Peoples Daily Newspaper, Saturday, August 11, 2012 by Peoples Media Limited

www.peoplesdaily-online.com www.peoplesdaily-online.com

VOL. 1 NO. 102 SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Edwin Clark and the Niger Delta mob action >> Page 14

. . . putting the people first

How I was beaten by Soldiers in Aso Rock >> Page 15

RAMADAN 23 - 24, 1433 AH

N150

Entertainment:

North needs theatre for socio-economic development — Kasagi

>> Page 24

JTF recovers high profile arms in Borno >> Page 4

Gov. Dickson

Bayelsa coat of arms, anthem, flag: Threat to national unity?

>>Pages 9, 10 & 11

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Interview

I have no problem with Tinubu, Akume Y

o u were the gover nor of Benue state for eight years. Now you are in the Senate and in the opposition. How has it been? I was the governor of Benue state for eight years and from the executive arm I moved to the legislature when I came to the Senate when I won election into the Sixth Senate; that was on the platform of the PDP. I was one of the founding fathers of the PDP but in the second time; that is in the Seventh Senate, I moved to another platform, that is the ACN. The difference in between the executive and the legislature is very clear. At the state level one is the chief executive and you have a lot of powers concentrated in you by the constitution but not so in the Senate. When I came to the Senate, in the Sixth Senate, I contested for the seat of the Senate President and lost gallantly to Distinguished Senator David Mark. So I have been enjoying my work as a legislature. You have colleagues from various parts of the country and I think that is the beauty of the legislature. You see people with different callings and different backgrounds and all of us are working together to move the nation forward. Initially it was difficult for some of us coming to the executive to adapt but we did. This kind of movement is not new; you see people moving also from the legislature to the executive. It is like some people are not happy with you being the Minority Leader. What is actually happening? Well, this is politics and we have a situation of anomy where norms and values would appear to have broken down completely. We are talking of a situation where self-respect has given way to conspiracy. In a situation where treachery has taken over, you will see these things. I am not saying that I am better than every other person. There are many people who can do what I am doing but when I talk of treachery, I know what I am talking about. Someone phoned me. He has not phoned for the past three years. He wished me very wonderful recess but this is someone who is busy going round trying to mobilise against me. Somebody doing this kind of thing and also phoning you to wish you well, I

In this interview with journalists in Abuja, Senate Minority Leader, Senator George Akume bares his mind on several burning national issues including the alleged plots to remove him from his seat. Richard Ihediwa was there

Sen. George Akume

think is a height of treachery. I also wish him the best. But I think this is nothing new. It is part of our political culture here. Unless you are there, the person who is there can never be allowed to operate. You talked about treachery. Is it from the ACN or the PDP? I believe this is one area that gentlemen of the press can also help in looking into. I do know that these things are being sponsored. I do believe treachery and conspiracy are at work. Is there anything you could have done to create room for this treachery you are talking about? Well, I have said that human history is replete with people who will criticize you until they achieve their objectives. So, I wouldn’t know what I could have done but don’t forget that this is not the first time people will be making such attempts. It is commonplace in the assemblies. So it is part of human history and part of human

political behaviour. Do you have any problem with the leader of your party Asiwaju Bola Tinubu? I have no problem with the leader of my party. I have a problem with Tinubu. No. I have no problem with him. What is the role of the ACN in the planned impeachment of the President over the poor implementation of the 2012 budget? The issue here is rather the position of the House of Representatives. So I am not talking of the ACN. The position of the House is very clear. Basically

what they are saying is that ‘we have passed the appropriation bill and by the powers conferred upon us by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is your responsibility to implement this budget. And if you don’t implement it, we will take certain steps to force you to implement it’. That is what I understand to be the position of the House. This is not new in any democracy. Basically you expect these things in a democracy. So the party has not taken a decision on the impeachment of the President. All the ACN

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So the party has not taken a decision on the impeachment of the President. All the ACN stands for is that the budget should be implemented and that there should be rule of law.

stands for is that the budget should be implemented and that there should be rule of law. The ACN is a disciplined party and if you look at the performance of the state governors, the ACN governors have done very well. As the Minority Leader, how would you react to the perception that the opposition is not organised to do its job in the polity? In fact, it is widely held that this failure on the part of the opposition is largely responsible for the poor performance of the executive. Yes. I agree with you that the opposition has an important role to play in a democracy but there is a popular saying that ‘the opposition will have its say but the majority will have its own way.’ This clearly demonstrates the limitations of the opposition. But at the same time, when you gather as a group, like in the Senate where we are 109 senators out of which 38 are in the opposition, occasionally it happens that some in the minority will be behaving as if they are in the majority. Occasionally it happens. But having said that, let me also make this comment that when the interest of the whole country is at stake, it is the determination of the legislature to ensure that the greater good is salvaged. In any case, people will continue to also critise us by saying the opposition is in disarray. They say after all the CPC and the ACN could not do a merger and could not even form an alliance. People were disappointed because the alliance or merger would have provided a viable alternative platform. We may be weak for certain reasons today but I think it is a matter of time; we will come together and provide an alternative platform for Nigerians who are totally fed up with what is going on today under the leadership of the PDP which I said I was one of the founding fathers. However, I can say that on the whole, the legislature is doing its work. Look at what is going on in the House. It is not a question of opposition. It is a question of what they perceive and what they consider to be in the best interest of this country. Their argument has nothing to do with party sentiments. The issue is that the budget is not being implemented and they

Contd on Pg 3

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

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Interview I have no problem with Tinubu, Akume Contd from Pg 2 believe that if it is implemented properly, the common man will stand to benefit more. In their wisdom they believe they have to push a little bit harder. Flowing from that, the Senate has also decided to act further. We as elder statesmen may not be as harsh as the members of the House, but we respect their views; they are young, they are brilliant. They are men and women who love this country just like we believe that we the elder statesmen also love this country too. We believe that the solutions to these problems may not be easy, but we shall certainly be there. As the leader of opposition, what steps are you taking to ensure that the clear position of things as they relate to the budget is made known to Nigerians? The Minister of Finance was in the Senate and you can again take a look at her presentation. The 2011 budget was rolled over to March, which is not a tidy thing to continue to do because it distorts the entire budget. If you look at the pressure that is being put on the executive with threats of impeachment, you will see that something is being done. She gave her figure, the Senate gave its figures and the House too some figures but in the final analysis, it is what is on the ground for the benefit of our people that will be judged a success story and not mere figures that are being bandied about. Why do you think the Federal Government cannot implement its own budget? If you have a very beautiful budget, your projections should be in such a way that you should be able to implement what you provided for. If the funds are there then it is lack of will. The budget was anchored at 72 $ per barrel and price of crude has never gone down even to $80 per barrel, and then they did not anticipate that they will produce 2.7 millions barrels per day, but that is what they are doing now. If the price had crashed, there would have been the need to review the budget but the price has not crashed, it is just the will to implement that is not there. What is your position on the issue of insecurity in this country and the clamour for the establishment of state police? I strongly believe that the security of any country is in the hands of the citizenry. It is not just the police, the army and the security services. All of us have a collective interest in what happens to us and our dear

Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu

country. We are all committed to seeing that what is proper is done. I was Governor; I know the constitution says that you will direct the police commissioner in your state to handle the security situation but where he may decide that what you are asking him to do is not in public interest, he may decline. You also have the option to report him to the Police Council. Do not forget the history of this country. The policing was done in such a way that the Native Authorities had their police; the Regional governments had police except the East I think. Later, because of abuses, the whole system was centralized. Also because of prolonged military rule, most of these powers that would have been devolved to the states were now centralised. In the Constitutional review exercise we are doing, there is the pressure to devolve some of these powers to the federating units of this country. But people are afraid that if you give the governors powers to have their police, they will use the powers to harass the opposition. This is a genuine fear because it has happened in the past when opposition members were arrested indiscriminately and put into jail. They were also restricted from carrying out their legitimate campaigns and so on. When we were at Asaba for a retreat on constitution review, this matter came up. Somebody raised the issue of the situation where the Federal Police were used by Presidents to remove governors. We have had a situation where five legislators in a House of 21 mem-

bers signed a notice of impeachment and the police moved in. And so you have abuses. But it is a matter of putting up measures and mechanisms that will stop these abuses. We are in the 21st Century and you can see what is happening in other parts of the world. Some people have been arrested; powerful people have been picked up and taken to remote parts where they have been put on trial. Some have been jailed and many have died there. So if you think you are so powerful, you should stop to think that one day you may be made to answer for your actions. Curiously the Northern governors have said they don’t want the state police. They are saying that they be allowed to control the federal police in their states; but you see, he who pays the piper also calls the tune. It is a little bit tricky but I do not know how they want to go ahead with that. In the final analysis, security is a matter for all of us. There are some states where despite the present arrangements; you don’t have any serious security problems.

In other states, you have serious challenges. In other states, the breaches are not as pronounced but they are there. So for me, if it is the wish of the people and the position of our party that we should have state police, it is fine. On the issue of the general insecurity in the country, it is very worrisome. It is giving us a bad name internationally. The destruction is enormous in terms of materials and human life. I recall during the Obasanjo days, we also had problems in the Niger Delta. It took the determination of the Yar Adua government to sort that out. From the best of what we have been told by experts, Boko Haram started as a disgruntled group and those who started it may have more to say. Many of you may have travelled to some states of the north and you can see the havoc and destruction which is being caused by desertification; there is the lack of power and the collapse of industries so you have a large group of unemployed people in millions. This is not in the interest of this country.

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By investing in agriculture, we will be killing two birds with one stone. We will be producing food to feed ourselves; providing employment and taking care of our security.

I suggest that the Federal government should inject a lot of funds into agriculture in the north in the form of a marshal plan. If you do that, I think you will minimize the problem of Boko Haram. I am saying this because food runs hand in hand with security. We are lucky in this country because we produce much of what we eat. In 1992 in Morocco, the price of bread was increased by only 1 cent and there were massive riots on the streets. By investing in agriculture, we will be killing two birds with one stone. We will be producing food to feed ourselves; providing employment and taking care of our security. I do not look at the Boko Haram issue from the point of view of politics at all. I gave you the example of the Niger Delta. I look at it as an unfortunate situation which was not created by us but which has been exploited by selfish people who have some grudges here and there. But I don’t see it as a political problem at all. What is your relationship with Governor Suswam who your party lost in the 2012 election? For your information we won that election. That is why our case was not heard. Prof Stephen Ugba of ACN won that election and his case was not heard at all. People took cover under 180 days. I have nothing personal against Gabriel Suswam. It is a question of political differences; nothing personal. I pray for him every day just as I pray for everybody including those involved in evil plans against me. So what is your impression on his style of leadership? Well every governor has his own style. He has won many awards from different organizations, even from the media; best in this, best in that and so on. Based on these, you can say they are moving on steadily in Benue state. I have not been to Benue for some time, so I cannot say. But there is what we call appearance and then reality. You in the media are a very strong voice. We respect you. I want to appeal to you go to Benue state and tell us what is the reality on the ground. As an opposition leader in the Senate, how would you rate the administration of President Jonathan? I will like to say he is not doing enough. Look at the security situation in the country. It is a very big dent on his administration. You look at the situation of fuel subsidy and you know that he is not doing enough.

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News Heavy downpours, accidents worsen commuters’ woes on Abuja-Keffi road By Stanley Onyekwere

heavy downpour yesterday that followed a crash involving 12 vehicles near Karu Bridge along Abuja-Keffi Road, worsened commuters woes as the reoccurring gridlock on the road got to its peak at the evening rush hours, causing a total lockdown on the road. The gridlock which started at point of the place where the multiple -accident occurred when a lumberjack conveying an excavator had a burst tyre, around 4 pm on Thursday, stretched down to the Power House/Water Board Junction in the nation’s capital city. Following the incident, commuters plying the route, especially those leaving work places in Abuja back to Nasarawa state, were stranded at different bus stops around Eagle Square, Area 1 Wuse, and Central Business District of Abuja as there were no commercial vehicles on the roads. However, few transporters willing to dare the road, cashed in on the development by hiking their fares up to 50 and 80 percent respectively, forcing those who could not afford the fee to resort to trekking. However, some commuters who had boarded vehicles dropped off and continued their journey on foot when vehicular movement came to a standstill. Meanwhile, our reporter gathered that the Deputy Corps Public Education Officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr. Bisi Kazeem, who confirmed the multiple accident through a text message dispatched to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said a commercial motor-cyclist died and six others sustained injuries from the accident.

WAEC releases 2012 SSSCE results By Augustine Aminu, with agency reports

h e May/June 2012 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) result released by the examination body, West African Examination Council (WAEC) yesterday has shown as increase of about 8percent from last year’s performance. The head of the Nigeria National Office of WAEC, Iyi Uwadiae made this known during the formal announcement of the release of the results at the council’s head quarters in Lagos. Uwadiae disclosed that out of the 1,672,224 candidates that sat for the examination, 649,156 representing 38.81percent obtained credits in five subjects and above including English Language and Mathematics, which is an increase of about 8percent to the 30.91percent recorded in 2011.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

JTF recovers high profile arms in Borno From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri

h e Joint Military Task Force (JTF) yesterday said its operatives had conducted a successful operation when they raided a hide-out of suspected terrorists in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital and recovered high profile arms and ammunition. This came less than two weeks after a similar incident in which the JTF intercepted a Hilux van loaded with assorted high profile weapons including eight rocket propelled grenades (RPG) and its accessories as well as 2 AK 47 rifles, among others at Daban Masara, a border town between Nigeria and Chad in Monguno local government area of Borno state. In the latest incident, items recovered at a compound

CAS Lt.Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika suspected to be the hide-out of the terrorists comprised of four AK 47 rifles, a set of a general purpose machine gun (GPMG), nine rapid pump guns, (RPGs). Others were 1,032 rounds of ammunition, three magazines of AK 47 rifles and three wooden butts.

Field Operation Commander of the JTF, Col. Victor Ebhaleme, who displayed the arms to newsmen, said the recovery was made possible following a new operational tactics, which were devised by the task force and tagged "Humanitarian Line of Operation" against the Boko Haram sect. According to Col. Ebhaleme, the new tactics entail encouraging members of the public to give useful information on the hide-out of suspected militants or presence of arms as all information given will be treated with utmost confidentiality. “Some good Samaritans gave JTF a clue on the presence of some suspected members of the Boko Haram sect, a team of soldiers were deployed to the area and raided a compound where some men were arrested and that a thorough search conducted in the house led to the recovery of the arms”, he

added. He described the recovery as a major breakthrough, saying "the JTF wishes to once again appeal to members of the public to provide useful information to security agencies in order to stop the spate of killings in the state". The field operation commander also announced the arrest of two persons for allegedly sending anonymous threat text messages to several individuals, demanding a specified sum of money. “We apprehended two suspected fraudsters, who were involved in sending anonymous text messages to individuals threatening to kill them should they fail to keep a certain amount of money at a particular spot. Whoever receives such threat, should always report same to security agencies early enough for prompt action,'' Ebhaleme advised.

Jonathan urges African leaders to emulate Atta Mills’ leadership qualities By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

resident Goodluck Jonathan yesterday in Accra, Ghana, extolled the virtues of Late Ghanaian President, John Atta Mills, urging African leaders to emulate the sterling leadership qualities of the departed African leader. Speaking during the final funeral rites of Atta Mills at the Accra Stadium, Jonathan also applauded and recommended to emerging democracies on the

continent, the smooth and prompt transfer of presidential power to President John Dramani Mahama following the death of Atta Mills on July 24. Jonathan hailed the significant legacy of stable and enduring democratic institutions of governance established and nurtured since 1992 in Ghana. He described the late Atta Mills as a “dependable leader, an affable gentlemen, soft spoken but firm, a self assured man of honour and of intellect who loved his country,

his continent, his race and who served humanity with all his heart.” The President assured Mahama and the people of Ghana of Nigeria’s continued brotherly solidarity and friendship. Among the dignitaries that attended the historic state burial were U.S. Secretary of States, Hillary Rodlam Clinton, Chairman of AU and President of Benin Republic, Boni Yayi, and former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Anan.

President Goodluck Jonathan

Impeachment threat not northern agenda, says Southern Forum Says dialogue, jobs will solve insecurity By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

h e Southern Solidarity Forum (SSF) has called on the Federal Government to explore the options of dialogue and massive job creation as solutions to the twin problems of kidnapping and Boko Haram attacks in the

Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal

country. Rising from a meeting in Calabar yesterday, the SSF, which is an umbrella platform for all political pressure groups in Southern Nigeria, called on all the arms of government to save Nigeria from disintegration as serious security challenges and unhealthy political intrigues raise the stakes ahead of the 2015 elections. According to a communiqué signed by the group’s SecretaryGeneral, Prof. Henry Onyeke, the SSF stated that, “severe security, political challenges are pushing our great country to the brink.” It continued: “The Southern Solidarity Forum hereby calls on the three tiers of government – (the executive, legislature and the judiciary) to rise up to their responsibilities and save Nigeria from disintegration.” The body further called on President Goodluck Jonathan to “as a matter of urgency address

the issue of corruption”, noting that “the aforementioned has destroyed the corporate image of Nigeria and has contributed immensely to the dwindling fortunes of millions of Nigerians.” On the impeachment threat to the President by the House of Representatives, the SSF dismissed the belief in some quarters that it was a northern agenda targeting derailment of the Jonathan administration. “We hereby condemn the belief in some quarters that it is a northern agenda aimed at derailing his government. SSF commends the President and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on the patriotic ways they have been handling the issue and urge them not to allow sycophants misguide them. “We plead with the leadership of the House of Representatives to back-down from their impeachment threat and show patriotism in the interest of peace

and stability of the country.” On the nation’s security situation, the SSF appealed to the Federal Government to engage militants in the north and angry youths in the South-East in a dialogue. “We hereby appeal to the Federal Government to engage militants in the north and angry youths in the South-East in a dialogue aimed at achieving lasting peace in the two regions. “We believe strongly that only dialogue can solve the Boko Haram insurgency in Northern Nigeria and kidnapping in the South-East. We urged the Federal Government to provide jobs for millions of youths in the country who constitute over 70 per cent of our population.” The Forum condemned the raging press war between former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd) and prominent Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark and appealed to the duo to stop inciting people from their regions.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

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News

AFAN blames herdsmen/ farmers clashes on boundary adjustments

he All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), has blamed clashes between cattle rearers and farmers on boundary distortions due to state creation. Mr. Ike Ubaka, the deputy president of AFAN, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday. “There used to be grazing routes which had water points and markets along the routes. “The study we carried out discovered that the creation of states and local governments destabilised the grazing routes; the shift in boundaries distorted the grazing routes. “Some of the herdsmen even reported that they were forced to pay taxes before crossing some boundaries.” He said that the creation of pasture land by state governments would help to curb persistent clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the country. Ubaka said that a well established ranch could help station nomads and their animals for grazing as well as boost business strategy. He described the recurring clashes as an “economic waste” that could be corrected by developing the communities within local governments. “The pasture land must be developed within communities in the sense that you have to station the animals, feed them on concentrated feeds instead of going to look for pasture. “If there’s an open field, we can now have a water fountain, plant grass that will develop into what the animals consume. “If the pasture lands are established, it can be rented out to the nomads for a period of time especially at the peak of dry season…” NAN reports that farmers repeatedly complain that grazing animals stroll into their croplands to destroy their crops just as herdsmen always try to secure good grazing sites for their animals. These opposing needs often lead to conflict between both sides, sometimes leading to loss of lives and destruction of property. (NAN)

A hearse carries the body of late President John Atta Mills

Kano students threaten showdown over unpaid scholarships From Edwin Olofu, Kano

h e National Association of Kano State Students (NAKASS), Bayero University chapter, has threatened to disrupt peace in the city during the forthcoming Eidel-Fitr if the state government fails to pay the scholarship allowances due to its members. The students made their

position known during a peaceful protest in Kano on Friday. During the protest, the youth in their hundreds were chanting anti-government slogans; they described the state government as insensitive in not paying allowances amounting to several millions of naira in the last three years. The students, also in a letter addressed to the commissioner,

Ministry of Higher Education, Farouk Sambo Iya, signed by its president and secretary Jamilu Garba Ibrahim and Zaharadeen Usman respectively, issued the government a one-week ultimatum to settle the allowances or face street protests. The letter reads in part: “BUK students have given Kano state government a maximum of one week to settle the students so as

Our projects will be contractor-financed – Aviation Minister From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

…As Chinese investors scramble

h e Minister for Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, has told the Chinese Business Community that all projects contained in the investment baskets currently being marketed through the Investors' Road-show are to be executed under the Contractor-Financed Business Model and not through concessioning or the Public Private Partnership (PPP) business model as obtained in the past. The Minister who made the position of government known during the Investors' Forum in

Beijing, China, said the ministry was looking for investors who are interested in investing in the Nigeria Aerotropolis Cities and the aviation sector in general who will partner with Nigerian indigenous investors in growing the aviation industry in the country. Asked if the ministry is considering the PPP option as its preferred business model, the minister said what the government is "actually looking for is contractor-financed investors who can finance the projects while the government

provides the enabling environment; we are looking for investors that can have joint ventures with our local, indigenous companies where together, they can contractorfinance the various projects", she stated. Meanwhile, several Chinese companies are currently scrambling for investment opportunities in the nation's aviation sector. Generating a huge amount of interest is the construction of new airport terminals, Aerotropolis cities as well as airport IT infrastructure.

Senator donates to flood victims Build Nigeria initiative decries lack of unity Senator, Alhaji Muhammadu

From Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi

s part of the effort at providing the dividends of democracy to the electorate, the Senator representing Kebbi central senatorial district in the National Assembly, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu, has donated relief materials worth millions of naira to the recent flood victims in the state capital, Birnin Kebbi. Handing over the relief package to the acting governor, Alhaji Ibrahim K. Aliyu at the cabinet office, the representative of the

Nayaya, registered his heartfelt sympathy to the government, victims and people of the state over the unfortunate incident. He then announced the donation of 1200 bags of cement, 200 bundles of roofing sheets, 300 packs of assorted nails and N1 million cash for onward distribution to the affected victims. Receiving the items, the acting governor thanked the Senator for the gesture and described him as a leader who has the interest of his people at heart while calling on others to emulate him.

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

h e National Coordinator, Build Nigeria Initiative, Prince Hope Lawson has observed that the country is fast losing its unity and attributed this to poor leadership. Prince Lawson who made this lamentation during a courtesy visit on the Speaker, Benue State House of Assembly, Mr. David Iorhemba, said it is required of good leadership to listen to the governed. The Coordinator intimated the Speaker that the state has been

chosen to flag off a national tour because of its strategic position as the home of peace and center of the country. He solicited the support of the House to make the forthcoming programme a success. Responding, the Speaker who also acknowledged that there are cracks in the nation caused by the activities of terrorists, noted that there is dire need to rebuild the country, adding “the initiative is apt at this time especially as the governed no longer appreciate values nor have regard for laws”.

to celebrate the Eid-el-Fitr happily; otherwise students will come out in mass to protest for their rights”. In a reaction, however, the Director, Communication Strategy and Public Relations to the Kano state governor, Halilu Baba Dantiye, dismissed the threats as uncalled for; adding that the issue has been addressed by the government.

NNPC recruits 595 candidates By Muhammad Nasir

h e Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), announced a final figure of 595 candidates that were successful and recruited after painstaking interview sessions and due diligence assessment based on the criteria of merit, catchment area and national spread. Briefing newsmen yesterday in Abuja at the induction ceremony for the new intakes, the Group Managing Director Engr. Andrew Yakubu, restated that the 2010 recruitment exercise stands as one of the most painstaking and transparent recruitment ever conducted in the history of the corporation to give Nigerians equal opportunity to aspire for available vacancies in the service of the corporation. According to Yakubu, a record of 269,376 applications were received out of which 44,239 candidates were shortlisted for aptitudes test, while 18% of the shortlisted candidates did not show up for the test.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY JUNE 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

News YOUWIN has lifted my enterprise —Beneficiary By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

n e of the beneficiaries of the first edition of Federal Government’s Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YOUWIN) programme, Ojonoka Opaluwa Ujorha, has stated that the programme has expanded her interior decoration company, Raina Interior, into a big enterprise. Recounting her journey to the prize and how she intends to fulfil the mandate of YOUWIN, Ujorha, a degree holder in Statistics from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, said she started the business four years ago, not having all that is required to achieve her vision. She explained that despite her dogged determination and plans to get the business off the ground, it was not long before it dawned on her that she had to find a way to get the resources required to achieve the goals. Speaking further, she said a friend told her of the YOUWIN business plans competition and the grant, which she applied for, adding that though she expected the ‘Nigerian factor’ to apply, she was amazed to have made it to the final stage and was invited to collect her first tranche of funds as one of the winners.

Kidnapping: Lawyers protest in Asaba L

a w y e r s in Asaba, on Friday, took to the streets in protest against Monday’s kidnap of a judge of the state’s High Court, disrupting courts’ proceedings in the process. The lawyers, under the auspices of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) and numbering more than 40, barricaded Magistrates Courts premises on Ibusa Road, at 8.30 am.

From Agaju Madugba, Kaduna

h e Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), has accused the National Universities Commission (NUC) of marginalising the North in the award of presidential scholarships for innovation and development. A press statement in Kaduna yesterday by the ACF National Publicity Secretary, Anthony Sani, alleged that the NUC gives preference to the South. According to a statement, “the attention of the Arewa Consultative Forum has been drawn to a most curious list of candidates published in the newspapers this week who are

said to have qualified for the award of a presidential scholarship for innovation and development. “It is a project being implemented by the National Universities Commission and the scheme is designed to train and develop young Nigerians to become entrepreneurs, capable of creating jobs, wealth and progress. “However, although the list released by the NUC is on a state by state basis, it is not at all clear that the Commission wanted candidates to come from all parts of the country. “Oyo state, for example, has 52 candidates while, Sokoto, Yobe, Cross River and the FCT have nil candidates each. The list itself is explanatory.

h a i r m a n of the ad-hoc committee constituted by the Oyo State House of Assembly to review cases of the 3,000 workers recently sacked by the state government, Hon. Segun Ajanaku, has said that the

By Udenna Orji h e Minister for Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, yesterday called on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to help government trace the contributions which Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) workers are alleged to have been making as part of their terminal benefits. The money, running into billions of Naira, is said to be missing. Prof. Nnaji, in a statement signed last night by his Special

Assistant (Media), Mr. Ogbuagu Anikwe, stated that “The NLC yesterday (Wednesday) reportedly issued a 7-day ultimatum for government to pay PHCN workers their alleged 25 percent contribution to their Superannuation Scheme as terminal benefits as well as withdraw security from PHCN installations, failing which organised labour would embark on a nation-wide strike. The Ministry of Power expresses the readiness of the government to promptly pay

Assembly has not passed any resolution calling on the executive arm to reabsorb the sacked workers. Ajanaku, in a statement issued in Ibadan on Thursday, said his committee had not even submitted its report to the Assembly on the affected workers.

“The insinuation that Governor Abiola Ajimobi has refused to comply with a so-called House resolution calling for the reinstatement of the sacked workers is far from the truth. It is a blatant lie because my committee has not even submitted its report to the House”, he stated.

Army tasks self on Research and Development From Iliya Garba, Minna

n its effort to bring development to the country, the Nigerian Army Research and Development Centre plan to armoured in a scale that would attract patronage from other countries. The Commander Headquarters Training and Doctrine Command

If it is a mistake, NUC should take immediate steps to correct it. As presently implemented, it is a disservice to the very objective for which the scheme was set up and to our aspirations as a people”.

ACF National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Anthony Sani

From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

h e Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), on Thursday, warned the Boko Haram sect not to attempt spreading the violence southwards. The YCE, also known as Igbimo Agba Yoruba, spoke with journalists through its publicity secretary, Yemi Falade at the end of the meeting, explained that the security challenge being faced by the country was discussed during the meeting. According to him, the meeting followed the strike by the sect in Kogi state during which some people were killed in their place of worship. He said the group took cognizance of the implication of the attack in Kogi state on the SouthWestern part of the country as the next and neighbouring zone to the state through Ekiti state, assuring that all the necessary mechanisms to ward off any invasion by those he described as dissidents, have been put in place.

Terminal benefits: Minister calls on NLC to help trace workers’ contributions

No resolution on sacked – Oyo House committee chair From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

Sylvester Ehikwe, and some workers, who were already in their offices were forced to abandon their duties by the protesting lawyers. The lawyers said that there would be no court sittings in the state till the judge was released. Twenty-four detainees brought to the court by prisons officials for their various cases were also turned back by the protesting lawyers. (NAN)

North marginalised in presidential scholarships —ACF

President Goodluck Jonathan

They also barred court workers and magistrates from entering the court halls. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the judge, Justice Marcel Okoh, was allegedly abducted by a gang of armed men at Abraka, Ethiope East local government area of Delta state on his way to Warri. A Chief Magistrate, Mr.

Yoruba elders warn Boko Haram against movement to SouthWest

Nigerian Army, Minna, Major General Joseph Okunbor who made this known on Thursday, during the Second Quarter Conference 2012 held in TRADOC NA Officers’ Mess, said the year conference is to broaden the army’s understanding towards exploiting good potentials for the development of the nation. Okunbor recollected that during

Nigerian Air force Conference, various prototype items developed by R&D were displayed and advised in the same vein that prototypes be developed by different NA corps R&Ds’ in future conferences. He charged members of Nigerian Army to always reappraise their focus on research and development that would move the country forward.

the 25 percent contributions as soon as all parties are able to establish the whereabouts of the funds so far contributed by workers of the PHCN. For the umpteenth time, let it be stated that the government has no problem with PHCN workers getting the money they have contributed under their Superannuation Scheme. The PHCN Superannuation Scheme is managed by the PHCN management and the leadership of the three Unions in the sector who are the trustees…”

Prof. Berth Nnaji

Rumbles as Plateau Assembly plot Speaker’s impeachment From Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

n x i e t y is building up at Plateau House of Assembly over alleged plans by some aggrieved members of the House to effect changes in the leadership of the House led by Speaker John Clark Dabwan. Investigation revealed that the majority of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who dominate House are bent on impeaching the Speaker Dabwan on the allegations of weak leadership and romance with the executive arm. Further investigations revealed that that most of the lawmakers are rooting for the return of the immediate

past Speaker of the House, Hon. Istifanus Mwansat. Mwansat was Speaker of 6th Assembly till the end of the Assembly but the leadership of PDP and state the government were alleged to have opposed his return as Speaker, hence the nomination and election of Hon. Dabwan who defected from the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to PDP. Peoples Daily gathered that the face-off between the lawmakers and their Speaker came to public knowledge recently when the Speaker alegedly influenced the removal the Clerk of the House, Mrs. Helen Chundusu, Deputy Clerk and the Deputy Sergeant At Arms.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 7

Kada News

Kaduna re-trains 4,600 primary school teachers Stories by Agaju Madugba, Kaduna

s part of measures aimed at enhancing the quality of its teachers, the Kaduna state government says it has embarked on the retraining of about 4,600 teachers, in mathematics and science education programmes of the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI). According to Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, the project is being mounted with support from the Japan International Cooperation

Agency (JICA), in collaboration with the State Universal Basic Education Board. Yakowa who spoke at a workshop for evaluators, head teachers and local government supervisors of education on quality assurance evaluation, in Kaduna South local government area, noted that government has also provided 978,444 textbooks in four core subjects in primary schools and 38,000 resource materials for junior secondary schools in the state. He said: “I wish to commend the Federal Ministry of Education, through the Federal

Inspectorate Service (F.I.S), for the zeal towards the production and review of the Uniform Education Quality Assurance Handbook Nigeria. “This major work has resulted in a paradigm shift from the traditional inspection practices to a holistic approach. ”The Quality Assurance Evaluation involves the process of monitoring, assessing and evaluating as objectively as possible, all aspects of school life. “It communicates the outcome to stakeholders with the view of improving standards in our schools and this initiative of F.I.S in

supporting states to train evaluators is commendable and I believe it will go a long way in improving the quality of evaluation in our various states. “The Kaduna state Task Team on Quality Assurance, made up of all stakeholders in education service delivery, has trained master trainers and has produced 2,000 copies of both the handbook and instrument on quality assurance, to aid the training of evaluators in the state. ”Government is also continuing with the renovation of existing structures, constructing new classrooms, providing science and technical equipment, ICT facilities as well as instructional materials, to enhance the quality of education in the state and this has ensured a higher enrolment and retention rates in most schools”.

Yakowa disturbed over social media reportage of Kaduna

aduna state Governor, Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, has described social media reporting of the area as unethical, urging the leadership of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) to intervene and correct the perceived lapses. Speaking when the NUJ president, Mohammed Garba, visited the Governor on courtesy call at the Government House on Thursday, Yakowa insisted that the NUJ should address what he described as the ethical issues in the union. According Yakowa, the media ought to assist the nation to overcome the current state of insecurity and be counted among institutions that are committed to tackling the problem. “Peace is crucial tenable government at all levels deliver on the other components of governance,”

Yakowa said, adding that the media should be in a position to bail Nigeria out of the prevailing difficult security situation in the country. He said, “it is in the light of this that I want you, to use the NUJ and help to contribute to peace building in the nation. “We really need to find ways to resolve our differences in Nigeria because we have no other country to call our own,” He noted that his government has set up a peace and reconciliation committee, comprising eminent citizens of the state, to assist in providing a lasting solution to the security challenges in Kaduna. Speaking earlier, the NUJ president explained that he was in Kaduna to commiserate with the government over the recent disturbances in the state. According to him, the Nigeria Guild of Editors,

Gov. Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa (NGE), the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and other stakeholders in the media

Kaduna PHCN workers embark on special prayers over entitlements

*Threaten mass action

taff of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in Kaduna, have organised special prayers at the Doka Business District, for intervention

Barth-Nnaji

in the payment of their 25 percent entitlements and pensions before the proposed privatisation of the company. Speaking at the programme on Wednesday, Comrade Joseph Ishaya of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), accused the Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji, of insensitivity to the plight of the workers even as he questioned the decision of the Federal Government to embark on the privatisation of PHCN. “Privatisation is not the best option for Nigeria, rather it should be private participation,” he said.

According to Ishaya, the Nigerian economy is not yet ripe for privatisation. Most of our industries are relocating to Ghana because of electricity supply and yet you want to privatise electricity. “We prefer private participation, for people to come and participate in the generation of electricity and not to take over what is already on ground. “We may be forced to call out our members to leave their places of work, that is, to call them out for a strike action because we have come to understand that the only language government understands is to call our members to go on strike and that may be volatile, given the nature of Kaduna and that is why we decided to embark on prayers first”.

industry will soon discuss on the way forward for Nigeria regarding the current security challenges.

Kaduna state local government election Bill: ACN kicks

he Kaduna state chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), has described the, recent passage of the Kaduna State Local Government Election Bill by the House of Assembly as callous and dishonourable. A press statement by the Kaduna state ACN chairman, Barrister Mohammed Soba, condemned the two-year tenure for local government councils arguing that the development is contrary to established democratic practice envisaged by the Constitution. According to the ACN, “our position is strengthened by the fact that when the stakeholders were invited by the Kaduna State House of Assembly to a one-day public hearing on the said Bill on the 11 th of June, 2012, nothing was said about reducing the tenure of the elected officials of local governments from three to two years. “Kaduna state legislators should know that the issue of tenure of elected government officials is not one that should be decided by a few greedy and misguided representatives, acting the script of a desperate political party without recourse to the electorate. “We reject the two-year tenure and call on Governor Patrick Yakowa to come out clean on this legislative fraud by refusing to assent to the suspicious Bill that has all the potentials to enslave the good people of Kaduna state and rubbish the local government system”.

Ramadan: JNI tasks Muslims on Night of Majesty

he Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) has urged Muslims to intensify their prayers during the concluding days of the month of Ramadan in order to benefit from the Laylatul Qadr (Night of Majesty), expected within the last 10 days of the month. A statement by the JNI Secretary-General, Dr. Khalid Aliyu Abubakar, said Muslims should exploit the period to recite more of the Qur’an, be punctual in the observance of obligatory prayers, Taraweeh, Tahajjud as well as intensify the giving of alms or Sadaqat. According to the statement, the JNI under the leadership of His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, wishes to felicitate with the Muslim Ummah in Nigeria on the successful start of the Ramadan fast on Friday, 20th July, 2012.

“It is expected that we give Zakatul Fitr (ordained alms-giving at the end of Ramadan fast). The JNI calls on all Muslims to give it out on time and to the needy. “In addition, Muslims are once more called upon to pray fervently for the peaceful co-existence of Nigeria. “In the same vein, the JNI commiserates with the good people of Okene and the Kogi state government over the dastardly terrorist act unleashed on them and equally condemns the act in totality. “Once more, we wish all Muslim faithful happy Ramadan fast and it is our prayer that Almighty Allah will count us among those whom their Ramadan fasting will be accepted and see the celebration of the forthcoming Eid-el-Fitr successfully.”

PAGE 8

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Ramadan Children are a trust The virtues of praying Tahajjud to parents —Sani A llah Most High said, “Establish worship at the going down of the sun until the dark of the night, and (the recital of) the Qur’an at dawn. Lo! (the recital of) the Qur’an at dawn is ever witnessed. And some part of the night awake for its recital, as voluntary worship for you. It may be that your Lord will raise you to a praised estate.” [Qur’an, 17: 78-79] Abu Hurayra (Ra) reports that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said, “The best prayer after the obligatory prayers is the night prayer.” [Muslim] Abu Hurayra (Ra) reports that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) was asked, “What prayer is most virtuous, after the obligatory prayers?” He said, “Prayer in the depths of the night.” [Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i, Ibn Majah] Abd Allah ibn Salam (Ra) reports that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said, “O people! Spread the salams, feed others, maintain family ties, and pray at night when others sleep and you will enter Heaven safely.” [Tirmidhi, Hakim] Abu Umama al-Bahili (Ra) reports that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said, “Hold fast to night prayer, for it was the way of the righteous before you, a way of drawing closer to

Malama Halima Sani

knowing.” And because night prayer is harder on the lower self, because night is a time of rest from the tire of day, so leaving sleep despite the lower self being desirous of it is a tremendous struggle (mujahada). Some have said, “The best of works are those the lower self is forced to perform.” And because recitation in night prayer is closer to contemplation, because things that busy the heart are mostly absent at night, so the heart is more attentive and is with the tongue in understanding, as Allah Most High said, “Lo! The night vigil is (a time) when impression is more keen and speech more certain. [Lo! You have by day a chain of business. So remember the name of your Lord and devote yourself with a complete devotion.]” (Qur’an, 73: 6-7) It is because of this that we have been commanded to recite the Qur’an in night prayer in a steady recital (tartil). And it is because of this that night prayer is a shield from sin. And because night vigil time is the best of times for voluntary worship and prayer, and the closest a servant is to his Lord. And because it is a time when the doors of the sky are opened, supplications answered, and the needs of those who ask fulfilled.

Laylatul Qadr: Night of power, crowning glory

The Soul of your child is like an uncut precious jewel entrusted into your care by Allah. To you is given the awesome responsibility of shaping that precious jewel into a beautiful form, pleasing to the eye of Allah. In today's world, unfortunately it is a very difficult task to raise children who are good Muslims. But it is important to successfully fulfill this most important Islamic duty.

hildhood, school, job, marriage, and children, practically everyone goes through these cycles of life. The most important job a family does is helping to guide our future generation through these milestones in life. This was the message handed down by Malama Halima Sani at a lecture, during the Speech and Prize Giving day of Halilullah Islamic Nursery and Primary school in Jikoko community in Abuja. Sani who was Guest lecturer at the occasion indicated that parents’ responsibilities for the care and upbringing of their children are mentioned in several verses of the Quran, as well as in the Hadeeth, amongst which is giving children knowledge. She reiterated that The Holy Prophet (s) of Islam said: “Seeking knowledge is incumbent upon every Muslim, male and female”, thus it was enjoined “seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave”. According to the teachings

your Lord, an expiation for wrong deeds, and a shield from sin.” [Tirmidhi, and others] In some narrations, there is an addition, “And it repels sickness from the body.” Ibn Mas‘ud (Ra) said, “The virtues of night prayer over day prayer is like the virtue of secret charity over open charity.” [Tabarani] The scholars explain that this refers to voluntary prayers. Imam Saffarini, the Hanbali faqih explained in his Sharh Mandhumat al-Adaab: “Night prayer is superior to day prayer because: It is more concealed and closer to sincerity. The righteous early Muslims (salaf) used to strive hard to hide their secrets [f: i.e. the actions between them and Allah].” Hasan [al-Basri] said, “It used to be that a person would have guests staying over and he would pray at night without his guests

of Islam, seeking knowledge is one of the great acts of worship that leads one to the path of paradise. However, the aim behind seeking knowledge is more important than the knowledge itself. Seeking true knowledge with a divine aim, for the pleasure of God and serving His creatures, leads one to Paradise in the company of Prophets and Awliya. But seeking knowledge for personal, mundane, or worldly motives leads a person to ignorance, sins. Sani appealed to parents of the children to ensure that they paid their school fees as at when due and also cater for their welfare because they are treasures bestowed on us and we shall give account of our stewardship in this regard. “Children are a trust given to the parents. Parents will be held accountable for this trust on the Day of Judgment. Parents are essentially responsible for the moral, ethical and the basic and essential religious teachings of their children.

Laylatul Qadr is the crowning glory of the holy month of Ramadan. It is associated with the sending down of the Qur’an Majeed, the last Book of Allah on His last Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam), for the guidance of mankind. The Qur’an Majeed describes this Night. “We have indeed revealed this (message) in the Night of Power: And what will explain to you what the Night of Power is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. Therein come down the Angels and the Spirit (Jibraeel) by Allah’s permission, on every errand: Peace! This until the rise of Morn!” (Surah 97) The Night of Power is the night of spiritual bliss. Our Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) is reported to have said concerning Ramadhaan: “Verily this month has come to you; and therein is a night which is better than a thousand Months. Whosoever is deprived of it, is deprived of all good; and none is deprived of its good except a totally unfortunate person”. (Ibn Majah) “Whosoever stands up (in prayer) at the Night of Power out of faith and hopeful of reward, all his past sins will be forgiven.”(Targhib) Better than a thousand months thousand months are equivalent to 83 years and 4 months. Fortunate is the

person who spends this night in prayer. The man or woman, who prays for the whole night during this Night, will deserve blessings and reward for the period as if he or she had been praying for eighty three years and four months consecutively. Since the Night of Power is better than one thousand months no one can actually measure the extent as to how much better it is. Exclusive The Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said: “Laylatul Qadr has been bestowed by Allah to my Ummah (People). It was not given to any people before this.” (Dur-Mansoor). How manifest and replete the special bounties and mercies of Allah Ta’ala are upon this Ummat is quite really beyond imagination. It will therefore be extremely foolish to allow ourselves to be deprived of these great blessings at the expense of sheer laziness and a few hours of extra sleep. Which Night is it? Although there are different reports in different traditions regarding the exact night, it is almost unanimous that the blessed night occurs in one of the last ten nights of Ramadhaan and more probably in one of the last ten odd nights i.e. 2lst, 23rd, 25th 27th or 29th night. The popular opinion is, however, in favour of the 27th Night of Ramadhaan but that is not absolutely certain. The traditions indicate that it is to be sought in one of the last ten nights and preferably in the last three odd nights.

It was therefore the practice of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) and his companions to make I’tikaaf in the Mosque for the whole time offering Divine service during the last ten days of Ramadhaan. Hazrath Aisha (Radhiallaahu Anha) reported that the Apostle of Allah said: “Search for the Blessed Night in the odd (nights) from the last ten (nights) of Ramadhaan” (Bukhari). Hazrath Aisha has narrated another saying: “I asked: O Messenger of Allah! Tell me if I were to find a Night of Power, what should I recite therein?” Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) advised her to recite: Al-laa-hum-ma in-na-ka ‘afoow-wan tu-hib-bul-’af wa fa-fu ‘an-ni. O Allah! You are Forgiving, You love forgiveness, so forgive me. (Bukhari). Special attention should therefore be given to the excessive recitation of this dua on the blessed night. Furthermore one may engage in lengthy rakaats of Tahajjud salaat, Tilaawat of the Qur’an’ Dua, Zikr, etc. The worship and the vigil of the Night of Power are a treat to the soul. The heart tends to melt into tears of heartfelt gratitude. The body is in a state of angelic ecstasy The soul strives to reach nearer to Almighty Allah. In this holy month of Ramadhaan let us strive to seek the Night of Power and its bliss. May Allah reward us with His bountiful blessings. Aameen. Source: Jamiatul Ulama

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Cover Feature

PAGE 9

Will Ogoni autonomy stay?

Ayodele samuel takes a look at the divided house of struggle legend Ken Saro Wiwa, as his Ogoni community declares Self-Government.

g o n i community is again in the news front, following its declaration of political autonomy and self-government. Led by Dr. Goodluck Diigbo, under the auspice of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People [MOSOP], founded by the late playwright and poet, Ken SaroWiwa, who was hanged by the regime of late General Sani Abacha, which has consistently campaigned against the environmental degradation of Ogoni land by oil companies, on a day to mark the Ogoni Day pronounced Republic of Ogoni. Goodluck Diigbo said "The urgency behind the declaration is that selfgovernment for Ogoni was overdue in view of many important issues bordering on indigenous rights of the Ogoni people being tampered with now. The UNEP Ogoni Report is one out of many." "The Ogoni declaration of selfgovernment now guarantees the Ogoni people the right to participate in decisionmaking in all matters which would affect their rights, through representatives chosen by Ogonis in accordance with own procedures, as well as to maintain and develop all our own indigenous decisionmaking institutions, which we started to set up since 2011." "It is my hope that this self-government will help to provide just and fair redress to decades of deprivation of our indigenous rights," Diigbo said. However a major crack surfaced in MOSOP following the declaration of the Republic of Ogoni by a faction of the movement, when The Chairman of MOSOP Provisional Council, Prof. Ben Naanen, and other Ogoni leaders disowned the declaration of 'Ogoni Autonomy Day' by Diigbo, insisting that Ogoni people are not for sovereignty. They said all that their people are interested in is the creation of Bori State out of the present Rivers and the effective implementation of the recommendations contained in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoni land, submitted to President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja

in August last year. Naanen asked Diigbo to stop deceiving himself with his August 2 declaration and stressed that Ogoni people are not bothered about Diigbo's activities. The chairman of the MOSOP provisional council also said Ogoni people at the congress resolved that the recommendations contained in the report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on Ogoniland must be implemented to the letter. They asked government to take lawful measures to check Diigbo's anti-state activities and protect lives and property in Ogoni, stressing that the cult boys being used by Diigbo for violence constitute an enduring threat to peace in Ogoniland. Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State on his part described the declaration of autonomy for the Ogoniin the state as treasonable felony. Amaechi, argued that Diigbo's aim is not achievable and the man will flee at the slightest attempt to question him by the security agencies. "On Ogoni autonomy, I wish them well. Ogoni autonomy is not achievable. The man (Diigbo) who declared Ogoni autonomy will run into the bush tomorrow morning. What Diigbo is doing is treasonable felony. You do not declare autonomy on the pages of newspapers and magazines or on radio and television." Diigbo, an Ogoni, claims to be President/ Spokesman of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). However leadership of ProNational Conference Organization, PRONACO has backed the declaration of the Ogoni people for political autonomy and self determination of their people and territory within Nigeria PRONACO's Spokesperson, Olawale Okunniyi said the time has come for the indigenous peoples and federating units in Nigeria to deliver their peoples and territories from the pilfering and violent centralized structure operating in the country Okunniyi said the Ogoni peoples

'declaration for self determination and political autonomy is long awaited and the only way to go for the Nigerian federating peoples, since the predatory political cartel in the country is not willing to allow the Nigerian people negotiate and agree the terms of their well being at a national conference The coalition of ethnic nationalities and social movements in Nigeria said the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which forms the basis on which the Ogoni people made their declaration, was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly during its 62nd session at UN Headquarters in New York City on 13 September 2007 with Nigeria present and endorsing it PRONACO however, declared that self determination and political autonomy for the Nigerian federating units is also one of the key resolutions of its people's national conference attended by delegates of 200 ethnic nationalities and social movement of the country between 2005 and 2006, stressing that what the ogoni people have done is legitimate and not new as advanced countries like Britain, Canada, China, USSR among others have all adopted self determination principles in governing and advancing the prosperity in their diversity "The indigenous peoples and social forces in Nigeria have been very patient with the Nigerian government to convene a national conference where the diverse peoples forced by colonial Britain into the artificial Nigerian union can peacefully negotiate the terms of their association but the political cabal in its usual arrogance has consistently bungled that grace but prefers to foist wasteful cosmetic venture of amending the flawed 1999 imposed constitution on the people The only option left for the various federating peoples of Nigeria is to urgently invoke the United Nations' charter on the

rights of the indigenous people's world over, an international law to which Nigeria is a signatory and which the Ogoni people have wisely embraced" Okunniyi charged PRONACO however advised the federal government to urgently embrace the Ogonis for adopting a more peaceful method than what obtains in the Northern Nigeria, where Nigerians have been daily murdered on the same account of the same struggle for self determination and political autonomy tagged 'wider application of Islamic laws in the northern Nigeria' "The federal government must therefore enter into bilateral talks with the new political leadership of the ogoni people to work out in concrete terms mutual cooperation between Nigeria and the independent people of Ogoniland as those who makes peaceful change impossible in the history of the human race have always made a violent one inevitable" PRONACO warned However, Coalition of Oodua Self determination Groups(COSEG) also stated that unless the mirage of problems besieging the country vis vis, general insecurity, corruption, faulty federal structure, inefficient public service and others are addressed, the Yoruba people will also be forced to declare self government so that the wishes and aspirations of the people of Yoruba will be met. COSEG among other groups however urged the federal government to also recognize the right of the Ogoni people to self determination and allow them their peace or else, it may lead to break down of law and order if attempts are made at dismantling their structure as that represents their genuine aspiration for a government that will be truly representative of the Ogoni people. Security agencies in the state - police, SSS and the Joint Military Task Force declined to speak on Diigbo's pronouncement.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Cover

Bayelsa coat of arms, anthem, flag: Threat to national unity? By Lawrence Olaoye, Abdulrahman Abdulraheem & Edwin Olofu

h e recent passage of a bill for the rolling out of coat of arms, state anthem and flag by the Bayelsa state House of Assembly has reignited controversies trailing similar actions, earlier by nine other states of the federation. But is the Bayelsa stance a threat? And what does it portend for the nation especially as one of its own; who is president of the country had sworn to defend the unity and territorial integrity of the nation and its constitution? The customized insignia are to be released once the law establishing them is signed by the governor, Henry Seriake Dickson. The governor said the decision was taken to forge a common identity for the Ijaws with the state reputed as their homeland, and assured it was nothing different from what obtained in the other nine states that have towed a similar path. "In line with the vision of the founding fathers of our dearly beloved state and given this administration's stand on Ijaw mobilization, Ijaw integration and the need to promote Ijaw fundamental interest, which clearly is not subordinate to any other interests, the government of Bayelsa state has given its approval to have a state-owned emblem to mark and strengthen our sense of identity as a state," Dickson said in a statement signed by his Press Secretary, Daniel Iworiso-Markson. The move brings to 10, the number of states with known state paraphernalia with the rest being Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ogun, Ekiti, Kwara, Cross River and Rivers states. But more than any other state, it was a similar declaration by the Osun state government, led by the Action Congress of Nigeria's Rauf Aregbesola that got tongues wagging. Now the Bayelsa state move appears to be a reckless disregard for the precarious state of the nation. Aregbesola had triggered a collision between the state and the Federal Government in April, when he introduced a new anthem, coat of arm, new school uniform and other emblems which he maintained were meant to promote the state culture. More controversial in the Osun matter was the fact that the government had decided to change the state's nomenclature from the usual Osun state to 'the State of Osun' which some critics said was unconstitutional and tantamount to secession. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had called on the Federal Government to withhold Osun state's monthly allocation as the new name is unknown to the constitution. The party argued that the nation's constituents listed in the constitution never recognized 'the state of Osun' But the state maintained that it has not contravened any constitutional provision by changing its name to the State of Osun nor has it broken any law by adopting different coat of arms, flag and anthem different from that of the country. Federal officials viewed the move as "secessionist" and reportedly had Mr.

Bayelsa Government House Aregbesola closely monitored by the Department of State Security and other security agencies. He was also accused of having links with Islamic militants outside the country. The allegations were fiercely rejected by the ACN and Aregbesola, who accused the federal security units of "overzealousness." Justifying its decision to behave like Osun and the other states, the Bayelsa State Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson said the emblems are to brand the state, and are cardinal to the development effort of the oil-rich state. "This decision also underscores government's belief that this state, like any other state, is where the Ijaws, the fourth largest ethnic nationality in Nigeria, has as its home. Bayelsa is home to all Ijaws both at home and abroad," the statement said. "The emblem therefore will help serve as a unifying force and rallying point for all our people. It says a lot about the preservation of our culture, our essential values as a people and as a race," Seriake Dickson declared.

What has however made the Bayelsa case more controversial is the fact that the President hails from there and he swore to protect the unity and integrity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He can't also claim ignorance of such moves being made by a man he singled handedly installed as governor. The Bayelsa example is also happening at a time the Ogoni people are threatening the country with secession. It would be recalled that Movement of the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) recently threatened the Federal Government with secession if nothing is done about the implementation of the UNEP report on the environmental degradation in ogoniland. A particular faction of the group led by one Professor Ben Naanen had threatened to occupy strategic economic targets in the area if the Federal Government continues to stall the implementation of the report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the devastation of the place. On the same UNEP report, another

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

factional leader, Goodluck Diigbo, declared political autonomy for Ogoni people of Nigeria and threatened to secede if government doesn't hasten up the implementation of the report. He had stressed that by this declaration of political autonomy, the Ogoni people of Rivers state were determined to enforce the United Nations Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples, without fear or retreat. Though the River state governor, Rotimi Amaechi had disowned Diigbo while the other faction too disagreed with him on the secession threat, the fact that the Bayelsa state government is establishing its own coat of arms, anthem and flag at a time the Ogoni controversy is yet to abate may not just be a coincidence. It took the intervention of the Minister of Environment, Mrs. Hadiza Mailafia to douse the tension. The minister who briefed the President on her ministry's budget performance during the week, explained the progress and challenges the Federal Government is facing the in the implementation of the report. Although, she blamed the January fuel subsidy strike for slowing down the report implementation, she said the Federal Government was making enormous efforts to ensure proper implementation of the report. Mailafia said: "We are making enormous efforts, I agree that the presentation was made last year, but you recall that just after the presentation of the UNEP report the country fell into some kind of unrest due to fuel subsidy issue. "For quite a number of weeks all of us Contd on page 11

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 13

Cover

Bayelsa coat of arms, anthem, flag: Threat to national unity? Contd from Page 10 were not doing what we should have been doing at that time. But it is not true that government is not doing anything. "The UNEP report highlighted some immediate issues that needed to be addressed; finding potable or alternative supplies of drinking water, such as marking out the wells that were too polluted and doing other strategic framework activities that needed to be in place before the implementation. "With the support of Governor Rotimi Amaechi and through the National Oil Spill Remediation Agency, we have carried out all those tasks. A Kaduna based lawyer Yahaya Mahmood (SAN) has reportedly asked President Goodluck Jonathan to make his position known on the matter. He was quoted as saying "it is time for President Jonathan to come out categorically to tell the nation if he wants us to remain as one united country". Mahmood therefore, asked the President to caution Dr Goodluck Diigbo and Asari Dokubo for their threat of war as well as the Bayelsa State Governor and the State Assembly for their role. The issue also attracted comments from a constitutional lawyer, Fred Agbaje (SAN), who reportedly chided the Bayelsa state attempt, saying it is an affront on the constitution. Agbaje who reacted from London, while speaking to a national daily, said the move could mark the beginning of secession. A foremost Kano-based constitutional lawyer, Professor Auwalu Yadudu however said that Bayelsa state government's adoption of its own flag, coat of arms and anthem is within the confines of the law. Yadudu who spoke to our correspondent on phone on the law passed by the Bayelsa state House of Assembly adopting its own flag, coat of arms and anthem, said as far as he was concerned, the state government did not do anything wrong. The legal practitioner added that a state can decide to create its flag or coat of arms, unless the action is accompanied by an ulterior motive, citing Lagos state and Osun as two states that have done so in the past. He recalled that Kano state used to have its own coat of arms when Nigeria was divided into twelve states likewise some northern states. "I don't think it is a big deal if the state House of Assembly passes a law empowering the state to have its own flag or coat of arms, many have very short memories but when the country was divided into twelve states, I remember Kano state had its own coat of arms. I don't know whether it had its own flag but I do know for sure that it had its own coat of arms. All the northern states had their own coat of arms. It is not something that you can say is illegal but I don't know why people are worried. "Bayelsa is not the only state that started it, Osun and Lagos states have done it before. Unless it is accompanied by ulterior motives, I don't find that unacceptable. It is perfectly within their legal right to do so" he stated. Mohammed Fawehinmi, the son of

President Goodluck Jonathan

late legal luminary and fiery Lagos lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi, also told our reporter in the same vein that the Bayelsa state House of Assembly decision was within the confines of the law. According to Fawehinmi, the legality of the decision is covered under the freedom of expression of any individual, group or state. However, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has cautioned the presidency on the unfolding events in the south south, saying they could spur ethnic nationalism if not checked. The National Publicity Secretary of the Forum, Mr. Anthony N.Z. Sani, said unfolding events in the south south tend to rev up ethnic nationalism, the ACF said such attitude runs across the grain of unity. According to Sani, "a few days ago, a faction of Ogoni extraction declared for political autonomy and yet asked for effective representations in all Nigerian institutions." He said: "The ACF does not understand the unfolding events in the south south which tend to rev up ethnic nationalism that are larded with fissiparous tendencies. Such attitude runs across the

Gov. of Bayelsa state, Mr. Seriake Dickson

grain of unity". The spokesman wondered how the Ogoni expect to be sovereign within a Nigerian sovereignty, noting that "now Bayelsa state's actions are tending towards the same direction, all under the watch of Mr. President, who is in a better position to put a stop to such centrifugal forces within the polity." Sani expressed regret that the development is unhelpful because there is more to gain in a united Nigeria than in a disunited Nigeria, more so that the challenges facing the country are not beyond redemption, given unity of purpose with clear thought and more clarity. Speaking in the same vein, elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, said the development in Bayelsa is a "challenge to President Goodluck Jonathan who swore to defend the unity and territorial integrity of the nation and its constitution." While observers disagree over the legality and/or necessity of the development in Bayelsa state, what adds to the complaints outside the south south is the kind of statements that have been credited to some key figures from the

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

However, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has cautioned the presidency on the unfolding events in the south south, saying they could spur ethnic nationalism if not checked.

region in recent times. The leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, Alhaji Mujaheed Dokubo-Asari, last week canvassed the dissolution of the President Goodluck Jonathan's government to pave way for the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference, while declaring war on the north, as a panacea to the Boko Haram insurgency. It is noteworthy that since President Jonathan won election last year, both Asari Dokubo and First Republic Information Minister, Edwin Clark have never said anything that suggests that the south south region is interested in the unity of the country. Asari Dokubo has threatened to bomb the north if the Boko Haram sect doesn't stop its campaigns. He also threatened that the militants will return to the creeks immediately Jonathan finishes his tenure. As far as Edwin Clark is concerned, all the challenges facing the country are caused by the north. In fact, according to him, the fact that President Jonathan has not been able to bring in any fresh air since he was sworn in is because northerners won't allow him perform. The way he speaks, he doesn't think the Niger Deltans need Nigeria. That is why the latest move by Bayelsa state House of Assembly is causing ripples across the length and breadth of the country. Some analysts who do not want to be mentioned have however intervened to calm down nerves, saying that the Niger Delta people are minorities and therefore, any threat of secession by them will not really affect the country. According to these observers, if an ethnic group like the Igbo or Yoruba attempts such moves, it would be more cause for concern.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Interview

Public opinion and reversal Boy whose organ was cutsubsidy has not been

abandoned â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Commissioner of health, Malami

h e r e has been controversy over the issue of the 12 year old boy whose organ was cut off by suspected rituals in Liman Katagum, which surgery the state Government promised to sponsor. What came up between the ministry and his parents? I visited the family of the boy, Governor Yuguda also visited his family, interacted with the boy and promised that government will take care his medical bills and we will leave no stone unturned to see that whoever did that satanic act is brought to book. Subsequently we sponsored the young boy for treatment at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, I am a medical doctor and I have friends in some places and I know for a fact, that the consultant whom I asked to see the boy in the University of Maiduguri Teaching hospital conducted similar operation called organ transplantation, it is just to create a separate organ so that the young boy can have control f his urination. So what happened? The saw the doctor in Maiduguri, who is an expert in this area, the doctor accessed him, and said he was ready to operate on him and could create that organ for him, even before he left Bauchi, I was aware, why I am taking time to answer this question is because there has been insinuation that the boy has been abandoned. As you know the boy has no say in some of those things, he was brought back to Bauchi by his father and the father's friend and they came and informed me that they had come back from Maiduguri, but the doctor called me to say this is an operation he has done several times, but that the parents said he should not do it, that the boy should be taken abroad so I asked him to bring his report and he said it would take one and half months because he has done extensive studies on the boy and that usually when he is writing a report to a doctor in the US, Belgium or Canada as it often happens, he does not like to ridicule himself. Can you clarify this please? There are certain findings a doctor is supposed to document because most times, you write a report and it's taken to Australia the person there laughs at you, because he knows that a doctor that knows what his doing could not have written such thing, that means that Dr Tairu has to take his time, get all the results from the information gathered, examination of the child and then forward it to me. The parents later came to my office and demanded that they should be taken abroad; I told them that the medical doctor has not finished examining the boy before they took the child away. Before then, we had given the family about N400,000,00. What was the money for? It was a donation to the family, it was also to help sustain them for few days or few weeks in Maiduguri, to collect the doctor's report, then I told them that they should allow us wait for the report which will also be processed. Thus we needed to rely on the doctor's opinion, on where this boy should go, I don't have expertise in planting a fresh organ on people , we will not send the child to a

Dr. Sani Muhammed Malami is the Bauchi state Commissioner for health, in this interview with our Correspondent, Ahmed Kaigama; he spoke on the problem between his ministry and the 12 year old boy whose organ was cut off by suspected rituals, maternal mortality and the state of some hospitals in the state. Excerpts.

Dr. Sani Abubakar Malami, Commissioner for Health, Bauchi state place where they will plant a white man's penis on him, I don't know what that will imply , Dr Tairu knows the proper place to do that, so we are on top of the matter. Is it that such surgery cannot be performed in Nigeria? Why abroad? Personally, I do not subscribe to referring people abroad just for the fun of it, if there are services that can be rendered in Bauchi, then why not? That was the reason I thought at length over the services available at ATBU Teaching hospital, we did not upgrade the hospital to Teaching Hospital just for the sign board to be changed but for specific purpose, so that we can have these services right under our nose, we wondered why anybody will like to go and suffer their relations by going abroad to have certain services unless it is absolutely necessary. What is the current statistics of maternal mortality in Bauchi? The authentic statistics of maternal mortality and other health indices are reliable and consistent, done by the DHS and referred to as Demographic and Health survey which is conducted every year; it is the global standard type. There are complaints that

pregnant women and children under the ages of 5 are being charged certain amounts before they are attended to in hospitals against the free medical services introduced by Governor Isa Yuguda? The free medical programmes started about 4 years ago, a very laudable programme which has benefitted many in Bauchi but is it possible for us as human beings to say something is hundred percent free? I

don't think so, but we are doing our best to ease the problems for the people and the people have taken the bull by the horn, we said we are going to have free maternal and child health care and actually came up with a list of drugs, services which are free and you can go to our maternities today, go to any hospitals , ask the woman who is delivering, is she having a free delivery pack, is she being charged for those services, I want to know that hospital that a woman went and was asked to pay. That is the reason why we have also assigned people in the ministry to supervise and inspect happenings. We are not spying on anybody though, but let us know who is collecting these money, all these things are free and we will continue to fund it, every month we distribute commodities, drugs etc. However, there are challenges, our neighboring state are not implementing free maternal and child health, what was budgeted for instance, if we said we were going to have 400,000 pregnant women and 400 or 500 pregnant women are coming from other neighboring states to benefit from those free care treatment, for which we have budgeted for our women, how do you reconcile the situation? So there are challenges but government is on top of the situation. Despite your efforts to ensure effective health care delivery, some hospitals like Kirfi General Hospital is still in a dilapidated state. Why is that so? I was in Kirfi with my team about 3 months ago, after I left Kirfi, our technical team went to Kirfi twice and we also requested the chairman of Kirfi local government to give us additional land. You should understand that Kirfi was not designated as a General Hospital but as a primary health care centre several years ago for the communities in Kirfi but the Governor has magnanimously agreed to upgrade it to a General Hospital, though it has started bearing that name but it cannot be a General Hospital until it has enough facilities and that is in the pipeline.

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The parents later came to my office and demanded that they should be taken abroad; I told them that the medical doctor has not finished examining the boy before they took the child away. Before then, we had given the family about N400,000,00.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY JULY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 13

Interview

Nasarawa: The greatest obstacle is logistics, says CP W

hat is your assessment of the s e c u r i t y situation in the state on your assumption of duty? The security situation in the state is relatively okay. But not that we do not have some challenges here and there. As I used to say, no matter how white the sky could be, some little dark spots must be there. So we have some challenges, some crime related challenges, like conflicts between farmers and herdsmen, conflicts between communities and some theft, here and there and robbery. How has the command been coping with the "dark spots" and what effect do they have on activities of the police? The greatest obstacle to having a crime free state in Nasarawa is logistics. That is the facility to implement the policy direction of the new Inspector General of police, which is that the roads should be free for every law abiding citizen, and should not be left free for criminals. And to do that, we need vehicles. Because we need mobility. And the criminals these days don't steal Volkswagen, they steal Hummer Jeeps and if you want to pursue a robber that has snatched a Hummer Jeep, you can't do that with a Volkswagen and neither can you do it with some of these rickety vehicles. So we have those challenges and I think it is a serious one. So if we really want to effectively police, even Mararaba along, like I mentioned in one programme, we need not less than 25 vehicles,

Abayomi Akeremale is the Commissioner of Police in Nasarawa state. Recently, the CP interacted with some journalists in his office, over security issues in the state. Our Nasarawa state correspondent, Ali Abare Abubakar, was there. Excerpts:

Commissioner of Police in Nasarawa state, Abayomi Akeremale

for Mararaba alone. Not to talk of Masaka, Nyanya, Karu, Toto, etc. And so many other places. Can such challenges be addressed in the nearest

future? And what about the pledge made by Governor Umaru Tanko Al-makura, to supply vehicles to the command?

Yes, you know, these are political issues. It is true that there are pledges and I have faith that they are going to redeem those pledges. We are only waiting for the time, but I believe that time will tell. It is still too early for me to foreclose their performance. I believe they are going to perform. On lack of sufficient personnel Well, personnel, we don't have so much problem as regards personnel. You see, they say modern warfare does not depend on numerical strength. Even with 5 people we can perform the function of 20 persons if we have the facility to perform. So the more logistics we have, the easier it is for us to perform, regardless of the number of people we have. I think logistics is more important than the personnel. Few personnel can perform effectively and that is why we are still coping so far. What are you doing on the recent influx of commercial motorcycle riders in Lafia, the state capital, as a result of the ban in neighbouring states like Plateau, Adamawa and even the FCT? Well, I don't have statistics to show that most of them are in Lafia. But I do know that some states have actually imposed

some ban on motorcycle. Every state has its own peculiarity and I believe it is a very good measure because some of these motorcycles are being used at night to rob. And it is easier to penetrate remote areas and visit injuries on innocent citizens. So with time, when it is right for a political decision to be taken on that, I think that will be done. Are men of the command adequately armed to carry out their duties? Tell us also, about the recent fire that burnt an armoury at the MOPOL base in Akwanga? It is not for the police to disclose information about weapons so that criminals will not take undue advantage of that. In Akwanga, nothing was missing as the carcass of the burnt armoury and it is there for all to see. It is true that an armoury got burnt due to electrical fault and investigations have been concluded on that. A report has been submitted. It was an accident, and an accident is defined as an act occurring independently, so it is not an intentional act. What about the arrest of 8 NYSC members involved in alleged electoral malpractice during the Awe state assembly bye-election? What did the corpers do? Did they abscond or were they kidnapped? Investigation is a painstaking process and we don't just draw conclusions, and where we have the facts. So the investigation is still ongoing. It is at the end of the investigation that we can be able to say whether policemen were there or not.

NEWS Police intensify security Okada men arraigned for assaulting judge checks in Bauchi From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

a u c h i state police command has intensified security checks across the state. Our correspondents gathered that the trend has heightened as a result of recent serial killings in which at least six policemen have been killed in the last two weeks in the state capital alone. Many residents who were held in the traffic along Yelwa Road, Wunti, Central Bank Roundabout, Awala Junction, Wunti Dada Road

and Gombe Road, complained bitterly that the development had made them t lose many appointments and business deals. “I was going to the Federal Polytechnic for an important appointment when I was held up in the traffic at Vannilla Roundabout”, a resident who declined identification said. Another resident, Chief Austine Tsenzughul who resides in Tsohon Konfani along Jos Road, observed that the check is a mockery of the normal stop-andsearch, because the

policemen merely look at motorist and don’t ask them to open the booths of their cars or lift the seat of motorbikes to see what is inside. In addition, they don’t even ask people carrying bags to show them the contents they might be carrying dangerous materials. Reacting to the situation, the Police Public Relations officer, Assistant Superintendent Mohammed Auyo, told newsmen on telephone that the checks were normal routine checks in view of the security situation in the country.

From Uche Makurdi

Nnorom,

o u r commercial motorcyclists, popularly called Okada were yesterday arraigned before a Makurdi Chief Magistrate on allegations of criminal conspiracy, criminal trespass and serious assault on Justice Ogbogo Ejembi of the Otukpo High Court. Peoples Daily Weekend investigation showed that the okada men had on August 8th, 2012 trailed Justice Ejembi and beaten him up at the premises of the High Court complex, Makurdi.

Further inquiry revealed that on that day, an okada man Agbo Athanasius hit Justice Ejembi from the rear at David Mark Bye-pass Junction near the NYSC Secretariat after the traffic warden had waved them on. But the Justice ignored the rider who along three other okada men followed him to the court premises where they beat him up mercilessly. The four cyclists were later apprehended by the police and charged before a Chief Magistrate. The other cyclists include Zuzuli Emmanuel, Adam Anthony and Barnabas Agbaka, who are said to be within the age limit of 23 and

28. At the sitting, the okada men pleaded not guilty and the presiding Justice Mrs. Lilian Wergba granted them bail in the sum of N50, 000 each with their sureties who must be resident in Makurdi, own landed property. She later adjourned the case to September 11, 2012. The Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, DSP Daniel Ezeala confirmed the incident, saying that the traffic warden had been detained at the cell of the “A” Division Police Station in Makurdi and is undergoing Orderly Room trial awaiting directive by the state police commissioner.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Man in the News

Edwin Clark and the Niger Delta mob action By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

d w i n Kiagbodo Clark, First Republic Information Minister, Second Republic Senator and elderstatesman, is a man every Nigerian should respect, envy and adore. Aside being a Federal Minister at a time some of the present members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) were not yet born, he is one of the few movers and shakers of the country in the First Republic who are still alive today. Besides, in a country where a lot of socio-economic and environmental factors plus government failure over the years have conspired to make sure the Life Expectancy Ratio is less than 50 years, for a man like Clark to live up to the grand old age of 85 is really admirable. But unlike the way the old man is now parading himself as a frontline Niger Delta advocate just because his kinsman Goodluck Jonathan is in power, in all the years the Niger Delta suffered neglect, infrastructural decay and environmental degradation, we didnt see Clark in the frontline of the battle to liberate his people the way we saw Isaac Adaka Boro, Ken Saro Wiwa, the Ogoni 8 and others. Rather, Edwin Clark, we were told, was silently benefiting in so many ways from the successive military governments that did more harm than good to the country, and was blind to the sufferings of his people. We are not surprised because it is common knowledge that Niger Delta leaders themselves were more guilty of the long years of neglect suffered by their people than the so-called north dominated Federal Government. Anyway, that is an issue for another day. While his comments about Jonathan's eligibility to contest in 2015 were still generating controversy, the old man committed another gaffe few days ago at a public lecture where he took a swipe at the north and notable northerners like IBB and Buhari for allegedly conspiring to make the country ungovernable under his beloved brother. He accused them of sponsoring the Boko Haram insurgency and wondered why Nigerians were busy criticising Jonathan for his poor performance. Obviously, Clark wants Nigerians to keep on clapping for the President for his huge incompetence and inability and/ or willingness to bring in any fresh air or serious transformation. Clark and his team of ethnic

Chief Edwin Clark

jingoists believe that since our problems didn't start today, and since a particular part of the country had ruled for so long without good results, his own brother, Jonathan has the excuse to continue the misrule. Clark, Asari Dokubo and other Niger Delta ethnic warriors feel since "na our oyel money," Nigerians can "siddon look" (apologies to late Bola Ige) while the mind blowing corruption, nepotism and maladministration at the federal level of government under Jonathan continue unabated. Clark also lambasted Pastor Tunde Bakare of Latter Rain Assembly for criticising the President. If his memories are fading, we dare remind him that

Bakare didn't start criticising government today. He was among the most consistent critics of Olusegun Obasanjo, his own kinsman (from the same part of Abeokuta). Throughout the 8year misrule of the widely despised despot, Bakare kept calling on Nigerians to revolt. Of course, the present profligacy is a continuation of Obasanjo's ineptitude and no reasonabe fellow should expect a true human rights crusader like Bakare to shut up now. We are also yet to forget that Bakare convened the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) and led a massive protest to Abuja to add his voice to the call for Jonathan's swearing- in as President since Yar'adua had

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

By constantly abusing Jonathan's critics and telling the President (in public fora) to continue ("I am behind you") the way he is governing the country, the old man does the President no Public Relations favour. In fact, by doing so, he exposes him to further attacks.

proved incapacitated. If the CPC stalwart is now campaigning against that same President, isn't it because he believes that the long suffering Nigerian masses deserve a better deal from their leaders? It is worth stating at this juncture that the overwhelming nationwide goodwill garnered by Jonathan during the Yar'adua illness saga and the election results of 2011 showed that the generality of Nigerians have no problems with a Niger Deltan leading them. This is contrary to the mischief and lies being spread by Edwin Clark and co that Nigerians are subjecting his brother to unfair criticism just because he is from the Niger Delta. We ask, could the votes of Edwin Clark's extended family alone be enough to make someone a President? Talking about the desperation of Clark and others to demonise the north as if it is the only region responsible for Nigeria's woes, didn't the same north voluntarily relinquish power in 1999 to the south to compensate for Abiola's travails? And when Obasanjo insisted on a second term, didn't the same north suggest a rotation of the Presidency under the PDP to ensure fairness and equity? And when Obasanjo's ignoble life presidency bid fell like a pack of

badly arranged cards in the National Assembly, didn't he insist on installing a sickly Yar'adua and a healthy Jonathan as successor just because he sadistically didn't want the north to enjoy their 8 years after having his own uninterrupted two terms? And when Edwin Clark's brother, Jonathan had an opportunity to write his name in gold, didn't he bulldoze his way back to power as against the PDP zoning formula which he reportedly endorsed a few years earlier while serving as Bayelsa state Deputy Governor? And if a neglible (very tiny) percentage of northerners decide to react to all these cases of injustice, does it mean all northerners are like that? Does it mean we should not all see it as a national problem and find solutions to it instead of blaming northern leaders? If truly the controversial PDP zoning formula is not in the constitution as claimed by the President, is a gentle man agreement too much to respect and obey for the sake of peace? Late President Umaru Yar'adua, found solution to the militancy in the Niger Delta even though the problem had existed for so long and successive leaders failed to do so. So, if Nigerians expect President Jonathan to end the Boko Haram violence and criticise him for the failure in this regard, is it too much to ask for, whether we belive he has played an indirect role in the escalation of the violence or not? If Edwin Clark believes Jonathan should continue in 2015, why can't he tell us if he is sure the country is better off under him in the last one year, and what Nigerians stand to benefit if they elect him again? Come to think of it, why is it that if anybody from outside the South south criticises the President, his kinsmen would react negatively? Olusegun Obasanjo remains Nigeria's most villified President ever, did the Yoruba people defend him in such manner when he was being criticised? Did it happen that way in the days of Abacha or IBB? A supposed elderstatesman like Clark is expected to shun all ethnic grudges and advise our leaders on how to solve the major challenges we are facing. By constantly abusing Jonathan's critics and telling the President (in public fora) to continue ("I am behind you") the way he is governing the country, the old man does the President no Public Relations favour. In fact, by doing so, he exposes him to further attacks.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY JULY 11 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Peoples Page

How I was beaten by soldiers in Aso Rock By A'isha Biola Raji and Iwabi Dubagba Kumo

e c e n t l y , a young man was beaten for trespassing around Aso Villa, this young was also at National Assembly calling the attention of law makers to his ordeal of unemployment. The man who moves around Abuja holding a placard with the words, 'I NEED A JOB' with his qualification and phone numbers also written on the placard, is one case out of many cases of unemployed undergraduates in Nigeria. Abbas Babatunde Rasak is a young energetic man from Oyo state. As a child, his parents enrolled him into an elementary school close to his area at Oniyanpanrin in Ibadan "I hail from Oyo state where as an indigene of Oyo state, I started my primary school at Oniyanpanrin area in Ibadan," he narrated. Young Rasak later proceeded to community grammar school, Ibadan, where he spent six years just like his peers. Like every young man with dreams and aspirations, he was not satisfied with senior secondary school certificate, he forged ahead, and he was able to get admission into Olabisi Onabanjo University at Ago Iwoye. In his word, "two years after my secondary school education I got Diploma admission into University to study Industrial and Labour Relations for two years and I finished with upper credit." With this feat, he immediately secured admission into the same school to study Political Science and Public Administration. "Immediately I got admission to study in the political department of the same school, I set my mind to study hard and since I've always been the struggling type, I contested election at the departmental level to represent political science students at the faculty level," he narrated. With this political exposure, young Rasak also contested and won as the General Secretary of National Association of Political Science Students. He later graduated and served his dear country Nigeria between 2009/2010. He said, "I served in Adamwa state, with a school under State Universal Basic Education, Government Secondary School Danjiwa. Since then, he had been struggling to secure a job with no luck. "When I got back to my state, Oyo state after my service year, I tried to see what I could lay my hands on in form of job but there was nothing for me to do. I submitted my CV to both government and private establishments but all were in vain," he said. He could not even get reabsorbed in the school he was teaching at, after his graduation in 2008 before he went for service. This frustration pushed Rasak

to call his friend who was doing his youth service in Abuja. "I asked my friend about life in Abuja and he told me to come over since he knew that I am the struggling type. He said I should just come over and start something so, I came to Abuja in 2010 and I started moving around," he narrated. Not meeting his expectations, he has been sleeping inside a mosque. "Since I came here, I've not been able to get apartment of my own so I started moving around submitting my CV," he said. Now, Abdulrasak story has taken a dimension, he is now frustrated and on the verge of losing hope in patience that is characterized of Nigerian job seekers. He told our reporter, "I have reached a stage where if I cannot get help, I will help myself so I thought of doing something like this just to go out and let people know what people are really going through." He said there are lots of unemployed graduates like him, those that want government to know what they are passing through. "I am the first born of my family, I have other siblings, my father is a driver and my mother is a palm oil seller in the market, they are both poor and they struggled to give me this education with the hope that one day, I will take them out of this poor background but here I am," he declared. Narrating his recent ordeal, Abdulrasak said, "When I realized I could not continue like that, that I just have to get something doing so that I can help my parents. I wrote on placard that I needed a job, that I am a graduate. I mapped out some strategic areas where people can actually see what am trying to do. He started with this cause in year 2010. In his words, "I started moving around with this placard

for people to see .There are people out there who are ready to help but they don't know who needs the help. Since I started, I've been getting responses, some will park and pray, some will give me something. There was a day I was standing at one junction at Wuse II and some India Nationals driving past saw me, they parked and called me, I went to them, they asked why I was doing this, I explained to them, they asked whether I had eaten and I said no . One of them gave me two thousand naira and their leader gave me his complementary card and asked me to come to their office. I went there; unfortunately it was an NGO which is into water campaign so he said there was no place I could fit into. I told them that I can work as administrative officer, personnel manager as well as monitoring and evaluation officer, pension administration, sales and marketing. He said they will get in touch with me. He later called that the place where they wanted to send me to , the only vacancy there is 'water expert' and as a result of that I could not fit into that position but my CV was in their data base and they were going to get in touch with me but uptil now I have not heard from them. Some other people would come around pray and make promises as well, they also give me their contacts but there was a time in 2011, I was travelling to Ibadan, I had an accident, I lost my phone where all the contacts were kept and ever since that time, I have not been able to reach most of them." This is just a tip of iceberg as concerns his struggle and efforts to secure a job. He said, "There was a day I took my struggle to statehouse, Aso Rock itself, I was

about getting to its main entrance when a soldier called me, I did not know he was there inside the bush, he asked why I was going towards the entrance, I explained to him, he did not want to listen to me, he called others, they started beating me. In fact I still feel pains in my right leg. "I went to that place to let them know that something is happening in this country but four soldiers beat me up instead. They said I don't have justification to be there. One of them used his boot to hit my knee and stood on it, one was dragging the banner and my certificates because any where I go I always go with my certificates. In fact, the beating was because of the banner. "Another instance was when I was invited by the state security

Abbas Babatunde Rasak

services SSS to their head office after being beaten by the soldiers. They said they saw me when I was standing at the National Assembly and they copied my phone number from the banner. (I am very sure that before they called, they must have found out about me probably through my number and got some details about me.) On getting there, I met one Yoruba man, the man questioned me as well, and I told him my qualifications and my background. Fortunately for me, he also hails from Ibadan like me. We talked deep and I gave him my CV. He said that I should not go back to that struggle again, that he was going to get something for me to do. In fact, that day, he wanted to take me to the number one. I accepted I started frequenting there since he promised to help. I waited for almost one month and when I discovered that there was nothing coming out of it, I went back to the streets. I got tired of this too so took to another method; a friend of mine has a car and told me that since I know virtually everywhere in Abuja, that I should use his car for commercial purpose in the meantime before he returns from a journey when he would take back his car. I started driving the car and in a day I used to realise N3000 extra after buying fuel. When my friend came back, he took back his car because of the nature of his job. This idea made me go back to that SSS man to request for money to buy a car, he asked how much I needed and I told him four hundred thousand naira and I will repay him forty thousand naira monthly. He said that he just returned from a journey and he had no money. I kept disturbing him like that and he said he would introduce me to a friend working in the bank but I am still waiting for the promise to be fulfilled," he concluded.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Festivity

Sallah: The end of Ramadan

Group of horsemen and dogarai (body guards) at a Durbar By Augustine Aminu, with online last few days of Ramadan, each Muslim family gives a determined Nigeria.com amount as a donation to the poor. u r i n g the month of This donation is of actual food -- rice, Ramadan, Muslims dates, rice, etc. -to ensure that the observe a strict fast and needy can have a holiday meal and participate in pious activities such participate in the celebration. This as charitable giving and peace- donation is known as sadaqah al-fitr making. It is a time of intense (charity of fast-breaking). On the day of Eid, Muslims spiritual renewal for those who observe it. At the end of Ramadan, gather early in the morning in Muslims throughout the world outdoor locations or mosques to observe a joyous three-day perform the Eid prayer. This consists celebration called Eid al-Fitr (the of a sermon followed by a short congregational prayer. Festival of Fast-Breaking). After the Eid prayer, Muslims Eid el-Fitr falls on the first day of Shawwal, the month which usually visit various families and follows Ramadan in the Islamic friends, give gifts (especially to calendar. It is a time to give in children), and make phone calls to charity to those in need, and distant relatives to give well-wishes celebrate with family and friends for the holiday. These activities the completion of a month of traditionally continue for three days. In most Muslim countries, the blessings and joy. Before the day of Eid, during the entire 3-day period is an official

Young girls pose for a photograph at the Durbar

government/school holiday. In Kano, thousands gather for the Durbar Festival. Kano holds the Durbar festival twice a year during the two Islamic holidays (Eid El Kabir and Eid El Fitr).The popular Durbar Festival of Kano performed during Sallah (Islamic celebration) and special occasions. The spectacular traditional parade of ornately dressed Hausa-Fulani horsemen pays an annual homage to the Emir. The Emir himself would arrive last accompanied by a splendid retinue of eminent Kano men. Groups of horsemen would raced across the square at full gallop with swords drawn but would stop a few

feet from the Emir to salute him. After all the action, the Emir and his chiefs retire to the palace whilst drumming, dancing and singing would continue. The Kano Durbar is normally a procession of highly elaborately dressed horsemen who passed through the city to the Emir’s palace. Once assembled near the palace, groups of horsemen, each group representing a village, took its turn to charge towards the Emir, pulling up just feet in front of the seated dignitaries to pay their respect and allegiance. The procession is a flamboyant display of colours representing the clans. There is the Katukan Kano,

Muslim faithful going for the Eid-el-Fitr prayers

richly dressed horsemen in green, the Barayan Kano would dress in purple, the Harimin Ungogo in blue, Durbin Kano in lilac, Dan Lawal Kano in black combine with white colour while the emir and his household would dress in spotless white. The Emirs’ group would come last to mark the end of the parade. There would be shootings into the air as a mark of celebration. The last and most fierce riders were the Emir’s household and reg-imental guards, the Dogari. After the celebrations, the Emir and his chiefs would retire to the palace, and enjoyment of the occasion reigns. This fanfare is intensified by drumming, dancing and singing, with small bands of Fulanis performing shadi, a fasci-nating sideshow to behold. During the parade, regiments would showcase their horsemanship, their preparedness for war, and their loyalty to the Emirate. Today, Durbar has become a festival celebrated in honour of vis-iting Heads of State and at the culmination of the two great Muslim festivals, Eid-el Fitri (commemorating the end of the holy month of Ramadan) and Eidel Kabir (commemorating Prophet Ibrahim sacrificing a ram instead of his son). Of all the modern day Durbar festivals, Katsina Durbar is the most mag-nificent and spectacular. Eid-el-Kabir, or Sallah Day, in Katsina begins with prayers out-side town, followed by processions of horsemen to the public square in front of the Emir’s palace, where each village group, district, and noble house take their assigned place. Last to arrive is the Emir and his splendid retinue; they take up their place in front of the palace to receive the jahi, or homage, of their subjects.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Weekend

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Cocktail

Customised beads for eye catching outfits

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 18

Relationship

Anger destroys trust

r u s t is one of the most basic requirements for true closeness between people. We might feel connected with those who share our work, history, family ties, community or spiritual practice, but without trust we will not experience the same depth of feeling or intimacy in the relationship. Trust allows us to lower our barriers, to be vulnerable to emotions, to let ourselves be seen as we really are. Trust is not always easy to achieve; it grows slowly as we get to know one another, as we learn to recognize honesty, caring, consistent actions and mutual respect. But just as trust allows us to be close to others, in all kinds of relationships, anger destroys trust and drives a wedge into our connections with others. Anger - whether our own, a partner's, a co-worker's or a friend's - immediately puts others into a defensive mode. Instead of lowering barriers to communication and closeness, it raises them; instead of rewarding vulnerability and emotion, it punishes them. The only thing we "trust" around an angry person is that he or she will get angry again and might hurt us or someone we love, even if the anger is directed outward at the economy or society, for example. After a burst of anger, we often feel regret and we may try to re-establish trust by apologizing and begging for forgiveness. But while apologies are necessary, they are merely a band-aid, not true healing. To heal our trust and to heal our relationships, we must first treat our anger. The time to start is now, before the damage is done. How do I deal to a controlling

partner How you deal with a controlling partner really depends on the amount of inappropriate control that is present in the relationship. Many relationships have an ongoing power struggle running through them. Each partner may be trying to be the dominant partner within the relationship. Experts have thought this power struggle is caused by blurred gender roles in today's society. One way to deal with a controlling partner is to find out the reason he or she is exerting this control. It may be due to the parental examples they were shown as a child. If one parent was seen to be more dominant than the other, this model may become ingrained in the child. As an adult, they may be unconsciously mimicking this type of control. Another possible reason for the behavior of a controlling partner may be found in previous relationships. If a previous relationship ended due to a lack of trust or some form of deceit, this can continue on to the future relationships. A controlling partner may not realise that he/she is being controlled to the extent that it is harmful to the relationship. There are many ways that a controlling partner can exert his or her control. It can take the form of simply phoning the partner continually to check on him or her. It can take the form of verbal abuse and constant arguments. If left unchecked, it can often leads to physical abuse and domestic violence. The first step to take with a controlling partner is to establish communication. Your partner should be aware that this form of control is not acceptable to you. This

should be talked about early in the relationship to enable the controlling partner to realize his or her behavior will not be tolerated. Unfortunately, in many cases the controlling partner will not accept that he or she is behaving in any way out of the ordinary. Previous partners may have accepted this form of behavior; if a controlling partner has not been confronted about his or her behavior before, he or she may not see anything wrong with this type of behavior. When talking about the problem, the controlling partner may become angry and defensive. The anger he or she is showing is also a form of control, as

he or she wants the conversation to stop and not be discussed any further. If he or she is unwilling to discuss the issue, there may be no alternative than to step away from the situation until your partner is willing to discuss it. The problem of controlling behavior within relationships is widespread. A relationship is built on mutual trust and respect. If one partner is trying to control everything that the other partner is doing, it is an unhealthy relationship. The behavior can have consequences in future relationships and, if children are involved, can influence the way they view relationships in their adult life.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 19

Beauty Tips

Over 40? Change your colours

s women age, the old saying of "less is more" is very true. Fine lines and dry skin can cause your old liquid makeup to make you look older than necessary. Improperly applied makeup and poorly chosen colors can and will age you. It's very important to take care of your skin at any age, but if you're over 40 you have some special considerations. If you haven't looked in your makeup drawer for a while you might want to do a makeup checkup. Throw out old make up. If you've had your make up for a

really long time it might have bacteria in it and cause skin infections and break outs. The standard rule of thumb for makeup depends on what kind it is but liquids usually last about six months, lipsticks three months, mascara three months, mineral makeup can last six months or even longer depending on the ingredients. Read the labels and ensure that your products have no change in color, odor or change in consistency. If they do, throw them out. It is easier to replace your makeup than to cover up

6 tricks for gorgeous air dried hair

e r e we bring some working tricks that definitely help you to dry your hair, and give you a supportive look.

Toss the Hair Tie: Whether you're off to a dinner party or just the garden, let your hair down for aBlowzy, just been to the beach look.

nutritious vitamin-rich natural foods as well as what you put on your skin. Using natural skincare is best because there is less chance to use a chemical that can cause breakouts and other skin problems.Skin care is by far more important to your makeup looking good than almost any other factor. Go lighter. When you're over 40 it's better to use more lighter natural looking foundations and shades. In fact, the more naturally you can apply your makeup the younger you will look.

Makeup can enhance your natural beauty when it's light, airy and not harsh. Mineral makeup can help with this lighter natural look. Concealer is your friend. Using a shade of concealer that matches your foundation, which should match your skin tone as perfectly as possible will make you look amazing and get rid of dark circles and even puffiness. Put it on under your foundation, if you use mineral makeup, or after you apply liquid foundation, for the perfect finish.

into a knot. Get a Head Start: To get hair that air dries perfectly, begin in the shower. It is all about conditioning, because the healthier your hair is, the smoother and more complaint your cuticles will be and the less weirdly it will dry. Do a deep conditioning treatment every two weeks, and let it sink in for at least 10 minutes. Post shower, a big dose of leave in conditioner works wonders for wet curly hair. In addition, for fine hair smooth a bit of oil onto dried ends for extra

moisture and shine. Do Ropy Waves: When hair is 80 percent dry, crumple in a salt mist from roots to ends .operational in one to woo inch sections, twirl locks of hair around your finger. If hair is dry, give each section a short burst of hair spray pins, just screw one in at the top of the roll, one up from the base, and boom. While it is still damp. Then, hands of while it is drying this avert frizz. When hair is very dry, flip your head over and shake, you will stand back up to soft, sexy ripples.

blemishes caused by old makeup. Change your colors. If you've been using the same shades for a long time it might be time to change your colors. Styles change but so does your hair color and skin color. What looked good on you twenty years ago might look harsh or garish now. Today you can buy kits that allow for experimentation so don't be afraid to try out new shades. Lots of brands these days offer sample sizes, so if are not sure, order a sample! Skin care first. Taking care of your skin includes eating Snooze on it: At last, a use for those ancient tees stuffed in the back of your drawer: super soft rollers. In French it is called en papillot and it gives you lose curls overnight. To get romantic ringlets, shower at Night and rake a mousse through damp haircut a T-SHIRT into 6 one half inch strips, double them up, and wind big sections of hair around them. Sway each one up like curler, tie the ends in a knot, and hit the sack. In the a.m., untie and tousle. Loosen your ponytail: Permit hair dry fully.(If you're naturally curly, you won't need to add a thing, if your hair's wavy or straight, build in body and niceness with volumizer)Create a deep side part by flinging your hair over to one side, then gather all your hair together and braid away. If it looks, too school girlish, scrunch your fingers into your roots to mess it up a bit and free a few tendrils. Finish with a blast of hair spray. Try the Bun Trick: For a few happy days of flyaway free hair, put wet hair into a bun and let it dry: The bun compresses all the cuticles. Comb a smoothing cream through a wet hair, then coil it up and twist it around itself

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Learning Book Review

By Augustine Aminu

How a Router works

Globe Trekker-Nigeria I

i g e r i a is Africa is most populated country, home to 150 million people, overcrowded and chaotic; it s definitely not on the usual tourist trail. Globe Trekker Adela Ucar boldly goes to the heart of West Africa and discovers Nigeria to be one of the most diverse and exciting travel destinations. Her journey begins in the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest city, Lagos, where she visits the local food and textile market and takes in a rehearsal by Femi Kuti at the New Afrika Shrine. Adela travels on to Lokoja on the banks of the Niger for a glimpse into the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s British colonial legacy and learns about the Biafran war for independence, meeting a veteran of the war at the National War Museum in Umuahia. She makes her way to Calabar to join the celebrations at a traditional Efik tribal wedding, before heading deep into the rainforest to see the endangered drill monkeys of Afi Mountain.

After a short stop in Abuja, she ventures to Kano in the north to meet the Emir at his palace.

Her trip ends with a visit to the magical weeklong desert music festival in Machina.

The other child I f Mr. Peterson did not hide the details of his African background, tradition and beliefs from his son, Frederick might have been playing football and riding bikes like other kids his age do. He wouldn't be more interested in hearing his best friend, Nwakaego, a superstitious Nigerian girl, tell him stories about the Igbos and their culture; exactly the sort of dark magic that angers and disappoints Mr. Peterson. Of all that Frederick thinks he has learnt from Nwakaego, he really knows very little. Like, he should not sing at night because it brings evil spirits into the house, or that it is only acceptable for stuffed animals to think, behave, and talk like humans only when they are on TV, and finally, that if the spirit girl, Ify, offers to teach him how to play football in exchange of possessing him for a minute, she plans never to leave. But, Frederick agrees, considering only that maybe just this once his

father would like him. It is left to Nwakaego, with the help of the spellbreaker Frederick's grandmother, Mama Ofoduli, weaves from Igbo folktales and legends, to

expel the spirit girl before she takes over Frederick completely. And they have to do this before Ify discovers what they are up to and attempts to kill them.

n the past when you referred to a router you were talking about a tool that was used to design and shape wood. The internet has changed that. In its simplest form a router is defined as a device or setup that finds the best route between any two networks. A router is the most important part of a computer network in that it helps data get where

this. You can send an email to someone anywhere in the world and they receive your message in a matter of seconds. You can download a file or surf from web page to web page very easily today. All of this because of routers. An easy way to understand a router is like this. You send a letter to a friend in Australia. They read it and send it back to

today a cable modem is the router. The internet is accessed through the modem directly into a computer. If you have more than one computer you can purchase a router and connect it to the cable modem. The internet is passed through the router and delivered to the computers either through a wire or more commonly today now through

it is supposed to be. When it is given the choice of where to make it's delivery one of the tools a router uses to decide where information should go is a configuration table. A configuration table is a collection of information, including: - Information on which connections lead to particular groups of addresses - Priorities for connections to be used Rules for handling both routine and special cases of traffic The internet is really an unbelievable invention. Think about

you. This might take several days or weeks with snail mail. On the internet routers are the mailman that gets your letter to your friend and then their letter back to you. Routers are very versatile. For example they allow two computers to receive the internet under one IP address simultaneously. An IP address is what allows your computer to connect to the internet. If you have a network of computers a router will allow them to use the Internet with the same access. In many households

wireless technology. Wireless routers allow you to connect computers, portable computers, personal desk assistants, and printers without using wiring. Wireless routers are excellent for connecting notebook computers to the Internet and networks. As you are running more computers on your network you may experience a slight drop in speed, but today many broadband routers are able to deliver the internet without much of a slowdown. You probably will not even notice it.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Healthy Living Red meat could raise risk of cancer 'due to high levels of iron'

e s e a r c h e r s found that susceptibility to bowel cancer was strongly influenced both by iron and a gene called APC Scientists claim high levels of iron may be one reason why eating red meat raises the risk of

bowel cancer. Iron may switch on the disease process via a faulty gene in the gut which would normally resist the disease. Red meat contains large amounts of iron and is also known to increase the likelihood of bowel

cancer. The discovery could lead to new treatments that can 'mop up' iron in the bowel in people who develop cells affected by the defective gene. In studies of mice, researchers found that susceptibility to bowel

cancer was strongly influenced both by iron and a gene called APC. When the APC gene was faulty, mice with a high iron intake were two to three times more likely to develop the disease. Mice fed a low iron diet remained cancer free even if the gene was defective, but when it functioned normally, high iron levels did no harm. Lead scientist Professor Owen Sansom, deputy director of the Cancer Research UK Institute in Glasgow, said 'We've made a huge step in understanding how bowel cancer develops. 'The APC gene is faulty in around eight out of 10 bowel cancers but until now we haven't known how this causes the disease. 'It's clear that iron is playing a critical role in controlling the development of bowel cancer in people with a faulty APC gene. 'And, intriguingly, our study shows that even very high levels of iron in the diet don't cause cancer by itself, but rely on the APC gene.' Each year, more than 41,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with bowel cancer and around 16,000 die from the disease. Previously, researchers have estimated that red meat

contributes to around 17,000 cases of bowel cancer a year. But this estimate was based on two different dietary factors thought to play a part in promoting bowel cancer because a substance called haem, which gives red meat its colour, can damage the lining of the colon, while burning meat produces cancer-causing compounds. The latest laboratory study proposes another mechanism that, if confirmed in people, might help explain why people's risk of bowel cancer increases with age. Over time, cells in the bowel would be increasingly likely to develop APC gene faults and thus react to iron in the diet. Researchers say that when the APC gene doesn't work, iron is allowed to build up in the cells lining the gut. This activates a genetic cancer 'switch' called wnt that causes cells to multiply out of control. But consumption of iron also aids the growth of cells with defective APC over time, says the study published in the journal Cell reports. In mice fed a diet with no iron, cells with a faulty APC gene were killed off and bowel cancer did not develop.

Stomach ulcers: Potatoe juice to the rescue?

t o m a c h ulcers could have handed in their chips - thanks to the humble potato. Scientists at Manchester University have discovered spuds contain unique antibacterial molecules that can treat the condition. Members of the university's microbiology team now hope the substance, dubbed 'potato juice' could go into production as a daily diet supplement. Potatoes contain unique antibacterial molecules that can treat the condition Inspiration came as one of the department's scientists tucked into a spud for Sunday lunch. It led to the discovery of a key molecule which could both cure and prevent the bacteria that lives in the stomach and causes stomach ulcers and heartburn. The discovery is one of many being made by scientists at the university as they try to develop the products and medicines of tomorrow. Uniquely, unlike with antibiotics, the stomach bacteria cannot develop resistance to the 'potato juice' which also does not cause any side-effects. Scientists at the university even carried out the test on

different types of potatoes discovering Maris Piper and King Edward varieties worked the best. The process to extract the as yet unnamed molecule has now been patented, with hopes it could one day be sold as a supplement similar to probiotic yoghurt drinks. Ian Roberts, professor of microbiology at the Faculty of Life Sciences, who worked on the discovery, said: 'One of our scientists was having Sunday lunch when her boyfriend's grandma said they used to use potatoes to cure stomach ulcers. 'Afterwards she went and bought a bag of King Edwards from a shop on Curry Mile and started testing them in the lab. 'When I first heard about the idea of using potatoes to treat stomach ulcers I have to admit I was a bit sceptical. But on another level I wasn't surprised - a lot of botanical products have very interesting compounds and we just have to find them. 'We see this 'potato juice' as a preventative measure to stop stomach ulcers developing that people would take as part of a healthy lifestyle. It could be a huge market if we can get it developed.' The discovery of 'potato juice' is just one of a number of new

medicines and treatments being developed by staff at the University of Manchester's intellectual property department. Staff there seek out companies from across the world to develop the university's inventions. Business manager Dr Sunita

Jones said: 'It is really exciting to see these new discoveries - they cover all areas of science so it really keeps us on our toes. 'As a scientist, the end goal of any work is to put something into the public arena which will benefit people.

'We work to develop all the new technology that comes out of the university, by getting licensing agreements or forming spin-out companies. It's great to see years of research pay off with a new drug or product at the end.' Source: Daily mail

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

rajia39ishabiola@yahoo.com 08082071393.

With Aunty A'isha

Sights and sounds

The lesser hajj ('Umrah)

mong the virtuous acts recommended during Ramadan, is performance of ‘Umrah, the lesser Hajj, for those Muslims who are capable physically and financially first to travel to the House of Allah (Ka’abah) in Makkah, and who can afford the expenses of air fare or bus fare and accommodations. The case for this ‘Umrah rests on the Hadith in which the Messenger of Allah said: “ Performing ‘Umrah in the month of Ramadan equals performing Hajj’’ This hadith indicates the merits of ‘Umrah in Ramadan. It does not specify whether ‘Umrah is performed in the beginning of the month or in the last ten days of Ramadan. There is a popular belief that this ‘Umrah should be on the 27th of Ramadan, the Night of Power. This results in a traffic jam on that date in the grand Masjid, with thousands of visitors around the world wanting to make `Umrah on that night. As explained in the section on the Night of Power, the recommended act on the Night of Power is not ‘Umrah, it is Tahajjud (nightly prayer). After all, no one is certain that the 27th is the Night of Power. Indeed, for those who can afford it and may have made Hajj, ‘Umrah in Makkah during Ramadan is a lifetime experience that no one should miss. Words cannot describe the exhilarating feeling of Iftar (fast breaking, nightly

prayer, and Taraweeh) in the Holy Land with other pilgrims. Umrah Practice The pilgrim (mu’tamir), sometimes referred to as a ‘Haji’, performs a series of ritual acts symbolic of the lives of the prophet Abraham (Ibrahim) and his handmaiden Hagar (Hajar), and of solidarity with Muslims worldwide. These acts of faith are: ·Perform a tawaf, which consists of circling the Kaaba seven times in a counterclockwise direction. Men are encouraged to do this three times at a hurried pace, followed by four times, more closely, at a leisurely pace. ·Perform a sa’i, which means rapidly walking seven times back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwah. This is a reenactment of Hagar’s frantic search for water. The baby (Ismael) cried and hit the ground with his foot (some versions of the story say that an angel scraped his foot or the tip of his wing along the ground), and water miraculously sprang forth. This source of water is today called the Well of Zamzam. ·Perform a halq or taqsir, meaning a cutting of the hair. A taqsir is a partial shortening of the hair, whereas a halq is a complete shave of the head, except for women, as they cut a little amount of hair instead. These rituals complete the Umrah, and the pilgrim can choose to go out of ihram.

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SHOR T ST OR Y SHORT STOR ORY

The Selfish Man

nce upon a time, there was a selfish man. He liked everything to be his own. He could not share his belongings with anyone, not even his friends or the poor. One day, the man lost thirty gold coins. He went to his friend’s house and told him how he lost his gold coins. His friend was a kind man. As his friend’s daughter was coming from an errand she found thirty gold coins, when she arrived home, she told her father what she had found. The girl’s father told her that the gold coins belong to his friend and he sent for him. When the selfish man arrived, he told him how his daughter had found his thirty gold coins and handed then to him. After counting the gold coins the man said that ten of them was missing and had been taken by the girl as he had forty gold coins. He further commented that he will recover the remaining amount from him. But the girl’s father refused.

LYRICS OF THE WEEK Ramadan

By Nancy Stewart copyright 2001 I have a friend, his name is Omar His family celebrates Ramadan The ninth month of the lunar year His family celebrates Ramadan Chorus: Ramadan, Ramadan His family celebrates Ramadan Every morning they get up And have a big meal before the light Then they don’t eat, and they don’t drink, They fast until the dark of night (chorus) I have a friend, her name is Ameena Her family celebrates Ramadan We go to school together and play, Ameena prays five times a day (chorus) On the first day of the month that follows Ramadan Their families invite us to the feast that they put on Celebrating (chorus) Ramadan Mubarak (have a blessed Ramadan) Ramadan

The man left the gold coins and went to the court and informed the judge there about what had taken place between him and the girl’s father. The judge sent for the girl and her father, and when they arrived asked the girl how many gold coins did she find. She replied thirty gold coins. The Judge that asked the selfish man how many gold coins did he lose and he answered forty gold coins. The judge then told the man that the gold coins did not belong to him because the girl

found thirty and not forty as he claimed to have lost and then told the girl to take the gold coins and that if anybody is looking for them he will send for the girl. The judge told the man that if anybody reports that they have found forty gold coins he will send for him. It was then that the man confessed that he lied and that he lost thirty gold coins but the judge did not listen to him. This story teaches us to be always honest as dishonest never pays

HIS & HERS CORNER

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 22

With Aunty A'isha

rajia39ishabiola@yahoo.com 08082071393.

AFRICAN TALES

MODEL OF THE WEEK

Aladdin and the magic lamp

ong time ago in China, there lived a poor boy, whose name was Aladdin. Aladdin lived with his mother. One day a rich and distinguished looking man came to their house and said to Aladdin’s mother, “I am a merchant from Arabia and want your son to come with me. I will reward him handsomely.” Aladdin’s mother instantly agreed. Little did she know that the man pretending to be a rich merchant was a magician. Next day, Aladdin having packed his belongings left with the ‘merchant’. After many hours of traveling the ‘merchant’ stopped. Aladdin too stopped, surprised that they should stop in such a deserted place. He looked around; there

was nothing in sight for miles. The ‘merchant’ pulled out some colored powder from his pocket and threw in the ground. The next instant the whole place was filled with smoke. As the smoke cleared, Aladdin saw a huge opening in the ground; it was a cave. The ‘merchant’ turned to Aladdin and said, “I want you to go inside this cave; there will be more gold than you have ever seen; take as much as you want. You will also see an old lamp; please bring that back to me. Here, take this ring; it will help you.” Aladdin was very suspicious but the decided to do as was told. He lowered himself into the cave, thinking all the while that it would be difficult to

climb out without help. Aladdin entered the cave and just like the ‘merchant’ had said saw gold, jewelry, diamonds and other valuables. He filled his pockets. When this was done, he looked for the lamp; it was lying in the corner, full of dust and dirty. He picked it up and ran to the cave’s opening and shouted to the ‘merchant’, “I have your lamp. Can you please pull me out?” “Give me the lamp,” said the ‘merchant’. Aladdin was not sure that he would be pulled out if he gave back the lamp; so he said, “First, please pull me out.” This angered the ‘merchant’. With a loud cry, he pulled out the same colorful powder and threw it on the cave opening, sealing it with a huge boulder. Aladdin was depressed. He thought, “That was no rich merchant; he was surely a magician. I wonder why this lamp was so important to him.” As he was thinking he rubbed the lamp. All of sudden a strange mist filled the room and from the mist emerged a strange looking man. He said, “My master, I am the genie of the lamp, you have rescued me; what would your wish be?” Aladdin was scared but he said in quivering voice, “Ta.. Take me back home.” And the next moment Aladdin was home hugging his mother. He told her of the magician and the lamp. Aladdin again summoned the genie. This time when the genie appeared he was not scared. He said, “Genie, I want a palace, not an old hut.” Again to Aladdin and his mother’s amazement in front of them was a magnificent palace… (To be continued)

CREA TIVITY CREATIVITY

Button Beaded Bracelet

his adorable little bracelet is fun for all ages. Using various buttons and bead to form a pretty pattern, you can wear it with lots of outfits. If you sew, you can use the same buttons from a new outfit to put in the bracelet! What you need: ·A collection of buttons and beads that match up nicely together ·Clean white towel for laying out beads ·Jewelry string ·Crimping beads ·End closures ·Spring clips ·Needle-nose pliers What to do: Lay out the beads and buttons in an attractive pattern. Cut approximately 16 inches of jewelry string. Securing one end of the

jewelry string with a spring clip, string beads and buttons (See photo.) onto string, leaving room at each end for adding end closures (about four inches on each side) with the buttons. Simply come up from the bottom on one side and go down through the other side. Adding the closures: String a crimping bead onto one end of jewelry string, string one half

of the closure, and then bend the wire, coming back down the opposite way, through the crimping bead. Have an adult crimp it tightly with the needlenose pliers. Secure the other half of the closure on the other side, using the same method. This should create a nice, snug clasp. Snip off excess string from each end. Tips: ·As you string on the buttons and beats, you may notice a fun up and down effect. This happens because of the unique way the buttons are placed. ·Test the length before adding closures. You may find that you need to adjust the size, and that is much easier to do before the end pieces are in place! ·Use good lighting, as the pieces of the project are small. By Mia Cronan

Fathiat Oladipo Hurray! Fathiat Oladipo is ten years old today, happy birthday and many happy returns

ACTIVITIES Name and colour the image below think of how you can plant and nurture it to grow. It is fun to get your hands dirty doing this. Cheers!

PAGE 24

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Kannywood

PAGE 25

Nollywood

Entertainment

KASAGI was meant to stem rural-urban drift Alhaji Umaru Danjuma Katsina, alias Kasagi, is a popular playwright based in Katsina state. Kasagi has participated in many national and international cultural events. He is also a writer who authored a number of books, popular among them, kulba na barna. In this interview with our Katsina correspondent, Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Kasagi talked about his life, and life in the theatre. Sir, tell us your life history was born on 10th April 1948 at Kofar Soro quarters Katsina. I went to Qur’anic primary school before going to a primary school. In 1960 I was enrolled into primary one. In 1966 I passed the common entrance examination and got admission into provincial secondary school, Katsina which is now Government College, Katsina. From 1966 to 1972 I completed my secondary school education I had a delay in between because of some health challenges that I faced then. In 1973, I joined the services of the north-central state ministry of information and after about six months I was posted to the newly established north-central state arts council. How were you discovered as an artist? Actually that was where my artistic talents were discovered. When I was with the arts council I use to write plays for the radio and Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) then NTV. I remembered that I ran a series on Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) the then controller of the Kaduna zone was Mrs. Afeniki Hamman. I ran the ‘ilimi gishirin zaman duniya’ programme that was when the Gowon government wanted to introduce free primary school education in the country. After three years, in 1975 to be precise I got admission into the London College of Film, Television and Theatre arts. So I went to London, where I studied motion pictures, television and theatre arts and finally specialised on screen play and directing. When I was in London Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria opened a centre for cultural studies and they were looking for talents from the north so they came to London and recruited me. When I returned from London I joined the services of ABU, Zaria centre for Nigerian Cultural Studies. What was your role at the centre? We used to produce plays, musicals, concerts and also conducted research on Hausa drama development in the North. About 50 per cent of my life was spent in the production of plays, theatre, television, stage, etc. I retired in 1992 and came back to Katsina where I established my own theatre called ‘gidan hira’. I built it with my own money, with bank facilities, unfortunately it faced opposition from the Ulamas

Kasagi and members of his group performing in a theatre in Sophia, Bulgaria in 1982.

Alhaji Umaru Danjuma Katsina Kasagi and we closed it down. I’m now a consultant on screen play, directing, etc. I have personally performed in many theatres around the world like the royal shakespears theatre in London, theatre of the nation in Sophia Bulgaria etc. I also taught Hausa complex drama at ABU, Zaria. Kasagi was popular on television and radio in Kaduna in the 70s. How did you get the name? Kasagi programme, was initiated by the Shagari administration with the aim to discourage rural dwellers from migrating to the urban centres because of the problems they were encountering then. It was intended to tell them to stay at home as the government was ready to bring development to them at the grassroots. I was in London when this idea came-up, the NTA knew my flight schedule so it arrenged to meet me at the Airport in Kano. I remembered that the Late Aminu

Baba-Ahmad was there to meet me and he told me that they had something in the offing and they believed I was competent to handle it. They whisked me away to Kaduna before I could even see my family in Katsina. There was also Malam Bello Sule, who was director programmes of the NTA . Bello Sule started the pilot copy to guide me and we ran 1,2,3 episodes then he said I could take over. I took over the programme and it ran for about five to six years on NTA, Kaduna. You were in television drama for long. Who were your contemporaries?

There were Kasimi Yero, Samanja, Malam Mamman Dan Haki from Kano, Alkali Kuliya Manta Sabo and Karkuzu from NTA, Jos. There is also Peter Badejo of the ABU, Zaria Centre for Cultural Studies, who is now based in England where he has formed his theatre and was Knighted by the Queen of England. Is it true that you are also an author? When I was in secondary school I watched many plays and events and you know that to be a good writer you need to be very observant, have good command of

language and vocabularies. So when I was in secondary school I use to visit girls schools a lot and I observed that there were no laws restricting us and people could go to a girls’ school anytime they liked. So I nursed the idea of writing something about it and the opportunity came when I started working with the National Arts Council, where I was encouraged to write. When Gowon introduced the free universal basic education, I said I had to fight certain bad and immoral practices through writing. That was what motivated me to write ‘KULBA NA BARNA’ it was serialized on Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation and televised. It was also filmed by the Nigeria Film Corporation and the Ahmadu Bello University Consultancy services. The film won an international award in the African Countries film festival in Milan in 1993, and currently ‘Kulba na Barna’ in being translated in Arabic, German and French, and recently I discovered that ‘Kulba na Barna’ is being shown in New-Zealand. Were you involved in the shows abroad? No I was not part of the show you know what they did was to pick the book and convert it into a film. I have no more control over it; the control is with my publishers. I was only with the director of the film Mr. Brandan Shehu as a consulting director. He was only consulting when he was shooting the film as a Finland feature film. It is said that the film won many national and international awards? When I heard that too I contacted the director of the film, who is the

former managing director of the Nigeria Film Corporation and he confirmed to me that the film got an International award in Milan Italy, Germany, Burkina Faso, France and Korea. But I don’t know anything about it. Did you gain any royalty as author of ‘kulba na barna’ it was only when the Nigeria Film Corporation and ABU, Zaria decided to pick the book to make it a feature film that I got N300, 000. Apart from that every year I get about N30, 000 or N40, 000 as royalties. But when I browsed through the internet I checked the amazonbook.com and realised they were selling these books in dollars. The two books I wrote, ‘KULBA NA BARNA’ which in English means ‘Blaming the Innocent’ and ‘AI GA IRINTA NAN’ which translated as ‘A Regrettable Action’. These are not the only two books I wrote but they are the master piece. I wrote one, ‘The Circle of Confusion’ which is on military take-over. How do you compare books and films produced by contemporary artist with what obtained during your time? It is not proper for government to say it will not intervene in certain businesses and leave them to the citizens to do what they like with them. The film industry in Northern Nigeria, and the country at large, should be controlled totally by the government. Artists nowadays just carry cameras and shoot without studying the culture and traditions of the people. You must know this before going into film production. That is why you see that most directors of these new films only know the technical aspects of the camera they don’t know anything about the culture and tradition of the target people. . I believe that if the centre for Nigerian Cultural Studies still existed you will never find these kinds of pictures on our screen. There

was a section which we used to train such people; you would learn archeology, musicology, performing arts, introduction to theatre, film making and photography, etc. It was a nine month certificate course and I’m sure anybody who passed through such courses will know what he is doing. But most of these boys they don’t go to either film or television schools and they never worked in a television studio, they are not even artists they are made artists only on the spot. With all your contributions to theatre and drama have you ever received any award? I remember the first person to give me an award was the emir of Gumel in Jigawa State, the ‘LAUTAI’award in 1994 and other organisations in Nigeria, and last year the Katsina government gave me the highest award that is the award for excellence for dedicating my life to theatre for more than four decades. I thank all those who cared and appreciated my little contributions to the society. For national awards, I was not given because it is not me they want. They prefer politicians. When you were growing up in Katsina, who were your friends? Late President Umaru Musa ‘Yar’adua was my childhood friend. We used to play football together in front of their house. He went to ABU, Zaria after finishing school and I went to Kaduna. When I returned from London he was then teaching at the College of Arts, Science and Technology Zaria and I was with the Nigerian Centre for Cultural Studies, Zaria. At that time we spent most of the night together whenever we were around. How can we use drama to fight the challenges facing Nigeria? The problem is so much in the north where arts is not respected. In

the southern part they have theatres and it contributes to their socio-economic development. But here in the north maybe because of our culture we are not into this. But we need these artistic skills to protect our religion and culture. We say we reject arts yet we have satellite dishes in our homes where we have no control on what our wives and children watch. The neglect is with the government when I was in Japan; every village had a youth theatre with the youth of the area performing to promote their culture. Any policy or programme of government can be passed through these theatres. Go to each local government, recruit 100 boys give them N100,000 subvention monthly ask them to produce dramas on HIV/AIDS, POLIO etc. With this they would be encouraged to be self reliant. Now if the government says people like you should return to the theatre would you accept the offer? Which government? Today’s governments have no interest in arts but if this government feels we have contributions to make, we will accept. But the whole programming at the NTA and state television stations must change. The centralization of drama episodes was wrong, stations must be allowed to produce their drama episodes suitable to their environment. If the NTA cannot reach the people because it is National TV, the state television should have special focus on drama. Lastly tell us about your family I have two wives and twelve children, three of them, Hadiza, Amina and Safina are all lawyers while the rest are still in school. So far none of them has shown interest in theater or disposition of taking after me.

We need to improve the picture quality of our movies — Funke

he very sexy and one of the most highly talented star actress of Nigerian film Industry, popularly known as Nollywood worldwide, Funke Akindele-Oloyede aka JENIFA spoke recently on her fashion & style sense, on how she really admire Hollywood’s Taraji P Henson, the respect she had for her colleagues, how she’s a big fan of Genevieve Nnaji, and mostly, also speaks on what most people don’t know about her .excerpt. Why was Jenifer such a huge success? It was just realistic and true. What is Nollywood not doing right? I am also guilty. We need to improve the picture quality of our movies, including sound and other

aaas

Jim Iyke and J-Martins Win Cameroon Entertainment Awards

ollywood bad boy actor, Jim Iyke and Nigerian singer, J-Martins were rewarded for hard work and excellence at the first Cameroon Entertainment Awards held recently in Washington DC, USA. The award ceremony was held at the prestigious Cramton Auditorium in Washington DC, USA precisely on July 28, 2012. The event saw the convergence of top Cameroonian entertainment stakeholders in attendance. Jim Iyke won the Pan African Actor of the Year Award in that category while J-Martins won the People’s Choice Award. The singer was present at the event to receive the award.

Joseph Benjamin and Nse Ikpe Etim Star in Award Winning Movie, ‘Mr. and Mrs.’

Nse Ikpe Etim

t last, Chinwe Egwuagu’s award winning movie, MR & MRS is out on DVD, today 9th of August 2012. It will be available in all major shops in Ghana soonest. MR & MRS was in high demand during it’s time at the cinemas, sells more than N3million in it’s first week. And is one of the best African movies of 2012 with over 15 nominations & 8 major awards. The blockbuster Nollywood movie features actor Joseph Benjamin and actress Nse IkpeEtim,Produced by Chinwe Egwuagu and directed by

technical issues. We should also have enough content and good stories. What is your fashion and style sense? I am very simple; I just wear my flat shoes and be comfortable in whatever I put on. But no thanks to my stylist who says beauty is pain and all that, so I have to be a bit stylish and glamorous for the red carpet. What is your best movie? All Tyler Perry movies, but I love I Can Do Bad All By Myself a lot because I really admire Taraji P Henson the actress; she’s a strong actress. Then for Nigerian movies, I think its Cry Me Heaven with Jim Iyke and Kate Henshaw. Which actor will you want to

Ikechukwu Onyeka. Synopsis: ‘Mr and Mrs’ tells the story of two couples whose marriages are constantly threatened by economic and social divisions in the society they find themselves. Kenneth (played by Benjamin) is young man who is ashamed of his wife’s (Ikpe-Etim) background and then decides to confine her to the kitchen, a place he strongly believes she belongs. The movie similarly zones in on another couple Linda (Thelma Ojiji) and Charles (Paul Apel) who seemingly have a perfect marriage until Linda begins to take her husband for granted because she takes care of all the bills in the home.

Joseph Benjamin

be paired with? Internationally, that would be Taraji P Henson and Whoopi Goldberg. Then for Nigeria, I love all my colleagues but I will like Genevieve Nnaji. I love her so much. I bow my head to Kate Henshaw, Rita Dominic, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde because they’ve been there and are still there. What most people don’t know about you? I am very soft hearted. I may appear tough, but deep down; I’m very quick to say ‘sorry’, even when I’m not at fault. What would you be outside the movie industry? I would be a dancer. I love dancing.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Hollywood/Bollywood Elton John intensifies feud with Madonna, says she is 'fairground stripper'

l t o n John may have sang that Saturday night is alright for fighting, but when it comes to Madonna, Sunday suited him, too. After taking swipes at the Material Girl on a few occasions over the years, the "Tiny Dancer" singer leveled his most bitter blow at her in an August 5 interview with Australia's Channel 7, during which he gave his thoughts on the 53year-old's MDNA tour, which has been rife with controversy (Madonna flashing the crowd and using a gun as a prop) and low with ticket sales. "She's such a nightmare," said John, 65. "Her career is over, I can tell you that. Her tour has been a disaster". If Madonna had any common sense, she would have made a record like Ray of Light,

John stayed away from the dance stuff, and just been a great pop singer and made great pop records, which she does brilliantly. But no, she had to prove that she was like â&#x20AC;Ś and she looks like a fairground stripper. And she's been so horrible to [Lady] Gaga," he added about his friend, who also happens to be his 19-monthold son Zachary's

Madonna godmother. The feud between Madonna and John first began in 2004 when he accused her of lip synching during her live performances. Then this past January, when both were nominated for Best Original Song at the Golden Globes, they traded barbs on the red carpet about their competition.

Raaz 3: Bipasha scared of her own laughter

i p a s h a finds her own laughter spooky! The very bold and beautiful Bipasha Basu, despite looking all strong and brave, reveals that she has her fears and gets scared often. The actress also disclosed that shooting for Raaz 3 scared the hell out of her and that she couldn't get over the terrifying feeling even after the shooting. "In 'Raaz 3 ', I laugh in a certain way. Even when I watch a comedy movie, I don't laugh aloud because I am so scared of my own laughter," Bipasha has said. The actress was speaking during the launch of the first look of "Raaz 3 "I am a big sissy, I don't look like one but I am. When I was narrating the script of the first 'Raaz', the chair I was sitting on slid back and I

fell, I was so scared. Even while shooting for 'Raaz' I was quite scared," she further added. Bipasha Basu is over whelmed at getting back to the Bhatt camp after several years. The last time she worked with the Bhatts

was in 2002, in the movie "Raaz". "My experience has been great in this film because I have made a come back. It's the team of my second film. It's very dear to me. It's after 10 years that we all have got together," said Bipasha.

Rob Kardashian announces Emraan Hashmi has no friends plans to attend Law School

Kardashian

o b Kardashian is following in his late father's footsteps, by pursuing a career in law. "Going to Law School very soon and so excited and can't wait," the "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" star, 25, has Tweeted "School just never ends for me!"he says. Rob referenced the University of Southern California (USC) in his Tweet, but USC Tweeted he's not headed their way. "Rob Kardashian hasn't

m r a a n Hashmi is said not to have friends in Bollywood. He is definitely one of the most successful actors in the industry and has worked with many actors. Then why doesn't he have friends? Well, the actor himself disclosed the reason. Emraan says, he believes in straight talking and doesn't like to carry on the rapport he shares with his co-stars outside movie sets.

even applied to USC Law," USC's Gould School of Law Tweeted. Rob did graduate from USC's Marshall School of Business in 2009. The reality star's father - Robert Kardashian - was famously a member of the O.J. Simpson defense team in 1995. Robert is also the father of Rob's sisters, Kim, Kourtney and Khloe. The senior Kardashian died of esophageal cancer in 2003. He was 59.

Emraan Hashmi is alsoquoted as saying, "If you want stable and solid friendships, then it is better to look for them outside the industry." The actor is rarely seen in movie parties and social gatherings. He also speaks about the "serial kisser" tag attached to his name. Making a strong point, Emraan says, nowadays, kissing on screen is pretty normal and almost every Bollywood actor does it.

2012: Bollywood top 10 Kristen Stewart returns to the screen in racy role after cheating scandal

otoriouslyprivate actress Kristen Stewart would probably like to disappear about now. The 22year-old "Twilight" star wouldn't publicly acknowledge a romantic relationship with

co-star Robert Pattinson for the longest time - even though everyone knew it was going on! Then last month, she was caught cheating on Pattinson with her married "Snow White and the Huntsman" director Rupert Sanders in paparazzi

photos, which led to her making an uncharacteristically candid statement apologizing for her indiscretions. Unfortunately for KStew, there's not much time for her to hide out. Even before "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" hits theaters on November 16 and all the red carpets (and run-ins with Pattinson!) that come with that, Stewart's returning to the spotlight in a racy role. She plays Marylou, the 16-year-old bride of one of the two men on a long-distance adventure in the big-screen version of Jack Kerouac's iconic novel On the Road. A new trailer shows Stewart's character dancing with her on-screen husband, "TRON: Legacy's" Garrett Hedlund, and looking sultry.

Salman Khan Salman Khan is the 1st most popular actor in the Bollywood. He is called the RajniKant of Bollywood. He performs very well in action films and has great talent. He has performed in the blockbuster film, Bodygaurd and Ready in the last year. Nargis Fakhri Nargis Fakhri was born in Queens, New York, USA.

Nargis Fakhri is a half Czech- half Pakistani model. New York-based Nargis was introduced in the 2009 Kingfisher swimsuit calendar. She was a contestant on third cycle of America's Next Top Model. She appeared with Ranbir Kapoor in her rocking movie, 'Rockstar (2011)' in this movie she plays an effective, rocking role and

performing amazingly well. Anushka Sharma Anushka sharma, good looking, effective performer, a good dancer and a highly skilled actress, she made her top 10 position in Bollywood industry with her amazing performance in a film 'Band baja baaraat', and 'Ladies and Ricky Bahal' which also brought her to limelight.

Anushka Sharma

Salman Khan

Nargis Fakhri

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 27

Homes

Don't just 'pick-up' the toilet

a t h r o o m s need to be cleaned often. And unlike other rooms in your home, they cannot be just "picked up" and still be considered clean. This cleanup guide allows you to maintain the cleanliness of the bathroom without spending hours scrubbing and disinfecting. Equipment needed: -Gloves -Sponge or scrubber -Toilet brush -Cleaning product A note on cleaning products: Some people insist that Vinegar alone is enough to clean every part of the toilet. And though I don't do this, my grandmother did, and many readers do. It's less toxic and the vinegar will help dissolve mineral deposits in the bowl. No matter what cleaning agent you choose, make sure it's one that is antibacterial. You'll need something for the outside of the toilet and something for the bowl. 1. Start with the bowl. Most toilet bowl cleaners have a curved neck so that you can squirt the soap up under the rim and let it drip down. (I like to start here so that the soap has some time to sit on the part of the bowl that isn't under water and soften anything that has hardened there.) Use the toilet brush to scrub the whole bowl, making sure that you get the rim and deep into the bottom. Don't flush, just let the soap sit for the next couple of steps. 2. Close the lid. 3. Spray the outside. Using whatever cleaner you've decided on, spray down the outside of the toilet and start wiping down with your sponge, rinsing often using the bathroom sink, scrubbing where necessary and not forgetting the back of the toilet or that bottom part that collects all the hairs and dust. 4. The rim. Now you're ready for the rim, which is by far the grossest part of the process and one made infinitely worse if you live with men with poor toilet manners. Lift the lid, spray the

Soap case, brush stand

Clean toilet with rubber gloves

cleanser and wipe. Don't forget to do the underside of the toilet seat. This can be a nasty surprise. 5. The bowl finale. Get the toilet brush and give the bowl another scrubbing using the soap that's already been sitting there. Flush. Make sure to rinse the toilet brush as you're flushing (you may need to flush more than once). Hopefully the bowl is clean now. But if it isn't, scrub away. 6. Clean and maintain. Now your toilet is clean. You can keep it this way longer if you practice some daily maintenance. I like keeping soapy water in with the toilet brush so that you can just swish it in the bowl every day to keep the gross from building up. You can also use wipes or a sponge to wipe down the top of the toilet every day or every couple of days. If you do these things you can avoid a major overhaul.

Waste basket

Toilet accessories

Toilet paper holder

PAGE 28

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11— SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Cuisine

Pots & Pans

With Hajiya Ramatu Usman Dorayi

Dates meals to celebrate Sallah

Dates bread Ingredients: " 1 cup boiling water " 8 ounces chopped dates (dabino) " 2 tablespoons butter " 3/4 cup granulated sugar " 1/4 cup brown sugar " 1 large egg " 2 1/4 cups flour, stir before measuring " 1 tablespoon baking powder " 1/2 teaspoon salt " 1/2 cup chopped groundnuts Preparation: Grease a 9x5x3-inch bread pan. Pour boiling water over the dates in a medium bowl; add butter and set aside. With mixer, beat sugars and egg until light. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the sugar mixture, alternating with the date and water mixture. Stir in chopped groundnuts. Bake at 325° for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center of the pan comes out clean.

Dates or what is referred to as dabino in Hausa, is a sweet fruit from the Date Palm with scientific name of Phoenix dactylifera. It is an everyday sweets or nuts but largely eaten during the Ramadan for breaking of fast. However, meals made from dates like bread, date shakes are a delicious.

Dates snacks Ingredients: Fried groundnuts- 250 grams Raw rice- 500 grams Dates- 1 cup, remove seeds Sugar Rice flour-5 spoons Method: Soak raw rice for 2 hours. Drain the water completely and then dry, grind raw rice. Sift and then again grind the coarse particles until it is smooth or fine. Grind groundnut into powder.

Dates milkshake

Then grind sugar with rice flour. Grind Dates separately and keep aside. Finally grind all the ground ingredients together. It may be a little difficult to grind all the ingredients together but you really need to do this if you like dates snacks. If you've a mortar its better to pound all the ingredients together in a mortar. Roll in your palms, small balls and then coat it with rice flour.

Ingredients: 1/4 cup dates - remove seeds and chop 2 tbsp sugar 720 ml milk 1 cup crushed ice Method: Blend the dates and 1/2 cup of milk together in a blender. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend at high speed and serve.

Ginger chicken Ingredients: Cooked & shredded chicken Dried Mushrooms (optional). 1 big Chopped onion Chicken stock ¼ ltr. Soya sauce ¾ cup Fresh ginger, you can also use powdered ginger Garlic Vinegar 4 tbsp. Sugar 1 tsp. Corn flour 1 tbsp. Tomato puree 1tsp. Pepper and salt to taste Method: 1. Put the soya sauce, onion, ginger, garlic, vinegar, sugar,

tomato puree, salt and pepper in a saucepan. 2. Boil for about 2 minutes. 3. Soak the dried mushrooms in warm water for 30 mins. Drain, rinse and cut into thin slices. 4. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the shredded chicken. Cook for 3-4 minutes. 5. Add the stock and the Soya sauce mixture, together with the corn flour, to the chicken. 6. Add the mushrooms and cook till sauce thickens slightly. 7. Serve hot.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Womanhood

10 ways to deal with an irritating boss Show it through work The very first and most important way of making your boss stop yelling is by showing it through your work. You know what, ladies are bestowed with this supernatural power of multi-tasking and dishing out impeccable work. Summon this power of yours and put it to good use. When you show your boss that there is nothing to complain about, then he/she will be left with no choice but to shut up. Boost your self-confidence If it's in your boss' nature to irritate subordinates, nothing can be done about it. He/she will use every chance to put you down, sometimes in person, sometimes in public. No matter what happens, always make sure you never lose your selfconfidence. If you think that you are drowning, learn new ways to boost your self-confidence. Talk to your hubby, ask him to boost your morale or simpler, meditate. Focus on your positive energies and there can be nothing in the world that can stop you. Trust yourself An annoying boss is all about complaints, queries and pointing out mistakes. In order to avoid all of this, you must first learn to trust yourself. If he/she cross-questions you about your work, be confident enough to answer. Tell to yourself, 'I've given my 100% and I generally don't go wrong'. Many a times, bosses have this habit of proving you wrong and if you are gullible, you end up accepting what they say. At such times, your conviction will come to your rescue and conviction comes through self-belief. Think of your achievements Whenever you feel let down or your boss makes you feel so, instead of sulking, think of your achievements in the past. Tell yourself, "If I could do it then, I can do it even now". The most successful people have had to endure a life of hardships. Who knows, these experiences might carve a successful person out of you! So, think of the hardships that you've had to face in the past and ask yourself to face the present with firmness. Avoid arguments You must have heard it many a times from your colleagues, 'The boss is always right'. Well, even the boss thinks so. But, I'm not telling you to do the same. Think laterally about this. If your boss begins an argument with an assumption

A stressful lifestyle, hectic schedule and demanding career is a lethal combination for every woman these days. To top it, if you have to encounter an irritating boss every single day, you are sure of the fact that life is turning into hell. It's like dying day in day out, managing home, kids, husband and rushing to the office to say 'Good Morning' to a nagging boss, who deserves nothing but one, big tight slap! Do you experience the same, lady? In that case, you must read these top 10 ways to deal with a nagging boss.

that he/she will have his/her say in the end, there's no point arguing. No matter how silly or illogical the proposition is, do not argue or show your talent. When the instruction falls into the pit, you can always say that you just followed what you were expected to! Ask for advice By asking for advice, I mean ask your boss for advice! When your boss disapproves some work of yours or your work pattern, then you must, too politely, ask for suggestions. Ask him/her to explain in detail how he/she wants work to be done. If your way is wrong, you'd get the right direction. But, if your boss is wrong, he/she'll realize his mistake while explaining stuff to you. Shake hands with sarcasm No matter how smart and how dumb, there can be no boss in the world who cannot understand the language of sarcasm. Hence, you must shake hands with sarcasm. Convey your spite in the most hilarious tone. You'd realize with time that you are able to vent out your

frustration without being outright contemptuous. Smart move, right? Never give your boss a chance Bosses usually have this tendency to exploit your Achilles' heel and blame you for every wrong doing. In order to avoid such things, you must make sure you never give your boss a chance. I've known many a women in my neighborhood who crib before their boss about their son's nanny not showing up for a day, which makes them take a leave or concentrate less on their work. In such cases, there are chances that your boss may attribute your failure to perform to your constant preoccupation with your personal life. Learn to counter attack Many a times, it happens that your boss is as dumb as a stick. But, when a project works out fine, he/she is smart enough to take all the credit for the effort that you've put in. This leaves you devastated, affects your quality of work and gives your boss a chance to take up your case. To avoid this in the future,

learn to counter attack. Whenever a new project begins, make sure you enlighten your

boss about everything that is happening through e-mails. While you mark a mail to your boss, cc it to a senior colleague or your boss' senior just to ensure that everyone is kept in the loop. Who knows, during the next project, you might get all the credit for your work and appreciation from your boss' boss! Quit the job This is the last thing that I'd suggest because I don't believe in quitting the battle like a coward. But, it happens at times, that it's just not possible to tolerate the boss anymore. In that case, you may choose to quit the job. But, listen to what I say. Make sure, you find a better or a suitable job. Do not forget that you might have to experience a similar tendency when you change the workplace. So it's best to part ways on a happy note. You must make your boss realize that he/ she would be losing a wonderful employee. An irritating boss is truly a pain in the neck. To add to this, if your boss turns out to be a male chauvinist, it's even more difficult. But, the only mantra that I'd suggest is never leave hope. Try every possible way to come to terms with it for you have to pave the way for your own successful career. Perhaps, post 10 years, you'd realize that it was because you had such a boss that you learnt to tackle the toughest of situations! All the best!

PAGE 30

Archives

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Do you have old pictures for memories? Send them to julius2001_a@yahoo.com

Nigeria's UK Tourist team of 1949 with Thunder Balogun standing far left

The Emir of Katsina, Sir Alhaji Usman Nagogo, holding a morning greeting ceremony, Katsina, Nigeria 1959.

“THE STRONGEST MAN IN NIGERIA” (1959) Uzoma “Killi-We” Nwachukwu (1932-?) was for more than two decades celebrated as a homegrown Nigerian “superman.” Some of his legendary feats of strength included lifting buses, having cement blocks crushed on his head, and allowing cars to drive over his body.

Pupils take milk break at Queen’s College in Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria, a state secondary school for girls. (Photo by Keystone Features/Getty Images). June 1959. Now students hardly have water to drink in their schools.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Leisure WORD SEARCH

With Augustine Aminu

Find the words from the bottom in the word search grid. The words can be forwards or backwards, vertical, horizontal, or diagonal. Circle each letter separately, but keep in mind that letters may be used in more than one word.

Mother’s Day Word Search M O T

H E

R D S

A Y C E T

L E

N S

A K F

R E

B A C L

R I

N Y E

A H A P

K T

R B

U N D A Y

R A T A I

A S

D G O

O T

C I

H E

G C C E

L L

E F

O N A Y

Y A T O I

O M O T H E R H O O D F N N D C O I E

N E N T A M I

L T

D L C A R I

E D M G H Y R

A H S

H O N B

N G E

W O L

R N E N E A C E

R L O V E

M E

C U A L

R E

Y M M O M N I

H S

E A T N O S

R E

H H E

M O T S

H E

R R O F

C H E

G M O T

H E

R S

BREAKFAST CARD CARNATIONS CELEBRATE CHILDREN DAUGHTERS FAMILY FLOWERS HAPPY HOLIDAY

O D C

JOKES Two Nigerian Hunters and a European Pilot A European pilot came to Nigeria and hired two local hunters to help him get some 'bush meat'. He dropped them in the forest in a chartered plane and returned a week later to pick them up. He looked at the 'bush meat' they had shot. "There is no way the plane can take all this bush meat. We will have to leave a third of it behind." "But we did it last year", the hunters insisted. "The pilot took the two of us and the same amount of bush meat in a plane just like yours" The pilot hesitated, but then decided to take their word for it. "Well, if you did it last year, I suppose we can do it again this year." The plane took off. As it approached a nearby mountain, it could not gain height. it crashed into the side of the mountain. The pilot and the hunters crawled out of the plane, dazed but glad to be alive. "I wonder where we are," the pilot asked. One of the hunters looked around, "Don't worry, I think we are just 15 metres east of where we crashed last year."

LOVE MAY MOMMY MOTHERHOOD MOTHERS MUMMY SECOND SONS SUNDAY TELEPHONE

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

QUOTABLE QUOTES Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong. —Richard Armour Politicians and diapers should be changed frequently and all for the same reason. —José Maria de Eça de Queiroz, translated from Portuguese Hell, I never vote for anybody, I always vote against. —W.C. Fields We live in a world in which politics has replaced philosophy. —Martin L. Gross, A Call for Revolution, 1993 There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle. —Alexis de Tocqueville We'd all like to vote for the best man, but he's never a candidate. —Frank McKinney "Kin" Hubbard

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

F Compiled by Jamila Nuhu Musa

hoever said pictures last forever is absolutely correct. Whatever occasion it is, whether it is your best friend’s wedding, sister’s engagement party or simply a special occasion, people will remember for a longtime to come, what you were wearing. Carefully selected bead jewelries and accessories to match your dress give magical touch to a memorable affair. So stay one step ahead in setting high fashion trends with beautiful beads like these ones, for that special occasion you may be planning. Certainly with attractive bead jewelries, there is no need stressing yourself about the perfect dress. From the hemlines, fabrics and colours finding the dream dress is easy.

Customised beads for eye catching outfits Bracelet

Heels

Sparkling diamond purse

Courtesy: Bella Naija

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 33

Business

eRetail E-governance: Portal to be unveiled to stakeholders this month migrates Compiled by Muhammad Sada

h e Federal Government is set to unveil the Egovernance portal to stakeholders at a special session in Lagos this month, with Comrade Abba Moro of the interior ministry acting on behalf of the federal government. This was disclosed in a statement credited to the Chief executive officer of Anchor Dataware solutions, Mr. Joel Adi, who noted that “the e-governance portal will act as a revolution item in the way the government conducts its businesses and it will help in improving commerce and industry, creation of employment opportunities, and accelerated economic development in the country as well” Mr. Adi, who is the provider of

the new operating systems for the ministry also assured stakeholders of their readiness to deploy the electronic portal to transform the department of Citizenship and Business, adding that "it will also bring about an economic network of opportunities on that corridor and will also provide for the integration and automation of the operations of the department, and also streamline its Naturalization, Citizenship, Marriage registry and Expatriate Quota Management System.” According to him “Our professional and proactive team is putting finishing touches to all installations and the required infrastructure for the overall success of the project as well as the actualization of the noble and laudable goals of government. While commending Moro for his dogged determination to see to

the realization of the project, Adi described the Minister as a patriotic public servant, who has shown uncommon devotion to transforming his ministry and that, the e-Citibiz that will be introduced is a system that allows data to flow between the public, service professionals, and public service agencies, adding that data from multiple regions can be quickly centralized and converted into useful information. It will also help social service agencies manage the explosive information growth by creating a simplified, seamless front end that presents a cohesive one-stop shop for constituents and effectively manages network data flow. The project, according to the ICT expert, is a Public Private Partnership (PPP)between the Citizenship and Business department of the Ministry of

Interior and Anchor Dataware Solutions (ADS), a technologyfocused group providing world class Infrastructure, Information Communication and Technology (ICT) solutions to both government and private enterprises.

Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro

FG to sell N75bn of domestic bonds in August

h e Federal Government plans to raise 75 billion naira ($472 m) in local bonds with maturities of between five and 10 years at its regular auction on Aug. 15, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said

on Friday. The debt office said it would sell 25 billion naira apiece of five, seven- and 10-year bonds with terms to maturity of four years and seven months, six years and nine months, and nine years and

four months respectively. The bonds are re-openings of previous issues. "The DMO reserves the right to alter the amount allotted in response to market conditions," the debt office said in a public notice.

Nigeria, Africa's secondbiggest economy after South Africa, issues sovereign bonds monthly to support the local bond market, create a benchmark for corporate issuance and fund its budget deficit.

to Mobile

he report also noted that as consumer tablet adoption continues to rise, there will be significant migration of purchasing activity from laptops and desktops to tablet devices, with consumers increasingly engaging in online shopping while watching TV. Indeed, it found the development of this "couch commerce" trend would result in mobile and nomadic devices accounting for 30% of eRetail within five years. However, it also observed that such transactions would continue to comprise a small minority of a global retail sales marketplace currently worth more than $16tn. As report author Dr Windsor Holden pointed out, "We have already moved towards a multitasking, multimedia environment which offers brands the opportunity for far greater engagement with consumers than was previously the case. Mobile is increasingly being deployed at all touch points in the retail process - product discovery, product purchase, customer retention."

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Business News Financial experts commend FG on 2013 draft budget, seek early implementation

i n a n c i a l experts have commended the Federal Government for planning to increase the capital expenditure for the 2013 draft budget to 31.34 per cent. The experts gave the commendation in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday. They said that the projected 2013 increase in capital expenditure was a development that demonstrated government’s commitment to the growth of the economy. According to them, Federal Government’s plan for early

budget implementation will stimulate positive economic ripple effects in domestic wealth creation and sustainable development. Mr Oluwole lbikunle, the Managing Director, Boaz Management and Financial Strategies Ltd. Lagos, said that the 2013 budget contained significant economic drivers to enhance national productivity, ``if implemented to the letter’’. Ibikunle said that the plan to review the capital expenditure upward against the recurrent expenditure showed that the government was listening to the yearnings of Nigerians. He said that there was nothing

wrong in borrowing money to finance a budget deficit provided it would be properly committed to capital development. According to him, Nigerians are averse to borrowing to finance consumption and other ostentatious lifestyle. Ibikunle described as ``dangerous’’ the benchmarking of crude oil price at 75 dollars per barrel, stressing that the international oil price fluctuations would have a negative effect on the budget. Dr Samuel Nzekwe, the immediate past president of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN)

also lauded government’s move to present the draft budget before the end of September. According to him, the approach will impact positively on the economy and on Nigerians. Nzekwe frowned at the inability of the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozie Okonjo-Iweala, to inform Nigerians on how the Federal Government planned to reduce the recurrent expenditures. He said that the planned increase in the capital expenditure would boost economic growth and enhance the nation’s infrastructure deficiency. The former ANAN boss also urged government to consolidate

effort in the aggressive diversification of the nation’s economic base. Mr Emeka Madubuike, the Managing Director of Compass Securities Ltd. Lagos, said that emphasis should be on capital investment toward achieving the 20:2020 economic competitiveness. Madubuike urged the government to pay more attention to the capital market to create veritable means of medium to long term funds. He said that funding for infrastructure development could only be achieved through the capital market.

NNPC pledges to abide by FOI Act

h e Management of NNPC on Friday dispelled insinuations that it was not bound by the Freedom of Information Act and pledged improved transparency on its activities. Mr Andrew Yakubu, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC made the clarification in Abuja at the induction ceremony for the 595 new members of staff. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some media organisations had reported that the management of the corporation said that it was not bound by the new law. ``I want to use this opportunity to address some concerns raised in some quarters about our attitude toward transparency and accountability. We uphold these ideals in all our operations. ``Even long before the Freedom of Information Act came into force, the NNPC had always maintained an open door policy. ``This policy saw NNPC volunteering information to its public through press releases, advertorials and presentations at different forums including at the National assembly.’’ Yakubu said that the NNPC, since the signing of the FOI Act in 2011, had stepped up its transparency and accountability processes and positioned itself for public scrutiny.

He maintained that the recruitment exercise that produced the new members of staff was painstakingly carried out in line with the Federal character principle. `Ì wish to restate that the 2010 recruitment exercise which ultimately led to today’s induction ceremony stands as one of the most painstaking and transparent recruitment exercise ever conducted in the history of the corporation, `Ìn line with the Federal Character Commission’s requirements, Management engaged the Commission for vetting of the recruitment exercise. `Àfter a series of interface, the commission issued a Certificate of Compliance to NNPC thus bringing the exercise to a successful close,’’ he said. He charged the new members of staff to be diligent and professional in their duties and key into the transformation drive so as to fast track the repositioning of the Corporation in line with international best practice. He said that the NNPC was pursuing an aggressive expansion of its operations both in the upstream and downstream sectors so as to boost the economy of the nation. `Às at the last count, the NNPC had increased its number of retail outlets and affiliate filling stations from 30 to over 500 increasing its share to over 16.13 per cent,’’ he said.

Mobile transactions to hit $730 billion by 2017

h e value of remote transactions for digital and physical goods purchased via mobile devices is expected to exceed $730bn annually by 2017, a new report from Juniper Research has found. According to the report,

transaction growth will be driven by the increasing scale of realworld (non-digital) purchases from major brands and retailers, with companies such as Domino’s in the US and Argos in the UK already seeing 6-7% of all sales occurring via the mobile channel.

L-R: Department for International Development DFID,Head Nigeria, Mr. Richard Montgomery, with the Nigeria Trade and Investment Minister, Mr Olusegun Aganga, during the Nigeria investment Climate Meeting in Abuja, on Thursday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo

NARICT invents new energy package

h e National Research Institute for Chemical Technology (NARICT), Zaria, Kaduna State, has launched a new ``Integrated Jatropha Energy Package” (stove), aimed at addressing air pollution and desertification menace. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the invention was one of the institute’s fouryear strategic plans meant to curtail difficulty in the society, especially among rural women. Dr. Dare Awosika, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, said at the launching of strategic plan in Zaria on Thursday that NARICT had never ceased to be the ministry’s flag-bearer in projecting its image positively. Represented by Alhaji Ahmad

Jamil-Mohammed, the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Awosika, observed that the new product would reduce the lingering queues for kerosene nationwide. ``I can recall, we have previously challenged NARICT to come up with something to reduce the hardship as a result of kerosene scarcity which engulfed the entire country,” she said. In a paper entitled: ``Increasing Productivity through Technology Acquisition”, Dr Umar Bindir, the DirectorGeneral, National Office for Technology Transfer and Promotion (NOTAP), lauded NARICT for alleviating the plight of Nigerians. Represented by Alhaji Adamu Tandama, a Deputy Director,

Bindir said technology acquisition involved identifying, sourcing, transferring and domesticating a needed or desired technology. Earlier, the NARICT DirectorGeneral, Prof. Ibrahim Mohammed-Bugaje, said activities of the institute were geared toward the transformation agenda of the present administration and vision 20: 2020. Mohammed-Bugaje noted that the institute needed about N4 billion to successfully implement its strategic plan in the next four years. NAN reports that the occasion drew some non-governmental organisations and women groups, who were presented with the newly invented stove.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY JUNE 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 35

Business

We obeyed Federal NNPC makes U-turn on FOI, promises transparency Character Augustine Aminu with Agency reports

h e Nigerian National Petroleum Commission, which initially claimed that it was not bound by the Freedom of Information law, has made a Uturn, the News Agency of Nigeria reports. The NNPC had in a letter dated July 17 and signed by its Legal Adviser refused an FOI application by a national daily saying it is “not bound by the provision of the act”. Senior lawyers, human right activists, and civil society groups, as reported by PREMIUM TIMES, condemned the NNPC for its position on the FOI; with Itse Sagay, a Professor of Law, describing the commission’s position as “ignorant.” The official position by the NNPC was however contradicted by the commission’s head and Group Managing Director, Andrew Yakubu. Mr. Yakubu, while speaking at the induction ceremony for the 595 new members of staff said his commission is open to transparency. “I want to use this opportunity to address some concerns raised in

some quarters about our attitude toward transparency and accountability,” Mr. Yakubu stated. “We uphold these ideals in all our operations.” The NNPC boss said that “long before the Freedom of Information Act came into force, the NNPC had always maintained an open door policy”. Part of the ways the commission acts transparently, according to Mr. Yakubu, is by “volunteering information to its public through press releases, advertorials and

r. Yakubu stated that his commission complied with the principle of the Federal Character Commission in the recruitment of new staff. “I wish to restate that the 2010 recruitment exercise which ultimately led to today’s induction ceremony stands as one of the most painstaking and transparent recruitment exercise ever conducted in the history of the corporation,” he said. The NNPC boss said that “in line with the Federal Character Commission’s requirements, Management (of NNPC) engaged the

Commission for vetting of the recruitment exercise”. “After a series of interface, the commission issued a Certificate of Compliance to NNPC thus bringing the exercise to a successful close,’’ he said. Mr. Yakubu also said his commission is rapidly expanding it services in the upstream and downstream sectors. “As at the last count, the NNPC had increased its number of retail outlets and affiliate filling stations from 30 to over 500, increasing its share to over 16.13 per cent,’’ he said.

NEXIM Bank gets foreign partner on Trade

he Romanian government has expressed interest to partner the Nigeria Export Import Bank (NEXIM) to explore ways to open trade ties between the Nigerian exporters and Romanian businesses. Mr Chinedu Muoghalu, the bank’s Spokesman, said in a release, that the commitment resulted from a high-powered visit by the Romanian Embassy officials to

CAPITAL MARKET

essimistic trading dominated Nigerian bourse in the week along with increased market price volatility as speculators booked profit considerably while Nigerian stocks experienced price correction due to the overbought posture of the market. The outlook recorded came in with our position as envisaged in our previous mid-week analysis report. Consequently, the key benchmark indices experienced retracement while it failed to break its 52weeks resistance level due to strong profit-taking tendency and unrelenting sell pressure witnessed in the week. Meanwhile, improved speculative trading and risk appetite witnessed towards Small and Medium CAP stocks in the week despite weak market breadth. Market opened the week bearish by -0.44% loss to erase the previous gain and traded below-the-line till Wednesday, extending downtrend by -0.96% loss as against -0.11% loss recorded on Tuesday as bears

presentations at different forums including at the National assembly”. However, the NNPC boss failed to denounce or reject the official letter written by his commission; nor did he state the commission’s willingness to honour the FOI request of the Daily Trust Newspapers. The FOI request, by the media, bordered on the recent recruitment carried out by the NNPC, amidst alleged violations of the Federal Character principle.

dominated market terrain till midweek. Conversely, market leveraged on mixed sentiments witnessed on Thursday to record a modest gain of +0.05% while the improved patronage reclaimed market breadth with an impressive margin of positive divergent. On Friday, the All Share Index sustained the uptrend by 0.26% gain and closed negative for the week by -1.21% loss amid negative breadth. Further analysis on acquiring banks since transaction date showed that the share price of Access Bank Plc has recorded +51.52% gains with FCMB recording -20.77% losses while Union Bank Plc leads the chart with +133.49% gains. However, Sterling Bank Plc recorded -14.17% losses while ETI also closed negative with -11.48% loss recorded. See the tracking table below However, the All-Share Index in the week under review dipped by 1.21% to close at 23,239.03 as against an upbeat by +0.99%

NEXIM. The delegation was led by Amb. Nicolae Moldoveanu, who held discisions with the NEXIM Bank on issues bordering on trade ties between the two countries. The statement quoted Mr Roberts Orya, the Managing Director of NEXIM Bank, as discussing the bank’s trade policy and the role in promoting export related investment in various sectors of the country’s economy. Orya listed the areas to include

Manufacturing, Agriculture, Solid Minerals and Services sectors of the economy. He also shared experiences on the Bank’s activities to deepen trade with the West and Central subregions through the facilitation of Sealink Project. The Sealink project is expected to provide sea-going vessels for ease of movement of goods and persons in the ECOWAS region. Orya lauded the Ambassador’s

keen interest to collaborate with the bank to harness investment opportunities in Nigeria and said the visit signalled the beginning of mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries. In his remarks, Moldoveanu said that most Romanian businesses had little knowledge of the Nigerian business landscape, adding that many were sceptical of doing business in Nigeria due to the risk of being defrauded.

Nigerian stocks shed N90.43 billion in the week on profit taking recorded last week to close at 23,523.15. In the same vein, the market capitalization in the week depreciated by N90.43 billion (US$565.21 million) to close at N7.39 trillion (US$46.22 billion) as against appreciation by N73.31 billion (US$488.78 million) recorded last week to close at N7.48 trillion (US$ 49.89billion). The total volume traded in the week closed at 1.31 billion units valued at N9.13 billion (US$57.09 million) compared with 1.63 billion units valued at N11.88 billion (US$74.17 million) exchanged in 17,532 deals last week. The volume transaction in the week when compared with the previous week data moved down by -19.58% as against decline by -16.43% recorded last week. Weekly value also went down by -23.03% as against negative position of -5.58% recorded last week.

The volume traded in the top ten most traded stocks for the week represented 73.00% of the entire market volume transactions and their total value accounted for 72.20% of the market value. Financial Services sector emerged the most traded sector in the week in terms of volume. The volume traded in the sector this week alone closed at 1.11biillion units, valued at N7.05billion and exchanged in 11,381 deals compared with 982.54 million units, valued at N7.94billion and exchanged in 10,281 deals in the preceding week. The volume traded in the sector accounted for 84.46% of the entire market compared with 71.74% of the ratio recorded last week. Law Union Plc led the market volume for the week to displace Union Zenith Bank Plc as top traded stock on the transaction volume chart last week.

The sector's volume transaction was mainly boosted by trading in the shares of the companies in the top-ten category. Conglomerates sector followed with 55.75 million units valued at N96.00 million and exchanged in 741 deals compared with 34.69 million units, valued at N89.29 million and exchanged in 574 recorded in the sector last week. INDEX MOVEMENTS NSE All-Share Index opened the week on a negative note with 0.44% loss, mixed sentiments dominated the week while ASI closed positive on Friday by +0.26% with negative market breadth. In the week under review, two NSE sectoral Indices closed positive as NSE Insurance recorded the highest gain by +0.39% while NSE Banking closed with the lowest gain by +0.08%. Top 10 Gainers of the week The numbers of gainers in the week closed at thirty (30) compared with thirty-two (32) appreciations recorded last week. SMURFIT Plc topped the gainers chart for the week with +19.44% appreciations. Other gainers in the top ten appreciation class are outlined below. Top 10 Losers of the week Thirty-seven (37) stocks recorded price decline of different magnitude in the week under review compared with thirty-seven (37) stocks declined in the previous week. WAPIC Plc topped the losers chart for the week with-12.70% depreciation. Other losers in the top ten classes are outlined below.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

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Suswam’s ourwealth Benue, our Re: Sovereign fund future and our unity

have always believed that the economic and social progress of a developing country such as ours cannot be measured simply by referring to the level of per capital income. I think that what really counts are the visible and tangible signs of progress in the rural areas such as schools, rural health clinics, water and electricity, access roads for easy movement goods and persons. This conviction has brought me closer to understand the developmental blueprint of Gov. Gabriel Suswam, “Our Benue, Our Future” no longer as a social critic rather a taxpayer whose hard earned kobo no matter how minute must be used in driving the administrative policies of government at all levels. It is now 5 years since May 29, 2007 when Rt. Hon Gabriel Suswam took the oath of office with a solemn pledge to aggressively provide infrastructure and purposeful leadership that will stand the test of time, still not much has been said about the present position of Benue State on the milestone. It will be a great disservice to the largest population of the rural dwellers in Benue State if we decide to judge the performance of the Suswam led administration based on the elitist perspective of urban beautification. The awards he has received from very reputable rating agencies and international organizations are not enough reasons to convince the typical Benue man who is a farmer at Udei that there is a government somewhere. Our singular applausive song each time the name Rt. Hon Gabriel Suswam is mentioned anywhere is the presence of one tangible structure or rare facility that he has freely given to the people without any bargain. While the outside viewing world holds a separate view of Suswam as Mr. Infrastructure, a name that was ascribed to the Governor based on his tireless efforts in providing basic infrastructure, those at the grassroots hold several other views based on their own conviction and where the people’s

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: letters@peoplesdaily-online.com Governor has had a date with their destiny. The stories as have been told by those who have visibly seen the man in action are quite different in reasoning as to the dynamism and flexibility of even spread of basic amenities cutting all round the state. By all accounts, the ordinary people of Benue State always speak well of Governor Gabriel Suswam because he has always been a masses friend that believes that the only way to maintain equity and fairness in the distribution of scarce resources is to put in place certain infrastructures that guarantees endless access to every Nigerian irrespective of tribe or religion. He looked into the future to see that the only way to bridge the gap between the excessively rich and the extremely poor are to provide quantitative and qualitative free primary education for both class of persons in the society. In achieving this, the state government has embarked on very capital intensive training and re-training exercise for primary school teachers, renovation and building of more schools to cater for the growing population in the rural areas, incentives and morale booster to aid both the teachers and pupils, seasonal organization of the age-long dead quiz competitions and sporting activities in school to serve as a source of exposure to the children etc. I strongly believe that our position on the milestone today is not by the presence of multi-billion naira street light projects used to lighten the whole state capital and make Makurdi town a

mini London at night but the commitment of the present administration to ensure that every community is given the opportunity to know the difference between a switch board and the kerosene lamp. Governor Suswam should be applauded for ensuring that rural electrification which is a more difficult and capital intensive venture is achieved by his administration to a larger extent. Not minding the immediate completion of all abandoned electrification projects inherited from past administration by this government, new contracts ranging from erection of polls, wiring, provision of transformers to step up and step down, connection to the national to high power source etc were awarded. A certain Editor at large who reports for one national daily at Abuja recently claimed not to have seen water flowing on the streets of Makurdi which I believe to an extent to be true. But let me use this medium to remind my good friend that the cost of providing good water is an enormous challenge that no other Governor in Nigeria has ever tackled the way and manner Rt. Hon Gabriel Suswam has done in the last five years. I am very sure that the beneficiaries of the various water schemes at Otobi, Otukpo, Otukpa Anyim, Wanune, Katsina-Ala and other remote communities in the state were not adequately consulted. The Greater Makurdi Water Project still remains an architectural master piece that will stand the test of time in terms of capacity and technology. The

greatest beneficiaries I know are not the educated populace of the urban centres but those who have made the war against total eradication of guinea worm and other water borne diseases impossible by drinking untreated water from the river. Maternal and infant mortality rate has greatly reduced as a result of the Suswam led administration’s timely intervention in health care services. This is one area that Rt. Hon Gabriel Suswam and his beautiful wife, Mrs. Yemisi Dooshima Suswam have jealously guarded away from politics and the spin doctors, understanding how important to safeguard the health of mothers and children in the society. The strategies implored by Governor Gabriel Suswam and his team in dealing with this menace are quite encouraging. The state government has purchased and distributed over one million mosquito nets to the citizenry, availability of free and highly subsidized malaria drugs in government hospitals, renovation and provision of medical equipments by the government and regular inspection of facilities in health care centres to ensure smooth running. The policy document, “Our Benue, Our Future” has its way into the inner room of every family in Benue State not for its literary content but because of the sincerity and show of courage demonstrated by the present government. If much could be achieved for the people within 5 years, I hereby plead that Mr. Infrastructure should not be allowed to go to bed; we must support him to build on this concrete foundation and the future which he has already projected into. Governor Suswam has clearly shown to us that a safe future for our children is a product of our collective efforts today as a people. Comrade Philip Agbese, President-General of Benue Youths in Diaspora Association contributed this article from Lagos, Nigeria.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

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Opinion Tambuwal’s leadership of the House By Simon Godwin

f t e r he broke the barrier of godfatherism and external influences to become the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal has led the House to tread the path of transparency and accountability. His dynamic leadership has made the lower House to become a centre of reflection of the voices of the masses. The House has defied the wrath of the godfathers and has risked the axe of corruption-fattened cabals, to ensure better standard of living for Nigerians. The House under Tambuwal has overshadowed its counterpart, the Senate, as the latter is not better than a toothless dog that can’t even bark. In recent times, the House of Representatives has always been at the forefront of getting to the roots of shady deals among office holders and technocrats in the country. This makes one to wonder whether the country is operating a unicameral legislature, as the Senate has not been active

Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal

enough to get the attention of Nigerians they claim represent. In January, when the removal of fuel

subsidy culminated in nationwide crisis, the speaker called an emergency meeting of the House, which was on recess, in order to prevent anarchy. In addition, the House did not relent on ensuring transparency in the investigation of the subsidy scandal. It was the patriotic act of the House that unveiled the dubious deals of some ‘untouchable’ evil geniuses in the country. Though, there were attempts to sabotage the subsidy report through calculated witch hunt of probe committee chairman, Farouk Lawan; yet, the House deserves commendation for allowing illumination of the darkened truths for Nigerians to see. The zeal of the House to ensure accountability in governance can also be seen in the summoning of President Goodluck Jonathan few weeks ago to come and make known his stance on the high rate of insecurity in the country. This is sequel to the wanton loss of lives and properties that have ravaged the country in recent times as a result of the activities of the seemingly intractable Boko Haram sect and the Jos

unrest. This action of the House is arguably first of its kind in recent times. The current impeachment threat against the President on budget implementation attests to the fearlessness of the House. It also speaks volumes of the House’s unfriendly stance against corruption and mismanagement of funds in the country. All these were possible as a result of the purposeful leadership and the patriotic instinct of all members of the House. However, the speaker and members of the House need the support of all Nigerians to ensure better performance of its functions which include getting rid of corruption and checking the excesses of other arms of government. It is necessary to encourage the members of the House so as to enable them to work better for the growth of the country, and to give them the necessary backing that will make them to comfortably cope with any external pressure that might impede the actualization of their plans. Simon Godwin wrote from University of Lagos

Addressing training and manpower devt deficit in Nigeria: CMD as the solution By Iheanyi Sunday

n assumption of office last year, President Goodluck Jonathan reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to building formidable capacity capable of driving the administrative machinery of the Federal Government. This assertion, undoubtedly, was hinged on the President's recognition of the indispensability of professional and well skilled personnel in the civil service. He promised to accord the civil service its pride of place in the scheme of things and urged all concerned in the training and retraining of the nation's workforce to be proactive in the actualisation of this goal. This task by President Jonathan could not have come at a better time considering gross inefficiency, ineptitude, low productivity and ruse which have plagued both the federal and state civil service over the years. With the expanding roles of government and the civil service in particular, training and development of personnel have become increasingly imperative. This is in line with the extant staff training and manpower development policy which lends systematic approach to training effort in the civil service, and by so doing, enables government to derive higher benefits from massive investment in manpower development. This, however, is in tandem with the various public service reforms which have sought to use training as one of the vehicles for making the civil service operationally effective and more result oriented. Personnel in any organisation remain the most invaluable asset for growth and development. Training and retraining are essential components of manpower development which in turn play a decisive role in promoting economic growth with equity. It is, however, challenging that most training programmes by some institutions have failed to introduce new orientations on

training evaluations, attitude to training and training utilisation. These imbalances need to be corrected immediately. In the light of the above, the importance of training and development of personnel in the service becomes compelling, given the growing complexity of the work environment, rapid change in organisations, advancement in technology among other factors. It is, therefore, on this premise that the Federal Government mandated the Centre for Management Development (CMD) to frontally tackle this challenge by ensuring quality training and development of all cadres of the nation's workforce so that the Nigerian civil service would be at par with its counterparts in other parts of the globe. It is gratifying today to say that CMD immediately swung into unprecedented action by designing and implementing over 200 relevant training programmes aimed at optimum manpower development for personnel of both public and private establishments in the country. Accordingly, the Centre is in constant collaboration with a large number of national and international institutions to actualise the lofty goals of the Federal Government in capacity building and manpower development. Prominent among these institutions are Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, West African Management Development Institute, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Ford Foundation etc. These collaborations have not only deepened the knowledge assets of the Centre in the impartation of the requisite knowledge to its growing clientele but have raised its profile, thereby granting it the opportunity to meet the training needs of the Nigerian workforce. Based on this, various staff of different organisations have been trained by the CMD. Some of them include the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Power Holding

Dr. K. K. Usman, DG, CMD

Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, Nigeria Police Force, National Youth Service Corps, PENCOM, to mention a few. As a parastatal of the National Planning Commission, charged with the responsibility of driving the vision, plans and programmes of the Federal Government, the Centre has enthusiastically identified with the key development agenda of the present administration and has taken bold measures to enhance competence in the performance of its functions. As a matter of policy, the Director-General of the Centre, Dr. K.K. Usman, an astute administrator of international repute has ensured the compulsory training of staff of the Centre both locally and internationally to equip them for the task of building a formidable and thorough-bred workforce for the country. As a routine exercise since his assumption of office, Dr. Usman has facilitated the international exposure of various categories of staff to the best training institutes in Europe, America, Asia among others with the aim of

meeting the capacity building needs of the country as mandated by the Federal Government. In order to realise the dream of the Federal Government in manpower development and capacity building, however, the CMD as the apex Federal Government training, research and consultancy institution needs to be strengthened through the amendment of some enabling laws establishing it to give it a freer hand to operate. Since staff development goes beyond formal training to include creating the right organisational context, changing interests, value re-orientation as well as provision of transformational and visionary leadership, effort should always be geared towards ensuring that competent and suitable individuals are always at the helm of affairs of such sensitive organisations as is the case with CMD today. In view of the strong interconnections between human capital development and socio-economic transformation which is the bedrock of President Jonathan's administration, staff development should be accorded priority consideration by the Federal Government through adequate funding of resource institutions. Since it is seemingly impossible to get the required funds for staff development in view of other competing national needs, strategies must be evolved to ensure that the available resources are spread to provide access to training and development opportunities for national growth and development. On its own, the CMD, under the visionary leadership of its DirectorGeneral, Dr. K.K. Usman, has taken an avowed stand on ensuring high quality in all spheres of its operation. This is to reposition the Centre in compliance with the realities of the 21st century and to enable the organisation achieve its core mandate as given by the Federal Government. Iheanyi Sunday is the Public Relations Officer, Centre for Management Development.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

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Issues

Kogi: A state under siege From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

o g i , a state known for its relative peace, tranquility and peaceful co-existence among its different ethnic groups, is now under the threat of unknown gunmen who terrorize innocent citizens, travelers and motorists on the highway and in places of worship. In fact, the last attack in Deeper Life Bible Church, Otite Okehi local government, where not less than 20 persons lost their lives, has brought the central senatorial district and other parts of the state under siege with roadblocks and gun-wielding soldiers as the common sight on the road. Social and economic activities have also been seriously affected as many shops remain under lock and key during the week. This is seen from the movement within and around the state where major roads are blocked. Motorists, commuters and security operatives in the state have been kept under serious pressure because the people are scared of even their neighbours. Movements in recent times in the city of Lokoja and some local government areas, especially Central Senatorial District has been restricted and constant checking has become the order of the day. Even in Lokoja, the state capital, to move from one part of the city to the other is so difficult because of incessant stop and search exercises. Most affected are people moving in vehicles and those carrying hand bags. The Murtala Mohammed way in Lokoja has brought pains of unimaginable expression in last couple of days. Motorists, traders and workers are complaining that the police have reduced the road to one lane while the Police said the security situation in the state is responsible for such measure. Those who spoke with Peoples Daily Weekend during the week in Lokoja said times are hard. They concluded that people who relocated from some troubled spots in the North were now regretting their decision.

Kogi CP, Muhammad Katsina

Gov. Idris Wada visits victims of gunshot in a hospital Mallam Hashim Amana, a business man who relocated from Kaduna to Lokoja just a couple of months ago, told our correspondent that "the fear of insecurity brought me to Kogi state from Kaduna state but what is happening now is better imagined." He added however that he may be forced to move to his village if the security situation in Lokoja does not improve. Another business man who simply identified himself as Jalido said "before bringing tomatoes from the North you must cross several "borders" where you are made to waste time and in some cases you pay "toll" fees. He said the present predicament is in the hands of Allah. According to him, journey from Maiduguri which ordinarily would have been a day trip is now more than three days. Reason, he

said was because of police and army check points that dot the routes. He said the situation was even better in Kogi than Maiduguri and other parts of the north. He however pleaded with the government to find solution to the problems. Kogi state became synonymous with violence for the first time since its creation in 1991 when a couple of months ago, dynamites were used in tearing down doors of banks in the state by armed robbers. Twice the dare-devil armed robbers entered Kabba, headquarters of Kabba/Bunu local government, first breaking down police station, where Area Commander's office was located, before entering the banks. Before security men could apprehend the robbers, they had gotten to OdoEre in Yagba local government where they also attacked a bank with dynamite. Before people could finish talking about the Yagba East attack, another bank robbery was reported in Okene and the robbers reportedly operated with dynamite. The following Ayingba attack brought untold pains to residents who were under constant fear because the dare-devil robbers could operate without challenge. Ankpa local government was not spared as even Idah and Ijumu were not left out in the orgy of criminality. In Ankpa, about 10 persons including 4 police officers who were on surveillance on the road were brutally murdered. It seemed that the hoodlums have declared war on the people from what is happening in recent times around the state with Okene being the worst hit.

But some political watchers have argued that what is happening in the state may be politically motivated. President Kogi Youths for Peace and Development Forum (KYPDF), Comrade Onogu Collins told our correspondent in Lokoja that politicians should be held responsible. He stated that what is happening in and around Okene has political undertone, stressing that the youths forum will soon come out with a position paper on the happenings in Kogi state. He added that Boko Haram is not responsible for the killings but political thugs since the firearms they were given during the last elections have not been retrieved. An observer, who would not want to be mentioned, reiterated that the elders and indigenes know who the criminals are. "It is not possible for strangers to walk to a hidden Church like the Otite, where Deeper life ministry is located to open fire on the worshipers" he stated, adding, All buildings in the neighbouhood have occupants and people live around those buildings, how could strangers enter the buildings without the knowledge of the neighbours?". Take the robbery at Ankpa for instance, the robbers were alleged to have stayed in a hotel in Ankpa, for almost four days, drinking and moving freely with some Ankpa boys before they robbed First Bank branch in the town and carted away some millions of naira. A truck driver with rams heading towards the Eastern part of the country, who craved anonymity, said "we are all suffering for the sins we do not know about. The Federal Government should find a lasting solution to the

crisis so that Nigeria can be free again. However, a security operative at a road block mounted at Lokoja, told our reporter that there was a warning letter intimating the command that Boko Haram would strike at the command headquarters which necessitated road block mounted around the area with Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC). With this development, workers of the Federal High Court and the Magistrate court 1, 2 and 3 near the police command headquarters face a lot challenges coming and going out of their offices because of the blockage. In the wake of Boko Haram induced security watch, the roads leading to the office of Director of State Security, in Kogi state is being blocked thereby reducing Hassan Katsina dual carriage way which leads to the High court complex and Kogi state House of Assembly, to one lane. The Special Adviser on Media to the state House of Assembly Speaker, Alhaji Amouka urged Kogites to be patient with all security measures taken since they are for the good of all. Most business centres in the city have positioned local security operatives to guide their premises despite the deployment of official security men by the police command to watch over the city. Customers are now used to searching of their bags in and outside the business centres by security men. With curfew now imposed in Okene and restriction of Okada movement in the state capital, people have started recounting the ordeal they are going through in the hands of security men.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 39

International

Egyptian army China charges policemen in Gu Kailai cover-up arrests ‘terrorists’ in Sinai

ix people accused of being “terrorists” have been arrested by Egyptian armed forces in Sinai, after an attack on a police station earlier this week killed 16 border guards, state television reports. They were arrested during joint army and police patrols searching for criminals in North Sinai province, state news agency MENA reported on Friday. The arrests came as the army massed troops in the area and Bedouin leaders pledged their help in a meeting with the interior minister. Military trucks carrying dozens of armoured personnel carriers mounted with machine guns rolled through the town of al-Arish heading eastwards on Thursday, where they claim Bedouin “Islamists” with links to the attacks have established a presence in villages near the border with Gaza. The build-up came after state television reported that military helicopters and soldiers killed 20 people on Wednesday in the first such operation in Sinai in decades, allegedly in retaliation for an ambush that killed 16 soldiers. Israel said on Thursday it gave Egypt the go ahead to deploy helicopters in Sinai, easing the restrictions on military presence in the peninsula in a 1979 peace treaty between the neighbouring countries.

US soldiers killed in Afghanistan’s Helmand

n Afghan man wearing a uniform has shot and killed three US soldiers in the southern province of Helmand, a NATO spokesperson has announced. The incident took place early on Friday morning, and details were still being gathered, Major Lori Hodge, the spokesperson for the the military alliance in Afghanistan, said. NATO was looking into whether the attacker was a member of the Afghan military or security forces. Afghan officials said the men were all special forces members and were killed while attending a meeting in Sangin district. Mohammed Sharif, the Sangin district chief, put the toll higher, saying that four foreign special forces soldiers had been killed by an Afghan policeman after he had invited them to dinner. “Last night, a police checkpost commander invited four foreign special forces soldiers to a dinner party at the checkpost. He later killed them and ran away,” Sharif said. Other Afghan officials confirmed that account.

our Chinese police officers went on trial charged with covering up the killing of a British man, as the wife of a senior politician awaited the verdict in her trial for his murder. The four men are accused on Friday of trying to protect the spouse of Bo Xilai, who was one of China’s most senior leaders until his downfall earlier this year in a political scandal that has shaken the ruling Communist party.

All four were senior police officials in Chongqing, the southwestern Chinese city that Bo ran until he was sacked in March, and where British businessman Neil Heywood’s body was discovered in a hotel room last November. It is not clear whether Bo knew about the alleged coverup. Nothing has been heard from the charismatic and ambitious former leader since he was sacked from the powerful

25-member Communist Party Politburo in April and placed under investigation for corruption. Al Jazeera’s correspondent, Rob McBride, reporting from Hong Kong, said the court was still in session, but an announcement had been made saying a press briefing will follow at the end of the day. “The police currently on trial, apart from being accused of covering up, they’re also being accused of favouritism,”

he said. “Were they trying to protect Bo Xilai? If so, there will be political ramifications, and doe it imply he knew what was going on?” “The trial is largely taking place behind closed doors, with state media being allowed in and reporting on events,” he said, adding that on Thursday there had been “a bit of a scuffle between Hong Kong reporters and police outside the courthouse, demonstrating that tensions were running high.

Algerian diplomat tipped as UN envoy to Syria

iplomats have said Lakhdar Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign affairs minister, is a strong candidate to replace Kofi Annan as the United Nations’ peace envoy to Syria. Brahimi’s possible appointment could be announced as early as next week, but the diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said late on Thursday that there could be last-minute changes if a key government has concerns about the choice. The former Algerian foreign affairs minister has a long history as a diplomatic troubleshooter, and will if appointed face tough challenges in Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad is using his security forces to try to crush a 17-month-old uprising. Brahimi, 78, has served as a UN special envoy in a series of challenging circumstances, including in Iraq after the US invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, and in Afghanistan both before and after the end of Taliban rule. He was posted in South Africa as it emerged from the apartheid era. Syria, however, may present an unusually vexing assignment, in part because international action to try to end the violence has been stymied by the disagreements between the five veto-holding permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Lakhdar Brahimi has served as a UN special envoy in Iraq after the US invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein [Reuters] While the security council united in April to approve the deployment of 300 monitors to

Syria to observe a failed ceasefire as part of Annan’s peace plan, Russia and China vetoed three other

resolutions that criticized Syria and threatened sanctions against Damascus.

Syria rebels forced from key Aleppo district

yrian rebels have been pushed out of a strategic district in the commercial capital of Aleppo, but sporadic fighting has continued in other parts of the city. Diplomats at the United Nations, meanwhile, indicated on Thursday that Lakhdar Brahimi, a veteran Algerian diplomat, could be named next week to replace Kofi Annan as the joint UNArab League envoy to Syria. Also on Thursday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appointed Wael al-Halki, the country’s health minister, as Syria’s new prime minister.

Halki replaces Riad Hijab, who fled to Jordan and defected to the opposition earlier his week. In Syria, rebels in the Aleppo district of Salaheddin, a southern gateway to the city, said that they were forced to retreat under heavy fire. “There have been some withdrawals of Free Syrian Army fighters from Salaheddin,” rebel commander Abu Ali said. Others said the main frontlines in the area, which had been held by rebels for more than a week, were now deserted.

Rebels said clashes continued in the district and that, while the government had at least 80 tanks stationed in various parts of Aleppo, the military appeared reluctant to engage in close combat, preferring to use helicopters and fighter jets. Sheikh Tawfiq, commander of the Nur al-Din Zinky brigade based on 15th street in Salaheddin, said the army’s formidable weaponry was offset by apparently faltering morale. “At the 10th street front line we are face-to-face with the army and can hear them make orders on their

radios. We hear their commanders give orders to soldiers to advance and they keep urging them to, but the soldiers don’t and are hesitant.” State television said: “Our special forces have cleansed Salaheddin district of terrorists.” State media reported that the government offensive in Aleppo had taken place on several fronts, including a neighbourhood near the airport in southeast Aleppo, several eastern districts, and a town on Aleppo’s northwestern outskirts, state media said.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Wellness Zone

Phyllis Ogo Ogah phyllisogoogah@gmail.com +234 80 58425746 (sms) only

101 "Everyday" tips for losing 10 pounds (7) Rise and shine! Bonjour mes amis, if you have followed our series on losing 10 pounds from June then certainly your body will have started undergoing some physical and physiological changes. Please don't forget to add loads of fiber to your diet as well as sweet potatoes. I hope you have replaced your fizzy drinks with organic homemade fruit juices. I just had a full glass of homemade soy milk and trust me it couldn't get any better. And don't for get to add some dates to your smoothies if you are craving for some sugar. I acquired a new set of trainers too because they are my best friends for now. Ok darlings, let's get the show started. 73. It sounds strange, but some people have reported that they lost more weight when they drank black coffee before a workout. While there's no hard data to support this, nutritionists speculate that the caffeine in coffee makes the body rely more on fat for fuel during the work out. It's worth trying! For some people the caffeine in coffee enhances their work outs. 74. Here's a corollary to the tip above: Avoid drinking coffee in excess, as it tends to desensitize your body to the fat burning effects of caffeine. 75. Stop using remote controls. Remote controls are the bane of a prospective weight loser. They may be remarkable gadgets by themselves but from the weight loss point of view, they just aren't very helpful.They really encourage us to take a laid back kind of attitude towards life itself. In fact if remote controls were not there, the television would not have become so popular. It is because of remote controls that people can remain where they are and switch from one channel to the other. And they only have to twitch a finger muscle to achieve this. Now, I have nothing against multi channel television sets but what I strongly advocate is that you get up from where you are and change the channel of the TV each time you want to do so. The same thing holds true for other remote controls as well. As it is we have remote controlled TVs, DVD players, A/Cs, garage doors, gateways and what not. The next thing we know is that we will have remote controlled people as well. 76. Do things like fetching, turning

things off and on by yourself. Often when we come back tired from work, we tend to get others to do simple chores for us. These things are no big deal. They are things that we can very well do for ourselves but we don't. That is why we often ask our kids to fetch us this or take away that. Training your pet is a wonderful thing indeed. It is quite remarkable how some people get their dogs to fetch them something. But the fact is that while you may be making sure that your dog is getting a lot of exercise, you are neglecting your bit of the story. 77. Here's a pop quiz. Escalators help us to: 1. Move up and down faster 2. Gain weight 3. Stand stupidly as they move up and down 4. Look down at other people when you are going down 5. Look up to others when we are going up You have to pick the correct answer from the 5 alternatives given. You can see for yourself that all the options are in a way correct. So the next time you travel on an escalator, don't just stand there...climb up or down along with it. (Or better yet, take the stairs.) 78. During commercial breaks walk about. If you want to sit all evening with your eyes glued to the tube, then do so. But at least spare your eyes the agony of a commercial break. When the next commercial flashes on screen, instead of surfing, get up and take a walk. Reach over and try to touch your toes or do any such simple exercise that will at least get the blood

flowing in your veins. 79. Wriggle your toes and your fingers whenever you can. This too is a stress buster and it gives you a chance to at least work your hand and leg joints. This will tell you how sore they are and if their condition is so bad, just think of the rest of your body. 80. Turn on music and dance like wild. Let your hair down once in a while. Go back to the days of wild child hood. Close the door of your room, turn on your sound system to

the highest volume possible (but a little lower than the level at which your neighbors start to complain) and then do the wackiest dance that you can think of. Jump on your bed and jump off it again. Roll all over the floor. Pretend that you are Michael Jackson or Madonna (you will never see them keeping still) and do ever boogie move that you know. Dancing is a fun and effective way to lose weight.

HEALTH TIP FOR THE WEEK "Getting Fit . . . One Step at a Time" Researchers found that obese women who dieted for 5 months without exercise had no change in abdominal fatcell size, while those who combined exercise with diet for 5 months saw their fat cells shrink by 17%. Keep moving!

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 41

Weekend Medal Table as at Friday afternoon Rank 1 2 3

(L to R) Tianna Madison, Bianca Knight, Jeneba Tarmoh and Lauryn Williams of the U.S. celebrate after winning their women’s 4x100m relay heat during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on yesterday.

CAF Champions League: Sunshine Stars beg NFF S

unshine Stars have asked for their top stars to be released by the Super Eagles for their CAF Champions League tie in Algeria next week. The Nigerian flag bearers are now second in Group A behind champions Esperance of Tunisia. They face ASO Chlef of Algeria in the reverse clash on Saturday after they won the first game 2-0 at home last week. Top official of Sunshine stars Mike Idoko said that they have demanded for skipper Godfrey Oboabona, Izu Azuka, Moses Ocheje and Solomon Kwambe to be excused from a friendly against Niger in Niamey on Wednesday so they could fly out with the Akure club to Algeria. “We have four players in the Eagles camp, namely Solomon Kwambe, Godfrey Oboabona, Izu Azuka and Moses Ocheje, and they are very important for our crucial

New world relay competition to start in 2014

new world relay competition that will be used to qualify teams for the world championships and Olympics will start in 2014, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said in a statement yesterday. The first editions of the two-day event, which will include the traditional 4x100 metres and 4x400m relays as well as 4x200m, 4x800m and 4x1500m races, will take place in Nassau, Bahamas in May 2014 and 2015. The “IAAF World Relays” will carry approximately $1.4million in prize money.

Men’s freestyle wrestling 55kg gold medal match results

ussia’s Dzhamal Otarsultanov won the Olympic gold medal in men’s freestyle wrestling 55kg yesterday. Georgia’s Vladimer Khinchegashvili won the silver. Results Table Dzhamal Otarsultanov (Russia) beat Vladimer Khinchegashvili (Georgia) 3-1

game against ASO Chlef in Algeria. We want the NFF to see reasons with us and release at least three of the four players for our Champions League match,” Idoko disclosed. “I am in Abuja as I speak with you to appeal to NFF to release the players to us. They have been supportive to us since the competition started and I hope they grant our request on those players.” He added: “The Eagles game is a friendly, though a build-up to qualifier, while our game in Algeria is a CAF Champions League game that we need to win or get at least a draw. We know ASO are a good side, so we need our best players for this game.” The Nigeria Premier League (NPL) have already assisted Sunshine by bringing their Week 37 game against Kwara United forward to Sunday before they jet out to Algeria.

Spain top Russia, advance to gold medal game

pain beat Russia 67-59 uyesterday to reach the Olympic men’s basketball final for the second successive time. Spain will meet either 2008 champions United States or 2004 Olympic winners Argentina in Sunday’s gold medal game, while Russia will play for the bronze. Outplayed in the first half, 2008 Beijing silver medallists Spain dominated play over the last 20 minutes, outscoring the Russians 47-28 to erase an 11-point deficit at the break. Pau Gasol led Spain with 16 points, while Jose Calderon posted 14 points, all but two of them coming in the second half. Sasha Kaun was top scorer for Russia with 14 points. Spain, the 2008 silver medallists, had a miserable time scoring in the first half, shooting a consistently woeful 21percent, making 3-of-15 shots in the first quarter and 3-of-14 in the second quarter.

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 41 41 44 44 44 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79

Country United States 39 China 37 Great Britain & N. Ireland 25 Russian Federation 14 South Korea 12 Germany 10 France 8 Hungary 8 Australia 7 Italy 7 Kazakhstan 6 Japan 5 Netherlands 5 Iran 4 New Zealand 4 North Korea 4 Belarus 3 Cuba 3 Jamaica 3 Ukraine 3 South Africa 3 Spain 2 Romania 2 Denmark 2 Czech Republic 2 Brazil 2 Kenya 2 Poland 2 Croatia 2 Switzerland 2 Ethiopia 2 Canada 1 Colombia 1 Sweden 1 Georgia 1 Slovenia 1 Tunisia 1 Norway 1 Dominican Rep. 1 Ireland 1 Latvia 1 Lithuania 1 Turkey 1 Venezuela 1 Grenada 1 Algeria 1 Mexico 0 Azerbaijan 0 Egypt 0 India 0 Slovakia 0 Mongolia 0 Belgium 0 Armenia 0 Serbia 0 Thailand 0 Chinese Taipei 0 Estonia 0 Bulgaria 0 Indonesia 0 Finland 0 Guatemala 0 Cyprus 0 Portugal 0 Botswana 0 Uzbekistan 0 Greece 0 Moldova 0 Qatar 0 Singapore 0 Argentina 0 Trinidad and Tobago 0 Tajikistan 0 Morocco 0 Saudi Arabia 0 Kuwait 0 Afghanistan 0 Hong Kong 0 Puerto Rico 0

25 25

26 19

Total 90 81

15 21 7 17 9 4 14 6 0 14 5 4 3 0 3 3 3 1 1 7 5 4 3 2 2 1 1 1 0 5 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

16 24 6 11 12 3 10 7 3 16 8 1 5 2 4 3 3 6 1 3 2 3 3 7 3 6 1 0 2 11 4 3 1 2 1 1 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 4 0 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 2 2

56 59 25 38 29 15 31 20 9 35 18 9 12 6 10 9 9 10 5 12 9 9 8 11 7 9 4 3 4 17 8 7 4 4 3 3 2 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 5 6 2 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 42

Eseka demands overhaul of NSC’s eggheads

hris Eseka, a veteran sports journalist, has called the Federal Government effect complete overhaul of the technical and administrative staff of the National Sports Commission (NSC). Eseka, who was speaking against the backdrop of Team Nigeria’s woeful performance at the London Olympics Games despite government generous sponsorship of the contingent to the Games, said the overhauling would bring on fresh breath and redirection in the sports administration.

Nigeria’s performance a reflection of our preparedness, say Sports Director

igeria’s medal drought at the ongoing London Olympics has been blamed on poor preparations and the delay in the release of funds for sporting activities in the country. Dr Cyprian Amuzie, Anambra Director of Sports and acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youth and Sports, claimed yesterday in Awka while lamenting the woeful outing of Team Nigeria. Amuzie said that the performance was a sharp reflection of the state of sports in the country as well as poor preparation for major tournaments and pleaded with Nigerians not to chide the athletes for the less than pleasant performances. “You will not blame the athletes so much because they are not magicians; because some countries started camping and training for the London Olympics immediately after the Beijing Games. “We cannot expect to get the same results as those countries that have trained elaborately for the Games. Money was not released until just about two months to the Games,” Amuzie said. “You are aware that money meant for the sports ministry is usually part of the national budget; you just need to go and check the percentage of the national budget that has been so far released. “Those athletes could not go for their normal training as there was no meaningful camping ahead of the Games. “You don’t expect the athletes to perform any magic when money was only released almost at the commencement of the Games; our performance so far has reflected our level of seriousness to sports development in this country. “Even the money that was not released on time will eventually be expended because they will still have to pay their bills on transportation and accommodation, as well as the allowances of the athletes, then one begins to wonder why funds are usually not released, as and when due,” he noted. However, Amuzie commended the national basketball team, D’Tigers, for doing Nigeria proud as the first African basketball team to win a match at the Olympics.

Chief Patrick Ekeji

“The problem facing sports development in Nigeria is from the administrators and not the athletes training with scarce facilities. And it’s only an overhauling of the personnel involved in running sports that can ensure a positive change. There are so many old hands that must leave for new ideas to emerge,” he said. According to him, if the necessary changes are not done, the trend will continue until it dwindles to a state where changes will be difficult. “I do not expect any welcome programme whenever Team Nigeria arrive in the country, instead, we will only raise our voices against their poor showing without asking for changes,”

Eseka said. As a panacea to the decline in sports performance, he advocated four-year sustenance of the Innocent Egbunike-led technical team in athletics in order to ensure stability. “What can be expected of a team that was put up some months to the Games, certainly not magic? The athletes only gave the best they had at the Games. “If Egbunike’s team is left for the next four years in preparation for Riode-Janeiro, I can assure you they will bring glory in athletics to Nigeria in 2016,” Eseka said. Team Nigeria is yet to win a medal at the Games which is scheduled to end tomorrow.

Kenyan, Ethiopian marathon rivalry resumes

Abel Kirui of Kenya

enya and Ethiopia resume an intense if friendly rivalry in the men’s marathon on the final day of the London Olympics on Sunday, over a course featuring some of the city’s most distinctive landmarks. “Sometimes the Ethiopians are strong, sometimes the Kenyans,” Haile Gebrselassie, the finest distance runner of the modern era. We understand each other, without Kenya, there’s no Ethiopia. We need each other,” he said on Friday. Gebrselassie, 39, had hoped to conclude his career by running in Sunday’s race but time and injury mean he can no longer run the times needed to qualify for a strong Ethiopian team. He lost his world marathon record to Kenyan Patrick Makau in Berlin last September, and said on Friday he would not be running in next year’s Moscow world championships. Underlining the strength of the Kenyan team, Makau was not selected for the Games. Kenya will be represented by twice world champion Abel Kirui, this year’s winner of the London marathon, Wilson Kipsang, and last year’s champion, Emmanuel Mutai. Kirui said this week he thought he could break the Olympic record of two hours, six minutes, 32 seconds, set by Sammy Wanjiru in Beijing four years ago. Wanjiru, the only Kenyan to win the Olympic marathon, died last year when he leaped from the balcony of his house, after his wife found him in bed with another woman. On Friday, Mutai said times were not important in Olympics or world championships. “We are prepared for any kind of weather,” he said. “You have to be prepared for any kind of weather here.”

Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia

Yahuza blames Mohammed’s ouster on sub-standard coaching

he Chief Coach of Kano State Taekwondo Association, Ibrahim Yahuza, has blamed Isah Mohammed’s ouster from the Olympic Games on poor communication and sub-standard coaching from Nigeria’s Korea-born coach. The Korean, Kaum Sihwan, was employed by the National Sports Commission (NSC) earlier this year to prepare taekwondoists Chika Chukwumerije and Mohammed for the

London 2012 Games. Mohammed lost to Jordan’s Mohammad Aabulibdeh in the 68kg category at the preliminary stage on Thursday in the Summer Olympic Games and Yahuza believes the NSC was wrong to have have employed a foreign coach who did not know the Nigerian taekwondoist to prepare him for the Games. “It is morally wrong to bring a foreigner

who does not have the fundamentals of an athlete and good communication skill to train him for a competition of such magnitude,’’ he said. According to him, Mohammed is a capable and experienced taekwondoist brought up from good grassroots developmental programme and have won medals in international taekwondo competitions.

He said Chinese athletes who were topping the ongoing Games medals table were trained by their local coaches, adding, that “they understand their athletes and are in the best position to handle them’’. Yahuza urged the NSC to ensure that local coaches participated in International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) courses and workshop to be abreast of the latest rules and techniques.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 11— SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Transfer

The season is over. Clubs are counting their blessing as well as losses and would like to make amends and even beef up their squads where noticeable lapses exist. And the transfer market is agog barely 24 hours after major European leagues dropped the curtain. And so to keep abreast with latest rumours, we begin weekly doses of movements within the market both for players and coaches like.

Chelsea eye Switzerland right-back

lues have started looking elsewhere to fill their problem position as Marseille drive a hard bargain over first-choice Azpilicueta Chelsea is lining up Juventus defender Stephan Lichtsteiner after seeing their pursuit of No.1 right-back target Cesar Azpilicueta stall. New Blues boss Roberto di Matteo has had a £5million bid for Spaniard Azpilicueta turned down by his French club Marseille and are struggling to reach a deal. Jose Bosingwa has been released while Branislav Ivanovic, who can play rightback, is desperate to play in his preferred centre-half role. Azpilicueta remains Chelsea’s first choice and the Spanish Under-21 international wants to move to Stamford Bridge, but the European champions are having to look at other options. Lichtsteiner, 28, is a Swiss international right-back who played three seasons for Lazio before joining Juve last summer.

Arsenal set to miss out on Niang

PAGE 43

AVB makes Real Madrid target train alone

uka Modric has been frozen out by Tottenham - and left in limbo by suitors Real Madrid. Croatia midfielder Modric is being forced to train on his own, and new Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas is planning for the coming season without him. But Real president Florentino Perez is close to pulling the plug on their pursuit, having ordering a ‘cooling off’ period until the Spanish champions return home next week from a pre-season tour of the USA. Perez is sticking to his guns and

insisting he will not pay more than £30m, while Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy wants closer to £40m. The two sides are miles apart and the stand-off has left Modric sweating on his future, because Spurs insiders insist Levy will not budge as the player has four years left on his contract. Villas-Boas is determined not to let Modric become a distraction and has isolated him just as he did with Nicolas Anelka and Alex, who were also forced to train away from the main group when he was Chelsea boss last season.

Spurs swoop for Cesar

xciting young prospect M’Baye Niang looks set to move to AC Milan, disappointing Arsenal and a host of other Premier League clubs. Niang, 17, currently plays for Caen, who were relegated from France’s Ligue 1 last season and has been told he can leave the club. Arsenal took the teenager on trial in July and he impressed boss Arsene Wenger enough to persuade him to make an offer. However, Caen rejected his initial offer of £5 million pounds and demanded £7 million up front, far more than boss Arsene Wenger is willing to pay. City and Tottenham have both had requests for a trial turned down as Caen are looking to hurry a sale through and AC Milan have emerged as the frontrunners for the player. Reports suggest that the Italians will pay £400,000 for a season-long loan with the option to purchase the player outright next summer for £6 million. As part of the deal Caen will have first pick of Milan’s youth players to bring in on loan.

purs are eyeing a move for Inter keeper Julio Cesar — who could be available on a free. Boss Andre Villas-Boas has turned his attention to Cesar as Lyon has demanded £15million for Hugo Llorris. Italian giants Inter want to get the bigearning Brazil keeper, 32, off their wage bill as he pockets £85,000 a week after tax. They tried to offload Cesar to Palmeiras for free last month but his wages proved a problem.

At last, Liverpool sign Allen from Swansea

iverpool have completed the signing of Swansea's Wales international midfielder Joe Allen. Allen, 22, was at Anfield on Thursday as Liverpool beat FC Gomel 3-0 and passed a medical on Friday. He becomes Brendan Rodgers's second signing after the capture of Italy international striker Fabio Borini. Rodgers believes Allen will play a key role in helping him impose his style of play on the Liverpool team. Allen was crucial to Rodgers's system at Swansea and expects the Welshman to do a similar job at Anfield. "Joe is a player whose profile will fit perfectly with the ideas of this group. His ability to control and dominate the ball is an important ingredient in our attempt to gain success on the field. "Joe has had a fantastic education at Swansea City and will now begin the next chapter in his exciting career." The two clubs opened negotiations over a deal for Allen last month, but the Anfield club's opening bid was rejected. Rodgers offered about £12m plus fellow midfielder Jonjo Shelvey on loan, but that deal was turned down by Swansea chairman Hugh Jenkins. Although the new Liverpool manager has a written agreement with Swansea not to return to his former club to try to sign any of their players for the next 12 months, the Welsh club can waive that clause if a deal is deemed to be in the best interests of the club. Also, Chelsea youngster Romelu Lukaku has joined West Brom on a season-long loan, ending speculation over his future. Netherlands defender Joris Mathijsen has also left money-troubled Malaga to join Feyenoord for an undisclosed fee

Chelsea swoops for cavani

Kjaer, Kahlenberg close to Wolfsburrg exit

olfsburg duo Simon Kjaer and Thomas Kahlenberg have been omitted from the Denmark squad for the friendly against Slovakia

because of their impending transfers. The •6.5 million-rated centre-back Kjaer, who had vowed “never to play under [Wolfsburrg coach Felix] Magath again” before Euro 2012, has been demoted to the 2009 Bundesliga champions’ reserve squad and has not been given a squad number. It is unclear where Kjaer, who spent last season on loan at Roma, will be playing this season after a move to Fenerbahce fell through. Manchester City had been linked with him, but sources told the Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung there was no foundation to the rumours. Kahlenberg, capped 38 times, had been benched during Denmark’s Euro 2012 campaign. The attacking midfielder has failed to impress during his 36 months with Wolfsburg, and in January was loaned out to Evian, featuring in 17 matches and scoring two goals.

helsea is reportedly in talks with Napoli after the Italian club revealed they are ready to part with super striker Edinson Cavani. Chelsea have admitted defeat in their pursuit of Hulk following Zenit St Petersburg’s bid for the Porto striker, reportedly offering £38 million for the 25-year-old striker. Roberto Di Matteo has made signing a forward his top priority this summer after losing Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou earlier this summer but accepts his pursuit of Hulk is over. Having struck 33 goals in 47 games last season Di Matteo believes Cavani possess the correct physical attributes for Premier League target man and is hopeful of concluding a deal before the new season kicks off. As Napoli is prepared to settle for a cut price offer of •35 million, it looks as though a deal could go ahead.

PAGE 44

By Patrick Andrew

erguson Oluigbo, President, Nigeria Taekwondo Referee’s Association, yesterday warned Nigerians against expecting much from taekwondo athlete, Chika Chukwumerije, when he file out today to begin his medal chase at the ongoing London Olympics. Chukwumerije, a bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is only remaining medal hope for Nigeria following the falling aside of several prospects at the London Games, which ends tomorrow. Oluigbo, who discovered Chukwumerije, said in Lagos that the medal hope may not be able to meet up with peoples’ expectations because of “too much hype and pressure on him”. “Due to our poor performance in various events at the Games, Chukwumerije may be under too much pressure to perform well, which could inadvertently affect his poise.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Don’t expect much from Chukwumerije, says Oluigbo “He might also have been hyped as a result of his past performance. This could make him susceptible to some overconfidence; which is not good for any athlete,” he said. Oluigbo said that he might not be getting the right type of training prior to his fight, because he may be mismanaged under his coach, Shiwam Keum of South Korea, at the Games. “A good coach must know the strength and weaknesses of his athlete and it is only a grassroots coach that could best fit into this position. “I trained Chukwumerije and I was with him at the 2007 All Africa Games Camp for six months, where he came out with a gold medal in the competition. “It was from there he qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he won a bronze medal,” he

Dedevbo drops 5 players from U-17 female team

ive players of the female U17 national team, the Flamingoes, were yesterday dropped from the team by coach Peter Dedevbo. The Media Officer of the team, Gracious Akujobi, disclosed this while speaking on the team’s preparation for next month’s FIFA U-17 Women Championship billed to be held in Azerbaijan. The prunning of the squad has further reduced it to 25 players. The coach is therefore expected to work with this number until the last minute when he would drop three more players. Okafor Lovina, Waheed Aminat, Kehinde Akinwade, Jennifer Ajuwah and Maryam Abdulrashid, were the first batch of players to be dropped, while another five could leave the team’s

camp by next week, Akujobi said. The release indicated no definite date when the team would embark on foreign training tours. But it is hoped that it would be somewhere in Europe. Meanwhile, the Flamingoes have intensified preparations for the U-17 World Cup in Azerbaijan in September and plans a friendly game against Ghana’s U-17 female team, the Black Maidens, later this month. The match is designed to ascertain the fitness level of the Flamingoes. The Flamingoes are expected to play friendly matches with local teams before the match with Ghana. Ghana are drawn in Group D with Uruguay, China and Germany, while the Flamingoes are drawn with hosts, Azerbaijan, Colombia and Canada in Group A.

Chika Chukwumerije

said. According to him, it is not proper to de-emphasise the role of a grassroots coach in international competitions because they are the ones who know the athletes well

Falconets cage Widek girls

he Falconets yesterday continued impressive their build-up to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup with a 4-1 victory over Widek Univeristy female team in a warm up match played at the Namhae Public Stadium in Korea. Nigeria’s goals were scored by Ebere Orji, Charity Adule, Chisom Henry and Asisat Oshoala in both halves of the encounter. Speaking after the game, the First Assistant Coach, Florence Omagbemi commended the level of opposition. “It was a good game for our team and a good build up to the World Cup. So far we are satisfied with the sides that we have played since coming to Korea,”

Flying Eagles, Ngorogoro Heroes battle for AYC ticket

igeria’s Flying Eagles take 2-1 advantage to the Ilorin Stadium on Sunday where they will battle visiting Ngorogoro Heroes from Tanzania for the CAF U-20 African Youth Championship. The junior Eagles, who have had stormy ride until the win in Tanzania a fortnight ago are expected to edge their the Tanzania in spite of their later’s determination to upset them. Though coach Jacob Mikson said the Ngororo Heroes would need a miracle to overcome the Eagles, John Obuh has chosen to operate on a cautious note because the visitors parade quite a number of foreign-based players who would want to stun the hosts. The Eagles though would not be lacking in foreign-based players following Obuh’s recall of six of them excluding those that featured against the visitors in Dar es Salaam during the first leg.

Oluigbo said that he might not be getting the right type of training prior to his fight, because he may be mismanaged under his coach, Shiwam Keum of South Korea, at the Games.

explained Omagbemi. The second string team was fielded by the technical crew unlike Tuesday’s friendly which was to gauge the strength of its bench. While comparing both matches , Omagbemi said the girls are good technically but not tactically better than the boys. “But they should be hailed. They had a good goal which could have been beaten any keeper. Also do not forget that all over the world boys are better than girls in football,” she added. The friendly produced a yellow card collected by the Koreans. Nigeria’s next friendly comes up on August 13.

Kenneth Omeruo

he Diusciplinary Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation has directed that Group A matches in the women’s league be played this Sunday while those in Group B be played next weekend. Meanwhile, it also directed that these matches Nito Queend versus Delta Queens and Bayelsa Queens versus Standard Babes be played on Wednesday, August 15. Also the draw for this year’s Women Challenge Cup has been conducted. Below are the fixtures Group A (Abuja centre) Sunshine Queens Oguche Babes Plateau Reps. APA Queens Adamawa Queens Group B (Akure centre) Pelican Stars Nasaraw Amazons Remo Queens# FCT Reps. Lagos Reps. Group C (Calabar centre) Rivers Angels Oyo Reps Cerezo Queens Osun Babes Standard Babes Group D (Owerri centre) Delta Queens Ekiti Queens Bayelsa Queens Ibom Angels Inneh Queens Semi-finals A1 VS C2 B1 VS D2 C1 VS A2 D1 VS B2

National Shooting Championship shifts to September

Aliyu Miohammed

Disciplinary Committee gives directive on Women league

he Technical Adviser, Lagos State Shooting Association, Bidemi Adeboye, has disclosed that the National Shooting championship, earlier slated for August, has been shifted to September. Adeboye confirmed the shift in date of the championship adding that it was because of the ongoing 2012 London Olympic Games, scheduled to end this weekend. According to him, many of the association’s officials expected to officiate at the championship were now at the London Games. The adviser said that the national championship was to prepare shooting athletes for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2013 and the All African Championships later in the year in South Africa. The director, however, lamented

the continuous exclusion of shooting at the National Sports Festival. He said that the game was excluded at the Port Harcourt Games and the forthcoming 18th National Sports Festival in Lagos in November. “Our initial plan was also to use the championship to prepare for the 18th festival, but unfortunately, shooting is not featuring. The organising committee of the festival is gradually killing the sport. “The committee does not bother about the shooters who have been training with the hope of showcasing their talents at the festival,” he said. Adeboye said that he was not sure if the sport would also be excluded at the 19th edition of the festival in Calabar. He, however, urged the committee to urgently reconsider the inclusion of shooting in subsequent festivals.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 11 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 45

JAVELIN: A speed builder

By Augustine Aminu with reports from Wikipedia

uring the era between the Mycenaean times and the Roman Empire, the javelin was a commonly used offensive weapon. Being lighter than the spear, the javelin would be thrown rather than thrust and thus allowed long distance attacks against oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s enemy. Athletes, however, used javelins that were much lighter than military ones because the idea of the event was to demonstrate distance rather than penetration. The one major difference between the javelin of the ancient games and the javelin of more modern times is a leather thong, called an ankyle that was wound around the middle of the shaft. Athletes would hold the javelin by the thong and when the javelin released this thong unwound giving the javelin a spiraled flight. Unlike other throwing events, javelin allows the competitor to build speed over a considerable distance. In addition to the core and upper body strength necessary to deliver the implement, javelin throwers benefit from the agility and athleticism typically associated with running and jumping events. Thus, the athletes share more physical characteristics with sprinters than with other, heavier throwing athletes. Traditional free-weight training is often used by javelin throwers. Metal-rod exercises and resistance band exercises can be used to train a similar action to the javelin throw to increase power and intensity. Without proper strength and flexibility, throwers can become extremely injury prone, especially in the shoulder and elbow. Core stability can help in the transference of physical power and force from the ground through the body to the javelin. Stretching and sprint training are used to enhance the speed of the athlete at the point of release, and subsequently, the speed of the javelin. At release, a javelin can reach speeds approaching 113 km/h (70 mph). Rules for Throwing a Javelin The javelin throw is one of four throwing field events. The javelin is a spearlike instrument that is thrown by the athlete into a designated space known as the throwing sector. Originally used by hunters as a way of procuring food, the javelin throw has existed as a competitive sport since the days of the ancient Greeks. Both men and women worldwide compete in the javelin throw. Equipment The javelin is made of three parts: the head, the shaft and the grip. The shaft and head are made of metal. The shaft may be of solid or hollow construction and must be smooth throughout. The head comes to a sharp point and may be reinforced. The grip must cover the center of gravity of the javelin. The

throwing styles are not permitted. Throwing Aids Taping of the hands and fingers is not allowed other than to protect an injury. Athletes may use chalk to assist in the grip of the javelin. A support belt is also permissible. Foul Throw An attempt may be classified as a foul throw if a legal throw is not used or if the athlete touches the arc, also known as the foul line; run-up lines, which outline the runway; or the area outside the foul line or run-up lines before the release of the javelin. A throw is considered a foul if the athlete does not hold the javelin by the grip or if the grip must be universal in thickness and be no more than 8 mm thicker than the diameter of the javelin. The javelin tapers from the grip to the tip and tail. Men use javelins weighing 800 g while women use javelins weighing 600 g. The overall length of the javelin varies, with women using a javelin that is 2.2 m to 2.3 m long and men using a javelin that is 2.6 m to 2.7 m. The javelin may not have any moving parts. Legal Throw The javelin must be held by the grip and thrown over the shoulder

or upper part of the arm. In the javelin throw, athletes run up the runway before rotating their hips a half turn and making the final powerful steps to hurl the javelin forward into the sector. The release must be from behind the arc, which is the curved line that separates the runway from the sector. The javelin must land headfirst within the sector. The thrower must not allow his body to rotate through a full turn during the approach. Furthermore, the athlete should not turn his back to the throwing sector until after the release of the javelin. Unorthodox

javelin does not meet regulations. If the athlete crosses the foul line or leaves the runway before the javelin hits the ground, it is considered a foul throw. If the javelin lands on or outside of the sector lines, the throw is classified as a foul. Measuring A judge inside the sector determines the nearest point of first contact of the javelin. The throw is then measured from this point to the inside edge of the arc. Measurements are made immediately after each throw.

PAGE 46

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

Encounter

Public opinion and subsidy reversal We will rewrite black Diaspora history, Amb. Ezenwoye W

hat is the African L e a d e r s h i p Excellence Award all about? It is an organisation set up about ten years ago. The dream actually began ten years ago, but it was realised in 2005. That was the year the African Leadership Excellence Award became a corporate image. Hitherto we used to run the African Leadership Excellence Award under the Concept College, London, which was done during the graduation of our students. We used to honour community members who are mainly diasporan returnees and Africans on the African continent who have done something great for their communities. We started with honorary doctorate awards in human resources, administration and education depending on areas of interest. Some senators and other public office-holders acquired the awards then. How did it start? In 2009 we gave the President of Uganda a grand award on public administration. His representative at the event, the Mayor of Banjul in the Gambia, suggested that the excellence award should be a stand-alone event to commemorate excellence in the black world. That was how we returned to the United Kingdom and instituted the African Leadership Excellence Award. It is an institute now with branches all over Africa. We plan to have more branches. It is an ambassadorial position. Even though it started as an award to commend people who have achieved one thing or the other, but it transformed itself into an ambassadorial award. Anybody who receives the award becomes an ambassador of Africa by virtue of being a qualitative African: good leadership, transparency, and accountability. It is a grass-roots award and permeates every facet and human endeavour: village, local government, state, national; those in industries, sports, banking and finance, politics etc receive the award. It sounds elitist? The award is not for the rich; it has no financial attachment, rather we aspire to give money to winners of our award. It is basically on merit. By next year, we shall hopefully have a huge financial backing to give those who pass through the screening exercise. We screen nominees from the scratch; the nomination is made by everybody. We have a public opinion portal and we have a department that researches on the submissions to

The African Leadership Excellence Award is aimed at encouraging good leadership in Africa, acknowledging black diasporans and non-Africans with African interests. This year’s event holds from December 6 to 7 in the Gambia. Nigeria’s Amb. Dr. Marcel Ezenwoye is the founder and president of the agency. In this interview with journalists, Dr. Ezenwoye talks about the award and the need for blacks to be proud of their race. Augustine Aminu was there.

Amb. Dr. Marcel Ezenwoye

ensure that correct data are gotten. Like I said, the award is meant for Africans in diaspora who have distinguished themselves in their fields of endeavours. There are people in the diaspora who are investing funds in their local communities. We want to identify blacks who have excelled in medicine, aeronautics, business and stuffs like that and reward them. We believe such will also spur other blacks to contribute to their routes. We get them in the US, Canada, UK, and in fact all over the world. For your information, Jamaicans, people from Trinidad and Tobago etc are all Africans. We are all victims of slavery. It is a black race matter. It transcends Africa to wherever slavery has taken us to. Again, we have modern diasporans: these are Africans who on their volition relocated to the foreign land. The award is for them as long as they are contributing their widows’ mites to the African project. The African Excellence Leadership Award has become an institution that we use to assess Africans and blacks and

celebrate them. We are tired of the Western media selling our images wrongly. The era of describing Africa as a dark world is over. We don’t want Africa to be seen from the Western perspectives again. The organisation was formed in the UK with the mandate to display virtues of our heritage. Who qualifies to receive the award? We are looking at revolutionary African leaders in politics. There will be a presidential award for a distinguished president in Africa. The voting will be done by Africans, and the winner announced. The likes of Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan will be considered because of how much he has achieved in changing the political and economic fortunes of Nigeria. He has tried in putting physical infrastructure in Nigeria despite the unfortunate activities of the Boko Haram sect and some antipolitical activities of some Nigerians. We also appreciate that he brought capable hands like Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Lamido Sanusi who have added colours to his administration.

Look at the fuel subsidy removal. Outside Nigeria, we look at Ellen Searlif Johnson of Liberia who has done very well in transforming the wardevastated Liberia to a new nation. She has brought a new phase of Liberia. Ivory Coast is another country where her trademarks have been tremendous. These are candidates for consideration by nominees. Nelson Mandela and Ugandan president have won the awards in the past. It is an extraordinary award. How will this project bring about good leadership in Africa? We are conscious of bad leadership in Africa. However it is also a world phenomenon. There is confusion everywhere even in the Middle-East. The award is establishing the rudiments of judging how best a sound leadership should be. Leaders will also evaluate themselves with our bases of judgement. They should listen to their people and embark on people-orientated projects. Nothing spurs positive minds more than self-assessment and the determination to do well. An

enlightened society is a fast developing one. The dark age is retrogressive. There won’t be kidnapping, corruption, underdevelopment and killings in an enlightened society. The African Leadership Excellence Award is instituting a procedure to recognising good leaders and rewarding them with a view to making others strive to emulate them. We are going to have seminars on black leaders who are not doing well. Where and when is the event coming up? This year’s event will hold in the Gambia in December between 6 and 8. It will be an action-packed event. African students will be there to also study what it takes to have good leadership and also network. There will be a cultural show; African artists like 2face and Dbanj will be there. They will win awards and also perform. There will be a gala night for the who-is-who in Africa. What are the economic impacts? It used to hold in London, but we have decided to bring it to Africa because it is an African affair. Above all, its economic effect is tremendous. There will be capital flight within; tourism will also be promoted. Imagine over 2, 000 Africans flying to the Gambia for the occasion instead of London! Our hotels will also be patronised. Continental dishes will also be shared. It will be our own Olympic games and very unique. The winners also include non-Africans who have something positive to do with Africa. These people or bodies may have built institutions that have played good roles in the development of Africans. They could come from China and Latin America. Some nonAfricans have companies in Africa. We want to encourage them to be aware of their corporate social responsibilities. We want the likes of communications giants, construction companies, media organisations and individuals to identify with this project in our interest. It is in the principle of African oneness that this project has been established.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 11 — SUNDAY 12, AUGUST, 2012

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From the Pulpit I

n verse 27 of Matt 14, Jesus told the disciples "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." Initially, Peter wasn't afraid as he began to walk upon water but verse 30 says when he saw that the wind was boisterous; he was afraid and began to sink. Peter might have been afraid and sinking, his next step was correct. As he was sinking he cried, "Lord save me!" Jesus did just that he saved him. If Peter had not cried out for Jesus to save him, he would have drowned. So while many people focus on the fact that Peter was afraid and began to sink and criticized him for this, they fail to see that he did the right thing by calling upon Jesus to save him. That is a lesson for you and me. We may have erred by doing some things wrong; we should know the next right thing to do. Don't concentrate on your efforts alone. Your best effort will, many times, not be enough without the help of God. Learn to look unto Jesus the author and the finisher of your faith. (Heb 12:2) That three-word prayer "Lord save me" is probably one of the most powerful prayers you can ever pray. Learn to cry to the Lord to save you. It is not a show of weakness. It is recognition of your limitation and a show of your faith in the Lord. There is another story in Matt 8:23-27 where that prayer "Lord save me!" comes to the fore again. In that story, the disciples of Jesus were in a similar situation like Peter was. Jesus was in the boat with them and Jesus was sleeping while the tempest on the sea and was beating against the boat. The disciples woke him up and cried, "Lord save us!" Jesus rebuked them for their little faith and rebuked the winds and the sea. Great calm was restored. You may blame the disciples for their lack of faith but they could have

Lord save me!

also kept quiet and perished. But they did the right thing. They knew where to get what they lacked. They knew who to call upon who was very much in the same boat with them. They didn't die for their inaction. What do you do when you face a similar situation like the one Peter and the other disciples were in? You don't have to perish because of your mistake, sin or failure. Call upon the Lord to save you. Whosoever calls on the Lord shall be saved. Paul, quoting from Joel 2:32, says "For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." (Rm 10:13 NKJV) Peter, also speaking in Acts 2:21, quoted from the same scripture. No matter how precarious your condition is, learn to call upon his name; the Lord will save you no matter the danger. Cry "Lord save me!" It's a short prayer but very powerful, very effectual. "Lord save me!" is an alarm to Heaven for divine intervention - it's an SOS. "When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the LORD your God, and you will be saved from your enemies." (Num 10:9 NKJV) Did you see that? "Lord save me!" is an alarm, and God will always respond to that alarm. The latter part of that scripture assures, "and you will be remembered before the LORD your God, and you will be saved from your enemies." When you cry "Lord save me!" what you are saying to Heaven is that you are helpless but you put your trust in Heaven. Salvation belongs unto the Lord and he will save you. He saved Peter when he was sinking and held his hand and the two of them walked back into the boat. That means Peter

still walked on water! You can still walk on the same water where you're sinking or have sunk before. In the same area where you've failed, you can still succeed if you will cry to the Lord to save you. He will save that marriage, that business, that child etc. All you need to do is not to be selfsufficient, self-confident and cry to him to save you. You will experience a great calm if you cry to the Lord to save you in the midst of the raging storm in your life, destiny, marriage, family, career, health etc. Just as God saved Peter and the disciples, he saved David when he was in trouble fleeing from Absalom and he cried to the Lord to save him. David lamented his trouble and helplessness but didn't fail to cry to the Lord to save him. "Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongs to the LORD. Your blessing is upon Your people." (Ps 3:7-8 NKJV) Pride will not let some people seek help from someone else until their trouble destroys them. But a man may try to justify not asking help from fellow human beings, but what justification will anyone have for refusing to ask God to help him out of his trouble? David is considered a great warrior but he never said he didn't need God's help. David prayed in Ps 7:12: "O LORD my God, in You I put my trust; save me from all those who persecute me; and deliver me, Lest they tear me like a lion, rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver." (NKJV) God didn't disappoint David. He delivered him. In many of his psalms, we see David asking the Lord to deliver or save him. If you go through the kind of troubles

GREEN PASTURES By Pastor T.O. Banso cedarministryintl@yahoo.com GSM: 08033113523 that David had, you would be foolish not to seek the help of the Lord. For instance, in Ps 118:25, the psalmist prayed: "Save now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity." (NKJV) That's a good prayer for you to pray. Also in Ps. 116:1-14, when the psalmist was in the danger of death, surrounded by trouble and sorrow, he cried to the Lord to save him and God saved him. Trust in the Lord In order to experience his salvation in the valley of the shadow of death, you must put your trust in the Lord. Is 12:2 says, "See, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The LORD GOD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." (NLT) Prophet Micah lived in a terrible time and spoke of his decision to put his trust in God alone to save him and not any man not even a wife. (Micah 7:5-8) Don't trust in your bow or your sword to save you. (Ps 44:6) David said, "Though I am surrounded by troubles, you will preserve me against the anger of my enemies. You will clench your fist against my angry enemies! Your power will save me." (Ps 138:7 NLT) If you cry to the Lord to save you, you can rest assured that your trouble will not consume you because God's presence is with you. (Is

Exercise your dominion (2) LIBERA TION LIBERATION AREN A ARENA By Rev. Abel Duniya Gospel Power Liberation Ministries, Abuja GSM: 08033155167

“

nd the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Luke 10:17-19 (KJV). Last week, we started considering the important issue of dominion as it affects believers. We saw that many believers do

not exercise the dominion that God has given to them in Jesus Christ. We saw that many people do not even know that they have such powers and as such do not go out to exercise such. That is why the Lord lamented in Hosea 4.6 that His People perish for lack of knowledge. In that lesson, we saw the magnitude of the power God has bestowed on believers to rule and have dominion. We also saw how the devil is using the instrument of deceit to prevent believers from knowing and understanding this. This week, by the grace of God, we will look into how to position ourselves in such a way that we

will live in dominion in every area of our lives. A life of dominion involves being in control of issues of life around you. The first step is to reconginse the supremacy of God and to live in line with his commands. The first step to recognsing the supremacy of God and to live according to his commands is to give one’s life to Jesus as Lord and personal savior. You must be born again as Jesus commanded in John 3, 16. This is the only way to guarantee a genuine connection between you and God, providing the conduit through which he powers flow through to you to guarantee you a life of dominion. Jesus, talking about way to inherit the kingdom of God and all that comes through it, including a life of dominion said one must be born again. This scripture have been so used that many people are losing the import of the point made by the Master. Let us look at John 3. 1-8. It reads; “There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to

Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, how can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” Being born again does not mean being a member of a

43:2, Jer 30:11, Isa 41:10) You will enjoy the salvation of the Lord in Jesus' name. You will escape like a bird from a hunter's trap. Any trap you're in now is broken, and you're free in Jesus' name. God shall help you in that condition you are. You'll sing for joy. TAKE ACTION! If you are not born again, kindly say this prayer now: "0 Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and surrender my life to him today. I invite Jesus into my heart today. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you Jesus for saving me and making me a child of God" I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible believing, Bible teaching church in your area where you will be taught how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things becoming all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. May the Lord be with you. Pentecostal church or belonging to a religious group as many believe. It entail a complete rebirth from a life controlled by the flesh to a life controlled by the Spirit of God. This is important because it is only the Life controlled by the Spirit of God that can exercise His powers for dominion. Men can do natural things but only spiritual people can excel in natural and supernatural things. Jesus made it clear that that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Those who are born of the Spirit are those eligible to be called the children of God and as such becomes those eligible to inherit His powers. See Rom.8, 13-17. It says “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” Are you a child of God? Next week, we will look deeper into what it takes and what it means to be truly born again.

BIG PUNCH “We will like to take responsibility for where we go wrong but what we certainly will not take responsibility for the failure of others. If others fail let them take responsibility. Where we fail, we will take responsibility.” —Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba to Minister of Finance, Okonjo-Iweala, over the poor implementation of 2012 budget.

SATURDAY 4 — SUNDAY 5, AUGUST, 2012

Muhammad, Messenger of God ‘Most certainly yours, Muhammad, is a sublime character!’ [Quran 68:4]

et us, in the spirit of Ramadan, reflect a little bit on some issues arising from Prophet Muhammad’s liberation of Makkah, which marked, indeed, the climax of his career. Islam never referred to the event in military terms. Rather the conquest of Makkah marks the day in which, as the Quran puts it and the Prophet proclaimed it on that momentous day, ‘The truth is now manifest. Falsehood is truly confuted. And it is right that it should be!’ [17:81] The victory was so complete that never since that day has an idol been worshipped in the Sacred Sanctuary, and never since that day has the message of God - in its pristine and final form - been amenable to distortion or corruption. Again it was seen as liberation day for the human race, when perhaps for the first time ever, the equality of mankind was proclaimed. The Prophet addressed the great and mighty men gathered before him saying that the day was over when one race would feel superior to another race, when people measure their worth by mere accident of ancestry or color of the skin: for all humans spring from Adam, and Adam is from clay. He proclaimed to them the words of Almighty God, as written in the Quran: “O men, We have created you from male and female and constituted you into peoples and tribes that you might know and cooperate with one another. In the eye of God, highest among you is the most virtuous. God is omniscient and all wise.” An aspect of the ultimate manifestation of truth is evident from the nature of the victory itself. Here is conquest like no other, conquest wrapped in compassion. Here is victory like no other, victory enveloped in humility. ‘Oh, the beauty of pardon and forgiveness on the part of the mighty and powerful! How great is the soul of Muhammad which rose above hatred and above revenge, which denied every human feeling and ascended to heights of nobility man had never reached before! There were the Quraysh among whom were people whom Muhammad well knew had plotted to kill him, had persecuted him, and inflicted upon him and his companions all kinds of injury and harm, who fought him at Badr and at Uhud,

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who blockaded him in the Campaign of al Khandaq, who incited the Arab tribes to rise against him, and who would even then tear him apart if only they had the power,’ Muhammad Haykal writes. ‘There, the whole of Quraysh stood totally under Muhammad’s hand, indeed under his feet, totally subject to his command. Indeed, their very life depended upon the first word

emerging from his lips. All these thousands of men, of Muslims in battle array, stood on the ready waiting for that one word to wipe out the whole of Makkah and its people within minutes. Muhammad, however, was no less than Muhammad! He was no less than the Prophet of God! No alienation, antagonism, or hostility could find any permanent abode in his heart. His heart was absolutely free of injustice, of malice, of tyranny or false pride. In the most decisive moment, God gave him power over his enemy. But Muhammad chose to forgive, thereby giving to all mankind and all the generations the most perfect example of goodness, of truthfulness, of nobility and magnanimity.’ The Prophet’s career which culminates in the liberation of Makkah explains the true nature and character of Islam. Muhammad is the Messenger of God. His mission is to convey the message of God to humanity, while at the same time striving to realize the essence of the message in real life, in real community, in real world. To that end he established and nurtured a community on the basis of his beliefs, principles and values. When this community matured,

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it had gathered such energy and strength to transform the world and change for ever the course of human history. The example he has bequeathed to mankind is that truth must be backed by full strength and evil combatted with full force. Were the Prophet not morally and militarily formidable, were he not politically sagacious and astute, were he not a true statesman, a genius and a strategist, nothing would have been heard about Islam, and truth and its bearers would have perished. Islam lives today and lives for ever because Prophet Muhammad supported it from the start with intellectual power, spiritual power, political power, economic power, military power.. This is how the world works. Prof Montgomery Watts, in his Muhammad at Madina, sheds some light on the matter, when he notes as follows: ‘Muhammad’s own tact, diplomacy, and administrative skill contributed greatly. Above all, however, his consummate skill in handling the confederacy he now ruled, and making all but an insignificant minority feel they were being fairly treated, heightened the contrast between the feeling of harmony, satisfaction and zest in the Islamic community and the malaise

elsewhere; this must have been obvious to many and have attracted them to Muhammad. In all this one cannot but be impressed by Muhammad’s faith in his cause, his vision and his farseeing wisdom. While his community was still small and devoting all its energies to avoiding being overwhelmed by its enemies, he had conceived a united Arabia directed outwards, in which the Meccans would play a new role — a role no less important than their old role of merchants. He had harried them and provoked them; then he had wooed them and frightened them in turn; and now practically all of them, even the greatest, had submitted to him. Against considerable odds, often with narrow margins, but nearly always with sureness of touch, he had moved towards his goal. If we were not convinced of the historicity of these things, few would credit that a despised Meccan prophet could re-enter his city as a triumphant conqueror.’ Prof Watt goes further to enumerates some of the causes for the rise of Islam and its continuing relevance as a global religious and political force. Among them, he states, is Muhammad’s wisdom as a statesman, apart from his spiritual prowess: ‘The conceptual structure found in the Qur’an was merely a framework. The framework had to support a building of concrete policies and concrete institutions. Much has been said about Muhammad’s farsighted political strategy and his social reforms. His wisdom in these matters is shown by the rapid expansion of his small state to a world-empire and by the adaptation of his social institutions to many different environments and their continuance for thirteen centuries.There is his skill and tact as an administrator and his wisdom in the choice of men to whom to delegate administrative details. Sound institutions and a sound policy will not go far if the execution of affairs is faulty and fumbling.When Muhammad died, the state he had founded was a ‘going concern’, able to withstand the shock of his removal and, once it had recovered from this shock,

to expand at prodigious speed. The more one reflects on the history of Muhammad and of early Islam, the more one is amazed at the vastness of his achievement.’ Furthermore: ‘Had it not been for his gifts as seer, statesman, and administrator and, behind these, his trust in God and firm belief that God has sent him, a notable chapter in the history of mankind would have remained unwritten. It is my hope that this study of his life may contribute to a fresh appraisal and appreciation of one of the greatest of the “sons of Adam”.’ Prof Montgomery Watt goes on to bring to the fore a fundamental issue which is bound to have a direct and critical bearing upon the future of mankind. In a world so thoroughly corrupted and demeaned, is there a single universal personality whose life can inspire humanity to rectitude and hence to a moral rebirth? Proceeding silently from the premise that Muhammad is perhaps the one and only candidate, Prof Watt puts forward a proposition. ‘Since the world is becoming increasingly one world, and in this one world there is a tendency towards unification and uniformity. Because of this tendency the day will doubtless come when there will be a set of moral principles which not merely claim universal validity but are actually accepted almost universally throughout the one world. Now Muslims claim that Muhammad is a model of conduct and character for all mankind. In so doing they invite world opinion to pass judgement upon him. Up till now the matter has received scant attention from world opinion, but, because of the strength of Islam, it will eventually have to be given serious consideration,’ he writes. ‘Are any principles to be learnt from the life and teaching of Muhammad that will contribute to the one morality of the future? Will Muslims be able to turn to the life of Muhammad and by sifting the universal in it from the particular discover moral principles which make a creative contribution to the present world situation? Or, will they at least be able to show that Muhammad’s life is one possible exemplification of the ideal man in the unified world morality? In the wider sphere of religion they have probably something to contribute to the world, for they have retained emphases on the reality of God, for example which have been neglected or forgotten in important sections of the other monotheistic religions.’

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