cement industry, seems to be having a good time in the market as it declared that the demand for cement in Nigeria is on the rise despite the wet weather condition.

The cement company made this known while presenting its 2013 half year results.

“For first half 2013, Dangote Cement Plc.’s management estimates Nigerian cement demand grew 14%, to 11million tonnes (mnt), with March 2013 recording the highest ever monthly sales of cement in the country with 2mnt shipped over the month. In demand terms, second quarter 2013 was stronger than first quarter 2013, despite seasonally better weather conditions in the first quarter, historically” Renaissance Capital, an investment bank, said.

Cement imports into Nigeria have also reportedly declined significantly, with less than half the 1.3mnt imported in the first half 2013 being brought in this quarter.

Dangote Cement’s market share remained at 62% in the first half, despite volumes increasing 29%, to 6.8mnt for the period.

The cement company has released results for first half 2013, showing Earnings Per Share (EPS) up 52% on first half 2012, at N6.33 for the period. The EPS growth rate for 2Q13 was slower, at 32% versus 2Q12, with EPS coming in at N3.17 for the quarter.

“We attribute this growth largely to improved market share in a faster-growing market, better gas utilisation for the period and benefits from the direct-to-customer delivery model. Management expects demand and margins to drop in 3Q13, on account of the rainy season, planned maintenance and lower gas utilisation,” Renaissance Capital said, while analysing the company’s half year results.

Global cement demand is expected to reach four billion tons by the end of the year 2013. In Nigeria, the demand for and consumption of cement is expected to increase in line with global demand, while cement production will grow at a slower rate than demand. Average cement consumption in the world is estimated at 273kg/ Capita which is much higher than that of Nigeria at 105kg/Capita, a 2013 cement industry report by Lead Capital Equity research said.

“Over the years the cement industry has grown but has not been able to fully meet the demands of the Nigerian economy. The gap between the demand for cement and local production has always been met by importation of the product. However, in 2012 the Industry turned things around by surpassing the local demand for cement by approximately 55% and has even gone further by exporting. The total productive capacity of the industry has risen by approximately 21.4 million tonnes from 2008 to 2012 representing a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 43.5%” the 2013 report stated.

Some industry operators have attributed the astronomical growth in capacity to the Backward Integration Policy, introduced by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, which challenged investors to build adequate local cement productive capacity.

“The cement industry in Nigeria has experienced immense growth over the past few years although it is capital intensive due cost of construction of high capacity plants and the heavy machinery deployed in running the business” Lead Capital said.

A cement factory “Cement demand has been on the rise since the conception of cement production in 1957. At present, the total installed capacity is about 28 million tonnes as at 2012, while local consumption is estimated at 19 million tonnes” the report said, adding that in all business environments, the level of infrastructure provides the basic foundation for the overall economic development and growth.

Striving to meet demand Players in the Nigerian cement industry have been aspiring to close up the demand versus supply gap.

The Management of Dangote Cement estimates the Obajana and Ibese cement plants operated using 83% and 98.8% gas/ low-pour fuel oil (LPFO), respectively, over 1H13 – well ahead of the 80% full-year guidance issued earlier this year. Industry watchers say the plant’s adaptations to use coal and the construction of a coal mill at Obajana, in addition to the soon-to-becommissioned mill at Ibese, should help the Group to reduce LPFO usage, in favour of cheaper coal.

Utilisation at Dangote’s Obajana and

“

Ibese increased to 80% and 68%, respectively, in 1H13; and the Gboko plant reopened early in the period.

However, the firm’s Ghana and South Africa branches remain loss-making, despite contributing a combined N7.7bn to the top line in the first half. The Management expects South Africa to begin cement operations in 2014, with Ghana expected to break even by Year End 2013. The next plant completions are expected to be in Zambia, and Cameroon (grinding plant), as well as import facilities in Sierra Leone and Liberia (all in 2014).

Dangote Cement is, however, not the only company seeking to explore and maximise Nigeria’s cement market. Earlier this year, Forbes reported that Nigerian multimillionaire tycoon, Abdulsamad Rabiu, is reportedly constructing a $500 million ultra-modern cement plant in Edo State in the south of Nigeria.

The cement plant, which will have a three million metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) capacity, is near completion and is expected to be commissioned early next year. The report stated that Mr. Rabiu

Some industry operators have attributed the astronomical growth in capacity to the Backward Integration Policy, introduced by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, which challenged investors to build adequate local cement productive capacity.

disclosed this during the signing of a $35 million contract agreement between his company, BUA Group and Siemens for the construction of a gas turbine power plant for the new BUA Group Edo Cement factory, earlier this year. Siemens is expected to supply three Siemens Gas Turbines (SGT) 500 turbines with a total capacity of 450 megawatts to supply power to the cement plant.

With this new cement production facility, Mr. Rabiu will compete with Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, for a share of Nigeria’s lucrative cement market.

Mr. Rabiu, who is worth $675 million

by FORBES’ latest estimates, is easily Aliko Dangote’s fiercest and most formidable competition in Nigeria, according to the report. His conglomerate, the BUA Group, has substantial interests in the key sectors Dangote is heavily vested in- cement, flour and sugar production.

“Dangote has always held the upper hand in all these sectors, but BUA Group has been a worthy challenger. With BUA’s new facility, Dangote’s monopolistic dominance in the very lucrative cement sector might be endangered, but only a little bit. BUA’s 3 million-mtpa facility is only a tiny fraction of Dangote’s cement production assets in Nigeria, which have a combined capacity of 20 million mtpa” Forbes said.

Lafarge Wapco Cement Nigeria plc, which earlier in the year estimated that Nigeria has a market potential of cement consumption of over 50 million metric tons per annum, against the present 28 million metric tons and $6 billion investment, and said the nation’s cement consumption potential of the Nigerian market is huge, is also a major contender in the nation’s cement industry.

Culled from premiumtimes

PAGE 4

Special Report

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

South West APC: Too soon

Chief Bisi Akande From Adesoji Oyinlola, Dapo Amara, Suleiman Idris, Ayo Samuel and Mathew Irinoye, Lagos

T

he political marriage between three frontline political parties in Nigeria, namely the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) was recently blessed by the political umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), raising the hope of the people for future vibrant electoral contest.

Since the party was registered, political analysts have expressed divergent views on the merger and the way forward for Nigerian politics.

Many believe that the registration of the party portends a good future for Nigerian politics, while others are of the view that the move has clearly shown that Nigerian politics has come of age.

Some other school of thought contend that the registration has further given INEC some level of credibility.

However, the question on the lips of many Nigerians now is What next?

While some Nigerians have demonstrated that they are tired of the domineering posture of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), others are still in doubt that the APC is capable of delivering the required ‘change’ as stated in its motto.

The fear of many Nigerians now however is that whether the process of selecting and appointing important positions within the

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu APC will not lead the members to start singing discordant tunes reminiscent of the typical struggle within major political parties.

For the ACN, it still strongly believes that it is the forerunner among the three parties because of its domineering powers in the south-west.

A member of the ACN under the Ijesha-North Federal Constituency in Osun State, Comrade Joseph Oluwole Ojo told our correspondent that he believes that electing national leaders for the APC will not lead to wrangling within the party.

“The registration of APC is perfect and this means that we are developing; it means that the INEC can be relied upon, had it been that the registration was not accepted the situation would have been chaotic by now” Comrade Ojo said that Osun State Government under the leadership of Rauf Aregbesola has its priority on agriculture development apart from the other programmes it is currently working upon, just like Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State

“

is concentrating efforts on building roads and making the state a Mega city.

“You will see a positive reaction, in terms of leadership, what ACN as a forerunner of the party is doing for the populace is worthy of emulation,” he said.

However, while the man from Osun from Osun is full of praises for Governor Aregbesola, same cannot be said of Ogun state, where members of the CPC are disagreeing on how the leadership of the APC should be formed.

Also, contrary to the belief that the APC has among other plans to shop for fresh blood who are capable of bringing good leadership to bear on the nation, some groups have started clamouring for a return to the status quo, whereby, some veteran politicians will still be thrown up to contest sensitive elective positions.

The tussles are coming amid an alleged understanding and agreement that respective parties would be allowed to produce candidates for elections in areas, where they are known to be strong as reached at the national level

during the merger talks, but the issues of party structure are muted in the said arrangements.

However, some members of the ACN denied the existence of such an agreement, which they noted, conflicts with the provisions of the new party’s constitution that upholds primary election as the only due process through which candidates must emerge.

From Ogun state where the crisis is evolving, CPC Gubernatorial Candidate in the last election , Veteran Olawale Okunniyi is battle ready to contest the party ticket with the incumbent Senator Ibikunle Amosun.

Addressing his teeming supporters and APC Leaders, who thronged the Ishara town hall on Sunday to welcome him to Remo North Local government area of Ogun state, Okunniyi refuted the media report of conceding the 2015 APC ticket to Governor Amosun.

He said there was no such discussion between him and Amosun or between CPC and ACN leaders in the state “as it is too early to engage in such untactical

However, some members of the ACN denied the existence of such an agreement, which they noted, conflicts with the provisions of the new party’s constitution that upholds primary election as the only due process through which candidates must emerge.

discussions.”

“As a matter of fact, the CPC block within the APC in Ogun state led by us has the capacity and will to produce the next Governor of Ogun state but we shall carefully work it out within APC when the time comes as our national leadership has advised us to always strive to play formidable role in making the historic merger a huge success”.

Okunniyi, who commenced a state wide mobilization tour last week to create awareness for the newly registered mega party promised to formally announce his political aspiration for the 2015 elections in January 2014.

He however charged his teeming supporters to rally the party to produce the next government in Ogun state.

However it’s a different story in Ekiti and Osun state where merging parties had gubernatorial aspirants before the APC was registered.

A source within the ACN bloc told Peoples Daily that its candidates who are the incumbents in their various states would flag the APC tickets in the 2014 elections. “we all know the weight of these party before coming into APC, most of them can even run a party secretariat, so our governor would clinch the party tickets, we have nothing to fear about,” the source said.

Another contentious issue is the conversion of ACN offices in the region to APC state offices.

Sources close to other mergering parties said they would not allow the ACN bloc of the APC render them useless in the new party.

“We know that ACN is a major Contd. on Page 5

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

PAGE 5

Special Report

a discord over positions

are not literate now know that there are two dominant parties in the country. APC will surely survive the initial hiccups over leadership and party structures. I think the leaders of the various parties that formed it are taking the right steps in the right direction to ensure everything goes on smoothly. Nigerians have waited for such an opportunity since the 1993 elections to have a vibrant space like this. APC has come to stay l am sure of that.

Mohammed Bindi, Hausa leader in Agege: The party will definitely overcome any crisis in the first place. It is normal for it to have these type of things at the early stage. Anything good will always have some challenges at the beginning. PDP will have a good fight in subsequent elections in the country especially in the north where l come from.

Gov. Raji Babatunde Fashola Contd. from Page 4 stakeholder in the process and we are in their stronghold we also have our own supporters here in the South West, we are going to be part of the party structure because all parties are collapsing, we might decide to use ACN offices or get new ones but we all, ACN, CPC, APGA, ANPP and DPP are part of the APC in all states no matter their numbers.”

A cross section of people who spoke on the newly registered APC, however expressed some level of optimism that whatever happens in the future, the coming of the APC is capable to alter the domineering stature of the PDP. A major stakeholder in the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Peter Ojelatan in a chat with our correspondent

Gov. Rauf Aregbesola commended the registration of APC. But he however lamented that there has not been adequate representation of maritime stakeholders in Nigerian politics.

“Here in Nigeria we so much believe in theory, but we in the maritime sector need a practical aspect of Nigerian politics, with what we are experiencing in the maritime sector we are not satisfied,” he said Comrade Ojelatan stated that what stakeholders are after is a political party that will deliver results. According to him, merging parties together is not the issue here, but a political party that will move the nation forward is what matters.

“The composition of the people coming together are not new, they have been in the system, but all

Nigerians are after is a political party that will deliver them from hardship” “If really we are to practise democracy in a transparent and honest way, I don’t think PDP can pose a threat to the APC merger, but we all know that the incumbency power always creates an edge, but if the opposition is firm, it will not work,” he said.

The chairman of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ikeja branch, Monday Onyekachi Ubani said that, Nigerians now have an alternative: “this will really put everyone on his toes, both the ruling party and the newly merged APC to give Nigerians dividends of democracy, any sleep by any of them, the other takes over “ Ubani also noted that, the merger by APC will create keen competition, ideas and manifesto to allow people know whether political parties want to offer them their aspirations. He maintained that the approval of the party registration by the Independent electoral commission (INEC )is a good development for the citizens of the country.

“It is important when you have a choice, in a country where there is no choice the country is finished, so Nigerians now have a choice and the fact that APC has emerged out of three political parties, they are coming with strength, and now

“ Gov. Kayode Fayemi

PDP can not dismiss APC with a way of hand, everything now has to be contested, any party that fails to do peoples aspiration will fail,” he added.

The NBA chairman while answering questions on what happens to the pending matter in court by the other parties before the merger, said APC automatically takes over the liability and assets of the parties.

“If there are cases pending in court, the new party inherits those cases, they change the name to APC but they have to take over the liability and asset. The case would not be dismissed under the new name, they would change name to APC and inherit those cases” he added What therefore are the likely consequences of this merger and registration for the other smaller political parties in Nigeria that are yet to merge? This remains a question to be answered. The Independent National Electoral Commission finally registered the All Progressive Congress, after the initial hurdles posed by some political jesters.

Kola Abiodun is a youth leader in Ojudu Berger area of Ikeja: The registration is a good omen for better political participation for Nigerians. For one, even those who

Ambrose Akhigbe, aspirant: I must tell you the generality of Nigerians are very happy for the new party. Its process of evolution was mirred in controversies from different quarters and finally God has made it possible for it to emerge. There is no better thing to happen in this country at this stage than this. APC will stand firm and compete favourably in the coming elections in Nigeria. I am geared up toward educating the youth on the need for us to engage in the political process of this country and l know that is one of the tenets of the party.

It will surely become the dominant political party in no distant time, mark my words.

Madu Chukwuemeka, politician in Anambra: The registration of the APC is the best thing INEC has done. Though the party will definitely encounter initial teething challenges just like a new born baby, it will grow into maturity very soon especially as Nigerians have anxiously waited for its emergence. It has balanced the political equation because we have had a dominant party which has not moved the country from the abyss of poverty in the past 13 years. My advice is that APC must ensure it musters enough vote in the South East and South South region of the country. It should not only concentrate on the South West and North this time around.

Let the leader be someone who is detribalized Nigeria, not a sectional leader.

We know that ACN is a major stakeholder in the process and we are in their stronghold we also have our own supporters here in the south west, we are going to be part of the party structure because all parties are collapsing, we might decide to use ACN offices or get new ones but we all, ACN, CPC, APGA, ANPP and DPP are part of the APC in all states no matter their numbers.

Page 6

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10

News

— SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Plateau crisis: Taroks

want to take our land, says Emir of Wase From Ado Abubakar Musa, Jos

T

he Emir of Wase in Wase local government area of Plateau state, Alhaji Muhammadu Sambo Haruna has accused Tarok ethnic group of Langtang local government area of the state of plots to take over Wase territory in an attempt to extend its land area.

The Emir, who is the fourteenth Emir of wase, said this in an interview with Peoples Daily reporter at his palace in Wase shortly after addressing the people on Eid-el-Fitir festival on Thursday.

“It is very clear that Taroks are those who always attack us and even children know that. They killed our children and rustled our cows.

“It is not possible that because you are stronger than someone, you then take over what belongs to the person. Taroks like to own what does not belong to them. It is not done like that. Taroks by origin are not part of Wase and that is the fact. “ “Throughout the period of Ramadan, nobody in Wase had the opportunity to sleep well not to talk of supplicating to Allah. We have to always stand on our feet and defend ourselves against any attack. We do not launch attack on them so they should leave us alone.

“We are all the time under attack. It would be recalled that in 2002 - 2004 during the administration of the former governor Joshua Dariye, security agencies were used to attack Wase for no reason. Many people lost their lives and properties worth millions of naira including rustling of cows, “he added.

Responding to the accusation on phone, the youth chairman of Langtang North, Istifanus Ayuba, denied the accusation, saying that it was not possible for them to take over Wase as their territory.

“We cannot send people out of their homes. We only want our chiefdom to be reinstalled, “Ayuba said.

Wase has been in serious conflict since 2002.

The Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Garbai Elkanemi and his courtiers leading the Sallah Durbar at the Shehu’s palace in Maiduguri yesterday... The durbar was suspended for four years due to insecurity

Rivers Crisis: Amaechi shuns PDP peace talks From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

R

ivers State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Hon. Felix Obuah has said that the outright rejection of the party’s peace overtures by the State Governor, Rt. Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is very unfortunate.

The Chairman noted that the invitation he gave to the Governor and the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike was in keeping with the belief that as a father, the party can reconcile its differences. “For us, only Rivers people can settle their internal problems and I wonder why the

governor hastily rebuffed the effort as if he is not interested in making peace with his party and people” he added.

A statement issued and signed by the Special Adviser on media to the State Chairman, Jerry Needam said by this development, the entire Rivers people should be able to read in between the lines to know who are behind the crisis, stressing that it’s only those who have ulterior motives that will object to peace initiatives being brokered by the leadership of the party in the state.

The party said the peace moves were deemed necessary by the chairman so that Governor

Amaechi and his political aides will stop using the crisis as an excuse for not discharging their duties and also stop them from using the state resources in pursuing personal political agenda which is presently the case.

The statement however noted that even though Chief Wike had not reacted, the call for reconciliation between him and Governor Amaechi was in good faith and this shows that the party is caring and acting like an elder.

“We’ll however not coerce any person or group into any peace agreement. It behoves on all persons involved to choose their course and take the consequences of their

actions” he said, noting that the supremacy of the party will remain for all times and can never be compromised.

“We must re-emphasise that our party is not a respecter of any person(s). It will be fair and just to all members in the state but it will be firm and courageous as well”, he added.

The party leadership therefore enjoins all factions in the crisis to shield their swords and embrace the peace and reconciliation moves by the state chairman having learnt enough from the crisis that peace remains the only path to meaningful growth, cohesion and development.

Muslims observe Eid-el-Fitr under tight security From Ado Abubakar Musa, Jos

T

he Muslims in Jos city and other parts of Plateau state observed Eid-el-Fitr under tight security following the conclusion of the Ramadan Fasting which ended on Wednesday.

Similarly, the residents of Wase local government area of Plateau state who had been in serious conflict since 2002 also performed their Eid

el Fitr amid tight security with all street corners stationed with soldiers and police.

In his sermon, the Chief Imam of Jos Central Mosque, Malam Balarabe Daud, urged all Muslims to utilise the knowledge they have gathered during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

“Fasting is a shield to Muslims against hell fire. Therefore whoever observes it and did it well has a

share,” the sermon said.

The Imam called on the people to dissociate themselves from all forms of violence as it only draws the society backward, adding that people should focus their minds on developmental issues.

“I am calling on all Muslims to forgive and forget all that happened.

Let us be patient and love one another. Let us tell the world peace has returned to our state,” the Imam

said.

The sermon however called on the people to engage in prayer for peaceful co-existence among the adherents of Christianity and Islam.

In his goodwill message , the Special Task Force (STF) commander, Major general Henry Ayoola , urged all the people of Plateau state to “embrace peace “ , adding that peace was the only way out of every existing society.

Yobe, Borno worst hit by polio

By Patrick Andrew

T

he security challenges in Yobe and Borno states have made the two states account for over fifty percent of polio cases in Nigeria, Dr. Abdulrahman Olatunji Funso, chairman, Nigeria National Polioplus Committee of Rotary International, said yesterday.

According to him, “The

security situation has been a huge setback. Routine immunisation is carried out to check polio every month. But because of the security challenges, especially in Yobe and Borno states, we have not been able to do those campaigns for about four months in some parts of the these states until recently.”

He said his committee has been working very hard, and

regretted the recent cases of polio in Nigeria. He said it is heartrending to hear of cases of new polio, but expressed optimism that the battle is being won.

“We also look at statistics, reducing from 10 to one. Any time we find one case of polio, it upsets us terribly. But we are comfortable by the fact that the federal government of Nigeria as well as most of the state governments

are committed to the eradication of polio. Our partners have put unprecedented human resources at our disposal to ensure that the job is done.”

He lamented the security challenges in the North East stressing that it has had adversely affected routine immunisation, “Because of the security challenges, especially in Yobe and Borno states, we have not been

able to carry out the monthly campaigns for about four months in some parts of the these states until recently,” he said.

Further, he said following the resumption of the campaign, parents have accessed immunisation in those areas, adding though that there were still some local governments that they were yet to penetrate adequately to immunise children.

Cover

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Masari explodes ...

Northern govs have failed * How APC will stop PDP rigging in 2015

By Stanley Onyekwere

F

ormer Speaker of the House of Representatives and interim national Vice Chairman of the newly registered All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari has accused governors of northern states of insensitivity to the growing decay in the region.

Masari who spoke in an exclusive interview with Peoples Daily Weekend said while the North and its people are wallowing in abject poverty, dearth of infrastructure, decay of the education and health sectors, the governors have failed to apply allocated funds for meaningful development of the region.

He also revealed that with the emergence of APC, it will be a herculean task for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to use its machinery of coercion to rig elections in 2015.

According to APC chieftain, who was a PDP member, the ruling party had been losing elections for quite some time but were using instruments of coercion like the security agencies as well as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to manipulate the system in their favour.

“But this time around with the merging of political parties as a formidable alternative vehicle, certainly that is not going to be allowed and it is going to be impossible for the PDP to think that they will use the system to rig elections again.”, he said.

Masari labeled some northern governors as the worst in the country, accusing them of being responsible for leaving the region in the worst state of poverty and illiteracy.

He said, the northern governors are only interested in seeing who wears the best designer wrist watches, possesses the choicest cars or has the longest convoy, as well as whose public ceremony are well attended with high profile personalities than the other, thereby neglecting real governance.

According to the former Speaker; “the governors are not willing to do what they are expected to do because they are not accountable to the system; because they believe that come next round of elections, it will be done the same way that brought them into the office in the first place”.

He said “Judging by the responses we are getting from people, the caliber of people we have in APC and yearning of people, that this government has not delivered on its promises. APC is offering an alternative vehicle with visionary leadership based on issues.

“What PDP has is that they are in government; they control machineries of coercion; that’s all. But we believe with the human resources that are in APC, obviously APC is the party of choice come 2015;because when you allow people to freely choose, which is what we must make sure we do, to allow people to freely choose, and to make sure that what the people have chosen is what is given to them.

On the method the APC would adopt to dislodge the coercive structure often accused of working for the ruling PDP, he disclosed that APC will mobilise people heavily to defend and protect their votes and election results.

“With the APC governors in the whole of the South West region with the exception of Ondo state, the people and the resources are available for doing so; I don’t think that the PDP is going to have an easy ride in 2015.”

Also asked why most Nigerian politicians do not play politics based on ideology; he said the APC would not play the politics of personality but on issues, because it is an issue-based political party that stems from principles and issues.

On the possible difficulty in selecting the party’s leaders and flagbearers, he said that there were mechanisms laid down in its constitution to guide the process.

“The constitution is clear as to the procedures and methods that will be used in identifying our candidates. I want to assure Nigerians that there will be internal democracy in APC”, he said.

Read the full interview on pages 8 and 9.

“

the northern governors are only interested in seeing who wears the best designer wrist watches, possesses the choicest cars or has the longest convoy, as well as whose public ceremony are well attended with high profile personalities than the other, thereby neglecting real governance.

Peoples Daily WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

PAGE 8

Cover Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari was the Speaker of the House of Representatives from Katsina state on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Now, the interim National Vice Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Masari in this exclusive interview, harps on APC’s plans for 2015, it’s antidote for election rigging and the state of the North and more. His spoke with Hameed Bello, Patrick Andrew and Abubakar Ibrahim…. Excerpts

S

ir, the APC which you are one of the leaders, has just been registered by INEC and the election year is drawing nearer. What are Nigerians to expect from your party?

Even though APC is new, it is not new in the political arena. The parties that are merging have been in existence for quite some time, some since the beginning of this experiment in 1999 clearly working along with each other.

So really, politicians in these parties are experienced politicians. So, the issue of 2015 is not an issue about time as far as the party is concerned. We have a pool of leaders in all the merging parties, which has become one party now. So, really in terms of choosing leaders, I think it won’t be very difficult for APC to come up with those that will represent them at various elections in 2015.So, there isn’t a problem in terms of leaders that would come out of the APC camp in 2015. And I can certainly say that APC is ready for 2015.

With the caliber of leaders that you have in now, many believe that in itself is a problem, because it’s like you have leaders that are surplus to requirement and people think that it will be very difficult for you to select your leaders out of the many credible leaders that you have.

When APC was about to be registered; when the negotiations and the discussions were going on, for the merger, so many people said it will never happen but it has come to pass, and it has happened. So, when it comes to choosing our flag bearers, it is not going to be as difficult as other people think. We know that PDP will use its own means to try to infiltrate and destabilise APC. This is part of the game and we are also ready for them. There is a mechanism in place to select our candidates, and they work according to our constitution.

And the constitution is clear as to the procedures and methods that will be used in identifying our candidates. I want to assure Nigerians that there will be internal democracy in APC. There is tendency for the ruling party to infiltrate the APC camp with people who will pretend to be hardcore or mainstream members of the APC, but in the long run, they may turn out to be betrayer; considering that it’s the greatest threat to the ruling party. So, how are we sure that we will not have a repeat of what happened in 2011?

We all know ourselves. Right from 1999 we knew ourselves, and all the people that are aspiring for leadership especially at a higher level, we know each other; and we know the role played by everyone. Also, some of us, whatever role we might have played, may be some may have a change of mind or based on the reality on ground. When I found out that may be you are not what you said you are; and you are not doing what you said you will, obviously I may have a change of heart and join those who really wish the country well. We have a situation here where the country needs salvation. So, in the process of that, certainly all shades of opin-

ion of people will be accommodated.

And in the end, obviously even those who made mistake yesterday or who are willing to repent of their mistakes, are welcome. It’s like that in politics, sometimes interest may change and certainly in pursuing your interest, you have to take certain decisions and positions. So, I’m sure that I understand the situation. We are all in Nigeria from 1999 to date, and we know what had happened; not only in 2011, but in 2007 and 2003. So, we always believe that we have taken steps to make sure that the same mistake is not repeated.

You recently went to Minna to visit the former military President, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and there were criticisms about the visit, for the fact that IBB is a PDP man. Why the visit?

Whatever you may call IBB, the fact is that he was a former president of this country and he ruled this country for eight years. So, whichever card he is carrying doesn’t disqualify anybody from visiting him on national issues. And people like him are people that one cannot do without; they are people that you must deal with. So, as regards criticism by some people, we are in a democracy and they are entitled to their opinions. And whatever we do, once the majority is on our side, I think we are home and dry.

Some Nigerians believe that there is really no difference between the APC and PDP, given the fact that a good number of ex-PDP men are in the APC. What is the major distinction between the APC and PDP and what hope does the APC represent for Nigeria?

Anybody who is saying that there is no difference between the two parties doesn’t know the difference between black and white. Even those who are in PDP that have found themselves now in the APC, are doing so or have done so on principle. You find out that it’s no doubt they left the party because they are not even appointed this or given that. When we all came and joined the PDP, the founding fathers today who are still in PDP, you can count them on your finger tips. Why did so many people leave? It is because the party has derailed from the vision and mission of the founding fathers.

Some of us have fought the party at various levels, but in the end because of the powers they command, we had to leave, as we were squeezed out because really there was no place for ideas. I was thinking that at a point, and I believe even up till now that ability is disability in PDP. So, really the fact that some people were in PDP before and now they are in APC, doesn’t mean that there is no difference between APC and PDP. And by the time the manifesto of the APC comes out, we will see that the difference is very clear.

It is said that most Nigerian politicians do not play politics based on ideology. Is the APC or the leadership of the APC different from this notion?

Soon you will find out that APC will be well grounded on issues of ideology. Like I said, by the time we put our manifesto on the table, every Nigerian will know that there is a differ-

Gen. Ibrahim Babangida

Asiwa ju Bola Ahmed Tinubu ence. The APC is not going to be about politics of personality of individual but on issues. It’s going to be an issue-based political party that stems from certain principles and issues; no more lawlessness. We are not going to behave like the PDP changing the goal post, that every time you find that the goal post has changed.

What is the level of confidence that your party has in taking over power in 2015?

Judging by the responses we get from people, and judging by the caliber of people we have in APC as well as the yearning of people that this government has not delivered on its promises, people are looking for an alternative vehicle; and APC is offering that alternative vehicle with visionary leadership based on issues. So, we believe that if you look at the human resources that are in APC, obviously APC is the party of choice come 2015. What PDP has is that they are in government; they control machineries of coercion. That’s all. But when you allow people to freely choose; which is what we must make sure we do; to allow people to freely choose, and to make sure that what the people have chosen is the one that is given to them. This is the fundamental issue.

PDP has been losing elections for quite some time but they were using instruments of coercion like the security agencies and INEC, to manipulate the system. But this time around with the merging of political parties, with a

very strong opposition, certainly that is not going to be allowed and it is going to be impossible for the PDP to think that they will use the system to rig elections again.

But then, again the system remains; the security agencies and INEC. What method would the APC adopt to dislodge these elements that have often been considered to be working for the PDP? What is really required is what we are going to do; mobilise people heavily. Yes, we will mobilise people heavily to defend and protect their votes and election results, which is doable. In some parts of the country at a particular time, it was there. There was a time it was done in Bauchi, there was a time it was done in Kano and the whole APC governors in the south west did it, by claiming their mandates from PDP in 2007. That’s why we have now the APC governors in the whole of the south west region with the exception of Ondo state.

So, since it was done somewhere, it’s doable; it can be done; and the people and the resources are available for doing so. Therefore, I don’t think that the PDP is going to have a free and easy ride in 2015.

From your experience and the moves the party has been making, are there hopes that some of the PDP governors will join your party?

Contd on Page 9

Peoples Daily WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Cover

Contd from Page 8

I think I’m not in a position to comment on that now.

You talked about some of the northern governors being perhaps the worst in Nigeria and these persons would still be part of your process for change. Do they really represent the change if they join you?

I don’t even know which governors you’re talking about, but actually the performance of governors matter. This is because the states are where the people are. And if we take the performance in terms of governance by governors in Nigeria, they are still the least, because they have been responsible for the worst situation we have;the level of poverty and illiteracy and the North is the worst. I think we have the worst governors compared to other regions of the country. Because what the northern governors are interested is to see who wears the best designer wrist watch or cars or who has the longest convoy; and whose public ceremony are well attended with high profile personalities than the other. So, really if you look at the all the 36 states of the federation in terms of education, we are the most backward. It is not that it’s not doable; it is actually doable to a willing mind. And they are not willing to do what they are expected to do because they are not accountable to the system. The people really didn’t put them there; it was the security agencies and INEC that put them there.

And they also believe that come next round of elections, it will be done the same way that brought them into the office in the first place.

But certainly we must commend the government of Kano, who unfortunately is PDP, even though his own brand of PDP is Kwankwasiyya. Within the last two years in office, he has sent hundreds of Kano indigenes all over the world to study; and he has comprehensively attacked the issue of primary education. This is what we want the northern governors to do; give people education and allow them, they willfind their levels in life.

When compared to Kano state would you say Katsina has achieved in this respect?

Talking about governance in Kastina state, even going by the Federal government statistics, Katsina is the last. So, what are we talking about?

You wanted to be governor of Kastina state before 2011 or there about.

Are you willing to go back and give it a shot again?

I’m not an ambitious politician. But I think, occupying political office is not my priority now. My priority is to first of all to put APC on a sound footing in the country, then what comes after will be determined by the dynamics of the politics itself.

As it stands now, the PDP and APC seems to be the giants in the politics arena. Are you a supporter of two-party system or a multi-party system?

Actually, I think the issue of multi-party system is constitutional, and I will continue to support multi-party system, believing that out of it, strong political parties that could emerge like what we have today. It is a process that started in 1999, now it has cumulated into two big political parties; not that certainly we will not allow smaller parties to function. Even in the most advanced countries, there are smaller parties, only that because they are small, that’s why they are concerned about local or some state elections. We don’t get to hear about them.

Fundamentally now, we need very strong two parties, so that if one is in power there is one in opposition, strong enough to provide alternative to the one in office. And the way the Nigeria opposition parties were going before, they were so weak to confront the federal might that a given time they had control of over 27 states, they could always manipulate, but now with the another vehicle strong enough as PDP, obviously we can see the calculation on the electoral fortune will definitely change.

Personally as a politician, what is your take on the debate on local government autonomy?

I would prefer local governments to be autonomous, because people live in local governments. Now if funds meant for local govern-

PAGE 9

Occupying political office is not my priority now

Masari ments are going directly to them, and elections at the level is free and fair, the local government system will work. Part of the problem people are worried about is; people are saying that they don’t have either qualified or experienced persons at that level. No, it’s gradually that you will find competent people going for local government elections. But so long as you are undermining the financial and political independence of the local government, no responsible person would go there. The issue is, allow the system to work, and over time, the system will produce good people. But the governors have pocketed the local governments and the funds meant for them. So, first, local government elections have become a fight even where they say they are having it. In some states like my own state, you don’t talk about local government election,

“

it’s not even on the calendar, it’s not even on the agenda of the government; whereas the constitution talks of democratically-elected local government councils. And even on this, people of so many states can take their governors to court. Let the Supreme Court interprete the meaning of that, and you will see all of them are flouting the law, because they have made their states Houses of Assembly not even up to a rubber stamp. Because when you rubber-stamp something, it means with or without their authority, the governor can do what they like. And member (of the State Assembly) who dared to ask for implementation and gave statistics of implementation of the budget, was suspended.

He is suspended from the House, simply because he has asked the right question. That in all the budgetary allocation, especially in the

People have been tried in courts, and nothing happened; people have stolen in the name of power nothing happened; people have stolen in the name of subsidy, nothing happened; people who have stolen in the name of pension; people who have stolen from NNPC, nothing happened and nothing is happening.

area of education, none was implemented up to 30 percent. So, the reality is that the local government should be autonomous, because we must move towards diversification.What is killing us is unification. I do believe that everybody should cut his cloth according to his or her size. You cannot expect my local government chairman to be earning the same thing with his counterpart in Port Harcourt or Ikeja who is earning even more than a state government.

People hope that remuneration is authority, no. Authority is totally different. I can earn ten kobo; you can earn 100 kobo, we have the same authority as chairmen of local governments.

As a governor, you can earn N20 million; I can earn N2 million, it does not diminish my authority as a governor of my state. But you are doing this because your state has the resources to do that. If my state doesn’t have the resources to do same, then I should as a responsible leader be able to reflect on the finances of the state, and cut my salary; my everything. It’s only in Nigeria that if you have a state, where from the governor up to the councilor, take their children, their families to private hospitals and schools. If you are an education secretary of a local government, it’s the chairman of that local government who is directly responsible for primary education who will take their children to private schools; what are they telling you? Especially here in the north where the public education has collapsed, the public healthcare has collapsed. The issue with the local government is that nothing tangible is done there because the entire system is corrupt.

Who made it corrupt? Why shouldn’t it be corrupt when the local government is allocated N20 million or 80 million monthly and instead of giving them the total amount, the governor as ks the chairman ‘you, how much is your salary? This is your salary, and use one million for overhead’. The next time you say you want all the whole local government to buy all frames of pictures for ten million each, ‘bring your money; you take frames’, whether you like frames or you don’t…a governor, collecting money meant for local governments administration and spending like money from his own pocket, like it’s his father’s money.

With this, you are encouraging corruption. if the governor is not corrupt, he can take care of the local government chairman. If I’m a governor, how can local government chairman because of wedding in my house or certain ceremony in my house will bring something; I should be the one to give him, not him giving to me. So, the reality is that you are telling people to go steal and bring to me.

Experience has shown that most of these governors especially from the North after looting the treasury and recklessly mismanaging public funds get away with it. What structure is your party going to put in place to ensure that governors who misuse public funds are brought to book event after leaving office?

We will allow the law to take its full course.

Nigeria is not short of laws in that area. It just because the laws are being applied selectively and in some cases completely put aside. From 2003 to about 2007, in particular, how many governors are in court? And nobody is talking about it. Today in Nigeria, in fact we are even in a situation that it has become very difficult to even differentiate the bad and the ugly. People have been tried in courts, and nothing happened; people have stolen in the name of power nothing happened; people have stolen in the name of subsidy, nothing happened; people who have stolen in the name of pension; people who have stolen from NNPC, nothing happened and nothing is happening. And even those few cases of prosecutions that were done by the last regime are being pardoned. So, really, it’s a herculean task before APC but when the party comes to power, the rule of law will really take its course.

In the PDP there has been agitation for power shift to the north, is your party going to pursue rotational presidency?

First of all, there is nothing rotational.

There is a constitution of the party, and in it, it has been stated clearly how leadership will emerge; and we will go according to the provisions of the constitution of the party.

Page 10

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

News

Gov.

Akpabio harps on education as weapon for development

By Mike Etim, Uyo

G

Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko in handshake with the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki at Government House Sokoto on Eid el Fitr Sallah celebration

Kauraye thugs kill one, injure 4 in Katsina From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

T

he dreaded Kauraye thugs have struck again in Katsina where they killed 23 year old Salim Mu’azu and injured four others when they launched an attack on the residents of Kwabren Dorawa in Sabuwar Unguwa Katsina.

According to an eye witness, the dreaded group moving in large numbers launched the attack on

the eve of Eid-el-Fitr celebration where they started attacking people on their way and in the process met the deceased on his way to his shop where they stabbed him severally.

The source added that the deceased died on the spot due to excessive loss of blood from the injuries inflicted on him while the other four persons who were tailors were attacked in their shops.

Similarly, the thugs carrying dangerous weapons did not stop

there as they embarked on raids of shops in the area where they destroyed materials in a tailors’ shops and carted away some.

When contacted, Katsina Police Spokesman, DSP Aminu Abubakar Saddiq confirmed the incident where he disclosed that two suspects were arrested in connection with the attack.

He also disclosed that locally made weapons and some substances suspected to be hard drugs were

recovered from the suspects.

It would be recalled that it was only last week that the state police commissioner, Alhaji Muhammad Hurdi vowed that the command had completely checked the menace of the dreaded thugs.

Our Correspondent recalls that this was the second time in a year that life was lost in an attack by the Kauraye thugs where they always inflict injuries to unfortunate victims who cross their path.

Heavy rains disrupt Sallah celebrations in Kano From Edwin Olofu, Kano

M

uslims faithful in the ancient city of Kano were forced to remain indoors as a result of the heavy downpour which brought to a halt Sallah festivities in the commercial city.

The heavy downpour that started in some areas before the Juma’at prayers while in other areas it started after the Jumaa’t that took residents by surprise

causing them to remain at home and celebrate the Sallah with their families.

Our reporter gathered that movements were brought to a halt as a result of the water that flooded drains, sewages and roads across the city, thereby forcing people to remain indoors.

Many were forced to cut short their traditional Sallah visitations (Yawon Sallah), which is known to be on a day after the Eid-el fitr

as a result of the heavy downpour.

Peoples Daily Weekend also gathered that the popular Kwarin Gogau sewage in Fagge Local Government, which has already been planned to be covered by the State’s government to avoid flood was flooded by the heavy rainfall threatening to submerge buildings in the area.

It was learnt that the main roads across the city and roundaboutswere flooded with water,

forcing motorists to stop and others move cautiously with full head lights to avoid collision.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Ja’afar road, Dorayi area, was said to have been covered with water up to BUK road.

Similarly, our reporter gathered that Murtala Muhammad way, Katsina Road, Post Office Road, Lodge Road and many other roads around the GRA area were also flooded with water.

overnor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State has said that education remains the most powerful weapon that any government can use to transform the society into a haven of peace, progress and sustainable development.

Chief Akpabio who was speaking while inaugurating some educational-based projects in Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, Ikot Osurua, recently described education as a critical foundation in the effort to engender a better future for children as well as key in reducing poverty.

Represented by Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr. Martyns Udo-Inyang, Governor Akpabio said “The State government is so passionate about the growth of education in Akwa Ibom, this is why the government will continue to develop infrastructure and upgrade facilities in this institution, just as developing capacity of teachers and workers.”

Emphasising education as the most critical investment of his administration, the governor advised parents “to take advantage of the free and compulsory education programme of government by ensuring that every child in Akwa Ibom goes to school.”

The Governor, who charged Nigerian students on maintenance culture, urged the management and students of Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic “to take good care of the facilities provided for them by ensuring their protection against vandalism.”

Appreciating Governor Akpabio for giving the institution a facelift, the Rector of the Polytechnic, Barr. Israel Afia, described him as “the most education friendly governor in this country,” promising that his investment in the institution would not been in vain.

According to him, “it took 25 years for the Polytechnic to be transformed, but it took only a short period of time for the education-friendly governor to provide modern, befitting and requisite infrastructure for the school.”

The projects inaugurated in the Polytechnic were six dormitory complexes; Students’ Centre; Academic Affairs/Establishment block; Business Studies/Accountancy Department building; Bursar’s Office; and a Cafeteria complex.

News Page 11

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 - SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Early Marriage will reduce pre-marital sex —MSSN From Mohammad Kaduna

Ibrahim,

M

President Goodluck Jonathan (3rd from right) accompanied by the Niger Delta Minister Peter Orubebe (1st left) and the Niger Delta Minister of State, Gaius Ishaku at the Inspection of the Otuoke Community Skill Acquisition Centre, during the President’s Sallah Holiday visit to Otuoke in Bayelsa State On Thursday ...STATE HOUSE PHOTOS

Suspected kidnapper set ablaze in Ilorin From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

P

andemonium broke out and tension mounted at Airport\Odota area in Ilorin, Kwara State capital yesterday as the youth in the area apprehended a man who allegedly paraded himself as a mad man.

Our correspondent gathered that the youth of the area caught

the man with two children along Airport road and was about to fly out with them before he was caught.

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the aggrieved youth beat the suspected children kidnapper to a state of coma and later set him ablaze even when the suspect was shouting that they should take him to the nearest Police Station.

While he was still pleading

for his life, he was reportedly set ablaze before the arrival of the Police.

Efforts to get police confirmation proved abortive as at the time of filling this report. But it was gathered that the corpse of the suspected kidnapper was thrown into a nearby river by the Police from Adewole Estate Police Station and later took him away.

Shehu of Borno to insurgents: Respect sanctity of lives From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri

T

he Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Garbai ElKanemi yesterday urged the Boko Haram insurgents to respect sanctity of life, saying Islam forbids killing in whatever guise.

Alhaji El-Kanemi, who is the Chairman of the Borno state Council of Chiefs made the call in an interview with newsmen as part of activities marking the Sallah festival.

“People ought to respect sanctity of life, we need to respect our differences, give support to those in authority and respect sanctity of life. We have seen more deaths here and the bloodsheds should be over,” he said

The monarch appealed to the residents to support the youth volunteers for their patriotism.

“The palace and His Royal Highness is elated that peace is gradually returning to Borno and this Eid -el fitr is special and we are celebrating it.

The youth volunteers should be commended, they need everybody’s support and prayers” “Imagine young men with sticks and cutlasses chasing armed men with sophisticated weapons. Therefore, I urge our people to give them support,” he further added.

The royal father also harped on the need to embrace education, noting that education was the key to human development. He urged people to make their children below the age of five available for polio vaccination.

Meanwhile, Borno state Governor, Kashim Shettima has assured that with the gradual return of peace his administration is determined to embark on more developmental projects.

Governor Shettima disclosed this while hosting members of the Borno Elders Forum on a Sallah homage at the Government House in Maiduguri.

Shettima emphasized that education, health and agriculture are being accorded more priority as if properly harnessed, could provide job opportunities for the teeming youths.

According to him, government would not mind paying parents in order to send their wards to schools emphasizing that education is the bedrock of nation building which requires utmost attention.

uslims Student Society of Nigeria (MSSN) said its strongly believed that early marriage will help reduce incidence of indiscriminate practice of pre-­marital sex, other forms of sexual perversion and sexual crimes that characterize the behaviour of youths in our society.

According to the group, rampant cases of abortion, rape, fornication and adultery will all be a thing of the past with early marriage.

This was contained in the group’s Sallah message in Kaduna, signed by Mallam Yusuf Yakub Arrigasiyyu and Mallam Salisu Akaki Musa, Zonal Chairman and Zonal P.R.O respectively.

The group further advised members of the National Assembly to fear God Almighty and redirect their attentions at creating meaningful socio­-economic environment and laws that will be of benefit to the nation.

“It was also seen in towns and cities were primary schools, children have been disvirgining themselves behind the toilet on

valentine day. It is also seen in towns and cities were young girls flock the street at night looking for men that will give them five hundred naira (N500.00K) to have sex with them.

MSSN leadership also stressed that National Assembly should as a matter of urgency wake up from its political slumber to the occasion of political sagacity, bad governance, epidemiological rising level of corruption, monumental collapse of education, protracted security crises and collective system disorder.

On Edil-el-fitr “We also wish to call the attention of our beloved Muslim Brothers and Sisters to continue to imbibe the spirit of Ramadan in our lives and enjoin Muslims to be consciousness of Allah in our day to day activities before, during and after Ramadan fast.

“We equally wish to remind the Muslims, individually and collectively, to permanently inculcate and manifest the distinctive character traits such as patience, forgiveness and sympathy to the poor and under privileged members of the society among others as fundamental lessons of Ramadan,” it said.

Envoy leads delegation to U.S. —Nigeria Bi-national Commission meeting

By Miriam Humbe

T

he Under Secretary for Political Affairs of the United States Wendy Sherman is expeted to lead the U.S. delegation in the Regional Security Cooperation Working Group meeting of the United StatesNigeria Binational Commission (BNC) expected to hold in Abuja, on Thursday next week.

A statement from the Public Affairs department of the American Embassy in Abuja said participation in the Commission meeting reflects “the commitment of the United States to our critical bilateral relationship with Nigeria. The United States supports the aspirations of the Nigerian people

for a peaceful, prosperous, stable, and democratic future”.

BNC meetings provide a venue for sharing ideas, perceptions, and best practices on matters of mutual concern, which are addressed in working groups even as this meeting focuses on regional stability and civilian security.

The August 15 meeting is expected to further define challenges of mutual concern to both nations, and outline joint responses for future partnership.

The statement also quoted the U.S. government as expressing in advance its gratitude to the Government of Nigeria for its friendship, cooperation, and hospitality on this occasion, as they look forward to productive discussions.

Salary delay: AGF warns MDAs on NUBAN compliance

A

ll Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that are yet to comply with the CBN’s directive of the Nigerian Uniform Bank Account Number (NUBAN) policy have been directed to do so immediately.

The Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr Jonah Otunla, who gave the directive on Friday in Abuja, advised the affected MDA’s to update the bank details of their staff to avoid unnecessary delays in the payment of their salaries.

This directive was contained in a press statement signed by the Deputy Director, AGF’s Office, Mr Charles Nwodo, which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja. ``Failure to comply may result in some delay in the payment of salaries, henceforth.

``However, if any staff experiences any delay in the payment of his or her salary, he or she should confirm that the banking details have been accordingly updated and forwarded to IPPIS,’’ the statement said.

CBN had released guidelines on the NUBAN scheme in Aug. 2010, to achieve uniform numbering structure among all money deposited in banks in Nigeria within nine months.

NUBAN, according to the CBN, ``has great potentials to resolve the observed problems with electronic payments in Nigeria, as many of them are related to specification of wrong beneficiary account numbers’’.

The initial deadline was June 1, 2011. This was extended by the CBN to June 1, 2012, at the expiration of which it was further extended to July 1, 2013. NAN

Photo Splash

PAGE 12

Peoples Daily WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Children taking some shots at the Millenium Park in Abuja on Sallah day

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN (middle), Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu (2nd right), former Minister of Works, Alhaji Femi Okunnu (right), Master Ademola Fashola (2nd left), and the Sasi of Lagos Chief Lamina Sasi (left), during EidEl-Fitr prayer in Lagos last Thursday

L-R: Former Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Mohammed Uwais, Pioneer Chairman, Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society, Ambassador Adebayo Mustapha and Assistant Secretary of the Society, Alh. Abdulfaltah Adebiyi, during Sallah celebration, on Thursday in Abuja.

R-L: Ataoja of Osogbo land, His Royal Majesty, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun, Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Asiwaju Musulumi of Yoruba land, Alhaji Babatunde Badmus, former Senator, Osun Central, Senator Bayo Salami and leader of All Progressive Congress (APC) observing the Eid-el-Fitr prayer in Osogbo.

Children enjoying a happy moment at the Millenium Park in Abuja on Sallah day.

Photos: Joe Oroye and Justin Imo-owo.

PAGE 13

Peoples Daily WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

N e ws Feature Africa’s leading Millionaire Cities

By Eric Ojo

T

he city of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre currently ranks third in the league of cities with the highest number of millionaires in Africa, a report by the Oxford-based wealth consulting firm has said.

Lagos which is also widely acknowledged as the most populous city in Nigeria, the second fastest growing city in Africa and the seventh fastest growing city in the world, equally commands a huge presence of people from diverse cultures and race.

The city’s prosperity has been attributed to its diversity coupled with superfluous natural and human resources as well as a huge quantum of daily commercial activities and transactions, especially from the sea ports and other high turn over business ventures.

According to the annual New World Wealth update report which was released on

Monday, Johannesburg topped the list with 23,000 millionaires at the end of 2012, followed by Cairo with 12,000 millionaires and Lagos with 9,800 millionaires respectively.

In addition, four South African cities were placed in the top 10 of the rankings and at 48,000 individuals, thereby making her the country with the highest number of millionaires in the continent. The report added South Africa’s increase represented growth of 9 per cent from the 2011 fiscal year.

Cape Town was ranked fourth with 9,000, Durban had 2,700 while Pretoria

“

was ranked in the eighth place with 2,500 millionaires. The report further stated that although the number of millionaires in other African countries was growing at a fast rate, South African cities were still expected to dominate the top 10 list in 2020.

The report further projected that Johannesburg millionaires would grow to 30,000 by 2020 and would maintain its first position, as Lagos would only follow at a wide remove with 15,800 millionaires then.

It equally predicted that Accra in Ghana would be the fastest growing city for Africa

According to the annual New World Wealth update report which was released on Monday, Johannesburg topped the list with 23,000 millionaires at the end of 2012, followed by Cairo with 12,000 millionaires and Lagos with 9,800 millionaires respectively.

An aerial view of Cairo at night

A section of Johannesburg city

A section of Cairo city

A section of Lagos city

A spacial veiw of Johannesburg

Another veiw of Lagos

millionaires in the period to 2020, as the number of millionaires would grow by 8 per cent a year, while Durban would have the fastest growth in South Africa at 3.7 per cent, adding that seven other cities will grow millionaires faster than it.

Pretoria’s millionaires, according to the report, would increase at 3.5 per cent a year and Johannesburg’s at 3.4 per cent. Meanwhile, Cape Town did not feature in the list of fastest growing cities for millionaires in the next eight years.

The New World Wealth’s list includes high-net worth individuals with net assets of $1 million or more, including their primary residence. The report also provides information and customised products to Africa’s wealth sectors such as luxury goods companies, private banks and fund managers among others. It has a sample of more than 120,000 worldwide high-net individuals on its database.

(African Examiner.com)

PAGE 14

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Crime Cycle

pmlcrimecycle@gmail.com 08138559513 (SMS only)

Police arraign Wema Bank staff over N93.2m fraud

T

he Police in Lagos have arraigned two staff of Wema Bank Plc before a Tinubu Magistrates’ Court, for allegedly defrauding the bank of N93.2 million.

The prosecutor, Insp. Chidi Okoye, told the court that the accused--Joseph Adeleye 32 and Bankole Alade, 36, were clerks at the headquarters of the bank at Marina, Lagos.

Okoye said that the duo was facing a three-count charge of conspiracy, fraud and stealing.

He said they committed the offence, with others at large, between Nov.2012 and July this year at the bank’s headquarters and at Emrey Hotel, Lagos.

The prosecutor said that the

duo and their accomplices revealed the passwords of the ``BSM and TOFT`` (banking software) of their branches to fraudsters.

“The fraudsters gained access to Wema Bank Fund Transfer menu and transferred the above mentioned sum to various fraudulent accounts and also withdrew same within 24 hours.

“Adeleye and Alade also revealed the Impute Override Menu and the Override Menu of the bank to the fraudsters, which they used to steal the said amount, using 18 different bank accounts, `` Okoye said.

Okoye revealed the account numbers they used to include: 0228590857, 0228600022, 0228556552, 0228646558, 0228261847, 0228661344,

0228451413, 0228738905, 0228624574, Others are: 0228620124, 0228688141, 0228747675, 0228676645, 0225920608, 0221550018, 0223528581, 0228578220 and 0224440459.

The prosecutor said that the offences contravened Sections 409, 333 and 285 (6) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The accused persons, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The Magistrate, Ms. Abimbola Awogboro, however granted them bail in the sum of N5 million with two sureties in like sum each. Awogboro adjourned the case to Oct. 2 for further hearing. (NAN)

T

Ugwuja said an eyewitness alerted the police who rushed to the scene around 10 p.m. on the fateful day and rescued the victim.

She said the accused picked the victim from 9th Mile on her way from Onitsha, but rather than take her to her destination, he diverted to a bush and raped her.

He urged the court to evoke the necessary constitutional provisions in sanctioning him as he had no case to defend in this situation.

The counsel to the accused, Mr. Emeka Uzoegbu, argued that his client was not a rapist but a commercial motorcyclist who was working for his daily bread.

“He was just a mere motorcycle rider popularly called Okada operating along the 9th Mile axis. It is true that he conveyed the victim to her uncle’s place off Ama Brewery, but he did not rape her,’’ he said.

Uzoegbu said there was a disagreement between them over

CDS Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim

the fare which resulted to a fight, adding that his client did not rape her as claimed.

“On his way coming back to the bus-stop at 9th Mile, he stopped at a nearby bush to answer the call of nature when the police arrested him and accused him of rape,’’ he said.

However, Justice Afam Nwobodo adjourned the case till October 2 for further hearing.

(NAN)

Oil theft: JTF lauds proposed special court

By Stanley Onyekwere with agency report

T

he Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, known as Operation Pulo Shield, has lauded the initiative of establishing a special court to try oil thieves in the region.

The National Economic Council last month authorized the establishment of a special court to try suspected oil thieves with existing legislation to expedite prosecution of suspects.

A development, the JTF spokesman, Lt.-Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa, described as was a welcome development that would support the efforts of JTF to rid the region of oil thieves.

According to him, the slow judicial process in the country was a clog in the wheel of progress in the JTF’s fight against the menace of oil theft. He said that most suspects awaiting trial returned to the crime shortly after they were granted bail.

“It is, indeed, a welcome development in as much as it will expedite the trial of oil theft suspects and really give them the deserved penalties and put them away for a long while.

“If this really happens, it will amount to a very positive deviation from the past when arrested oil thieves make a mockery of our effort.

“This is because they know that they will be left off the hook soon as we hand them over for prosecution. Our efforts will no longer amount to futility,” he said.

IGP Mohammed Abubakar

NAPTIP to partner with Abia govt to end child trafficking

T

he National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and other related offences (NAPTIP) has reiterated its desire to partner with the Abia government to end child abuse in the state.

Speaking at the Sixth Abia

Women Integrated Conference/PreAugust meeting in Umuahia, earlier in the week, Mrs. Nkiruka Michael, the South East Zonal Commander of NAPTIP, said cases of child trafficking and labour were on the increase.

According to the Zonal Commander, more than eight million children in Nigeria were involved in various forms of abuse. She said that NAPTIP had prosecuted more than 100 cases of child trafficking, adding that 200 victims in the zone had been

11 Facts about Gangs

1

Motorcyclist arraigned for allegedly raping ‘passenger’ he police have arraigned one commercial motorcyclist popularly known as’ Okadaman’, John Ugwu, before an Enugu State High Court for allegedly raping his female passenger (name withheld).

The prosecutor, Mrs. Chinyere Ugwuja, told the court that the accused raped the said victim while conveying her to her village at Amaeke Ngwo in Udi Local Government Area on May 25, 2011.

CRIME NUGGET

rehabilitated.

The commander said the cases had direct bearing on the proliferation of illegal maternity homes and appealed to the state government to take steps to ban such homes.

. A gang is a group of people who claim a territory and use it to make money through illegal activities (i.e. drug trafficking).

2. Gangs can be organized based upon race, ethnicity, territory, or money-making activities, and are generally made up of members ages 8 to 22.

3. Members of gangs wear specific articles of clothing to be recognized as part of the group such as bandanas, hats, scarves of certain colors, or gang-related tattoos or symbols.

4. Gangs are one of the leading factors for growth of violent crimes both on and off school property.

5. When joining a gang, often times there is an initiation that needs to be passed. This initiation is usually a violent crime that could include theft, murder, gang-rape, or drive-by shootings.

6. Gang members are more likely to be arrested or involved with drugs and alcohol than non-gang members.

7. 86 percent of U.S. cities with a population of 100,000 or more report gang activity.

8. According to the FBI there are 33,000 violent street, motorcycle, and prison gangs active in the U.S., with more than 1.4 million members (a 40 percent increase from 2009).

9. In recent years, gangs are participating in more nontraditional crimes such as prostitution, alien smuggling, and human trafficking, as well as white-collar crimes like counterfeiting, identity theft, and mortgage fraud. These new, non-traditional crimes create higher profitability and lower visibility.

10. California, New Mexico, Nevada, Illinois, and Idaho have the highest concentration of gang members, with more than 6,000 per state.

11.

Neighborhood-based gangs pose the highest rate of significant threat for violent crimes in the U.S, versus national-level street gangs, prison gangs, and outlaw motorcycle gangs.

Culled from www. dosomething.org

Politics

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 - SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

PAGE 16

2015: How NGF crisis will serve Jonathan’s interest

President Goodluck Jonathan

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

W

ith the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) successfully and tactically rendered inactive by President Goodluck Jonathan, political pundits are suggesting that the crisis, which has factionalised the once united forum, will most likely advance the ambition of the incumbent president in 2015 election.

Before NGF’s last election, the forum, which has no place in Nigeria’s constitution, had constituted itself into a strong power bloc, it had been audacious in challenging the policies and decisions of President Goodluck Jonathan.

At a point, the forum even dragged the President to court over the Sovereign Wealth Fund and Excess Crude Account, and won the suit against the Presidency.

It would be recalled that it was this forum that manipulated the process that brought Jonathan into acting capacity and later to president when late Musa Yaradua became critically ill.

The crises, which have rocked the forum, therefore, left observers in no doubt over how potent the forum has become in shaping the fate of the country, in addition to who becomes the President of the country in 2015.

Undoubtedly, with the governors speaking with one voice, in addition to having a stronghold on the party’s structures in their respective states and local governments, the President, even with his incumbency powers, may not survive his party’s primaries if the NGF has a contrary view.

It is this reality that have given President Jonathan sleepless night and coupled with Governor Amaechi’s (leader of NGF) public confrontation of his programmes, it may not be out of place to think that the forum had the hand of fifth columnist.

In a rare smartness, President Jonathan, having suffered several embarrassments in the hand of this forum, did not wait till it becomes too late to understand that unless a political action is urgently taken to clip NGF’s influence on the political space of the country, his fate may have become sealed by his political arch enemies, who are bent on having 2015 president nominated from among themselves.

Gov. Rotimi Amaechi This obviously informed the various moves by the Presidency to inject a formidable instability in the once cohesive and influential NGF. At least, NGF now speaks with two voices, one from Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state, the other from Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau state. Please ask me about the accuracy of 16 being superior to 19 in political equation.

The division has even become more compounded considering that the body is a mere voluntary organisation, which cannot compel any aggrieved state governor to remain in its fold.

Based on this understanding, it implies that despite the means the NGF adopts in settling the disagreement, those governors in Jonathan’s camp, cannot be compelled to remain members.

When a resolution could not be reached, the influence of the forum would have been trimmed; hence both factions will definitely become antagonistic to each other on national political and economic matters, especially if it affects political calculations.

Political observers are already embarrassed that a noble and elite group like the governors’ forum would allow itself to be factionalised.

Some are already suggesting that the forum should be disbanded.

Currently, there is Jonathan’s NGF and APC’s NGF led by Amaechi. This has substantially reduced the powers of the once dreaded political bloc in calling the shot in who becomes the President of Nigeria in 2015. This is no mean achievement considering that the governors control practically almost delegates to congresses.

President Jonathan served the first salvo when he polarised the NGF by creating Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum (PDPGF), headed by Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom state.

That was the point at which Jonathan begun trimming the influence of Amaechi ahead of the Presidential election.

Still not assured that this division will guarantee him security in 2015, he went ahead to ensure that there are two chairmen for the NGF; one loyal to him and PDP, the other loyal to the APC.

Gov. Jonah Jang Having carefully studied the political strength of Amaechi and observed that it will be difficult to shove him aside, the President might have resolved that if he cannot outrightly remove him as NGF leader, it would be politically expedient to polarise the forum.

From the reports available on the election, governor Shema of Katsina state was Jonathan’s favourite to take over from Amaechi.

Suddenly, the President made a switch to Isa Yuguda of Bauchi, which jolted the northern governors.

The Northern governors failed to reach a consensus between Yuguda and Shema, due to refusal of Shema to step down for Yuguda. Owing to this stalemate, Jonah Jang, even though not acceptable to most northern governors, became the consensus candidate of the northern

“

From the result of the election, the battle camps for the 2015 election are clearly set. Both governors and the Presidency now understand who belongs to which camp, and their various levels of commitment.

governors loyal to President Jonathan.

Political observers have opined that the latest switch to Yuguda was purposely to create a confusing situation among the northern governors, such that a governor who is not a core northerner would lead a faction of the body loyal to Jonathan.

From the result of the election, the battle camps for the 2015 election are clearly set. Both governors and the Presidency now understand who belongs to which camp, and their various levels of commitment.

At this juncture, one can convincingly say that the fight for 2015 is clearly drawn with Amaechi, Kwankwaso, Nyako, Aliyu, Lamido, and all the opposition governors on one side, except Olusegun Mimiko of Labour Party, and APGA’s Peter Obi. On the other hand is President Jonathan, Jang, Akpabio, Shema, Yuguda, Dickson, Yaro, Imoke, Wada, Obi, Mimiko, among others on the other hand.

With this settled, the next assignment before Jonathan is how to wrestle the PDP structures from those governors perceived to be working for opposition forces.

The President is equally not relenting in his efforts to deliver in this task as he has kicked off with the Rivers state, which has lost the leadership of PDP in its state.

Expectation now is that similar treatment would be meted out on other erring governors such as Kwankwaso, Aliyu, Lamido, especially now that the NGF has exposed the camp at which their allegiance is placed.

Nevertheless, the discordant tones from the various governors who participated in the election indicate that the NGF may not unit again.

While governor Obi of Anambra state, a committed loyalist to Jonathan, is insisting that Amaechi cannot be NGF chairman, governor Fayemi of Ekiti state is emphasising that the forum has no other chairman aside from Amaechi.

Meanwhile, whatever is being said, the indisputable fact is that the NGF can never remain the same again as it was during Ameachi’s first tenure, until after 2015 Presidential election, by which Jonathan’s ambition must have become accomplished.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 - SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

PAGE 17

Politics

Makarfi cautions group against supporting candidates on religious sentiments

C

hairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, has advised Nigerians to elect candidates based on their ability, rather than religious affiliation, in order to promote peace and unity in the country.

Makarfi said this yesterday in Kaduna when he received a delegation of Arewa Christians’ Political Forum (ACPF) at his residence.

He advised the group to ensure the unity of the North by not championing overzealous politicians based on religious sentiments which was capable of destroying the corporate existence in the region. ``As a nation, the basic requirement for good governance is security, and this requires all stakeholders to pursue it holisti-

cally,’’ he said.

Makarfi urged the forum to support quality leadership that would ensure peace, security and development, adding that he would do his best to assist the members in their quest.

Earlier, the Spokesman of the Forum, Mr Victor Bobai, said the visit was in line with the wider consultations by the forum to sensitise and mobilise political support in preparations for the 2015 elections.

Bobai said that the inequality and non effective representation of Christians in the North led to the emergence of the forum.

According to him, the forum is a voice for marginalised Northern Christians from the Northern states.

``Christian youth in the North should be given equal opportunities like their Muslim counterparts in the region.Our growth has been stunted based on discrimination; we call on our leaders to come to our aid. ``We require balance in terms of amenities, like the Almajiri Educational programme designed for Muslim youth. There is need for the government to balance up developmental programmes in the region to avoid acrimony,’’ he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that for months the group had been conferring with several Northern leaders with political and economic influence to come to their aid in ensuring fairness.

T

Makarfi

Duke says political parties without followers should be de-registered

A

former governor of Cross River, Mr Donald Duke, on Friday supported the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the de-registration of political parties.

Speaking in Lagos that it did not make sense for parties which had no followers to remain registered.

Duke was reacting to the ruling of a Federal High Court, Abuja Division, on July 30, which held that INEC had no constitutional pow-

ers to de-register political parties. ``If a political party does not have followership, just as companies are de-registered, such parties should be de-registered. There are situations where people use such parties to contest for election because they lost primaries in their party,” he said.

According to him, 80 per cent of the political parties listed on the ballot papers during elections are not active.

He argued that it was normal

for INEC to de-register such parties as they only constitute a nuisance to the polity.

However, a Senator representing Ekiti-Central Senatorial District, Mr Babafemi Ojudu, urged INEC to abide by the decision of the court and reverse its earlier action. ``Nobody is more powerful than the law; if the court rules that INEC has no power to de-register political parties, it should go back and undo what it has done,” he

2015: PDP South East roots for Jonathan at Awka rally

A

head of the 2015 general election, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), South East Zone, on Friday adopted President Goodluck Jonathan as the Party’s Presidential candidate.

The News Agency of Nigerian (NAN) reports that the South East zonal vice chairman of the party, Col. Austin Akobundu (Rtd.) said this at PDP rally held at Ekwueme square, Awka.

According to him, President Jonathan had done well in office and deserves a second tenure. ``The PDP in the South East zone has declared its full support for Mr President, Goodluck Jonathan, to contest a second term in office. ``He has done very well, he deserves second term and we the PDP in the South East zone will work very hard to deliver him,” Akobundu said.

Chief Chris Uba and his elder brother Sen. Andy Uba (Anambra South), were absent at the rally where the PDP gubernatorial aspirants for the Nov. 16 governorship election in Anambra were presented to party members and supporters.

Also, two other gubernatorial aspirants of the party: Chief Sule Gboma and Chief Mike Okoye, were

absent at the PDP rally.

NAN gathered that the absence of some aspirants was because the crack within the PDP fold in the State resulting from the protracted leadership tussle in the state had yet to be resolved.

At the rally, Mr Keneth Emekayi was presented by the PDP South East zonal vice chairman, Col. Akobundu, as the authentic chairman of the party in the State confirmed by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).

But one Ejike Oguebego is believed to be the party’s factional state chairman recognised by the Ubas.

The PDP governorship aspirants who attended the rally were: Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, Chief Mrs Josephine Anenih (sole female aspirant), Chief Sylvester Okonkwo and Dr Obinna Uzoh.

Others were: Chief Ugochukwu Okeke, Chief Walter Ubaka Okeke, Chief Tony Nwoye, Sen.Emma Anosike, Dr Alex Obiogbolu and Mr Charles Odunukwe.

Addressing the rally, a member of the PDP NWC, Mr Effiong Bassey, said that the party was committed to regaining Anambra State.

He said the NWC had set up four committees, lead by former Senate

President, Sen. Adolphus Wabara, to supervise exercise that would produce credible party candidates for both local government and governorship elections in the State.

In his speech, Emeakayi pledged that the party leadership in the state was committed to regain the state for the party. (NAN)

Yobe’s Election Commission ready for council polls — Chairman

said.

Also commenting, a former Lagos State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Rotimi Agunsoye, urged Nigerians not to entirely blame the commission for its action. ``Some parties were deregistered because they did not meet the necessary requirements needed for a party to be registered.

However, the country needs as many political parties as possible, so that people can come out and make their choices during elections,” he said.

Mr Ayodele Adewale, Chairman, Amuwo Odofin Local Government, also said that if a law was created to register political parties, until that law was proscribed, INEC had no power to de-register parties. ``If indeed a law was created to register political parties, until that law is proscribed, INEC can’t de-register parties.

We must understand that we are governed by the rule of law,” he added. (NAN)

he Yobe State Independent Electoral Commission (YSIEC), said it had procured electoral materials for the 1,714 polling units for elections in the 17 Local Government Councils in the state.

The Chairman of the Commission, Alhaji Muhammad Jauro, made the disclosure yesterday in Damaturu while explaining that necessary logistics are in place for the elections.

“Except the ballot papers, all other materials, including the updated voter register, ballot boxes and logistics have been obtained by the commission”.

The election was earlier slated to hold in June this year but was postponed, due to security challenges.

Muhammad, who assured that the commission, was fully prepared for the election said: “all we are waiting for is improvement in the security situation. ”From April when we announced the postponement of the earlier scheduled date to now, there has been great improvement in the security situation across the state, we hope it will be sustained and improved upon for a conducive atmosphere for the election.”

Jauro commended political parties, security agencies and other stakeholders for their contributions toward preparations for the election.

The chairman assured that the commission would maintain its open door policy through the stakeholders’ forum to give people opportunity to contribute to the success of the election.

He noted that the arrangement put in place would give every electorate the right to exercise his civic duty as “we have taken all measures to ensure that no eligible voter is disenfranchised in this election”. (NAN)

Kwara APC wants electoral body to shift LG election date

M

President Goodluck Jonathan

r Kayode Olawepo, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has called on the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission to shift the date for the local government election in the state.

Olawepo, who made the call on Friday while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin, said the call became necessary to enable the new party to take part in the poll.

He said no member of the new party had collected the party’s card, adding that nobody could contest election without party membership card.

“We are going to contest the coming local government election under the banner of the APC. KWSIEC has no choice than to shift the election date and adjust its timetable to accommodate us in its programmes.

“It is obvious that there is no alternative than to accommodate the APC, they cannot disenfranchise the whole opposition and they cannot say there is no opposition in the state,” Olawepo said.

He maintained that APC as an opposition party did not subscribe to the Oct. 26 date for the local government election in the state.

PAGE 18

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 - SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Politics

PDP’s ‘irresolvable’ reconciliation: Herculean task before Dickson committee

A

part from establishing the Ekwueme Committee, Mr. Ogbulafor, in June of the same year (2009), also named another 14-member Elders Committee headed by Senator Ike Nwachukwu to ensure “deep commitment towards fostering and consolidating reconciliation within the party.

Its members were Danjuma Goje, Gabriel Suswam, James Ibori, Dahiru Manga, Ignatius Ajuru, Shuaibu Oyedokun, Senator Anyim Ude, Rep Dave Salako, Ebenezer Babatope, Herberta Okunofo, Zainab Maina, and Musa Babayo.

Mr. Ogbulafor could, however, not implement the recommendations of the panels before he was swept out of office.

Curiously, Mr. Tukur did not make any reference to these reports and their recommendations while inaugurating the Dickson Committee. It was Mr. Dickson that made a passing remark saying it would work with the Anenih Committee.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that some senior party members are increasingly worried about the establishment of reconciliation panels by almost every national chairman to resolve disputes both at the national and state levels.

For those who expressed this worry, the leadership could leverage on the existing recommendations to set the party on the path of peace since the issues troubling it such as godfatherism, marginalization, absence of internal democracy are still the same though different players.

But Mr. Tukur himself underscored the need for fresh effort.

“There is no pretending to the fact that there are issues in the big PDP family which need to be resolved. For a party to rule our complex nation for nearly 15 years, conflicts are bound,” he admitted.

The national chairman is right.

The PDP is facing enormous crises.

First, there is a lingering leadership crisis at the national level, which culminated in the recent resignation of about 16 NWC members during the meeting of the National Executive Committee, NEC. The election of the members at the National Convention of March 2012 had been faulted by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, prompting three relatively unknown members of the party from Borno and Taraba

States to institute a suit in an Abuja High Court demanding their resignation.

Interestingly, their exit did not end the matter. The three men returned to court asking it to nullify all the decisions of NEC, including the establishment of the Jerry Gana Committee set up to organize a Special National Convention and Congresses in the South West to replace those that resigned. They noted that the resignation of the leaders was pre-emptive since the earlier suit they filed had not been disposed off.

Before then, another court had sacked some of the NWC members, namely the National Secretary, Olagunsoye Oyinlola and National Auditor, Bode Mustapha thereby inducing a serious leadership crisis at that level.

The outcome of the May 24 Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, election is yet another source of headache for the ruling party. The result of the exercise, which returned Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State as Chairman has since polarized the forum, which has 23 PDP governors as members.

Since the conclusion of the election, PDP governors who voted for Mr. Amaechi against Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State have refused to have anything to do with Mr. Jang who was reportedly backed by the party and the Presidency.

The governors, namely Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Musa Kwankwaso (Kano), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) and Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), all PDP members, perceivably against the wish of the party, visited some of Nigeria’s past leaders to seek their support for the strengthening of the nation’s democracy.

In the course of the shuttle, some of the governors also demanded the exit of Mr. Tukur, a suggestion that has not gone down with the national chairman who in a recent statement said they (governors) were overheating the polity by their utterances.

There is also the festering crisis in the Rivers State House of Assembly over the suspension of a local government chairman and his councilor by the legislature. In May, the PDP national leadership slammed a suspension order on Mr. Amaechi over the matter, though many believed he was being punished for presenting himself for re-election as NGF Chairman.

At the peak of the crisis in the

Alhaji Bamanga Tukur River State House of Assembly, four of the northern governors paid solidarity visit to Mr. Amaechi in Port Harcourt apparently to spite the party leadership as well as Mr. Jonathan, its national leader, who is allegedly linked to the crisis.

The northern governors have also never hidden their disdain for the choice of the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio as the chairman of the newly created PPDP Governors Forum. They feel he was imposed on them.

The crises rocking the Nigerian ruling party also pervades the zonal and state levels of the party.

The South West zone has not known peace since the exit of Mr. Oyinlola and the zone’s National Vice Chairman, Segun Oni, and his team.

In Ekiti and Anambra States where governorship elections are holding soon, members and leaders of those chapters are up in arms against one another. The case of Anambra where about 17 of the party members are gunning for the governorship seat is quite interesting. There are three distinct state working committees, with the party national secretariat recognizing one and INEC, another.

One of the aspirants and a senator, Andy Uba, is believed to have used his connection as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC to make the Commission recognize his preferred chairman of the state party against the wish of national leadership.

In Ekiti, the suspension of a former governor, Ayo Fayose, who recently returned to PDP, is causing ripples. The state leadership and the governorship aspirants are divided following allegation that Mr. Jonathan’s friend and Minister of Police Affairs, Caleb Olubolade, bought over some senior members of the party in his bid to realize his

Gov. Seriake Dickson gubernatorial ambition. Mr. Tukur and the national leadership of the PDP have condemned Mr. Fayose’s suspension.

In Bayelsa, the reconciliation committee head, who is also the state governor, Mr. Dickson, is still battling his predecessor, Timipre Sylva, also a PDP member over some issues. There is no love lost between the two. The governor has not ceased to expose Mr. Sylva’s alleged misdeeds while in office thereby further plunging that state chapter into crisis. Mr. Sylva has also asked for the governor’s resignation citing alleged inconvenience.

In Adamawa, Messrs Nyako and Tukur have separate state leaderships queuing behind them. Indeed, the governor and his supporters have consistently demanded the sack of the national chairman, who is also from Adamawa. The dispute between the two men worsened when a state of emergency was declared in the state alongside Borno and Yobe by the federal government. For the governor and his loyalists, it was Mr. Tukur’s handiwork. Mr. Nyako recently vowed to help bury the ruling party since the likes of Mr. Tukur were bent on killing it.

With these inherent crises confronting the PDP, not a few believe that the Dickson Committee as it presently composed may not have the capacity to reconcile aggrieved members. The reasons are not far-fetched.

First is the political affiliation of Mr. Dickson himself. The governor is a known political associate of Mr. Jonathan whose alleged presidential ambition is causing tension within the party. Closely related to this is his support for Mr. Jang’s faction of the NGF. Mr. Dickson, a former Chairman of the Alliance for Democracy, AD, in Bayelsa State, voted for Mr.

Jang and has been rooting for his recognition. As a result of this, his neutrality appears questionable. It may therefore be difficult for the governor to carry the message of peace to the northern governors opposed to Mr. Jang.

Back home, the panel chairman is a major party to the crisis in Bayelsa PDP and questions have been raised about his presiding over his own matter.

At the National Assembly, the challenge thrown up by the registration of APC might make it difficult for the committee to reconcile the various tendencies existing there.

Also, the modus operandi of the committee might jeopardize its success. At present, rather than visiting the states where there are crises, the committee has chosen to invite party members in the troubled states to Abuja to resolve their crises.

Recently, the committee met separately with state chapters of the PDP in Ekiti and Anambra States in the federal capital. Some of those who could have testified at the committee’s sitting may have been excluded from the reconciliation process.

Even so, the Committee cannot be totally dismissed. It has taken measures to ensure that its members do not compromise.

Already, within the short time it was established, the committee has recorded major breakthroughs.

A day after it was inaugurated, it met with the three members of the party challenging the NEC decisions at the Abuja High Court during which they agreed to withdraw their suit to allow peace reign.

Party members in Ekiti and Anambra State Chapters of the ruling party have also reportedly agreed to keep the peace in the interest of the party.

(Premium Times)

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

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

PAGE 19

OUR PEOPLE

OUR VISION

Chairman Malam Wada Maida, Oon, Fnge Director/Editor-in-Chief Rufa’i Ibrahim Managing Editor Abdul-Azeez Abdullahi

Chief Operating Officer Ali M. Ali

Head, Advert/Marketing Hussaini Abdulrahman, Cna

Editor, Daily Ahmed I. Shekarau

Manager, administration Hassan Hammanyaji

Deputy Manager, Production Abdul-Rauf Musa

Editor, Weekend Hameed M. Bello

Head, Lagos Bureau Adesoji Oyinlola

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

LETTERS

Al-Mustapha, Birma and Jonathan: Letter to Nigerian Judicial Council

By Adeolu Ademoyo

D

ear Honourable Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, When leaders become rulers, they look our laws in the face and manipulate them. At that point it is time for citizens to look to the custodians of those laws.

Honourable Justice Mukhtar, you have been historically placed as one of the custodians of Nigerian laws, which are under attack from the Presidency, hence this public letter to you.

Few weeks ago, Friday July 12 2015, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, the Chief Security Officer to General Sani Abacha, was granted judicial freedom. Al-Mustapha was part of the strike force under Sani Abacha.

At that time, prominent Nigerian journalists, including Alex Kabba of TheNews magazine, fled. There are those in the Diaspora who live private lives and do not want to be mentioned nor associate with the country, Nigeria.

The Nigerian Federal Court of Appeal presided over by Hon Justice Amina A. Augie, with Hon. Justice Rita N. Pemu, and Hon. Justice Fatima O. Akinbami, as members are the judges who dispensed law in Major Hamza Al Mustapha’s case.

Honourable Justice Mukhtar, this is where the Nigerian Judicial Council you head comes in.

Immediately, Major Al-Mustapha was released, one Dauda Birma of the Northern Elders and Youth Forum visited Mr. Bamanga

WRITE TO US

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

Email: opinion@peoplesdailyng.com adverts@peoplesdailyng.com pictures@peoplesdailyng.com contact@peoplesdailyng.com Tukur-the PDP Chairman in the PDP secretariat in Abuja. Mr. Birma was once a minister of education under General Sani Abacha military dictatorship.

During his homage to Tukur, Birma publicly disclosed the subterranean extra –judicial forces behind the judicial release of Al-Mustapha. From Dauda Birma’s public disclosure before the chairman of the ruling party-PDPwe know that Al Mustapha’s judicial release, which might have been packaged, as law may has nothing to do with law.

Please hear Dauda Birma as he stood before Mr. Bamanga Tukur the PDP chairman: “I know how much the chairman has been working hard to get Al-Mustapha released. I know that someone who has worked with a former head of state and was incarcerated for 15 years cannot be

released by mere pronouncements of the judiciary without the concurrence of the executive,” (See PREMIUM TIMES, July 26, 2013).

The following are facts. The ruling party, the PDP has not refuted Dauda Birma’s statement. The presidency has not refuted it. Without an open refutation of Dauda Birma, we are free to suggest that President Jonathan and the PDP Chairman-Mr. Bamanga Tukur could have influenced the judicial release of Al-Mustapha. And that is not law.

Honourable Justice Mukhtar, Mr. Dauda Birma’s statement is categorical and implies knowledge.

In accounts of knowledge, which law and administration of justice rely on, there is a distinction between belief and knowledge. Dauda Birma did not say, “I believe.” Rather he said, “I know…” In other words he knows the

political manipulation of law and justice-by President Jonathan (“the concurrence of the executive”) and Mr. Bamanga Tukur (the Chairman) that led to the judicial release of AlMustapha.

Permit me to inform that two accounts of knowledge justify my concern about Mr. Dauda Birma’s claim. And these should concern you as a judge and as the Chief Judge of the Federation. First, to claim to know an event is to be justified in one’s belief in the occurrence of the event. Such justification could be anything from personal belief, to a reliance on the reports from those who witnessed the event. This is a non-African or western account of knowledge. Second, to claim to know is to directly perceive the event. In the second regard, one is a direct witness of the event and it’s unfolding. This is an African account of knowledge.

A violation of law is a violation of the nation. If Dauda Birma’s claim is true, then the President and Mr. Tukur have violated our nation. The Nigerian Judicial Council you head must act judicially to investigate the judges, the prosecution, Dauda Birma, Bamanga Tukur and the presidency, unravel this and save the nation.

I commit this to you as I call the attention of the Nigerian Human Rights Commission and the Nigerian Bar to this call.

Adeolu Ademoyo aaa54@ cornell.edu is of Africana Studies and Research Center, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

PAGE 20

H ome s

Peoples Daily WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Bathroom shelves get you organised

H

ow do you use bathroom furniture to create a functional space that is also soothing, colourful, and all your own? Bathroom shelving is the perfect answer.

Shelves provide the needed storage space while they create an open, airy look; the ideal addition to any bathroom decor.

Open glass-shelving is one of the best ways to create an inviting, contemporary design in your bathroom. The fittings and supports feature various finishes, so you can pick the best one that complements your decor. Wroughtiron bathroom shelves have a traditional, romantic look; the contrast between old-world furniture and soft Egyptian cotton towels is

a great way to transform your bathroom into your own soothing private spa.

Wire metal-shelves feature clean lines that work especially well in shared and guest bathrooms. Choose a wire shelf with a towel rack bar or hanger hooks to brighten your wall space while providing more storage room. You can also decorate a wire bathroom shelf with a playful motif of colourful soaps and seashells to create a vibrant, but relaxing, atmosphere.

If, on the other hand, you prefer your decor unembellished, or you have bold-coloured bathroom shelves that have a look all their own, then use your shelves to hold storage baskets, or use utility chest shelves. By cutting down on the items you display, you can create a quiet, tranquil feel.

As for storage that’s tried, true, and traditional, nothing works better than beautifully finished wood bathroom shelves. Find your favourite design in a wall-mounted or floor option. If you’re short on space, consider a conservative bathroom shelf that stands over the commode. Then stock your shelves with extra towels, candles, decorative soaps, and aloe plants for the finishing touch.

Shelves provide handy surface space in your bathroom, allowing you to keep the things you use most often close at hand, and those less frequently used items up and out of the way. Our bathroom shelves come in a variety of design styles, so you can choose the ones that best suit your bathroom. The materials include practical and sturdy polypropylene and simple stylish

and glass, with fittings of stainless steel. There are single or double shelves, as well as threelayer triangular corner shelves to help you make the most of your bathroom wall space.

You may also find bathroom shelves that are designed to fit in seamlessly with the layout and style of your bathroom. They fit snugly and securely against the wall and look great. There are also a whole range of complementary products to make your shelves look at home. The gerundial range is made of cool stainless steel, and includes towel rails, toilet roll holders, mirrors and a cabinet, which all complement the shelves. Combine your bathroom wall shelves with other matching furniture and accessories to create your ideal bathroom Overstock.com

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, JULY, 2013

PAGE 21

Magazine

The Myth about Sango, ‘god of thunder’ >> P36 Zack Orji condemns obsene dressing

by Nigerian actresses >> P27

Real life story: ‘When I first fell in love, I fell hard’ >> P31

Ladies fashion: Belt in or belt out >> P29

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Page 22

Mag az in e

Lack of sleep increases cravings for junk food

By Theodora Ekah

S

leep is essential for a person’s health and wellbeing, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). Yet millions of people do not get enough sleep and many suffer from lack of sleep. Most of those with these problems go undiagnosed and untreated. In addition, more than 40 percent of adults experience daytime sleepiness severe enough to interfere with their daily activities at least a few days each month - with 20 percent reporting problem sleepiness a few days a week or more. Furthermore, 69 percent of children experience one or more sleep problems a few nights or more during a week.

Everyone’s individual sleep needs vary. In general, most healthy adults are built for 16 hours of wakefulness and need an average of eight hours of sleep a night. However, some individuals are able to function without sleepiness or drowsiness after as little as six hours of sleep. Others can’t perform at their peak unless they’ve slept ten hours. And, contrary to common myth, the need for sleep doesn’t decline with age but the ability to sleep for six to eight hours at one time may be reduced.

Stress is the number one cause of short-term sleeping difficulties, according to sleep experts. Common triggers include school- or job-related pressures, a family or marriage problem and a serious illness or death in the family. Usually the sleep problem disappears when the stressful situation passes. However, if short-term sleep problems such as insomnia aren’t managed properly from the beginning, they can persist long after the original stress has passed.

Drinking alcohol or beverages containing caffeine in the afternoon or evening, exercising close to bedtime, following an

irregular morning and night time schedule, and working or doing other mentally intense activities right before or after getting into bed can disrupt sleep.

If you are among the 20 percent of employees in the Nigeria who are shift workers, sleep may be particularly elusive. Shift work forces you to try to sleep when activities around you - and your own “biological rhythms” - signal you to be awake. One study shows that shift workers are two to five times more likely than employees with regular, daytime hours to fall asleep on the job.

Travelling also disrupts sleep, especially jet lag and travelling across several time zones. This can upset your biological or “circadian” rhythms.

Environmental factors such as a room that’s too hot or cold, too noisy or too brightly lit can be a barrier to sound sleep. And interruptions from children or other family members can also disrupt sleep. Other influences to pay attention to are the comfort and size of your bed and the habits of your sleep partner. If you have to lie beside someone who has different sleep preferences, snores, can’t fall or stay asleep, or has other sleep difficulties, it often becomes your problem too! Having a 24/7 lifestyle can also interrupt regular sleep patterns: A sleepless night makes us more likely to reach for junks than for whole grains and leafy green vegetables, suggests a new study from the health ministry that examines the brain regions that control food choices. The findings shed new light on the link between poor sleep and obesity. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI), researchers scanned the brains of 23 healthy young adults, first after a normal night’s sleep and next, after a sleepless night. They found impaired activity in the sleep deprived brain’s frontal lobe,

Yawning most often shows yeaning for sleep. which governs complex decision making, but increased activity in deeper brain centres that respond to rewards.

Moreover, the participants favoured unhealthy snacks and junk food when they were sleep deprived. It was discovered that high-level brain regions required for complex judgments and decisions become blunted by a lack of sleep, while more primal brain structures that control motivation and desire are amplified. Also, high calorie foods became significantly more desirable when participants were sleep-deprived.

This combination of altered brain activity and decision making may help explain why people who sleep less also tend to be overweight or obese.

Previous studies have linked poor sleep to greater appetites, particularly for sweet and salty foods, but the latest findings provide a specific brain mechanism

explaining why food choices change for the worse following a sleepless night.

In this newest study, researchers measured brain activity as participants viewed a series of 80 food images that ranged from high to low calorie and healthy and unhealthy, and rated their desire for each of the items. Food choices presented in the experiment ranged from fruits and vegetables, such as strawberries, apples and carrots, to high calorie burgers, and doughnuts. On a positive note, the findings indicate that getting enough sleep is one factor that can help promote weight control by priming the brain mechanisms governing appropriate food choices.

The average sleep-deprived individual may experience impaired performance, irritability, lack of concentration, and daytime drowsiness. They are less alert, attentive, and unable to concentrate

effectively. Additionally, because sleep is linked to restorative processes in the immune system, sleep deprivation in a normal adult causes a biological response similar to the body fighting off an infection.

Persistent sleep deprivation can cause significant mood swings, erratic behavior, hallucinations, and in the most extreme, yet rare cases, death. Current research in this area is examining the effects of sleep deprivation on the immune system.

A pioneer in sleep research, Dr. William Dement, noted that most undergraduates enter college with some knowledge of personal health, but little to no knowledge of the value of sleep. He suggests that all students should not only learn the importance of physical fitness and good nutrition, but healthy sleep, calling all three the “fundamental triumvirate of health.”

Russia returns to typewriter to fight cyber crime

R

An antique L.C. Smith & Brothers typewriter. (JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images)

ussia has purchased a slew of old-school typewriters in order to protect state secrets, reports pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia.

While it’s notable in the wake of Wikileaks and Edward Snowden’s revelations about the NSA and cyberspying, an official told Agence France-Presse that the move isn’t in response to those revelations. “This purchase has been planned for more than a year now,” he said.

The old school spy purchase is ironic, though, considering the Kremlin must know that typewriters can be compromised too. In fact, they pioneered such a practice.

In the mid-1970’s, American intelligence officials suspected that the typewriters in the embassy were being bugged.

A 1979 inspection trip yielded

nothing, perhaps because the Russians learned in advance about the trip through memos typed on the compromised machines. In 1984, the experts returned, armed with a letter signed by President Reagan that ordered embassy personnel not to initiate any communications with Washington about a pending swap of equipment.

Hours after the team arrived in Moscow, according to Administration officials, a cable directly violating the order was sent from the embassy. But X-rays revealed that the typewriters had indeed been compromised.

Oddly enough, bugged typewriters used a form of bugging called “keystroke logging,” which is exactly the same terminology used for a similar “listening” computer software hackers and spies use to read a user’s traffic.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

By Miriam Humbe

S

ince she assumed office in January 2011 as the first female Vice Chancellor in the history of Benue State University, BSU, Professor Mrs. Charity Ashimem Angya has continued to carve a niche for herself as a remarkable administrator.

Her doggedness and determination to provide a suitable learning environment to the University community has continued to propel her to work assiduously to achieve that. In her calm and calculated demeanour, she is poised to leave indelible prints in the sands of time.

The Professor of Theatre and Drama did actually assume the mantle of leadership at a time when the institution was undergoing series of challenges in its almost two decades of existence.

Angya’s emergence on the scene seems to have ushered in the much required oil in the wheel of progress to get things going. An Amazon in her own right, who is seldom celebrated by the media in

spite of her achievements, Angya is a pacesetter of her generation.

Within the space of two years, a duration some appointees are wont to lament as being too short to record any tangible achievement, Prof. Angya hit the ground running and has since proved that she is no novice in administration of personnel and materials.

She has changed the face of the university and its environs through completion of worthwhile projects and thus has beaten the records of her predecessors. Her stewardship at the Benue State University has seen projects being commissioned with lots more still ongoing.

Prompt procession of students for the compulsory NYSC national service; full refurbishment of students hostels and annual conduct of convocation have been recorded in her favour.

Prof. Angya’s resourcefulness has been counted to her as the sole vehicle responsible for the speedy call-off of an indefinite internal strike embarked upon as a result of students’ crisis in April

FOR THE PROUD Born on January 5, 1963, to the family of late Mr Gideon Pever Ge, a seasoned academician and disciplinarian, she the third daughter and a fifth child. The baby was named Ashimem and christened Charity.

Right from her youthful days at Bristow Secondary School in Gboko, Benue State, young Charity began to exhibit the leadership traits that showed she was heading for a place among the honoured in society in the course of her lifetime. She studied hard and excelled in her academic endeavours.

PAGE 23

Prof. Charity Ahimem Angya earlier in the year.

Her motherly disposition came to the fore when she vehemently stood for the students’ interest and insisted on a reduction in the exorbitant sub-charge imposed by the state government for damage on the school property during their protest.

To her foresightedness, graduating students are saved the headaches of spending a ‘necessary’ extra year in school, owing to tailored frustration.

Upon resumption, students now see their results promptly pasted on notice boards while academic activities commence in earnest.

In spite of her giant strides, the issue of students and lecturer relationship is one which she still needs to tackle head long, as complaints of ‘victimisation’ are still recorded in few incidences.

This is a most perrenial problem in most institutions of higher learning across the country today.

She started her career at the University of Calabar where she held positions such as Examination Officer, among others. When BSU was founded she relocated there as Coordinator, Department of Theatre Arts, member, Governing Council between 2004 and 2008.

She was Acting Vice Chancellor in 2005 and Head of Department, Theatre Arts between 2006 and 2010.

The following year, she was elevated to the prestigious

position of Vice Chancellor and just last year the federal government conferred on her the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger, OON. The first female Vice Chancellor of Benue State University has deepened knowledge on educational issues in Nigeria through her researches as evident by the number of lead papers she has presented on the subject.

She began her educational career at NKST Primary school, Gboko and proceeded to W.M.

“

Prof. Angya hit the ground running and has since proved that she is no novice in administration of personnel and materials.

Bristow Secondary School, Gboko.Upon graduation she obtained admission to study Theatre Arts at the University of Jos where she graduated with a Second Class Upper Division B.A. degree in 1983. The University of Ibadan offered her admission for a Masters Programme and later a Ph.D programme in Theatre Arts where she obtained the M.A in 1985 and PhD respectively in 1988.

Having undergone post doctoral trainings in; Gender and Sustainable Development at the National Centre for Economic Management and Administration (NCEMA) in 2002, Gender and Development at the Royal Tropical Institute (RTI) Amsterdam, Netherlands also in 2002, Managing Change in Higher Education for University Administrators in Dundee, Scotland in 2007 and also having attended the UNDP training in Mainstreaming AIDS in Development in Senegal in 2007, the Professor is well equipped for the task laid upon her shoulders.

When asked how she copes with being a mother, wife and academician, she said, “in spite of my busy schedules, I make out time to pray. I believe God brings all the strength I need coupled with the love I get from my family”. She is happily married to Barrister Paul Angya and the union is blessed with five lovely children.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Kiddies World SIGHTS AND SOUNDS

The Masquerades and Festivals in Igbo Land

Page 25

With Nami Hassan Kadir namy.kadir@yahoo.com 08130693795.

AB C DE

HIS AND HERS’ CORNER

Disney Angle

I

gboland holds many festivities and cultural performances, most notably the masquerades and the new Yam festivals.

Masquerades (Mmanwu) are held in accordance with the community native calendars during festivals, annual festivities, burial rites and other social gatherings.

The masquerades are geared in colourful robes and masks made of wood or fabric. Some masqurerades appear only at one festival, but the majority appear at many or all. Masquerades are associated with spiritual elements, as according to Igbo belief, they represent images of deities or sometimes even dead relatives.

The identity of the masquerade is a well-kept secret and performed exclusively by men.

In the past, masquerades were regarded as the means for maintaining peace and order and were primarily used as law enforcement agents.

The whole village would come out for the ceremony of the colourful masquerades. While entertaining through dances and exhibiting extra-human feats, the masquerades would walk up to certain individuals and loudly expose any bad habits, crimes or misbehaviour of that person.

As people would always take corrections from these exposures, the masquerades were effective in keeping up with traditional norms and values in the communities.

With colonisation in the 20th century, masquerades became more relevant as an institution for cultural entertainment. Nowadays, they are used more for tourist

attractions when they come out in colourful robes accompanied by traditional dancers and music.

The masks are determined by local tradition and beliefs. Best-known are those that represent the spirit of deceased maidens and their mothers symbolising beauty and peacefulness. This masquerade may be accompanied by the elephant spirit, representing ugliness and aggression, which frightens the male spectators away from her beauty. Other characters include the European (Mbeke), a pair of boy and girl (Mba), the boy dressed up as a girl satirising his counterpart, and animals (crocodile, snake etc.) representing various local deities.

There is an annual masquerade festival in November organised by Enugu State and involves masquerade groups from various parts of the state.

You can click on this link to see more Igbo masquerade photos.

The other festival with high social significance carried out by most communities in Igboland is the new Yam (Iri Ji) festival, which marks the beginning of the harvest seasons for new yam.

The festival takes place usually between August and October, though the time varies from one community to the other.

The New Yam festival raises the occasion for celebration while offering special prayers to God for a good harvest. It is marked with colourful display of cultural dances and rites, including roasting and toasting of new yams. Obviously, time for feasting and merry-making.

Shark Tales

Olivia & Company

Mickey Mouse Pluto’s The Lion King

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Kiddies World

With Nami Hassan Kadir namy.kadir@yahoo.com 08130693795.

CREATIVITY

How to Make a Rainbow Fan

H

ave you ever wanted to add some color to a boring fan? Well, this is the article for you, because with this, You would see how to make your fan spin rainbow.

Wait until it dries. When it dries, turn it on, and there you have your rainbow fan.

Materials -Paint sample cards -Hole punch -Paper fastener -Yarn or string Directions 1. Collect paint sample cards in various colors. You can find these in the paint department of your local do-it-yourself store. They are free and come in several colors and shades.

2. Punch a hole in the top and bottom of each paint card. Use a ruler to make sure your hole is centered. If the hole is offcentered, the rainbow fan will appear awkward.

3. Stack the paint sample cards evenly and insert a paper fastener into a hole at one end of

them. If the cards have writing at one end, then that is the end where you shouldinsert the fastener.

4. This will form the base of the rainbow fan and allow the cards to pivot. Run a piece of string through the remaining holes located at the top of the

AFRICAN TALES

Heart of the monkey

T

here grew a big tree on the seashore. Half of its branches were over the land and the other half over the water. A little Monkey lived in the tree. He played in the branches all day and when he was hungry, he ate the sweet fruit that grew in the tree. Now, in the sea there lived a Shark.

One day the Monkey threw some of the fruit into the sea. The Shark ate it up. From that day on the Shark and the Monkey were friends and the Shark asked the monkey to throw some fruit down to him every day.

“Thank you, friend Monkey,” said the Shark, “I have only fish to eat in the sea and I like your fruit very much.” The Monkey was happy to be a friend of the Shark and threw fruit into the sea every morning. Once, the Shark said to the

Monkey, “You are so good to me that I want to do something good for you.

“The Monkey looked down at the Shark and listened. The Shark said, “I want to show you my home. You will meet my brothers and sisters. You are so good to me that I think they will like you.” The Monkey thought a minute and said, “No, I don’t want to go. Thank you.

I am afraid of cold water. And I cannot swim. I shall be happier if I stay in my tree.”

“Oh, no, no!” said the Shark. “Don’t be afraid! Come with me. I shall carry you to my home on my back. I shall not swim very quickly.” The Monkey thought, “The day is very hot. It will be nice on the water. I think I’ll go.” So the Monkey sat down on the Shark’s back. And they went off. At first the Monkey did not like going on the Shark’s back, because the Shark

sample paint cards. This will form the top of the rainbow fan.

Knot the string at the end of the first and the last paint cards and cut off the excess string.

5. Spread the paint sample cards apart to form a rainbow fan. Make sure that you can view every card individually.

swam very quickly. But soon he liked it and looked at the new places and at the fish in the water.

It was so interesting! “Do you like the sea?” asked the Shark. “Is the sea better than your forest?” “Yes, it is. How far must we go?” asked the Monkey. “It is not very far,” the Shark answered. “And now I must tell you something. Our chief, the biggest shark in the sea, is very ill.

Our doctor said to him, ‘You must eat a monkey’s heart. Then you will be well again.’ So I am taking you to him and I am telling it to you, because you are my friend.” The poor Monkey was ready to cry. But he did not cry.

The Monkey thought of a plan to save himself. Then he said, “How silly you are! Why didn’t you tell me that before?

I have no heart with me. It is at home, in the branches of a big tree. We Monkeys always hide our hearts in the branches of big trees in the daytime. We take out hearts only at night. What will you do if your chief finds that I have no heart?

How angry he will be? I am ready to give my heart to your chief, because I am your friend. But how can I do that when I have no heart with me?” The Shark asked the Monkey, “If I take you back to your tree, will you go and get yourmheart?” “Of course, I will. And let us go quickly. Your dear chief must not wait” The Shark with the Monkey swam back very quickly. They came again to the big tree. The Monkey climbed up the tree saying, “Wait for me! Wait for me!

I’ll take my heart!” But the monkey did not come back. The Shark was swimming and swimming in the water under the tree. Then he shouted, “Friend Monkey, where are you?” There was no answer.

The Shark thought, “I am afraid he can’t find the heart in the branches!” The Shark waited and waited for the Monkey. Then he shouted again, “Monkey? Monkey?

When will you come back to me?”

Again there was no answer.

Then the Monkey began to laugh. “Do you think I am a fool?” asked the little Monkey. “Do you think I want to give my heart to your big bad chief and then die?” “But you said your heart was in the branches of the tree,” said the silly Shark.

“My heart is in its place in my body. It is always there!” shouted the Monkey. “And you go away. We are not friends any more.

And with these words the clever Monkey threw a big rotten fruit on the Shark’s nose.

Page 25

AB C DE ACTIVITIES

Using the right colours, shade the image below. Describe the action and show your work to your teacher for correction. Cheers!

MODEL OF THE WEEK

The newly crowned Miss Parliament, Hauwa Bello at the 2013 Speech and Prize Giving Day of the school at Apo in Abuja last weekend.

Page 26

Peoples Daily WEEKEND SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

LEARNING

Foreign cultures and the extinction of local languages

By Jude Melea Moses

L

anguage is a unique identity to every ethnic group not only in Nigeria but the world at large.

The Oxford advance dictionary defines language as a system of communication in speech and writing used by the people of a particular country. Therefore, language is one of the most important aspects of the existence of man.

Since communication is important, inevitable and necessary, language enables us to express our inner thoughts and emotions, makes sense of complex and abstract thoughts, to interact and communicate with others.

Also, it helps us to meet our wants and needs and is used for administrative purposes.

In other word, through language we establish rules and regulations and, thus maintain our unique cultures.

Appreciating and learning to speak languages other than your L1 (first language) - mother tongue- enhances the universality of man. But complete detachment or disconnect from one’s mother tongue may be the worst sin one could ever commit, because language does not only identities tribes but aids interaction by humans and ensures administrative conveniences within a group.

Nigeria in the 21th century is not only battling with political and economic problems, but the gradual extinction of some of her unique indigenous languages among the more than 250 ethnic groups as well.

Prior to the colonial era, our different cultures were so unique and interesting that they did not only encourage development, but unity and love among the diverse ethnic groups. Then, many spoke their native languages with relish.

However, in this modern era, many youths cannot speak their indigenous languages fluently; worse, not a few have lost connection with their roots. The passion for the English Language today, is the smoking gun in the killing of our distinctive indigenous languages.

Some scholars have concluded after researches that, with the trend in ascendency, extinction of some of our indigenous languages is a matter of time.

It is obvious that the gradual extinction is palpable in the cities, our homes, schools, recreational areas, markets etc. if you don’t relate with the English language, you are seen as an illiterate or in the popular Nigerian parlance “a local man”.

It begins from the where some mothers- the pillars of the family- would rather speak the English Language to their children than their local languages. Their belief is that speaking the English language detaches them from the “darkness” they assumed they once belonged and leads to the “light” they assume associated with the English language and culture.

They see English language as the king of all other languages. Pitifully, you see people being shy of speaking their native languages in public after assuming a “sophistication” which they assumed Englishness has brought in their new life.

This has gone a long way in influencing our mode of dressing, our manner of talking, the way we eat, the way we behave and even in the way we sleep! The key there is that the society is growing without indigenous roots like tents pitched on the sand. When the western wind blows, it takes all to the direction it blows.

English aside, the extinction of indigenous languages is more paramount in northern Nigeria, where most minority languages are fizzling out to the majority Hausa language spoken by virtually all groups.

That is probably why most people from the southern Nigeria regard all northerners as ‘Hausa people’. How many people know the Ajawa , an extinct Afro-Asiatic language formerly spoken in Bauchi State,Nigeria?

Ajawa became extinct between 1920 and

Books on a library shelf, but how many books in indigeneous languages are there on the shelf 1940 as speakers switched to Hausa. Kubi (also known as Kuba, Kubawa) is an extinct Afro-Asiatic language formerly spoken in Bauchi State, Nigeria. Members of the ethnic group now speak Hausa.

Basa-Gumna is an extinct Kainji language of Nigeria. It was spoken in Chanchaga, Niger state, and Nasarawa, near the Basa homeland.

Speakers have shifted to Hausa.

Teshenawa was an extinct Afro-Asiatic language formerly spoken in Jigawa State,Nigeria, among others. The Igbo language is also battling for survival. Scholars have said the Igbo Language may not last the next 50 years because most Igbos have internalised English Language in most conversations leaving little room for pure indigenous vocabulary; every indigenous language in Nigeria is a victim of this.

Now that the damage has been done and it is spreading like wild fire. Should more time be wasted on who takes the highest chunk of the blame on our dying indigenous languages while the English continues to satisfy its purposes?

Indigenous Nigerian languages may have received wide range of support from the United States, in particular. One such support is from Wycliffe — a US-based organisation — established since 1942 to translate the Bible into every language spoken in the world.

Giant strides have been made by the organisation as it has completed 700 translations. But the question is; how many of our youths can read the Bible in their indigenous languages? You can’t read and comprehend a language you don’t understand.

The very solution to this problem lies in the hands of our parents and the youths and the deliberate effort of government to return Nigerians to the basics, if we are to regain our bearing as a nation.

More interest should be shown in learning and teaching of our indigenous languages, which must not be seen as inferior to the English language. Even when the English Language is important, we should bear in mind that the wholesale resort to foreign languages

and cultures only ties us to the neocolonial apron-string of a people, who desires to reap perpetual political and commercial benefits from the innocent and gullible denigrators of their own values.

Of interest is the concept of a global village spearheaded by industrialised nations. It is a ploy to change your taste and orientation towards preference for goods and services produced by them. Politically, we are ingrained with ideas we all consider sacrosanct through universalised theories which ironically we often do not understand.

You should ask yourself why peace, order and good government were easily attainable under past traditional political systems and societal ethos.

You may also ask yourself why African history has vanished from educational

“

English aside, the extinction of indigenous languages is more paramount in northern Nigeria, where most minority languages are fizzling out to the majority Hausa language spoken by virtually all groups.

curriculum almost throughout the continent. Very few people of this generation know about slave trade, Usman dan Fodio, King Jaja of Opobo, Chaka the Zulu, Mansa Musa, Oba Ovheranmen and the like. These were topics enough to liberate the mind from greed, subservience and push it to self realization. What we have as replacements are Hollywood film tricks promoting materialism and corruption; turning our women to advert mannequins for wears, food, drinks, cigarettes and cars produced by those whose cultures we assimilate unquestionably. The movie celebrities we admire are simply icons of capitalist and cultural dominations.

The government may have done its best to encourage the learning of some indigenous languages, but they needs to more. They should introduce strict policies to encourage the learning and teaching of these indigenous languages in schools and ensure that students participate in it fully. African communication systems should also be encouraged. Return African history books to the secondary schools and you will see a marked difference from where we are today.

Movies, books, audio programmes should be encourage in various indigenous languages as it will encourage participatory learning from the people.

A project, which is overseen by Google and other language-oriented partners, discovered that “7,000 languages are at the risk of disappearing in the next 100 years, dozens of Nigerian languages listed on the site are classified as vulnerable, (any language spoken by less than 20,000 speakers); threatened, (a language spoken by less than 10,000 speakers); endangered, (any language spoken by less than 5,000 speakers); and severely endangered, (a language spoken by less than 1,000 speakers).

It’s time to let you use your mouth to count your teeth on these problems.

Perhaps, your little contribution can go a long way in saving your helplessly dying indigenous language.

PAGE 27

Leisure

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

CARTOON

Heart of The Monkey (African tales)

T

here grew a big tree on the seashore. Half of its branches were over the land and the other half over the water. A little Monkey lived in the tree. He played in the branches all day and when he was hungry, he ate the sweet fruit that grew in the tree. Now, in the sea there lived a Shark.

One day the Monkey threw some of the fruit into the sea. The Shark ate it up. From that day on the Shark and the Monkey were friends and the Shark asked the monkey to throw some fruit down to him every day.

“Thank you, friend Monkey,” said the Shark, “I have only fish to eat in the sea and I like your fruit very much.” The Monkey was happy to be a friend of the Shark and threw fruit into the sea every morning. Once, the Shark said to the Monkey, “You are so good to me that I want to do something good for you.

“The Monkey looked down at the Shark and listened. The Shark said, “I want to show you my home. You will meet my brothers and sisters. You are so good to me that I think they will like you.” The Monkey thought a minute and said, “No, I don’t want to go. Thank you. I am afraid of cold water. And I cannot swim. I shall be happier if I stay in my tree.”

“Oh, no, no!” said the Shark.

“Don’t be afraid! Come with me. I shall carry you to my home on my back. I shall not swim very quickly.”

The Monkey thought, “The day is very hot. It will be nice on the water.

I think I’ll go.” So the Monkey sat down on the Shark’s back. And they went off. At first the Monkey did not like going on the Shark’s back, because the Shark swam very quickly. But soon he liked it and looked at the new places and at the fish in the water.

It was so interesting! “Do you like the sea?” asked the Shark. “Is the sea better than your forest?” “Yes, it is. How far must we go?” asked the Monkey. “It is not very far,” the Shark answered. “And now I must tell you something. Our chief, the biggest shark in the sea, is very ill. Our doctor said to him, ‘You must eat a monkey’s heart. Then you will be well again.’

So I am taking you to him and I am

I

Quotable quotes

telling it to you, because you are my friend.” The poor Monkey was ready to cry. But he did not cry.

The Monkey thought of a plan to save himself. Then he said, “How silly you are! Why didn’t you tell me that before? I have no heart with me. It is at home, in the branches of a big tree. We Monkeys always hide our hearts in the branches of big trees in the daytime. We take out hearts only at night. What will you do if your chief finds that I have no heart? How angry he will be? I am ready to give my heart to your chief, because I am your friend. But how can I do that when I have no heart with me?” The Shark asked the Monkey, “If I take you back to your tree, will you go and get yourmheart?” “Of course, I will.

And let us go quickly. Your dear chief must not wait” The Shark with the Monkey swam back very quickly. They came again to the big tree. The Monkey climbed up the tree saying, “Wait for me! Wait for me! I’ll

f you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.

The strongest muscle in proportion to its size in the human body is the tongue.

A person cannot taste food unless it is mixed with saliva.

For example, if strong-tasting substance like salt is placed on a dry tongue, the taste buds will not be able to taste it. As soon as a drop of saliva is added and the salt is dissolved, however, a definite taste sensation results. This is true for all foods. Try it!

The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.

Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks otherwise it will digest itself It’s possible to lead a cow upstairs...but not downstairs.

Dogs have four toes on their hind feet, and five on their front feet.

The ant can lift 50 times its own weight, can pull 30 times its own weight and always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.

A cockroach will live nine days without it’s head, before it starves to death.

Butterflies taste with their feet.

Elephants are the only mamals that can’t jump.

Starfish don’t have brains.

A duck’s quack doesn’t echo, and no one knows why.

An ostrich’s eye is bigger that it’s brain.

take my heart!” But the monkey did not come back. The Shark was swimming and swimming in the water under the tree. Then he shouted, “Friend Monkey, where are you?” There was no answer. The Shark thought, “I am afraid he can’t find the heart in the branches!” The Shark waited and waited for the Monkey. Then he shouted again, “Monkey? Monkey?

When will you come back to me?”

Again there was no answer.

Then the Monkey began to laugh. “Do you think I am a fool?” asked the little Monkey. “Do you think I want to give my heart to your big bad chief and then die?”

“But you said your heart was in the branches of the tree,” said the silly Shark. “My heart is in its place in my body. It is always there!” shouted the Monkey.

“And you go away. We are not friends any more. And with these words the clever Monkey threw a big rotten fruit on the Shark’s nose.

•In the end, it’s not going to matter how many breaths you took, but how many moments took your breath away - Shing Xiong •Eleven Hints for Life” 1. It hurts to love someone and not be loved in return.

But what is more painful is to love someone and never find the courage to let that person know how you feel.

2. A sad thing in life is when you meet someone who means a lot to you, only to find out in the end that it was never meant to be and you just have to let go.

3. The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you’ve ever had.

4. It’s true that we don’t know what we’ve got until we lose it, but it’s also true that we don’t know what we’ve been missing until it arrives.

5. It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone-but it takes a lifetime to forget someone.

6. Don’t go for looks, they can

deceive. Don’t go for wealth, even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.

7. Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go, be what you want to be. Because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.

8. Always put yourself in the other’s shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the person too.

9. A careless word may kindle strife. A cruel word may wreck a life. A timely word may level stress.

But a loving word may heal and bless.

10. The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

11. Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, ends with a tear. When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you’re the one smiling and everyone around you is crying.

- Unknown

FUNNY FACTS Snails can sleep for 3 years without eating A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.

A male emperor moth can smell a female emperor moth up to 7 miles away.

The sentence “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” uses every letter in the alphabet.

No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, and purple.

“I am” is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

The Hawaiian alphabet has 12 letters.

If you spell out consecutive numbers, you have to go up to one thousand until you would find the letter “a” Bullet proof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers were all invented by women.

The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of yore when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.

If you put a raisin in a glass of champagne, it will keep floating to the top and sinking to the bottom.

Studies show that if a cat falls off the seventh floor of a building, it has about thirty percent less chance of surviving than a cat that falls off the twentieth floor. It supposedly takes about eight floors for the cat to realise what is occurring, relax and correct itself.

A shark can detect one part of blood in 100 million parts

of water.

A rat can last longer without water than a camel.

To escape the grip of a crocodile’s jaws, push your thumbs into its eyeballs - it will let you go instantly.

If you toss a penny 10000 times, it will not be heads 5000 times,but more like 4950. The heads picture weighs more, so it ends up on the bottom.

Babies are born without kneecaps. They don’t appear until the child reaches 2-6 years of age.

Einstein couldn’t speak fluently when he was nine. His parents thought he might be retarded.

Leonardo da Vinci could write with one hand and draw with the other at the same time.

Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a “Friday the 13th.”

First novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer The mask used by Michael Myers in the original film “Halloween” was actually a Captain Kirk mask painted white.

Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny) was allergic to carrots.

The dot over the letter ‘i’ is called a tittle.

You can tell from the statue of a mounted horseman how the rider died. If all four of the horse’s feet are on the ground, he died of natural causes. One foot raised means he died from wounds suffered in battle. Two legs raised means he died in action.

PAGE 28

s p i T y t u a Be

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 10 - SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Tackling hair loss as you age

H

air loss is a naturally occurring phenomenon as you advance in age.

Thinning of hair or baldness is one of the signs of aging and mostly caused due to nutrients deficiencies such as iron deficiency.

Nutrients for Hair Good nutrition helps with hair growth and renewal as such, one must eat foods rich in Vitamins A, B, C, biotin, copper, zinc and iron.

While vitamin supplements help, eating foods which are rich sources of these nutrients give better results. While some hair loss issues may need medical attention, there are helpful tips you could adopt to help thinning of hair and hair loss in its entirety. Here are a fe GARLIC Garlic when crushed and massaged into scalp helps blood circulation which reduces thinning of hair.

HAIR MASKS Hair masks Hair masks strengthen hair follicles to prevent breakage and eventual thinning.

Since I promote natural remedies, here are a few hair masks you could

use: Eggs: I am sure you know that egg whites make great hair masks to prevent breakage and thinning.

Break two eggs, remove the yolks, and massage the white into your scalp and hair. Leave in the hair for fifteen minutes until dry. Then rinse off with warm water.

Yogurt: Yogurt gives hair volume and luster. So make a hair mask by massaging yogurt into your hair, cover with a wrap and allow to condition hair for fifteen minutes. Rinse off.

Coconut Milk and Lemon: The best source of coconut milk is the natural one itself, especially the ones yet to fully mature as they are very succulent and full of milk.

With these, you can scoop the entire content, including the coconut with spoon. Blend it into a smooth paste, squeeze a little amount of lemon into it and massage into hair. I use this on my daughter to prevent breakage and thinning.

Here is a practical example: Her hair just after removing braids; With coconut milk hair mask;

After rinsed off and drying Natural Hair Treatment The natural a hair care product, the better for you. Here are a few natural products you could use: ~ Shea butter ~ Olive oil ~ Coconut oil ~Palm Kernel oil To avoid over processed olive oil, use extra virgin olive oil used in cooking or the Goya brand churches use for prayer.

Try not to buy overly processed Shea butter with fragrances; you need it natural so go for a natural source.

Coconut oil as well as Palm kernel oil are not hard to extract.

You just have to let the fruits dry out in the sun first, and then toast in a sauce pan. With time, the oil will be extracted Mayonnaise and greying?

Oh yes! I found out very recently that mayonnaise when massaged into hair, allowed to sit for fifteen minutes and rinsed off can help with greying. Go find out and let me know what you find!

Hope these helps! Cheers!

Compiled by Nami Hassan Kadir

Belt in or belt out

Compiled by Miriam Humbe

Fashion

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

T

he African fashion is really trending these days. Most designers take advantage of the modern dress accessories to create fashion clothes for women of all classes.

The latest is the belt ups which have become a necessary accessory on Ankara dresses whether long or short, corporate or casual.

Wrap up and buckle in belts beautifully made of Ankara simply adds to the finishing touch and helps pull your outfit together.

Whip thin skinny belts made of Ankara or other materials take a bold stance, as acidic neon tones and punchy prints cinch body con dresses and coloured skinny jeans.

Alternatively, leather waist belts and hip belts in neutral shades, also do in no small ways, keep fashion loving woman contented with her outlook.

So the trend is the belt thing. Its either you belt in or you are out. That’s the way it is.

Page 29

Pots & Pans PAGE 30

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

How to get rid of fruit flies

W

hat’s the only creature that loves fruit more than you do? Fruit flies. In the world of science, they’re known as drosophila and have

been crucial in the understanding of basic genetics. But in the world of your kitchen, they’re known as annoying black specks -- so small you wonder if you’re hallucinating -that orbit around your face every time you try

to eat.

Don’t be embarrassed if you have a fruit fly problem -- it happens to the best of us. The little buggers seem to come from nowhere and are practically impossible to get rid of.

With Hajiya Ramatu Usman Dorayi But you have the power to do the impossible. Armed with a few basic tools, you can rid yourself of fruit flies and begin your new fruit fly-free life.

First, you must understand your enemy. Fruit flies live for 8 to 10 days and the females lay up to 500 eggs at a time.

This translates into rapid multiplication: lots and lots of little fruit fly babies.

To rid your kitchen of fruit flies, the first step is to destroy their breeding ground. Fruit flies lay eggs on the surface of ripening fruit, so for the time being, move your produce into the fridge.

Fruit flies also spawn in sink drains, garbage disposals, empty bottles, and damp sponges, so be extra vigilant with your kitchen clean-up.

Even when you’ve removed the surfaces fruit flies are attracted to, it’s likely there are still fruit fly larvae lurking in the corners of your kitchen, ready to develop into adults. This is where traps come in.

Sadly, in order to break free of the fruit fly shackles, you must kill adult flies. You can purchase traps, but these DIY methods are as, if not more, effective.

Take a sheet of paper and form a cone-shaped funnel. Seal the funnel with tape and stick it into a jar or wine bottle that’s baited with a small amount of apple cider vinegar or a ripe banana. Place the trap in the most afflicted area of your kitchen. The flies, not clever enough to realize that they can exit by way of the entrance, will accumulate in the jar. Once you’ve amassed a nice collection, either spray them with insecticide or, if you’re an animal lover (and a risk-taker), release them into the great outdoors.

The Plastic Wrap Method Put apple cider vinegar in a small jar of bowl and add a few drops of dishwashing liquid.

Cover the vessel with plastic wrap (fastened with a rubber band for extra security) and poke three or four holes in the plastic.

The fruit flies will not only be trapped, but they will also be destined to drown. The soap in the dishwashing liquid alters the surface tension of the vinegar so that instead of landing on the surface, the flies fall in.

We recommend using apple cider vinegar as bait. Heat it for 10 seconds in the microwave to help release the fragrances that attract the flies. If you don’t have vinegar on hand, wine, tequila, and rotten or ripe fruit will also attract fruit flies.

We don’t endorse the killing of fruit flies, but it’s a dog-eatdog world out there and humans and fruit flies just can’t coexist.

At least not in your kitchen.

Peoples Daily WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

PAGE 31

Relationship

Study shows fewer women are getting married….if at all

By Deborah Dunham

P

utting off marriage has become the norm these days.

Marital bliss can wait, according to a July 2013 study that says women are waiting longer to tie the knot-if at all-these days.

Not long ago in the 1950s, approximately 65 percent of women over the age of 15 were married. Now, researchers at the National Center for Family and Marriage Research (NCFMR) at Bowling Green State University say that statistic has dramatically changed. Less than half of all women in the U.S. are married today, making this the lowest percentage since the turn of the century.

“Although the vast majority of Americans say they want to get married, fewer are actually getting (and staying) married,” says Susan Brown, co-director at NCFMR. “Indeed, more than 10 percent of baby boomers have never married, and at this point, it is unlikely that they ever will.”

This trend, says Brown, is one we can expect to see continue with younger generations, too.

Interestingly enough, if you go back even further in time, the marriage rate in 1920 was three times as high as it is today, indicating that more and more women see marriage as just one of an array of options now-even if they want to have children.

“Career options and goals are more available now, and for many women, these have taken on equal priority so that the question is more one of timing today,” explains Jane Greer, Ph.D., a marriage and relationship psychotherapist in New York City and author of “What About Me? Stop Selfishness From Ruining Your Relationship.”

“The urgency and rush to start a family early is no longer the norm. Many women can pursue their careers and postpone having a family. Because there are so many more options for older women to get pregnant and have children, it’s enabled them to balance their careers.

Also, many women are opting to become single mothers. In short, marriage is no longer necessary to secure a family.”

Not only are fewer women choosing to walk down the aisle, but those who do are waiting until they’re older. According to the study, a woman’s average age at first marriage is now the highest it’s been since the early 1900s, at nearly 27 years old.

The reason for this boils down to our own expectations about what needs to be in place before we marry, explains Brown. “These days, couples

“

Let your heart be your guide, and don’t be driven by the timeline of having to get married now or later.

The choice is there, so make your choice about your own relationship and what feels right, as opposed to the ‘when’ of getting married

treat marriage as a capstone experience, a way to signify to others that they have made it,” she says. “Many hold the view that marriage is attainable only after one has completed their education, gotten a stable job, paid off their debts and is on the road to buying a home.”

Also, adds Brown: “These days, couples can now enjoy many of the benefits traditionally confined to marriage. They can live together, have children together and pool their resourceswithout getting married.”

And it’s not just women in the U.S. who are holding off on saying “I do.” “Marriage is declining throughout the western world,” adds Brown. “Whereas, it was once largely universal,

increasingly couples are content to live together outside of the bounds of legal marriage.”

But that doesn’t mean some women aren’t still married to the idea of getting married. “Many find fulfillment in unmarried relationships and see few benefits to getting married,” says Brown. “Nonetheless, marriage remains an experience that most Americans desire. The battle over same sex marriage is a good example of that.”

In the end, this trend proves that having a relationship can take on many forms these days.

Marriage is just one of them, and more women are choosing not to rush to get married-if at all-which may be a good thing considering that divorce rates

continue to skyrocket. Less than one percent of women were separated or divorced in 1920; today, that figure is 15 percent.

But don’t let all of these scare you away from marriage altogether if it’s something you desire, notes Greer. Just take your time.

“You don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to marry someone, but don’t feel like you have to marry the first guy who comes along,” she says. “Let your heart be your guide, and don’t be driven by the timeline of having to get married now or later. The choice is there, so make your choice about your own relationship and what feels right, as opposed to the ‘when’ of getting married.”

If you have any relationship story you want to share with our readers, please send to the editor

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

PAGE 32

How do you recover from being struck by lightning?

By Denise Winterman BBC News Magazine

S

ummer storms often result in thunder and lightning.

Every year a small number of people die from being hit, but what about those who survive?

Lightning is a discharge of static electricity that occurs when there is an imbalance in the electrical charge between the cloud and the earth’s surface.

Put very simply, it is a giant electric spark in the sky - a very powerful one. A single bolt could be a billion volts. It can stop a person’s heart and cook their internal organs.

On average three people die in the UK each year from lightning strikes, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa). In the US, deaths have been in decline but are still in the region of 30 a year.

More than 85% of those killed are male.

In the UK, up to 60 people every year get struck and survive, but it’s estimated that more than three-quarters of them suffer some form of permanent disability.

So what is life like after being struck by lightning? Eric Brocklebank, then 64, was struck on 9 June 2009 as he boiled sausages for a group of cadets at an event at RAF Digby. He had just removed a metal barbecuing prong from the water and was holding it in the air when the strike happened.

“A bolt of lightning came straight through the gap in the tent. It hit the fork I was holding.

That melted into my hand.”

With lightning strike victims you can sometimes guess at the path of the electricity because of the formation of a Lichtenberg figure. Sometimes known as “lightning tree” or “lightning flower”, these intricate, fern-like patterns are caused by capillaries bursting.

In Brocklebank’s case, the lightning first caused a small wound in his wrist.

“Then it went down the right side of my body, across my hips and down through my left and right legs. It blew three holes in my right foot and two holes in my left foot.”

He was lucky to be surrounded by people who were able to help.

“As luck had it, all of the cadets knew CPR. One of the first people down there was my son.

The first responders then worked on me for 20 minutes.”

More than three-quarters of lightning survivors suffer some form of permanent disability.

For Brocklebank, the consequences, four years after the strike, are both physical and

Summer storms often result in thunder and lightning. Every year a small number of people die from being hit, but what about those who survive?

Lightning bolt injuries typically leave burns on the skin

What lightening does to your skin

mental.

Continue reading the main story Where does lightning come from?

Most lightning forms in the lowest portion of Earth’s atmosphere known as the troposphere.

It either travels between clouds as sheet lightning or from the clouds to the ground as fork lightning.

Lightning can also form in the ash clouds of volcanoes • Explore the mysterious world of Earth’s atmosphere He has scar tissue on his lungs and can be easily left short of breath. Sometimes his mobility is fine but occasionally he has to resort to a wheelchair. He is grateful for all the doctors and nurses who have worked on him

it hits another object and jumps sideways to hit you. A ground strike is when it hits the ground then travels through it hitting you on the way.

‘Lightning trees’ • Lichtenberg figure also known as “lightning tree” or “lightning flower” - is red, branching electric discharge pattern that occurs on the skin of strike victims • Marks formed when delicate capillaries beneath skin rupture from shock of electrical discharge • Usually appear within hours of incident and disappear within days; tend to occur on upper body • Named after 18th Century physicist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg who described similar pattern while

over the years.

“I’ve had numerous exploratory examinations. I try to put a brave face on it. I’m not a person who lets things get me down.” He has retired from his job as a designer of X-ray systems, but still occasionally works. On one hospital visit he was told: “We don’t normally treat people with so many different problems.”

Men are four times as likely to be struck as women, says Rospa.

This is believed to be because men are statistically more likely to be outdoors. Golfers are probably at greatest risk, because they are likely to be caught in the open far from shelter.

There are three types of lightning strike. A direct strike is when it hits you and goes to earth through you. A side flash is when

experimenting with static electricity Source: APS Physics Safety tips when lightning strikes • Seek shelter inside a large building or a car • Get out of wide, open spaces and exposed hilltops • If you have nowhere to shelter, make yourself as small a target as possible by crouching down with your feet together, hands on knees and head tucked in • Do not shelter beneath tall or isolated trees • If you are on water, get to the shore and off wide, open beaches as quickly as possible • Studies have shown that proximity to water is a common factor in lightning strikes Source: Rospa

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

When I first fell in love, I fell hard...

Compiled by Theodora Ekah and Kerem Kurugh

T

here’s nothing quite as exhilarating as the early stages of a romantic relationship. Just the thought that you may have found your one-and-only can be so thrilling. But, the early stages of falling in love can be as frustrating as they are wonderful.

Your new love life may consume your energy, focus, and time to the point where everything else in life seems a rude intrusion. You can’t stop thinking about your lover. You get up and go to sleep obsessed with the relationship and what your future will look like together.

To some, this reaction may seem overboard. But, many know first-hand how falling in love can turn you into an obsessed, needy, and insecure person for a time. You don’t have to have emotional issues from the past to feel this way.

Of course, if you do, this stage will particularly be difficult for you It is a rare thing now to marry a first love. Today’s teenagers date not for mate selection but for fun. However, the first love experience is no less powerful than it was in the 1940’s.

When I first fell in love, I fell hard.....

It was my sophomore year of college, and this guy, Joel the cutest thing I have ever seen, knocked me straight off my feet. We first met in the school hall when he was asked to take charge of our class line. He was a Prefect and so, a class ahead of me. It started out as a crush. Little did I know that my destiny was soon going to turn around.

Given my shy demeanor, it

was his charming persistence that lured me closer than I normally ventured on my own. After school he would come and check on me, ask if I was disturbed, just anything about me he would inquire.

He could be described as the dream guy of any secondary school girl.

My first real step into vulnerability with a guy was with him. Joel, the first guy that made me feel good on the inside. The bliss that accompanied a new relationship was thrilling, yet under the bliss was a stronger and more permanent sentiment of disbelief.

You see, beneath my shy demeanor, was a girl who felt inherently flawed. A girl who looked in the mirror and cringed at what she saw. I felt completely unlovable. Yet, by the grace of God it seemed, he loved me. With his love, came an immense pressure to maintain perfection.

I had to be beautiful. I had to be fashionable. In fact, I started becoming unnecessarily conscious of my whole being.

Because I was uncertain of his captivation with me, I felt it was my obligation to keep him happy even if it were to be to my own detriment.

I lived in a constant fear that he would walk away; that he would discover the intrinsic flaws that lay below my facade of perfection. Well, any way, he did walk away.

But before then, I wanted to say all the right things, and do everything the right way.

I even went to the extent of changing my accent, my looks, name everything you could ever imagine a girl would go through just to keep a guy who doesn’t even have a hint of what you are going through.

Afraid to speak, afraid to act, afraid to just be “myself” – I

PAGE 33

A sip from the same glass symbolises teenage bliss felt my “self” disappearing into thin air.

As the relationship went on, I seemed to disappoint him more and more. I was indeed desperate.

Flash forward to four years later, after our graduation and all, it was the morning after my birthday party and my friends and family were meandering around the kitchen talking about what a blast the night before had been.

My parents knew him quite well with the idea that he was the one who brought out ‘’ the girl in me’’ As we sat down to a homemade breakfast by my dad, my so called boyfriend, turned to me and asked that I make him his own eggs.

Thinking he was interested in my own specialty for him I went ahead glad that at least I would be able to prepare something for him myself. With no hesitation I jumped up and went over to the stove humming to myself and cooking . He didn’t want the scrambled eggs that everyone else was eating; instead, he wanted what he had asked for.

As I put his over easy eggs in front of him with love, he looked at me with a sense of disgust, and gawked “I’m not eating these. I can’t believe you don’t know how I like my eggs!” I had forgotten that he preferred olive oil and not butter. Full of shame and embarrassment,

“

I felt all the blood rush to my face as I looked down to the floor. The stares of my family and friends seemed to be burning into the top of my head. I wanted to jump into a hole. I began to berate myself for not knowing how to cook his eggs right and was ashamed on so many levels. I was surprised and amazed at the way he spoke to me: like I was a tramp.

I was ashamed that I was ashamed.

As days passed by, he completely made me feel unworthy. I used to think that this innate unworthiness was a weakness, however, I know now that is quite the opposite.

I trust that the devilish problem of starving for self worth which plagues us as highly sensitive souls is an angel in disguise.

The pain of not being able to be perfect enough aches. The pain of not being able to express the goodness of who I am, were stings like hell. However, when I began to heal, I realized that this pain is a choice.

I finally summed up my mind that I needed a break. I decided that we met at a nearby eatery to talk, he accepted. I sat waiting for him then he approached me with his captivating jovial smile. ‘’Key Kay, what’s up?’’ ‘’Good’’ I replied. He decided that he goes on first with the talking then I agreed. He told me that he thought I was

First love, young love, is indeed real love. This intense love does not come along every ten minutes.

beginning to bore him... Wait a minute! Me, a BORE? Whoa! I was completely shocked. I had always fantasised that if I were to ever undergo a breakup it should be a romantic one but here goes nothing.

I summed up the courage to swallow the humiliation thankful that at least it was a quick breakup with no argument. Throughout the whole discussion, I kept my cool. I was really a fool for Joel.

I went home with a few drops of tears not wanting to show how weak and a loser I was in the relationship.

I got into my room and decided for a fresh start.

Although the sweet memories of Joel and I still flashes through my mind, it didn’t make me regret the breakup.

I had to move on and surely, I will.

I came to realise that every time I abandoned or dishonored myself, it was an abuse to my being. I never fully understood the saying that you could not love someone else, until you learned to love yourself. I now understand this on a very deep level.

In the journey to understanding your own self worth, follow what feels good to you. If the relationship, the job, or the environment does not feel right it probably isn’t. Please don’t settle, stick around, or stay. Love yourself enough to walk away, to fight back, and to move on.

The longer I study lost loves and lost love reunions, the clearer it becomes to me how important young love really is. First love, young love, is indeed real love. This intense love does not come along every ten minutes. For some people, it may come only once in a lifetime.

Teenage love is sweet

Nollywood PAGE 34

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 - SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

BrymO gets new management, signs distribution deal with spinlet

A

way from all the rancour that trailed his acrimonious departure form Chocolate City, singer BrymO appears to have moved past it, choosing to get along with his musical career, in the most pragmatic way by signing a new deal.

The ‘Ara’ singer, who has a lone album to his name, has made crucial moves with signing of a new management team, and sealing a distribution deal with Spinlet, the digital music distribution company.

The management, The Bail Music Company, is a budding firm, headed by long-time friend Lanre Lawal, will henceforth take charge of all his managerial affairs.

‘Yes I’m now working with BrymO. He’s been a longtime friend of mine‘, Lanre Lawal revealed over

the phone, explaining that they hooked up some months ago.

But then amid all the advancement, trouble might be brewing from his contractual issues with Chocolate City. It is widely reported that BrymO is still legally bound to a contract with the record label, and the recent deals may have breached some of those contractual terms.

Chocolate City, it appears, didn’t give their blessings to the deals, and neither do they have an extensive knowledge about it.

When contacted, Choc City lead man, Audu Maikori, confirmed this, revealing that the label is in the know of the recent deals, and would take legal action. “‘We have instructed our lawyers to take appropriate action‘, Maikori revealed.

L-R: Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Chairman Senate Committee on media and Publicity; Mr. Godwin Emefiele, Group MD/CEO, Zenith Bank Plc; Mr. John Ugbe, Managing Director MultiChoice Nigeria and Mr.Ladi Balogun, Group MD/CEO, FCMB during the MultiChoice 20th Anniversary Logo Unveiling held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Victoria Island, in Lagos.

Zimbabwe’s Tehn Diamond to thrill Big Brother on Sunday

Z

BrymO

imbabwean Hip-Hop sensation Tehn Diamond will be showing off his raw lyrical power on this Sunday’s live Big Brother: The Chase eviction show, as the continent waits to see if their votes will keep their favourite housemate in the $300,000 game.

The Harare-born lyrical landscaper, rapper, singer and songwriter has curved a niche for himself around the world for his powerful lyrics and soulful sounds.

Currently working on his debut album, ‘The Perfect Tehn’, Diamond first gave Africa a taste of his talent with his mixtape Student Of The Game: Higher Learning.

His second offering, Student Of The Game: Boys Will Be Boys coincided with the massive “Who Is Tehn Diamond?” campaign, which saw a massive increase in his Zimbabwean fan base.

The music bug bit properly while Tehn was studying towards a financial degree in Australia, he then spent two years touring Australia and Asia to hone his talents. He received radio airplay in the UK, New Zealand, Australian, Namibia, Zambia and in Zimbabwe.

In 2012, he collaborated with Chiwoniso Maraire, Ba Shupi, Junior Brown, MC Chita and Tumi & The Volume and headlined the Chimanimani Festival, performing to almost 10, 000 people.

So far in 2013, he has headlined the Harare International Festival of the Arts – and now takes his place on the Big Brother: The Chase stage for what promises to be an unmissable performance. He will also be joined on stage by Jnr Brown and DJ Take Fizzo.

In Addition to Tehn Diamond’s performance, DStv audiences can look forward to a guest appearance by Big Brother StarGame’s winner, Keagan Petersen. He will share his experience in the show, particularly the emotions that the current housemates may be feeling at this point in the game. Viewers will also hear how winning USD 300 000 has changed Keagan’s life and what he has been up to since StarGame.

Tehn Diamond

PAGE 35

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 - SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Boll y wo od/ H o l l ywood Ryan Gosling to play Batman in ‘Man of Steel’

I

ndia Today has reported that actor Ryan Gosling is in the running for the role of Batman in the ‘Man of Steel sequel’.

The Notebook actor is reportedly a hot contender to take on the role of Bruce Wayne in Zach Snyder’s new project, Batman vs Superman.

Wayne/Batman will be in the late 30s and will be established and rugged. This new movie will not seek to recount an origin story or the rise of the Dark Knight, reports.

The other actors that have been approached includes Josh

Brolin and Joe Manganiello and Gosling is the youngest in the mix, followed by British actor Matthew Goode, 35.

Brolin, 46, is currently thought to be the frontrunner to play the role because of his history with the Warner Bros.

True Blood star Manganiello, 36, is also said to be in the running after missing out on the role of Clark Kent in ‘Man of Steel’ to Henry Cavill.

Meanwhile, ‘The Hobbit’ actor Richard Armitage and Pacific Rim star Max Martini have equally been named as contenders.

Chris Brown says ‘X’ may be his last album

C

hris Brown has said that’ X’ may be his last album, adding that celebrity life is faced with challenges.

The singer, 24, who publicly fell from grace after assaulting then-girlfriend, Rihanna in February 2009, took to Twitter on Tuesday morning, writing: “Being famous is amazing when it’s for ur (your) music and talent. I’m tired of being famous for a mistake I made when I was 18. I’m cool & over it!”

“Don’t worry mainstream America. After this X album, it’ll probably be my last album,” he said in another tweet.

Back in June, Brown was charged with two misdemeanors, driving without a valid license and hit-and-run, relating to a fender bender on May 21.

He is currently on probation following his domestic-violence conviction for striking Rihanna and could get sentenced to jail.

Brown

Usher’s ex-wife wants custody of kids after son nearly drowns

I Ryan Gosling

n the wake of Usher’s 5-yearold son nearly drowning, the singer’s ex-wife is seeking to wrestle custody of their kids away from him, TMZ news has sad It added that Tameka Raymond filed legal documents in which she blamed Usher for the pool accident that landed their child in the hospital.

The boy, Usher Raymond V, ended up in ICU after his arm got stuck in a pool drain.

Tameka claimed their son was left unsupervised when the accident occurred and that Usher has delegated responsibility of his kids to his aunt, whom Tameka has previously criticized for not properly taking care of their children, according to TMZ. Tameka is asking for temporary primary custody of their two children, including decisionmaking power over their education, healthcare, religion and

Oprah: Trayvon Martin, the same thing as Emmett Till

I

n a brief clip that aired recently, Oprah Winfrey compared the killing of Trayvon Martin to that of Emmett Till, the young black boy whose brutal murder helped fuel the civil rights movement.

It was one of her first public comments about the case, which has seen African Americans and whites sharply divided about whether George Zimmerman’s acquittal was just.

“Trayvon Martin, parallel to Emmett Till,” Oprah told The Grio’s Chris Witherspoon. “Let me just tell you, in my mind, same thing. But you can stuck in that and not allow yourself to move forward and to see how far we’ve come.”

In a previous interview with Diane Sawyer, she said her new movie, “The Butler,” could offer an answer to white people who were confused

as to why African Americans were so outraged about Martin’s death.

Oprah also appeared on “CBS This Morning” for that show’s entire second hour, talking about things as varied as morning sex, her upcoming interview with Lindsay Lohan, and her network, OWN. “We’re having fun, we’re making money, we’re really in the business,” she said of OWN.

Winfrey

extracurricular activities, noting that Usher often delegates responsibility for their children because he’s so frequently out of town.

Tameka initially wanted an emergency hearing later this week, but a date for the court appearance has not yet been set.

Usher currently has primary custody of their children, and Tameka has limited custodial rights.

PAGE 36

Peoples Daily WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Sight & Sound

The Myth about Sango, ‘god of thunder’

T

Sango worshippers

his Legendry Yoruba king’s story has been and will remain a source of wonder.

According to a myth, it was a defeat in a magical contest that led “Sango” to leave Oyo after he hung himself.

“Sango”also known as “Oba Koso” is the ancestor of the Yoruba people of Nigeria believed to be the “god of thunder” living in the sky’, who hurls thunder stones to earth, killing those who offend him or setting their houses on fire. His thunderbolts are prehistoric.

Whenever lightning flashes and thunder rolls, his worshippers shout, “the king did not hang himself”, a greeting that appears in one verse.

Sango’s symbol, the twin-stone ax, or “oshe Sango”, is believed to be ener-

gized with protective powers. It is used as a badge of membership in the cult. Sango is portrayed with a double axe on his head (the symbol of thunder) with six eyes and sometimes with three heads. His symbolic animal is the Ram, and his favorite colours are red and white, which are regarded as being holy. He has a special type of drum known as “BATA” while his favorite food include bitter kolanut, yam and porridge.

In Yoruba myth, Sango once ruled as the fourth Alaafin of Oyo. Sango is said to have succeeded his father, Oranmiyan, as one of the early kings of Oyo, and several verses say that he became a king. He was noted for his magical power and was feared because when he spoke, fire came out of his mouth.

One verse in sango’s eulogy (oriki) says there is lighting of fire in his mouth with Itufu, oil soaked fibers from the pericarp of the oil palm, which is used in making

torches starting fires. In a state of possession, it is that sango worshipper may eat fire, possibly using itufu, carry a pot of live coals on his head or put his hand on a live coals without apparent harm. After his extraordinary life and controversial death, his friends revered him as a god. His cult has enjoyed the royal patronage of the Alaafin of Oyo, who is regarded as his descendant. Sango’s cult played an important role in securing the people’s loyalty to the Alaafin in the days of the Oyo Empire.

History has it that he is the son of Yemoja, the mother goddess and protector of birth. Sango had three wives. Oya, who stole sango’s secrets of magic. Oshun, the river goddess who is sango’s favorite because of her culinary abilities and Oba, who tried to win his love by offering her ear for him to eat. He sent her away in anger and she became the river oba, which is very tur-

bulent where it meets the river osun. Sango festival is celebrated in Oyo town in Oyo State. Sango is the Yoruba god of thunder and lightning.

Major features of the festival are sacrifices to Sango and acrobatic dances and drummings. Sango’s followers regard him as the embodiment of great creative potential. His dedication to power over life and death and to creativity is reflected in sango’s reminder houses, such as the one found in the compound of Baalekoso (Mayor of Koso’s Compound) in Oyo, which overflow with carvings, ceramics and other artwork. A well carved mortar, ritual container, figure, or dance staff is believed to be able to better focus the followers attention on the important attributes of the great king and to better lure the spirit to the shrine. Small images of twins (ere ibeji) are also often stored in the shrine, as legend states that sango was himself a twin.

Peoples Daily WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Ent ertai n m e n t 2face, Savage, Prince, others perform at grand finale of Star Music Trek today Z

PAGE 37

Zack Orji condemns obscene dressing by Nigerian actresses

A

fter nine exciting weeks across the country, the Star Music Trek train finally berths at the National Stadium, Surulere today in what the organisers say will be an exciting grand finale of the year.

Headline artistes 2face Idibia, Tiwa Savage, Ice Prince, J Martins, DrSID, and Waje -with a surprise reappearance from Wande Coalare set to thrill music lovers who have been keenly following The Trek from June 8 when it first held in Festac, Lagos.

According to 2face, who debuted on The Trek in Asaba, the Grand Finale promises to be one worth attending, what with the talented acts set to perform and the massive surprises prepared for fans.

“Asaba was awesome but trust me, you can’t beat what we have in store for our fans on August 10 at the National Stadium. Just imagine all the ‘Treks’, from Festac right down to Agege all wrapped

on in one massive Grand Finale!

Trust me it will be awesome,” the singer said.

“Performing at each Star Music Trek Concert is always an amazing time for me. I’ve been missing my fans since Lokoja, so, yes, I’m most definitely looking forward to seeing them again on Saturday,” Ice Prince also said.

Also performing for the second time, beautiful songstress Tiwa Savage noted that, “Truthfully, it’s been really exciting. This will be my second time performing on the Trek this year but I’ve been watching the concerts from city to city. You just cannot beat the energy and passion Nigerians have for good music.”

Since June 8, Star Music Trek has toured Festac, Lokoja, Owerri ,Enugu, Aba, Nnewi, Asaba, Enugu, Nnewi, Abeokuta and Agege entertaining thousands of music lovers across the country with the best of Nigerian music.

2Face

Ice Prince

Winner of Pasuma’s music tourney to cart home N.5m, recording deal

W

inner of the maiden ‘Sing for Pasuma’ musical competition will smile home with N550,000 and one year recording deal, courtesy Globacom which identified with the muscial competition early in the week.

The Fuji musician himself, Wasiu Alabi Pasuma, announced the support of the telecoms giant midweek.

Before then though, the GSM outfit, via a tweet from its official twitter handle, teamed up with pasuma by announcing the sponsorship deal.

It says that winner of the music

competition will walk away with N550,000 and one year record deal. The message goes thus: “@ GlobacomLimited: Decision made.

550k cash prize &1 year record deal for d 1st winner of#singForPasuma @ pasuma_wonder”.

To enter for the #SingForPasuma music contest, interested artistes are expected to download the beats and fill the entry form on the site, record freestyle, and send either the link or the recorded song to Otunba. pasuma@gmail.com.

Peoples Daily Weekend recalls

that the Fuji musician unveiled the ‘Sing for Pasuma’ music competition only few weeks ago.

According to him, the fiesta is open to all genre of music, interested talented musicians are expected to download the beats available According to the Oganla of Fuji music, who recently replaced his stolen Range Rover SUV with a Hummer, the ‘Sing for Pasuma’ competition is to give upcoming talented music artistes the opportunity to be great.

Pasuma, who was recently

Okoye finally engages Omotayo

F

inally, Peter Okoye, from the group P Square, has proposed to his longtime sweetheart and mother of his two children, Lola Omotayo.

The proposal for the hand of beautiful Lola has set the bar quite high going by the quality of what he used to plead for her to consent to his request. Okoye pleaded with her with: a new Range Rover, a bouquet of flowers, along with a glistering ring.

And was she delighted with it? Of course, and she did not hide her excitement as she cuddled him as if she was doing that for the first time. Sweet! You will surely say.

But that’s not all.

The delighted couple shared their moment of bliss with all that cared by posting their photographs online. Surely, dates for what would be a high profile wedding will be announced later. So stay The items with which Okoye sought Lola’s consent tuned. for engagement

welcomed by top celebrities when he joined social network, Twitter, follows the likes of Donjazzy, Eldee and others who have organised online music competitions in the past.

ack Orji, a Nollywood actor and former Chairman of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), has condemned the level of indecent dressing among actresses in the country.

Orji, a pastor in the Power Life Assembly Ministry, Owerri, made the condemnation in Owerri on Wednesday while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria.

He noted that movies which were originally meant to promote the people’s cultural heritage and discipline were being destroyed in the name of civilisation.

“Most movies shown in recent times are capable of destroying the moral background of children as they have become the most popular movie audience.

“Film production must be properly checkmated before circulation because it is wrong for an actor or actress to expose his or her body to the world in the disguise of acting,’’ he said.

Orji said that some actresses were suspended during his regime as the chairman of the Actors Guild. He advised actors and actresses to lead lives worthy of emulation.

He said that in spite of ministerial work, he was still active in the industry but could only accept scripts that promote morality.

Wande Coal, Iyanya out of first place on Naija top 10 “The Kick” star, Wande Coal, makes a surprise move back to the top of this week’s MTV Base Official Naija Top 10 powered by Star Music. “The Kick” has still clearly got plenty of life in it as it kicks Iyanya back into number 2 position after just one week.

Wande Coal joins VJ Ehis in the studio this week as special guests to talk about how he has grown to be an artiste to be reckoned with in the Nigerian music industry and also run through the charts with Ehis.

This week’s highest climbers are D’Banj, and Chidinma who each jump two places: D’Banj to number 5 thanks to “Don’t Tell Me Nonsense”; while Chidinma’s “E Mi Ni Baller” settles in number 6. PSquare continue their slow but inexorable rise up the chart, moving smoothly from fourth to third position with “Personally”.

DJ Xclusive is the only new entry on this week’s Official Naija Top 10, entering the chart at number 10 with “No”. Dropping out of the chart altogether this week is D’Prince with “Goody Bag” – a surprise drop for last week’s number 3.

The MTV Base Official Naija Top 10: August 2 – 9: 1. WANDE COAL – THE KICK 2. IYANYA – SEXY MAMA 3. P SQUARE – PERSONALLY 4. ICE PRINCE – VIP 5. D’BANJ – DON’T TELL ME NONSENSE 6. CHIDINMA – E MI NI Baller 7. FLAVOUR – CHINNY BABY 8. BURNA BOY – RUN MY RACE 9. 2FACE – RAINBOW 10. DJ XCLUSIVE – NO

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

PAGE 38

Boko Haram leader nabbed in Niger Rep

UTI says: THIS MAN OWN DON DO-

Customers groan over epileptic Ecobank services

Pepper Igiena says: Good work and congratulations to the Nigerians Armed Forces.

Transforming education in Kano state: Governor Kwankwaso Agenda Muttaka Idris (Abasha) says: Sincerely speaking, Kwankwaso’s second tenure makes more sense. He has done more beneficial things to the people of Kano state. The education sector is one that received the highest attention from his administration. I also commend his job creation efforts.

Anyone with open heart and good mind can attest to that. Capital/ physical projects are also receiving attention. I wish his administration the very best and may Allah (SWA) empower him all the more.

Kano attacks: Ohanaeze set to establish civilian JTF

Naija Information says: I believe this might bring down the tension in the north

The provocative Lagos deportations Kkk says: Get your facts right, Lagos state wrote Anambra government but they were left with no response for 90 days. The same Anambra state governor is making noise in the media now. Please take care of your beggars in your state.

New teeth grown from urine – study Edward says: This is good news. There is the need for greater improvement

Quit PDP, become irrelevant

1. Ochommah Williams says: Hmmmmmmmm let’s wait, watch and see my beloved Nigerians. Because if the people, the like sof the ex-Governor or Lagos State are the keen stakeholders in

Alex says: Kindly send me the Ecobank Nigeria Plc

Al-Mustapha the newly registered APC, there are more than we could expect.

Reply 2. Charles says: Idon’t believe that APC can do much coming 2015. Let’s hope for a better Nigeria

Jonathan free to join APC, says Akande Charlie says: Hmmmmm! Another planned merger?

Al-Mustapha: Waiting for the ‘accidental military politician’ Mike Oghene says: Al- mustapha’s release is exemplary and all well-meaning patriotic Nigerians should use him to save the country from drifting into anarchy. He is clean and should be used a bridge between the untouchables, all past and present political office holders and civil servants.

Nigeria needs a saviour. The Minister of Education spends her time creating universities without considering the quality of their output. The world has surpassed the era of theories so some of these institutions will definitely die a natural death when the oil boom is over.

The minister and her Minister of State counterpart Wike lack initiatives if not they would have opted to build vocational centers in each state under the supervision and management of the Japanese and Chinese experts.

Anenih ‘re-unites’ Obasanjo, IBB, Jonathan

In my candid opinion on these brilliant objectives by Imagine Africa, I am strongly on the same page with the initiatives. It is a wakeup call for positive change and development in Nigeria, Africa and the World at large. Therefore, it’s imperative for us as good citizens to start something good within our capabilities and support Imagine African to attain it objectives.

Once more, I commend Imagine Africa for her noble oblige.

Breakfast: IBB turns down Jonathan

Sanusi A Yaradua says: Nigeria must have new leadership.

With Jonathan as ruler Nigeria will go into another civil war. He is an ethno-religious extremist.

1.

Engr. Onyeani John Okoruku says: I don’t think it should stir a controversy, whether President Goodluck Jonathan invited the former military leader to break a fast or not. All l know is that whatever happened is in the spirit of brotherhood.

Okonjo-Iweala in ‘hide and seek’ game with Customs boss

Breakfast meeting: I respect Jonathan, says IBB

Own says: Inde too is no saint. No amount of lobbying will make them retain him. By August 18th, he will be out of that post. He has done a lot of damage to the service.

Oriamaja Tinnatei says: Apologise to the president ..simple, you don’t need to fine tune the story

We are ready and prepared to co-opt Nigerian youth for peace and change in our society – CEO ‘Imagine Africa’ Peter Obi says:

We stand by our story

And what is so special in this story that you keep on insisting on it? If you don’t have anything to write, close down.

The many challenges of JAMB computer based-test and Nigerian students Chibuchi says: I wrote my JAMB exam on the 31st of May and till today 6th of August my result hasn’t been released, which means I’ ve already missed my post UME and might also lose any chance of securing admission into any poly if JAMB fails do something urgently.

Father beheads son for N1m

Al-Mustapha holds secret talks with Unongo in Benue

Nma Nma says: He preferred the cattle to his son. It is the Devil’s work .

Gen. Babangida

Baby with four legs:

Gov. Kwankwaso

Doctors carry out successful surgery Patrick says: God is Faithful and worthy to be praised. He gave those doctors the insight on how to perform a successful operation. Just imagine the young giant now lying in his cot with life all through his veins.

Galadimawa demolition: Abuja indigenes task Army authorities to explain action Ayenajeyi Habila Gentle says: Are we truly operating a democracy? If yes, then why the molestation by the Army? Why don’t they allow the poor live peacefully and happy in Abuja? Why are our leaders oppressing the poor?

Where do they want the residents and indigenes of Galadimawa to reside after they have demolished their houses, without providing alternatives or even paying them compensation?

Where is this country of ours going to? Just because you are at the top doesn’t mean you aren’t going to come down someday, At least we are all humans, why would mere humans like us make us to feel as if we are sub-humans or inferior?

Ironically, on daily basis these same leaders do appear on the television pleading with us to always maintain the peace and unity in our beloved country, but they are the same people who go about scheming conflicts and creating non-existence differences just to make us fight among ourselves.

How would you expect someone to live his home when you have not given him any alternative? In everything we do, we should always remember that God is watching us. Besides, we will all reap whatsoever we sow here on earth.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

PAGE 39

Anenih at 80: A Great philanthropist, developer of men, communities

By Dr. John Abhuere

C

hief Tony Ahakon Anenih CFR, Iyasele of Esanland, PDP Board of Trustees (BOT) Chairman is known to many people as the grand master – the Iroko of Nigerian politics. To others, especially those who relish in aliases, the Chief is ‘Mr. Fix It’ – a man highly gifted with exceptional political skills.

Yet to others, he is the highflying Police Officer who made it rapidly to the top echelon of his career. Truly, he is all of these and even more – a legend of sort, a great philanthropist with extra-large heart and robust giving spirit.

The great man of inestimable worth and remarkable achievement is better defined by his quiet philanthropic disposition, large heart, giving spirit, boundless energy and endless desire to serve and help the poor and needy irrespective of tribe or state.

Truly, his calm ways, simplicity of life, sincerity of purpose, robust giving spirit, religious commitment to human capital development, willing assistance to the poor and needy and readiness to serve humanity are rare in our clime.

They are vital to understanding his choice of career and foray into politics after retirement.

As one of his primary school mates Jonathan Iseghohi once observed he started to exhibit

these traits early in life. Giving and assisting come to him easily and he does so out of love and concern for collective happiness.

Born in 1933 in Uzenema Arue, Uromi, Edo state, he attended the Government School Uromi and was enlisted into the Police force in 1951. His navigation to the top of the Police Force soon after began to attend Officer Development Courses.

After attending the Police College, Ikeja, he was selected for Advanced Training at the Bramshill Police College, Basingstoke England and International Police Academy, Washington. He returned home to join in efforts of building the nation by working in different parts of the country.

The Police Force he joined in 1951 was for all intents and purposes, a colonial one but the1950s was also a period of intense nationalism when Nigerian Nationalists were pushing hard for freedom. Anenih was one of those prepared for leadership in the Police Force of independent Nigeria.

He served as the Police Orderly of the Governor General of the country –an appointment that probably exposed him to the working and intricacy of government at the highest level of our nation.

ECHOES OF KINDNESS: I

heard much about the kindness of Chief Anenih long before I met him. He is a nephew of my maternal grandmother who was ever praying for the success of both her son-Eimakhu and uncle’s childAnhakon who were in the Police Force.

LONG LIST OF SCHOLARSHIP: On his return from abroad he announced a long list of scholarship to youths of the community, some to modern schools and others to secondary schools.

It was amazing-if not truly dumb-founding because as hinted earlier only the government was

“

known then to give scholarship.

That was in the 1960s and many of the beneficiaries who today are highly responsible Nigerians were truly from poor homes.

A PRIMAL LEADERDIFFERENT FROM THE REST: Anenih is the ‘primal leader’ who through generosity of heart and show of understanding and support creates the right emotion in people for good performance and sense of fulfillment.

He comes out as one with large heart, strong bias for philanthropy, uncommon concern for ordinary people – an extra ordinary giver whose goodness and kindness

At 80 years, the Iyasele Esan land has paid his dues.He is worthy of high praises and mighty celebrations. Only the truly blessed and highly gifted can transform others for the better.

have been felt in all corners of the country and beyond.

Even in politics, the philanthropic slant is easy to observe. The collective interest has always been above the personal.

His leadership qualities and exceptional political skills had always assured him chairmanship of political parties or star role in them.

At 80 years, the Iyasele Esan land has paid his dues.He is worthy of high praises and mighty celebrations. Only the truly blessed and highly gifted can transform others for the better.

Chief Anthony Ahakon Anenih is truly blessed and gifted with generosity of heart, philanthropic disposition and exceptional political skills and prowess. A Giant among giants, his life has been a source of blessing, inspiration, encouragement, beacon of hope and fulfillment to millions of people all over the world including the old and young, the rich and poor, the powerful and powerless. Happy Birthday to a Great but quiet GIVER AND HELPER OF THE POOR AND NEEDY and COMMITTED DEVELOPER OF MEN AND WOMEN AND COMMUNITIES. Dr. Abhuere, writes from Centre for Child Care and Youth Development,Uromi, Edo State.

Security consciousness in the face of terrorism

By Ola Lookman

T

here is no gainsaying the fact that the Nigeria’s security personnel are doing their best to ensure safety of lives and properties from acts of terrorism in the country. As citizens, we still want them to do more even though domestic policing against sophisticated criminals can be daunting and risky.

Collaborative efforts with relevant security agencies and other stakeholders Including volunteers and community leaders could make some positive differences.

The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 2 Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Ahmed Tijani Jibrin, recently disclosed how Boko Haram members were arrested by his men in Ondo, Edo and Kwara states through the supports of the public who provide useful information on suspicious movement and behaviours of strangers in their communities.

The military officer disclosed how the military had been on alert closely monitoring entries into various cities in the south.

This, he added where necessitated after the declaration of state of emergency in some Northern states with awareness that some

suspects may find their way to the South, particularly the South West.

While admitting that the task of detecting and apprehending suspected militants and other criminals is not easy, he sought for more understanding and support of the media and the public in curtailing the activities of the underworld.

Also the recent boko haram attacks in Sabon Gari area of Kano came after persistence warnings by security agencies for the public to be more security conscious of strange objects and movement in their communities. The public refused to heed the warning until the terrorists attacked.

In a statement issued by spokesperson of Joint Task Force (JTF) in Kano, it said that the disaster “could have been avoided if citizens maintain vigilance to observe when packages are dropped as it was in this case. The JTF had urged residents of Kano metropolis to keep an eye on their environment as members of the terrorist sect had planned to drop packages in bags or cartons in areas with high human traffic.”

The JTF therefore reminded residents that the security agencies will continue to count on

the support and cooperation to achieve an atmosphere of peace conducive for business.

While the JTF and other security agencies should not rest on their oars to rid the state of all terrorist elements, the general public are enjoined to report promptly

“

Also the recent boko haram attacks in Sabon Gari area of Kano came after persistence warnings by security agencies for the public to be more security conscious of strange objects and movement in their communities. The public refused to heed the warning until the terrorists attacked.

all unattended packages or suspicious persons to the closest security agency for immediate action.

It is worthy of note the impressive activities of some of those joint-security team including the Quick Response groups that operate in fast-moving vehicles.

The security personnel are well composed in terms of men and equipment and able to rapidly assemble, come down, form quick checkpoints, conduct their checks and quickly assemble again and move forward.

Deliberate measures should be put in place to ensure that, at least, the security agencies detect movements of terrorists and other criminals and apprehend them.

Relationship with people in the local communities should also be intensified, as most arrests have been made when the resident alert the appropriate authorities on movement of suspicious people in their environment.

Nigerians need to be extra careful when hiring security personnel. Such measures would circumvent the mistake of recruiting terrorists and people with criminal tendencies. Investigation had revealed that some of the security personnel patronised by several individuals, communities and organisations were in most cases

unqualified people with questionable characters.

While the military should ensure that they hand over suspected individuals to relevant agencies after investigation, regular patrol and surveillance should be mounted by plain-clothed military, police and SSS. The supports of critical stakeholders too are very essential like landlords, tenants, road transport workers, okada riders, traders, and others who come across travellers and strangers most of the times.

As disclosed by Major General Ahmed Tijani Jibrin the security agencies need the media to draw the attention of the public to the fact that no matter how good the intelligence outfits are, no matter how well widespread they are, they are not as widespread as the people on ground. The public will help by giving information about the arrival of people from other part of the country.

The media through their corporate social responsibility should also publish emergency numbers and email where the public and those in distress can send an alert on suspicious movements.

Ola Lookman, Youths Against Disaster Initiative (YADI), Abuja

PAGE 40

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 - SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

BU$ I #€ SS

Oil majors to stay onshore Nigeria despite grumbles A

wave of planned sales of onshore Nigerian assets by oil majors has prompted speculation that they are finally leaving the Niger Delta because of oil theft, gangsterism and political uncertainty.

In reality, though, foreign firms such as Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, Eni and Total are here to stay, industry sources say.

The majors are likely to sell only small blocks that are not worth their while -- those assets worst affected by theft and sabotage or fields that risk expropriation in a government push to promote local ownership.

Meanwhile, the large oil producing blocks, huge gas deposits, key pipelines and the export terminals that control the passage of onshore oil to international markets will most likely stay in their hands -- enabling them to retain infrastructure for which they can charge rent to other users.

Complaints by oil majors that Nigeria has done little to combat oil theft or end uncertainty over changes to the fiscal regime by passing the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) are genuine, but they won’t drive the firms away from the country.

“Nigeria’s ‘difficult’ operating environment, security concerns and the non-passage of the PIB all provide useful cover for what may essentially be a portfolio optimization process,” said Razia Khan, Head of Africa Research at Standard Chartered.

The global shale oil and gas boom means there are more exploration opportunities, so it makes financial sense to keep only the most profitable businesses in Nigeria, like gas for LNG export, and expand deep offshore where there is no oil theft.

If anything, they will use their grievances as leverage in negotiations with government over licenses and taxes.

OIL THEFT HEADACHES Nigeria’s oil production, which fluctuates between 2-2.5 million barrels per day (bpd), is unlikely to be hugely affected by any oil block sales in the short-term and could get an uplift in the future if smaller local companies work harder to exploit reserves or can better stem insecurity with local communities.

Tycoons Tony Elumelu and Wale Tinubu, the Oando CEO, both of them negotiating to buy oil blocks off majors, told Reuters in recent interviews they thought it would be easier for Nigerian companies with a better understanding of local issues to manage often fraught community relations.

But ending oil theft, officially estimated at 250,000 bpd, is a massive undertaking. It is often associated with criminal gangs who tap crude from pipelines for local refining, but most stolen crude leaves the country in large tankers, which could not

Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison Madueke

Peter Voser, MD Shell

happen without the complicity of top officials.

Shell, the largest producer in Nigeria, said last week it took a $700 million hit from theft and other issues in Nigeria with its share of output falling to 158,000 bpd in the second quarter, down from 260,000 bpd in 2012.

Shell CEO Peter Voser nevertheless told Reuters this month the company was not seeking to leave Nigeria.

Eni said it had lost 30,000 bpd of output in the first half of the year due to theft and CEO Paolo Scaroni said the company was “reviewing its position” in Nigeria.

Total declined to comment on its plans.

Shell, which has already sold eight blocks in the Niger Delta for

the Nigerian government for several years to renew expired licences on many onshore and shallow water blocks.

“Perhaps they would rather sell licences while they still can rather than having to relinquish them for nothing,” said Antony Goldman, head of Africa-focused PM Consulting.

Yet Shell recently announced it would spend $3.9 billion on a gas project and a reconstruction of a better protected Trans Niger pipeline, one of the country’s most important crude oil routes and often hit by outages caused by theft or sabotage.

That suggests it still sees value working onshore in Nigeria.

Shell may even buy one of Chevron’s blocks, two sources told Reuters, which would provide the perfect route from one of Nigeria’s largest gas fields to its LNG export terminal.

Nigeria holds the world’s ninth largest gas reserves, most of which are untapped. Energy majors are increasingly moving towards gas production instead of oil in the Niger Delta.

Majors such as Shell will likely keep large pipelines and export terminals, so even if local firms are getting the oil out of the ground, where the risks of insecurity are highest, the majors can make a cut from taking oil to international markets.

“

around $1.8 billion since 2010, announced it will sell more fields amounting to 80,000-100,000 bpd, although it is not clear if this level of output is yet being produced.

Chevron is also selling five shallow water blocks, but would not comment further on its plans for Nigeria, while fellow U.S. firm ConocoPhillips is selling its Nigerian businesses to Oando for about $1.79 billion.

POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY Theft may not be the only reason for selling down.

The PIB, although still in a political deadlock that has lasted five years, could change the terms for foreign companies in Nigeria and will promote local ownership of onshore blocks.

Shell, Chevron, Eni and Total have been in failed negotiations with

The global shale oil and gas boom means there are more exploration opportunities, so it makes financial sense to keep only the most profitable businesses in Nigeria, like gas for LNG export, and expand deep offshore where there is no oil theft.

“Oil majors want to keep control of this infrastructure as it means they will have a large degree of control of onshore assets and derive revenue from transportation,” said Kayode Akindele, partner at Lagos-based investment firm 46 Parallels.

There is no guarantee that deals on assets that majors do want to sell can be easily or quickly completed -Nigeria has one of the world’s slowest oil contract approval times, experts say.

Some of Shell’s previous divestments took years to negotiate. Buyers will also be wary of the state oil company’s production arm NPDC taking over the operating rights -- as it has on previous Shell field sales where the private buyers were expecting to operate them.

Yet for the all the pitfalls, Nigeria will be keen to close the deals, which please the political elite and public alike.

“The divestment is a positive step for all the major players involved ... (it) will have a positive knock-on impact on production longer-term,” said Martin Kelly, Wood Mackenzie’s Lead Analyst for Sub-Saharan Africa Upstream Research.

“But ... in order to make a noticeable difference other challenges need to be addressed -- like the PIB and security.” ($1 = 160.1000 Nigerian naira) Culled from Reuters

Peoples Daily WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

PAGE 41

Agri cu l t u r e

By Ifeanyi Nwoko, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

E

xperts bemoan the fact that Nigeria spends over N600 billion every year on the importation of rice and wheat, while the country has the capacity to produce the commodities to satisfy its local needs and even for export.

They particularly stress that the country has no business importing rice, as the farmers have access to 62 varieties of highyielding rice species produced by research institutes in the country.

Dr Mark Ukwungwu , the Acting Executive Director, National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI) Badeggi, Niger, who spoke on the potential of rice production in Nigeria, said that the institute had produced 62 varieties of rice since its inception.

NCRI -- the oldest research institute in the country -- was originally founded by the Lagos Colonial Protectorate Administration of Gov. Alfred Moloney in 1898 and it assumed its present name via Decree 13 of 1975.

The institute has the mandate to conduct research on six crops -- rice, soybeans, acha, benne seed, castor oil seed and sugar cane.

Ukwungwu explained that the highyielding varieties of rice were developed in collaboration with other research institutes. ``What we do here basically is research; we carry out research on six crops and rice is a major one. We have done a lot in producing rice varieties. ``The institute, in collaboration with other organisations in Nigeria and beyond, has been able to develop and release 62 rice varieties in the country for the upland, lowland, mangrove and deep water areas. ``These varieties have been released and they are available; when we develop varieties like that, we make them available. ``Normally, the institute does not go directly to farmers, our limit is interaction with the Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs); that’s where our work stops,’’ he said.

However, Dr Samuel Agboire, the Head of the Research Support Services Department of NCRI, underscored the need for all stakeholders to play their roles effectively to enable the country’s farmers to utilise the numerous research findings. ``There is a role for farmers and there is a role for government to play in terms of policy; so, unless all these roles are harmonised, there would be a problem in the production chain. ``If we release varieties and there are technologies in place for these varieties to manifest fully but in instances where the farmers are not using the technologies fully,

A rice farm in Nigeria

Nigerian farmers

Boosting rice production in Nigeria their efforts will not yield the desired results. ``For instance, you recommend the application of a particular quantity of fertiliser and the farmer is using less than that; the rice variety will not realise its full potential. ``For example, if the government comes up with a policy that favours importation, farmers would be discouraged because imported produce may be cheaper than the locally produced ones. ``So, there are so many factors that are responsible for that situation,’’ he added.

All the same, experts stress the need for the government to provide an environment that is conducive to efforts to improve rice production in the country.

Dr Maji Iswako, a plant breeder at the

NCRI, said that efforts to boost rice production involved both the farmer and the environment. ``The environment is the major factor.

The question that should be asked is: how far has the government gone to deliberately create that enabling environment to enable farmers to express themselves?”

He argued that farmers in rice exporting countries did not produce under conditions that were akin to those under which Nigerian farmer was operating. ``The Nigerian farmer is faced with rain-fed ecology where you cannot control water; you apply fertiliser today, rainwater washes it away tomorrow. ``Farmers don’t have the resources; some Nigerian farmers cannot even afford a bag of fertiliser for a hectare where you need about six bags; so, the government must invest in infrastructure for production,” he said.

Iswako urged the government to stop rice importation and to put in place purposeful policies that would boost rice production. ``Basically, the continuous importation of rice is a policy issue. There has to be a deliberate policy to boost rice production if rice importation must stop. ``The yield gap between research estimates and actual farmers’ yield is so wide; in a farmland where you ought to get seven tonnes of rice, hardly will you see a farmer getting even up to three tonnes. ``If the structure is not well developed, you cannot even attract more people into the system,” he added.

Sharing similar sentiments, Mr Segun Atho, the President (South-West Zone) of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), urged the government to adopt decisive measures to stop the importation and smuggling of rice into the country. ``Smugglers are seriously killing the acceptability of local rice in the market; we don’t have local rice as much as the foreign ones in the markets.

``Government needs to come out and help us to deal with the issue so as to encourage local rice growers. ``If the Federal Government can review the trade liberalisation scheme and close the borders to smuggled goods, this will aid efforts to improve the production of local rice in the country,’’ he said.

Beyond that, the CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, urged the government to invest funds, which were set aside for rice importation annually, in massive rice production.

He also said that there were several funding packages initiated by the apex bank to promote agricultural production, insisting that the low allocation of funds for agriculture in national and state budgets was not good enough.

Sanusi also noted that the absence of basic infrastructure and amenities in the rural areas had contributed to the poor living conditions of the rural dwellers.

However, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, reiterated the government’s commitment to support dry season rice cultivation.

He said that the Federal Government had put in place additional incentives for domestic milling of locally produced paddy rice. ``The challenges of local rice, which have been discouraging consumers, especially when compared to imported rice, have been overcome,’’ the minister said.

As an added incentive, Adesina said that the government would provide subsidy for rice farmers in form of free transportation of their produce to warehouses.

The minister reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to ban rice importation by 2015.

All in all, observers urge the government to harness and streamline all its policies aimed at boosting local rice production and stemming rice importation. (NAN)

PAGE 42

Inte rv i e w

Peoples Daily WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Some councils don’t understand 1979 LG autonomy - Usman The 1975/76 Local Government reforms as enacted in the 1979 constitution brought governance closer to the people. Local government in Nigeria started during the colonial era when local administration was vested in the hands of traditional rulers. Over the years, efforts have been made to democratise local government and make it more responsive to developmental needs.

Recently, during the public hearing organised by the members of National Assembly on the amendment of the 1999 Constitution there was heated arguments for and against autonomy for Local government in Nigeria.

In kebbi State, about 50% of the citizens were either for or against autonomy for local council.

Speaking to our Correspondent Ahmed Idris, the Chairman, Due Process and Solicitor General of Kebbi State, Barrister Aminu Usman expresses worries over the lack of clear support for local government autonomy.

“Under a federal system each government enjoys a separate existence and independence from the control of other tiers of government. The autonomy requires not just the legal and physical frame work like a legislative assembly, governor, court etc. Each government must exist not as an appendage of another tier, but as an autonomous entity. It must be able to exercise its own will in the conduct of its affairs free from directive of another tier government.”

According to him, the current hiccups over the autonomy of local government aren’t new: “The struggle for local government autonomy in Nigeria has been a recurring issue. It is as old as the history of Nigeria as a colonial state.

“In the 1950s various reforms such as the Northern Nigerian Local Government Law of 1954, the Western and Eastern Region of 1954 respectively aimed at democratizing local government administration were initiated by the various regional governments.”

Since autonomy for local council is not a new issue, he wonders why it is generating so much heat in the polity but was quick to note that part of the problem inhibiting autonomy for local council is the lack of criteria for the status of the local government.

“The problem of local government in Nigeria have been documented and they include among other things, inadequate planning, poor implementation of policies, inadequate revenue, corruption and miss-management, lack of adequate man power, lack of participation by the people and inter-governmental conflict’’ Though autonomy for local government will lead to improvement in local administration, he believes these factors will continue to militate against autonomous council and ultimately hampers effective local administration as well as the creation

“

Barrister Aminu Usman, Kebbi state Chairman, Due Process and Solicitor General

of new local government areas.

But beyond these inhibitions, Bar. Aminu does not think that Northerners have prepared for local government au-

tonomy like their Southern counterparts, whom he believes have.

“If you go to Ekiti and Lagos states respectively, you will find the calibre and

People who barely received primary education have been appointed or elected counselors and appointed supervisory counselors for education or health, though they lack the training and experience for these offices.

quality of persons either elected or appointed into public office at the local council tier of government unlike what obtains in most local councils in the northern parts of the country.

“Often, people who barely received primary education have been appointed or elected counselors and appointed supervisory counselors for education or health, albeit they lacked the training and experience for these offices.”

Taking a deeper look at local government accountability, Aminu says a survey of 30 local governments, 252 public primary health facilities and over 700 health care providers conducted in Kogi and Lagos states in the latter part of 2002 where public health personnel were owed salary arrears, in Kogi state alone 42 percent of staff did not receive salary for 6 month or more. “This problem is endemic and has had adverse effect on local government service delivery in Nigeria.”

Putting the problem in perspective, Usman pointed out that amendment of the 1999 constitution requires just the implementation of the true intent and spirit of its provision for local government council.

“The area that will, however, require further careful appraisal is the principle of revenue allocation from the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal commission (RMAFC),” he said arguing that it is at the core of the problems.

Specifically, where the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal commission (RMAFC) has indicated that one of the index for allocation of revenue to local government councils is the “number of hospital beds maintained by the local government councils”.

But this poses no little problem because, “where a local government council has no hospital or health care institutions with in-patient beds, does it mean that such a council will not be eligible to receive revenue under this formula for revenue sharing?

“Is it possible to introduce a new formula, taking into cognisance the lack of gender sensitivity or gender equity in budgets and public expenditure, by introducing a formula that recognizes women, and thus utilize this as an index for public funds allocation in a way that it informs expenditure choices that will provide funding for programmes on rural health care?”

He advocates for local government to channel their share of debt service saving into health care delivery services and reproductive health services, and thus assists in achieving the MDGs. “This could be through an enabling macro-economic environment within which the government tiers at the state and local government level operate their fiscal and public expenditure activities.”

He regretted that “dearth of capacity and competence will not see the required scaling up of internet at the local government level to see to the attainment of MDGs by 2015 in most local government areas.”

According to Mr. Usman, the issue therefore is not of amendment of the constitution but of translating the stipulation of the constitution into daily living activities of government and the governed.

Peoples Daily WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

PAGE 43

Tou ri sm

Kajuru Castle: Kaduna’s tourist wonder

C

ontrary to speculations, the Kajuru Castle located in Kaduna is not an ancient monument. Interestingly, it was built in 1978 by a controversial German expatriate who lived in Kaduna at the time. This breathtaking architectural master-piece is a tourist wonder of sorts.

The style is very European and clearly German with a baronial hall, complete with suits of armour.

In the castle, there are bedrooms looking like dungeons and several towers with crenulated walls. Beware; there are also, the crocodiles in a pit protecting the huge castle like gates!

The road up to the castle is not a journey for the faint hearted, neither is it for vehicles without plenty of HP under the bonnet.

The views of the surrounding mountains and fascinating Inselbergs are simply enthralling and terrific and obviously why it was sited here.

Located at about 45 kilometres from Kaduna on the Southern Kachia road is the Local Government of Kajuru. If you take the road at the right, in the centre of the town and drive past the Local Government Headquarters, for about 5-7 kilometres, you will see on the left a strange sight on a mountain ridge; a European castle in Africa! Indeed, the first timer may assume he is imagining things or his eyes are probably playing games on him, but it is real.

Kajuru Castle is not an ancient monument. It was actually built in 1978 by a controversial German expatriate who made Kaduna his base. The style is not African in nature but very European and clearly of the German architectural design. The interiors and exteriors speak of this.

The castle is made up of a magnificent large stainless steel swimming pool and well equipped kitchens (it is self-catering for those who can gain entry). It is Private Property, and entry to this place is not so easy. You will need to have permission from a German lady (some say a dragon!) who looks after the place.

If you get permission, you may well be having a swell time of your life. cometonigeria.com

Aerial view of the castle

Kajuru Castle sits atop a hill

The road up to the castle is not for the faint hearted

It is speculated that crocodiles living in this water protect the castle

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

PAGE 44

Archive

Africa: The people, their culture, environment I NTRODUCTION frica, second largest of Earth’s seven continents, covering 23 percent of the world’s total land area and containing 13 percent of the world’s population. Africa straddles the equator and most of its area lies within the tropics. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, the Indian Ocean and Red Sea on the east, and the Mediterranean Sea on the north.

In the northeastern corner of the continent, Africa is connected with Asia by the Sinai Peninsula.

Africa is a land of great diversity. If you were to trek across the continent, you would pass through lush, green forests and wander vast, grassy plains.

You would cross barren deserts, climb tall mountains, and ford some of the mightiest rivers on Earth. You would meet diverse people with a wide range of cultures and backgrounds and hear hundreds of different languages. You would pass through small villages where daily life remains largely the same as it has been for hundreds of years, as well as sprawling cities with skyscrapers, modern economies, and a mix of international cultural influences.

Traditional Jali Music of Mali For thousands of years, Mandinke jalolu, or griots (itinerant poet-musicians), composed and performed praise songs for Malian kings and warriors. Today, jalolu sing songs honoring wealthy business people, friends, and other musicians. In this example, Tata Bambo Kouyate, a woman from a long line of jalolu, sings the praises of one of Mali’s wealthiest merchants, “Mama Batchily.” She is accompanied by a kora (12-string harp-lute), balafon (wooden xylophone with gourds), flute, guitar, and violin.

“Mama Batchily” from Jatigui (Cat.# Globestyle CDORB 042) (p)1985 Modibo and Tata Bambo Kouyate under license to GlobestyleACE Records, Ltd. All rights reserved.

Popular Highlife Music of Ghana The early brass-dominated highlife music popular in West African countries, especially Ghana, was at the peak of its popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s among the more privileged classes. Bandleader E.T. Mensah, heard in this example, was

A

significant in the development of the sound in the late 1940s when he began incorporating West African melodies and rhythms into the music. Under his influence, music sung in the local language (rather than in English) came to replace European ballroom-style music that had been imported into West Africa.

Africa is the birthplace of the human race. Here, early humans evolved from apes between 8 million and 5 million years ago. Modern human beings evolved between 130,000 and 90,000 years ago, and subsequently spread out of Africa. Ancient Egypt, one of the world’s first great civilizations, arose in northeastern Africa more than 5,000 years ago. Over time many other cultures and states rose and fell in Africa, and by 500 years ago there were prosperous cities, markets, and centers of learning scattered across the continent.

Popular Vocal Music of South Africa The South African choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo gained international attention through its appearance on Paul Simon’s album Graceland (1986). The polished fourpart harmonies of the group have roots in a genre of male chorus music called isicathamiya. The style is associated mainly with Zulu migrant workers. While the harmonies and clean vocal quality show influences of the European choral tradition, the lyrics often address local issues such as the impact of industrialization.

During the last 500 years, however, Africa became increasingly dominated by European traders and colonizers. European traders sent millions of Africans to work as slaves on colonial plantations in North America, South America, and the Caribbean.

Europeans also sought Africa’s wealth of raw materials to fuel their industries. In the late 19th century, European powers seized and colonized virtually all of Africa.

Countries of Africa Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Indian Ocean to the east, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the African continent is divided into over fifty countries. After World War II many African territories began

Circular thatch houses are common in many parts of Africa. Here, the inhabitants of Amboseli, a village in Kenya, are putting the finishing touches on a new dwelling. To build these houses, thatch must be attached in layers to a frame made of wood. The floor inside is made of dried mud.

Hutchison Library to fight for their independence from European colonization. The borders of many modern African nations reflect the colonial boundaries.

Through slow reform or violent struggle, most of Africa won independence in the 1950s and 1960s. Independent Africa inherited from colonization a weak position in the global economy, underdeveloped communication and transportation systems, and arbitrarily drawn national boundaries. The citizens of these new nations generally had little in terms of history or culture to bind them together.

Flags of Africa There are 53 different African countries, including the 47 nations of the mainland and the 6 surrounding island nations. The continent is commonly

Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa, lies in northeastern Tanzania near the border of Kenya.

The mountain has two volcanic peaks, spaced 11 km (7 mi) apart, with the higher of the two rising 5,895 m (19,341 ft). Farmers cultivate coffee beans and plantains on Kilimanjaro’s lower slopes.

divided along the lines of the Sahara, the world’s largest desert, which cuts a huge swath through the northern half of the continent. The countries north of the Sahara make up the region of North Africa, while the region south of the desert is known as sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa is sometimes referred to as “Black Africa,” but this designation is not very helpful, given the ethnic diversity of the entire continent.

North Africa consists of the countries of Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, and Tunisia. Sub-Saharan Africa is generally subdivided into the regions of West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and southern Africa. For the purposes of this article, West Africa consists of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, GuineaBissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Togo. East Africa consists of Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda. Central Africa consists of Angola, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, and Zambia.

Southern Africa consists of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. The island nations located off the coast of Africa are Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe in the Atlantic Ocean; and Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.

II NATURAL ENVIRONMENT The great diversity of the African environment makes it difficult to generalize about the continent. While much of the continent consists of vast plains with little relief, there are also towering volcanic peaks and the largest rift valley system in the world. The climate ranges from the year-round heat and humidity of equatorial regions to the dryness of the world’s largest desert to mountaintop conditions cold enough to support glaciers. It contains regions of biological significance due to their biodiversity and huge numbers of species found nowhere else.

The African environment has long been mistakenly seen as hostile, foreboding, and tragically in decline. Pop-

ular descriptions of Africa such as “the dark continent,” images of untamed wilderness in nature publications, and sensationalized press coverage of disasters such as droughts and famines have shaped these perceptions of Africa. Geographers’ accounts of Africa used to attribute the underdevelopment of the continent to its unfavorable environment—its oppressive climate, infertile soil, polluted water, and exotic diseases.

These days have begun to wane.

Increased scientific research on the African environment has done much to dispel old misconceptions and to provide insights into the physical processes that give shape to the landscape. The relationship of African societies to the environment is also much better understood. Yet much remains to be done before this huge and complex continent is well known and appreciated, especially by the general public.

A. The African Landscape The African continent covers 30 million sq km (12 million sq mi), including its adjacent islands.

It stretches 8,000 km (5,000 mi) from its northernmost point, Ra’s al Abyaḑ in Tunisia, to its southernmost tip, Cape Agulhas in South Africa. The maximum width of the continent, measured from the tip of Cap Vert in Senegal, in the west, to Raas Xaafuun (Ras Hafun) in Somalia, in the east, is 7,500 km (4,700 mi). The highest point on the continent is the perpetually snowcapped Kilimanjaro (5,895 m/19,341 ft) in Tanzania, and the lowest is Lake ‘Asal (153 m/502 ft below sea level) in Djibouti.

Africa is surrounded by oceans and seas: the Atlantic Ocean on the west, the Indian Ocean on the east, the Red Sea on the northeast, and the Mediterranean Sea on the north.

Madagascar, the fourth largest island in the world, lies off the southeastern coast. Other offshore islands include the Madeira Islands, Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands, São Tomé, Príncipe, and Bioko, off the western coast; and the Comoros Islands, Seychelles, Mascarene Islands, and Socotra, off the eastern coast.

Biographies

Peoples Daily WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

PAGE 45

Vasco da Gama (1469?-1524) Portuguese-born explorer and navigator

W

hile a young man, Vasco da Gama studied astronomy and navigation in Evora, Portugal. He became a naval officer in 1492, the same year Columbus sailed to the New World in search of a western route to the Indies. Five years later, he sailed around the south tip of Africa, opening a new trade route to India and Asia.

Vasco da Gama Portuguese explorer and navigator, who was the first person to reach India from Europe by a sea route. Da Gama was born in Sines, in southwestern Portugal. He joined the Portuguese navy at a young age and participated in the wars against the Spanish kingdom of Castile. Little else is known of his early life.

Voyage to India ortuguese sea captain Vasco da Gama commanded the first fleet to sail around Africa to reach India. His voyages in the late 1490s made possible an all-water trade route to East Asia from Europe, which made Portugal one of the most important sea-trading nations of the time.

Following the discovery in 1488 of the Cape of Good Hope by Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias, Portuguese king John II ordered the construction of a fleet to seek a maritime route to the Indies. The Portuguese had been spurred by the discoveries of Italian-Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus and by the fear that the Spanish might reach the Indies and tap their wealth first. John died in 1495, however, before the completion of the ships. He was succeeded as king by Manuel, who issued orders for the expedition and, impressed by da Gama’s ability, appointed him to lead it. The fleet consisted of the flagship São Gabriel, the São Raphael (captained by da Gama’s brother Paulo), and two smaller ships.

Departing from Lisbon on July 8, 1497, da Gama plotted his route to take advantage of the prevailing winds. After reaching the vicinity of Cape Verde he veered far to the west and then swung back in a great arc to arrive at the African coast near the Cape of Good Hope. Whether he did this by chance or by following information gathered by earlier mariners is not known, but his procedure established the route still followed by sailing vessels.

Da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa in November. On Christmas Day he sighted and named the region of Natal, from the Portuguese word for Christmas. In the spring of 1498 da Gama reached the East African ports of Moçambique and Mombasa, but ran into armed resistance from Arab Muslim traders at both. At Malindi, on the coast of what is now Kenya, he managed to secure a pilot to guide him eastward. With the aid of Arab navigator Ahmed ibn Majid, da Gama sailed across the Arabian Sea and on May 20, 1498, reached Calicut (now Kozhikode) on the Malabar Coast of India. Da Gama thus completed the first voyage from western Europe around Africa to the East.

P

Flagship of Vasco da Gama n 1497 Portuguese explorer, da Gama sailed from Lisbon, Portugal, bound for India with four ships. His flagship was the three-mast-

I

“

Vasco da Gama ed São Gabriel. The São Gabriel and its sister ship, the São Raphael, were commissioned specifically for this journey.

Because of the hostility of local Arab merchants, who controlled the seaborne trade of the East and feared the loss of their monopoly, the ruler of Calicut rebuffed da Gama. He received a better reception from other coastal rulers, however, and obtained from them a valuable cargo of spices. He set sail for Portugal on August 29, 1498. Facing unfavorable winds for much of the voyage, the return journey took three times longer than the outgoing trip. Many of da Gama’s crew—including his brother Paulo—died of scurvy before they returned to Portugal in September 1499.

Da Gama navigated about 40,000 km (25,000 mi) on his expedition and demonstrated that the Indian Ocean was not the landlocked sea Europeans had thought it to be since the time of the ancient Greeks. King Manuel rewarded him with the titles Dom and, later, Admiral of the Indian Sea. Later voyages o follow up the discoveries of da Gama, Manuel immediately dispatched Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral to India. Cabral established a Portuguese trading post in Calicut. When news reached Portugal that those stationed in Calicut by Cabral had been massacred, da Gama was sent to avenge that act. On the way to India he attacked Arab Muslim ships ruthlessly. One ship he sunk car-

T

Da Gama navigated about 40,000 km (25,000 mi) on his expedition and demonstrated that the Indian Ocean was not the landlocked sea Europeans had thought it to be since the time of the ancient Greeks. King Manuel rewarded him with the titles Dom and, later, Admiral of the Indian Sea

“

ried more than 400 men, women, and children returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Arriving in Calicut, da Gama quickly subdued the inhabitants, impressing them with the superior firepower of the Portuguese and forcing the ruler to make peace. On his return voyage he established Portuguese colonies at Moçambique and Sofala on the coast of what is now Mozambique. He returned to Portugal in September 1503 having accomplished his mission and bearing a rich cargo of spices, but he left behind a memory of useless cruelty that damaged the Portuguese name for generations.

Richly rewarded by the Portuguese royal family for breaking the Arab Muslim monopoly on trade with India, da Gama settled down to profit from his ventures. For the next 20 years he saw no active sea duty. He received the title of count of Vidigueira in 1519. In 1524 he was named viceroy and sent to India to correct the mounting corruption among the Portuguese authorities there. Da Gama reached India in the autumn of 1524, but he died in Cochin only three months after his arrival.

He was buried in Goa, on the coast of India, but in 1539 his remains were conveyed to Portugal and interred in the Church of Vidigueira.

There the coffin remained until 1880, when it was transferred to a marble sepulcher in the church of the Monastery of the Jerónimos at Belém, outside Lisbon. This monastery had been erected by Manuel as a token of the country’s gratitude to da Gama. Later it was proved that the wrong coffin had been removed from Vidigueira and in 1898, about 400 years after da Gama’s first voyage, the coffin that contained his true remains was placed in the sepulcher.

The tomb lies very near that of Camões, Portugal’s most famous poet, who commemorated da Gama’s deeds in his epic 1572 poem The Lusiads.

On his return to Lisbon in 1499, da Gama had completed the longest recorded sea voyage ever to set sail up to that time. By pioneering the Portuguese sea route to India, da Gama established Lisbon as the center of the European spice trade. This laid the foundation for the Portuguese Empire, which controlled trade with the ports of East Africa, southwest India, and Indonesia for centuries.

PAGE 46

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 - SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

International

Iran: How Powerful is the President?

Former President Ahmedinejad (l), and President Rouhani (R) settle for a seat on the floor during Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s (middle) endorsement of Rouhani.

By Hassan Haruna Ginsau

I

ran is just one of the few countries, if any, that has both a president and an almost all- conquering supreme leader.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is Iran’s most powerful official. As supreme leader, he has constitutional authority or substantial influence over the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government as well as the military and the media.

According to Iran’s Constitution, the Supreme Leader is responsible for the delineation and supervision of “the general policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” which means that he sets the tone and direction of Iran’s domestic and foreign policies.

The Supreme Leader also is commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and controls the Islamic Republic’s intelligence and security operations; he alone can declare war or peace. He has the power to appoint and dismiss the leaders of the judiciary, the state radio and television networks, and the supreme commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Supreme Leader’s sphere of power is extended through his representatives, an estimated 2,000 of who cut across all sectors of the government and who serve as the Leader’s clerical field operatives. In some respects the Supreme Leader’s representatives are more powerful than the president’s ministers and have the authority to intervene in any matter of state on the Supreme

Leader’s behalf.

He is the single most powerful individual in a highly factionalized, autocratic regime. No major decisions can be taken without his consent, and his top priorities are his own survival and that of the Islamic Republic.

In theory, Iran’s constitution was meant to combine theocracy with republicanism. But in practice, Iran’s unelected institutions, namely the supreme leader and 12-man Guardian Council, wield far more power than elected institutions like the presidency and parliament. The Guardian Council has the authority to veto all candidates for public office and disqualify any who are not deemed sufficiently loyal to the supreme leader.

As supreme leader, Khamenei has effective control over the 12-member Guardian Council.

Khamenei appoints half its members, as well as the judicial chief who appoints the other half.

The Iranian economy is largely state-controlled, and Khamenei has the most authority over how the country’s oil revenue is spent.

He also has control over the country’s charitable foundations with billions of dollars in assets, in addition to the millions his office receives more in charitable donations offered to Iran’s holy shrines.

Despite his constitutional powers, Khamenei has sometimes been overshadowed by Iran’s presidents. From 1989 to 1997, foreign governments and the international media perceived parliamentary speaker

Rafsanjani, not Khamenei, as Iran’s most powerful official.

From 1997 to 2005, President Mohammad Khatami upstaged Khamenei from the left with his calls for reform at home and a “dialogue of civilizations” with the West. Since 2005, Ahmadinejad has outflanked him from the right with his diatribes against Israel and Holocaust revisionism Khamenei’s views though have ultimately always prevailed: His domestic vision for Iran is more Islamic than republican.

And his foreign policy position is neither outright confrontation nor accommodation.

Several factors have also helped Khamenei gradually consolidate power: He created a vast network of “clerical commissars” in major public institutions who are empowered to intervene in state matters to enforce his authority.

Parliament is currently a weak body dominated by conservatives. The Revolutionary Guards, whose leaders he appoints, are increasingly important to both

“

politics and the economy. His most powerful peers have, therefore, been sidelined, at least temporarily.

Despite Rouhani’s recent call for ‘serious dialogue’, prospects for reconciliation with the United States are low while Khamenei remains in power. At the same time, any engagement policy in Iran that aims to ignore or bypass Khamenei is equally unlikely to succeed.

The Obama administration has tried harder than any previous administration to engage Iran, and Khamenei in particular. In Obama’s first year in office, he sent two private letters to Khamenei outlining Washington’s genuine interest in overcoming past mistrust and rebuilding relations with Tehran.

In response, Khamenei mocked Obama’s mantra of change as merely a tactical shift. He said Washington must first change its actions— by lifting sanctions, unfreezing Iranian assets, diluting support for Israel and ceasing criticism of Iran—to show its seriousness.

Hassan Rouhani as President

As supreme leader, Khamenei has effective control over the 12-member Guardian Council.

Khamenei appoints half its members, as well as the judicial chief who appoints the other half.

is only the second highest ranking official in Iran. While the president has a high public profile, however, his powers are in many ways trimmed by the constitution, which subordinates the entire executive branch to (of course), the Supreme Leader, Khameni.

In fact, Iran is the only state in which the executive branch does not control the armed forces. The president is responsible for setting the country’s economic policies.

Though he has nominal rule over the Supreme National Security Council and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, but in practice the Supreme Leader dictates all matters of foreign and domestic security.

Eight vice presidents serve under the president, as well as a cabinet of 22 ministers. The Council of Ministers must be confirmed by Parliament, which is overseen by the council of Guardians, half of whom are handpicked by….. you guessed it, the Supreme Leader.

Rouhani will have to tread carefully between the moderates and reformists, who brought him into power, and the hardline conservatives, who hold the cards, and could possibly block his moves.

Looking at the past, in 1997, Khatami ran on a reform platform, and also won the office with a sweeping majority and turnout. But his reformist initiatives routinely got waylaid by the Guardian Council and the Ayatollah, thus preventing fundamental legislative changes. Rouhani in his limited powers will surely face similar obstacles.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 - SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

PAGE 47

International Zimbabwe’s MDC challenges Mugabe election victory Z

imbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has filed a legal challenge to Robert Mugabe’s victory in last week’s presidential elections.

The electoral petition seeks an order for the result to be declared null and void and a new election to be called within 60 days.

The MDC’s 15 grounds include alleged bribery, abuse of “assisted voting” and manipulation of the electoral roll. Mr Mugabe, 89, won with 61% of the presidential vote.

His Zanu-PF party gained a parliamentary majority of more than two-thirds, with 160 seats compared with 49 for the MDC. The MDC legal team carried huge piles of papers into the court but some wonder if their petition will reap any legal or political dividends. The petition is premised on 15 grounds that the lawyers hope will put the judiciary under the spotlight.

The MDC says it has evidence of bribery, that the voters’ roll was manipulated and illegally delivered late, that many thousands of people were disenfranchised during the voter-registration exercise and many more were turned away at the polls.

MDC spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora says the legal route was the only available remedy to the disputed poll. Perhaps, it is more than that.

The MDC has always questioned the independence of the

judiciary and may suspect that the court is unlikely to order a rerun. But it still wants its evidence to play out in court, and ultimately in public, to prove its claims that the poll was a farce.

Should it lose the legal case, it hopes that at least the court of public opinion will be on its side.

The MDC is to file a complaint on the parliamentary results at a later date, reports the BBC’s Brian Hungwe in the capital Harare.

Lawyers for the MDC, which filed its petition with the country’s constitutional court, told the BBC they had “strong evidence of electoral irregularities”.

They said a shockingly high number of people were unable to vote at the polls, and that food and other bribes were used to persuade voters to back Mr Mugabe, our correspondent says.

“The Movement of Democratic Change has filed its election petition ... what we seek is that this election be declared null and void in terms of section 93 of the constitution of Zimbabwe,” said MDC spokesman Douglas Mwonzora.

The challenge comes after Zimbabwe’s electoral commission said nearly 305,000 voters had been turned away from polling stations on Election Day. Mr Mugabe’s margin of victory was some 940,000 votes.

A week after the election, Mr Mugabe dismissed criticism of the polls and lashed out at Western countries for their response.

Zimbabwe’s nine-member constitutional court has up to 14 days to respond to the legal challenge.

The MDC says it is “aware” of this, and as a result it will make its appeal public and even produce evidence of “bribed goods”, the BBC’s Mark Lowen reports from Johannesburg.

‘Disenfranchised’ If the court upholds the results, Mr Mugabe must be sworn in within 48 hours of the ruling.

Zimbabwe poll results 2013 Presidential: · Robert Mugabe, ZanuPF - 61%, 2,110,434 votes · Morgan Tsvangirai, MDC - 34%, 1,172,349 votes Parliamentary: · Zanu-PF - 160 seats (up 61 seats from 2008) · MDC - 49 seats (down 51 seats from 2008) “We have done the best that we can under the circumstances, presented the matter before the court, and it is now up to the court to determine how strong the case is,” said MDC lawyer Chris Mhike.

African and regional monitors praised the poll for being peaceful but noted some irregularities. Western observers were not invited to witness the 31 July vote.

But a local observer group, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (Zesn) and its network of 7,000 observers, has said that about one million voters were “systematically disenfranchised”

President Robert Mugabe by being omitted from the voters’ roll or turned away.

The electoral roll has come in for criticism for having duplicate names and the names of dead Zimbabweans.

The MDC says 900,000 people were turned away from polling stations - mainly in the capital where the MDC’s vote is strong - and another 300,000

people were coerced through assisted voting.

Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the MDC, rejected the vote as fraudulent and said his party would boycott government institutions.

The Zanu-PF and the MDC have been in a coalition since 2009, after the last election sparked widespread violence.

Zanzibar govt offers $6,000 for information on acid attackers

T

he Zanzibar government has offered a reward of 10m Tanzanian shillings (£3,970, $6,170) for information leading to the capture of attackers who threw acid at two UK women, police say.

Kirstie Trup and Katie Gee, both 18 and from London, had acid thrown on their faces, chests and hands.

The island’s Police Commissioner Musa Ali Musa told the BBC that there was “no prime suspect” for the attack and added that a lot of people had been questioned and information gathered.

However no-one has been arrested or charged and investigations are continuing, Mr Musa said.

The police chief said it was the first time visitors to the island had been attacked in this way. Officers had no idea as to the motive, he said.

The two young Britons, who were volunteering for the charity Art in Tanzania, have been flown back to the UK. Their plane was met by ambulances when it arrived at RAF Northolt in west London at lunchtime yesterday.

The company, which organ-

ised their trip said the two women had been transferred to a London hospital for further treatment.

The firm, i-to-i Travel, said it wished the girls “a fast and full recovery”.

The organisation said its customers due to arrive in Zanzibar had been given the option of an alternative placement but all had chosen to continue to Tanzania.

The attack took place in Stone Town, the old part of Zanzibar’s capital, on Wednesday.

Zanzibar’s President Ali Mohammed Shein said the assault had “brought chaos and confusion to our country and outside”.

Speaking to Muslims celebrating the Eid al-Fitr festival, he said: “It was not a civilised act, it is not Islam. It was very cruel to throw acid on these innocent young girls.”

A moderate Muslim cleric who was himself the victim of an acid attack last year says he believes that hardline secessionist group Uamsho were behind the attack.

“Of course this attack on the tourists was Uamsho,” Sheikh Fadhil Soraga told the Daily Telegraph.

However local police said

there was no evidence that the group was involved, Reuters reported. The group has said it does not condone violence.

The BBC’s Tulanana Bohela,

in Tanzania’s biggest city Dar es Salaam, said Islam is the main religion on Zanzibar, and in more remote parts of the island, away from tourist beaches, there are signs asking foreigners to respect

The two women who were bathed with acid

the local culture and cover up.

But most islanders depend on tourism for their livelihoods and are happy to see tourists, so there is little antagonism towards them, she said.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Weekend Sports

PAGE 48

IAAF Worlds: It’s Okagbare vs Fraser -Pryce

By Patrick Andrew

B

Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce

lessing Okagbare has had splendid runs to the World Championships in Moscow, which begins today with more than 1700 athletes representing 256 countries in attendance.

As the fiesta takes off the block today, all eyes will be on the duo of Okagbare and Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce in the women sprint event-100m, while the US-based Nigeria will also be a contender for the top medal in the 200m where she is likely to come up against Alyson Felix.

Okagbare, a 2012 London Olympics Games finalist, has been in the ascendancy this year and ranked as the four highest in terms of records set. Interestingly, Okagbare consigned to the dustbin of history Glorai Alozie’s 19 years record a fortnight ago at the London Games anniversary at the Strafford Stadium where posted a dismal performance in the finals of the 100m.

Carmelita Jeter won the gold thus leaving hitherto on song Okagbare in tears.

But her London anniversary Games’ time of 10.79 gave her an edge over her perennial archival Shelly Ann FraserPryce. It was a new African record that puts her in the spotlight for Moscow medal.

Well, the fears have always been that Blessing usually fizzles out at the most auspicious moments. Recall that prior to the London Olympics last year she had beaten both Carmelita Jeter and Fraser-Pryce only to fall when it mattered most.

Fraser-Pryce, the reigning Olympic champion 100m will definitely want to add the World Championships title to her collections of silver wares and thus emerge as the new queen of the 100m track. Likely, after her defeat to Blessing, she must have retired to take a second look at what had led to her failure.

She is likely to want to revenge in Moscow.

However, Blessing’s chances are brighter. Yes, she had participated in major tournaments some of which she won against prominent names including the Samsung Diamond win in London. This time though Blessing with the advice of the likes of Mary Onyali-Omagbemi- the PA to the Director General of the National Sports Commission, Innocent Egbunike and other technical experts, her burntout may have been controlled.

Nigeria’s 20-member strong contingent hopes to return with a medal unlike their experience two years ago and the London 2012 London Olympics when they returned empty handed.

Blessing Okagbare

Bolt eyes Lewis mark with Gay absent J amaican sprint star Usain Bolt goes into the World Athletics Championships within touching distance of equalling American legend Carl Lewis’

record of eight world gold medals.

Bolt’s presence, along with Britain’s double Olympic 5 000-10 000m champion Mo Farah, will at least offer a ray

Usain Bolt (Lewis)

of sunshine to a sport that has been recently rocked by a series of doping offences.

There is also a long list of star performers ruled out through injury, not least of all defending 100m champion Yohan Blake of Jamaica, Kenyan 800m master David Rudisha and Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill.

Blake claimed victory in Daegu two years ago after Bolt dramatically false started in the final of the blue riband event and was disqualified.

Make no mistake that Bolt is in the Russian capital to top the podium in an event he has dominated since taking gold in the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

“Of course it’s very important (to win back the title),” the 26-year-old said of the 100m, which will feature neither American rival Tyson Gay nor Asafa Powell after both tested positive for banned substances.

But today’s heats will include 2004 Olympic champion and double world

champion in 2005 Justin Gatlin, the in-form American who has already served a four-year ban for doping, and who beat Bolt in Rome this season.

Bolt’s failure to win Daegu has been the one blip on his impressive resume that includes Olympic gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay events in Beijing and London, and five world titles.

He is also world record holder in the individual events (9.58 and 19.19sec respectively) and was part of the relay team that set a new record in London (36.84).

Should he claim three golds – and a lot can go wrong in nine days of safely negotiating heats and best managing related fatigue and expectations – he would draw level with Carl Lewis, ironically someone who has drawn Bolt’s ire on more than one occasion.

After winning the 200m in London, Bolt said he had lost all respect for Lewis after the US sprint legend restated his concerns over the toughness of Jamaica’s drug-testing policy.

Bolt’s claims of Jamaican medals coming purely from hard work ring slightly hollow in the wake of recent positive tests for teammates Powell, a former 100m world record holder, and double Olympic 200m champion Veronica CampbellBrown.

Embarrassingly for the organisers, Russia have more than 40 athletes currently suspended for doping offences and Turkey took the draconian step to ban 31 of its athletes the weekend before the worlds.

The doping issue will not, however, detract from the action on the track, where American Allyson Felix is looking to better her tally of eight golds, one silver and one bronze when she goes in the 200m and the relays.

Aged just 27, Felix is now considered one of the elder stateswomen of a strong US team, and has rightly re-focused on her preferred 200m after over-stretching herself in Daegu and losing the title to CampbellBrown.

Britain’s Farah, whose double Olympic gold in the 5

000m and 10 000m last year deservedly shared the headlines with Bolt’s second treble gold, has been in sparkling form this season.

After stepping down to hone his speed ahead of Moscow, Farah set a personal best in the London Diamond League before then being swept home to a European record (and sixth fastest time ever) in the Monaco 1500m behind Kenyan Asbel Kiprop.

Kenyan hopes on the track have been hard hit by the absence of Rudisha, 5 00010 000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot, and two-time marathon champion Abel Kirui.

In Daegu, a RudishaCheruiyot led team scooped 17 medals, including seven golds.

Kenya’s head coach Sammy Rono, adding that he was counting on the experience of world and Olympic 1500m and 3000m steeplechase champions, Asbel Kiprop and Ezekiel Kemboi, plus defending women’s marathon champion, Edna Kiplagat.

PAGE 48

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Wellness

Healthy Living

With Isaac Yakubu Akogu

Diabetes education: Medical benefits of Fasting

www.diabetesguidenigeria.blogspot.com, 08176179496, diabetesconcepts@gmail.com

A Diabetes expert, Mr. Isaac Yakubu Akogu, is also a Pharmacist with over 16 years experience with specialisation in Diabetes Education.

W

elcome to another exciting time with me on this column. Its been a wonderful month of Ramadan with opportunities for spiritual discipline and physical discipline in the food we choose to eat.

However, content or composition of our plate will have a great deal on the glucose meter readings.

For those who have kept a date with me on this column, recall that I advice use of glucose meter and records of the results obtained before breaking of the fast (iftar) and before beginning of the fast (Sahur) as well as during the day. Some people where able to keep this records, the values are not a waste, a discussion with a knowledgeable Diabetes Educator will enable you understand how your body responds to food and the various food, fruits that are good for your body as well as quantity you need per time.

This knowledge will enable you to form a healthy meal plan and pattern as you return to normal meal schedule in which breakfast, lunch and dinner comes back to play.

The transition from normal to fasting state as observed during the Ramadan and back to normal meal schedules requires step wise approach because there are changes in weight, cholesterol, blood glucose level and even glycated haemoglobin levels (HbA1c) as published in some research studies.

The practice of fasting has been with man from a long time.

Religious groups have exploited the principles of fasting to enrich individuals spiritually, having had the opportunity of spiritual benefits for those living with Diabetes who fasted, in this article; I will attempt to highlight some medical benefits of fasting.

Fasting is an effective and safe method of helping the body detoxifies. Fasting is recommended for some illness, as it gives the body the rest it needs for recovery. Acute illness like colon disorders, allergic respiratory diseases are most responsive to fasting, while chronic degenerative diseases are the list responsive. Relieving the body of the work of food digestion, fasting permits the system to rid itself of toxins while facilitating healing.

Apart from benefits of fasting in times of poor health, regular fasting give all the body organs a rest and help reverse the aging

People shopping for Ramadan process and ensure a longer and healthier life. The following takes place in the body during fasting: 1.

The natural process of toxin excretion continues, while the influx of new toxins is reduced hence total body toxicity is reduced.

2.

The immune system’s work load is greatly reduced and the digestive tract is spared any inflammation due to allergic reactions to food.

3.

The energy usually used for digestion is redirected to immune function, cell growth and eliminatory processes.

4. Tissue oxygenation is increased and white blood cells are moved more efficiently due to a lowering of serum fats that thins the blood.

5.

Physical awareness and sensitivity to diet and surroundings are increased.

Due to these effects of fasting, a fast can help healing with greater speed, cleanse the liver, kidneys, and colon, help one lose weight and water, flush out tox-

ins, clear the eyes and tongue.

Depending on the length of fast, different purposes are accomplished: a.

Three days fast helps the body rid itself of toxins and cleanse the blood. b.

Five days fast begins the process of healing and rebuilding the immune system. c.

Ten days fast can take care of many problems before the arise and help to fight off illness.

“

Precaution to be taken during fasting Do not fast on water alone, this is because water alone fast releases toxins too quickly, causing headaches, instead use juice which removes toxins and promotes healing by supplying the body with vitamins, minerals and enzymes.

For a person with diabetes or any chronic health condition, fasting should be done un-

Fasting is an effective and safe method of helping the body detoxifies. Fasting is recommended for some illness, as it gives the body the rest it needs for recovery. Acute illness like colon disorders, allergic respiratory diseases are most responsive to fasting, while chronic degenerative diseases are the list responsive.

der supervision or consultation with a health care professional.

As a general rule, one should not combine fruit and vegetable juices. Apples are the only fruit that should be added to vegetable juices.

The size of the stomach and the amount of secreted digestive juices may decrease during fasting hence the first meals after a fast should be frequent and small.

Do not chew gum while on the fast, the digestive process starts when chewing prompts the body to secrete enzymes into the gastrointestinal tract. If there is no food in the stomach, ulcerative stress could occur.

During a fast, as toxins are released from the body, one will probably experience a coated tongue and an unpleasant taste in the mouth. To relieve this anomaly, rinse the mouth with fresh lemon juice.

Keep a date with me on Wellness column next edition as we take a journey into other interesting aspect of Diabetes care.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Pillars set to beat 3SC to honor injured coach

P

illars will seek to beat hosts 3SC in tomorrow’s league clash for Coach Mohammed Babaganaru, who was seriously hurt in a fatal car crash.

Babaganaru was hospitalized for several days when he along with his coaching team were involved in a car crash while returning to Kano from Ilorin, where they played a Federation Cup game.

Team’s media officer Idris Malikawa said that the team give glory to Almighty Allah for sparing the lives of their coaches and that they will do their best to beat the hosts 3SC in a Week 24

game for the coaches and that way extend their lead at the top of the table.

“Our target in the game against 3SC is to win and extend our lead at the top of the table, as well as win for our coach Babaganaru, who was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday evening,” Malikawa noted.

Coaches Abdu Maikaba and Kabiru Baleria, who have since recovered fully from the crash, will lead the team to Ibadan.

Champions Pillars still lead the table with 39 points, while 3SC are 17th on the table with 27 points.

Sports

CL draw: Arsenal to face Fenerbahce

Walcott, Arsenal

A

Pillars players

JUTH targets FC Abuja for survival

J

uth FC coach, Taiye Yusuf is confident his side will edge already relegated side, FC Abuja to survive relegation in the ongoing 2012/13 Nigeria National League (NNL) season.

The Healers are 11th on the NNL Division A log on 36 points and will be the guests of the Abuja-based side in the last game of the season.

Yusuf said his side is not foreseeing a tough challenge from FC Abuja when both sides clash in the season’s last match.

“We’re not safe at the moment but we’re confident of grabbing three points at FC Abuja in the season’s last game to survive relegation.

“We believe that officiating will be balance and we don’t foresee FC Abuja posing a hard nut to crack.

“We know teams already down try playing the spoiler so we’re not leaving any stone

unturned in our preparations to ensure we win the encounter,” said the former Ranchers Bees coach said.

Yusuf said his side is satisfied with their performance in the outgoing season even as they make last minute effort to escape relegation.

“I’m satisfied with the side performance given the circumstance I met on ground when I joined the side from Ranchers Bees.

“We’ve done a lot to stabilize the side and once we survive the drop, I foresee the side’s contesting for promotion next season.

“Plateau United were almost in the same plight when I took over the affairs of the team, first it was the battle to save the side from going on relegation which was achieved and the next season I guided the side to win promotion same thing I’ll do at Juth FC next season,” he said.

Page 49

rsenal has been drawn against Fenerbahce in the play-off round of the Champions League for a place in the elite 32-team group stages.

Fenerbahce were given a two-year ban from European competition in June over match-fixing allegations but were later reinstated while an appeal is heard.

The Gunners will face the Turkish runners-up away on either 20 or 21 August, with the home leg a week later.

Celtic travel to Kazakhstan champions Shakhter Karagandy for their first leg.

Tottenham have been drawn away to Georgian outfit Dinamo Tbilisi in the

Fixtures

Dinamo Zagreb Ludogorets Plzen Shakhtyor Karaganda Steaua Bucuresti Lyon Schalke 04 Pacos Ferreira PSV Fenerbahce

Emenike, Fenerbahce first-leg of the Europa League play-off tie for a place in the main draw.

Spurs, who lost on penalties to Basel in the quarter-finals of last year’s competition, met Tbilisi in the 1973-74 Uefa Cup, drawing 1-1 away and winning 5-1 at White Hart Lane.

League Cup winners Swansea, returning to European competition for the first time since 1991, secured a place in the playoff with a 4-0 aggregate win over Malmo and were drawn at home against Romanians Petrolul Ploiesti.

The ties will be played on 22 and 29 August with the main draw for the group stages, featuring FA Cup

v v v v v v v v v v

FK Austria Vienna Basle Maribor Celtic Legia Warsaw Real Sociedad FCMetalist Kharkiv Zenit St Petersburg AC Milan Arsenal

winners Wigan, on 30 August.

Fenerbahce appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after they and compatriots Besiktas were punished by European governing body Uefa.

Cas say a final decision will be made by 28 August, which could be the date of the second leg of the play-off, but Uefa have said no decision has yet been made regarding what would happen in the event of Fenerbahce winning the tie against Arsenal and losing their appeal.

The teams met in Group G of the competition in 2008-9 with Arsenal winning 5-2 in Turkey and the return at the Emirates finishing goalless.

Celtic’s opponents Shakhter Karagandy have won the Kazakhstan Premier League for the last two seasons.

They were beaten in their first Champions League match, a second qualifying round encounter with Slovan Liberec last term, and lost 3-2 on aggregate to Irish side St Patrick’s Athletic in the Europa League second qualifying round the season before.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Page 50

Idoko praises Keshi for domestic players inclusion

T

he Executive director of the Ondo State Football Agency has heaped praises on the Super Eagles chief coach for giving domestic league players a sense of belonging Keshi has been commended for giving players in the Nigeria Premier League opportunity to fight for a place in the senior national team.

Since Keshi’s ascent to the managerial position of the national team, players like Godfrey Oboabona of Sunshine Stars and Enugu Rangers’ Sunday Mba, who was recently named into the prestigious Goal 50, have become a key part of the Super Eagles.

Speaking with newsmen in Abuja, Idoko believes Keshi’s success story with the Super Eagles can be hinged on the fact he never overlooked the local-based stars stating that it takes a lot of

confidence for a national team handler to take such a risk.

“I must commend Stephen Keshi for being fearless. He took a risk former managers, even the foreign ones, couldn’t take. I think he must have borrowed a leaf from [Clemens] Westerhof because he took time before building the USA ‘94 team which we have not been able to assemble up till now. The NFF also must be commended too because if they had not given him the chance, Keshi wouldn’t have been successful,” said Idoko.

“All our boys now go to the Super Eagles to fight for a place because it is glaring that they are no longer training materials like they were in the past where the foreign-based were picked ahead of them. At the Africa Cup of Nations, he took along six players which have not happened before,” he added.

Stories by Albert Akota

captain and coach says he has no issues with the Eagles’ current position on the rankings.

“I don’t know how the rankings work so I am not worried about it. What I am worried about is seeing my team play well,” Keshi told supersport.com shortly after the latest rankings were released.

The Super Eagles are still the fifth best ranked team in Africa behind the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali and Algeria.

Spain, Germany, Colombia, Argentina and the Netherlands are the top five nations in the world according to the rankings.

Sports

Keshi unmoved over FIFA rankings T

he Chief Coach of the Super Eagles, Stephen Keshi is unmoved over the current position of the Super Eagles in the latest rankings released by world football governing body, FIFA. The African champions remain in 35th place with 700 ranking points on the latest classification for July 2013 released by FIFA on Thursday.

However, Keshi who became the first Nigerian to win the Africa Cup of Nations title as a

Emenike, Omeruo out Of Mandela Challenge as Soriola, Okwuosa get nod

A

FCON Golden Boot winner, and Fenerbahce of Turkey latest recruit, Emmanuel Emenike and his AFCON finals compatriot, Kenneth Omeruo are out of August 14 Mandela Challenge friendly duel between the Super Eagles and Bafana Bafana.

The cracker billed for Durban is in honour of Nelson Mandela, who is currently recuperating in a hospital in Johanesburg, South Africa.

According to Eagles’ Spokesman, Ben Alaiya, Emenike opted out because he needs time to settle down and adapt to his new club in Turkey, while Omeruo future is not quite decided in spite of having his contract with Chelsea regularised.

However, n their places, Free State Stars of South Africa, Gege

Soriola and Chippa United James Okwuosa, also based in South Africa have been called up as replacement.

Team technical crew headed

by Stephen Keshi, said they took the decision to call up two central defenders because there are enough options upfront for the encounter against Bafana Bafana on Wednesday.

“We also need to start grooming new defenders who are promising for upcoming challenges and we found the two players invited thus far very promising”, Keshi said.

Speaking further, keshi said, “We will need him in the World Cup qualifiers but he has a lot of things to do at his new club and we must give him that opportunity. But I must say we are in good contact and we are happy with the way things are going with our top players in the transfer market”.

Committee recommends $5000 bonus for Eagles Eagle players

A

committee to probe a recent bonus row in the Super Eagles has recommended the win bonus for the team be pegged at $5,000..

The committee, which is expected to present its findings to the country’s sports minister this week, also recommended a formal code of conduct to be signed by all players in the national team.

“The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are no longer in a position to pay $10,000 each for a win and that is why the committee has recommended we should revert to the status quo of $5,000 before the

2010 World Cup Presidential Task Force supplemented the bonus,” a top official informed said.

A code of conduct will also be introduced to the Eagles, which will clearly spell out what is expected of both players and the NFF. The code of conduct is in force in countries like England and Germany and even though several national team coaches including current handler Stephen Keshi have been averse to this rule book, the committee has recommended it be enforced in the Eagles.

“The players are expected to sign the code of conduct or else quit the

team,” another official said.

In 1994, only a handful of players led by Mutiu Adepoju agreed to sign a code of conduct tabled by the NFF. In June, the African champions stayed put in Namibia and refused to board a flight to the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil until they were paid full bonuses for a win and a draw in Kenya and Namibia, respectively.

The Presidency had to make available a shortfall of $7,500-a-player with sports minister Bolaji Abdullahi having to personally cart the cash to Brazil for the team.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

Sports

Page 51

Is David Luiz Barcelona’s back four answer?

The Blaugrana have had serious trouble bringing in defenders in recent seasons, meaning this summer’s pursuit of the Chelsea centre-back represents a watershed moment for the club

B

arcelona continue to make huge signings. Following the purchase of the likes of David Villa, Javier Mascherano, Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez in years past, in has come Neymar this summer to add to the Blaugrana’s magnificent stock of talents. But while their midfield and attack is liberally scattered with increasing number of superstars each season, one notable weakness remains due to their inability to acquire a centreback of significant quality.

The pursuit of Chelsea’s David Luiz has been something of a stop-start affair so far, but it represents their biggest chance yet to really lay a marker down and eliminate the nightmares of years past defensively.

Mascherano has been used extensively as a makeshift centrehalf since arriving from Liverpool, but the Spanish champions have been left for a number of seasons now with Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol as their only central defenders of any note.

Pique himself has spoken out about the club’s lack of quality in his position in the past few days, putting the issue under the spotlight like never before.

And so it should be. The Barcelona hierarchy will have been mindful for some time of the need to find a replacement for club captain Puyol, yet not since the flop signing of Dmytro Chygrynskiy from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2009 have they

brought in a natural centre-back.

Yes, they signed Mascherano and utilised him as a defender.

Yes, they took Alex Song from Arsenal under the premise that he could play at the back. But the truth is that neither are long-term options.

Now, with Puyol having undergone a particularly damaging few years on the injury front, there is a serious need for reinforcements. The former Barca youth product has chalked up 28 games or more in all competitions only once in the past three campaigns, and, at 35 years of age, the outlook does not look promising in terms of an upturn in those statistics.

The reasons for such difficulties in recruitment are manifold. For starters, there is the aforementioned signing of Chygrynskiy. The young Ukrainian was such a spectacular failure at Camp Nou that the Blaugrana have clearly become overly cautious about making such a monumental error again.

There were plenty of indications that a €25 million layout for a 22-year-old with little big-game experience might not live up to the price tag, but when the near-inevitable happened it had a lasting effect in the minds of Barca’s transfer movers and shakers.

The truth of the matter was that Chygrynskiy was simply the wrong fit with no real attributes to fit in with Barcelona’s style of

THE SPANISH VIEW ON BARCA’S BACK FOUR One of Barcelona’s main priorities in last summer’s transfer window was the signing of a central defender, but no such player arrived as the Catalans brought in Alex Song to cover two positions.

Song was one of a number of players to fill in at the back as Carles Puyol predictably missed large chunks of the campaign due to injury, but the Cameroonian is not a natural defender.

Javier Mascherano has adapted brilliantly to a defensive role but still looks uncomfortable against the top teams, while Adriano lacks height, Marc Bartra is too fragile and was not given enough opportunities and Gerard Pique often looked lost all on his own in there.

In La Liga, Barca were never going to have too many problems but the Catalans’ makeshift back line was shown up against Madrid in both league games (a draw and a loss), while the Blaugrana were edged out by Jose Mourinho’s men over two legs in the Spanish Supercopa and struggled against Milan and Paris Saint-Germain prior to humiliation in the 7-0 semi-final reverse to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Lacking pace, strength, height, positional sense and suitable experience, Barca simply must sign a specialist this summer to play alongside Pique - or continue to disappoint when the biggest tests arrive.

Carlos Puyol play, and therein lies another reason for Barcelona’s uncertain approach to centre-backs. Given the insistence on playing a very particular type of football, with each of their players needing to be comfortable with the ball at their feet (something David Luiz certainly is), the pool of potential targets is massively reduced.

That would be the case in any era of football, but is particularly true of the present day game.

While the 21st century can boast some of the most outstanding attackers football has ever known, the same cannot be said of their defensive counterparts. There is simply a huge dearth in high quality central defenders, while even full-backs are becoming better known for their exciting

David Luiz, needed urgently by Barca play on the ball than their abilities off it. Stick into the pot Barca’s desire for their defenders to be ball players, and that shortlist of top centre-halves is reduced to something approaching zero.

It was partly for that reason that Pep Guardiola very nearly turned his Barcelona side into a team full of midfielders. With little chance of finding the ideal centre-back, he decided that the best alternative was to adapt ball winners into deep-lying playmakers who just happened to line up as part of the defensive line. Again, it was not a longterm option and only brought a moderate level of success. The truth of the matter was that they needed Pique and Puyol fit to be at full steam.

Now Pique wants to see some strengthening of the defensive resources but understands the trouble Barca are having in nailing down the perfect signing.

“It’s hard to find the right profile of player because our style of play is unique,” he said this week, but their style is not so unique that they can do without defenders.

For that reason, the pursuit of David Luiz needs to continue apace - even if many would argue that the Brazilian is better known for his ball-playing than his actual defending. Because as much as Barcelona rule the roost when it comes to attacking football, they have found to their cost in recent seasons that winning football continues to rely on a solid defensive base.

PAGE 52

Column

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

LMC breaks new grounds

“

Our determination to take the league to an enviable height remains unshaken.

We are working very hard to lay a solid foundation on which subsequent administrations can build to make the Nigerian league one of the very best in the world.”

The League Management Company (LMC), variously heckled by the association of clubs’ owners, made this laudable comment after it presented a cheque of N25m to the Nigeria Football Federation. It was no charity, but the 5 percent of the sponsorship fee for the season.

Of course, that was interesting because the payment broke new grounds. Firstly, the payment was made without the usual armtwisting: it was voluntary, done with glee, devoid of the struggle and counter-accusations peculiar with the NFF whose penchant for cat and dog relationship with its subordinate is legendary.

Secondly, the leadership of the LMC captured a crucial issue in a simple statement: namely that they don’t intend to usurp the functions of an elected board or impose themselves on the league as they had been roundly accused of.

Further and better still, LMC left none in doubt about the potency of the league to generate good money for all stake-holders provided that the right procedures are followed in a professional and

truly business oriented manner.

Yes, many have the belief that beneath the league lays a goldmine which less farsighted elements in the past had chosen to trample underfoot while perennially relying on the peanut that drops from government coffer.

Honourable Nduka Irabor, whose LMC had been heckled by some disgruntled elements for allegedly being overbearing on the association of clubs’ owners and who is seen by these same persons as usurpers of their rightful functions, has proven that allowed to function, the LMC has the depth of intellect and business acumen to lay the foundation for prosperous, well organised league that will meet international standard in administrative performance and quality of teams.

True, there have been spats here and there over officiating,

certain decisions such as involved Akwa United and Warri Wolves and insistence on insurance for players, minimum fixed salary for professional league players and the N50m initial deposits, but you can’t help thumping up the vision and focus of the LMC. It was this focus that led to sponsorship windfall after two seasons of hopelessness and visionless chasing of the wind in the guise of sponsorship drive. Recall that immediate past leadership of the league gyrated from pillar to post in a futile attempt to lure corporate organs to identify with the league to no avail. Image was the major constrain as was want of personality clout. Yes, the LMC has restored order to the league management that used to be famous for administrative brigandage.

And what stride! The LMC chairman presented a 140-page

By that singular act, the LMC seems to have killed two birds with one stone: gave the NFF fish and added hook. That’s instructive enough considering that the NFF has over the years seems bereft of the barest mercantile vision and vim to profit from the huge outlay of gold dripping opportunities.

owoidoh_ng35@yahoo.com 08093782812 Corporate Identity and Brand Standards Manual to the NFF, yet was quick to point out that the LMC was managing the league in trust for the clubs’ owners.

By that singular act, the LMC seems to have killed two birds with one stone: gave the NFF fish and added hook. That’s instructive enough considering that the NFF has over the years seems bereft of the barest mercantile vision and vim to profit from the huge outlay of gold dripping opportunities. Even now, it beats one’s imagination that the sleeping giants lurches in penury- as evident by its drastic measures including slashing the bonus of national teams just meet minor obligations- in the face of begging opportunities to generate cool cash.

Perhaps, with the LMC’s blueprint for generating funds, the marketing departments and the executive committee

will put on its thinking cap and follow in their footsteps and safe themselves the embarrassment of dashing 13 national brandssome quite laudable- for a paltry N350m.

“The NFF approves of all that the LMC is doing and we are proud of the steps that you are taking to turn the Premier League around for the better. We also note that you have been making efforts, as required, to carry along the club owners in your activities.

“The NFF is equally proud of your moves to get the spectators back to the stadia so that our elite league can again be what it used to be in decades gone by,” Maigari said.

And one hopes he, together with his lieutenants, will take a clue from Irabor to break new grounds by securing sponsorship with correspondent true value for their brands or reasonably close to the value of the trending team.

fees by the NFF as a way of compelling players to pledge their loyalty to the country since the federation did not impose any transfer fee on them.

“Besides, I want to advise the football federation to cancel transfer fees for players plying their trades

authorities in the country who refused to involve financial analysts and economists in all their dealings, saying “some of us are ready and willing to offer free services to the NFF in this regard, if we are requested to help out because it will improve the fortunes of sports in the country.”

Kurfi urges NFF to drop bonus for appearance fees

By Patrick Andrew

S

ports philanthropist, Alhaji Aminu Balele Kurfi, believes the constant bonus row between the Super Eagles and the Nigeria Football federation (NFF) would be eliminated if the football federation adopts the payment of appearance fees instead of winning bonus for the team.

According to him, if the NFF opts to pay a fixed appearance fee, say $20, 000, to each player and graduates same as the team progresses rather than pay per match won and drawn, the matter of bonus row may not occur.

The Chairman Kaduna State Tennis Association and North West representative in the board of the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) is convinced that the abolition of payment of match bonuses to all national teams would benefit both the players and NFF as well as save Nigeria bonus row embarrassment.

Speaking after breaking his fast yesterday, Kurfi strongly objected to the probe

panel constituted by the National Sports Commission (NSC) to look into the bonus row, noting that whatever recommendations it will come up with would only be palliative and far from the a permanent end to such conflict.

Accordingly, he advised the football federation to draw up a time table for the payment of appearance fees, starting from the qualifiers of any major competition up to the finals and added that fixing match bonuses would always create problems for the federation because of the dwindling economy, which he said is a global issue.

Peoples Daily Weekend Sports recalls that the NFF had insisted on the slash of the winning bonus of the team from $10,000 to $5, 000 because of the reduction in its budgetary allocation. It went on to cut down on the backroom staff of all national teams.

Further, he appealed to the leadership of the NFF to dialogue with the technical crew of the Super Eagles and

other national teams on their financial situation stressing that these coaches would in turn discussed with their respective teams.

Kurfi said these dialogues would create understanding and lead to compromise from both parties and ultimately generates necessary peaceful atmosphere in the football polity.

“The NFF should invite the technical crew for a dialogue where they would present the state of the nation’s economy to them as well as how the football house is affected.

These in turn will reveal the same to the players for them to understand and see reason why they can’t be paid what was promised them,” he advised.

He believes that with full assurances of ticket return and world class medical attention in case of injury, players will reciprocate the NFF’s gesture whenever they get national call.

Also, the proprietor of Future Africa Soccer Academy (FASA), canvassed for the cancellation of transfer

abroad. That is the NFF should receive any percentage from whatever a foreign club pays for the services of a Nigerian player. The entire proceeds should go to the club. This commits the player to the NFF who will now have every right to call up the player whenever is services is needed. That is the way it is done in Brazil and some other countries,” he concluded.

Speaking further, Kurfi blamed the perennial problems in the nation’s sports sector on sports

Alhaji Aminu Balele Kurfi, board Rafael Nadal member of NTF

Page 54

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11, AUGUST, 2013

FG offers scholarship to 36 Niger Delta youth to study in U.S

T

News Extra

NDLEA officials examining the suspect

PHOTO: Premium Times

Anambra bricklayer arriving from Brazil excretes 2.07kg of cocaine —NDLEA T he National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Friday arrested a 46-year-old bricklayer from Anambra, who attempted to smuggle 2.07 kilogrammes of cocaine into the country.

A statement by the Spokesman of the NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju, said the suspect was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, with 83 wraps of substance that had tested positive to cocaine.

“He was detected with the help of scanning machines during the screening of passengers on an

Asky Airline flight from Brazil,” he said.

Mr. Ofoyeju said the suspect was recruited by a drug cartel in Brazil and when arrested excreted one of the highest quantity of cocaine ingested at a time so far this year.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that drug barons now have agents who move from village to village in search of drug mules.

They have several antics, which include promise of better job opportunities abroad,” he said.

He said the case is still under investigation.

Mr. Ofoyeju quoted the suspect, a bricklayer at Alor Village in Anambra, as saying he was lured to sell family land in order to travel abroad in search of job opportunities.

“I got to Brazil on July 10 and all attempts to get a job was unsuccessful. That was when they sold the idea of drug trafficking to me.

“Initially I objected but when there was no other option, I succumbed. They made me to swallow 83 wraps of cocaine which was detected

by NDLEA officers,” he said.

(NAN)

ASUU strike: Government’s claim ‘fraudulent’ – Don

A

lecturer at the University of Abuja, Professor Femi Odekunle, says the current ASUU strike is not about salary or benefits but about ensuring an effective university system.

Mr. Odekunle, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday in Abuja, said that the claim by the Federal Government that some of the agreements reached between the union and government were not implementable was untrue.

“I do not believe that any agreements reached are not implementable, otherwise they would not even have been reached in the first place.

“And these issues that ASUU is fighting for have to do with infrastructure, funding and conducive environment for

learning and all capture such nuts and bolts that drive the system.’’

“So the claim by anyone to say that certain aspects of the agreement are not implementable is fraudulent.

“If the Federal Government can put funds into the National Assembly in terms of salary and allowances, why can’t it do the same for education that produces the manpower for the development of the nation,” he said.

Mr. Odekunle accused the Federal Government of employing tactics that were creating division between ASUU and management of universities by its sudden increase of vice-chancellors’ salaries and allowances.

The don, who noted that some lecturers were also culpable in

contributing to the sector’s decay, noted, however, that majority of the lecturers were serious and committed.

He said that government should address issues, including the misuse of resources, corruption of the political and government class, high cost of governance, and other issues that had continued to have adverse effects on the country’s development.

Mr. Odekunle advised the government to address the ASUU strike from its root cause and not to “play politics and games with our children’s future’’.

ASUU has been on strike for six weeks and have vowed to continue with the strike unless the government implements the 2009 agreement it had with the union. (NAN)

he Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Kingsley Kuku, said on Friday that 36 youth had been enrolled for formal education in the University of Alabama, in the U.S. Mr. Kuku made the disclosure at the Offshore Orientation and Departure Programme, organised for the beneficiaries in Abuja.

The beneficiaries are the latest group of participants in the scholarship scheme, being organised for youth in the Niger Delta.

The beneficiaries were enrolled to study Computer Science, Physical Therapy, Political Science, Pharmacy, Criminology, and Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration.

Other courses are Business Management, Communications Technology, Elementary Education/Teaching, Biology/ Biological Science, Medicine, Accounting, Banking/Financial Support Services, Economics, Sociology, Forensic Chemistry and Engineering.

Mr. Kuku, who was represented by the Head of Reintegration Department, Larry Pepple, said the purpose was to build the capacity of youths in the Niger Delta.

The presidential aide urged the beneficiaries to “do exploits’’ while pursuing their educational career.

“Do exploits so that we will celebrate you. The only way to achieve that is through hard work,” he said.

He said the beneficiaries were given scholarships because their communities were affected by militancy and oil exploration.

Mologe Freeman, the Head, Post Training in the Office of the Special Adviser, urged the beneficiaries to adhere strictly to the laws of the host country.

Mr. Freeman also urged them to desist from committing crimes, drug addiction and associating with bad elements.

“These vices can derail your educational programme,’’ he stated.

The Chief Security Officer of the office, Lt.-Col. Adewale Adekoya, urged the beneficiaries not to possess arms and ammunition or other dangerous weapon.

Mr. Adekoya said the beneficiaries must not plan or incite others to riot and should desist from causing obstruction to the activities of the university.

(NAN)

Page 55

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11 , AUGUST, 2013

From the Pulpit

Becoming unstoppable in life (I)

A

fter this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, ‘Wilt thou be made whole?’ The impotent man answered him, ‘Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.’ Jesus saith unto him, ‘Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.’

And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath” (John 5:1-9 KJV).

The word “Bethesda” in the Scripture above means “House of grace.” A porch is a covered entrance to a building. The five porches therefore were the covered approach to the swimming pool of Bethesda where crowds of sick people gathered – the blind, the lame and the paralyzed always stayed protected from the sun and rain while waiting for the stirring of the water.

A certain sick man was there stopped for 38 years just because he was looking for a man. Jesus came for him, the healer himself came to heal this man, yet he was THE SPIRITUAL PILL IN JOY Matthew 5:12; Proverbs 17:22; Matthew 6:25-31; Proverbs 14:30;15:13,30; 17:22; Isaiah 66:14; Proverbs 13:12.

A

merry heart doeth good like a medicine”. Knowing this, the Lord discouraged His audience against worry and anxiety about food, drink and clothing. He knows that worry and anxiety will tear down the system.

Worry and anxiety do not solve any problem; if anything at all, they have a way of blocking our mind and making us fall sick, faulty in our thinking. Just as a healthy heart makes blood circulation in the system easy and the body healthy so the joyful mind the body. Though you may not be able to prevent hearing negative information, resolve to not allow any of them to unnecessarily disturb you. If hearing negative information has brought you sickness, the easier way back to health and vitality is to cease from hearing that kind of information. Having recovered, you are to use the shield of faith to protect yourself from bad news that weakens and breaks the heart and makes the body sick. Envy and jealousy of what others have attained are destructive to the human body. Praise God for those who have achieved something; do not

still looking for a man. For 38 years, he needed a man to put him inside the pool whenever the angel came to stir the water but he didn’t have any man.

The race into the pool was one race that the only person who won (got healed) was whoever entered into the pool first. Whoever entered after this person only wasted his time – he wouldn’t be healed. If the person who came second failed the ‘exam’ of course, you know what happened to the rest who entered after? The only person healed was whoever came into the pool first.

Since the sick at that pool had different health conditions – blindness, lameness and paralysis – they had some advantages over one another. The lame and the paralyzed, for example, would have some challenge walking or running into the pool while the blind had no problem with his legs but with sight.

We have no idea which category among this crowd of the sick by this pool had the upper hand in entering the pool to get healed each time the pool was stirred. Remember the stirring took place suddenly – no fixed time, no prior notice. Once anyone missed it, he had to wait till the next move. That was how this man in question stayed at this pool for 38 years. Year in, year out, the man kept hoping that he would make it into the pool first but he never did until he had spent 38 years there.

We have no idea how old he was when he first came to this pool but 38 years in the life of a man is not a joke. If he were in the civil service in some countries, he should have been retired after 38 years in active service. However, this man spent 38 years not in active service but

38 years in stagnation, frustration, bondage etc. If you add 38 years to whatever age you imagine he could have been when he first came to this pool, you will appreciate how the devil wastes people’s lives. One of the most effective, debilitating weapons the devil uses to stop people in life is sickness. Someone has a great potential, great destiny, but he is bed ridden, he is moving in and out of hospital, he is being referred from one hospital and one consultant to the other, he is undergoing one test or the other on investigation siphoning his finances. His greatest prayer is no longer about that dream, that business, that proposal, that job etc; his greatest concern is “If I can just get well...” The devil is a bad devil!

All other things being equal, thirty-eight years diligently invested in any business or in a dream is enough to make the dream a reality. Even in academics, to qualify as a professor, you may need less than half of that number of years in rigorous academic work after a first degree. But this man spent 38 years watching helplessly his life waste away. Sickness will not kill your dream in life in Jesus’ name. You won’t become an invalid in Jesus’ name. Sickness won’t stop your destiny in Jesus’ name. If you are sick, I command the healing power of God to heal you now and set you free. Be healed; be delivered in Jesus’ name.

Sickness is a destiny waster!

When Jesus met this man, he asked him a simple question: Do you want to be healed? That sounds like an unnecessary question.

Imagine a medical doctor or a medical personnel asking a patient if he wants to be healed. That’s

GREEN PASTURES By pastor t.o. banso

cedarministryintl@yahoo.com GSM: 08033113523 the reason he is in the hospital.

But it appears Jesus was saying to the man, “Look, you have stayed here long enough. Those who came after you have been healed and have gone home. This is your thirty-eighth year here. If you keep on looking at this pool, you have many more years to stay here. But do you seriously want to be healed because there is another way to get your healing? You don’t have to wait here till you die.”

Just a simple question Jesus asked this man. The answer should have been “Yes” or “No” But the man started telling story saying he had no man and recalling how he had failed many times in the past to enter the pool ahead of others.

Please, take note that the man didn’t drop from the sky! He came from a family; he probably had friends in the past. But this man said he had no man because they had all abandoned him – thirtyeight years was a long time for them to stick to him in his malady without any healing.

Spending 38 years on the same spot and in the same infirmity, this man had lost a substantial part of his life. Worse still, there was no hope of the man getting out of that pitiable condition. But that day, the Great Physician visited him, terminated thirty-eight years old infirmity and gave him a new beginning – a new beginning of

strong health to put his life together and use his remaining years on earth to live for God and discover his destiny and fulfill it.

This season, the Lord shall visit you, and remove whatever has stopped you in life in Jesus’ name.

I will stop here and continue this message next week. You’re blessed.

TAKE ACTION! If you are not born again, kindly say this prayer now: “0 Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and surrender my life to him today. I invite Jesus into my heart today. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you Jesus for saving me and making me a child of God” I believe you have said this prayer from your heart.

Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible believing, Bible teaching church in your area where you will be taught how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon.

May you grow into Christ in all things becoming all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. May the Lord be with you.

The power of joyful life (II) envy them. Know that each person has his own calling and if he achieves something, it is not for you to be jealous.

If he has what you do not have, you don’t need what he has because you don’t do his work; you have what you need. There is no room for envy. God has given you the talent and the gift for your calling and that should give you joy.

If you are happy on the inside, it gives you a cheerful countenance.

As believers, there is need for proper information management. If you have information that belittles, destroys the self-esteem and the image of others, keep it. This same principle applies to married couples. Make a commitment to tell your spouse good things that boost morale and sustain good health since “…a good report maketh the bones fat” (Proverbs 15:30).

When you are expecting something and there is delay, still make a commitment to live a happy life. God has a reason for this delay. Sarah, Hannah and Elizabeth had delay in childbirth.

But God eventually gave them special children (Isaac, Samuel and John the Baptist) that were notable in their

By pastor W.F Kumuyi

lifetime.

3. THE STEADY PROGRESS OF THE JOYFUL Matthew 5:12; Acts 5:40-42; 13:5052; 14:1-3; Psalm 32:11; Philippians 4:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:16; 2 Corinthians 7:4.

As Christians, the ill-treatment we suffer from other people on account of our faith is not what kills our joy. It is our negative interpretation of their actions. No one is capable of robbing another of his joy. Then, we must interpret everything that happens to us

with a positive attitude that maintains joy. As such, do not feel guilty for what other people do. The early disciples suffered beating, disgrace, expulsion and imprisonment. But, rather than concede guilt or ascribe their ordeal to their own failure, “the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost ” (Acts 13:52). And they went on preaching the gospel. The secret is right interpretation of the actions of their persecutors: that they could do no less to them than they did to Christ. They crucified Christ.

Thus, they put the responsibility on the persecutors – they did not put the blame on themselves. They rejoiced and continued to preach the gospel despite their trial for doing the will of God. Believers must not take the blame for negative actions of others that affect them because of the gospel.

As a Christian, persecution and trial of faith should not blur your vision of fulfilling the Great Commission or living a fulfilled Christian life. Do not allow the reactions of people to control and cancel the vision you have. Rather, rejoice during persecution, maintain the heavenly vision and make progress in the service of God. “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart” (Psalm 32:11). Joy is the scriptural lifestyle that leads to steady progress and fulfilment. During trials, don’t allow negative thoughts to becloud your mind and rob you of your joy. Learn to cultivate the attitude of joy and “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). It will strengthen your bones, make you to flourish and be a healthy Christian.

BIG PUNCH It is a blessing that this is one country where you have a significant population of Muslims and Christians and this religious diversity will enhance our development because we can get across the whole world; wherever we go, we are accepted.

— President Jonathan

SATURDAY 10 — SUNDAY 11 , AUGUST, 2013

Imperative of credible elections T

he standard of democratic practice in any nation can be measured to a large extent by the people’s ability to conduct elections that are free and fair. The ability of those in power to accept the results of the elections that are so adjudged by the people is also an indication of how firmly democracy has taken roots in the land.

Where these vital indicators are lacking, however, you find that the elections are marred with chaotic scenes and/or senseless violence, which are often followed by bickering and prolonged court tussles. In such a situation the polls are often considered by majority of the people as flawed and unacceptable.

No country under such circumstance earns the respect of the international community particularly the Western nations, the self-proclaimed guardians of democracy. Such a country is never viewed as democratic and is likely to suffer one form of disrespect or the other. Consider US President Barrack Obama’s refusal to visit some African countries including Kenya - his own ancestral home - recently!

Observers of our political scene in the past one decade believe that this, more or less, is also the case with Nigeria today.

And there doesn’t seem to be any let-up or lesson learnt by the executive arm of government since the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1999 regarding the dictatorial measures taken against the people by those who wish to sit tight in power.

Imagine the recent debacle in Rivers state involving the police, which followed hard on the heels of the “16-is-greater-than-19” election that produced Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau state as the chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum recognized by President Goodluck Jonathan.

In view of this, therefore, the question whether or not the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) can, or is willing to, conduct free and fair polls in 2015 has become worrisome to many people.

That issue has, for some time now, been agitating the minds of many patriotic Nigerians. People are worried not only because it is desirable and morally right to conduct credible elections, but because our persistent failure to do so in the past 14 years has ADVERT: BUSINESS:

NEWS: LAGOS:

GUEST COLUMNIST With

Ado U. Mohammed aumo21@yahoo.com

united.

The appointment of Prof.

Attahiru Jega as INEC chairman lifted the spirits of Nigerians because of his pedigree as an upright and dogged fighter for the rights of his colleagues when he led the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Even though it takes more than one man to conduct elections, we had

INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega

unfortunately helped to diminish our image in the eyes of the world.

Whereas the 1999 general elections conducted by the military could be said to be fairly okay, because none of the contestants could influence their outcome, those of 2003 revealed the desperation of the politicians to remain in power by hook or by crook.

In point of fact, the impunity with which the elections were rigged that year became the harbinger of the outrageous things that happened in 2007, dubbed as “do-or-die” elections, and in 2011, considered widely as the worst elections in the nation’s history. Thus, the massive rigging that took place during the three general elections conducted so far has made many people to believe that Nigeria is a country where votes do not count.

How then can we get out of this situation? Can INEC be trusted to conduct free and fair polls in 2015

0803 311 7458 0805 689 1765 08033223427 08053271969 08034540344

as pledged by its chairman? What are the inhibiting factors that may hinder the commission from fulfilling this promise? How can INEC and its staff free themselves from pecuniary influence while discharging their duties?

No matter what the obstacles are, however, if other African countries such as Ghana and Senegal can conduct fairly credible elections why can’t we in Nigeria? Could it be because of corruption, avarice and the desire of average Nigerian elites to accumulate wealth for themselves and families rather than make life better for the ordinary citizen?

Or could it be because we are always fractious and demanding to pull apart as a result of primordial sentiments of ethnicity, sectionalism and such other parochial considerations?

If it is because of the latter, we certainly aren’t the only country that is so afflicted and as such we should endeavor to do what is right for as long as we remain

expected that he would somehow make a difference in 2011.

Polling and collation staff and returning officers are obviously those who ensure the success or failure of elections. But most of these ad hoc election officials are mostly supportive of the ruling party, and those that are not are often vulnerable to corruption.

And this has remained so because none of them was ever caught and punished to serve as a deterrent to others. In realization of this, Jega used university lecturers as returning officers but has it really helped us in any way? To the contrary, the worst rigging occurred and INEC itself appears to abet the illegalities through some of its actions or inactions.

For instance, it tends to pander to the executive in many ways including accepting to work with partisan election officials and state electoral commissioners. It also prefers to stagger the elections despite protests that doing so facilitates

rigging. And last year it adamantly refused to provide vital information to an election tribunal needed critically to ascertain whether or not rigging took place in the 2011 presidential election.

In that year, Nigerians witnessed all sorts of rigging tactics by agents of powerful politicians who bribed polling staff and security agents for their ‘co-operation.’ These tactics included vote-buying, snatching and/or stuffing of ballot boxes (some time using women with flowing dresses at polling centers), invalidating ballot papers cast for opponents by defacing them with genuine indelible ink (obtained from partisan INEC staff), and, worst of all, securing (from INEC?) genuine ballot papers for the despicable act.

For the INEC to live up to expectation in 2015 it must overcome these obstacles by taking action in good time as the earlier the better. I suggest early training of the technical staff who sometimes cause delay because of incompetence, and the use of NYSC and university students as polling and collation staff.

Also, vigorous enlightenment campaigns against rigging through extensive use of posters, lectures, media talks and jingles may make the people realize how unscrupulous politicians circumvent the electoral law in order to perpetuate themselves in power. If aware of its ills the youths will see the need to rise up against any move to rig the elections in many parts of the country.

It also requires the National Assembly to extricate INEC from the extant grip of the executive.

The outrageous interference with INEC’s duties in the past by the executive arm of government is known to all. In fact, on two occasions, former president Olusegun Obasanjo publically confirmed, to the utter disbelief of Nigerians, that those entrusted with power actually meddled with election results.

People believed that Jega would rather resign than allow anyone to manipulate the commission to do his bidding and smear his reputation in the process. We may not have seen evidence of this in 2011, but as we await the 2015 polls it is still arguable whether our confidence in the man is misplaced or not. aumo21@yahoo.com

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: +2348142929046.

Cell: +234 8024432099; 803 7007 759 e-mail: contact@peoplesdaily-online.com; pmlnewsdesk@gmail.com ISSN: 2141– 6141