Peoples Daily Weekend, Saturday 11 April - Sunday 12, 2015. Edition.

Police declare 3-day curfew in Adamawa >>Pg 10

Speaker: Will there be repeat of 2011 rebellion? >>Pgs 18,23

Gale of defections: Bane of opposition >>Pgs 5,9

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Saturday, APRIL 11- 12, 2015 jumada Al-Akhir 22, 1436 AH

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. . . P utti ng the p eop l e fi r st

‘How we managed hate campaign against Buhari’

N150 Vol. 4 No. 38

Pgs 2,16

Fuel queue yesterday at NNPC filling station in Central Business District, Abuja, as scarcity persists.

Guber: Will there be the abducted Chibok 362 Days after Will schoolgirls ever be rescued? bandwagon effect? Pg 7,8

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Interview

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

How we managed hate campaigns against Buhari — Garba Shehu

Malam Garba Shehu is the Head of Media and Publicity of President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari’s Campaign Organisation. In this interview, he revealed how they managed hate campaigns against his principal during the electioneering period among other issues. Umar Muhammad Puma was there for Peoples Daily Weekend.

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our camp alleged of hate campaign and messages from the other camp. How were you able to manage it?

The starting point is that the presidential candidate himself laid down the rule from day one. General Buhari said don’t abuse anybody. Don’t beat or attack anybody because of this campaign. He set the rules that we must not abuse or insult anyone. So, we were guided by that. But let me tell you this also without meaning to be boastful.

Coming from some professional background, you know that the most important thing in a campaign is the message. Insult, abuses and throwing of mud don’t win elections anywhere. If those things win elections, they would have won it for Dr. Jonathan because they threw everything at us. Look, let me tell you, we haven’t done one documentary that is negative on Jonathan. We didn’t do. We isolated the issues.

We knew that the country is concerned about security, the economy and the effect of joblessness and corruption. And you know the presidential candidate led the way. He said at every rally, people were attacking him for saying too little. He has a load of agenda for the country and he isolated them to be these three things. He called them the tripod of evil upon which every wrong doing in Nigeria rested whether it is Boko Haram, kidnapping, or anything you can think of.

Because, if you have young people gainfully employed, corruption-free country, economy that is thriving and doing well and people are living in a secure environment; who will create trouble? So, we had a message and it was successfully taken to the people. If you ask me, was it easy staying on the message, I would say no. Because all of these people; the party supporters, low level masses don’t understand the game that

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Shehu played out.

If they see Mr. Kayode on television throwing insults at Buhari, your phone will begin to ring. You, what are you doing? You are not answering this man. Why won’t you respond? The masses want you to respond in like manner. But we understood what was playing out. They wanted to take us off the message. They didn’t want us to talk about corruption or insecurity. So, we had to fight.

As I said, it was not easy for our supporters.

We have won this election and we must show grace. In any case, the President-elect has said that he will be president for all Nigerians.

And I can assure you that it is the same way he said that President Jonathan will have nothing to fear. That speech has been closed as far as we are concerned. Those guys have done their own part and we still believe that a good number of them still have things to contribute positively to the new administration because this is their own country. They have no other country than this one.

Some of them did not understand us. They felt we were conspirators. That we had come to undermine the campaign because here is somebody who is throwing insults, abuses and why are you not replying him? Kayode even declared when he took up the job that he would go after the personal life of General Buhari. And we maintained that we would not join issues with him and you can see that all efforts to stand side-by-side with him in a debate failed. I can’t stand with somebody whose stock in trade is to throw mud, insults and abuses on people. So, that is how we managed it.

There were speculations that the APC campaign also hired its own experts to sharpen its campaign messages. How would you respond this?

Where is the US expert? If you have a US expert, where is he hiding? The man should make a contribution from morning till night.

We didn’t have them. The Presidential Campaign Council did not have any foreign specialist. If we had one with us, you would have seen them. But we had wished we had because, you know, some of them can bring value to your campaign. There are those who had presidential campaigns in 40 countries.

You need that kind of experience to help you. But then, we were here and we did all

by ourselves.

But are you not surprised that most of the perceived hate speech campaigners turned around to congratulate your presidential candidate immediately he was declared the winner of the election?

No, I wasn’t surprised because if one says one is surprised, then one does not really know Nigerians. There will be bandwagon and people will ride it. It tells you that the people who were doing all of that didn’t even believe in the kind of things that were going on. They were just led to it. Basically, they had gone there to fight and there was plenty of food and money for them otherwise why was it that they couldn’t defend their positions? They couldn’t defend anything because they never believed in it. So, for us, we are very happy about it.

The other day, one security man was saying Oga, NTA and AIT people were at the door, we must stop them with your permission. I said no. If we do that, then we are not graceful. We have won this election and we must show grace. In any case, the President-elect has said that he will be president for all Nigerians. And I can assure you that it is the same way he said that President Jonathan will have nothing to fear.

That speech has been closed as far as we are concerned. Those guys have done their own part and we still believe that a good number of them still have things to contribute positively to the new administration because this is their own country. They have no other country than this one.

The campaign was time consuming. Did that have any impact on your family life? How would you also describe your joy having won the elections?

Obviously, it had impact because it took you away from them. But that was expected having being a journalist and an editor. I know an editor, after seven years somewhere, he said if he walked on the streets of his town, most people will not recognise him because he would have left home when everybody had gone to work. By the time he comes back, everybody would have slept off even his children. So, most times, there is no time for socialising. But, having been an editor, you are used to all that with your family. Look, I have been involved in presidential campaigns about three or four times in the past, the difference is that this is the most fearful campaign that I have ever experienced.

This is the most life threatening campaign because we were dealing with opponents we thought would stop at nothing. We were Contd on Page 16

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

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Feature

What happened to war on terror?

By Joy Baba-Yesufu

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he war on terror by the Nigerian troops has been on for some years now, but it had never been as ferocious as it was on the eve of the March 28 Presidential elections. Some Nigerians grumble that the tempo of the war has terribly slowed down after the election results were announced. But military authorities insist that the successes recorded which resulted in the serious depletion of the insurgents’ fighting spirit, slowed down the operations and nothing more.

Shortly before the presidential election, the military came down hard on the dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram with ferocious aerial bombardments, dislodging most of their camps and taking over towns erstwhile overran by the sect.

Sect members were routed out from some of their strongholds like Bama, Gwoza, Sambisa Forest, Balmo Forest, and a lot of their bomb and Improvised Explosive Devices-making factories were uncovered.

Recently, troops successfully completed a raid on all terrorist camps in Alagarno, the major haven of terrorists ahead of Sambisa Forest in Borno State.

The Director of Defence Information, Maj Gen Chris Olukolade in a recent statement, said a number of weapons and equipment were captured during the operation. Items captured from the terrorists included armoured vehicles, several arms and ammunitions of various sizes and calibres, power generating sets, grenades and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), bows and arrows, megaphones and rolls of copper cable which the terrorists used as one of the materials to make IEDs. Olukolade said the thick forest in the area had been a safe haven for the terrorists for a long time as the terrain was not easily accessible and it was endowed with natural hideouts from aerial bombardments.

Earlier, a cordon and search by troops in Buni Yadi, Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State, led to the discovery of a bomb making factory, where improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used by terrorists were being produced.

A large quantity of IEDs including those commonly used by suicide bombers were recovered from the site.

Also, troops succeeded in routing terrorists from Bama in Borno State.

The mission, which according to military authority was accomplished with massive casualty inflicted on the terrorists before the remnant finally fled the town, lasted days of careful manoeuvre and efforts to scale series of obstacles and land mines planted by terrorists who have occupied the town for months.

The Chadian partners in the Multinational Joint Task Force were subsequently mandated to undertake a

From left, Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Kenneth Minimah; Cameroon’s Chief of Defence Staff, LtGen. Claude Rene and the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marsha, Alex Badeh, at the Nigeria/Cameroon Bilateral conference on trans-border operations in Abuja. pursuit of the terrorists who are believed to be heading for the borders after being dislodged from Bama.

Also, troops in a military operation spearheaded a highly coordinated air assaults to complete the mission of clearing terrorists from Monguno and environs.

Goniri, the last major stronghold of the terrorists operating in Yobe State, was also reportedly taken over completely by troops after days of manoeuvre with cordon and search continuing in and around Goniri town which is in the same local government with Buni Yadi where a bomb making facility was discovered in the course of cordon and search recently.

The Chiefs of Defence Staff of Nigeria, Chad and Niger met along with delegations from the countries participating in the ongoing counter terrorism campaign, to review the progress of the operations.

Nigeria’s Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, who set the meeting in motion declaring that the essence was to finetune the coordination of the activities of the collaborative efforts of the operations, the meeting eventually resolved to establish a structure for joint planning to enhance the operations and consolidate on the successes so far achieved in the mission with a view to accelerating the tempo of operations.

According to Badeh, a Joint Operations Headquarters (JOH) is to be established and activated immediately, pending any other structure being put in place at regional and international organisations level, with regards to

the counter terrorism efforts. The three countries actively involved in the ongoing operation namely, Nigeria, Chad and Niger are expected to utilize the structure to beef up their Liaison Teams already operating in the mission area.

The arrangement is to enhance operational and tactical coordination as well as the synchronization of command, control and communication in the field and the higher headquarters. The structure will operate in cognisance with existing bilateral and multilateral documents and understanding among the countries.

Shortly after this meeting, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Keneth Minimah later assured Nigerians that the Nigerian Army was restrategising to speedily return normalcy to the NorthEast at the opening of a three days

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Chief of Army Staff 2015 First Quarter Conference.

Residents of most of the towns that had several activities of Boko Haram now sleep with their two eyes closed. Nigeria rarely hears of their attacks which was almost a daily affair before now.

Elections took place peacefully all over the country, except for a few incidences that were mainly not related to insurgents’ activities.

Just this week, the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, assured Nigerians that the era of military rule was gone; this shows that military has left politics to politicians to concentrate on their primary job of defending the nation’s territory.

With this feat accomplished by the troops, pressure of the war has reduced to a large extent.

Residents of most of the towns that had several activities of Boko Haram now sleep with their two eyes closed. Nigeria rarely hears of their attacks which was almost a daily affair before now.

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PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Special Report

Gale of defections, bane of opposition E

By Osby Isibor

vents of the past few days have shown that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lost prominent members to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in most states across the country.

The wave of defection has continued with senior members of the defeated party making their exit.

A major disturbing trend however, is the fact that the exodus of these politicians follows the victory of the APC in the March 28 Presidential election.

In Adamawa State for instance, the PDP received a major blow last Wednesday as a former Senate Majority Leader, Jonathan Zwingina, an exMinister of External Affairs, Idi Hong, and two serving Senators dumped the party for the All Progressives Congress (APC). The defecting Senators are Senator Bello Tukur of Adamawa Central and Senator Ahmed Barata of Adamawa South as well as Sadiq Haske, a chieftain of the PDP. They announced their defection at a press conference in Yola on Wednesday.

Zwingina, who spoke on behalf of the defectors, said they decided to join the APC to enable them support the party’s governorship candidate, Bindow Jibrilla.

“We are positive of the change going on now in the country; we believe in the candidacy of Bindow,” he said.

It could be recalled that both Zwingina and Hong lost in their bid to represent Adamawa Central and Southern district in the National Assembly elections held on March 28.

For Zwingina and his co-defectors, ideology, party loyalty and manifesto means nothing to them. What is paramount to them is where their personal interests would be best served.

“After careful identification of the best in the current circumstances facing the state, we came to the conclusion that Bindow’s victory will pave the way for the desired restoration and positive change for the peace and development of the state,” Zwingina added.

Zwingina noted that what motivated them to join APC was the desire to address the myriad of challenges being faced in the state which include economic underdevelopment, insecurity, lack of infrastructure and political instability among others.

One begins to wonder why it took Zwingina this long to discover the myriad of challenges facing the state, and what made him feel those challenges cannot be surmounted under a PDP

Useni

Turaki

Saraki

Zwingina

administration. This was especially sa he was one of the most strident critics of Buhari during campaigns; he was quoted as warning Nigerians that if they dare vote Buhari, he will come and jail them.

The same rave of defection also swept through Plateau State on Tuesday as prominent members of the Peoples Democratic Party moved to the All Progressives Congress. Among those who defected were former Governors Joshua Dariye and Ambassador Fedelis Tapgun; former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, General Jeremiah Timbut Useni and the state Deputy Governor, Ambassador Ignatius Longjan.

Also, a former Minister and former Deputy Governor of Plateau State, Dame Pauline Tallen; Engineer Jimmy Cheto; and Chief Jethro Akun have

concluded plans to move to the APC ahead of today’s governorship and House of Assembly elections.

In Edo State the story is the same, with top members of the PDP dumping the party unceremoniously. Former Edo State Governor, Osarhemen Osunbor and a former gubernatorial candidate, Maj-Gen. Charles Arhiavbere (rtd) have all found a new abode in the APC. It’s indeed a season of defections in political Nigeria.

In Gombe State, the Majority leader of the state assembly, Mamman Alkali, over fifty Personal Assistants and Special Assistants to Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo and thousands of PDP members also defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Alhaji Ibrahim Zamfara, a former member of the PDP Elders Committee in Gombe, said they crossed over to the

APC because they felt the state should not be in opposition following the victory of Muhammadu Buhari in the last Presidential election.

He also said they decided to embrace change because the PDP lacked transparency and had become discriminatory. He said they felt it would be better for them to pitch their tents with the winning train so that the state could benefit and move forward.

Other notable defectors from the PDP were two serving members of the State House of Assembly and two former members.

In Jigawa State, former Governor Saminu Turaki and current Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Mahmud Gumel were among many who dumped the PDP for the APC at a ceremony in Gumel recently. Senator Muhammad Baban Beta, who represented Jigawa Northwest Senatorial district from 1999 to 2003 and Senator Muhammad Dudu who represented Jigawa NorthEast Senatorial district from 1999-2007 went along with Saminu Turaki and the deputy governor, who were received by the party Chairman, Ado Sani Kiri.

In Kebbi State, Commissioner of Commerce, Sani Yusuf joined the APC along with others. Member representing Yauri, Shanga and Ngaski Local Government in the House of Reps, Garba Uba Bullet; Shuaibu Mungadi; Sani Kalgo, representing Kalgo/Bunza/ Birnin Kebbi, and seven PDP ward chairmen in Yauri Local Government were among the defectors.

Other PDP chieftains in Kebbi, including two aggrieved governorship aspirants, Alhaji Hussaini Adamu and Alhaji Zubairu Wazirin Dabai, had earlier dumped the party for the APC. In Kwara State, Senator Gbemisola Saraki has joined her brother, Senator Bukola Saraki in the All Progressives Congress (APC). Senator Gbemisola who vied for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship ticket in the state and lost, announced her defection and that of her followers in a statement she released on Tuesday.

The Kwara State secretary of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Barrister Abdulrasak Memudu; former Speaker House of Assembly, Hon Benjamin Yisa and Youth Leader of the party, Barrister Segun Olawoyin had also publicly joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

The defectors also included five House of Assembly candidates in today’s House of Assembly election

Contd on Page 9

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

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PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

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News

Military ransacks Rivers ‘political thugs’ enclave

By Patrick Andrew with agency report

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he army said on Friday in Port Harcourt it arrested six suspected political thugs and recovered arms and ammunition from them after soldiers raided their hideout.

Brig.-Gen. Koko Essien, the Commander of 2 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, who told newsmen that the suspects were arrested after a prolonged exchange of gunfire, explained that the raid was part of efforts to make the environment safe for people to go out and vote.

He said that one suspect, who fled the scene of the shootout with multiple gunshot wounds would soon be apprehended as soldiers were currently on his trail.

“We want you (newsmen) to have a view of many things we have been doing in other to take out as much arms as possible from the streets and make the environment safe for people to go out and vote.

“Based on information available to us, we have been conducting series of raids in areas a concentration of hoodlums and political thugs.

“Yesterday (Thursday), we raided a location popularly known as Barracks in Mile 3 (Wimpey) area based on information we got and we recovered arms and ammunitions.

“We arrested six suspects – one was shot and he is in the military hospital receiving treatment.

“We recovered two AK 47 riffles with 176 rounds of (live) ammunitions, seven magazines, some (144) raps of Indian hemp, money (N298, 500.00), and 10 cell phones from the criminals.“ Essien said that troops had been deployed to flash points to tackle any form of electoral violence during and after the Governorship and House of Assembly elections on Saturday.

According to him, the military will stop at nothing to make sure that the streets, city, hinterlands and waterways are protected to enable people to go out and vote candidates of their choice.

Reacting, the suspected leader of the gang (names withheld), said he was not among the thugs who had engaged security agents in a shootout on March 28, the day the Presidential and National Assembly elections were held.

He denied ownership of the arms, saying that only 144 raps of Indian hemp were recovered at his apartment during his arrest.

Namadi Sambo heads May 29 transition committee T

he Vice President, Namadi Sambo heads Federal Government transition committee. The names of the 16-member transition committee, and its secretary, have been released.

The committee will work with the incoming government of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in ensuring a smooth transfer of power. Major General

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and the Niger Delta.

The list also includes the Managing Director of the Assets Management Company of Nigeria, the Head of Service of the Federation, the Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), as well as the Directors General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), National Agency for

Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority(NEPZA) and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, will serve as secretary.

The Vice President-elect, Yemi Osinbajo, will represent the APC in the committee

Out-going air officer commanding (AOC), training command, AVM Sallau Bala-Ribah (R), presenting the command’s colour to his successor, AVM Alkali Mamu, at the hand-over ceremony, on thursday in Kaduna

INEC reschedules election of eight constituencies in Bayelsa

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he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has shifted the State House of Assembly election in eight of the 24 constituencies of Bayelsa State.

In a statement yesterday, the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Baritor Kpagih, disclosed that the elections for the affected constituencies would hold on Saturday, April 18, 2015.

Over 6,000 contestants vie for Gov, assembly seats – INEC head of today’s elections, the independent National Electoral Commission has said that 6,050 candidates are contesting in governorship and House of Assembly elections across the country.

Out of this number, 760 candidates are in the race for positions of governor while 5,290 candidates are contesting for positions in the state Houses of Assembly. The governorship election is taking place in 29 out of the 36 states of the federation.

States where governorship elections are not holding are Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti and Kogi.

Muhammadu Buhari of the APC won the March 28 presidential elections.

The new government takes office on 29 May 2015.

The members of the committee include the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the economy, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala; the Minister of State for Finance, as well as the ministers of Justice, Transport, Police Affairs,

The commission in a bulletin added that ahead of the election, it had taken measures to address the challenges of late arrival of materials and men at some Polling Units across the country and the seeming lack of proficiency in the use of the Smart Card Reader by some ad-hoc staff, which bedevilled the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

The commission also said it had concluded its Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers and added that the commission had also “retrained its ad-hoc staff who would administer the Smart Card Reader.

The affected councils are Ekeremor Constituencies 1, 2, and 3, Kolokuma/Opokuma Constituencies 1 and 2, Sagbama Constituencies 1 and 2 and Southern Ijaw Constituency 1.

Kpagih said however that the election would hold as scheduled in the rest 16 constituencies today.

Curiously, the REC was silent on the reason for the decision to postpone the election by one week.

He simply stated that the election was shifted because of the position of stakeholders that election should not hold ‘without full complements of the ballot papers.’

He said, “Following the stand of the stakeholders that no election should take place in the State without full complement of ballot papers, having regard to the total PVC distributed, the State

House of Assembly election slated for Saturday, the 11th of April, 2015, in Bayelsa State has been rescheduled to Saturday the 18th day of April, 2015 in the following constituencies…”

It was however revealed that the political parties and their candidates insisted on the postponement of the election because of serious discrepancies in the ballot papers for the constituencies.

Nigerian Army recaptures more towns in Borno State

By Joy Baba Yesufu

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he Nigerian Army yesterday said it has recaptured four towns from Boko Haram insurgents operating in the area. The towns include Bita, Izge, Yamteke and Uba in Askira Uba and Damboa Local Government Areas of Borno State.

The Acting Director Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Usman, said troops of 3 and 7 division of the Nigerian Army, supported by colleagues from the Air Force, liberated the towns from the insurgents on Thursday.

Colonel Usman, said the operation was in continuation of the push by the Nigerian military to liberate Sambisa forest – a stronghold of the terrorists in Borno State.

While a soldier was lost and 10 others injured during the operation, the army spokesperson said many of the terrorists were killed and various weapons recovered from the locations.

Colonel Usman assured Nigerians that the Army will

provide adequate security during the gubernatorial and state assembly elections on Saturday.

He said the Nigerian Army, working in collaboration with other security agencies, has directed all formations and units to remain vigilant and act within the law to prevent any attempt to endanger the lives of Nigerians anywhere in the country.

According to him, “The Nigerian Army wishes to assure Nigerians of its continued subordination to constituted civil authority and protection of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

He also called all Nigerian Army personnel on election duties to show professionalism by abiding to the confines of the Code of Conduct for military official on such duties.

“As the 2015 Gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections approaches, the Nigerian Army enjoins all Nigerians to remain law abiding and continue to discharge their civic obligations of voting for the candidates of their choice on Saturday, 11 April 2015, without any fear,” he said.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

By Patrick Okaforadi

T

Andrew,

Ikechukwu

oday, 760 candidates will jostle for 29 government houses across the federation except for Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti and Kogi, where the governorship election will not hold.

In the same vein, 5,290 candidates are contesting for positions in the 36 state Houses of Assembly even as the electorate hope changes in personnel will translate to infrastructural development and a new lease of life.

Coming on the heels of the Presidential and National Elections that produced the President–elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as well as 214, 125 and 10 members of the House of Representatives for APC, PDP, LP and SDP respectively, today’s elections will take slight dimension from what obtained on March 28.

Whereas the March 28 election, to a large extent, was a two-horse race involving General Buhari, the dogged Daura man and former Military Head of State, who had on three consecutive attempts failed to convince the electorate to give him their mandate to lead a democratic Nigeria, and the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan, today’s political duel will pitch some heavy weight governorship candidates against obvious neophytes.

However, for some persons, Buhari’s cult-image and his recent victory over the incumbent president may just be the magic wand the APC needs. It caused a Tsunami that swept through the north west, north east and importantly the south west where the General always had a dismal performance.

The APC gave the over confident PDP a bloody nose in key states in its traditional strongholds in the north central and north east respectively. The gale of defections, since Buhari’s victory, has clearly indicated where many non-ideologically driven politicians or fair weather politicians have opted to relocate to.

Buhari’s cult image, the desire for change and the fact that many persons in the polity are tired of the PDP leadership which had been on the saddle for 16 years, combined to produce the death knell. Little wonder, many think the pendulum may still swing in favour of the candidates of the APC across board, not necessarily because the party parades the most attractive programmes and personalities, but solely on the cultimage of Buhari. The common notion among political commentators is that, Buhari, magic-like, will again produce the Tsunami-like results for the APC. Bandwagon effect or knock on effect has been on the lips of many, especially with the gale of defections from the hitherto arrogant PDP sweeping across the nation. It is nothing new. In 1979, soon after President Shehu Shagari was pronounced winner under the banner of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), candidates of the UPN, NPP, GNPP, PRP, became jittery and it translated in the outcome of subsequent elections into the national and state assemblies.

According to Musa Simon, the chances are that politicians in states where the ruling party failed to win

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Guber polls: Will there be bandwagon effect?

Gov. Yero

el-Rufa’i

the immediate past elections would largely have told their supporters to work against being on the side of the opposition, to pitch their tents with the party that controls the centre. How effective such statements in the south east and south south states would be will be visible today when the electorate go to the polls to elect their governors and

state lawmakers.

In Lagos and some states in the north, the same argument has been adduced that unless one belongs to the centre its people are likely to be neglected in the provision of federal largesse and appointment into political offices. This argument though falls flat on its face considering the fact that the constitution

Hon. Tambuwal

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makes provision for federal character and therefore no state would be left in the distribution of appointments and allocation of deserved resources from the federation account.

Intrigues in the South East The South East is one region where it is expected that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would experience deficit in returning governors to the various government houses in the region.

This is primarily because of the poor goodwill which the party enjoys in the east, apparently because it is viewed as a northern and western party. This was witnessed in the presidential elections held recently across the country.

In Enugu State for instance, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, appears to be the only serious contender for the polls. The other opposition candidates are not strongly noticed. This is so because majority of the political stalwarts in the state are PDP supporters, which is worsened by the fact that the party enjoys the loyalty of citizens.

As an indication to what is most likely going to happen today in the south east, it would be recalled that during the Presidential and National Assembly polls, the PDP clinched all the senatorial seats in the region, as well as the House of Representatives seats.

However, the case of Imo appears to be a little different because the state government is firmly in the grip of the APC. Analysts are of the view that this situation may influence the outcome of the polls today.

On the other hand, the PDP leaders are leaving no stone unturned to oust the incumbent APC governor, Rochas Okorocha. The PDP candidate in the state, Emeka Ihedioha, seems to have gathered all the necessary support he needs to defeat the incumbent.

In Abia State, the tempo is equally high, though the APC’s candidate is not strongly in the picture of heavy weights for today’s polls. From reliable sources, the contest is basically between the PDP candidate, and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate, Alex Otti.

Another state where the APC may surprise Nigerians is Ebonyi. This is due to the internal crisis facing the PDP. The incumbent governor, Martin Elechi, had threatened to dump the PDP for APC when he was threatened with impeachment notice by the House of Assembly.

Though the crisis was resolved to an extent by the party, the governor still nurses grievances against the PDP leadership for conniving with some Abuja based politicians, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Anyim Pius Anyim, among others, to defeat his preferred candidate, Onyebuchi Chukwu.

Meanwhile, Anambra State will not be part of the governorship contest, but it is certain that the state House of assembly contest will surely be a tough contest between PDP and APGA candidates.

APC is certainly an unpopular party in Anambra.

Ahe former governor of the state, Chris Ngige, who also served as a senator, lost to the PDP’s candidate, Contd on Page 8

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

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Contd from Page 7

Uche Ekwunife. Despite his popularity in the state, Ngige came a distant third, which observers described as a payback by the people for his decision to join the APC. South West Whereas the guber election in the north west is predictable that of the south west is far from being over before the contest begins.

The gubernatorial contests in three states would be determined by local issues and personalities. However, the Buhari factor could come into play as the people of the region are excited at the prospect of being in the same boat as the party that controls the center.

In Ogun State, the contest is narrowed down to two candidates – incumbent governor, Ibikunle Amosun of the All Progressives Congress, and Gboyega Isiaka of the PDP, the SDP where a former governor, Chief Segun Osoba, wields no little influence is equally in strong contention.

Governorship elections would hold in Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States. In Ondo, Ekiti and Osun only state assembly polls will hold.

In Oyo State, with the poor performance of the PDP and Rasheed Ladoja’s Accord Party, the Adebayo Alao-Akala-led Labour Party (LP), is left to challenge the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Abiola Ajimobi in today’s election.

While the APC clinched all Senate seats and majority of the House of Representatives slots, the LP won two House of Representatives seats. This signals the decline of both the PDP and the Accord Party in the politics of the state. The development also reinforced the readiness of the APC to continue in office beyond 2015.

Incumbent governor Ajimobi, who is seeking for a second term in office, is up against old familiar foes in the battle for the political soul of the pace setter state.

Alao-Akala, another former governor, Rashidi Ladoja, representing Accord Party (AP); former Senate Leader, Teslim Folarin, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a youthful politician and wealthy businessman, Seyi Makinde, the flag bearer of the relatively new Social Democratic Party (SDP), are up in battle.

Lagos is, perhaps, where the most keenly contested governorship election will be held. Though there are five candidates who will be contesting the elections today namely Akinwunmi Ambode (APC), Jimi Agbaje (PDP), Ayodele Akele (NCP), Ademola Razaq (ACD), and Olurotimi Olulana (LP). The contest

...bandwagon effect?

Agbaje

Ambode

Peterside

Wike

has been narrowed down to Ambode and Agbaje. Both have been around. Ambode served as commissioner under Bola Tinubu and Babatunde Fashola and is grounded in the policy of the government.

Agbaje on the other hand is versatile, sure-footed and visionary. His campaigns are issue-based and quite incisive.

He wants a different kind change and will be content to drive Lagos on the path to astronomical development.

However, he is up against incumbency and a performing one at that and the Tinubu factor. The battle will be one of the closest with or without Oba Akiolu’s misdirected bullet.

Will Lagos be alienated should an opposition party wins? That argument is neither here nor there because Lagos has always played the opposition.

In fact, Lagos and the federal government have never been in the same party. From the time of late Pa Obafemi Awololowo, the Action Group led Lagos while the NCNC led the federal government.

In 1979 up until 1983, Lateef Jakande succeeded under UPN yet President Shagari was in NPN. In 1992, Governor Otedola was NRC and SDP led the federal government before the June 12 annulment. In 1999, Tinubu was AD, federal

government was PDP. In 2007-2011, and now, Governor Fashola was AC/ACN/APC while the federal government led by Yar’Adua was PDP. Osun State seems given to the APC. South South Akwa Ibom Traditionally, Akwa Ibom is a PDP state but with two strong contenders, Umana Umana, and Udom Emmanuel running neck to neck, and the support of lots of big¬wigs ranging from former gover¬nors, former and present ministers, former and serving national assembly members then capping it all with Gov. Godswill Akpabio, who would spare no cost to install a succes¬sor.

It would thus be a close fight.

Umana has a strong support base in Oron, where seven of the aggrieved G-22 PDP gu¬ber aspirants come from; Uyo and Etinan, who feel shortchanged

by PDP denying them even a deputy governorship slot, while Udom enjoys support in Ikot Ekpene and Itu, Eket and Ikot Abasi, Iko¬no and Abak Federal Constituencies. The federal constitu¬encies are battle grounds, especially as Eket also produces the Labour Party and Accord Party candidates.

Rivers On paper it is a contest between Nyesom Wike and

Dakuku Peterside. The former Minister of State for Education, Wike and Peterside, a member of the House of Representatives are in the battle for different objectives. Wike is Dame Patience’s protégé, while Dakuku has the backing of Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

Wike’s problem is mainly breach of an unwritten agreement in 1998 on, how political power, especially the governorship position would be rotated between the Riverine and upland zones.

It was the same gentleman agreement between the two political blocs that produced Dr. Peter Odili and Celestine Omehia and later, Amaechi (All uplanders) via the Supreme Court judgment. That is a major contention issue the PDP is battling with. Can Rivers, like Lagos, be content to be in opposition with the centre?

Delta The election in Delta is a three-horse race among Oloro¬gun O’tega Emerhor of the APC, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa of the ruling PDP and the resilient Chief Great Ogboru of Labour Party. Okowa has thus consolidated his stronghold in Delta North with nine local government areas.

Delta North accounts for about 30 percent of the total voting population, Delta

Central is about 40 percent, while Delta South is esti¬mated to be about 30 percent. This presents an even spread but the voting pattern is such that Delta Central which controls over 800,000 potential votes out of the about 2.2 million registered voters is the determinant factor.

Although, candidates of the APC, O’tega Emerhor and Labour Party, Great Ogboru are both from Delta Central, which provides the possibility of splitting of votes between them to give Okowa an edge.

Cross River Another PDP strong hold that is shaky. PDP candidate, Prof. Ben Ayade, believes in politics of ethics and bringing value to the people and gover¬nance and has the support of the incumbent governor.

LP candidate, Ntufam Fidelis Ugbo, the immediate past Executive Secre¬tary of the National Planning Commission (NPC), believes his party is the credible alternative that can change the fortunes of the people. The former SSG has promised to pay more attention to the agricultural sector which he sees as a good substitute.

APC candidate, Mr. Odey Ochicha, is an oil magnet, but rela¬tively unknown in political circles. The inter¬nal wrangling within their party is a big minus as the leadership in the state is working at cross purposes.

N/Central Plateau, Nasarawa and Benue are the battle grounds and except for Nasarawa where the PDP could repeat its feat at the presidential polls, the APC is likely to clinch victory in Benue and Plateau in addition all other traditional states of the APC. In Nasarawa in particular, should Labaran Maku’s APGA clinch the support of the Eggon people, then the Solomon Ewuga factor in that axis would thus pave way for the incumbent Tanko Al-Makura to retain his seat.

N/East Here is one place where the APC Tsunami should claim much spoils except in Taraba and Adamawa with the latter looking to go the SDP. Majestic North West Whatever magic the PDP could think of would amount to naught in the quest to stop the Tornadoes that will sweep them away from all the government offices in this region. It is Buhari’s cult-image that would be at work even at the level of state Houses of Assembly.

Malam El-Rufa’i may be too much for Governor Yero in Kaduna, while Aminu Waziri Tambuwal is only waiting to be sworn-in in Sokoto.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

PAGE 9

Special Report

...bane of opposition Contd from Page 4 under the platform of the PDP; state Woman Leader, Hon Nimota Oba Sulyman, and former member of House of Representatives, Hajia Memunat Adaji among others.

The spokesman of the defectors, Hon Benjamin Issa who read the prepared speech signed by other state executives, while addressing journalists during a press conference in Ilorin, noted that all of them belong to Senator Gbemisola Saraki group and they decided to leave PDP because of injustice in the party.

He said their decision was based on the direction of Senator Gbemisola Saraki who had ordered them on the eve of the Presidential and National Assembly elections to vote massively for all the candidates of the APC. “In solidarity therefore, we the undersigned, being political friends and associates of Distinguished Senator Gbemi Saraki, hereby announce our resignation from the PDP in Kwara State. In compliance with her directive, we equally announce our immediate movement to the APC,” Issa said.

With the new trend, many are worried that Nigeria may be drifting to a one-party state, which portends great danger for the country.

The National Auditor of the PDP, Alhaji Adewole Adeyanju on Thursday warned against turning Nigeria to a one-party state.

In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja, Adeyanju pointed out that a one-party state for the country portends a great danger to the nation’s nascent democracy.

He, however, advised that, “rather than dumping PDP for the All Progressives Congress (APC) because of its brilliant performance in the last elections, members should go back to the drawing board, put on their thinking caps and plan ahead of future elections; that is what is expected of a good politician who really wants to serve his community”.

According to him, “our nascent democracy needs strong opposition which will spur any ruling party to work hard for good governance, rushing to the APC by PDP members especially the so called bigwigs is not the answer to the current predicament of the PDP and it is dangerous to

Deserted PDP National Secretariat our nascent democracy, rather we should come together to review our poor outing and look for a forward.”

In the face of the massive defection of politicians from the PDP, there are still a few who still believe in the party and its manifestoes and would rather remain in the party than jump ship. For this set of politicians, they have chosen to remain in the PDP based on principles and conviction.

One of such PDP stalwarts is the Senate President, David Mark, who stated at a church service to mark his 67th birthday at St Mulumba Catholic Chaplaincy, Apo in Abuja that he would remain the last man standing in the PDP. The Senate President ruled out speculations that he may defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), with the aim of retaining leadership of the Senate in the 8th session. He also reaffirmed his unflinching loyalty to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), even though the party has lost political relevance at the centre.

According to David Mark, “I have no reason to jump ship.

I will not leave the PDP. I will be the last man standing for the PDP. The party gave me the platform to be where I am today. I will stay in the PDP to contribute my quota to the rebuilding and restructuring of the party. This is democracy.

Winners emerge and the losers go back to the drawing board and rejuvenate.”

“The outcome of the Presidential election in favour of APC is the will of God and majority of Nigerians. We, in the PDP have accepted the result in good faith. Those drifting to the APC now are fair weather friends of the PDP. They are seeking new green areas. When the PDP bounces back, they will seek another return to the PDP. I believe in PDP manifesto. I will work hard to bring the party back on track. What is important is that we have established democracy in Nigeria” Mark said.

In a related development, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who spoke in Enugu during a parley with PDP officials from Enugu West senatorial district, said he should be counted out of any defection to the APC. Dismissing the speculations that the PDP leaders in the south east would soon defect

“

to the APC, Ekweremadu said the PDP leaders in the south east zone were committed to further repositioning and strengthening the party.

He noted also that though the party might not have the Presidency, it is still strong in the south east states and remained the party to beat.

Ekweremadu charged the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, to carry all the regions of the country along, adding that it is only through that he can establish himself as a true statesman, even though he won the Presidency through the APC platform.

Speaking in the same vein, Niger State governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu described politicians defecting from the PDP to the APC as people suffering from poverty, lack of integrity, morality and principle.

Aliyu, who received former local government chairmen in his office in Minna said the electorate should not be

In Gombe State, the Majority leader of the state assembly, Mamman Alkali, over fifty Personal Assistants and Special Assistants to Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo and thousands of PDP members also defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

deterred by defections from PDP, adding that those who should worry are members of the APC who will soon have problems of political profiteers in their hands.

“I rather resign from politics instead of defecting from PDP. Those defecting from PDP based on the outcome of the Presidential and National Assembly elections lack principles of integrity and morality, they are indeed stomach politicians.

For principles of integrity, morality, we have chosen to remain in PDP. I heard people insinuating that I have dumped my party candidate for the APC candidate. It is a lie; I will never do such a thing,” Muazu said.

Political pundits are of the view that the only way to forestall the ugly trend is to institute a strict legislation that will regulate politicians jumping from one party to another. They also warned the APC to be mindful of these unstable characters and fair weather politicians who are clearly pursuing personal agenda against overriding national interests. These are people who just recently, vehemently criticised the opposition party and saw nothing good in the APC, but today are singing a new song.

Like the servant leader has warned, APC should watch them or be ready to contend with problems of political profiteers in their hands.

PAGE 10

News

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Disregard APC’s false alarm, PDP urges Lagosians …Tasks INEC, security agencies on free, fair polls

By Ahmed Abubakar`

T

h e P e o p l e s Democratic Party (PDP) has called on Lagos state residents to disregard false alarm being raised by the All Progressives Congress (APC) over alleged plans to rig election in the state, saying APC is inciting tension in Lagos state ahead of today’s polls.

In a statement issued and signed by the PDP national publicity secretary, Olisa Metuh said the party’s attention has been drawn to a statement issued by the APC against the party and President Goodluck Jonathan with regard to today’s

governorship and House of Assembly elections in Lagos state.

The statement reads, “We totally condemn this unwarranted and unnecessary tension being created by the APC in Lagos state a day before the elections. The APC must desist from its propaganda, lies and false alarms especially bearing in mind that it did not win the presidential election on account of such.

Nigerians are no longer in the mood for such politics as they have since moved ahead in celebration of the deepening of our democracy by the PDP-led administration.

“The PDP successfully

nurtured democracy in the last sixteen years with attendant benefits to the people. Unfortunately, concerns are already heightening that the APC may not sustain this legacy given its disreputable disposition to national issues and ceaseless resort to propaganda and deceit.

“We are aware that the APC leader and Presidentelect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari has gone to about 12 states meeting and campaigning for his party’s candidates and wonder why the APC should fret about President Goodluck Jonathan’s meeting with our candidates in Lagos.

“President Jonathan has with the 2015 general

elections proven beyond all doubts that he is a true democrat committed to free, fair and credible elections, a fact for which he has continued to receive accolades from wellmeaning Nigerians and the international community.

“Finally, we call on Lagosians to disregard this latest false alert and come out en-masse on Saturday (today) to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed right. In the same vein, we charge INEC and security forces to ensure that the elections are free, fair and credible not only in Lagos but also in other states of the federation”.

JINEC assures of conducting election in Yobe state.

From Uche Damaturu

Uche,

Y

obe state resident e l e c t o r a l commissioner, Mr. Habu Zarma, has given the assurance that his office is fully prepared to conduct election in all parts of the s t a t e d u e t o i m p r o ve d security and readiness of security agencies in the state.

He gave the assurance yesterday while briefing newsmen in his office on the arrangements made so far to improve upon the conduct of recent presidential and national assembly elections in the state.

He pointed out that though the presidential election was conducted hitch free, election could not hold in few wards in Gujba local government area due to security reasons but said the commission, with the assurance it received from the police and the office of the state security service, is now set to conduct election in those areas.

“We had several meetings with the state commissioner of police and the state security service

and they assured to provide needed security in all parts of the state but especially in Gujba areas were election could not hold during the last presidential election,” the commissioner said.

He added that improvement has also been made to ensure communication between INEC officials in local government areas with the state headquarter as well as with national headquarters for smooth operations.

On the problems of card readers noted during the presidential election, he stated that INEC staff in the polling units have been advised to avail themselves of the additional card readers provided for any emergency arising from malfunctioning of the machine as three extra card readers would be provided for each ward instead of trying to repaired the only one they have while voters keep waiting on queue.

He however stressed that the card readers would be strictly used and there would be no manual procedure in the governorship election.

Fire guts Zamfara radio station From Ibrahim Sidi Muh’d, Gusau

T

L-R: Information officer, Western Naval Command, Lt. CDR. Abdusalam Sani; Commander, Nigerian Navy ship, Beecroft, Comdr. Daniel Ikoli, and Flag Officer Commanding, Western Naval Command, Rear Adm Jonathan Ango, briefing newsmen on general elections, yesterday in Lagos

he Zamfara state radio equipment worth over four hundred million naira have been lost to a mysterious fire incident last Thursday evening suspected to have been caused by electrical appliances.

The formidable fire which was reported to have started at about 5.00pm was said to have lasted for two hours despite efforts by men of the fire service to put it under control due to shortage of water.

The state commissioner of information, Muhammad Ibrahim BirninMagaji said, numbers of programs

were suddenly dismissed and that the Main Control Unit (MCU) as well as four studios were completely turned into ashes.

He further noted that the genesis of the fire outbreak was yet to be unveiled as investigation is on by the security agencies, “Nobody can precisely say what the cause of the incidence could be, until investigation is completed”.

BirninMagaji has however informed that, they were lucky enough, as the transmission room was not affected by the inferno, “some essential services were still being aired, while government is taking steps to rehabilitate the affected areas”.

Police declares dusk to dawn curfew in Adamawa F ro m U ma r D a n k a n o , Yola

T

he Adamawa state Police command has imposed a dusk to dawn curfew on the state with effect from Sunday 12th April to Tuesday 14th April 2015 which was rejected by the major political parties in the state.

The development was

disclosed by the state Commissioner of Police, Gabriel Adaji at a press conference in Yola, yesterday, stressing that the decision to impose the dusk to dawn curfew, was taken during a crucial intra security agencies meeting which he chaired.

Adaji noted that the decision was deliberately taken to forestall possible

break down of law and order as witnessed after the result of the presidential polls was announced.

He added that the police will ensure the strict enforcement of the dusk to dawn curfew adding and advised people to comply with it as anyone defaulters will be sanctioned accordingly.

The commissioner of

police further said there will be restriction of vehicular movement on Saturday from 6am to 6pm on the Election Day just as he said there will be ban on the activities of tricycles operators as well as truck pushers from 11th to 13th April 2015.

However, some political parties in the state have vowed to resist it, adding that the curfew was

unconstitutional.

The APC organizing secretary in the state, Ahmad Lawal while reacting to the development, alleged that “there could be conspiracy behind the police action” as he vowed that his party will never respect the curfew. ‘’We are not going to abide by it, because it was not part of the accord earlier signed by stakeholders, they

should have told us this during the signing of peace accord.”

While reacting on the issue, the state Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Barr AT Shehu said there was no reason to warrant the imposition of the curfew unless if the police are having intelligence about possibility of breakdown of law and order in the state.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Do not marginalize South East, group begs Buhari

By Umar Muhammad Puma

S

outh East members of the All Progressives Congress Forum in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have urged the president-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, not to marginalize the South East region in his government.

In a press statement in Abuja signed by the group’s coordinator, Elder Chika Nwobi and Secretary Mazi Chuzzy Nnodu, they described Buhari’s victory at the poll as victory for democracy, and urged him to embrace all Nigerians irrespective of whether they vote him or not. They added that the zone had been neglected in the past.

Buhari in a land slide victory defeated the PDP candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan in a keenly contested election.

The group congratulated also Buhari on his resounding victory at the just concluded presidential election, and hailed President Jonathan for the maturity and spirit of sportsmanship he exhibited during the elections and for conceding defeat.

The forum said it believed in the ability of the president elect in addressing the problems of the country, and urged him to tackle the twin challenge of insecurity and corruption which according to them have threatened the development of the country.

It further urged the party leadership to be magnanimity in victory by extending olive branch to those that l

PAGE 11

News

APC accuses PDP of plot to rig election in Lagos …questions Jonathan’s commitment to credible polls

From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

T

he All Progressives Congress (APC) has slammed the PDP over its desperation to capture Lagos State at all cost, including using fake result sheets which were flown in from Abuja for Saturday’s elections, warning that the people will resist any attempt to rob them of their votes.

In a statement issued

in Lagos on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the rigging plans are being led by President Goodluck Jonathan, who has already flown into Lagos where he held a meeting with his point men, including Musiliu Obanikoro, Jimi Agbaje and Gani Adams.

It said before the meeting, eagle - eyed Nigerians who are appalled by the PDP’s

rigging plans have widely circulated on social media details of the planned electoral malfeasance, including the airlifting from Abuja to Lagos of a Black Kia Mohave SUV, with plate number DHQ 340, which was packed with election materials (especially result sheets). ‘’The meeting in Lagos was aimed at devising a strategy to distribute the fake result sheets that were packed into the SUV,

which will be free to move around (because of its plate number) despite the restriction on vehicular movement during the elections. ‘’It is sad that the same president, who conceded defeat in the presidential election and then followed up with a speech in which he said he would like his ‘legacy’ of free and fair elections to endure, is the one who is presiding over a desperate move to

steal the people’s votes on Saturday (today). ‘’How can President Jonathan’s ‘legacy’ endure when one of his last acts in office is a seeming vengeance mission to lead his party to capture Lagos, because the PDP sees the state as a cash cow that they can milk to death, with the party’s gravy train at the federal level having derailed?’’ the party queried.

Anti -riot mobile policemen redeployed for Governorship and state assembly elections, yesterday in Rivers State

AIG bans armed officers from polling units in Kwara From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

T

he Assistant I n s p e c t o r General of Police(AIG) Training and Development, Mr. Olufemi Adenaike, has vowed to arrest any armed police officer either in uniform or mufti at any polling unit, in Kwara State.

Adenaike, who stated this while briefing journalists at the Kwara State Police Headquarters, Ilorin, on Friday, said no armed Police officers should escort political officer holders to polling booth.

The AIG who was deployed to Kwara State from Police Headquarters, Abuja to supervise today’s

governorship and House of Assembly elections said any officer sighted with weapons at the polling units would be arrested and prosecuted accordingly.

He noted that the Nigeria Police held a meeting last Tuesday and some mistakes made during the presidential elections and National Assembly elections were

identified and corrected.

Adenaike said there would be total restriction of movement from 8am till 5pm today to avoid politicians from mobilizing voters across different units even when some had voted in their areas.

He said, electorates are free to stay behind to protect their votes, but they must be law abiding

and conduct themselves peacefully.

The AIG added that the police are still compiling the lists of electoral offenders that would be prosecuted, stressing that the police officer would be sensitize on how to treat accredited professionals and Journalists on duty.

Air Force helicopter crashes in Lagos

A

helicopter belonging to the Nigerian Air Force has crashed in Lagos.

Dele Alonge, Air Force spokesperson, in a statement

said the helicopter was a on a training mission in Lagos at about 10 a. m. on Friday when it crashed.

He said the helicopter, which

suffered severe damage, was returning to the Apron after the completion of the training exercise when it crashed due to hydraulic failure while on taxi to

the hanger.

Mr. Alonge said there was no casualty although the main Rotor debris caused damage to some ground equipment on

location.

He added that the Chief of Air Staff, Adesola Amosun, has ordered an immediate investigation into the crash.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Page 12

USEFUL PHONE NUMBERS ON ANY EMERGENCY Council endorses the useful phone numbers submitted by the security agents for easy access in case of any emergency on the metropolitan Roads. Accordingly, the general public may easily Contact KAROTA for: Breakdown of Vehicle(s), Traffic Congestion, Accidents, and Illegal/Wrong Parking to kindly Call KAROTA through the following numbers on – 08091626747. Similarly, the State Police Command could be contacted on – 08032419754, 08123821575. In addition, the State Fire Service can be contacted on – 07051246833, 08191778888.

193rd KANO STATE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING With sincerity and commitment to complete the initiated good work towards positive transformation of Kano State and its entire citizenry for the better, Governor Engr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, FNSE presided over the one hundred and ninety third (193rd) sitting of the Kano State Executive Council on Tuesday7th April, 2015 (17th Jumada Thani, 1436AH).

Forty five (45) memoranda from eleven (11) MDAs were tabled for deliberation of which twenty four (24) cutting across five (5) sectors were approved for execution with an expenditure of Five Hundred and Sixty Four Million, Three Hundred and Ninety Two Thousand, One Hundred and Sixty Six Naira, Forty Nine (N564,392,166.49) covering nineteen (19) projects while the remaining five (5) are on policy issues as follows; 1.

THE INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT/MAINTENANCE The commendable performances/achievements recorded by the present administration tangibly depicted by multitude mega – physical developmental projects ubiquitously spread across Kano State are explained by the transparent and prudent deployment of scarce public resources (funds) under the auspices of the infrastructural development/maintenance sector in accordance with the provisions of a precise physical development plan.

Series of approvals were granted for the execution of projects/programmes/schemes that physically transformed/upgraded Kano State to international best standards. Such approvals include those granted on the following among others: viz; provision of roads/related structures; provision of public utilities; provision of accessories; provision of consumables; provision of housing; etc.

• -

-

-

-

Provision of Roads/Related Structures 5KM dual carriage ways with street lights constructed in 44 Local Government Council Areas (LGCAs) of Kano State.

Majority major roads expanded/reconstructed such as Zaria Road, Sheikh Ja’afar Road, Gwarzo Road, Hadejia Road, etc.

Construction of Wuju – Wuju Conduit Drainage/Road over the Jakara and Kwarin Gogau Rivers.

Construction of Flyovers at three (3) prominent locations which include Silver Jubilee Roundabout to Kofar Nassarawa; Ibrahim Taiwo Road by Gidan Bello Dandago/Radio Kano and Wapa to Tafawa Balewa Road (over Murtala

Muhammad Way).

- Construction of Underpasses at Kabuga and Gadon Kaya.

- Laying of interlock tiles on pedestrian walkways along major roads of Kano

Municipality and other relevant locations.

- Provision of Kwankwasiyya type ring drainage for most urban roads.

- Payment of compensation for affected properties and structures due to road

construction projects, etc.

• Provision of Public Utilities - Schools at Basic Education, Secondary and Tertiary Levels constructed/

established, expanded, reconstructed. Examples that can be cited include the

following; construction of over three thousand (3,000) classrooms at Basic/

Primary and Secondary Schools; conversion of former Magwan Water

Restaurant, Medical Stores, Gidan Ado Bayero, Yadakunya Psychiatric

Hospital, Tiga WRECA Workshop, etc for use as viable Schools, construction

of over four hundred (400) new secondary schools (inclusive of 44 new

Technical Colleges and 44 Schools for Islamic Studies), etc.

- Renovation, upgrading of all categories of Government owned Health Care

Delivery Facilities across the State which include the following and more, viz;

renovation of Murtala Muhammad and Muhammad Abdullahi Wase

Specialist Hospitals; renovation of Kano Dental Center and Infectious

Diseases Hospital (IDH); renovation of Hasiya Bayero Pediatric Hospital;

renovation of Kura, Gaya, Yar’ Gaya, etc. General Hospitals.

- Twenty four (24) employable skills acquisition training institutes constructed/established.

- Prominent Government Secretariats renovated to befitting status which

include the Kano Government House, the Cabinet Office, the Gidan Murtala

Complex, the Audu Bako Secretariat, etc.

- About fifty three (53) (26 Magistrates and 27 Shari’ah) Courts constructed/

established, etc.

• Provision of Accessories - Heavy duty equipment/specialized materials provided to enable execution of

routine activities by REMASAB, KNUPDA, KAROTA, KARMA, etc.

- Long distances of potable water supply pipelines provided to ensure solution

to the vital demand.

- The Tiga and Challawa Gorge Dams Independent Hydroelectricity Projects

established, etc.

• Provision of Housing - Sale of GP Houses to Occupants.

- Construction/establishment the three (3) cities Kwankwasiyya, Amana and Bandirawo.

- Development of new layouts (Jido, Kuyan Ta’ina, etc).

Continuing with the commendable trend, the State Executive Council granted

approval for the execution of fourteen (14) more memoranda under the

infrastructural development/maintenance sector which can be sub – divided

into two (2). Thus; provision of roads/related structures = 8; provision of

public utilities = 6. Total = 14.

a) i.

ii.

Provision of Roads/Related Structures:Presentation on and Request for Funds to Enable Facilitation of Measures to Control Floods at Airport/Katsina Road Roundabout:The Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport submitted this presentation/ request for consideration by Council.

Details on the ample reasons that instigated submission of this issue for consideration were presented along with the financial implications to the tune of N26,100,591.38 which was requested for release to enable facilitation of the project. Council noted, considered and approved as requested.

Request for Funds to Enable Execution of Some Community – Based Projects in Dala, Kumbotso and Gwale Local Government Council Areas:This request from the authorities at the Sustainable Kano Project (KSP) was endorsed by the Ministry of Environment and presented to Council for consideration. Cognizant of the existing policy on collaboration between the State Government and Communities across Kano State on Community – Based Projects, the Communities of Tsamiyar Kuturu (Gwale); Malamawa Yalwa (Dala) and Maikwalwa in Kumbotso LGCAs submitted the cited request for consideration by Council.

Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso

iii.

Construction of appropriate/functional drainage facilities in the areas cited is the main issue estimated to cost the State Government the tune of N10,468,963.00 which was requested for release while the Communities involved are to provide fund for labour to the tune of N1,300,000.00.

Council acknowledged the request and approved the release of the sum of N10,468,963.00 to SKP to enable execution of the stated Community – Based Project according to the details presented.

Presentation of Progress Report on the Construction of 1.76KM Flyover Bridge and Nine (9) Clovers over Murtala Muhammad Way (Wapa) to Tafawa Balewa Road Junction (February, 2015):-

The Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport summarized, endorsed and submitted the cited progress report on the stated project from the Contractor and presented it to Council for consideration.

In a nutshell, the Contract for the project was initially awarded at the cost of N10,180,245,223.03. Meanwhile, the following payments were made to the Contractor; - Mobilization = N2,901,369,888.56.

- Interim Certificate two (2) = N897,491,015.85.

- Interim Certificate three (3) = N360,015,920.93.

- Interim Certificate four (4) = N138,270,552.91.

Total = N4,297,147,378.25.

Specifically, overall progress/general progress of the project is at 34%, summarized and presented to Council for consideration as follows; S/N

i

Item of Work

Main Bridge Piling work abutement Piers Columns Pier Cap Retaining Wall Beams Bridge Deck Cast in – Situ Box Girder Parapet Approach Road

ii

iii

Clover Interchange Piling Work Abutement Piers Columns Pier Cap Retaining Wall Cast in – Situ Box Girder Parapet Approach Road Rehabilitation of Diversion Roads Galadima Road Link Between Galadima and Court Roads Court Road (Yankura)

Amount of Work Executed 16nos 800mmQ and 173nos 1200mmQ diameter 2nos.

175nos.

72nos.

4nos.

14 Spans Nil Nil Nil Nil 70nos.

Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil

Remarks

100% Completed 100% Completed 100% Completed 94% Completed (68nos. Completed) 100% Completed 23% Completed 0% 0% 0% 0% 37% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

100% Completed Upgraded to dual carriage way Reconstructed and surfaced with asphalt concrete Work in Progress

100% Completed 30% Completed

Council acknowledged the presentation appreciatively. iv.

Presentation of the Revised Estimated Total Cost (RETC) on the Construction

of Gadon Kaya Underpass/Dualisation of Yahaya Gusau Road: Contents of this memorandum respectfully reminded Council that, the cited

project was initially awarded at the Contract sum of N1,362,514,273.85 on

which inadequacies were reportedly encountered by the Contractor on

mobilizing to site assessed and estimated to cost the sum of N16,007,110.08

which was requested for release so as to bring the Revised Estimated Total

Cost (RETC) for the project to the new Contract sum of N1,378,522,383.93.

Council noted, considered and approved as requested. v.

Presentation of Approval from the Federal Ministry of Works on the

Construction of Security Plazas at Strategic Locations Along Two (2) Federal

Roads in Kano State (Katsina and Daura Roads): The Kano State Government was profoundly applauded, through contents of

this memorandum, for awarding Contracts for the cited projects on which permission was solicited from the Federal Government via the Federal Ministry of Works.

The specific approval letter granted from the Federal Ministry of Works was

presented to Council for perusal which was appreciatively acknowledged. vi.

Request for Funds to Enable General Renovation of Kanwa to Kwankwaso Road: The genesis and profound reasons that prompted submission of this

request for consideration by Council as endorsed by the Ministry of Works,

Housing and Transport were presented along with the financial implications

to the tune of N43,497,970.66 which was requested for release.

Accordingly, Council noted, considered and approved the release of the

stated sum for the commitment. vii.

Presentation on and Request for Funds to Enable Subcontracting the

Construction of Gadon Kaya Underpass Ramp Kano Bound: The Contract was initially awarded at the cost of N177,782,964.03

provisionally requested but currently proposed for sub – contracting at the

upward cost of N238,578,294.67 with a difference of N60,795,330.67 which

was requested for inclusion to arrive at the new Revised Estimated Total Cost

(RETC) of N238,578,294.67.

Council acknowledged the plausible reasons that prompted submission of this

request for consideration and granted approval accordingly. b) Provision of Public Utilities:i.

Presentation on the Need to Substitute Dental Text Books for HND

Programme in Dental Health Therapy at School of Health Technology, Kano: The Ministry of Health applauded Council, through contents of this

memorandum, for granting approval for the release of the sum of

N53,573,417.67 to the Ministry of Health to enable procurement of

Equipment, Materials and Dental Text Books for HND Programme in Dental

Therapy at the School of Health Technology, Kano.

Reportedly, Council was informed that the Contractor executed the project

satisfactorily pending the supply of some textbooks that require replacement

at no cost to the State Government.

Council acknowledged the presentation appreciatively and granted approval

for the replacement. ii.

Request for Funds to Enable Purchase of Tools/Equipment for Three (3)

Completed/Established Technical Colleges at Tofa, Doguwa and Sumaila

Local Government Council Areas: The present administration in the State approved the establishment of forty

four (44) new Technical Colleges in Kano State.

Progress achieved, so far, was presented to Council in seven (7) notations

which culminated to the forwarding of one (1) prayer as follows; - Council to consider and approve release of the sum of N16,532,314.00 to

enable the Science and Technical Schools Board purchase tools for the

immediate take – off of GTC Tofa, GTC Doguwa and GSTC Sumaila on

Contractual arrangement.

Council considered the details presented and approved as requested. iii.

Presentation of Progress Report on the Construction of Sports Complex at

Former NAMA Site Kofar Na’isa (December, 2014): The Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport submitted this progress report

for consideration by Council.

Reportedly, the cited project is at 92% level to completion as was awarded and

approved for execution at the approved Contractual sum of N2,761,959,814.28

from which the sum of N1,876,762,170.37 was released to the Contractor as

payment for mobilization fee and interim certificates 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Details on the level of works achieved were presented to Council for

consideration along with an update on eight (8) additional works encountered

that may tantamount to the submission of a comprehensive memorandum on

a request for funds to enable completion of the project with a new Revised

Estimated Total Cost (RETC). The encountered additional works include; • Replacement of Shoulder Surface Dressing with Asphalt.

• Conversion of Polo Field to Football Training Field.

• Introduction of Beach Soccer Field.

• Downsizing of the Mosque to Khamsus Salawat.

• Provision of Collector Road and Motor Park.

• Construction of Main Drainages.

• Construction of Septic Tank.

• Provision of Squash Rackets, etc.

Council appreciatively acknowledged the presentation. iv.

Presentation on and Request for Funds to Enable Final Conversion of

Former Magwan Water Restaurant for Use as a Viable Girls’ Secondary School

(First Lady’s College): This Contract was initially awarded at the sum of N602,110,806.03

but currently reviewed to a new Revised Estimated Total Cost (RETC) of the

sum of N723,315,094.50 with an upward difference of N121,204,288.53 which

was requested for release on the consensus arrived at by the Contractor,

the Ministries of Works, Housing & Transport and Education to enable

completion of the conversion works to 100% level.

The details presented prompted Council to approve as requested.

v.

Request for Approval and Release of Funds to Enable Payment of Cost on Additional Works in Respect of the Construction of Ceremonial City Tower and Landscaping Project at Former NAMA Site Kofar Na’isa, Kano:Contd on Page 13

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

This project was initially awarded at the Contract sum of N282,743,284.76

but currently reviewed to a new RETC of the sum of N365,517,150.15 with an

upward variation of the sum of N82,773,865.39 which was requested for

release to enable successful execution of the project to 100% level of completion.

Council considered the request as authentic and granted approval. vi.

Presentation of Bill of Quantities and Request for Funds for the Provision

of Solar Sourced Electrical Energy Street Lights at Karfi and Kura Sports and

Informatics Institutes Respectively: The Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport endorsed this submission and

presented it to Council for consideration.

The genesis behind the provision Solar Power System in the two (2)

Institutions is to ensure adequate security as well as beautification of the

environment during evening hours.

Details summarized to ten (10) items for each of the two (2) projects

estimated to cost the sum of N24,172,037.40 which was requested for release

in each case was presented to Council for consideration.

Council appraised the issue and approved the total sum of N48,344,074.80 to

enable execution of the two (2) projects on Contractual arrangement to be

supervised by the Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport.

2.

THE EMPOWERMENT SECTOR This sector stands out among the cardinal preoccupations of the present administration as series of approvals are continually granted for the execution of projects/schemes/programmes under it in respect of provision of access to professional/academic education; provision of access to training for the acquisition of employable skills/take – off capital; provision of access to capacity building for serving civil servants; provision of access to support for the needy, etc.

• Provision of Access to Professional/Academic Education:- This administration continually grants approval for the execution of projects/ schemes/programmes related to the provision of access to professional/academic education in accredited Colleges/Universities Institutions abroad and locally. About 2,600 Kano State Indigenous Qualified Students benefitted this scheme by being sponsored for studies at both under and post graduate levels at institutions in fourteen (14) Countries abroad while over 34,000 others benefitted same arrangements in various universities/colleges in Nigeria including privately owned but fully accredited ones. Applied and marketably viable courses are involved which cut across MBBS and Pharmacy; Commercial Piloting; Marine Engineering; Architecture; etc.

- Approvals are granted for the establishment and sustenance of one more Kano State University (Northwest University, Kano) and Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso College of Advance and Remedial Studies (CARS) Tudunwada respectively; etc.

- Approvals granted for construction/establishment of College of Nursing and Midwifery, Madobi, School Post Basic Midwifery, Gezawa, School of Health Technology, Bebeji, etc.

• Provision of Access to Training for Employable Skills Acquisition:- Series of approvals are continually granted for the establishment and sustenance of access to training for employable skills acquisition institutes and provision of take – off capital free of charge. Twenty four (24) of such institutes commenced graduating numerous batches of their trainees with impressive impact.

- Approvals are continually granted for the execution of empowerment schemes for underprivileged women under the auspices of the State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.

- The highly commendable and mutually beneficial “Lafiya Jari” empowerment scheme reintroduced for the benefit of relevantly trained but unemployed State Indigenous Health Workers.

- The execution of empowerment programmes under the State Community Reorientation Council (CRC); the Hisbah Board; etc. which include “the Kwankwasiyya Aska” Scheme for the training of local barbers to acquire modern skills in their trade; training for local butchers and provision of access to capital free of charge; execution of three (3) batches of mass marriage (Zawarawa) scheme which involved over 2,500 couples, etc.

• Provision of Access to Capacity Building for Serving Civil Servants:- This administration grants approval for the execution of all projects/schemes/ programmes statutorily related to the provision of access to capacity building for serving civil servants across all MDAs. • Provision of Access to Support for the Needy:- The humane disposition of this present administration in Kano State under the leadership of Governor Engr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, FNSE motivates the granting of approvals for the execution of all issues related to the provision of support for the needy whenever the need arises.

In line with the commendable feat, the State Executive Council granted approval for the execution of eleven (11) more memoranda under the empowerment sector at its one hundred and ninety third (193rd) sitting which can further be divided into two (2). Viz; provision of access to professional/academic education = 8; provision of access to support for the needy = 3. Total = 11. a) Provision of Access to Professional/Academic Education:i.

Request for Funds to Facilitate Financial Assistance to Eleven (11) Returnees Among the One Hundred (100) Kano State Indigenous Qualified Candidates Sponsored for Pilot Training at MIDEAST AVIATION ACADEMY, Jordan:It may be recalled that the Government of Gov Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso in its effort to empower our youth for meaningful employment sponsored 100 young men and a lady for Private Pilot Licience in Mid East Aviation Academy in Amman Jordan.

Government spent over 10 million Naira to each of them. They have completed their course and since returned. By aviation regulation they have to convert their license to Nigerian Licience by attending examination in Lagos. Many have sat for the exams and now additional (11) returnees amongst the one hundred (100) Kano State Indigenous Qualified Candidates sponsored for Commercial Piloting Training at MIDEAST AVIATION ACADEMY, Jordan are billed to sit for the examination.

Based on this the sum of N1,573,000.00 was requested for release to enable the pilots attend the exams vis: • Air Law Examination – N4,000.00 x 11 Students = N44,000.00.

• New License – N12,500.00 x 11 Students = N137,500.00.

• Medical Certificate – N35,000.00 x 11 Students = N385,000.00.

• Feeding and Accommodation – N49,000.00 x 11 Students = N539,000.00.

• Transport – N42,500.00 x 11 Students = N467,500.00.

Total = N1,537,000.00.

Council considered and approved as requested. ii.

Request for Funds to Enable Payment of Tuition Fees and Nine (9) Months Upkeep Allowances in Respect of Three Hundred and Fifty Nine (359) Kano State Indigenous Qualified Students Sponsored for Studies at ALQALAM University, Katsina (2014/2015) Academic Session):This request from the Ministry of Higher Education was presented to Council for consideration.

In a nutshell, Council was requested to approve the release of the sum of N104,907,000.00 for the two (2) purposes stated as follows; - Tuition fees for 359 students to be paid into the Bank Account of ALQALAM University, Katsina = N72,597,000.00.

- Nine (9) months upkeep allowances to be paid into the respective bank accounts of the 359 students = N32,310,000.00.

Total = N104,907,000.00.

Council noted, considered and approved as requested. iii.

Request for Funds to Enable Payment of Balance for 2014/2015 Tuition Fees in Respect of One Hundred and Seventy Five (175) Kano State Indigenous Qualified Students Sponsored for Studies at Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State:The Ministry of Higher Education applauded Council, through contents of this memorandum, for its approval granted for the release of N93,495,000.00 in respect of one hundred and sixty three (163) sponsored Kano State Indigenous Students at the cited University for the 2014/2015 academic session.

50% or N46,747,500.00 was paid to the Institution as the discounted sum required for one hundred and sixty three (163) Students.

Nevertheless, the actual number of students at the University is one hundred and seventy five

PAGE 13

(175) which presented a shortfall of N16,505,000.00 which was requested for release to the authorities at Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Authenticity of the request prompted the Council to consider and approved as requested. iv.

Request for Funds to Enable Reimbursement of One Way Air Ticket Fare in Respect of Eleven (11) Returnees Amongst the 501 Sponsorship Scheme:The Government introduce foreign scholarship to deserving indigenous students who scored First Class and Second Class upper in their first degree . So far 2,650 students benefitted from the scheme. Many have completed their courses and returned home.

A batch of (11) students have completed their course and are due to return home which require the sumN1,459,684.81 for one way ticket,according to the following details; - Five (5) returnees from Cyprus = N737,731.93.

- Six (6) returnees from Malaysia = N721,952.88.

Total = N1,459,684.81.

Accordingly, Council considered and approved as requested. v.

Request for Funds to Enable Reimbursement of One Way Air Ticket Fare in Respect of Thirteen (13) Returnees Amongst the 501 Sponsorship Scheme:This request from the Scholarship Board was endorsed by the office of the Secretary to the State Government and presented to Council for consideration.

A further list of thirteen (13) returnees amongst the 501 sponsorship scheme financed their return home at the cost of N1,389,018.28 which was requested for release according to the following details; - One (1) returnee fro Dubai = N81,198.69.

- Six (6) returnees from Malaysia = N632,886.99.

- Four (4) returnees from Jordan = N348,792.60.

- Two (2) returnees from Ukraine = N326,140.00.

Total = N1,389,018.28.

Council noted, considered and approved as requested. b) Provision of Access to Support for the Needy:i.

Request for Funds to Enable Participation of Kano State Contingent at the 2015 All Nigeria Secondary Schools Football Championship Tagged “Shell Cup”:This request from the Ministry of Education was endorsed by the office of the Secretary to the State Government and presented to Council for consideration.

Kano State participated in this event from its inception seventeen (17) years ago (1999) to date cognizant to which this request was submitted to Council for consideration as the details were summarized to three (3) items and presented as follows; - Preliminaries eight (8) days at Katsina = N1,057,000.00.

- ¼ finals four (4) days at Minna = N481,000.00.

- Semi final/finals four (4) days at Lagos = N917,000.00.

Total = N2,455,000.00.

Accordingly, Council considered and approved of the stated sum for the commitment. ii.

Request for Funds to Enable Provision of Medical Assistance in Respect of Victims of the Kano Central Juma’at Mosque Bomb Blast:This request for the Ministry of Health was appraised, endorsed by the office of the Secretary to the State Government and presented to Council for consideration.

Details presented were considered and appraised by Council which approved the release of the recommended sum of N1,000,000.00 to the Ministry of Health for the stated purpose.

3.

THE HEALTH SECTOR The present administration in the State upholds that Health is Wealth and no stone is left unturned in the endeavour to positively transform the Health Sector for the betterment of the lives of the citizenry in the State.

Series of approvals are continually granted to ensure provision of the requirements of the health sector in all ramifications such as infrastructure, equipment, consumables and relevantly trained professional personnel. An appraisal trip round the Kano State Government owned Health Care Delivery Facilities will certainly confirm the effort dissipated by the present administration towards positive transformation of the health in continuation with which the State Execution Council approved the execution of two (2) more memoranda under the health sector at its one hundred and ninety third (193rd) sitting as follows; i.

Request for Funds to Enable Payment of Air Ticket Fare and No Show Charges in Respect of One (1) of the Six (6) Engaged Egyptian Doctors and Two (2) Others Respectively:This request from the Ministry of Health was endorsed by the office of the Secretary to the State Government and presented to Council for consideration.

The details presented prompted Council to grant approval for the release of the sum of N226,900.00 for the stated purpose in accordance with the following details; - N160,000.00 = cost of air ticket fare for one (1) Doctor.

- N66,900.00 = payment for no show charges for two (2) Doctors.

Total = N226,900.00. ii.

Request for Funds to Enable Execution of Life – Saving Open Heart Surgery in Respect of Eight (8) Children by American Heart Surgeons:This request from the Ministry of Health was endorsed by the office of the Secretary to the State Government and presented to Council for consideration.

The details on the requirements were summarized to seven (7) items such as cost of surgery for five (5) fresh children, feeding allowances for eight (8) children, fueling of vehicles, DTA in respect of two (2) officials as well as sponsorship of one (1) person to undergo cardiac catheterization at University of Ibadan estimated to cost the sum of N5,435,000.00 which was requested for release.

Council noted, considered and approved as requested.

4.

THE EDUCATION SECTOR This sector is second to none in the priority consideration accorded by the present administration towards its positive transformation for the betterment of the lives of the citizenry in the State.

Approvals are continually granted on the execution of projects/schemes/programmes related to the education sector in all ramifications which include infrastructural requirements; material requirements; provision of relevantly trained personnel and above all, declaration of the policy to provide education at all levels free of charge along the lines of which the Kano State Executive Council approved the execution of one (1) more memorandum under the Education Sector at its one hundred and ninety third (193rd) sitting. Thus; - Request for Funds to Enable Transportation of Nine Hundred and Sixty Two (962) Kano State Indigenous Students on Exchange Programme:The office of the Secretary to the State Government endorsed this request from the Ministry of Education and presented it to Council for consideration.

The financial implications summarized to seven (7) items estimated to cost the sum of N3,716,300.00 were presented to Council for consideration as follows; S/N

Description

Amount (N)

i.

Transportation of 882 other States students from GSS Karaye and GGC Kachako to Rumfa at the cost of N400.00 per student

328,800.00

ii.

Transportation of 962 other States students including 140 SAS students taking – off from Rumfa College

1,618,000.00

iii.

Meal allowances for 934 students at N200.00 each

192,400.00

iv.

Transportation of 690 State indigene back to their respective Schools after holidays for the 2ndterm 2014/2015 session

1,064,300.00

v.

Transportation of 822 students of the 18 Northern States from G/Murtala after 2ndterm holiday i.e. in May, 2015 to GGC Kachako and GSS Karaye at the cost of N400.00 each

328,000.00

vi.

DTA for 20 teacher to escorts them N7,000.00

140,000.00

vii.

Cost of participation in the 2015 SEP Pre Inspection Meeting

44,000.00

Total

3,716,300.00

Accordingly, Council considered approved of the stated sum for the undertaken.

5.

THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR Agricultural activities still provide viable engagement for about 70% of the citizenry in Kano State cognizant to which the present administration in the State accords priority attention to the agricultural sector so as to ensure food security.

Series of approvals are continually granted for the execution of projects/schemes/ programmes related to the agricultural sector which include provision of easy access to inputs (assorted fertilizer, improved seeds); insecticides; implements and required training on viable skills along the lines of which Council approved the execution of one (1)more memorandum under the agricultural sector during its one hundred and ninety third (193rd) sitting. Thus; - Presentation on and Request for Approval to Continue with Activities of Kano State Commercial Agriculture Development Project (CADP):The Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources submitted this presentation/request for consideration by Council.

The genesis and ample reasons that instigated submission of the cited request were summarized in six (6) notations which culminated to the forwarding of two (2) cardinal prayers on the issue for consideration by Council as follows; - Council to consider and approve continuation of the activities of the Kano State CADP in line with its potential to provide viable engagements for the majority of the citizenry in the State.

- Council to consider and approve the execution of the projected eighteen (18) months work plan prepared.

Council appreciated the presentation and approved as requested.

UPDATE ON ACTIVITIES AT THE 193RD KANO STATE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL SITTING 1.

2015 PRESIDENTIAL AND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTION Council noted the successful conduct of the Presidential and National Assembly Members Elections on 28th March, 2015 at which General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd), the presidential candidate of the APC, emerged winner of the presidential seat and the party won with landslide victory for the National Assembly seats. Accordingly, Council congratulates Mr. President elect, Senator-Elect GovernorEngr. Rabi’uMusaKwankwaso, FNSE, two (2) other Senators elect and all the twenty four (24) National Assembly members elect, who won the election with the following votes as per breakdown below.

A

Presidential Election

1

Gen. Muhammad Buhari

APC

1,903,999

2

Goodluck Jonathan

PDP

215,779

B

Kano Central Senatorial Zone

1

Gov. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso

APC

758,383

2

Senator Garba Lado

PDP

205,809

Kano South Senatorial Zone 1

Senator Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya

APC

498,493

2

Hon. Rogo

PDP

145,923

Kano North Senatorial Zone 1

Hon. Barau Jibrin

APC

381,493

2

Senator Bello Gwarzo

PDP

107,845

C

House of Representatives APC

24 seats

PDP

0 seat

House of Representative members

Similarly, Council urged the good citizens of Kano State and the entire nation to elect suitable political leaders/aspirants from the APC party in the Saturday 11th April, 2015 Governorship and State House of Assembly Members election.

2.

2015 FIRST SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION AND ICT (KANO TALENTS) EXHIBITIONS IN THE STATE Council noted the successful conduct of the year 2015, First (1st) Kano Talents Exhibition organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology held on Tuesday 24th – Thursday 26th March, 2015 at which forty four (44) Participating talents were present and showcased their wares during the three (3) days programme which were science, technology and ICT based.

Similarly, Council urged winners at the exhibition to improve on acquisition of applied and advanced technology.

3.

SIGNING OF KANO STATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT HARMONIZED RATES AND LEVIES (AMENDMENT) LAW 2015 Council witnessed the successful signing into Law the Local Government Harmonized rates and levies (amendment) Law by Governor Engr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, FNSE which has potential to improve the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the State.

4.

PRESENTATION OF AN AWARD TO GOVERNOR ENGR. RABI’U MUSA KWANKWASO, FNSE An award to His Excellency the Governor of Kano State, which was received on his behalf by the Honourable Commissioner, Ministry of Health From Lafiya Jari Association as the best Performing Governor of the Year 2014 for his outstanding performance towards improving the Health Sector.

5.

CONDOLENCE MESSAGES Council commiserates with the bereaved families of the deceased and prayerfully meditates for their souls to rest in perfect peace – may the Almighty Allah grant them eternal residence in Jannatul Firdausi, they include following; • Late Hajiya Asabe Reza • Late Alh. Mika’il Abdullahi (Kano State INEC Commissioner) • Late Usman Ibrahim Yammawa (Dallatun Sarkin Bai) USEFUL PHONE NUMBERS ON ANY EMERGENCY Council endorses the useful phone numbers submitted by the security agents for easy access in case of any emergency on the metropolitan roads. Accordingly, the general public may easily Contact KAROTA for: Breakdown of Vehicle(s), Traffic Congestion, Accidents, and Illegal/ Wrong Parking to kindly Call KAROTA through the following numbers on – 08091626747.

Similarly, the State Police Command could be contacted on – 08032419754, 08123821575. In addition, the State Fire Service can be contacted on – 07051246833, 08191778888.

PREPARED BY: Council Affairs Directorate, Office Of The Secretary To The State Government, Government House, Kano.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Page 14

Crime Cycle

Stanley Onyekwere pmlcrimecycle@gmail.com 08138559513

Man in trouble for allegedly harassing lady T he Police have arraigned a 27-year-old man, Abba Sadiq, in a Shari’a court sitting at Sabon Gari, Kano, for allegedly intimidating and harassing a lady, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) NAN reports that the accused was charged with criminal intimidation and intentional insult, an offence that contravenes Sections 304 and 312 of Kano State Shari’a Law. The prosecutor, Cpl. Ahmed Magawata, told the court that on March 26, one Bello Ali of Kuwait Quarters reported the

matter at Zango Police Division, Kano.

He said sometime on March 21, the accused went to the complainant’s house and allegedly abused his daughter, Sadiya Bello.

He also alleged that the accused also used intimidating words on Sadiya by threatening to kill any man who comes to her for marriage.

However, the judge, Malam Abubakar Ayagi, ordered the accused to be remanded in prison custody, after he pleaded guilty to the charges.

Theft: Dry cleaner charged for stealing client’s N1.7m clothes

A

dry cleaner, Olugbemi Oruwole, who allegedly stole 109 pieces of clothes worth N1.7 million from his customer, was on Wednesday brought before an Igbosere Magistrates’ court in Lagos state.

Oruwole, 38, whose address is unknown, is standing trial on a charge of stealing.

The Prosecutor, Insp.

Okete Ejime, told the court that the accused committed the offence sometime in August 2014 at Block E9, Plot 7, Otunba Steve Ajose Drive, Ilasan in Lekki, Lagos.

According to him, Oruwole stole 109 pieces of different types of clothes valued at N1.7 million, property of Novetta Louis.

The offence, he said, contravened Section 285 (7) of the Criminal Law of

Lagos, 2011.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 285 (7) provides seven years imprisonment for stealing.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Counsel to the accused, Mr. S. A. Owhorayle, urged the court to admit the accused to bail, on most liberal terms.

In his ruling, the Magistrate, Mr. A. A. Adefulire, granted the accused bail in the sum of N500, 000 with two sureties in like sum.

He said the sureties must be gainfully employed with a bank account, adding that the bank statement should be signed by the bank manager.

The magistrate adjourned the case to May 4, for trial proper mention.

CJN Mahmud Mohammed

Man jailed 2 years for Issuing dud cheque

O

ne Aliyu Zakari, is to spend two years in prison, following his sentence by Justice Yusuf Ubale of the Kano State High court, for offences bordering on issuance of dud cheque brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The convict, who is chief executive of AZH Enterprises Ltd, was arraigned on a twocount charge, after his arrest by the Commission, following a petition alleging that he refused to pay part of the value of premium motor spirit and automotive gas oil sold to him by the petitioner.

According to the statement signed by the EFCC Head of media and publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, Zakari had allegedly given cheques to settle the debt but there were insuficient funds in his account.

One of the charges reads: “That you AZH Enterprises Ltd and Aliyu Zakari on or about June 30, 2010 in Kano did issue a First Bank Plc cheque No: 42199661 in the sum of N9 million to one Alhaji Magaji Ubale which when presented sometimes in July, 2010, was dishonoured on the ground that no sufficient funds in the account upon which the cheque was drawn.”

The Statement added that when the charge was read to the accused person, he pleaded guilty and, consequently, the prosecution counsel A.T. Habib urged the court to convict him.

Considering his guilty plea, Justice Ubale convicted and sentenced him to two years imprisonment without an option of fine.

The Judge however, imposed a fine of N10, 000 only against the company.

Sales reps docked over N1.08m theft

F

our sales representatives have appeared before a Surulere Chief Magistrates’ court in Lagos, for allegedly stealing 268 pieces of branded shirts and silk knots worth N1.08 million.

The accused; Olumide Anawoye, 35; Victor Ajuziogu, 30; Nurudeen Adebayo, 33; and Christiana Isiani, 29, whose addresses are unknown, are facing a twocount charge of conspiracy and stealing.

The prosecutor, Sgt. Jimah Iseghede, told the court that the accused committed

the offences at Smart Mark Ltd. on Adeniran Ogunsanya St., Surulere, Lagos State, between October 2, 2014 and February 18.

Iseghede said that the complainant, Smart Mark Ltd, carried out an audit of its store and discovered that some of the alleged goods were missing.

According to him, the complainant alleged that those missing items were 268 T.M. Lewin branded shirts and silk knots, all valued at N1.08million.

He said that the offences contravened

sections 285 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 285 prescribes three years imprisonment for stealing.

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

However, Chief Magistrate A.F. Adeeyo, granted the accused bail in the sum of N60, 000 each with one surety each in like sum.

She adjourned the case till April 16 for continuation of hearing.

Tips on how to organise neighbourhood crime prevention

T

alk to your neighbours.

Communication of the issues and each other’s concerns allows for further concrete steps to be taken.

Assess what the community wants accomplished through neighborhood crime prevention.

Locate and Identify local resources. The more resources that are available to a community the more programmes that can be implemented.

Talk to local police about organising community activities.

See if local businesses are willingly to donate time, money, and or resources.

Seek out State and Federal resources. Are there any funds/grants available to your community? Apply for them.

Get together.

Hold regular meetings where all citizens can suggest ideas and improvements.

Communicate citizen ideas or concerns to local agencies (law enforcement, businesses, etc..)

Start small. Identify one or two programmes most suitable and adequate for your neighbourhood. It may be unrealistic and ultimately unsuccessful to implement a programme that does not address the issues in your community.

Culled from safetycops.com

www.

Crime quotes: “There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.” ― Ayn Rand

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Page 15

Interview

Mayoralty for Abuja, deserved change-Angulu Hon. Zakari Angulu Dobi, the immediate past chairman of Gwagwalada Area Council and member-elect of the House of Representatives for Abuja South federal constituency, believes that Abuja deserves Mayoralty.

A strong proponent of grassroots politics, Angulu said infrastructural development in the FCT must be decentralised to connect with the people and bring governance closer to them. Patrick Andrew brings excerpts of his interview with some journalists to you....

Y

our have been a grassroots man for years now, what has kept you connected to the masses?

I believe God had chosen me as a grassroots leader and for me to fulfill this role I must connect with the people by being there for them, answer their calls, get suggestions and ideas which could be useful. So my close association with the grassroots is not magic, but a policy I made right from when I became a councilor and all through my three-term tenure as chairman of Gwagalada Area Council.

Would you say the idea should be imitated by other politicians?

Every politician has his peculiar approach, this is my own policy, what I chose to be known for and in I tell every leader to do the same because it will help them a lot. Many believe that in politics you must have godfathers to make you a leader, they believe you must be very buoyant to get elected, but I believe the people will always make it happen and if this is your belief then you must listen to and relate with them.

This means they should have access to you at all times.

The wind of change is in the air, what changes should the people of Abuja South Federal Constituency expect from the in-coming administration?

Our people should have big and positive change. They should have hope for job opportunities.

It won’t be business as usual. Our intention as FCT representatives at the National Assembly is to put up a good struggle for the FCT to be accorded the same recognition as if it were one of the states and that all necessary opportunities and treatment given to other states the FCT will also be considered.

We will also put up a struggle at the National Assembly to pursue the possibility like every other major city in the world that has a Mayor. Why should that of Nigeria be different? We are not saying that a mayor be given to Abuja and persons from a particular tribe should be given that designation, but that the position of mayorship should be given to Abuja and if you like select the mayor from Lagos, Kaduna or Kwara etc. Persons from any part of the country can contest for the position, but let there be a structure that takes care of the state. Mayorship will

Dobi

“

I think the basic thing is for Mr. President to be firm in the fight against corruption, without being bias, without any preference to certain personalities and without bringing in personal interest, it is only then that we will achieve the desired target in fighting corruption.

give the FCT an opportunity to have a Mayoral Council as the state legislative structure and thus reduce the political problems we have. Today, if you are a council chairman you have two tenures and after that three or six of these chairmen will box themselves in the position of federal legislators. This is because we don’t have m mayor and the Mayorship Council.

Again, today every other state will exercise their rights to elect a governor and members of

the House of Assembly and I want the country to tell us what Abuja people will be doing? Of course nothing, so is the country being fair to the FCT? We want equity for all and that is largely what we are going to agitate for at the National Assembly.

Furthermore, we shall seek changes to the programmes and policy of land allocation. We want it reviewed so that the original inhabitants would be taken into cognisance, they should be given due respect because this

is their place. We are not saying that anybody should call Abuja residents indigenes. There is this adage ‘that a person that was born before you will always remain your senior’. If it is true that some persons were here before the coming of the seat of government, then they should be respected, they own this place and if you are relocating them then they should be adequately compensated as is required by the constitution.

We believe that we shall

achieve these changes because of the kind of leader that Nigerians have elected; someone that has the fear of God, is not corrupt and has love for the masses.

Do you intend to canvass for the FCT to be given the status of a state?

Yes, we shall pursue the concept of making Abuja a state.

Like it is said, Abuja should be treated as if it were one of the states. In fact, when it comes to election the Electoral Act says that one must secure 25 percent of votes in the 36 states of the federation and the FCT. If you need that percentage to secure the presidency, why don’t you treat it as a state and then stop the issue of ‘as if it were one of the states’?

It seems ironic that Abuja is recognised when the votes of the people are needed but the rights of these same people are denied once the election has been held. We believe that this should be drawn to public knowledge through the media for changes to be made.

In terms of infrastructural development everything seems to be concentrated in Abuja metropolis, will there also be demand for change in that respect?

Yes, that is the major change we are hoping for. There will be decentralisation of physical projects across board. This time as a member of the House of Representatives representing Abuja South, I will say that one has to be part and parcel of the budget planning of the FCT to know what goes to the respective councils. I will make it my responsibility to know from the FCT administration what is contained in the budget for the various councils and ensure that I follow it to its logical conclusion.

By so doing, in the four years ahead, the people will begin to see the changes that they desire.

More specifically, here in Dobi, my village, it is said on paper that the Gwagwalada-Izon Road has been constructed, and perhaps, millions of naira has been paid.

But it has been abandoned and the FCT administration has not said anything about it. It is also said that Kuje-Gwagwalada road has been constructed, yet the job has not been done and the FCT administration has done nothing about it. Shouldn’t it have been better for the government to come out clearly to state its position if for instance, it lacks funds to continue with the project? But the administration has been quiet about it giving the impression that perhaps on paper it has been completed and delivered and that money has been paid for the job.

These are some of the issues we intend to pursue vigorously Continue on pg. 42

PAGE 16

Interview

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

‘How we managed hate campaigns’ Contd from Page 2

not taking anything for granted.

It affected our lives. Would you see me in a night club? You can’t risk it because you don’t even know who is trailing you.

Again, we were getting security reports from our own sources. Until the president said I concede and congratulate Buhari, we had felt that at every minute something wrong would happen.

There was a clear and discernible threat to democracy as a system of government. I can say that the president acted with grace. He surprised us because we never expected that they would accept defeat. In fact, everyone thought that they probably had plan A, B, C or D. And in any case, with the kind of thing that Mr. Orubebe did at the collation center, you knew that even when the president had grace, given the community of people around him, they could have threatened this democracy.

Your party did say that the president’s action helped to douse any conceivable postelection crisis. Did you share in that?

Absolutely, look, everyone had felt concerned because, what if, God forbid, he declared a coup?

These scenarios had been laid before Nigerians. Mr. Okupe, the Special Adviser to the president, was he not on Youtube, recorded on video, saying Buhari will never become president? What do you take that for? It means Buhari would win and they will take it away from him. This careless talk, arrogant display of power, it had come from the Villa. Many sources with links to power: Asari-Dokubo, Chief Clark and all of them, were they not sounding words to the president? They had said that they would take away their part of the country from Nigeria if Buhari wins, but for the president to have come and say that I accept defeat as the leader of the country; that had a calming effect. And that is why, whether they like it or not, President Jonathan has written his name in gold in so as far as this election is concerned.

But people may say that those statements were all politics, that there was a time to play politics and they did play it irrespective of what was said. Don’t you see it as that?

Let me tell you that even politics has norms. There is a bottom line.

It should be said that this person cannot go beyond a given point.

This is the most horrible campaign anybody could have run. It wasn’t politics. It was enmity. We saw it.

It was hatred. And that was why when we took our case to the ICC, they were very quick to understand the import of our petition.

Now that politics is over, would the president-elect embrace everyone or would there be some temptation to...?

No. Don’t even ask this question.

There will be no temptation to go after anyone. There is no time for witch-hunting. He has said it. The enormity of the challenges ahead of him is such that he doesn’t need to spend one minute looking back at what happened. He has extended his hand of fellowship to all Nigerians and please take note of this it includes Fani-Kayode, Governor Fayose, Chief Clark, Asari-Dokubo, all of them. Those outrageous people he has extended his hands of fellowship. He will embrace them and they should be prepared to play their role in the reinvigoration of this country. That is my understanding of what he has said.

Now, assuming the election went the other way, would you have accepted it the way President Jonathan has done?

Let me tell you one thing, in accepting all of the results, I believe you will agree with me that we have blind-sided all of the outrageous things that happened. You know that in Imo, Delta, Akwa Ibom and Rivers States, no elections took place because two things happened: they sabotaged the card reader technology, insisted on the use of voters register for accreditation and that took the elections back to the PDP’s manner of doing things. And that is how those numbers came.

It is incredible that all House of Representatives seats, all senatorial seats in Rivers, they have

“

been taken. They will go to court and they will recover their seats.

But you know that the card reader worked in the north and south west and this is why elections were credible in those parts. In some parts of the south east, it did work.

But in Imo State, it didn’t. But I am saying that for us, we have chosen to show grace because by accepting those numbers from Akwa Ibom, Delta and Rivers, you could see that it only narrowed our margin. It didn’t stop us. So, what else do you want? You have won the elections fair and square. So, what do you want again? You know that kind of thing. Otherwise, there is a real case to be made with all of the things that happened there and it had a substantial effect on our margin.

We knew we were going to win the election. It was clear between 65 to 75 percent.

How do you mean, “you knew you were going to win the election”, even before the election?

No, not before the election, even from the numbers we got.

Look we had polling agents in the150,000 polling units across the country except in places where they were chased away. So, before INEC announced their results, we had our numbers. We had a situation room where we collected all the results and I am telling you that the accuracy with which we recorded our numbers was such that except in Akwa Ibom, Delta, Rivers and Imo States, every result that came here confirmed the results. As Professor Jega was reading the numbers, our people were saying “yes, yes, yes”. So, we didn’t get it wrong.

Some people also complained of a litany of under-aged voters, especially in the north?

If they have evidence, they should produce it. And how do you know if those were not historical pictures? Let me tell you, the card

Shehu reader technology worked in the north and south-west. It didn’t work in the south east and south south.

But it didn’t dictate age?

Well, people had a responsibility. If anybody was voting with under-aged children, everybody was represented by an agent. It is not like in Port Harcourt where some ex-militants came with guns and chased them away.

They had representatives there. I don’t want to believe what you saw.

I don’t believe it happened.

Unlike in past contests, the love Nigerians showed to General Buhari this time around was unprecedented.

Would you attribute that to the coming together of the legacy parties to form the APC? Yes, that is one of the factors. Of course, another one is the fact that this country has been mismanaged by the PDP in the last 16 years and the environment was ripe for change. Let us give it to Nigerians.

Number three is the integrity factor of General Buhari. Nigerians at this time are looking for someone they can trust. So, it won it for him.

Yes, the opposition parties have the majority than the ruling party.

They came together with their number and won the elections.

I think it is an important lesson that Nigerians have taught the rest of the world that atomisation of parties is unhelpful. This one gets five percent, that one gets 10

We will eradicate insurgency as soon as we can. How can he promise two weeks or two months? He hasn’t even sat down with the army commanders. He hasn’t seen the number of troops we have, the weaponry available to the army. What more do they need? There must be calculations based on facts and he needs to get in there, receive intelligence, the knowledge and information that is needed to make this decision.

percent. But by the time you bring it together, you will see that you can defeat the ruling party and it has worked this time around.

Transition will soon take place. What do you think that both the outgoing and incoming governments should do to meet the aspirations of Nigerians?

This should be made very clear.

Even our supporters should know that this country must have only one president at a time. And between now and May 29, Jonathan is the still the president of Nigeria and he calls the shots. So, don’t expect General Buhari or his team to interfere in any way, trying to influence this or that. No. One thing has been assured: Full cooperation to Mr. Jonathan by our team and also the fact that he would be given his full regards. We will respect him.

So, whatever Buhari has by way of a plan, this must wait until May 29 and beyond.

There are speculations that General Buhari said as soon as he is sworn in, Boko Haram would be a thing of the past. How would you react?

We have just reported that General Buhari never said that. We have circulated all the speeches, the interviews he did on CNN, BBC, he never said that. Yes, he did promise quickest end to Boko Haram, saying we will show them the strength of the will of the people of this country. What is he saying?

He is saying that some appreciable progress has been made by the outgoing administration.

We will eradicate insurgency as soon as we can. How can he promise two weeks or two months?

He hasn’t even sat down with the army commanders. He hasn’t seen the number of troops we have, the weaponry available to the army.

What more do they need? There must be calculations based on facts and he needs to get in there, receive intelligence, the knowledge and information that is needed to make this decision.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

PAGE17

Interview

Buhari’s presidency will offer women rights —Mrs Akpabio

M

rs Rachael Akpabio is the South-South zonal woman leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC). She is convinced that the APC will offer more to women that had previously been done. She also believes that APC candidates in the SouthSouth and South East geo-political divide will challenge their lost mandates in courts. In this interview with journalists, she said the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, is more than ready to lead a progressive government. Umar Muhammad Puma was there and Madam, let us meet you formally?

I am the South-South Woman Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) .My name is Mrs Rachael Akpabio, not the Akpabio of PDP, but the Akpabio of APC. What is the essence of your meeting with the wife of the president– elect, Mrs Aisha Buhari?

You know we just had a very long period of rallies and you will agree with me that it wasn’t an easy thing to go round this country. And then finally, we went for the elections and we won gallantly.

So, we have to come here to pay solidarity visit to the First Lady in-waiting.

We have also come to pledge our loyalty to her and to assure her of our support when she resumes her role in the office of the First Lady. As a mother, she will influence the great change we are hoping for, change in education system, change in the manner the country is run and generate employment for the mass of qualified graduates, change that will ensure that corruption is eradicated in this country.

These are things we have in our manifesto. If you have carefully considered our manifesto you would have observed that we are ready to create jobs for as many qualified persons as possible. We are not just going to have quality education, but the APC government will ensure that our children have qualitative and competitive education.

We mean education that will produce employable graduates different from the half baked ones that the poor system operated by the ousted PDP produced. Nigerian graduates from whatever tertiary institution in this country will be employable anywhere in the world. So, it won’t be business as usual and we intend to make education meaningful at all levels.

If you were to advice the President –Elect, General Buhari, what advice will give him, especially as regards constituting a cabinet?

I want to let you know that General Buhari is a man of integrity. He is a man of wisdom, someone who has a vision and purpose for this country. He is not easily carried away by lobbyists and fair-weather friends.

Yes, there are corrupt elements everywhere. But the General should know such persons. And I think he already knows that surrounding himself with people who will distract him, bring bad image to his administration will be very dangerous.

Furthermore, he knows the expectations of Nigerians, their high hopes, and

Mrs Akpabio he knows that Nigerians want performance, food on their table, their children in schools, jobs for them, and security for the masses of the people across the length and breadth of the country.

The President-elect knows that we want productivity and that means the

“

economy must be re-jigged, there must be power supply for Nigerians. We hope the General will give these essentials to Nigerians. I can tell you that this is real change.

Opponents had during campaigns accused Buhari of planning

He knows the expectations of Nigerians: their high hopes, and he knows that Nigerians want performance, food on their table, their children in schools, jobs for them, and security for the masses across the length and breadth of the country.

to scrap the office of First Lady.

What do you think will be the place of women in Gen. Buhari’s government?

I want you to know that we, women, already have the Beijing Resolution. We won’t let that lie low. We will go after it, and we will get it. But one thing you need to know is that the President-elect will definitely do what is in the Nigerian constitution.

Whatever is in the constitution is what he will do. Also, I can tell you that our party, and the President-elect, who symbolises the party in all ramifications, are not only gender sensitive, but gender– friendly. So, we as women of Nigeria, expect to get the best from his government.

Could you access the chances of the APC in the South-South, in today’s governorship election?

I want to say that the last election showed that in the South-South, there was so much federal might, where you had a lot of tactics that were employed in order to outsmart our party and I am rather cautious to employ the word ‘rig’.

I also want to believe, it has been said on television programmes that they have to deliver their states to the president, and to show their support to him.

So I want to believe that they are going to employ the same method, perhaps even other methods we have not seen. Nonetheless, we won’t be cut off guard this time around. We are going to cushion it and make sure it doesn’t re-occur.

Whatever it is they intend to deplore against our party, we shall win our elections and we intend to do so in grand style and in the spirit of sportsmanship. When we win, we will be congratulated, if they win, we will say, well done. But the most important thing is that we are moving into Aso Rock on May 29.

In the presidential and National Assembly elections which have come and gone, we had a lot of complaints, especially in your zone, South-South and the South-East.

Is your party going to challenge the outcome of the election, especially the National Assembly election in court?

Definitely, you know that people who are aggrieved know where to take the complaint to. Already, the Supreme Court has constituted the Election Tribunals and they will soon swing into action. So I want to believe that those who were rigged out, will go to the election tribunal and they will be given justice there, especially if they are able to evidence.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

PAGE 18

Politics

Speaker: Will there be repeat of 2011 rebellion? *Gbajabiamila, Jibrin battle Dogara, Ogor others

Gbajabiamila

Ogor

Jibrin

Yakubu

By Patrick Andrew

revolting against both decisions. Young Turks defied both the presidency and Wadata Plaza, (the PDP headquarters) in Abuja.

The Sokoto prince, who only few years earlier was in the opposition, aligned with some ‘rebellious’ elements led by Femi Gbajabiamila from the South West and other like minds to veto the directive of the national leadership of the ruling PDP. Mulikat was soundly trounced but consoled with the position of Leader of the House, a position that wields far less influence and prestige than the Speaker’s stool.

Ironically, Tambuwal’s emergence did not only defy permutations but up-set the zonal arrangements of the ruling party. The calculation had been simple: since the south south region had produced the president and the north west had the vice presidency, the Senate presidency was zoned to

the north central, the south west was scheduled to produce the speaker, while the south east was to produce the deputy Senate president and the north east the deputy speaker.

However, with the emergence of Tambuwal, the calculations were severely altered and both the south west and north east recorded heavy casualties. The young Turks had argued that the law allows them without recourse to the party/ies to select any one among them capable and experienced enough to lead the House. It set a precedent whose veracity or otherwise is about to be tested.

It would seem that the battle for the speakership position will be a straight fight between the south south and north east more so should the north central, which has held the position of Senate president since the fifth Assembly, be so favoured to

retain it. Although the new majority party, the APC, is yet to make public its zoning arrangements, comments from leaders of the party in the south east clearly dropped the hint on the likely structure: namely south east for Senate presidency or speaker of the House. Well, it will take a miracle for the region to produce any having failed to secure any seat on its platform for the upper chamber and just a sprinkle in the House. Will the theory of ‘child of circumstance’ be adopted and applied for the region?

Nothing so far gives this indication.

Rather, the six men that have put on the battle gears and sounded the war cry are from all the regions except the south east and north central. The later seems to concentrate efforts on securing the presidency of the Senate.

There seems to be progression towards a repeat of the 2011 experience when permutations and party directives were ignored. Then, with its majority, the PDP leadership had thought it sacrosanct that its words on the appointments of key officers for the House will be law. It was not.

It would be recalled that the PDP had clear majority with 208 lawmakers; the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) had 70 members, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), accounted for 40 lawmakers. With the merger of the opposition parties in 2013: ACN, CPC, the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to form the APC, the PDP’s invincibility plummeted. It began to lose control. In December, the gale of defection began when 37 PDP members decamped to the

R

epresentatives Femi Gbajabiamila, Dogara Yakubu, Leo Ogor, Pally Iriase, Abdulmuminin Jibrin and Mohammed Tahir Monguno, have one unique thing in common: They are in the trenches poised for ‘war’ for the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

It will be fierce but not bloody.

There will be bruises and casualties but no corpse. Only one will win the war, while the majority will also win the battle in their own right. Already, there is palpable war of attrition and the six men are in battle gears and like the Italian mafias will say ‘on the matt’, readying to latch on opponents’ strongholds for the spoils of war.

Although only 360 men and women are their target, the entire country will surely be held spellbound all through the processes leading to the eventual contest in June after the inauguration of the eight House of Representatives.

Right Honourable Aminu Waziri Tambuwal is the incumbent Speaker, but is out of the contest having decided to seek to serve the people of Sokoto.

Four years ago, Tambuwal’s emergence defied prediction. Hon. Ajibola had been touted by the leadership of the PDP to assume the post. Of course, many were convinced he had the pedigree to perform the job having been a ranking member of the sixth assembly. Enter affirmative action: Mulikat Akande-Adeola was thrust at the members and they reeled and railed at this sudden position by

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Although only 360 men and women are their target, the entire country will surely be held spellbound all through the processes leading to the eventual contest in June after the inauguration of the eight House of Representatives.

Right Honourable Aminu Waziri Tambuwal is the incumbent Speaker, but is out of the contest having decided to seek to serve the people of Sokoto.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

PAGE 19

Tourism

Meet the Helmeted Guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) at the Lake Chad Basin

L

ocated in the SudanoSahelian ecological zone of the North-Eastern part of Nigeria between Borno and Yobe States, Chad Basin National Park covers a total area of 2,258km2 and fragmented into three sectors.

The Chingurmi-Duguma sector is in Borno State and in a Sudanian Savanna ecological zone, while the Bade-Nguru Wetlands and Bulatura sectors are in Yobe State in the Sahel ecological zone.

The park which is generally referred to as the conventional basin of the famous Lake Chad, is indeed a veritable heaven of adventure where visitors are spoilt with activities that will make the spirit soar. The park hosted Prince Philip in 1989 when he was the president of WWF and some parts of the park were also visited by Charles and Diana in 1990.

The Chad Basin National Park is composed of several areas or ‘sectors’ which are geographically remote from one another. The ChingurmiDuguma Sector is located in the Woloji and Gulumba Districts, south-east of Maiduguri. It lies close to Waza National Park in Cameroon (IBA CM003). The vegetation is typical SudanGuinea Savanna, except in the most northerly part of the park where it takes on a more Sahelian aspect, partly due to the influence of human activities.

A large part of the park is flooded by waters from the Dorma River during the rainy season, creating flood-plain wetlands (e.g. the Kutila fadama) which attracts waterbirds and other wildlife. The common tree of this habitat is Mitragyna

sp. Artificial stock watering points have also been created in various places but these do not retain water through the dry season.

Conservation issues: Although legally protected as part of a National Park, illegal grazing, fuel woodcollection and hunting take place. Bush fires are frequent.

This is probably because local people profess to be unaware that the area was upgraded in 1991 from a Game Reserve to a National Park. Guinea fowl egg-collectors invade the park during the species’ breeding season.

The Chad Basin National Park is а national park іn northeastern Nigeria, іn the Chad Basin, wіth а total area оf аbоut 2,258 km². The park іs fragmented, wіth three sectors.

The ChingurmiDuguma sector іs іn Borno State, іn а Sudanian Savanna ecological zone. The BadeNguru Wetlands аnd Bulatura sectors аre іn Yobe State іn the Sahel ecological zone.

Status The park combines the former Chingurmi-Dugoma Game Reserve, Gorgoram аnd Zurgun Baneri Forest Reserves, аnd Bulature Oasis. Аs оf 1999 іt hаd nоt been surveyed, sо the boundaries аre nоt well-established. The park іs used by many farmers, grazers аnd fishermen.

Despite significant investment іn lodgings fоr tourists, the park sectors оnly attract а few hundred visitors each yeаr due tо the lack оf spectacular wildlife. By 2008, staff аt the park office іn Maiduguri knew little аbоut the park, the lodgings hаd been abandoned, аnd tourists visiting the park sectors hаd tо tаke off-road

Wetland in Chad Basin National Park

Tourists find the Helmeted Guine fowl in abundance at the Chad Basin National Park

vehicles аnd be prepared tо camp out.

Chingurmi-Duguma sector The Chingurmi-Duguma sector іs іn the Bama Local Government Area оf Borno State, adjoining the Waza National Park іn the Republic оf Cameroon, around coordinates . Іt has аn area оf 1,228 km2, wіth а stratified topology. The northern part іs within the Sahel zone while southern sector has а typical Sudan–Guinea Savanna ecology, аnd includes Acacia-Balanites woodlands separated by dense stands оf Elephant grass аnd Sorghum.

Waters frоm the Dorma river flood much оf the sector іn the rainy season, creating flood-plain wetlands thаt attract waterbirds аnd оther wildlife. The resident Black

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A large part of the park is flooded by waters from the Dorma River during the rainy season, creating flood-plain wetlands (e.g. the Kutila fadama) which attracts waterbirds and other wildlife.

Crowned Crane іs abundant, but іs considered vulnerable.

The Helmeted Guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) іs аlsо abundant. Demoiselle Cranes (Grus virgo) visit іn the winter, аs well аs large numbers оf White Storks (Ciconia ciconia).

A 2007 report estimated thаt there were аbоut 100 elephants іn the sector, whіch may still migrate tо аnd frоm the Waza park. The Cameroon аnd Nigerian park authorities hаve been cooperating tо prevent poaching оf wildlife аnd tо raise awareness among the local people оf the longerterm value оf conservation.

There hаve been discussions by the IUCN оver making the sector аnd the Waza National Park аn internationally designated protected area.

Bade-Nguru Wetlands sector The Bade-Nguru Wetlands sector іs part оf the Hadejia-Nguru wetlands, аnd has аn area оf 938 km2 around coordinates . Іt lies іn the southwest оf the Bade аnd Jakusko Local Government Areas оf Yobe

State. The sector includes the Dagona Waterfowl Sanctuary, аn important resting place fоr migratory birds. Іt аlsо includes five forest reserves.

Annual rainfall ranges between 200-600 mm, during the period late MaySeptember. Wіth reduced flooding due tо upstream dams аnd perhaps climate change, аnd wіth increasing population, the environment іs degrading. There іs growing competition between humans аnd wildlife. Farmers set оut poison tо kill the cropdestroying Quelea quelea, іn the process killing non-target species. Marginal land іs nоw coming under cultivation аnd tree cover іn the forest reserves іs being depleted.

Bulatura sector The Bulatura sector іs іn the Yusufari Local Government Area оf Yobe State, аnd has аn area оf 92 km2 around coordinates . The sector has а series оf swampy valleys separated by scenic sand dunes. The valleys contain rich deposits оf potash.

Cometonigeria.com

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Page 20

Homes

By Mariam Humbe

Flatter your environment; decorate with blue and white

This colour combination is as versatile as they come and it flatters every room, no matter the size, style or budget.

E

voking the sea and skies with a few perfect clouds, a blue-and-white palette brings comfort and style that’s cool, calm, and collected. Get inspired by this roundup of our favourite rooms decorated with this timeless colour combination.

Soothing gray-sage walls let white woodwork and blue accessories take center stage in this vacation home just minutes from the beach. Turquoise blue glassware in the dining room cabinets echoes the blues in a painting called Pool at Noon which hangs nearby. Silvery blue slipcovers partner with beige ones in a visual symphony inspired by water and sand.

Blue Jeans and White Shirts A family room is elegantly appointed in ivory and navy blues in this bachelor pad remodel. Creamy linen drapery panels are

Gorgeous blue and white bedroom

edged in blue grosgrain ribbon to emphasize the hues of the Ralph Lauren and Brunschwig and Fils fabrics.

Coastal Living Room Bookcase A built-in bookcase in the family room features natural raffia inserts affixed to the wall. The raffia’s neutral hue lets the indigo and silver mementoes pop, while giving the area a lovely textural background.

Country French Kitchen in Blue and White A white kitchen boasts blue accents and country themes. Antique Chinese Canton ware and blue-and-white transfer ware pop against the kitchen’s neutral canvas. Intricate mouldings help tie the room to the home’s 1936 origin.

Comfy Dining Area in Blue and White Patterns

Lively patterns in shades of blue play against a crisp white backdrop in this casual dining area. A window seat is piled with pillows from Schumacher, a comfy spot for conversation. A valence over the windows is trimmed in navy blue for a smart complement to the mix of patterns below.

Gorgeous Blue and White Bedroom The guest bedroom of this waterfront home reflects the landscape outside while incorporating some more formal elements, like the regal brass chandelier and checkered canopy that adds height to the tufted white headboard. The pillows and duvet are covered in a pretty blue-and-white damask print.

Powder Blue-and-Cream Bedroom and Sitting Area A master bedroom with an open sitting area calls for a soothing palette of cream

and blue. The bench at the foot of the bed, covered in “Caterpillar” from Schumacher, lends a dose of texture and rich chocolate brown details to complement the powder blues elsewhere. Gauzy ivory drapery at the windows feature layers of aqua beneath, tying the room’s palette together.

Youthful Blue Breakfast Room Blues in this breakfast room range from the deep navy lacquer of the Windsor chairs to the light denim of the valence above. The ivory banquette is adorned with pillows embellished with delicate blue accents, resembling the colors of the china at the table. A drum pendant shade above brings in a dose of animal print, while tangerine placements provide a pop of color.

Glam Living Room in Soft Blues The living room captures the essence of the glamorous seaside home with a barelythere blue on the lofty walls and a natural sisal rug grounding the space. A silkvelvet Irish sofa is covered in a luxurious blue, a concentrated version of the walls surrounding it.

Dining Room with Icy Blue Palette In the dining room, antique pieces are covered in modern fabrics rich in texture.

Mirrors flanking the mantel are made of thick, chiseled glass to (literally) reflect the room’s icy palette.

Master Bath in Blue and White The coastal palette in this summer home is given a youthful twist in the master bath, where periwinkle tiles from Urban Archaeology and a custom vanity built by Waterworks. Veined marble floor tiles lend elegant interest to the floors; glass doors and twin mirrors keep the natural light flowing.

Sophisticated Cream-and-Blue Dining Room Striped wallpaper from Ralph Lauren Home provides a handsome background in this dining room. Shapely Queen Anne chairs are upholstered in ivory linen with contrasting brown piping for a touch of complementary variation in the room’s clean palette.

Restful Blue-and-White Bedroom Snowy-white linens resting against a sky-blue headboard and dust ruffle turn this canopy bed into a restful sanctuary.

Soothing beige walls suggest the sandy beach just a stone’s throw away from this lakefront home.

Graphic Blue-and-White In a kitchen both traditional and unexpected, graphic blue-and-white “The Vase” wallpaper from Clarence House adds cheerful energy to a compact space.

Glass-front cabinet doors share a love of transparency with the Lucite bar stools at the center island. Stainless-steel appliances add subtle gleam without taking attention away from the glorious blues. www.beautifulhome.com

A sitting room with blue and white decorations

e n i z a

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

d n e k e We

g a M ent

m Entertain

Fashion

ps Beauty Ti

od Kannywo

Mariah Carey to star in Christmas movie >>PG 36

Beyonce dedicates song to Jay Z to mark anniversary >>PG 37

My woman must know how to cook, look good - Lynxx

>>PG 37

d

Hollywoo

PAGE 21

d Bollywoo

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Page 22

Your Body, Image & U

What do you understand by modeling?

Muslim model

I

n our African society today, most people are still in the dark what modeling means. I have interviewed many parents as well as youths to find out what exactly they understand about someone being a model. Check this outOne mother said to me-‘’ C’mon jacqui.....it’s very simple.... everyone knows that what the girls do there is just to parade their bodies and different attires designed by different designers.

I asked her –Is it only girls that model? Haba! Of course it is for girls only! (wrong)Males model too! Then this same mother finally said to me- honestly jacqui, my daughter would have made a very good model if only modeling can be something else.

Like what? I asked. She did not talk .. kind of confused on what to say.. so I helped her out by asking again- Can I meet your daughter madam? Of course jacqui, why not? On meeting the daughter on our appointed date, I was carried away by the entire beauty of her daughter from head to toe. I asked the young lady some questions about modeling and she was thrilled to hear me talk about modeling with the mother and she opened up on her great desire and passion for modeling.

In the midst of our talk, the mom said- You see what I told you jacqui...only if there are other things she can do with her beauty apart from ‘’body parade’’. This

woman actually inspired my gist for today on the misconceptions of Modeling which is one of the reasons we invite young male and females interested in modeling to join our Modeling Coaching Camp so they can understand that modeling is not just about ‘’body parade’’. By the way, as I write , this same mother has enrolled her lovely daughter in our Abuja Modeling Camp.

As you read this, you might be among those who see modeling as not a serious career and by the time you finished reading you will see how wrong you are. Modeling all over the world is one career that enables an individual (male or female) to use his or her God given talents and body assets to earn a living. It is a career that can glorify God’s wonderful creations if one handles it very well. Now the mother Italked above was excited

“

after I explained to her that modeling has many dimensions and not just about ‘body parade’’ like she said. After talking with the daughter I discovered that she has the following features‘beautiful smiles with very good set of teeth, fantastic natural nails, smooth long neck, and long legs that can put miss universe out of business and to top it all , she speaks so sweetly like an angel that I got carried away by all the natural gifts God gave to only one person.’

Before I come back to this special mother’s gist. Let me also talk a little on young people who desire to model but keep saying that they are not tall, pretty enough,slim to model.

This is not modeling talk at all if you really understand what modeling means. You must not be 6ft tall or have a barbie face /shape to make it in modeling industry. Who says you must be skinny and so tall to be a good model? When you decide to join the modeling coaching forum, you will be taught how to identify your body features that you can explore to model. Those who are tall and slim have their version of modeling to do. If you are not so tall, with a barbie doll shape, there must be other beautiful body features you have.

In our Modeling Coaching Camp, we explain to those who still think modeling is all about being tall, slim. Pretty face that they are wrong. A young lady could be short but have very good set of white teeth combined with beautiful smile. This one asset could get her very good jobs from companies who are looking for such to advertise their products.

All the companies need is just her smile and white set of teeth.

I am i making sense here? When she models the only thing you see is a very sweet-smilling face with lovely set of white teeth and her body shape, height are not required here. Most young people who have such assets will not know about this unless they are being coached to discover

As you read this, you might be among those who see modeling as not a serious career and by the time you finished reading you will see how wrong you are.

their features to model with.

My mother friend above could not hide her ignorance about modeling when I took time to outline so many areas of modeling which inturn made her to register her daughter in our modeling coaching Camp.

Being a model must not only involve run way-cat walking stuff but goes beyond this. Models with what it takes to do runway modeling are there but majority of models are hired for good advert jobs due to their various gifts and talents. How about a young man coming to modeling coaching and in the course of coaching discovers that he can sing very well. Oh sure in our coaching sessions we go deeper to unveil other hidden talents youths could possess but not knowing they can use them to make a living as well.

For parents who are reading this, do not allow the Talents in your youths go waste. Engage your youths in meaningful actvities like registering them in my modeling Camp here in abuja where we can help to groom them and unveil certain talents they possess. The mother I told you about even asked me before I left-‘’can my daughter do well in the broadcasting industry?’’.

This particular mother saw all the potentials of her daughter but she was just thinking left handed like

A Western model

With Jacqui Iwu bwreforms@gmail.com 08184825606 (sms only) most Africans concerning the full details of what modeling means.

She knew inside of her that her daughter posses special talents but was confused and primitive how to go about it due to societal concerns which by the way can not put food for her on the table.

Of course the daughter if at the end, decides not to do runway modeling can do so many other things like being a good radio/ T.v broadcaster. How could she be a broadcaster if she does not explore what kind of sweet voice she has from coaching? She can also get jobs from cosmetics and beauty products company respectively.

Modeling is a wonderful career, join our modeling Camp in Abuja to unveil your talents.

Online registeration for those outside Abuja is allowed too.

Jacqui Iwu is a BODYIMAGE Coach A STRESS Management Expert &Conference Speaker Media Relations Personnel BLOG: http://bluntjacqui. blogspot.com FB: http://facebook.com/ beautifulwoman.column

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Page 23

Womanhood

...a repeat of 2011 rebellion?

Contd from Page 18

APC. Subsequently, several lawmakers took leave of their membership of the PDP to form stronger force against their former party. Of course, the climax of the movement was the eventual and long expected defection of Speaker Tambuwal from the PDP to the APC. Before the March 28 polls, the APC’s membership in the House had risen to 187, while the PDP had about 155.

Following the March 28 National Assembly election, the APC officially took over the majority of the eight House with over 214 members, while the PDP secured 125 members. The Labour Party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance and Accord Party, share the balance of 10 seats to bring the total to 349, leaving the result of 11 federal constituency seats in Jigawa State, where election comes up this weekend.

Whether the APC expectedly clinches every seat or not, the final 360 numbers of the House will be complete and inaugurated on June 6.

The APC therefore is poised to produce the leadership of the House: the speaker, deputy speaker, majority leader, chief whip and deputy majority leader of the in-coming Assembly.

Likely determinant: The voting strength of the different regions shows that the APC has the highest membership from the north west with 81 lawmakers, as against the PDP’s none. It is followed by the southwest, with 47 seats compared to the PDP’s 20.

In the north-central, the APC got 41 seats, PDP eight, while in the northeast the APC scored 40 as against the seven seats won by the PDP. The PDP’s strongest zone is the south-south, where it produced 52 members, compared to the APC’s three. The three seats came from Edo State. The now minority party won most of the 38 seats in the southeast, leaving only three for the APC in Imo State.

It means then, that no region can hope to clinch the speakership without horse trading with others. However, should there be a repeat of the 2011 experience which is likely, the combined strength of the north west, south west, and n/central for the APC would be significant.

Nonetheless, to secure the two third majority, 264, an alliance with the south south will be inevitable and this throws some lifeline to the PDP and whoever it supports as candidate.

Party directive is also very essential depending on the attitude of the lawmakers. If they choose to go the 2011 way, then the APC will have its first major challenge from the legislature and could pitch party interest against the collective interest of popular candidate/s.

Here is where the likes of Gbajabiamila holds sway. The minority

House of Representatives

leader is influential, vocal and has depth of legislative proceedings. But he hails from the south west, but is from the south west where the Vice Presidentelect, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, comes from. If he emerges, it would a repeat of the 2011 experience when Tambuwal emerged speaker in spite of the fact that the Vice President, Namadi Sambo, also came from the same region.

Same applies to Leo Ogor, the Deputy Majority Leader. The PDP man from Delta fancies his chances on the strength of the likely influence the PDP will wield in the exercise. Ogor is versatile, very experienced in legislative matters, commands reasonable respect and could, depending on his relationship with relevant elements in the north west, south west, north central and his region, the south south, pose no little threat to strong opponents.

Whereas Ogor will enjoy the support of his party, Gbajabiamila may have obstacles in that respect even if the

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north west rallies round him. Further, he led the charge against the decision of the leadership of the PDP and has reputation for being sometimes unduly critical, a clear slur to his personality.

Pally Iriase is from Edo. Equally experienced and therefore capable for the job, but has hindrances in the fact that Chief John Oyegun-Odigie, his party chairman, hails from Edo and it seems unlikely that the APC would turn blind eyes deliberately to allow the breach take place.

Hon.Yakubu Dogara (APC, Bauchi) is said to be another strong contender.

Brilliant and reasonably articulate like Gbajabiamila, he has grasps of legislative proceedings, as well as reasonable clout.

If the current chairman, committee on house ser¬vices, chooses to throw his hat into the ring, it would be his second attempt because he had contested the speaker¬ship with Tambuwal in 2011.

Unlike Gbajabiamila and Ogor, Dogara could win the sympathy of his colleagues

based on regional consideration: The north east was neglected in top jobs in the last dispensation. However, his greatest hindrance would be the region’s preference for the Senate presidency.

Abdulmumini Jibrin’s entrance to some is a huge surprise. Jibrin believes being Chairman of the House Committee on Finance puts him in the vantage position to understand fully the financial dealings of the country, ways to generate more and even plug leakages and therefore is in a better position to lead the House.

“We shall take parliamentary activities to the people. We shall pursue the independence of the legislature and improve relationship with other arms of government with vigour. There will be a conscious effort to build a reputation for the parliament by maintaining a robust independence, while working towards a better relationship with the other arms.”

Jibrin is also from the north west

Here is where the likes of Gbajabiamila holds sway.

The minority leader is influential, vocal and has depth of legislative proceedings, but is from the south west where the Vice President-elect, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, comes from. If he emerges, it would a repeat of the 2011 experience when Tambuwal emerged speaker in spite of the fact that the Vice President, Namadi Sambo, also came from the same region.

PAGE 24

Kiddies World

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

With Miriam

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS

Humbe

ABCDE

HIS AND HERS CORNER

Farin Ruwa Falls of Nasarawa State

Working together for a better future

Cartoon

F

arin Ruwa Falls is a waterfall found in the central region of Nigeria. It is among the highest waterfalls in Nigeria. It is significant among Africa’s falls when the total height covered by the waterfall is considered.

The source of Farin Ruwa falls is found on the Jos Plateau, from whence it gushes down over the edge of the plateau. During its descent from the Jos Plateau, the water drops a total height of about 150 metres (492 ft). This drop is higher compared to the more popular Victoria Falls, which drops a height of around 108 metres (354 ft) during its descent.

Farin Ruwa falls is found in the Farin Ruwa Development Area, under Wamba Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. The falls is found along the boundary ofPlateau State and Nasarawa State, under the Bokkos and Wamba Local Government Areas of the two states. The falls has its source on the Jos plateau, in the Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State.

The falls was discovered by the then British colonial rulers of Nigeria in the 1950s. A catering Rest House was established in Gur Hill at Marhai village close to the falls in order to exploit it commercially. To protect its rich heritage, the colonial administration gazetted it and named it Marhai Forest Reserve.

However, despite this early development, Farin Ruwa was consigned to the background until the creation of Nasarawa State in 1996. The waterfall is

about 120 kilometres from Lafia, the Nasarawa state capital, and 30 kilometres from Wamba town.

The name Farin Ruwa Farin Ruwa is a Hausa language word meaning ‘white water’. Farin Ruwa is a description of the nature of the falls by the local inhabitants of the Farin Ruwa area. The height covered during the descent of the falls is very great, so that the descending water crashes during its way down the Jos plateau escarpment. The falls gradually turns white in colour as a result of the height covered by the falls during its descent.

The falls, as a result of its white colour, appears in the distance to the inhabitants of the Farin Ruwa area like white smoke on the mountains. This white nature of the falls earned it the name Farin Ruwa from the inhabitants.

Environment and climate The mountainous nature of the region surrounding the Farin Ruwa falls induces heavy rainfall from clouds passing over the region during the rainy season from March to November. As a result, there is an increase in the volume of water of the falls crashing from the mountains during the rainy season. The mountains around the falls are the edge of the Jos Plateau.

There is a drop in the volume of water of the falls during the dry season, from December to March. But it is for a short while, as the falls recovers its water volume again during the rainy season.

Scoobydoo and friends

Tom and Jerry

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

PAGE 25

Kiddies World

With Miriam

AFRICAN TALES

Why the Lioness and the Ostrich fight

ABCDE

Humbe

MODEL OF THE WEEK

Osedebamen Albert

ACTIVITIES With the help of the right materials, have a fun-filled weekend colouring the image below. Show your work to your parents or teacher for correction. Cheers!

I

t is said, once a lioness roared, and the ostrich also roared. The lioness went toward the place where the ostrich was. They met. The lioness said to the ostrich, “Please to roar.” The ostrich roared. Then the lioness roared. The voices were equal. The lioness said to the ostrich, “You are my match.”

Then the lioness said to the ostrich, “Let us hunt game together.” They saw eland and made toward it.

The lioness caught only one; the ostrich killed a great many by striking them with the claw which was on his leg; but the lioness killed only one. When they had met after the hunting they went to the game, and the lioness saw that the ostrich had killed a great deal.

Now, the lioness also had young cubs. They went to the shade to rest themselves. The lioness said to the ostrich, “Get up and rip open; let us eat.” Said the

ostrich, “Go and rip open; I shall eat the blood.” The lioness stood up and ripped open, and ate with the cubs. And when she had eaten, the ostrich got up and ate the blood. They went to sleep.

The cubs played about. While they were playing, they went to the ostrich, who was asleep. When he went to sleep he also opened his mouth. The young lions saw that the ostrich had no teeth. They went to their mother and said, “This fellow, who says he is your equal, has no teeth; he is insulting you.” Then the lioness went to wake the ostrich, and said, “Get up, let us fight”; and they fought. And the ostrich said, “Go to that side of the anthill, and I will go to this side of it.”

The ostrich struck the anthill, and sent it toward the lioness. But the second time he struck the lioness in a vulnerable spot, near the liver, and killed her.

CREATIVITY

Make a pair of sandals from cardboard Spend your weekend wisely learning how to make a pair of cardboard sandals, using a rescued cardboard box.

Step 1: Mark outlines on box Find a box or pieces of cardboard to trace the pattern onto. To make the pattern, use a pair of shoes or sandals that you have. Eight “soles” are needed, and two each of the top and bottom straps are cut out. The patterns for the straps were drawn free hand, then cut out and fit onto the sole to see if any adjustments were needed. If so, re-draw and re-cut.

Step 2: Cut all pieces out You can use the band-saw for this step, but it can be done with scissors or craft knives.

Step 3: One piece of sole is cut for straps This layer will be second from the top, i.e., will have one complete sole covering it for strength.

Step 4: Glue all pieces together All pieces for one sandal are glued at one time. Use a fair amount of glue, but don’t overdo it. These pieces can be weighted and left overnight; the longer the cure time, the better.

Step 5: Add decorative hem made of Kraft paper Kraft paper from a grocery bag is used for the hems. Cut the strips about 1 and 1/4 inch wide.

Step 6: Make fasteners for the straps To keep the sandals on, Velcro is used to assure closure. That’s a good idea for strength, but you may decide to just glue them on using the glue on type of Velcro.

Step 7: The completed sandals Sandals completed.

PAGE 26

e-Learning

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

The phone case that saves your battery *Sensors in the Optimal case track subtle changes in a phone’s temperature *Micro-fans inside the case cool the phone down if it gets too hot *While built-in resistance coils gently heat the device if it gets too cold Case is launching on Indiegogo this week, but prices haven’t been revealed

S

ending dozens of messages or playing games for hours can cause your phone to overheat, which can drain battery and even damage the device.

Now an Israeli team of developers has built a ‘thermal protection’ case that not only warns you when your phone is getting too hot, it will automatically cool it down.

Called Amited, the case uses micro-fans to blow heat away from the device, or can heat a phone using resistance coils if it gets too cold.

The recommended storage temperature for most batteries is 15°C (59°F), while the ‘extreme allowable’ temperature is 40°C to 50°C (40°C to 122°F).

Studies have found that a phone is most efficient when it’s between 0° and 35°C (32°F to 95°F), and keeping it as near room temperature as possible (22° C or 72°F ) is ideal.

At an average temperature of 0°C (32°F), a lithium-ion battery will lose six per cent of its maximum capacity every year. At 25°C (77°F) degrees that number jumps to 20 per cent.

Optimal syncs with a smartphone over Bluetooth and constantly analyses the phone’s temperature when Auto mode is enabled, using built-in temperature and humidity sensors.

Inside the 0.19-inch (5mm) thick case is a pair of ‘virtually silent’, 0.07inch (2mm) micro-fans with air flow of 1.3 litres per minute. These dissipate the heat and cool the phone down.

Amited is also fitted with an ultra-thin heating coils attached to the back of a conductive copper plate.

“

When Optimal notices a drop in temperature, Anti-Freeze mode will engage these coils to stop the phone from freezing, even in sub-freezing conditions.

When Auto mode is enabled, these subtle temperature changes are tracked automatically, but this mode can be disabled and users can manually track these changes using the Optimal app.

This app shows temperature changes over time, but also reveals which apps are having the highest thermal effect on the phone.

Users can then set custom operation modes based on their activity and location, set their own custom temperatures zones and set alarm thresholds.

‘Heat is the worst enemy of your smartphone battery,’ said Amited.

‘Like all electronics, constant exposure to the elements will have a negative impact on your smartphone.

‘Intense usage will lead to overheating, while extreme cold weather will lead to some circuits freezing inside your smartphone.

‘In time, these can affect the performance of your phone’s CPU, battery and GPU. And, eventually, they’ll let you down completely.’

‘Optimal is the world’s first thermal protection case designed to keep your smartphone working at its best, no matter where you go or how excessive you use it.’

Amited is launching an Indiegogo campaign to fund production of the case on the 9 April.

Optimal cases will then be available for pre-order for Apple, Samsung, Nexus, HTC & Xperia phones. Prices have not been announced.

When Optimal notices a drop in temperature, AntiFreeze mode will engage these coils to stop the phone from freezing, even in sub-freezing conditions.

The Optimal case (pictured) was designed by Israel-based Amited. Sensors in the case monitor the phone’s temperature and if it gets too hot, Optimal will cool the device using two built-in micro-fans. And if it gets too hot, Optimal engages its Anti-Freeze protection mode to gently heat the phone using resistance coils

Auto mode can be disabled and users can also manually track temperature changes using an app. This app shows changes over time, but also reveals which apps in particular are having the highest thermal effect on the phone. Users can then set their own custom temperatures zones and set alarm thresholds Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3028602/Your-phone-never-overheat-Amited-thermal-protection-case-regulates-temperature-saves-battery.html#ixzz3WdD8ckL1

The Optimal case (pictured) was designed by Israel-based Amited. Sensors in the case monitor the phone’s temperature and if it gets too hot, Optimal will cool the device using two built-in micro-fans. And if it gets too hot, Optimal engages its Anti-Freeze protection mode to gently heat the phone using resistance coils

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

PAGE 27

Compiled By Doyin Ojosipe

Why the Bat is ashamed to be seen in the daytime (II)

C

ont …the tortoise hung the horn up out of sight in the back yard, and then sat down in the house. just before it was time for food the bat sent the tortoise to get the drinking-horn, and the tortoise went outside into the yard, and waited until he heard that the beating of the boiled yams into foo-foo had finished; he then went into the house and gave the drinking-horn to the bat, who was so surprised and angry, that when the food was passed he refused to eat any of it, so the tortoise ate it all; this went on for four days, until at last the bat became as thin as the poor little lamb had been on the previous occasion.

At last the bat could stand the pains of his inside no longer and secretly told his mother-in-law to bring him food when the tortoise was not looking. He said, “I am now going to sleep for a little, but you can wake me up when the food is ready.”

The tortoise, who had been listening all the time, being hidden in a corner out of sight, waited until the bat was fast asleep, and then carried him very gently into the next room and placed him on his own bed; he then very softly and quietly took off the bat’s cloth and covered himself in it, and lay down where the bat had been; very soon the bat’s mother-in-law

brought the food and placed it next to where the bat was supposed to be sleeping, and having pulled his cloth to wake him, went away.

The tortoise then got up and ate all the food; when he had finished he carried the bat back again, and took some of the palm-oil and foofoo and placed it inside the bat’s lips while he was asleep; then the tortoise went to sleep himself.

In the morning when he woke up the bat was hungrier than ever, and in a very bad temper, so he sought out his mother-in-law and started scolding her, and asked her why she had not brought his food as he had told her to do. She replied she had brought his food, and that he had eaten it; but this, the bat denied, and accused the tortoise of having eaten the food.

The woman then said she would call the people in and they should decide the matter; but the tortoise slipped out first and told the people that the best way to find out who had eaten the food was to make both the bat and him rinse their mouths out with clean water into a basin. This they decided to do, so the tortoise got his tooth-stick which he always used and having cleaned his teeth properly, washed his mouth out, and returned to the house.

When all the people had arrived the woman told them how the

Leisure Poem

TEARS OF A RESTLESS SOUL (A tribute to NIS Victims)

In our naivety, We troop out like ant soldiers Blindfolded Conned and led to our early graves With impunity, The air from our nostrils They snatched in our prime With our hard-earned cash We paid our oppressors To crushed us to death Randomly, they Enclosed us in an abattoir like cattle Caused us to stampede Then got us slaughtered Now over 365 and still counting Still we cry and demand for justice bat had abused her, and as he still maintained stoutly that he had had no food for five days, the people said that both he and the tortoise should wash their mouths out with clean water into two clean calabashes; this was done, and at once it could clearly be seen that the bat had been eating, as there were distinct traces of the palm-oil and foo-foo which the tortoise had put inside his lips floating on the water.

When the people saw this they decided against the bat, and he was so ashamed that he ran away

In the Boxing Ring, search the words out

then and there, and has ever since always hidden himself in the bush during the daytime, so that no one could see him, and only comes out at night to get his food.

The next day the tortoise returned to the mother sheep and told her what he had done, and that the bat was forever disgraced. The old sheep praised him very much, and told all her friends, in consequence of which the reputation of the tortoise for wisdom was greatly increased throughout the whole country.

All ‘em responsible, Mere ‘employees and servants’ In the aftermath, They all remain and their portfolio intact They ‘kross’ our street in swagger With impunity Their scheme goes on unchallenged The wailing of those we left They muffled with a token The kingpin untouchable From beneath here, We cry and seek for justice Justice!

So as to serve as a deterrent Then shall our souls in peace rest

By McPATRICK MICHAEL LINUS

Laugh out loud (Lol)!

Akpors had a brother whom his mother usually refers to as a little angel.

So one day, Akpors went to his Mum who was having some rest; He asked “Mum, shebi little

Jonny is your little angel” ?

The Mum replied him: “yes he is”; Akpors said, “I just threw him down from the balcony and he did not fly.”

Don’t look down on others, they have their pain…

BANTAMWEIGHT BOBBING BOXING CROSS FINCORNERS

FLYWEIGHT FEATHERWEIGHT GLOVES HEAVYWEIGHT HOOK

JAB KNOCKOUT LIGHTWEIGHT MIDDLEWEIGHT PUNCH

REFEREE RING UPPERCUT WEIGHT CLASS WELTERWEIGHT

A 24 year old boy seeing out from the train’s window shouted…

“Dad, look the trees are going behind!”

Dad smiled and a young couple sitting nearby, looked at the 24 year Old’s childish behavior with pity, suddenly he again exclaimed…

“Dad, look the clouds are running with us!”

The couple couldn’t resist and said to the old man…

“Why don’t you take your son to a good doctor?”

The old man smiled and said…

“I did and we are just coming from the hospital, my son was blind from birth, he just got his eyes today.

Every single person on the planet has a story. Don’t judge people before you truly know them. The truth might surprise you.

Beauty

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Page 28

TIPS

Compiled by Isioma Nwabasha

How to get clear, smooth skin Is your skin prone to breakouts or irritation? Do you think a perfectly smooth skin is something you will never have?

Spend some time taking care of it and you will end up with a smooth and gorgeous skin that you can’t wait to show off. Below are steps to get the clear, smooth skin you have always wanted.

S

tart a daily face-washing routine.

Consistency is an important part of maintaining a healthy complexion, so make sure you are doing the following every morning and night: Wash your face with a gentle cleanser. Avoid scrubbing too hard or using rough washcloths or loofahs. These may irritate your skin and cause blemishes to stay on your face longer. If you want to exfoliate, use a soap that is made to do so instead.

Use a toner (optional). If your skin is dry, not combination or oily, you can skip this step. Always get an alcohol-free toner, get a toner that fits your skin type. Toner helps firm and tighten your skin as it wipes away dirt in your pores.

Moisturize. If you tend to have oily skin, save the heavy moisturizer for nighttime and use a light or gel formula in the morning.

Moisturize every time you wash your face, shave, or simply need the extra moisture.

Remove your makeup every night.

It can be hard to do this if you are very tired, but it pays off. Use makeup removal wipes when you are too exhausted to do the whole routine.

Treat acne. Try some of these remedies to free your skin from acne.

Salicylic acid gel or toner. Salicylic acid causes the skin to naturally exfoliate its layers quicker, thus helping acne go away and

also prevents new acne from forming. Use daily.

Benzoyl peroxide lotion or spot treatment. If your acne is moderate or severe, you can find lotion products containing benzoyl peroxide that you apply evenly over your face, usually at nighttime.

You can also find benzoyl peroxide in spot treatment formulas.

See a dermatologist. High-caliber acne treatments (like Accutane and Retin-A) do exist, but they must be used under the supervision of a doctor, which means you cannot get them without a prescription. If you are really at wit’s end, make an appointment to see a specialist.

Try face masks or pore cleaners.

This is called exfoliation and it washes away dead skin on the surface of your face. In the case of face masks, use only once a week, buy an exfoliant at a beauty shop, or make one at home.

Don’t pick (or pop) your pimples.

It is not a good idea to pick your pimples. It may be tempting if that blackhead is staring you in the face for a day or two, but it is really not worth it. Picking your pimples can have adverse effects.

Picked zits cause blemishes.

Blemishes are inflammations in the epidermis and dermis, the outer and inner layers of your skin. It takes longer for the blemishes to heal when they are popped, so stay brave and resist the urge.

Picked pimples could leave a scar behind. Pimples are temporary, but scars are forever. If you want a smooth skin, don’t make it harder on yourself by picking pimples.

Don’t touch your face. The oils and dirt from your hands will transfer to your face and can easily clog pores. Keeping your hands from your face will also help you break the habit of picking pimples.

Use fresh makeup and brushes.

Wash your face daily

Keep your makeup brushes clean

Clear and smooth skin Makeup, like food, gathers bacteria and will eventually go bad. If you have been using the same powder, blush, eyeshadow and mascara for over six months, it is probably time to throw everything out and start over.

Your skin will thank you for it.

The only exception to this is brushes— these can be cleaned, not thrown away. Pick up an antibacterial makeup brush cleaning formula at the drugstore and, once a month, spritz everything down right after you finish your morning routine. Leave the brushes out to air dry throughout the day and overnight.

Drink plenty of water. Drink six to eight full glasses of water a day and you will notice a difference in your skin. The extra fluid makes it easier for you to flush out toxins and waste.

Girls: aim to drink at least 2.2 liters or nine cups of water a day. If you are having trouble drinking that much, cut out all sugary drinks from your diet entirely.

Guys: aim to drink at least three liters, or 13 cups, of water a day.

The lighter colour your pee, the less water you need to drink. When your pee is clear, you are in the clear. When your pee is yellow, it is time to drink more water.

Sleep smart. You might be getting dirt and oil on your face while you are sleeping without even realizing it. Try these tricks to minimise your risk: Change your pillowcase at least once a week. Your pillowcase collects dust, saliva and other grime which makes it onto your face every time you sleep. Change your pillowcases regularly for best results.

Pull your hair back. Braid back long hair and keep bangs or fly-aways out of your face with a headband. This way your hair won’t irritate your face while you sleep.

Get your beauty rest. Sleep deprivation and stress can manifest as bad

skin, so make sure you are getting seven to eight hours of quality rest every night.

Maintain a healthy diet and exercise routine. A diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains will help your body and skin stay healthy. Exercising is a fantastic way to get rid of stress, keep blood-flow pumping and ensure a good night’s rest.

Try to eat foods that give you the right kind of energy. Diets rich in sugar and refined (or white carbohydrates) have been linked to more pimple breakouts than diets rich in protein, vegetables, and grains, although the scientific community isn’t in total agreement.

What is clear is that eating vegetables (carrot, tomatoes, cabbage), protein (white meat, fish, nuts), and grains are healthier for you.

And what is healthy for you is probably better for your skin.

Diets that are high in saturated fat and filled with hormones may worsen skin conditions. Cows, for example, may be pumped full of hormones in order to produce more milk. That doesn’t mean that you have to cut milk entirely out of your diet. Just be informed about what is going into your body and don’t make dairy a big part of your diet.

Eat nuts and foods with healthy fats.

Vitamin E (a fat-soluble vitamin and powerful anti-oxidant), omega 3 fatty acids, and other oily compounds that can be found in foods like nuts, seeds and avocado are important for smooth, clean skin.

Run, walk, swim. Do whatever exercise makes you feel good. Walking just 15 minutes a day is a great improvement over standing still. Exercise in general will help reduce the amount of stress your body generates over the course of the day. And stress will cause pimples. So in order to get that clear, smooth skin your body deserves, hit the gym, fire up the treadmill, or slice through the water.

Compiled by Miriam Humbe

Fashion

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Page 29

Storm the streets in style in High-Waist Ankara H

i

g

them.

H i g h emphasize handles in H i g h y o u ’ r e will look right.

T h e to make rests just

Day2Night convertible high heels

Ladies’ purse

h

waist skirts are everywhere, we have seen them in the catwalks, high streets and even celebs have been embracing waist skirts are classic, they your curves and keep your love check. waist skirts fit everyone whether short or tall, slim or curvaceous you amazing in high waist skirt if worn

rule of wearing a high waist skirt is sure that upper band of the skirt a little bit above your tummy. Since the high waist skirts give volume to the bottom half of your body always wear it with a fitted or tucked in top/ blouse so as to give all the attention to your high waist skirt. There’s no point wearing a high waist skirt if you’re going to wear a long top over them!

High waist skirts come in different prints, fabric and styles. They come in form of high waist pencil skirts, high waist fitted skirts, high waist pleated skirts, high waist bubble hem skirts, high waist A line skirts, high waist gored skirts, high waist wrapped/draped skirts, high waist skater skirts, to high waist tulip shape skirts. All the above types come in different patterns and fabrics such as Ankara, lace, suede, leather, knits, and cottons. High waist skirts also come in maxi, mini and mid length.

Make sure you choose the right type of high waist skirt that fits your shape and hit the streets in style.

Here are a few ways on how you can wear your high waisted skirt. You can a pair a high waisted skirt with a plain V neck top/tank top and a belt with heels or flat shoes.

For an office look, team a high waisted pencil skirt with a plain/coloured blouse/shirt, belt and court shoes. Pair a solid colour top/blouse with mini leather/floral high waisted skirt and trainers for a fun relaxing look. You can also pair a high waisted skirt with a little blazer or jacket and a tucked in tank top.

High waisted skirts simply goes with almost everything, it can work with a solid colour top/blouse/ tank top, slouchy blouse as long as it’s t u c k e d in, patterned shirts, print blouses the list is endless. When wearing a high waisted skirt keep y o u r hair, makeup and accessories modern. You c a n accessories a high waisted skirt by adding a belt and colourful heels.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

PAGE 30

Pots & Pans

With Miriam Humbe

Peanuts snacks (Dakuwa) Tanfiri or Donkwa (dodonkwa) is a savory snack made with corn meal and groundnuts (peanuts). It does not require cooking; it is soft and melts in the mouth, and is often confused with Kuli kuli.

Ingredients * 250 grams corn meal (made from roasted corn) * 70 grams ground peanut/ groundnut or groundnut powder * 2 pinches of ground chili powder (optional, but add it if you want to get the classic donkwa taste) * 1 tablespoonful sugar *1 pinch of ground clove (optional) *2 tablespoons of peanut oil

(sunflower or canola oil is also okay) *2 tablespoons of water

How to prepare: * Pour the corn meal, groundnuts, sugar, ground chili powder (optional) and ground clove (optional) into a blender and grind until all the ingredients are well combined to form a smooth fine powder. * Transfer the fine powder into a large bowl. Then scoop out some of the powder into a smaller bowl, gradually add drops of water and oil, mix well and mould into balls.

Don’t add too much oil or water, so that it doesn’t look soaked or sodden and enjoy………

Fresh grape juice

T

hese grapes are sold on every corner of our streets and at grocery stores. Make the best use of this palatable fruit by juicing it out on a bright sunny day and have a nice weekend…………

Ingredients • 1 pound seedless grapes, any combination of red,

green and black • about 1/2 cup water

Preparation Fill the jar of your blender 3/4 of the way with grapes and add a splash of water.

Blend on high at least 1 minute.

Strain through a fine-mesh sieve

over a large bowl, pressing down on the solids in the strainer with a large spoon to extract every last bit of juice. Serve chilled and enjoy.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

PAGE 31

Relationship

Steps to healing a broken heart

P

eople may say no one ever died of a broken heart, but when you are suffering from one, it sure doesn’t feel that way.

TBess Myerson once wrote that “to fall in love is awfully simple, but to fall out of love is simply awful,” especially if you are the one who wanted the relationship to last.

Whether you’re the “dump-er” or the “dump-ee,” chances are that a broken relationship is going to leave you unhappy.

It doesn’t matter if it was a long-term relationship, a shortlived cyber affair, an unrequited love or a good friends-withbenefits arrangement. If you cared and connected, you feel a deep and painful void where there was once laughter and affection. It is like experiencing a small death.

Grieving over your lost love for a short time is understandable, but if you linger too long in the purgatory of how-it-used-to-be, your friends will eventually get tired of hearing you talk about your ex. You may not believe it at the time, but there are ways to put the pieces back together. The first step is to accept the fact that a breakup is indeed a real loss, whether you were involved for six weeks, six months, six years, or a lifetime. Give yourself permission to go through all the stages of grief.

As depressed as you may be when your loved one walks out the door, try to focus on the present. Feel your feelings, but don’t believe them. Feeling bad is fine, but predicting the rest of your life when you are feeling this bad isn’t good.

Below are steps to expedite the process of release and be free from pain.

Go through it, not around it: You agree on some level that you really ought to start getting on with life and move on. Every day starts with that intention. But every night ends with you wanting to call them, check out their Facebook page or look through old photos, just to feel closer to them.

Getting over it is easy to say but much harder to do.

The most difficult task for a person with a broken heart is to stand still and feel the crack, but that is exactly what you must do. You have to grieve in order

Surround yourself with good friends to move on. Don’t ignore or stuff your feelings down. Let the tears flow, express your anger. Ignored emotions will only make you calloused and afraid. One way of unloading your feelings is to write out what might be too difficult to say out loud to others. Or better yet, start a dialogue with your broken heart, asking a part of you questions and giving it the solace and attention it needs.

Change your habits: Now you have to break those connections. Turn off the music that reminds you of your ex. Make your home look and feel different from when your loved one was around. Take up a new activity.

Exercise is the single most effective therapy for depression.

The point of these changes is to break up the old associations and give yourself a new environment for your new life. The changes you make doesn’t have to be permanent. Even if it is just deleting your ex’s number from the memory of your mobile, change something.

Don’t immediately suggest to ‘stay friends’ with your ex: This is an impulse because you don’t want to seem like you care too much about the breakup.

But truthfully, during this stilted, awkward breaking-up period, it

Make time for activities that you love

is hard to tell whether you will be able to be friends or not. Generally, one person wants to be friends and the other wants to be more. Just know that you are not admitting defeat by not staying friends with him/her.

Make a good and bad list: You need to know which activities will make you feel good, but you won’t really know which activity belongs on which list until you start trying things, but know that things like checking his wall on Facebook, Instagram and seeing that he has just posted a photo of his gorgeous new girlfriend is not going to make you feel good, so put that on the ‘don’t attempt’ list, along with e-mails and phone calls to his buddies fishing for information about him. On the ‘feels peachy’ list might be found such ventures as: deleting all of his e-mails, pawning off the jewelry he gave you (using the cash for a much-needed vacation), laughing over lunch with a new friend who doesn’t know him (to ensure his name won’t come up).

Create a new world: This is important if your world has collided with his/her, meaning that mutual friends who have seen him/her recently will feel the need to tell you about it. Create your own safe world, full of new friends who wouldn’t recognize him/her in a crowd. Take this opportunity to try something new and programme your mind and body to expect a fresh beginning without him/her.

Surround yourself with smiles and happy vibes: Make time for some feel good activities.

Be sure to surround yourself with people that will uplift you, not unhappy ones that will just drag you down. Studies have shown that laughter or just smiling has a way of lifting your mood instantly.

As much as you might want to, avoid isolating yourself from others. Ask for help and talk to a friend who you know is a good listener. Be kind and gentle with yourself. Don’t think of this as time wasted because you aren’t with that special person, but as precious time you need to reinvest

in a healthier, more grounded and more spiritually enlightened you.

Take a 60-second vacation: Thinking relaxing thoughts and verbalizing calming statements starts the healing process and helps you lessen anxiety. Take a deep breath and say out loud, “I am calm. I am safe and I can handle this.” Anything from smelling a flower to petting an animal can help take you away for even a minute, which starts the process of feeling free.

Change your thoughts: Transform your habits of thought.

In a relationship, we build up a huge array of such habits. When the love affair ends, these patterns can still be running. To change your thinking habits, you need to understand a little more about them. Have you ever witnessed the same event as someone else and later found out their account of it was completely different from yours? Each of you saw the event through a ‘frame’ made up of your personal beliefs, feelings and internal habits.

If you are finding it devastatingly difficult to handle the end of your relationship, you may need to change this ‘frame’.

You will need to reframe your heartbreak. Stop seeing it as the end of your happiness. Instead, turn it into a challenge; view it as an opportunity. Being heartbroken can make you feel worthless and hopeless, but that is because the frame you are using is too narrow.

Learning to see your situation with a different frame is a wonderful liberation.

Gratitude is grounding: Have you ever noticed that it is impossible to feel grateful and depressed at the same time?

Gratitude can transform pain into love and bring peace to your emotional chaos. Remind yourself of all the things you are grateful for. Better still, write it down.

This strategy works miracles for bringing you out of any gloomy mood.

Studies have shown that the happiest people are those who give the most to others. When you are

depressed, anxious or stressed, there is a high degree of focus on yourself. Focusing on the needs of others literally helps shift your thinking and your mood from victimhood to empowerment.

Love again: Once our hearts are bruised and burned from a relationship that ended, we have two options: we can close off pieces of our heart so that no one will be able to get inside. Or we can love again just as intensely as we did before.

You could fall into the trap of remaining convinced that your ex is the only person you could ever love. This is unlikely to be true on a planet with six billion people.

So why do you believe it? Can it be because you are desperately trying to avoid accepting that the relationship is over? Or are you afraid that the bad feelings associated with heartbreak will never go away?

That fear makes you anxious and keeps you feeling bad for longer. The burden of your heartbreak has grown heavier and a vicious circle has been established. In time, it is absolutely vital to put the pain behind you and move forward with your life and love. Otherwise, you are giving away your power to the people who hurt you.

Sometimes the relationship you need to rescue is the one with yourself. Moving past a breakup is about you, not your ex.

We get emotionally attached when we fall in love. This attachment is wonderful when the relationship is in full bloom, but a great source of pain when it is over.

It is responsible for much angst, from jealousy to endless mooning over the lost love, to an inability to move on. Once you break the attachment, you will have a pleasant neutrality towards the former object of your attachment.

You know you are over him/ her when you see your ex with a new partner and not feel a surge of emotion. It is not that you wish him/her ill; you simply no longer see why you were so hung up on him/her to begin with.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

PAGE 32

Fiction

When Tera’s best friend fainted

O

ghene and Tera got to the camp gathering quite late.

Everyone was already seated around the little wood fuelled fire which emitted smoke intermittently. She sat next to Oghene on the only vacant spot that was left. Tera smiled briefly at Mark who was seated in between Yemi and Nicholas on the dry grass.

“What game can we play now?” Yemi asked his peers who were seated around him.

“Uhmmm….I suggest we play Truth or Dare.” Marilyn suggested with a bright smile, her painted red lips were parted to reveal her beautiful set of dentition.

“All in support say ‘Aye’ and against, say ‘Nay’ ” Yemi replied and at the end of the day, the ‘Aye’s’ exceeded the ‘Nays’. ” Who wants to go first?”

Marilyn asked the open question and Nicholas volunteered to spin first. He spun the malt bottle around and it faced Mark’s position. Tera opened her mouth in awe and fear gripped her lightly. ” Truth or Dare? ” Nick asked Mark with a grin on his dark face. “Truth.” He answered. ” Well, I actually have two questions for you.” ” Ah ah..two questions?

That’s against the rules oh..it should be one and nothing more ” Yemi chipped in with a frown on his face. ” There are no problems, Yemi…ask away” Mark responded to Nick with a weak smile.

“If your father’s a thief..

Doesn’t that make you one also?

It means you were trained with stolen funds right?” Nick asked with a sarcastic expression on his face. ” I won’t tolerate such..How dare you speak to my best friend in such a disrespectful manner? ” Tera asked him with a furious look in her eyes. She rose up to catch up with Mark who was already walking away. ” What was that for now guy?

Wetin dey do u sef….which kind mentorship u dey do for here? ” Trevor, the nerdiest guy amongst them spoke up and sighed thereafter. He rose up to leave the assembly, and several others followed suit. The only ones that remained were Marilyn and her friends who hailed Nick gladly.

She eventually caught up with him after running tirelessly for ten minutes. ” Mark….I need you to forgive me. I’m sincerely sorry for mistreating you..Sorry for being a taker…for being conceited with my emotions” She cried out before him sadly.

He said not a word and hugged her tightly. She saw tears run down his beautiful eyes uncontrollably; this was the first time she had seen him break down in three years. ” Please stop crying… else, you’ll make me cry too..” Tera cried out and hugged him even tighter than before. ” You’re not a thief…your dad isn’t either…I’m sure there’s been a mix up of some sort. Don’t let

it get to you…Nick is an ass and nothing more..I can’t believe he tried to kiss me.” She lamented .

Mark loosened his grip on her and asked her to repeat what she said. ” He tried to kiss me…. ” ” Really? Is that why you have a hickey? There’s a limit to that which I can take from this Nick of a guy..How dare he? ” Mark fumed angrily. ” Calm down….it was just on my neck and nothing more…. now tell me what’s going on ” she urged him as they sat down side by side on bench which was around them.

After several speechless minutes, Mark responded to her question. ” He’s been accused of money laundering and oil theft... he told me he was having several problems at work but I didn’t know that it was this serious.

I find it hard to believe that he stole over 130 million dollars, Terracotta..I just can’t believe what the press reports are saying, ” He affirmed with tears in his eyes. ” I don’t believe that either…I’m very positive that this whole mess would be sorted out very soon. Please cheer up!! ” She replied and caressed his shoulders tenderly. ” I’ll try to…I think the EFCC is suspicious because of how flamboyant Hannah’s wedding

“

was.”

Hannah was Mark’s older sister. She got married to an ambassador’s son a few months ago and her wedding was certainly one of the most elegant weddings ever held in Dubai.

I-pads were allegedly shared for each and every invited guest at the wedding. The adorable couple also received two brand new Range Rovers of the latest design as a birthday present from the bride’s mother. This flashy display raised the eyebrows of a few concerned citizens, and also the EFCC. ” Abi? It’s very possible…lets pray about it as soon as we can.

Meanwhile…I’m done with Nick… it’s not love I feel for him..its lust…I can’t love someone who’s so evil ” Tera responded with a straight face. ” No problem dearie….that’s great news….you don’t know how happy I am…are you feeling sleepy or should I tutor you tonight? ” ” Ehn? I’m quite sleepy sha…. but I miss spending time with you so, I’m game” She answered with a beautiful smile. ” Let’s go and get our stuffs so we can meet at the first class room on the Junior Secondary block then” He suggested and she nodded in agreement. They arrived at the classroom thirty minutes later. It was a beautiful classroom painted light blue

with colourful chairs, tables, and several electronic teaching devices. ” My terracotta ninja…I’m afraid that’s not how to find the missing figures in the table of solutions for plotting the graph.

It’s like this…” He explained carefully to her and cancelled out her previous mistakes. She listened with utmost curiosity and seriousness. ” Ehn..I understand it better..

Please explain these factors to me.” Tera requested after itching her hair and adjusting her glasses.

Mark smiled at her. She looked beautiful even without any form of makeup. ” Permit me to use a more realistic example. There are constant, dependent, and independent factors in every table. What are we both to one another? ” ” We’re best friends for eternity.”

Mark smiled briefly and tugged at her cheeks before continuing.” Is that a variable or constant fact? ” ” Ehn…variable? Never! It’s a constant…” She affirmed boldly. ” Okay. Moving onto the independent factor. What would you say if I were to kiss you right now? ” He quizzed her with a loud chuckle. ” I would punch you in the chest….quit making me laugh my ass off…you’re crazy, Mark ” She

If your father’s a thief..Doesn’t that make you one also? It means you were trained with stolen funds right?” Nick asked with a sarcastic expression on his face.

answered happily. ” And you’re crazier. Back to business. If I were to kiss you... that would be an independent action because generally, platonic friends don’t kiss… So, because it’s an action that’s initiated on its own, it’s called an Independent Factor. Now your reaction to the kiss matters a lot. It can deepen or totally destroy our friendship. Hence,your reaction is dependent on the feelings that the kiss aroused in you, and your assessment of our friendship. In the mathematical aspect, the constant is the same number- Our Friendship, the independent is X-the unexpected kiss and the dependent, which is based on your calculation of the two known factors and your overall conclusion is regarded as Y. Did that sink in? ” He asked after giving her a thorough explanation. ” What would I be without you? You’re the best. I adore you.” Tera vociferated and pecked him after a brief hug. ” That was easy to understand right? What do you have in there?

I’m hungry” Mark complained and emptied the contents of Tera’s designer handbag. Therein he found more books and chocolate bars. ” Don’t even think of eating my chocolate bars” She ordered with a loud laugh. It was too late, for he had taken a bite of it already. ” Is it plain chocolate? ” He asked in curiosity when he dug into the second bar on their way to their various hostels. It was 1:30 am. The environment was lit and serene,with electric bulbs in every nook and cranny of the hostel. ” I think so..who are those? ” Tera asked when they both sighted two of their peers making out passionately. ” I wonder what Nduks (Mr. Nduka) would do if he catches them. That should be Nana and Yemi.” He added.

Alas! Mark fell to the ground and shook vehemently saying he couldn’t breathe. His fair skin turned pale that very instant and Tera was terrified and clueless. ” What’s wrong? Where are your drugs? ” She asked him with a scared look on her face. ” I forgot them…Terri.. I can’t breathe…I’m weak…sunflower oil...” He replied and blanked out. ” Help me! ” She beckoned on the two lovers she sighted earlier.

Yemi ran towards her in no time. ” Wazz wrong? Sunflower oil again abi? ” He asked her after kneeling to check Mark’s pulse. ” Yes! Who puts sunflower oil in a chocolate bar? ” Tera complained angrily and ran into the staff quarters to inform their teachers.

He woke up at noon the next day. His surroundings were most unfamiliar to him and he felt like a needle was thrust into his back.

He realised that he was in the hospital.

Naijastories.com

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

PAGE 33

Desperate to walk her down the aisle

“S

o what do you think about her?” Leke asked.

It was such a strange question. Off the top of my head, I didn’t know what to tell him.

It wasn’t that my feelings about Kathy were ambivalent. No sir.

They were certain as anything in this world can be. But then you might wonder why such a simple question would put me off so. I’ll tell you.

Leke and I were freshmen in the university and as such neither of us had many other friends aside each other. Leke, more outgoing than I was, had met Kathy at one of his classes. He said they were both from the same town in Ondo State. They got along fine and she invited him over to her place, nothing sinister, just a friendly visit. As I had nothing else to do that night, I went with him. When I first saw Kathy, I wasn’t struck forcefully by her incredible beauty or anything shallow like that.

Rather, and this might sound strange, what I first noticed about her was her solidity.

Leke introduced us and all three of us chatted about this and that. By the time we were ready to leave, I suspected that she liked me and that was fine by me, because I was half in love with her already. I know it sounds ridiculous but it’s true.

It was when we left her place, on our way to our own hostel that Leke asked me that question. I considered the question carefully for a few seconds and when I still didn’t have a suitable answer, I decided to answer honestly.

“She’s wife material.” I responded.

“What?!” he screeched, “You’re seventeen, a freshman in school and you’re talking about wife material. Are you out of your mind?”

I shrugged.

He stopped walking and held me by the shoulders. He was much taller than I was so he was looking down at me when he said, “I think you’re just hungry. Let’s buy some bread and akara and after you’ve eaten, I’ll ask you again.’

I laughed and wiggled out of his hold. “If you ask me a thousand times, Leke, I’d give you that same answer.”

He resumed walking and I followed suit. “Wow! You’re serious.”

“Yep” I replied simply.

“Okay, away from the textile industry, what else do you think about her?”

I chuckled at the joke before I replied slowly, “She’s not the most beautiful girl I’ve seen but there’s something about her.”

“So you think she’s not fine?” he asked.

We were now at the door of

the room we shared. I considered how to answer him as I unlocked the door. I knew he wouldn’t understand. I hit the light switch and the white fluorescent bulb flickered on. Our room was unusually large, for a hostel room at least. Our mattresses were in one corner, one on top of the other. When we were ready to sleep, we’d split them. In the opposite corner was a reading table and chair, freshly built and still smelling of wood polish. On the near side of the room was the “cooking area”, a part of the floor that wasn’t covered by the brown rug. Here, we had set up our stove, pots and pans. The floor was black with soot which was already

“

staining the edge of the rug.

“I think she’s fine, okay?” I said with exaggerated patience, “but I also think she’s much more than that. She has more than just a fine face going for her. She’s . . .”

I didn’t know how to describe that quality of hers that just seemed to pull me. It was like gravity on a horizontal plane.

I looked up and saw Leke staring at me strangely. “You could ask her out.” I blurted out quickly. I pulled out the chair and sat down, half hoping he didn’t hear what I said.

My silly habit of saying things first before thinking them through had reared its ugly head again.

“You think so?” he asked after

Romance a pause.

I looked at him and saw that the strange look was off his face.

In its place was a ponderous one. Oh God. He was actually considering the possibility.

“Yeah. I mean, you guys are in the same department and you’re from the same place too, right?”

I said, while slapping myself mentally with each word that came out of my mouth.

“I think you’re right,” he smiled, “I’ll ask her out.”

Later than night, I took out my diary and I wrote: “I met Kathy today, I fell in love with her and then told Leke to ask her out. They live happily ever after while I live in abject pain and misery, pining for my best friend’s girlfriend. The end.”

A few weeks later, Leke asked Kathy out. When he told me he was going to do it that night, I encouraged him. He was scared shitless but that wasn’t unusual.

What was unusual about that night was the fact that he looked to me to bolster his confidence.

And I did. What choice did I have? When he left for her place, I grabbed a brush and started scrubbing the bathroom. I needed something to take my mind of her. There was no point hoping she turned him down because even if she did, I couldn’t be with her anyway. I mean, how would it seem to her if the two of us tried asking her out? More so, Leke would kill me. And he would be right to, since I was the one who put the idea in his head in the first place. When I finished washing the bathroom and he was still not back, I grabbed my duvet, dumped it in water and started washing it. Thankfully, by the time I was spreading it out in the backyard, Leke arrived.

One look at his face told me it hadn’t gone well. She had turned him down. No problem, I told him, you’ll just try some other time. And he did. But she turned him down time and time again.

One year passed and the status quo remained. That was when he got fed up and our relationship started to feel the strain.

We were playing cards that day and I had no idea that he had been thinking about Kathy. Suddenly, he threw his cards in the air, got up and walked to the door. He was about to open it when he turned back and glanced at my surprised face.

“This is all your fault.” He accused.

“What are you talking about?”

I asked. I was flabbergasted. What made even more surprised was the fact that he was winning.

“Weren’t you the one who told me to ask her out?”

It took me a moment to catch on. When I finally did, I slapped my right palm to my forehead in frustration.

I looked up and saw Leke staring at me strangely. “You could ask her out.” I blurted out quickly. I pulled out the chair and sat down, half hoping he didn’t hear what I said.

“How is that?” I asked him, speaking more calmly than I wanted to.

“I had no intention of asking her out until you told me to.” He replied in the same accusatory tone. He took his hand off the door knob and rested his back on it. He was now facing me.

“Listen, Leke, I never told you to ask her out, okay?” I stood up from the rug and sat on the edge of the reading table. “I am neither your dad nor your elder brother so how can I tell you what to do? I simply suggested that you ask her out because she’s a great girl and you knew her first.”

Leke looked at me as the realisation hit him. He was a smart guy, one of the reasons I became friends with him in the first place. He had just discerned from my words that I liked her too.

“You like her.” He said matterof-factly.

“Why would you say that?”

I asked, squeezing my face in an effort to stop him from probing further.

He didn’t say a word after that.

He just turned the door knob and he walked out.

When I wanted to write in my diary that night, I didn’t meet it the way I left it. I immediately knew that Leke had read it. Now he knew for sure that I was in love with Kathy. I waited for him to get back home and when he did, I confronted him. He didn’t even deny that he read it. I was incensed and I did my own walking out routine. I walked to Kathy’s hostel, determined to profess my love for her. I didn’t care what Leke felt or did anymore. I was going all out to get her. When I got to her hostel, her roommate told me she had travelled home that evening.

My resolve went out of me like a deflated tyre. I sat down on a bench in front of her hostel and thought critically about the whole situation. True, I was in love with Kathy but was she worth more than Leke’s friendship to me? I immediately answered myself that she was but then, would she agree to be my girlfriend after turning Leke down. I didn’t think so. I picked my phone again and called her. I chatted with her for a couple of minutes and headed home. I had to start the process of “unloving” her. It wouldn’t be easy but I knew that if I set my mind to it, I could probably do it.

I bought some bread and akara on the way, my peace offering to Leke, and sporting guy that he was, he accepted the unspoken apology. Although it took a while for the rift to mend completely, in the end, Leke and I were fine.

PS: After two years of pleas and declarations of love, Kathy finally agreed to be Leke’s girlfriend.

They lived happily ever after and I got over her. In retrospect, I wonder if she would have stayed with me through all the palaver I went through in school and I doubt it. I would just have broken a perfectly good friendship for a relationship that wouldn’t last. I was glad I made the right decision in the end. Although it took me another five years or so, I did find another “wife material” and for your information, I’m now married to her.

Naijastories.com

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

PAGE 34

Nollywood

I wear wristwatches worth N80,000 –Top comedian, Sheyi Law

Several Nigerian singers, actors, fashion designers and even foreigners share their reactions to the finalization of the 2015 presidential elections, which saw former Military Head of State, Gen. Muhamadu Buhari, as the winner. Seyi Law is one comedian in Nigeria that luck smiled on when he may never have expected it to happen. After he won the AY Open Mic Competition some years ago, he became a darling of comedy lovers in the country. And since then, he has been on the rise.

After thrilling guests with rib cracking jokes on Easter Monday at ‘Explode 2.0’ in Lagos, he shared some of his life experience with Nigeriafilms.com.

Excerpt.

H

ow has your experience been so far in the comedy business?

It is has been great. If it has not been great, I would not be here. It has been an awesome one. The journey has been good to the glory of God and that is why I am always thankful to God. What about the challenges?

The truth is that for every entertainer that is coming up, one of the greatest challenges is recognition, we all know that. The truth is if you want to crack your joke, you want people to recognize that you are actually the one that did this. You know sometimes, young comedian crack a joke and just associate it to big names that they know. But is not the fault of the people because they cannot place a face to the joke so they have to associate it with somebody the people already know. It is like when you are walking at the airport and somebody sees you, recognize you and they say, ‘This is I Go Dye’, and then you have to be the one to tell them, ‘Look, this is Seyi Law and not I Go Dye.’ That is one of the major challenges you face when you are coming up as an entertainer. But we thank God, He has helped us to grow, people now recognize us. Though some people probably still do not recognize us; that is so because until they hear some people call your name, they would say you look different from who they see on TV. But we thank God. How did your family react to your decision to do comedy?

The truth is that I did not really have any reaction from anybody because as at that time, we were going through a lot of serious problems.

We had financial issues, I was doing phone call business at Orile bus stop, so there was nobody there to really bother about whether I was going to do comedy, rather they were concerned that whatever I was doing bring in money.

But then, my mom wanted me to do anything responsible. Because when I started out, I wanted to do dreadlocks but my mom disapproved of it. She advised me not to disgrace the family and I thank God today that everyone is happy in the family.

When you proposed to your wife, did she take you serious?

The day I proposed to my wife, she actually thought I was joking. Because it was the night Michael Jackson died, I was at a show and I was performing.

When I finished the performance, I had a rousing ovation and I just invited her on stage. I went on my knees and brought out the ring, saying, ‘will you marry me?’ People were shouting and clapping, and she replied ‘Yes.’ But when we were going back home, she said, ‘Don’t use me to do all these your comedy o?’ I told her that ‘I had already decided that I would propose to you. That was actually my proposal.’

It was a wonderful proposal because we had a dinner afterwards that day.

Why do you put on two wristwatches?

The most expensive of my fashion items are my wristwatches. As I am here right now, I probably might be wearing these wristwatches worth

Seyi Law over N80,000. Not because I want to brag about it but I just love it. I love wristwatches. I am not really so much of a fashion statement person, I wear anything fitting but I just love good wristwatches. I do not know why I am addicted to them.

Why did you support President Goodluck Jonathan’s second term agenda?

America does the re-basing of their economy every two years, Nigeria has never done it in 20 years and under Jonathan, they did it and found out that entertainment contributes to Nigeria’s GDP to the tune of 1.6%.

How many people knew that before Jonathan?

Entertainment, indirectly or directly, has contributed about one million jobs to the Nigerian economy, how many people knew that?

Yesterday, I was at the ‘AY Live’, I know how many people worked to make that show such a success. Over 50 people were on standby, working to make that show a success. There are some of the contributions entertainment brings into the economy, which people do not get to see. This is the first president that came out to meet entertainers, talk to entertainers in a forum to know

what they need and what they can do to improve the trade. Nobody ever did that before Jonathan.

We do not know what General Muhammadu Buhari is going to do yet. We are all waiting to see what will happen during Buhari’s tenure.

I just want to hope it is going to be a wonderful change for all Nigerians.

Whether we like it or not, it has happened and we have to support whoever is in government. We all want a better life; that is what everybody is craving for. Some people supported Jonathan because they could feel his direct impact in their businesses.

What is your opinion on the proposed moving of entertainment into the Ministry of Tourism and Culture?

That is not the problem of entertainment. Whether we are under ministry of Agriculture or Works or Water Resources, the most important thing is the basic problem of entertainment which is piracy; if well tackled, will function well under any ministry. But if you bring us under Culture and Tourism, it is actually the best of all the ministries. We are praying that we should have piracy tackled to a huge extent so that we

can propose Nigeria to the outside world as a country that is viable for tourism. Under Jonathan, the change in Nollywood movies is something we all appreciate. You know the way we comedian diss Nollywood movies, but now, we have little or nothing to say about it. That is because there is a great improvement.

Can you tell us about your most embarrassing moment as an entertainer?

My most embarrassing moment is probably my most glorious moment. It was ‘Asa live in Lagos’ in 2008. I was invited to be the Master of Ceremony, and I came on stage, when I saw people who were seated at the show, I was shocked because the turnout was huge; high profile people. And when I introduced myself, I heard a woman say ‘Who is this? Where is Alibaba?

Where is Basketmouth? Is this the person they have brought to entertain us? What sort of thing is this?’ because the stage was close to the audience. I knew the position of this woman in Nigeria and it was as if they took out everything right out of inside of me! I lost my bearing.

I remember that the joke I would normally say at the end of my

performances was the joke I started with, I did not get a good laugh. When I wanted to introduce the next artiste that was supposed to perform, I used the word ‘young’ almost seven to eight times. Eventually, when I introduced him, he came on stage, the microphone had issues and they had to work on it.

My cousin, who actually into introduced me to comedy, was at that event too. One man who sat in front of him said, ‘When that idiot came out, they should have used that time to work on the microphone.’ My cousin said if I had come out as at that time to meet him, he would have denied me more than Peter denied Jesus Christ.

He said I should have thanked my stars that I did not come out because he would have betrayed me. I remember that I went on my knees later that day and asked for God’s guidance.

The same man who spoke to my cousin that day was the same man that took me on my first international show to South Africa and he paid me N450,000 in 2008. That was a huge amount of money and that was part of the money that I used to buy my first Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).

That is to tell you that your greatest moment of disgrace could be your greatest moment of upliftment, of breakthrough. That is why I try to live my life without any form of regret. If anything happens that I do not have a solution, I move on from there, thinking of what next to do. I believe God would and has always seen me through.

Why did you talk about ‘Mama Seyi’ in your jokes?

That is because my mother is the best thing that has ever happened to me before my wife. My wife is probably taking over the role of my mother right now but my mother would understand that it would have to happen that way because I sleep with my wife; we are always in bed together and there is no other person I can lay my hand on in bed but my wife.

But before my wife, there was a Mama Seyi who never treated me the way I joke on stage. But I had to bring something up to make people laugh. I did not even live with my mom while growing up. I lived with my uncle because my mom was far away and she brought me to Nigeria to school. But some of those beatings that I received were from my uncle and I transferred them to her on stage so a lot of people can relate with that. And you know reality does not fail. We all could relate with that as we were growing up.

Mama Seyi is one important person that I cannot do without in my life.

What fashion item would you never be caught wearing?

I do not know because sometimes I wear ordinary boxers and I come outside my gate with slippers in Lekki with my protruding stomach and I am saying, ‘Help me call that person selling bread…’ I have lived my life without the celebrity thing getting into my head. That does not work for me because I want to be able to work on the street and do whatever I want to do. I enjoy myself that way. I thank God that He has kept me and I have never changed.

Source: Nigeriafilms.com

PAGE 35

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Hollywood

Blue: We’ll keep making music

B

lue have vowed to carry on, despite rumours they have been dropped by their record label.

The quartet – Antony Costa, Duncan James, Lee Ryan and Simon Webbe – said they will continue making music and touring, amidst claims they have parted ways with Sony, less than a year after they were signed.

The group, who are best known for hits such as All Rise, One Love and Too Close and are about to embark on a world tour, wrote a letter to their fans on Facebook.

They said: “It’s hard to believe but after fourteen years, five studio albums, sixteen million sold albums and over 40 #1′s worldwide we still love doing what we do. The feeling doesn’t get any better. This is what we do and we couldn’t do it without you.

“We have worked with some incredible producers, from the Stargate team ten years ago, to Red One on the Roulette album and Brian Rawling on Colours. We have been around long enough to be able to choose who we want

to work with and long may that continue…”

They added: “We don’t need to prove who we are, or ask permission to be here. We love Sony Music who have supported us and licensed the album for the UK and supported us on tour and we look forward to the rest of this year and the next as we move into ‘Fifteen Years of Blue’.”

Blue – who represented the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011 and appeared on ITV2′s The Big Reunion in 2013 – released their fifth album, Colours, in March. It reached the 13th spot in the UK charts.

The band’s spokesman told the Daily Mirror: “Blue and Sony remain on good terms. After the boys finish on their sell-out tour they will be back in the recording studio.

“The best friends will continue to do what they love and fans can be assured that there will be more music from the band next year.

2016 will see Blue celebrating fifteen years together.”

Antony Costa, Duncan James, Lee Ryan and Simon Webbe

David Bowie’s ‘Lazarus’ to MIPTV: ‘Django,’ ‘Suspiria’ to get series remakes rise on New York stage

F

rench TV production group Atlantique (The Transporter) and Italy’s Cattleya (Gomorrah) are turning Sergio Corbucci’s iconic spaghetti Western, the inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, into an English-language TV series.

The original, 1966 feature, about a gunslinger with a coffin full of weapons, made a star out of Franco Nero and spawned an entire franchise. The Django character has appeared in more than 30 features and even made a cameo in Seth MacFarlane’s Western spoof A Million Ways to Die in the West.

Atlantique and Cattleya are also teaming up to reboot another Italian genre classic: DarioArgento’s 1977 giallo horror film Suspiria. The original film was inspired by the novel Suspiria De Profundis, from 19th Century English writer Thomas De Quincey, best known for his autobiographical tale of addiction: Confessions of an English Opium-Eater.

The Suspiria television series will re-imagine the tale as a period horror series with De Quincey as the lead character who, in Sherlock Holmes style, travels between London and Rome exploring dark mysteries.

Warner Bros., RatPac option ‘Once Upon a Time in Russia’

W

arner Bros. and RatPac Entertainment have optioned Ben Mezrich’s upcoming book ‘Once Upon a Time in Russia: The rise of the oligarchs — A true story of ambition, wealth, betrayal, and murder.

Mezrich wrote ‘The Accidental Billionaires’, which was adapted

into the film ‘The Social Network’.

‘Once Upon a Time in Russia’, which will hit shelves June 2 via Atria Books, centers on the true story of the “Godfather of the Kremlin,” Boris Berezovsky, a former mathematician whose first entrepreneurial venture was an automobile reselling business, and

David Bowie will bring his iconic screen character — Thomas Jerome Newton, from the 1976 cult British sci-fi film ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’ — to the stage as part of the 2015-16 season at off-Broadway’s New York Theater Workshop.

The humanoid alien will be the protagonist of the play with music, ‘Lazarus’, by Bowie and Irish playwright Enda Walsh, inspired by the 1963 novel by Walter Tevis that yielded Nicolas Roeg’s film version.

Bowie has written new songs for the world premiere project as well as new arrangements of previously recorded material.

Avant-garde Belgian director Ivo van Hove will stage Lazarus at the end of the year, with exact dates, cast and other details to be announced.

In the film, Bowie played an extraterrestrial who crash-lands on Earth while seeking water to

save his drought-stricken planet; he is not expected to appear in the stage production.

Both Walsh and van Hove have a history with New York Theater Workshop. Walsh wrote the book for the stage adaptation of Once, which debuted at NYTW and transferred to Broadway, winning eight Tony Awards, including best musical.

Van Hove’s many productions at the off-Broadway venue have included Scenes From a Marriage,A Streetcar Named Desire, Hedda Gabler and The Little Foxes. The director used Bowie songs in his acclaimed staging of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, which was seen at the Brooklyn Academy of Music last fall. Van Hove is currently represented in London’s West End with a hit revival of Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge, starring Mark Strong.

Roman Abramovich, his young protege who built a multibilliondollar empire on oil and aluminum.

The idea for the book came from Brett Ratner, who has personal relations with several Russian oligarchs. He then pitched it to Mezrich.

Ratner is producing while James Packer and John Cheng will serve as executive producers.

Chantal Nong and Julia Spiro are overseeing for Warner Bros.

PAGE 36

Celebrity gists Cumberbatch, Colman nominated for ‘BAFTA’

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enedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman are among the nominees for this year’s BAFTA TV awards, with the latter cited for the fourth consecutive year.

Cumberbatch, 38, is up for best lead actor for Sherlock, the third time he has been nominated for the role. Colman is up for best female comedy performance for her role as a vicar’s wife in Rev. The 41-year-old won a BAFTA last year for Broadchurch and received two awards in 2013.

Sarah Lancashire, recognised last year for Last Tango in Halifax, is also nominated again, this time in the lead actress category for Happy Valley James Norton is also nominated for his work in the Yorkshire-based crime drama, in the best supporting actor category.

Cumberbatch’s competition includes Toby Jones, nominated for his portrayal of a man with learning difficulties in Marvellous, and James Nesbitt, shortlisted for his work in BBC One’s The Missing.

Lancashire is up against Line of Duty star, Keeley Hawes, Georgina Campbell nominated for the first time for Murdered by My Boyfriend and Sheridan Smith, recognised for her role as the young

Cilla Black in Cilla.

Cilla is also up for best mini-series alongside fellow ITV productions Prey and The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies.

Happy Valley, Line of Duty and The Missing are included in the best drama series category, as is BBC Two’s period crime drama Peaky Blinders.

Murdered by My Boyfriend and Marvellous are nominated for the single drama award, alongside BBC One’s Common and BBC Two’s A Poet in New York.

Tom Hollander, who played Dylan Thomas in the latter programme, is up for best male comedy performance in Rev. Matt Berry, Hugh Bonneville and Brendan O’Carroll are also included in the category, for Toast of London, BBC satire W1A and the Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas Special respectively.

Colman’s fellow nominees in the female comedy performance category include Bonneville’s W1A costar, Jessica Hynes and Episodes’ Tamsin The BAFTA TV awards will hold at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London on May 10 and will be hosted by Graham Norton.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Mariah Carey to star in Christmas movie S inger Mariah Carey is set to star in an upcoming, untitled Christmas film,. According to Deadline, who first reported the story, Carey will play a “major role” in the flick.

While the plot is unknown, the trades reports that “Christmas is at the film’s center, along with a theme of how the power of music can transport you back in time to your truest and most authentic feelings.”

The movie will also feature some of her classic holiday songs, along

Bobby Flay, Stephanie March separate after 10years

T

he Food Network chef, Bobby Flay, 50, and the Law & Order: SVU actress, Stephanie March, 40, celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary on February 20.

However, the couple has been living apart ‘for months’, while March “tried everything she could do to save the marriage.”

If the celebrities decide to proceed with divorce, it will be the first for March and the third for Flay. He was previously married to chef Debra Ponzek and former Robin Leach Talk Food co-host, Kate Connelly. Flay shares custody of daughter Sophie with Connelly.

Flay and March, however, have no children together.

Flay is the star or host of more than a dozen popular shows on the Food Network. Additionally, he has also authored 14 best-selling cookbooks, including Bobby Flay’s Bold American Food and Bobby Flay’s Barbecue Addiction. After playing assistant district attorney Alexandra Cabbot on Law & Order: SVU until 2012, the actress opened up Rouge NY, an affordable makeup salon in New York City.

Jesse Jagz returns to Chocolate City

T

hree years after rapper Jesse Jagz voluntarily resigned from Chocolate City after the expiration of his two-year contract with the label, Jesse has finally returned. He tweeted at other label mates M.I, Ice Prince and Audu Makori that it was now official.

M.I, Ice Prince and others have also reciprocated by tweeting back at him saying; “Welcome Home Jesse Jagz”.

Jagz is a talented, music producer, rapper and singer.

with tunes from other artists.

As for the origin of the exciting project, the 45-year-old “All I Want for Christmas Is You” singer came up with the idea herself and pitched it to her BFF and recently rumored boyfriend, Brett Ratner. The duo recently sparked dating rumors when they were photographed together on vacation.

Carey’s Christmas movie will be written by writers David Diamond and David Weissman and produced

by Jon Shestack.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Page 37

Entertainment

Beyonce dedicates song to Jay Z to mark anniversary

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ower couple Beyonce and Jay Z recently celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary and in the spirit of that, Mrs. Carter unveiled a brand new song called “Die For You” in a video reportedly shot

by Jay Z. The song which was dedicated to her hubby, is exclusive on Jay Z’s music streaming platform, Tidal via a paid subscription.

In the song, Beyonce sings; “I don’t have a reason to be, if I can’t be with you. I wake up just to sleep with you. I open my eyes so I could see with you and I live so I can die with you.”

S

Jennie Garth engaged to Dave Abrams

H

ollywood couple, Jennie Garth and Dave Abrams are engaged.

The proposal came after Garth’s 43rd birthday celebnration.

Their rep told People magazine that “Dave had been working on this for months, and really wanted to plan something special for her around her birthday and make it perfect.”

The pair began dating last fall but didn’t go public until January.

In March, they enjoyed a romantic getaway in Santa Barbara, Calif. They also recently enjoyed a vacation in

Tulum, Mexico, with Jennie’s kids.

This will be Garth’s second marriage, as she was married to Twilight actor, Peter Facinelli, from 2001 to 2013. Together, the exes share custody of daughters Luca Facinelli, 17, Lola Facinelli, 12, and Fiona Facinelli, 8.

Peter, 41, proposed to Jaimie, 31, at the top of the Empire State Building in New York City. “I had a plane fly by with a banner so it was kind of a romantic scene,” he said.

The actors, who both starred on Showtime’s Nurse Jackie, were first linked in 2012.

Olivia Wilde, Hedlund reunite for Tron 3 G reat news for Tron fans. It looks like a third movie in the famous Disney franchise is in the works, and both Olivia Wilde and Garrett Hedlund will be reprising their characters from 2010’s Tron: Legacy for the upcoming flick.

The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the sequel is underway, noting that the sci-fi film will be directed once again by Joseph Kosinski. While plot details are yet to be revealed, production is slated to begin this fall in Vancouver, and Justin Springer will be involved as a producer.

Legacy was the sequel to the 1982 sci-fi film starring Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner, which took place inside a computer world known as the Grid. The original film wasn’t a huge success at the box office during its release, but it sparked a cult following in later years.

Decades later, Disney revisited the plot and resurfaced the popular

My woman must know how to cook, look good - Lynxx

movie by revealing that Bridge’s computer programmer character had a son (Hedlund) who jumps into the Grid

to find his father. Meanwhile, Wilde was introduced as Quorra, an ass-kicking algorithm in human form.

inger Lynxxx, who recently talked about himself in an interview, said ‘‘I grew up in a family-oriented home. My parents ensured my siblings and I understood the essence of family plus the importance of maintaining a good reputation because it can open or close doors. I am happy my sisters and parents gave me the liberty to discover and express my talents in the right manner.’’

On what attracts him to a woman, the very eligible bachelor revealed ‘‘I like a free-spirited lady with morals, one who I can learn from. She must be able to cook and look good. On the other hand, I am turned off by bad breath and a smelly weave. I am not attracted to women who talk too much.’’

On being favoured in the entertainment scene, he said ’’I want critics to explain how true that is. We all go through the same struggles as artistes. We work hard and enjoy the fruits of our labour and it has nothing to do with what family you come from. At the end of the day, your talent is all that matters because nobody is going to buy your album because of your surname. ‘‘My parents are not in the entertainment business so I do not know how that helps me sell more records or makes it easy for me to make hit singles. My journey into music didn’t happen overnight, so all that talk about being from a privileged background is baseless because I worked hard to get this far.’’

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

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ISSUES

Now that the change has come Maxwell Adeyemi Adeleye

I

n the words Ferdinand Onah, a university don, Change connotes ‘dynamics’. Dynamics in essence that life is not even, invariable and constant. Just like time, life changes like the clapping of a mimosa plant.

Politically, a movement of change connotes revolutionary mode of moving either from forward to backward or backward to forward. On Saturday, March 28, 2015, Nigerians went to the poll to elect a new president that will start distributing the fruits of democratic governance to them from May 29, 2015. The electioneering campaign leading to the fierce contest was characterised by promises and vows by the two leading political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The PDP wanted continuity, while the APC preached for a change of baton. Over 15 million Nigerians who felt that the PDP had not done enough to better their lots and that of the nation for the past 16 years voted for change, while about 13 million Nigerians who think that the much advertised change will lead Nigeria to nowhere voted for continuity.

Consequently, since democracy implies popular participation and in view of the fact that in every democratic setting, majority rules, while the interest of the minority is to a great extent put into consideration, the change advocates have triumphed.

Most Nigerians voted for the change championed by General Muhammad Buhari of the APC at the detriment of the continuity of the transformation agenda spare-headed by Dr. Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP. Now, for the records, I wish to

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 remind the ‘Change’ advocates some of what they promised Nigerians during the electioneering campaign.

Crestfallen, dejected and disconsolate Nigerians are seriously waiting for the change the APC has promised to bring to Nigeria in all ramifications.

They are unwearyingly waiting for one naira to equal America’s one dollar in the international financial market as promised by General Mohammad Buhari during the electioneering campaign. Nigerians await a declaration of free and qualitative education from primary to tertiary level as promised

by Buhari. Before May 2019, one of our universities must be ranked among the best 500 in the world as promised.

I wish to remind General Buhari that he promised that by February 2019, Nigeria under his reign would have generated 40,000 tons of megawatt.

The daily 21 hour of electricity power supply is what Nigerians are waiting to start enjoying. Nigerians are also waiting for the comprehensive feeding of school children and the 1 million housing units promised.

I wish to remind the advocates of change that Nigerians are waiting for all our highways to be fixed before May 2019. The APC must not forget that Nigerians were promised N45 per liter of PMS. The country’s moldy refineries must be repaired with new ones built.

Furthermore, let me explicitly remind the change agents that they promised the unemployed youths of Nigeria 850, 000 jobs by September 2015. They should also recall that 25 million unemployed Nigerians were promised payment of N5, 000 every month till their lives get better. NYSC corps members were promised N45, 000 monthly allowances.

For Nigeria to be transformed from a periphery to a core sovereign nation, corruption must be well tackled.

However, I put it to Buhari that the war against corruption that he promised to pursue with sanctimonious attention must start within the APC. If the common people on the streets could violate the laws and get punished, then, forgiving those who had mercilessly ruled and looted our common wealth is

not acceptable to Nigerians. Those who had heartlessly and viciously governed Nigeria from 1999 till date either in the APC or PDP must be made to account for their evil deeds against the common people. Selective war against corruption will not be accepted.

I also wish to remind Buhari and his yet to be known change cabinet that we are now in a democracy where rights to speech, expression, religion, association and peaceful assembly are constitutionally protected.

Nigerians will not accept any attempt to intimidate, oppress and harass them unduly for exercising their fundamental human rights.

Once again, I say that Nigerians are waiting for the true change promised by the APC. The civil service must be reformed for Nigeria to get better.

Corruption must be drastically reduced if it cannot be totally abolished. The judiciary must be totally independent and sanitised. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must continue to enjoy its freedom as entrenched by the outgoing administration.

Nigerians are waiting for an end to insurgencies in the northern part of the country. We want peace and tranquility returned to Nigeria including the return of the missing Chibok girls.

In conclusion, I salute President Jonathan for giving Nigerians free, fair and credible elections and his spirit of statesmanship. I doff my hat for him over his commitment to peace, tranquility and cohesion among Nigerians. I congratulate General Buhari on his well-deserved victory at the polls. Jonathan has done his best for Nigeria; now, Nigerians are waiting for the change.

Culled from Abusidiqu.com

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PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Opinion What type of ‘opposition’ will the PDP be?

By Abimbola Adelakun

B

y now, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would have woken up to a new reality: that – to use a Pentecostal lingo – power has changed hands and their opponents, the All Progressives Congress (APC) whom they labelled “Janjaweed” and whom they also declared will not last a year has unseated them.

While pondering their new fate, some of the party’s “members” have started the migratory habit of Nigerian “politicians” they are defecting, left, right and centre.

This is rather worrisome –though not unexpected, considering that some of the people who voted on March 28 expected actual ‘change’ and not a mere chameleonic transformation. The euphoria of an All Progressives Congress win should not mean a banishment of the potential for opposition politics and for now, ironically, only the PDP seems well-positioned to do just that. I wish it survives the mass defections to become a viable opposition party. In just over a week of the APC victory, the party has received a number of fair-weather PDP members into its fold.

Give it some months and the APC that won the presidential election on the back of the people yearning for change might barely be distinguishable from the PDP that held power for the past 16 years.

Can the APC stem the inevitable recreation of its identity that will occur when besieged by PDP politicians by being discriminating of who it accepts and whose membership solicitation it turns down?

Or such selectiveness is purely unrealistic given the present constitution of the Nigerian political structure? Numbers win elections but where the numbers are without a thought process independent of ‘stomach infrastructure’, is Nigeria the better or worse for it?

Apart from the horde of nameless and faceless masses who defect in their thousands every other week, there are known ones like a former governor of Edo State, Prof. Oserheinmen Osunbor; Kwara State’s Senator Gbemisola Saraki; Governor Sule Lamido’s deputy, Ahmad Mahmud. In Plateau State, the

governorship candidates of Labour Party, Ambassador Bagudu Hirse, and that of the Mega Party, Mrs Elizabeth Yilse, defected to the APC. Also in the same Plateau, former Governor Chief Joshua Dariye; a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Gen. Jeremiah Useni; in Ekiti, a PDP chieftain, Ayo Arise, is defecting to the APC too and this is not an exhaustive list of those who are already jumping out of the PDP ship. By the time you conclude this piece, you might have heard of another group of professional defectors who are doing their thing, unconscionable and unashamed. They will not even wait for the ink on the parchment used to draft the PDP political obituary to dry before they cross over to where the grass seems greener.

Going by the reasons they are defecting – from badmouthing the PDP for its failed promises to the noble self-sacrificing task of seeking the welfare of their people — one thread runs through all the reasons they adduce: That they are seeking better opportunities for their constituency.

However, we know their true reasons are far from altruistic.

Defection or not, the APC victory on March 28 will also have a domino effect on the elections scheduled to take place this Saturday. If the PDP has a poor outing at these elections, what will the next four years be for ‘opposition’ politics? Will the opposition also be region-based like the south-west was for the APC for years before it acquired a national bent? Will the

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south-south and the south-east, where the PDP got its highest electoral support be the base of the next centre of opposition politics in Nigeria? With the way some people have been bemoaning the singlemindedness of the Igbo voting pattern and how they have undercut themselves from the geopolitical harvest that accompanies an election, it will be unsurprising to see south-easterners defecting to the APC so they can be positioned for the “’goodies”’ that will be distributed across zones after May 29.

If, however, they choose the road less travelled, what manner of opposition politics will emerge from them? How will they (re)build alliances across Nigeria and what configuration will it be beyond ethnicity and religion? More importantly, how will opposition politics for this new set of lawmakers affect the legislative arm of government and their conduct? For years, the APC waved the progressives and ‘opposition’ banner but for the most part, lawmakers from various divides agreed with one another. Will the PDP constitute this missing crucial piece?

In reaction to the defection gale hitting their party, the PDP spokesperson, Olisa Metuh, tried to play down its effects. He said, “…only lazy people… will defect one week after losing the election…We need strong and dedicated members that will rebuild the party and win the presidential election. Because we are convinced that the APC lacks what it takes to sustain our democracy, the PDP is not leaving any

The irony of the PDP’s new position as opposition party battling fickle-minded members who are on the prowl for where the spoils of victory will be shared is almost laughable. Who could have imagined the tides of affairs ebbing for them just a year ago? The question however is, will they learn fast enough and what kind of opposition politics will they provide?

stone unturned in ensuring that it returns to power in the next four years to save the nation’s democracy and re-channel our vision of a greater Nigeria.”

The irony of the PDP’s new position as opposition party battling fickle-minded members who are on the prowl for where the spoils of victory will be shared is almost laughable. Who could have imagined the tides of affairs ebbing for them just a year ago? The question however is, will they learn fast enough and what kind of opposition politics will they provide?

Metuh has hinted that their obsession from now on will be to win the presidency.

Apparently, the thinking — and this has been on display with the APC supporters, too — is that the presidency is the key position for any party to aim at. This is so shallow an aspiration for a political party but also a reality of contemporary Nigerian politics. You are either the party at the centre or you do not exist. The PDP cannot be totally blamed if its zeal, energy and agitation for the next four years are solely dedicated to wresting power back from their opponents. Yet, should opposition politics not be more than this familiar, yet tenuous route?

The PDP has been in office for 16 years and despite its fumbles and foibles, it must have an insight into governance processes in a way the APC that is just going to be familiarising itself with the mechanism of federal power will be learning from now. Considering that opposition politics is usually contingent on the nature and politics of the government in power, will they use their experience to structure the shape of opposition politics or they want to be mere entertainers, indulging in pettiness with the hope that one day some cosmic forces will align in their favour? Will a political culture where ideology, conviction of words and thoughts, steadfastness in voting records and community engagement be the new opposition slant? Or, will it be the nostrum of brigands as politicians that Nigeria will have?

Adelakun posted this piece on Opinion.ng

Open letter to Gen. Buhari

By Suleiman Badamasi

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our Excellency, let me begin by congratulating you, myself and fellow Nigerians on this momentous triumph. It was indeed, a conquest of allegiance and sacrifice and we thank you, as well as your cohorts for breeding the idea of and striving towards achieving this #Change. Looking at the other side of the coin, you have a great burden to deal with; while those who keenly voted for you expect heaven and earth, due to your widely celebrated reputation, those that opposed you might be expecting the most tormenting hell, due to defamatory allegations of atrocity and dictatorship that they had heard about you. However, we in the northeast are not exempted.

Permit me sir, to convey to you what we in the northeast would want you to begin with, in our region; we need security.

To be more specific, we have a belief that there was total negligence and insincerity in fighting the insecurity that has, for six years; killed our lives, demolished our markets, destroyed our schools, razed our

villages, crippled our economy, reduced our jobs, disturbed our peace, displaced/ handicapped our people, restricted our movement, bombarded our wellbeing and took us back compared to other regions of the country. It is due to that belief that you were able to secure more than 90 percent of votes from Yobe and Borno States respectively, while securing 100 percent votes in IDP camps.

In the northeast sir, everything that

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sustains a region/nation is being targeted at and put under aggressive annihilation.

For any nation to attain sustainability, it is sine-qua-non to have all or most of the following assets in place; education, economy, farming, peace, transportation, infrastructure, healthcare, youth, policy and information. These are being exterminated in the northeast, without us enjoying the fruits of being a component of government. For example; when it falsified

Permit me sir, to convey to you what we in the northeast would want you to begin with, in our region; we need security. To be more specific, we have a belief that there was total negligence and insincerity in fighting the insecurity that has, for six years; killed our lives, demolished our markets, destroyed our schools, razed our villages, crippled our economy, reduced our jobs, disturbed our peace, displaced/handicapped our people, restricted our movement, bombarded our wellbeing and took us back compared to other regions of the country.

the fact that more than 2,000 people were massacred in Baga, and later, after facing wide condemnation, admitted, but reduced the number significantly while insisting that only 15,000 people were killed throughout the span of insurgency. This kind of response caused us more grief than the damages sustained from the attacks.

Finally, for the past three years, we only moved freely in my home town, Potiskum once (i.e. on March 31, 2015) when they announced that you had won the election.

There were also strategic roads in the town that we only could pass through on that very day due to restriction of movement.

This also applies to many parts of the northeast.

I hope that a ministry, commission or a special rehabilitation programme be created to handle our problems. Thank you.

Badamasi can be reached on sulaimanmahir@gmail.com

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PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Comments

Fayose and Ekiti: Buhari’s first test Adeshina Oyetayo

A

sk anyone who is well informed about the most controversial governor in Nigeria, and he will certainly tell you: Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State. Without doubt, Fayose, through his recent utterances and actions, has earned himself the most popular and controversial Nigerian governor of the moment.

Fayose was re-elected as the governor of Ekiti State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on June 21, 2014 and was sworn into office on October 16, 2014. Prior to this, it would be recalled that he had been governor of the same state from May 29, 2003 to October 16, 2006 when he was impeached.

One of the recent activities that made him popular and controversial was his unrelenting attacks on the person of General Muhammad Buhari, who has just been elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). While some people, especially his lovers, saw nothing new or abnormal in the firm decision of Fayose in attacking Buhari, some believe he was too harsh. To the former, it is not new in Nigerian politics for politicians to attack one another for the purpose of gaining political advantage. So to these people, he should even be commended for playing his political card very well.

However, the latter believe that Fayose is becoming too aggressive and unreasonable in the manner he plays his politics. The most popular and widely criticised of those attacks on Buhari was an advertisement he (Gov. Fayose) placed in the Punch newspaper of January 19, 2015 and Daily Sun of the same date. In that advertisement, he was indirectly asking Nigerians not to waste their votes by voting Buhari who, according to him, is too old to govern the country. The governor had, in that advertisement, indirectly predicted the death of the General in office if eventually elected. So these people see everything wrong in that advertisement.

Critical and objective observation of the roles of Fayose in the 2015 general elections may prompt many to wonder whether or not he has done something that other politicians have not done before. Aside that widely criticised advertisement, one may find it quite difficult differentiating him from other politicians. It has always been the practice of Nigerian politicians to attack one another during election period. So in this regards, he shouldn’t be an exception.

All Nigerian politicians are ready to go to any length in satisfying their interest.

Another thing that has made him popular and controversial is the ‘Stomach Infrastructure’ initiative which has been widely identified with him. When he was campaigning for the governorship race, he had distributed bags of rice and other food items to the people of Ekiti State and he was largely criticised, especially by the opposition parties, for trying to use food items to sway voters to his side. However, this would not deter Fayose from doing so, as he even came up publicly to state that there will be a special assistant on ‘Stomach Infrastructure’. On this note as well, it is important to state that he was not the only politician who distributed food items to the people during and even after electioneering. Akinwunmi Ambode of the APC in Lagos State also did.

Another activity that has added spice to the controversy surrounding him is the latest impeachment move by members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly. It has taken another dimension as the APC factional Speaker, Hon. Adewale Omirin, has purportedly served him a notice.

It would be recalled that reports had surfaced in 2014, not long after Fayose was inaugurated, that seven members of the Peoples Democratic Party had met at the State Assembly Complex, without the speaker and deputy speaker, to carry out the illegal impeachment of the speaker.

Fayose had, however, reportedly debunked the story.

One could only reasonably conclude that what is presently unfolding in Ekiti has a political undertone. The APC wants Fayose impeached by all means and its members have started playing the card.

Well, as Nigerian politics entails, it is normal. However, if I had the opportunity to speak to leaders of the All Progressives Congress, I would advice that they leave Fayose alone to complete his tenure for certain reasons.

One of the reasons is that the party, through its presidential flag-bearer who is now the president-elect, had promised all Nigerians that its government will not mete out vengeance on any of its

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His impeachment may lead to unnecessary chaos in the state and any reasonable government at the federal level, will want to prevent this. Since the APC often claims that they are for the people, its members should do all they can to ensure that the will and interest of the people of Ekiti State are not denied.

opponents. Though the reasons for his impeachment might be genuine, some people will definitely conclude that it is an attempt by APC to make him suffer for the negative things he had said about Buhari during the period of campaign. So to them, it would seem the party wants to start punishing Fayose by first, relieving him of his position. This will then pave way for the party to try him and then probably jail him.

If this happens, many might believe that Buhari hardly forgives. And this might not earn our dear President-elect a good image that people like me always project.

Another reason any patriotic Nigerian would want to appeal to the leaders of the All Progressives Congress to leave Fayose alone is to avoid unnecessary chaos in the state. As controversial as Fayose may seem, it is obvious to all and sundry that he is loved by the majority of the people. This was why the Peoples Democratic Party had decided to present him as its party flagbearer. The party believed he was generally accepted by his people and that he was the only candidate that could give the party the governorship seat. And yes he did prove them right.

In the just concluded presidential election, he again proved to the world that he is a man of the people by winning the presidential election in the state for Jonathan. The results of that election in all the south west states, except Ekiti, went in favour of Buhari. So this is a pointer that Fayose is truly loved by his people.

So why would anybody want to impeach a governor that is loved by his people. His impeachment may lead to unnecessary chaos in the state and any reasonable government at the federal level, will want to prevent this. Since the APC often claims that they are for the people, its members should do all they can to ensure that the will and interest of the people of Ekiti State are not denied.

Oyetayo posted this article on Opinion.ng

Solomon Dalung: A perfect peg in a hole

By Maiwada Dammallam

T

ake it or leave it, Barrister Solomon Dalung is one of the best minds from which Nigeria stands to gain a lot from their unflinching commitment and an unshakable believe in the ability of the country to retrace its steps on the path of recovery and true nationhood.

Dalung doesn’t need introduction in Nigeria. His name elicits true hope for a decent and achievable Nigeria. Call him a stabiliser and you couldn’t be more correct.

His passion for Nigeria is as religious as his love for humanity. He belongs to a class of few Nigerians who see and say it as it is without attaching primordial sentiments.

It was not entirely accidental that President Buhari made it a habit to call him on each morning of his birthday to celebrate his life and encourage him to keep firm on hisd track. Apparently, Buhari, the yardstick for moral integrity in Nigeria, must have seen the same flame that powered his passion for a great Nigeria in Barr. Dalung and hence, found it easy to connect with him without the fear of endangering his integrity.

At 50, when most of his peers are struggling to read, interpret and understand their purpose in life, Dalung is almost halfway uploading his obligations to Nigeria.

It is not entirely surprising that emissaries of governors from all corners of Nigeria pay pilgrimage to his modest home in Jos to seek support for their mostly unsupportable principals. Even in their arrogance, these ‘demigods’ know where the power lies.

With just half the value of Dalung

among the ruling class, many Nigerians will be stupendously rich. Now that Nigeria is done with elections and, thankfully we now have a leader who will restore our lost dignity and glory, we still have to be mindful of the accumulated rot and appreciate that clearing it is a job for all. Just as we ensured that our votes counted and kicked Jonathan out to usher in President Buhari, we have to make sacrifices by suppressing our personal ambition for public interest. We have to make sure we support quality people to assist the president deliver his promise of a new Nigeria. Take a minute and imagine a “Minister of Justice, Solomon Dalung” and the effect you get is just what I am talking about.

Either as a justice minister, Interior or any other ministry, I am sure that “Minister Dalung” will never be Abba Moro, Diezeni, Oduah or any of the moral Lilliput that surrounded Jonathan and scripted all the blunders he unleashed in Nigeria in the last six years. Truly, President Buhari needs men of integrity to form the nucleus of

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the army that will fight and implement his agenda and who is better qualified to join this army more than Solomon Dalung who, by hard work and consistent expression of moral excellence, earned public trust and was crowned “Garkuwan Talakawa” by the appreciative masses.

At 50, having washed his hands clean in a bowl of honour, Dalung is already eating from one plate with great Nigerians. Not only that, his name is synonymous with dignity, integrity and love for humanity.

His tireless efforts from outside the circle of power to see Nigeria being administered according to stipulated rules have impacted on the system more than the collective efforts of many powerful names whose only business with power is to make themselves powerful enough to abuse power and accumulate more than enough wealth to harass the shortchanged public.

Unlike the concluded ‘yam and goats’ sad era, this promising incoming era is one that can put yams in one barn and not only ensure that no goat gets to it, but

What he achieved with a dint of hard work, honesty and patriotism is what many could not achieve with age, power and wealth. When recently, Radio France Internationale (RFI) chose him as their man of the year over and above many globally acclaimed giants, they knew what they were doing.

They were certain of their conviction about this icon.

religiously ensure that the yam is shared among the masses. Who is more qualified to work in that kitchen more than “Garkuwan Talakawa”?

With a name to protect, he will fit perfectly into the nucleus of the “Buhari yam protecting crew”. He will neither eat the yam nor allow his children and cronies more than their deserved share. In case you are doubting his qualification, check his record at Langtang South Local Government where his record as “yam keeper” is yet to be surpassed, where he still remains the next best thing to happen to the local government after its creation.

It is for this and many other reasons that Dalung, at a relatively young age, is a front row member of the honorable Northern Elders Forum (NEF). What he achieved with a dint of hard work, honesty and patriotism is what many could not achieve with age, power and wealth. When recently, Radio France Internationale (RFI) chose him as their man of the year over and above many globally acclaimed giants, they knew what they were doing. They were certain of their conviction about this icon.

Having survived multiple attempts on his life by unscrupulous elements who believe that killing him is an answer to their fear of his stinging criticism, I think Dalung deserves a role at the highest level of governance to make real his dream of a Nigeria we can all be proud of. May those that matter see him worthy of the cabinet of President Buhari.

Dammallam sent in this piece from Katsina

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

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Online Comments What Yero would never do as governor Abdullah Musa says: And the writer made a serious omission. The person against whom the article is written has no godfather on whose behalf he will milk the state dry. If Kaduna people want a new beginning, they need an adult, a victor, (Nasir) rather than Yero, a toddler in governance.

Adamawa: Zwingina, Idi Hong, two serving Senators join APC Ephraim Osazuwa says: A politician without political ideology/ dogma that he/she can fight or die for, is not a politician but a thief. In 16 years of PDP, these same defectors were parading themselves as “leaders of thought”, yet at the first sign of defeat, they abandoned ship.

These are people without morals, like the sea waves, cannot be trusted with anything. APC should make them wait for their turn.

Apwe Eli says: Fair weather politicians, according to David Mark. I am glad Joel Madaki has been vindicated.

Are they not the ones that took the primaries of the PDP to Abuja and the National Working Committee of the party believed that the Zwingina group would deliver the party in the state. They failed and started running away.

Gov. Okorocha, Imo State

Gov. Fayose, Ekiti State

concede defeat or not that is his problem. You cannot hold Nigeria to ransom. All this unnecessary praise for Jonathan is baseless. If you win an election you stay, you lose you go back to your village.

If he refused to go he knew he will end up in The Hague. What happened to Gbagbo and his wife that refused to leave after they were rejected by voters?

Jonathan’s loss: N’Delta groups meet over oil blocs Why S/east will not get Senate presidency, Augustine says: S p e a k e r - R o c h a s Most of the people who fought Okorocha

I have not received any impeachment notice – Fayose Citizen says: Please Ekiti lawmakers do the right thing. This man should not be governing Ekiti State before April 11, 2015

An elder’s infamy

Not my hero!

Abdullah Musa says: The conduct of Fani-Kayode and Fayose all stem from a mindset that one should bulldoze his way to power, rubbishing decorum and the law in the process. In all the three cases, they were demonic in the service of their patron. The new president should show that he needs no rabid dogs.

Abdullah Musa says: If Jonathan had acted otherwise, this writer would not have found the peace to write this article. Jonathan found willing tools in every sector of Nigeria to take us to the brink of disaster.

Whatever compelled him not to take the plunge, with us in chains, we are grateful. Let us hope he becomes a model to future tyrants.

2015: Betara’s selfishness

politics

of

Umar Faruk says: With the situation on ground Honourable Betara is a determined leader with mission and vision for democracy for his people.

Comrade Mukhtar Betara Aliyu has done it and we have seen how a leader is supposed to please his people. He has changed many lives and transformed his constituency.

We are happy and thankful for your superb administration and we pray to Allah to continue to guide and protect you.

Goodluck Jonathan’s phone call that changed Nigeria Yadudu says: Whether he called Buhari to

25 small scale business ideas and investment opportunities in Nigeria Tomi Olugbemi says: Please send me details of how I can meet with you. Thanks Peoples Daily says: You can reach him through this link below h t t p : / / w w w . mytopbusinessideas.com/aboutus/ Erhijivwo Believe says: Please I need more information on how I can start importation business.

Ethan says: Great article please publish more.

tooth and nail to make sure Jonathan does not have a second term did not do so because they love Nigeria. Some former heads of state that have as many as four oil blocs knew that it would not augur well for their greed if Jonathan comes back so they pretended to love Nigeria while actually they were fighting to protect their loot.

I support the people of the Niger Delta to ensure that no one takes undue advantage of their suffering.

Buhari should publish the names of all those that have oil blocs, why they have the number they have and how long they have held them.

He should make sure that the oil blocs are given to other Nigerians, especially the people of the Niger Delta that bear the brunt of oil exploration in Nigeria. One head of state that sees himself as the most righteous Nigerian is believed to have as many as four. I hope it is a lie otherwise the hammer of the so much touted fight coming against corrupt people should first fall on him. That is how to start a credible fight against corruption if everything will not go back to business as usual.

Gov. Yero, Kaduna State

Adam says: Ndigbo it is too late to cry, politics is now based on interest not sentiments. I hope you will start preparation ahead of 2019 to join other Nigerians.

Patrick Agbobu says: Goodluck Jonathan is trying to save his skin, how does that translate to writing his name in gold? The real winners are we the people. I have been saying this for a very long time that we, the people, will make sure that Jonathan is defeated when the chips are down and I have been proved right. The real losers in this election are the Igbo people as the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives could have come from that zone, but now it is impossible as there is no senator from that zone. This is what happens when you have short sighted, greedy and very selfish people as leaders. The Igbo people must now use their ‘number 6′ and rectify this self inflicted anomaly. I hope they know what to do?

We’ll challenge Buhari’s Edo PDP governorship victory in court – PDP candidate joins APC

Augustine says: Every Nigerian in politics will eventually move to the APC. Eventually, the APC will amount to pouring the same quantity and quality of water from a bucket to a pot after all they are the same group of people changing clothes and names. The APC will morph into another oppressive mega party. Members of the PDP should stay where they are so that the party would become a credible alternative like we have in America. In Nigeria, no one likes to work or suffer for what he believes in. He must go to where it will be easy to cheat and defraud.

Yomi Falade says: The PDP leaders may as well save the litigation money, unless they mean to share the loot with their attorneys. Evidence is clear that the PDP rigged massively in Akwa-Ibom, Delta and Rivers States since their PDP/APC voting ratios are way above the typical ranges for the rest of the southsouth and south-east zones.

Rabe Isah says: If the PDP goes to court to challenge the presidential election it will fail because there was a lot of election irregularities in Rivers, Delta, Enugu and Akwa Ibom States.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

PAGE 42

Interview Continue from pg. 15 because we owe it a duty to ask questions on matters the FCT administration said it has addressed. There are so many things that we will do to ensure that the people become aware of the presence of government in their lives because the government is for them and for elected officers.

Many have urged the President-Elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, when he fully resumes on May 29, to reduce the cost of running government starting from the legislature. As a member of the National Assembly, do you share in this suggestion?

I think in the first place anyone that contested election to seek for financial gains got it wrong. As elected officers, we should look at our position as a call to serve the people. If one is elected to represent the people as a member of the National Assembly, I think with or without payment one should put in all to serve the

News

people. If reducing the allowances of legislators will make things work for Nigerians, improve Nigeria by making things better, so be it. Nigeria is in a situation that everybody needs to make a contribution, make sacrifices and everyone’s hands must be on deck to see what can be done to move this country forward.

For Buhari to think in that direction I think he needs everybody’s contribution and cooperation. I also believe that everybody that endorsed Mr. President will work in that regard.

For me, I do not aspire to acquire wealth as an elected officer, I just want to serve my people.

Corruption has destroyed this country, if you were to advice the President-elect what strategy would you suggest should be adopted to end corruption?

Well, I believe based on his pedigree and track records, Buhari has gathered all it takes to fight corruption. Once the

House is inaugurated, I will be working with Mr. President in my own little way and as a member of the majority in the House to advice him to take on corruption headlong. I think the basic is for him to be firm in the fight against corruption, without being bias, without any preference to certain personalities and without bringing in personal interest, then we will all achieve the desired target in fighting corruption.

It is said that Nigeria practices fiscal federalism, what is your concept of the federating unit called Nigeria?

I like to think that what we have read on paper will soon become a reality with the president-elect and that was why the All Progressives Congress (APC) woke up to the challenge.

I am confident that what we read on the pages of newspapers will become real before the four years of the life of this administration comes to an end.

How would you rate the March 28 presidential election and President Goodluck Jonathan’s reaction to the outcome of the election?

The presidential and National Assembly elections to me were the freest and the most credible election so far in Nigeria, not necessarily because I won my election, but because of the card reader that the INEC chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega, introduced.

The parties and contestants alike were adequately informed that there was no room for rigging.

All attempts to make him shift grounds were not possible and at the end of the day, we saw what happened. So, I give kudos to Prof. Jega who stood firm even when somebody at the collation centre wanted to cause chaos.

Ordinarily, some had thought that Jega would have ordered for his arrest but one could see the maturity that he used to handle the matter.

Military recover stolen sensitive election materials in Delta

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he Nigerian military yesterday disclosed that its men of the 222 Battalion, Agbarha-Otor, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State have recovered at least 8 Ballot Boxes and 310 Permanent Voters Card, PVCs from suspected political thugs who tried to use them for election irregularities during the March 28 presidential and national assembly elections.

Addressing newsmen Friday during a show of force exercise aimed at reassuring electorates of the commitment of security agencies in protecting them during and after the governorship and state House of Assembly election, the Commanding Officer of the battalion, Lt. Col. Mathew Oyekola stated that owing to the success of the exercise, the system has deemed it fit for it to

be repeated ahead of the April 11 elections.

He said: “As a command, we made series of successes in stemming the tide of election irregularities by arresting some persons who wanted to perpetrate violence as well as the recovery of 8 ballot boxes and 310 PVCs at Ndokwa East Local Government Area.

“The suspects and the electoral

materials have since been handed over to the police and the Returning Officer for the LGA.” Areas covered by the show of force exercise include; Ughelli North, Ughelli South, Isoko North, Isoko South and Ethiope East. Others are Ndokwa East, Ndokwa West, Bomadi and Burutu Local Government Areas.

Police foil violent PDP, APC clash in Rivers

By Patrick Andrew agency report

with

T

he Rivers state Police command foiled what could have been a bloody clash at the Hotel Presidential in Port Harcourt, Rivers State between members of the PDP and APC, barely hours before today’s governorship election.

The Police stepped in to avert the clash which could have been ochestrated by APC supporters who had converged at the Conference Room of the hotel for a campaign against the PDP governorship candidate, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike.

The Police, we learnt, asked the organisers of the conference to leave the area the verbal war which ensued between the supporters of the two parties

would have snowballed into violent confrontation.

The APC supporters, led led by one Buma Oboribo, who described himself as the leader of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Eastern Zone comprising the states in the former South-Eastern region, said that they had unanimously resolved to vote for the party’s governorship candidate, Adolf Dakuku Peterside in Saturday’s election.

He said that the stance was due to their past resolutions and communiqués in October 2013, June and September 2014, where they reiterated their commitment to endorsing a governorship candidate of Ijaw extraction, irrespective of the political party.

Obribo said that in view of its

stance on power rotation, the group had endorsed Dakuku, and urged Rivers people to cast their votes for him on Saturday.

The situation became charged when another Ijaw and former Managing Director of Rivers State Newspapers Corporation, Martin Amabibi, stormed the arena to demand who authorised the conveners to hold the press briefing.

Calling them “sellouts”, Amabibi said: “The PDP remains our party, while Barrister Nyesom Ezenwo Wike remains our undisputed governorship candidate.

“Barrister Wike stood solidly by our brother, the President of the Federal Republic Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, against the treachery and insults of Governor Chibuike

Amaechi. Also, it is on record that, on the instruction of Governor Amaechi, Hon. Dakuku as the Works Commissioner destroyed the buildings in the Government Secondary School, Ogu. The buildings were never rebuilt until the time of Barr Wike as the Minister of State for Education.

“The Ijaw nation worldwide is in a mourning mood because of our failure in his second term bid, and the only way we can prove our sincerity to him, is by adhering to those ideals of his, and supporting his supporters,” he said.

When the situation became tensed, the police moved in and ordered the feuding parties to leave the hotel.

Defections gale unhealthy, undemocratic- APC chieftain From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

A

ll Progressive Congress APC chieftain in Bauchi

Alhaji Ahmed Shuaibu has described the recent defection by some politicians to APC the wining party not healthy

and is not good for the democracy of the nation and undemocratic.

Ahmed Shuaibu disclosed this in an

interview with newsmen in Bauchi yesterday, saying that the series of political defections across the after wining presidential

Also, most people thought that the Rivers election result would bring problems, but Jega demonstrated maturity by not tampering with any of the results.

So, the presidential election was successful and truly free, fair and credible and we wish whoever is coming on board to replace Jega to emulate him.

I have always looked at President Goodluck Jonathan and discovered that he is a nice person, a gentleman, a peaceloving person who unfortunately was surrounded by a crop of cabals who were working solely for their selfish interest. If the cabals were with him when the results were being collated probably they wouldn’t have encouraged him to accept the result. So, he quickly told the world what he really was: peaceful and selfless. That has earned him a lot of respect across the world. I sincerely respect him for what he has done.

election is not good for our democracy. “ Many will agree that the defection of politicians from last week after the presidential election is alarming and is mere reflects of level of desperation for political relevance in pursuit of public office, is undemocratic, the party ranking officers should be wary of that” He said.

According to him those that defected recently have clearly demonstrated that they are not principles, lacks integrity, morals and could be described as undemocratic why can the wait and put their party in good shape if the thing party is in shambles, than move or jump to another party.

He pointed out that most of defectors have benefited a lots from the party the dump in terms of contracts, appointment ,employment and many other things “why do you want to leave now? Is it because the party is no more in power?

This is very wrong” Shuaibu warns that the party should not disfranchise loyal and honest members of the party that work tirelessly for the party to success.

“As for me I was in PDP and I left the party some years back since the inception of Governor Yuguda administration when I come to understand that he is not the type that will listen to good and healthy advice for the betterment and development of the state,” so I decide to relegate myself from PDP since then” The APC chieftain said

PAGE 43

Biographies

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Sobhuza II, (aka Nkhotfotjeni, Mona (1899 – 1982)

S

obhuza II, KBE (also known as Nkhotfotjeni, Mona (22 July 1899 – 21 August 1982) was the Paramount Chief and later King of Swaziland for 82 years, the longest verifiable reign of any monarch in recorded history. Sobhuza was born on 22 July 1899 at Zombodze Royal Residence, the son of Inkhosikati Lomawa Ndwandwe and King Ngwane V. When he was only four months old, his father died suddenly while dancing incwala. Sobhuza was chosen King soon after that and his grandmother Labotsibeni and his uncle Prince Malunge led the Swazi nation until his maturity in 1921.[3] Sobhuza led Swaziland through independence until his death in 1982. He was succeeded by Mswati III, his young son with Inkhosikati Ntfombi Tfwala, who was crowned in 1986.

Ingwenyama Sobhuza was born in Zombodze on 22 July 1899. He ascended to the throne after the death of his father, Ngwane V, as King of Swaziland on 10 December 1899, when he was only four months old. He was educated at the Swazi National School, Zombodze, and at the Lovedale Institution in the Eastern Cape, South Africa before assuming the Swazi throne as paramount chief at the age of twentytwo.[4] His grandmother, Labotsibeni Mdluli, served as regent throughout his youth, formally transferring power to the Ngwenyama on 22 December 1921.

Kingship Sobhuza in 1945 Sobhuza’s direct reign would endure more than 60 years (1921–82), during which he presided over Swaziland’s independence from United Kingdom in 1968, after which the British government recognised him as King of Swaziland.[5] Early in his reign, Sobhuza sought to address the problem of land partition and deprivation instituted by the British authorities in 1907.

He did so by first leading a delegation to London to meet with King George V and petition him to restore the lands to the Swazi people. He again took his case on the land issue in 1929 to the Privy Council. He was defeated by the terms of the Foreign Jurisdictions Act, which effectively placed the actions of British administrations in protectorates beyond the reach of the British courts.

Sobhuza’s role during this colonial period was for the most part ceremonial, but he still had major influence as a traditional head of the Swazi nation. In 1953 he attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in London.

In the early 1960s Sobhuza played a major role in events

Sobhuza

that led to independence for his country in 1968. He opposed the post-colonial Westminster constitution proposed by the British government, in which he was assigned the role of constitutional monarch. As a consequence, acting through his advisory council, he formed the Imbokodvo National Movement, a political party, which contested and won all seats in the 1967 pre-independence elections.

He became recognized by the British as King of Swaziland in 1967 when Swaziland was given direct rule. Independence was achieved on 6 September 1968.

Following this, Sobhuza skilfully blended appeal to tribal custom with a capacity to manage economic and social change for his kingdom. On 12 April 1973, the king repealed the constitution and dissolved parliament, henceforth exercising power as an absolute ruler. In 1978 a new constitution was promulgated which provided for an elaborate reversion to a tribal mode of rule involving an electoral college of eighty members chosen by forty local councils known as tinkhundla, dominated by tribal elements. The Swazi economy prospered under Sobhuza’s leadership. Swaziland is rich in natural resources, and much of the land and mineral wealth originally owned by non-Swazi interests was brought under indigenous control during Sobhuza’s reign.

Later life 1959 Buick LeSabre, owned

by Sobhuza II. Photographed at the Sobhuza II Memorial Park in Lobamba.

Sobhuza celebrated his

Diamond Jubilee in 1981. At this time, he had successfully restored and indeed strengthened the monarch’s role as the chief arbiter of decision-making in his kingdom.[4] In the early 1980s King Sobhuza attempted to acquire control over KaNgwane, a Bantustan set up by the South African government in an attempt to reunite all Swazi people separated by the colonial boundary. He died on 21 August 1982 at Embo State house at the age of 83.

Sobhuza’s official incumbency of 82 years and 254 days is the longest precisely dated monarchical reign on record and the world’s longest documented reign of any sovereign since antiquity. Only Pepi II Neferkare of Ancient Egypt and Taejo of the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo are claimed to have reigned longer, though these claims are disputed.

Family and succession King Sobhuza continued the

“

tribal practice of maintaining many consorts. According to the Swaziland National Trust Commission, King Sobhuza II married 70 wives, who gave him 210 children between 1920 and 1970. About 180 children survived infancy, and 97 sons and daughters were reported living as of 2000. At his death he had more than 1000 grandchildren.

Sobhuza died in 1982, having appointed Prince Sozisa Dlamini to serve as ‘Authorized Person’, advising a regent.

Selection of a successor was confirmed only after King Sobhuza’s death, a regent being necessary if the heir remained under age at that time. By tradition, the regent would be one of the queens consort who had born the late king a son.

The first regent was Queen Dzeliwe, but after a power struggle Sozisa deposed her and she was replaced by Queen Ntfombi. During this period Andy Warhol boosted her renown, and that of Swaziland, by including her portrait along with those of Elizabeth II of the Commonwealth Realms, Beatrix of the Netherlands and Margrethe II of Denmark in his Reigning Queens series. Ntombi reigned on behalf of her young son by King Sobhuza, Prince Makhosetive Dlamini, who was designated as Crown Prince or Umntfwana. He was crowned King Mswati III in 1986.

One of Sobhuza’s sons-inlaw was Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, King of the Zulus of South Africa, who married the Swazi king’s daughter, Princess Mantfombi (born at Siteki in 1956, betrothed in 1973), at Nongoma in June 1977. Another in-law is Zenani Mandela, the daughter of former South African President Nelson Mandela, who belonged to a cadet branch of the Thembu dynasty which reigns as paramount chiefs in the Transkei. She wed Sobhuza’s son, Prince Thumbumuzi Dlamini who, although an older half-brother of Mswati and Mantfombi,[5] did not inherit the Swazi throne, instead launching, with his wife, an enterprise in the United States.

Sobhuza’s official incumbency of 82 years and 254 days is the longest precisely dated monarchical reign on record and the world’s longest documented reign of any sovereign since antiquity. Only Pepi II Neferkare of Ancient Egypt and Taejo of the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo are claimed to have reigned longer, though these claims are disputed.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

PAGE 44

Archives

US POWs shot down over Japan 70 years ago were dissected while alive *Parts of brain and livers of soldiers were dissected while they were alive *Prisoners of war also injected with seawater at university’s medical school *Soldiers were still alive and thought doctors were going to treat them Actions of surgeons and university staff brought to light in grim exhibition

A

Japanese museum has revealed how American prisoners of war were experimented on and dissected while they were still alive in a horrifying new exhibition.

A gruesome display at the newly-opened museum at Kyushu University explains how eight US POWs were taken to the centre’s medical school in Fukuoka after their plane was shot down over the skies of Japan in May 1945.

There, they were subjected to horrific medical experiments - as doctors dissected one soldier’s brain to see if epilepsy could be controlled by surgery, and removed parts of the livers of other prisoners as part of tests to see if they would survive.

Another soldier was injected with seawater, in an experiment to see if it could be used instead

of sterile saline solution to help dehydration. All of the soldiers died from their ordeal.

For 70 years the details of the experiments were shrouded in secrecy by officials and academics at the Kyushu University. sought to cover up the horrifying actions of doctors and clinicians.

But when the incidents came to light during a discussion with professors in March, the university decided to include information about the experiments within their new museum.

Twelve airmen were aboard the B-29 when it took off from Guam on a bombing raid against an airfield in Fukuoka. They all bailed out when their aircraft was rammed by a Japanese fighter.

One was killed when another fighter flew into his parachute, and another two were stabbed to death when they landed.

Horrific: Eight American airmen were dissected alive after they were shot down over Japan in 1945.

American prisoners are shown in Japanese captivity in the Philippines during World War Two A report in The Baltimore Sun said that one of the US soldiers Teddy Ponczka had been stabbed by locals after his plane had crashed - and presumed he

Some of the POWs had parts of their brains and livers removed in macabre experiments, while others were injected with seawater. Details of the experiments have been hushed for the past 70 years by the university

was going to be treated for the wound when he was taken to the operating theatre.

Instead, surgeons allegedly removed one of Ponczka’s lungs to see what effect surgery has on the respiratory system, before injecting him with seawater.

‘I could never again wear a white smock,’ Dr Toshio Tono told the newspaper 50 years on.

‘It’s because the prisoners thought that we were doctors, since they could see the white smocks, that they didn’t struggle.

They never dreamed they would be dissected.’

After the prisoners were killed, Japanese doctors preserved their

remains in formaldehyde until the end of the war.

Evidence of the experiments was heard at an Allied War Crimes tribunal in 1948 against 30 doctors and university staff, by which time the body parts had been destroyed, says The Daily Telegraph.

In total 23 people were found guilty of vivisection – dissecting and performing surgery on a living thing – and five were sentenced to death.

General Douglas McCarthur later commuted all death sentences when he was military governor of Japan and all the perpetrators were released.

The soldiers were flying a B-29 bomber, pictured, when it was shot down over the skies of Japan. Eight of the men on board were taken to the Kyushu Medical School and experimented on.

None survived the vivisections

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Page 45

Digest

Is Diet Coke making you fat?

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ieters opting for low-calorie fizzy drinks to help boost their weight loss may see their waistlines expand instead, experts have warned.

Rather than encouraging the pounds to drop off, a new study has shown regularly drinking diet sodas adds inches to a person’s waist measurement.

Scientists at the University of Texas examined the lifestyles of 749 MexicanAmerican and European-American people, over the course of nine years, in which 466 participants survived.

They tracked the number of fizzy drinks each person consumed, and whether or not they were diet drinks.

They found those who indulged in at least one diet drink a day gained at least three inches to their waistlines.

The participants were interviewed at the beginning of the study and at three follow-up visits, where researchers measured their waist circumferences and other parameters.

Of those who said they never consumed diet fizzy drinks, waist circumference increased by less than one inch over the nine-year study period, said Sharon Fowler, one of the study’s lead authors.

Among those reporting occasional consumption - drinking less than one diet soda a day - waist circumference increased by around two inches.

And for the group who said they consumed diet fizzy drinks every day, often more than once a day, waist circumference increased by more than three inches.

Past studies have highlighted the dangers of accumulating fat around the waist.

Researchers have linked visceral fat that which builds up around internal organs - with increased inflammation and risk of metabolic disease, diabetes, heart attack, stroke, cancer and mortality.

Dr Fowler said: ‘Because the study measured waist circumference as well as total weight, we were able to look at what happened to participants’ abdominal obesity.

‘The increases in abdominal fat were more than three times as great in daily diet soda users as in non-users.

‘This is during the very time in life when increasing waist circumference is associated with increased risk of these serious medical conditions, and mortality

A new study has shown those participants who drank at least one diet fizzy drink a day gained at least three inches to their waistlines over the course of nine years

itself.’

In 2008 the same scientists published research which looked at the association between drinking artificially sweetened drinks, and long-term weight gain in participants.

They found that among more than 3,600 25 to 65-year-old Mexican-Americans and European-Americans followed for seven to eight years, body mass index and the risk of obesity rose consistently the more artificially sweetened drinks a person consumed.

As part of the new study, the researchers adjusted statistically for a large number of variables that could have affected the findings, including initial waist size, exercise level and whether the participant had diabetes or smoked.

These results are consistent with findings from a number of other observational

studies of increased long-term risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke and other major medical problems among daily diet soda users Dr Sharon Fowler ‘Even when you adjust for those things, you have this independent effect of diet soda consumption on waist circumference change over time,’ senior author, Dr. Hazuda said.

‘There is definitely debate about whether the association between diet soda intake and cardiometabolic risk, which has been detected in several large observational studies, is based on an actual causal relationship,’ Dr Fowler added.

‘We are simply reporting the statistical association we found: that, over almost a decade, waist circumference increased significantly, in a dose-response manner, with increasing diet soda intake in this

group of older individuals.

‘These results are consistent with findings from a number of other observational studies of increased long-term risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke and other major medical problems among daily diet soda users.’

Their findings were most pronounced among those people who were already overweight or obese at the outset of the research.

‘In spite of these limitations, however, the evidence, taken together with relevant findings from other studies in both humans and animals, is pretty compelling,’ Dr. Hazuda said. ‘We’re trying to provide the evidence base for meaningful decision-making to improve both the health of individuals, and the public health.’

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Experts warned diet fizzy drinks are linked to people gaining and not losing weight. Dr Sharon Fowler said the findings are consistent with past research linking diet sodas to increased risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke, and other medical problems

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Page 46

International

‘We, Palestinian Christians say Allahu Akbar’ The only Palestinian Orthodox Christian bishop in the Holy Land speaking about the suffering of Palestinian Christians, their unity with Muslims in the Palestinian struggle, about Orthodox Christian martyrs, and Ukraine. Archbishop Sebastia Theodosios (Atallah Hanna), 49, is the only Orthodox Christian archbishop from Palestine stationed in Jerusalem and the Holy Land, while all other bishops of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem are Greeks.

The Israeli authorities had detained him several times, or stopped him at the border, and taken away his passport. Among all Jerusalem clergymen he is the only one who has no privilege of passing through the VIP gate in the airport – because of his nationality. “For the Israeli authorities, I am not a bishop, but rather a Palestinian,” explains his Beatitude.

When talking on the phone he says a lot of words you would normally hear from a Muslim: “Alhamdulillah, Insha’Allah, Masha’Allah”. He speaks Arabic, and the Arabic for ‘god’ is Allah, whether you are a Christian or a Muslim.

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our Beatitude, what’s it like being the Palestinian bishop in the Holy Land?

Firstly, I’d like to confirm that I am the only Palestinian bishop in the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. A fellow bishop is serving in the city of Irbid in the north of Jordan; and there are also several Palestinian priests.

I take pride in belonging to this great religious institution that’s over 2,000 years old.

My church has been protecting the Christian presence in the Holy Land and the sacred items related to the life of Christ and Christian Church history.

I am proud of my religion and nationality, I am proud to belong to my fatherland. I am a Palestinian, and I belong to this religious people who are fighting for the sake of their freedom and dignity to implement their dreams and national rights.

I support Palestinians and share their cause and their issues.

We the Palestinian Orthodox Christians are not detached from their hardships.

The Palestinian issue is a problem that concerns all of us, Christians and Muslims alike. It’s a problem of every free intellectual individual aspiring for justice and freedom in this world.

We the Palestinian Christians suffer along with the rest of Palestinians from occupation and hardships of our economic situation. Muslims and Christians suffer equally, as there is no difference in suffering for any of us. We are all living in the same complicated circumstances, and overcoming the same difficulties.

As a church and as individuals we protect this people, and we hope a day will come when Palestinians get their freedom and dignity.

For those coming to visit the Holy Land there are few opportunities to see how hard the Palestinians’ situation is. What would you like to say to those wishing to understand better the Palestinian problem?

The Israel authorities treat the Palestinian people in a way we

can never accept or approve, first and foremost because Israel treats Palestinians as foreigners, as if we were strangers in our land.

Palestinians have never been strangers either to Jerusalem or to the entire homeland. Israel is an occupation force which treats us as visitors or some temporary residents. But we are the native people of this land. We didn’t come here, we have always been here. In contrast, Israel appeared out of the blue.

They are treating us as if we came here from elsewhere, as if we accidentally and recently strayed into this land. But we are the rightful owners of this land. We didn’t intrude into Israel. Israel intruded into our lives in 1948, and in 1967 it occupied Eastern Jerusalem. We have been here long before Israel. By the time Israel came here, our forefathers had been living here for many centuries.

This is why we cannot accept Israel treating us like strangers to our own homeland. I shall be honest and say it over again: both Christians and Muslims suffer the same from the Israeli authorities.

Is visiting Jerusalem as difficult to a Christian Palestinian from the West Bank as for a Muslim?

They don’t ask if a person arriving from Beit Jala or Ramallah to Jerusalem is a Christian or a Muslim. They only ask one question, “Do you have a permit to enter Jerusalem or not?”

The pass allowing a Palestinian to enter Jerusalem is issued by Israel. No one can come through without one.

In pursuing its racist policy towards the Palestinian people Israel disregards different confessions. We are all targeted just the same. It all depends on getting a pass, whether you’re a Christian or a Muslim.

We all are their targets.

On top of that, Israel took control of a lot of property of the Orthodox Christian Church and is interfering with the internal affairs of the Church. They put

Archbishop Sebastia Theodosios (Atallah Hanna) pressure on the Palestinian Christians in all sorts of ways trying to force them to leave.

There is only one cause of suffering for both Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land.

The recent attack on the French satirical magazine triggered a wave of anti-Muslim marches in Europe. Netanyahu walked in the front row of such a march. What it your attitude to what happened?

We denounce the attacks in Paris which were committed by the people allegedly representing a particular religion.

But they do not represent any religion – they are murderers.

This attack was committed by the people, who claimed to have faith, but they definitely don’t

represent Islam and cannot act on behalf of Islam, they only do harm and hurt the image of Islam through what they do.

At the same time, we denounce just as much terrorist operations in Syria and Iraq as we denounce the terrorist attacks in Paris.

Those who committed the terror attack in Paris and elsewhere, belong to the same groups that are engaged in terrorism in Syria and Iraq and attack sacred places, desecrate churches and kidnap religious leaders.

They attack women and children in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.

We were witnesses of the terror act in Lebanon’s Tripoli

just days ago which killed dozens of innocent people who were at a café.

We condemn the terror attacks in Paris and we equally condemn any such attacks in any part of the world. We strongly oppose the idea of connecting these attacks to Islam.

We are currently preparing for an international conference that religious figures – Christian, Muslim and Judaist – from many countries will take part in to assert that we, the representatives of the three monotheistic religions, are against terror, fanaticism and violence used under religious slogans. The conference might take place in Amman, Jordan.

To a Western mind, Allahu Akbar sounds like a threat. What do Christians of the Holy Land think about them?

We Christians also say Allahu Akbar. This is an expression of our understanding that the Creator is great. We don’t want this phrase to be related to terrorism and crimes.

We refuse to associate these words with massacres and murders.

We speak against using this phrase in this context. Those who do, they insult our religion and our religious values.

Those using these words while taking some unreligious, unspiritual, uncivilized actions are harming the religion.

Allahu Akbar is an expression of our faith.

One must not use these words for non-religion-related purposes in order to justify violence and terror.

Do people say Allahu Akbar in church?

Of course.

For us, Allah is not an Islamic term. This is a word used in Arabic to indicate the Creator who’s made the world we are living in. So when we say Allah in our prayers we mean the Creator of this world.

In our prayers and pleas, in our Orthodox Christian religious ceremonies we use exactly this word. We say, glory be to Allah in all times. We say Allah a lot during our liturgy. It’s erroneous to think that the word Allah is only used by Muslims.

We the Arab Christians say Allah in our Arabic language as a way to identify and address the Creator in our prayers.

We Christians believe that Jesus has already come. We have recently celebrated Christmas as a reminder that Jesus came into this world, that he was born in Bethlehem, and began his road here in the Holy Land for the sake of all mankind, and for the salvation of the world.

So as far as we are concerned, Contd. on Page 47

PAGE 47

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

International

Kenya buries victims of Garissa attack

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he funerals began on Friday of students killed in a university massacre, as some parents still waited to receive the remains of their loved ones.

In Nairobi, hundreds of students gathered as the body of Angela Nyokabi Githakwa, known as Jojo, was taken amidst tears from the mortuary to her village in Kiambu, about 20 kilometers (15 miles) to the north. Friends and family sobbed around the white coffin, with a gold cross on top.

On Thursday, Kenyan

President, Uhuru Kenyatta, signed letters to the families of those killed, expressing his “condolences and that of the entire country.”

“I promise that as a nation, we shall never forget them, nor forgive those who took her life,” Kenyatta’s letter to one student read.

The massacre, Kenya’s deadliest attack since the 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, claimed the lives of 142 students, three police officers and three soldiers at the university in the northeastern town of Garissa.

Kenkyatta’s letter has been given to the families of 130 victims, with the remaining to be “signed after identification procedures are complete,” a statement from the president’s office said.

In the main mortuary in Nairobi, some bodies were being collected on Friday, with more than 20 coffins lined up, surrounded by photographs of the victims.

Dozens of people, however, are still waiting to collect the bodies of their relatives over a week since the attack.

Jackson Kilimo waited with

a somber family group to collect three victims, who all came from Kenya’s Marakwet district, 380 kilometers (235 miles) northwest of Nairobi. “We identified the bodies the day after the tragedy happened, but it took time because the government wanted to be 100 percent sure of the identities and the post mortem procedure takes time.”

Kenyan media have raised questions about the exact death toll, saying students are still missing, but the government has angrily rejected the claims as “unfounded rumors.”

Bomb attack kills 15 in Afghanistan

A

Taliban suicide car bomb targeted a NATO convoy in Eastern Afghanistan on Friday, killing at least three civilians as security forces brace up for a full-blown insurgent offensive in the spring fighting season.

Separately, 12 civilians onboard a minivan were killed when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in the militantinfested southeastern province of Ghazni.

The civilian fatalities come as Taliban insurgents stepped up attacks on government and foreign targets after Washington announced a delay in US troop

withdrawals from Afghanistan last month.

“In the morning, today, foreign forces convoy came under a suicide attack near the airport in Jalalabad city,” provincial police spokesman, Hazrat Hussain Mashriqiwal, told AFP. He added that three civilians were killed and four others were wounded in the powerful explosion in Jalalabad, which is home to an important US military base.

Resolute Support, the new name for the NATO mission in Afghanistan, did not officially comment on the incident, but in a brief Twitter posting denounced it

as “yet another senseless attack by the Taliban”.

Roadside bombs, like the one in Ghazni, have been a weapon of choice for the Taliban in their 13-year war against foreign and Afghan forces, though the militants seldom admit blame for attacks resulting in civilian casualties.

The Taliban, however, claimed responsibility for the NATO convoy attack in Jalalabad as Afghan forces brace for what is expected to be a bloody springsummer push by the insurgents.

In a statement on Friday, President Ashraf Ghani “strongly condemned the terrorist attack

in which a number of women and children were martyred and many others were wounded.”

The uptick in attacks in recent days has taken a heavy toll on ordinary Afghans.

Meanwhile, Iraqi officials say two separate bombings have targeted public places in Baghdad and near the Iraqi capital, killing 11 people.

Police officials said a suicide bomber set off his explosives vest at noon on Friday inside a small restaurant in the town of Mishada, killing six people and wounding 14. Mishada is 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Baghdad.

Hillary Clinton ‘to announce 2016 presidential campaign’

F

ormer Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, will announce that she is running for president on Sunday.

Clinton is expected to make the announcement on social media.

The 67-year-old will then travel to Iowa and New Hampshire, two early primary contests in the 2016 race.

The former first lady previously ran for president in 2008 and is already considered a strong contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Mrs. Clinton is expected to release a video outlining her campaign themes but will put off a large, formal speech. She recently faced criticism over using a private email address to conduct official business as secretary of state and having personal staff decide what emails should be given over to public records.

She was a politically active first lady during her husband’s two terms as US president and then served in the US Senate for several years.

‘We, Palestinian Christians say Allahu Akbar’ Contd. on Page 46 Jesus has already come.

Jews believe that he hasn’t come yet, and await his coming.

This is the main disagreement between Jews and us. We believe that Jesus has already come, whereas they don’t.

Despite this fact, we are not at war with Jews. We do not express aggression against Jews or anyone else in the world, despite any differences in our beliefs.

We pray for those who disagree with us.

When Jesus came into this world he didn’t tell us to hate, ignore, or be at war with one or the other; he didn’t tell us to kill this one or that one. He gave us one very simple instruction: to love one another. When Jesus told us to love one another this love wasn’t conditioned by what a person was like, or what he was doing. If we are indeed true Christians it is our debt to love all people, and to treat them with positivity, and with love.

When we see someone who’s sinful, lost, and distant from Allah and from faith, someone who acts wrongly, then it is our duty to pray for him although he might be different from us and our religion. When we have religious disagreements with people we pray that Allah would guide them the right way. Hatred, anger, and accusations of having

a wrong faith are not a part of our ethics as Christians. This is the key disagreement and difference between the Jewish religion and ours. The Jewish religion that had existed before Christ is the religion of people who were awaiting Jesus’ coming. Many Jews followed him, yet there were those who didn’t believe in him, and rejected him.

We know that Jesus was persecuted, and so were the early Christians. For instance, Herod the King killed thousands of babies in Bethlehem thinking that Jesus would be among them. The book of the Acts of the Apostles, as well as sacred tradition, talk about numerous instances of persecution of early Christians.

Despite that, we see each person who disagrees with us on religion as our brother, our fellow human. Allah created all of us, he gave us life, therefore it is our duty to love each person, and to pray for those who are mistaken or are misunderstanding, so that Allah would guide them the right way.

Is that why Christians and Muslims are persecuted?

We don’t divide the Palestinian people based on who is Christian and who is Muslim, who is religious and who isn’t,

who is left or what party they are a member of. We don’t divide the people based on convictions and religion.

For the resistance it doesn’t matter whether they are Muslim or Christian.

Regardless of what their political views may be, all Palestinians actively support the idea that the Palestinian people should be able to exercise their rights and achieve their dream.

Yes, a number Christians have been killed since 1948 to this day. Some Christians have been driven away from their houses.

Some Christian villages have been completely destroyed, and now there’s not a single house or resident there, for example, Al Galil in the Golan Heights.

Many churches have been attacked in Jerusalem; there have been attempts to seize their property and lands.

There are Christians in Israeli prisons – not as many as Muslims, but there are some. The Christian community is smaller in general, but we have our own martyrs who were killed and prisoners who spent years and years behind bars.

Christians suffer under the Israeli occupation just the same as Muslims – the entire Palestinian population suffers under it. They don’t distinguish

between us.

Are there any special aspects when it comes to Christians living in the Holy Land?

Here’s one of the many examples, connected to the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Holy Trinity Cathedral located in the western part of Jerusalem belonged to the Russian Orthodox Church, but after 1948 Israel used the situation in Russia to its advantage and seized some of the buildings around the Cathedral, using them as police quarters and a prison with torture practices.

When someone says “moskobiya”, referring to something connected to the Moscow Patriarchate, something holy and spiritual, the first thing that comes to the mind of a Palestinian living in Jerusalem is torture, police, interrogation and prison.

In Nazareth, for example, the word “moskobiya” is associated exclusively with the old Russian school where the Palestinian cultural elite, scientists and politicians studied. Although it was closed after the 1917 Revolution in Russia, its fame lives on.

So it’s only for the Palestinians in Jerusalem.

What do Palestinian Christians, I mean Orthodox

Christians first of all, think of the Ukraine crisis?

Overall, we are deeply concerned with the divide in Ukraine. We still believe all Ukrainian Christians must stay within the fold of the Mother Church that is the Moscow Patriarchate.

I wish the Ukraine crisis would resolve through dialogue so that we see reconciliation and an end to violence and bloodshed.

Christians do not need wars, killings and massacres. This political crisis must be resolved in a peaceful way. The Church must work hard to ensure that the divisions are bridged and overcome.

The Orthodox Church in Ukraine is strong because most of the people preach Orthodox Christianity.

Divisions must be healed. We really hope that the efforts by the Moscow Patriarchate and the Patriarchate of Constantinople will help to re-unite the Ukrainian Church.

I believe the split can be reversed and those who broke away could come back. But in order for that to happen we need humility, belief and strong will.

We pray for the Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

Source: Online.

World

Observer

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

PAGE 48

Business

Using market based principles for national water supply

By Mohammed Usman

E

nhancing and improving state water utilities for sustainable water delivery remains part of the expectations of citizens from government. This has made the federal ministry of water resources in collaboration with other international agencies to kick-off training on commercialisation of urban water services and workshop training on the national water supply and sanitation data survey in Nigeria.

Speaking at the occasion marking the training on commercialisation of urban water services, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Mr. Istifanus Musa, stated that the ministry would continue to support all efforts in capacity building that will enhance the operations of state water utilities for sustainable water delivery to Nigerian citizens. He added that the ministry was already strengthening their oversight functions through the establishment of appropriate monitoring, evaluation and reporting platform to ensure that water utilities are promptly identified and recognised.

Also, in his speech, a representative of one of the international agencies, Sustainable Water and Sanitation in Africa(SUWASA) stated that commercialisation in the water sector is basically introducing strategies and approaches in service delivery that lead to cost recovery and improved access to water.

He said in doing so, it was important to access the current financial health of the water utility, agree on a commercial approach that is relevant, sustainable and would lead to cost recovery.

“Normally, you will have to establish the utility as a commercially viable water corporation run as an autonomous entity with its own budget and financial management systems.” The SUWASA representative, who stated that commercialisation of urban water services in Nigeria should imply complete divorce of government subsidies which are currently the main stay of most if not all state water boards in Nigeria, said the water sector has great potentials to achieve commercialization (able to meet all their operational costs without recourse to government), adding that “Commercialisation will be strengthened with the introduction of economic regulatory framework in the sector.”

L-R: Director, Irrigation and Drainage, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Engr. Joe Kwanashie, presenting the permit certificate to the Chairman of Winners Power Gardan Limited, Dr. Jacob Abdullahi, in Abuja.

“

Normally, you will have to establish the utility as a commercially viable water corporation run as an autonomous entity with its own budget and financial management systems.”

He added that it was key to have a reliable customer database built into a billing system to help the utility undertake commercial business-like approaches and it is critical to have equitable tariffs, which are based on actual costs, saying “Assuming that these steps are adhered to, it should lead to the utility improving its service delivery.”

The SUWASA representative, who stated that in Nigeria, SUWASA has been implementing urban water sector reform initiatives aimed at promoting improved performance, commercial viability, autonomy of service providers and economic tariffs, said the objective of the training programme is to empower the participants with

knowledge and best practices on the commercialisation of water utilities. He added that ideally, the audience would be provided with tools that would help them ably facilitate and participate in the commercialisation of their respective organisations, with the larger goal of improved customer service, improved commercial efficiency, improved financial reporting, cost reflective tariffs, reduced non-revenue water, cost savings and efficiently run water utilities.

He said in specific terms, the programme intends to equip individual utility managers and other senior state government officials in the water sector with the management, technical, financial and institutional skills

to manage urban water services in WSS schemes in an effective and sustainable manner.

Meanwhile, at another flagoff workshop on the national water supply and sanitation data survey held in Abuja, the Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Reng Ochekpe, said the objectives of the data survey was to have an upto-date information system on all public water supply and sanitation facilities and ascertain the percentage of Nigeria’s population that now have access to improved sources of water supply and adequate sanitation nationwide.

The minister, who stated that the exercise was important as it would enable them take stock of achievements made so far under the MDG targets for

water supply and sanitation, stressed that it would also afford them the opportunity to lay a solid foundation for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that would follow the MDGs. Ochekpe stated that the importance of a robust database for water supply and sanitation cannot be over emphasized as it is a fundamental tool for planning and formulating policies and strategies for result-oriented interventions.

She stated that their ministry in 2006/2007, carried out the first ever national baseline survey for water supply and sanitation. According to her, “The survey which covered all the 36 states and the FCT was used to identify locations and operational status of water supply and sanitation facilities and also determine national access to improved water supply and basic sanitation.”

The minister, who buttressed that for the survey to be carried out, they needed the cooperation of all, called on governors and chairmen of local government councils to provide the necessary support that would make the survey a success in their area, adding that “We, on our own part, are committed to ensuring the success of the survey which we plan to share with the states and LGAs including the provision of necessary assistance for development of the required capacities that will lead to future updates.”

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

PAGE 49

Business

Nigeria to limit debit card spending abroad

By Mohammed Usman with agency report

T

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is planning to limit the amount commercial bank customers can spend using their debits cards abroad.

The bank has been battling to prop up the naira after a sharp fall in the price of oil, Nigeria’s main export, which triggered a sell-off in assets by foreign investors.

The Chief Executive of Union Bank, Emeka Emuwa, told journalists after a meeting between the central bank and commercial

bank’s representatives that “the limits would be reduced to more judicious levels.”

Currently, customers have an annual limit of $150,000, the regulator said after meetings with the committee of lenders late on Thursday but did not disclose the new cap. “There has been some arbitraging going on,” Emuwa said, adding that though card transactions were carried out in naira, offshore vendors had to be settled in dollars.

The central bank also said after the meeting that it would ban corporate loan defaulters from the

currency market.

Following the naira’s weakness, the central bank has also fixed the rate at which banks can buy dollars from oil companies. It devalued the naira last year and pegged the exchange rate in February in order to curb speculation on the currency and save its dwindling foreign reserves.

But reserves have fallen 22 percent to $29.6 billion as at April 7, from a year ago.

The naira has firmed sharply at the unofficial black market to converge with the official interbank market at 197 to the

dollar after individuals who had stockpiled dollars to hedge against political risk ahead of last month’s presidential elections sold off their holdings when the feared violence and instability did not materialise.

But the currency weakness resumed on Friday with the naira down to 205 at the black market, on thin dollar liquidity. The naira traded at 199 on the interbank market, in line with the tight range within which it has traded since February when the central bank introduced a de facto peg after devaluation.

L-R: Vice President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Otunba Olufemi Deru; Managing Director, Nigerite Limited, Mr Frank Le-Bris and Chairman, Ikeja District Society of ICAN, Mr Seyi Ogunjobi, during their visit to Nigerite in Lagos

Interbank rates rise, as CBN plans cash withdrawal

By Mohammed Usman with agency report

O

vernight lending rates rose sharply on Friday to 27 percent from 10.25 percent last week, following a scramble for funds as lenders sought to meet a central bank cash reserve requirement.

The central bank was expected to withdraw about 72 billion naira ($362 million) from commercial lenders to enforce its cash reserves requirements (CRR) on April 16, triggering a surge in demand for funds on the interbank market.

The central bank requires commercial lenders to set aside 75 percent of public sector and 15 percent of private sector deposits

in cash in their respective accounts with the regulator.

“Demand for funds was very high in anticipation of the CRR debit on Thursday,” one dealer said.

The secured Open Buy Back (OBB) rate closed at 27 percent as liquidity thinned out, from nine percent last week, four percentage points below the central bank’s benchmark interest rate of 13 percent.

Traders said the liquidity shortage was compounded by lack of cash flow to the banking system because there were no treasury bills maturing during the past week. “We expect the market to be tight next week, while rates should hover around

25 percent until central bank repays some matured Treasury bills,” another dealer said.

Meanwhile, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) on Friday pledged to ensure prudent management of accounts of firms and organisations for economic transformation of the country.

Mr. Yakubu Gyang, newly elected Chairman, ICAN, Jos District, made the pledge in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) shortly after his election at the institute’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Jos. ``As accountants, we are duty bound to ensure that all financial statements of firms and organisations are prudently

managed for the growth and transformation of the nation’s economy. We are professionals, who should be seen checkmating corruption and being whistle blowers against corrupt practices, no matter what it takes,`` he said.

Gyang pledged to ensure that ICAN members were continually trained, especially in the area of ICT, to handle financial statements of firms and organisations effectively. He challenged members to be good ambassadors of the institute wherever they find themselves and should work tirelessly for the growth and development of the country.

Oil slips further below $57

O

il edged further below 57 dollars a barrel on Friday, pressured by evidence of ample supplies, including the biggest jump in U.S. inventories since 2001 and Saudi Arabian output reaching a record high.

Brent crude LCOc1 slipped 13 cents to close at $56.44 a barrel while U.S. crude CLc1 was down 43 cents at $50.36.

“Most of the fundamental factors are still pointing to lower prices,” said Eugen Weinberg, analyst at Commerzbank.

“At the moment, we have an oversupply of more than 1 million barrels per day.”

The price of Brent has halved from $115 a barrel in June last year, a drop that deepened after OPEC refused to cut output, choosing to defend market share instead.

Top exporter Saudi Arabia was the driving force behind the policy shift.

While some OPEC members are urging output cuts to boost prices, Saudi Arabia has shown no sign of a rethink.

Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told reporters on Tuesday that Riyadh has boosted its crude production to 10.3 million bpd, the highest rate on record.

Further pressuring prices, a U.S. government report on Wednesday said domestic crude stocks surged nearly 11 million barrels last week, the biggest gain in 14 years.

A glut of unsold Nigerian crude is building up too, traders say.

This is particularly bearish for Brent, because Nigerian crude is priced against it.

Meanwhile, Unilever Nigeria first-quarter pretax profit fell 21 percent to 864.7 million naira ($4 million) compared with the same period last year, the company said on Friday.

The household products maker did not give a reason why profit fell but said in a statement that revenue rose 7.8 percent to 14.91 billion naira in the three months to March 31.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

PAGE 50

Healthy Living

Causes of depression

D

epression is a disorder affecting mood and general outlook. Sometimes called ‘the blues’, it is characterised by loss of interest in activities, even though most people feel sad or down for brief periods throughout their life time, clinical depression is more than just feeling sad. Depression is a serious medical condition and people usually aren’t able to just get over a depressive state. People of any age and life situation can have depression.

Untreated depression can have lasting impacts, from employment issues, strain on relationships, drug and alcohol use, to suicidal thoughts or attempts. Most people go on to live healthy and happy lives with treatment. For some, depression is a lifelong challenge and must be considered and treated on a longterm basis.

Symptoms While the symptoms of depression can vary depending on the severity, there are some standard symptoms to watch for. It not only affects your thought and feelings, it can also impact how you act, what you say, and your relationships with others. Common symptoms include: sadness, tiredness, trouble focusing or concentrating, unhappiness,

anger, irritability, frustration, loss of interest in pleasurable or fun activities, sleep issues (too much or too little), no energy, craving unhealthy foods, anxiety, isolation, restlessness, worrying, trouble thinking clearly or making decisions, poor performance at work or school, suicidal thoughts or tendencies and drug or alcohol abuse Some people also show signs of mania, psychotic episodes, or changes in motor abilities. These can signify other types of depression, like bipolar disorder.

Causes Depression isn’t a simple condition with a known cause.

Some people are more susceptible to depressive episodes, while others are not. It is important to discuss symptoms with your doctor. There are several possible causes of depression.

Genetic: Depression may be an inherited condition. You may have a higher likelihood of experiencing a depressive disorder at some point in your life if you have a family member with depression. The exact gene involved in this is unknown.

Biochemical: Some people have noticeable changes in their brains with depression. Even though this potential cause isn’t understood,

it does suggest that depression starts with the functioning of the brain.

Similarly, some psychiatrists look at brain chemistry with cases of depression.

Neurotransmitters in the brain, specifically serotonin, dopamine, or norepinephrine affect feelings of happiness and pleasure and may be out of balance in people with depression. Antidepressants work to balance these neurotransmitters, mainly serotonin. Why these neurotransmitters get out of balance and exactly what role they play in depressive states isn’t fully understood.

Hormonal: Changes in hormone production or functioning could also lead to the onset of depressive states. Any changes in hormone including menopause, childbirth, thyroid problems, or other disorders could cause depression.

With postpartum depression, mothers develop symptoms of depression after the birth of their child. While it is perfectly normal to be emotional because of the changing hormones, postpartum depression is a serious condition.

Situational: Trauma, big change, or struggle in life can trigger a case of depression. Losing a loved one, being fired, having financial troubles, or undergoing a serious change can have a big impact on people.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a form of depression that occurs after a serious situation in life. PTSD is often diagnosed in soldiers returning from war. It can also occur as a result of: childhood trauma, seeing something life-

Feeling depressed changing and scary, being abused or assaulted, a serious car or other accident and being diagnosed with a life-threatening condition.

Diagnosis To diagnose depression your doctor will do a full examination, including medical history. They will also do a psychiatric evaluation.

Since depression cannot be tested for using blood tests, your doctor will ask you questions about your thoughts and feelings. They will give you a diagnosis based on your

symptoms and answers.

Treatment In order to treat your depression your doctor may prescribe medication, psychotherapy or both. It can take time to find a combination that works for you.

Treatment solutions will be tailored to your specific case since causes and symptoms of depression varies.

Exercise, avoiding drugs and alcohol, and sticking with a routine can help keep depression under control.

Reasons why you need a mango daily M angoes may be the king of all fruits. They fight cancer, alkalize the body, aid in weight loss, regulate diabetes, help digestion, clean your skin and make the perfect snack. Here are healthy reasons why you should be eating a mango every day.

Fights cancer: Antioxidants like quercetin, isoquercitrin, astra-

Mangoes

galin, fisetin, gallic acid and methylgallat present in mango protect the body against colon, breast, leukemia and prostate cancers.

Keeps cholesterol in check: Mango has high level of vitamin C, pectin and fibre that help to lower serum cholesterol levels, fresh mango is a rich source of potassium, which is an important

component of cell and body fluids that helps to control heart rate and blood pressure.

Skin cleanser: Mangoes help you unclog your pores and add freshness to the face. They are applicable to any skin type. They help clear clogged pores that cause acne. Just slice a mango into thin pieces and keep them on your face

for 10 to 15 minutes and then take a bath or wash your face.

Alkalizes the body: According to natural health school.com, mango is rich in tartaric acid, malic acid and traces of citric acid that primarily help in maintaining the alkali reserve of the body.

Weight loss: Mango has a lot of vitamins and nutrients that help the body feel fuller. Also, the fibrous fruit boosts the digestive function of the body by burning additional calories, helping in weight loss.

Regulates diabetes: Not only the fruit, but leafs of mangoes are healthy too. For people suffering from diabetes, just boil 5-6 mango leaves in a vessel, soak it through the night and drink the filtered decoction in the morning.

This is helps in regulating your insulin levels.

Mango has a low glycemic index (41-60) so going a little overboard will not increase your sugar levels.

Aphrodisiac: Mango has aphrodisiac qualities and is also called the ‘love fruit’. It increases the virility in men. Vitamin E, which is abundantly present in mangoes, helps to regulate sex hormones and boosts sex drive.

Eye care: Do you know that mango is rich in vitamin A? One

cup of sliced mangoes equals 25 percent intake of your daily need of vitamin A. Mangoes help in promoting good eye sight, fights dry eyes and also prevent night blindness.

Helps in digestion: Mango contains enzymes that help in breaking down protein. Its fibrous nature helps in digestion and elimination. It is rich in pre-biotic dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals.

Body scrub: Make a paste of mashed mango, honey and milk and use as a body scrub, you will feel your skin tender and smooth.

Aids concentration and memory: This fruit is rich in glutamine acid– an important protein for concentration and memory.

Feed mangoes to children who find it difficult to concentrate on studies.

High iron for women: Mango is rich in iron, hence it is a great natural solution for people suffering from anemia. Menopausal and pregnant women can indulge in mangoes as this will increase their iron levels and calcium at the same time.

Stomach Tonic: Before going to bed put 10 or 15 mango leaves in warm water and close with a lid.

The next morning filter the water and drink it on an empty stomach.

Do this regularly.

PAGE 51

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Church abuse (VI)

P

raise the Lord! I was talking about abuse of pastoral and apostolic authority before I rounded off last week – this part of church abuse. As I said, don’t pray witchcraft prayer over any former pastor or member. If you say he will not prosper, his church or ministry will not grow, he will die of sickness except God hasn’t called you, what does that add to you?

I know Elijah called down fire in 2 Kings 1 and a captain of fifty with his fifty men and another captain of fifty with his fifty men were consumed by fire in quick succession. That may fascinate you but you are a minister of the new covenant. (2 Cor. 3:6) God’s will for you is not to call down fire on any human being.

Your only fire is to repay evil with good. “Therefore ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

(Rom 12:20-21 NKJV) You say you have the anointing to kill them, frustrate them, cancel their destinies, stop their journeys or progress! But what does that add to your ministry? Does it make you more anointed? Did Jesus do that?

Look at this: “Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?’ But He turned and rebuked them, and said, ‘You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son Hebrews 11:13-16

“

W

e ought to give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard” (Hebrews 2:1).

More especially do we need to pay attention to what the Holy Spirit is teaching us today in this passage on the subject of faith.

Many preachers and teachers are confused and they misinterpret this passage: “These all died in faith, NOT HAVING RECEIVED the promises” (Hebrews 11:13).

They fail to rightly divide the Word of truth and so weaken the faith of many. This chapter uses the word “receive” a number of times: “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed”. “These all died in faith, not having received the promises” “...and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son”, “Women received their dead raised to life again”, “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise” (Hebrews 11:11,13,17,35,39).

“

of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.’ And they went to another village.”

(Luke 9:51-56 NKJV) Did you see that? Jesus said don’t call down fire; let’s go to another place. Sir (Ma), don’t call down fire; God will give you new leaders; He will give you new people, new members, new workers. You don’t own the church or the ministry.

God owns the church Jesus says, “I will build my church and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” (Matt 16:18 NLT) So the church is his. A pastor who doesn’t understand this will abuse his God-given authority over the church. Leaders must see themselves not as masters but as servants of the people though they are first servants of God. “All we say about ourselves is that we are your servants because of what Jesus has done for us.” (2 Cor 4:5 NLT) The leaders must not lord it over the church as it is done in the world. Jesus told his disciples, “You know that in this world kings are tyrants, and officials lord it over the people beneath them. But among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant.” (Matt 20:25-27 NLT) Jesus said a similar thing in Mark 10:42-43. Peter echoed the same thing. “Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your good example.”

(1 Peter 5:3 NLT) Ministry is service to God’s people. The leadership of the church must therefore serve all the composite groups in an assembly – children and adults, young and old, singles and married, divorced and separated, educated and uneducated etc.

This is how Paul puts it: “This means I am not bound to obey people just because they pay me, yet I have become a servant of everyone so that I can bring them to Christ. When I am with the

Jews, I become one of them so that I can bring them to Christ.

When I am with those who follow the Jewish laws, I do the same, even though I am not subject to the law, so that I can bring them to Christ. When I am with the Gentiles who do not have the Jewish law, I fit in with them as much as I can. In this way, I gain their confidence and bring them to Christ. But I do not discard the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.” (1 Cor. 9:19-21 NLT) The shepherd in God’s vineyard must feed the lamb, tend the sheep and feed the sheep. (John 21:15-17) The church is comprised of holy priests, and members must be taught to grow up to operate in this holy office. “And now God is building you, as living stones, into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are God’s holy priests, who offer the spiritual sacrifices that please him because of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5 NLT) Verse 9 says, “For you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God’s holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”(NLT)Believers should not be comfortable just sitting down being ministered to now and then; each one must take his or her place to also serve as ministers in the temple of God. Neglect of ministerial duties Failure of pastors to perform their ministerial duties while focusing on what they can benefit from the members is another abuse of the church. God rebuked the shepherds who did this in Israel, and this is applicable to the church today. (Ezek 34:1-10) God used the relationship between the shepherds and the sheep in Israel to show the picture of the neglect of the people of Israel by a selfish and irresponsible leadership. God did this because the people of

From the Pulpit green pastures

By Pastor T. O. Banso

cedarministryintl@yahoo.com GSM: 08033113523 Israel were familiar with this sheep-shepherd relationship because it was a common thing in their society. He called the people, sheep and the leaders, shepherds. It is not a coincidence that ministers of the Gospel are called shepherds and the church is called sheepfold and each member a sheep.

From Ezek 34:1-10, the following abuse of the sheep by the shepherds took place as they failed to perform their responsibilities: *Feeding themselves with the sheep’s fat instead of feeding their flocks; taking care of themselves and leaving the sheep to starve. *Clothing themselves with the sheep’s wool *Not strengthening the weak sheep *Not taking care of the sick sheep * Not binding the broken sheep * Not seeking the lost sheep * Ruling with force and cruelty *Not being available for the sheep; abandoning their flocks to be attacked by every wild animal.

We see a manifestation of these abuses of the sheep in the church today – leaders who focus on themselves and their families alone, using the church of God to satisfy their selfish interests.

They are concerned about the perquisites of office more than the duties. They see every gathering of God’s people as opportunity to raise money to finance their greed and insatiable desire for a flamboyant lifestyle and fame.

“Do you think this Temple, which honors my name, is a den of

thieves? I see all the evil going on there, says the LORD.” (Jer 7:11 NLT) Yes, God sees what is going on in the church, and will not allow it to continue; He will come with His judgment as He did in the past.

I’ll continue this series next week. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

TAKE ACTION! If you’re 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 repent and confess my sins.

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’ll be glad to hear from you. May the Lord be with you

The perseverance of faith Scriptural interpretation (fully treated in the third section of this study) will remove all confusions.

The faith of Bible believers was (and is) incorruptible and could not be conquered by adverse circumstances. The eye of their hearts saw clearly the blessings God had promised and they were persuaded that they would be theirs in due season.

The Scriptures commend the perseverance of the Old Testament believers. Despite all the assaults of temptations and trials around them, they persisted in clinging to God and His Word. They lived by faith and died in faith.

1.

THE CONSTANCY OF FAITH Hebrews 11:13,14; Genesis 25:5,8; 48:21; 49:28-31; 50:24; 1 Kings 8:56; Numbers 24:17,19; Job 19:25-27; Isaiah 9:6; John

By Pastor W.F Kumuyi 8:56.

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises...”

Each one of the Old Testament characters died in the firm expectation of the promised Messiah, believing and beholding the heavenly glory afar off. Their eyes of faith were strong, they were endowed with long-distant spiritual vision.

With the telescope of faith, they saw them afar off, were fully persuaded and embraced

them (Hebrews 11:13). Faith sees the invisible clearly, brings strong persuasion in the heart and makes us to embrace God’s promises.

“These all died in faith”. To die in faith is to have an assured confidence in God till and at the point of death. They had a firm belief in the reality and existence of life and fellowship with God after death. They entrusted their departing souls into the care of a loving and faithful God. They

had strong faith believing in the final, blessed rest in the heavenly country prepared for them by God. Their chief aim and supreme desire was to lay aside all hindrances, live like “strangers and pilgrims on the earth”, “[seeking] those things which are above... [setting their] affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:1,2).

Do you have such faith that sees the promises afar off; being fully persuaded, do you fully and firmly embrace those promises? Are God’s promises really precious to us? Do our hearts cling to them with love and delight? Do we plead those promises before the Throne of Grace? Does our daily walk show that we are strangers and pilgrims on the earth, that we are “partakers of the heavenly calling”?

Sp or T

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

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Zambians are beatable at Lusaka, says Siasia >>PG 53

Manchester United primed to resume Manchester City top role

>>PG 54

Mauritanian officials to handle Zambia, Dream Team clash >>PG 53

I am getting better with age, says Mourinho >>PG 54

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PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Sports

Dream Team won’t defend against Zambia, says Siasia Stories by Albert Akota

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ream Team Vi Coach Samson Siasia has said he would not ‘park the bus’ when his side face the Zambian U23 team in the All Africa Games final qualifier this weekend in Lusaka.

The Nigeria U23 coach says he plans to attack but admits they must defend ‘smartly’.

The sides played out a goalless draw in the first leg in Abuja over two weeks ago, and the Nigerians must get an outright win

Dream Team

or a score draw to be guaranteed a place at the All Africa Games in Congo. But another scoreless draw will mean the tie is decided on penalties and Siasia says he isn’t going to Zambia to play ultra-defensive tactics.

“We are not going to Zambia to play a defensive tactics. We are an attacking side and we will go there to attack. We will not park the bus like Mourinho,” he said with a knowing smile.

However, whatever tactics he hopes to employ, Siasia acknowledges they must also

M

ohamed Hamada from Mauritania will be the referee when Nigeria’s U-23 boys take on their Zambian counterparts in an 11th All-Africa Games, final round, final leg match in Lusaka on Sunday.

He will be assisted by countrymen Cheikh Mamadou Pene (1st Assistant), Boubou Cheikhna Demba (2nd Assistant) and Amadou Thiam (Reserve Referee).

The Match Commissioner is Mr. Charles Masembe, the renowned former FIFA referee from Uganda.

Both teams tied 0-0 in the first leg in Abuja and it will be all-systemsgo at the National Heroes Stadium, Lusaka from 3pm Zambia time (2pm Nigeria time) on Sunday, as both sides seek a spot in the Men’s Football Tournament of the All-Africa Games, now scheduled for September in Brazzaville.

Nigeria’s contingent of 18 players and 10 officials departed for Lusaka aboard Kenyan Airways airplane.

NFF sets up normalisation committee for Anambra FA

T FA Chairman Anabra State, Mike Umeh

defend smartly.

“Even though we are an attacking team, we must also defend smartly. We’re going to a hostile environment and we must be disciplined and avoid playing unnecessary offside traps which could cost us.

“But our mission is clear; which is to win there and that we hope to do,” he added.

The Nigerian U23’s defeated an amateur side The Abuja Football College 2-0 in their last warm-up game before travelling to Lusaka.

Mauritanian officials to handle Zambia, Dream Team clash

he Executive Committee of Nigeria Football Federation has decided to empanel a Normalization Committee for the running of affairs of the Anambra State Football Association.

Chairman of the Normalization Committee, which has an initial tenure of three months, is Barrister Clifford Iloegbune Okoye,

while members are Barrister Okey Abazu, Barrister Chike Ononye, Mr. Uzo Epudu and Mr. Patrick C. Okafor.

Secretary of the Anambra State FA, Mr. Onyedika Chijioke will serve as Secretary to the Committee.

Chairman of State FA Chairmen, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, confirmed that the Normalization Committee will be inaugurated in

Awka.

NFF’s resolve arose after its emissaries to Anambra State on peace mission, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau and Alhaji Yusuf Ahmed Fresh (members of the NFF Executive Committee) returned to Abuja on Wednesday and painted a picture of deep divisions within the State’s football political structure.

Samson Siasia

Page 54

Sports

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Manchester United primed to resume Manchester City top role

Manchester United and Manchester City

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anchester United, buoyed by five successive Premier League victories, head into tomorrow’s derby against Manchester City a place and a point above their rivals and believing they are poised to

restore red ascendancy in the city.

Champions City have won the Last four league meetings against United, including a 1-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium in November, but their hopes of retaining the title have faded.

I am getting better with age, says Mourinho

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helsea manager Jose Mourinho claims he is getting better with age and feels he could continue coaching for the next 20 years.

The Portuguese is one the most successful and revered coaches in world football having won league titles in his native Portugal, Italy, Spain and England.

Mourinho has also won the UEFA Champions League twice, once at Porto and again at Inter, and appears destined to add a third Premier League triumph to his list of achievements, as Chelsea sit seven points clear of second-placed Arsenal with a game in hand.

Now 52, Mourinho believes that all facets of his management style have improved and he has no intention of winding down any time soon.

“I feel better and better. But there is one point where I cannot change - when I face the media, I am never a hypocrite.

“You know, in football, I’m not so old. At 52 maybe I have 20 years in front of me to coach. But I feel myself as you might say an ‘old fox’.

They have dropped down to fourth after four wins in 11 league games and trail leaders Chelsea by nine points.

United, meanwhile, have put their early season struggles behind them to climb to third,

Everton hosts Swansea City on point’s record

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aving ended their Everton hoodoo with a home League Cup victory earlier this season, Swansea City can make yet more history when they welcome the Merseysiders to the Liberty Stadium in the Premier League.

Swansea thumped Everton 3-0 in the League Cup third round on home turf in September to register the club’s maiden victory over the Goodison Park outfit.

And, with Roberto Martinez’s men set to visit South Wales again on Saturday, Swansea stand on

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the brink of another milestone, knowing victory would see them surpass their Premier League points record of 47.

Everton have won three league matches on the bounce their best run of the season - and Martinez knows his former club will not give him an easy ride.

Angel Rangel looks set to come into the Swansea XI after Kyle Naughton picked up an ankle injury in the 3-1 victory over Hull City last weekend, while Jefferson Montero (hamstring) faces a late fitness test.

v

Everton

Southampton

v

Hull City

Sunderland

v

Crystal Palace

Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa West Brom. Albion v Leicester City West Ham United v Stoke City Burnley

v Arsenal

Sunday Queens Park Rangers v Chelsea Manchester United v Man. City German Bundesliga SC Paderborn 07

v FC Augsburg

FC Schalke 04

v Sport-Club Frg

FC Bayern Mun.

v Eintracht Frankf

FSV Mainz 05

v Bayer 04 Lev.

Borussia Monch. v Borussia Dortd Hamburger SV

v VfL Wolfsburg

Sunday FC Koln

v TSG 1899 Hoffen.

VfB Stuttgart

v Werder Bremen

Italian Serie A Genoa v

Cagliari

Parma v

Juventus

Verona v

Internazionale

Sunday Cesena v

Chievo

Atalanta v

Sassuolo

Lazio v

Empoli

Napoli v

Fiorentina

Torino v

Roma

Udinese v

Palermo

Milan

Sampdoria

v

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho

Sherwood bullish ahead of Tottenham clash

ormer Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood is keen for Aston Villa to build on their performance against QPR today when he returns to White Hart Lane for the first time.

Sherwood enjoyed a positive six-month spell in charge of the north London club, taking over from Andre Villas-Boas in December 2013 before leaving at the end of last season.

The 46-year-old guided Spurs to a sixth-place finish before his departure but returns with his current side in the midst of a battle to avoid the drop, with Villa three points above the bottom three.

eight points clear of fifthplaced Liverpool in the race for Champions League qualification.

“It was another Manchester United (last November), I believe,” United boss Louis van Gaal told reporters after Saturday’s 3-1 win against Aston Villa.

City arrive at Old Trafford on the back of a 2-1 defeat by Crystal Palace but captain Vincent Kompany believes form counts for nothing in a derby.

Chelsea who needs 16 points from their remaining eight games to win the title for the first time since 2010 will travel to relegation-threatened west London rivals Queens Park Rangers on Sunday.

“I’ve never played at QPR as a Chelsea manager,” Jose Mourinho told the club’s website (www.chelseafc.com). “But I know history and I know that for QPR to play against Chelsea is a special match.

Second-placed Arsenal, who have won 10 out of 11 league matches, travel to struggling Burnley on Saturday, while fifthplaced Liverpool will be aiming to close the gap on the top four with victory over Newcastle United at Anfield on Monday.

Swansea City

Christian Benteke’s hattrick heroics ensured a 3-3 draw against fellow strugglers QPR on Monday, with Sherwood eager to keep picking up points.

Sherwood will be without Alan Hutton (ankle), Ashley Westwood and Scott Sinclair (both hamstring) this weekend while Benteke will again be crucial with Libor Kozak unavailable despite returning from a broken leg for Villa’s Under-21s in midweek.

Defender Jan Vertonghen could return from illness but Lloris’ continued absence means Michel Vorm is set to continue in goal.

Spanish La Liga Real Madrid v

Eibar Santiago

Malaga

v

Atletico de Madrid

Sevilla

v

Barcelona

Almeria

v

Granada CF

Celta de Vigo v

Rayo Vallecano

Sunday

Roberto Martinez and Garry Monk

Getafe

v

Villarreal

Espanyol

v

Athletic Club

Real Sociedad v

Deport. de La Cor.

Cordoba

Elche

v

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 11,- sunday 12, April, 2015

Page 55

Sports

Zambians are beatable at Lusaka, says Siasia

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he coach Samson Siasia speaks about their preparations and expectations for the All Africa Games qualifier against The Young Chipolopolo of Zambia.

The former Super Eagles striker led his team to a 2-0 win over amateur side The Abuja Football College in a warm-up game at the Abuja National Stadium on Wednesday and must replicate a similar feat to be sure of qualification to the All Africa Games in Congo.

In this interview, he talks about his thoughts on the game and much more. Enjoy.

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ongratulations coach on the win over Abuja Football College. I guess you must be satisfied with your players and probably expecting more of the same from them in Lusaka Yes of course. Every time you win a game you have to be excited. It is one thing to be excited about a win, and another to be satisfied and I am excited and satisfied about it. It was a good game and a good way for us to end our preparations and we have to take it up from here.

How would you describe your two goal hero, Taiwo Awoniyi?

I am satisfied with him of course. A player cannot score two goals that won you a match without you being satisfied.

He has really lived up to expectations even before this match. He had been scoring in our training sessions and I am happy he has done that in a match setting and hopefully he will do same in Lusaka. I’m happy for him.

Did you ever have any doubt about him at any point?

Well maybe there was a bit of doubt because he’s a very young boy with no league experience and coupled with his lean frame, but I never doubted his talents.

Samson Siasia

I always knew he could score goals and I am happy he has proved me right. The way he takes the ball and the way he puts it in the net is quite remarkable for his age and experience. It’s good we have him.

Looking at the game in Lusaka now, what tactical changes do you hope to make from the first leg?

The boys just need to play to instructions and follow what we have told them. I cannot share my tactical plan here now but I hope the just follow our game plan and stick to it, except when we have to change. If they do that I’m sure we’ll win.

Does that mean you’re going defensive, more like parking the bus?

(Laughs). Park what bus?

We are not going to Zambia to play a defensive tactics. We are an attacking side and we will go there to attack. We will not park the bus like Mourinho.

But even though we are an attacking team, we must also defend smartly. We’re going to a hostile environment and we must be disciplined and avoid playing unnecessary offside traps which could cost us. But our mission is clear; which is to win there and that we hope to do.

Thank you very much coach You’re welcome

Dream Team Technical Crew

Dream Team

BIG PUNCH

SATURDAY — SUNDAY, APRIL 11-12, 2015

Saturday Column BY

Olu Akerele

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ever since the criminal annulment of June 12 Presidential election has the muffled democratic will of the Nigerian people found such sharp vent nor was suddenly animated by the positive spirit of political change, than by the inevitable advent of the potentially corrective and liberating candidature of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

By the dint of a pleasant historical irony, the campaign jingle of the late Chief M.K.O Abiola during the June 12, 1993 presidential election was the popular lyric: “On The March Again”; and the high point of which slogan then was the ‘search’ for ‘the People’s Choice’.

And although that freewilling determination of the people to ‘march’ for the actualisation of their democratic choice was arbitrarily suppressed by the anti-democratic jackboot of vested military interest, that ‘Peoples Spirit’ was only scorched, but not entirely killed.

Thus twenty-two years since that historic June 12 annulment, Nigerians, for the first time, went ‘On The March Again’ – and this time incidentally in the month of March – to search for a president that is truly the democratic ‘Choice of the People’.

And it was not by accident

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that that democratic choice of the people would fall on the All Progressive Congress’s Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, one of Nigeria’s foremost military generals and her former head of state, reputed for his personal discipline and modesty as for his transparency and incorruptibility.

Thus as ‘ghosts’ are said to be spirits that rise from the dead, it is virtually safe to surmise that the ghost of June 12 has, at last, resurrected in the resounding victory of the APC’s presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

Never since the criminal annulment of the June 12 presidential election has the muffled democratic will of the Nigerian people found such sharp vent nor was suddenly animated by the positive spirit of political change, than by the inevitable advent of the potentially corrective and liberating candidature of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

The general’s persistence and perseverance in his bid for election as Nigeria’s civilian president after three previous failed attempts attest not only to his faith in the democratic process, but is also a veritable proof of the purge in him of the regimentation and impetuosity that the military mind in politics is reputed for.

And just like the Pan Nigerian mandate secured for the first time by the late Chief MKO in 1993, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari has re-enacted an electoral feat

Let the wife of the president remain in her house. She should not foist a candidate on ous. We the people of Rivers State will decide who our next governor will be.

—Governor Rotimi Amaechi to Patience Jonathan

In Buhari, the Spirit of MKO may find rest

Abiola that is, once again, about to reunite Nigeria just when the country was on the verge of balkanisation.

The recent victory of Gen. Buhari (over an arrogantly under-performing incumbent Jonathan) was not only crosscultural in its diversity, it was in fact secured by a free-willing and free-acting electorate encumbered though by, but stridently resistant to, the canker worm of geo-politics, ethnographic and religious divide.

The incoming administration of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is not only a child of promise; it is a child of hope. Even before it has taken off it has brought a

The recent victory of Gen. Buhari (over an arrogantly under-performing incumbent Jonathan) was not only cross-cultural in its diversity, it was in fact secured by a freewilling and free-acting electorate encumbered though by, but stridently resistant to, the canker worm of geo-politics, ethnographic and religious divide.

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lot of healing to a nation only a few days ago on a snapping point. The combination of a humble, incorruptible man of extreme modesty as President and commander-in-chief and an erudite legal luminary and a man of God and Pastor as Vice President is a veritable recipe for transparency and accountability in the incoming APC dispensation.

Nor is the progressive content of this potentially messianic administration – as ably epitomised by the prodigious leadership of our very own Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Asiwaju himself – any less promising of a new evangel of good governance or what a Minna-based colleague of mine described as the Albert Einstein pitch of contemplation whose trail was blazed 16 years ago in Lagos by the Jagaban himself.

It is my belief also that the advent of the Buhari-Osinbajo administration should give rest to the spirit of its political alter ego – June 12 – by finally giving a lasting repose to the soul of the very democratic icon whose supreme sacrifice 22 years ago set the nation on this

irreversible path to democracy.

Last Line: For the sake of our dear old good “melting pot”, Lagos, and for continuity, here is calling on our Igbo brethren to come out en-masse come Saturday, April 11 and vote Akinwumi Ambode as next governor of the state.

It will be unimaginable for a Lagos that made the progressive “Zik of Africa” to become an enclave that will be ruled by a reactionary government installed by Igbo votes! The fact that our president-elect, Gen. Muhammmadu Buhari, and former President Olusegun Obasanjo waded into the Oba Akiolu gaffe is enough to assuage the feeling of our aggrieved Igbo brethren.

A Lagos under APC/ Buhari administration after the disastrous GEJ years will benefit all and sundry and transform “Eko Akete” to the envisaged mega city of our dream.

Lisa Olu Akerele, former Political Assistant to the late M.K.O.Abiola, is the Atunwase of Ijeshaland.

DAN GAYE Cleaners abandon PDP secretariat —News

Are they planning to defect?

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