Peoples Daily Newspaper, Monday, May 14, 2012

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

Vol. 8 No. 36

Monday, May 14, 2012

. . . putting the people first

Jimadal Akhir 23, 1433 AH

N150

Anti labour bill: NLC fingers presidency

By Abdulwahab Isa

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he leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has cautioned President Goodluck Jonathan to

be weary of the activities of some functionaries in his administration capable of creating “avoidable labour and political crises in the country”.

An NLC statement issued

yesterday by its Acting General Secretary, Owei Lakemfa, said fresh labour unrest could be triggered by such elements seeking to break up the congress and introduce a new regime of

fuel price in the country.

NLC is of the views that “these hawks in government, who see the NLC as being too powerful and capable of checkmating undemocratic and

unpatriotic moves by the political class, have come to the conclusion that the best way out is to engineer internal ‘disagreements’ in the NLC. Contd on Page 2

Gunmen kill 9 in Bauchi, Borno, Kano From Edwin Olofu, Kano, Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri, & Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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t was a harvest of grief yesterday in three northern towns of Kano, Azare and Mafa as gunmen left a trail of blood with nine people dead.

In Kano, three persons were shot dead when unknown gunmen, riding on a motorcycle, attacked a joint in Tukuntawa quarters along Zoo Road in the metropolis yesterday evening.

Eyewitnesses said that the gunmen parked their motorcycle and began to shoot indiscriminately, killing three people and injuring five other persons in the process while the passersby ran helter-skelter to avoid being shot.

He added that among those killed by the gunmen included a taxi driver and a prison warder who were at the joint chatting with their friends.

It was said the gunmen fled the scene of the attack, while traders in the area shut down their activities and rushed to their various houses.

Police spokesman, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Magaji Musa Majiya confirmed the

Children and women waiting to be administered with the oral polio vaccine, yesterday at Unguwar Sarkin Noma, Gamawa, Bauchi state.

Photo: NAN

Contd on Page 2

Former Sokoto Deputy Governor, Isa Wasagu, dies >> PAGE 2

Jalingo residents defy curfew >> PAGE 10

Dangote Sugar posts N4.12bn profit in Q1 >> PAGE 22

Gunmen kill kick boxing medalist in Uyo >> PAGE 43

PAGE 2

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

CONTENTS

Former Sokoto Dep. Gov Isa Wasagu dies

News

From Sadeeq Aliyu, Sokoto

2-11

Editorial

12

Op.Ed

13

Letters

14

Opinion

15

Metro

16-17

Business

19-22

S/Exchange

23

S/Report

24

Newsxtra

26

Education

27

Health

29

Capital Market: Intrigues, undercurrents behind Oteh’s trauma, Page 37

International 31-34 Strange World 35 Digest

36

Politics

37-40

Sports

41-47

Columnist

48

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

You can send your news and pictures to: letters@peoplesdaily-online.com pictures@peoplesdaily-online.com contact@peoplesdaily-online.com

Phones for News: 070-37756364 09-8734478

T

he death has occurred of former deputy governor of old Sokoto state, Alhaji Isa Mohammed Wasagu. He died yesterday in his residence along Isa Wasagu road, Sokoto at the age of 72.

Late Isa Wasagu attended Barewa College, Zaria; School of Basic Studies Kano, and AlAzhar University, Cairo in Egypt.

He served as deputy governor when Colonel Bashir Salihi Magashi was military

governor of Sokoto state.

He was also principal secretary to former governor of North-western region, Usman Faruk; permanent secretary in nine ministries and commissioner in seven different ministries and retired in 1991.

He is survived by one wife and nine children, among whom are Mohammed Nasir of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Abuja and Hajiya Fatima Isa Wasagu and Amina Isa Wasagu, both lecturers at Sokoto State Polytechnic.

Nasarawa police dig up three locally made pistols From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

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he police in Nasarawa state have unearthed three locally made pistols believed to have been buried by unknown persons.

Making this known to newsmen in Lafia at the weekend, police spokesman,

ASP Cornelius Ocholi, stated that the pistols were discovered by a good Samaritan residing in Lafia East area while conducting a wedding ceremony in their premises.

While appealing to the general public to always furnish the command with necessary information that

would assist the police in curbing crime, the police spokesman, said his men had been drafted to the area to keep surveillance, adding that investigations have commenced to fish out those behind the criminal act.

Re s t at in g t he re s olve of the command to rid the state

Gunmen kill 9 in Bauchi, Borno Kano Contd from Page 1 attack, saying “there are not yet official details available to me, but the report of an attack is true at Tukuntawa area of the state”.

Some minutes after the incident, men of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) arrived the scene and cordoned off the area, while injured persons were evacuated to an undisclosed hospital in the state for treatment.

In a related development, coordinated attacks at police stations and banks in Misau and Yana Shira local government areas of Bauchi state left four people dead yesterday.

The victims included two policemen and two civilians yet to be identified. Our correspondent reported that the gunmen opened fire at a Divisional Police Headquarters while unknown assailants attacked and bombed three banks – First Bank at Yana town and Mainstreet Bank and First Bank in Misau.

A team of army personnel was said to have later killed one of the gunmen in an exchange of fire at a check point along Azare highway.

Reports indicate that the gunmen, whose numbers are yet to be known, attacked the Divisional Police Headquarters and set it ablaze before hurling explosives at the bank damaging the building.

Bauchi state Commissioner of

Police, Malam Mohammed Ladan, confirmed the incident to newsmen in Bauchi.

He said “Yes, it is true that there was an attack in Yana town in Misau Local Government Area.

Hoodlums attacked the bank with explosives before gaining access into the bank.”

Speaking on the level of damage, Ladan said: “I don’t know the level of damage yet. I am on my way to the place to see things for myself”.

In a similar operation, two policemen were killed when unknown gunmen attacked a police outpost in Mafa town, headquarters of Mafa local government council of Borno state.

IGP M.D. Abubakar

It was gathered that the policemen were gunned down when 20 men, armed with sophisticated weapons stormed the area firing several shots in the air, before laying siege on the police station.

The invaders were said to have driven into the area in three Volkswagen cars for the operation, which lasted for an hour and were said to have carried out the assault without any resistance as they overpowered all the policemen on duty, killing the two officers before taking to their heels.

Spokesman of the state police command, Mr. Samuel Tizhe, while confirming the incident to newsmen yesterday, said “it is true that at about 9.00pm of Saturday, some unknown gunmen attacked the Mafa police station and killed two of our men”.

According to Mr. Tizhe, the gunmen also attempted to take away arms and ammunition without success as they were chased away by the officers on duty who had engaged the attackers in a gun duel.

The spokesman explained that during the confrontation, the security operatives chased away the hoodlums who escaped with gunshot injuries.

He however explained that police had later trailed the suspects to a nearby village where 13 of them were apprehended.

of criminals, Ocholi disclosed that stringent security measures have been put in place to flush out criminals from the state, warning that the police have been working day and night to ensure that there is no hidden place for criminals in the state.

Jonathan mourns late UNILAG VC

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

P

resident Goodluck Jonathan has expressed sadness over the death on Saturday of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Professor Olatokunbo Babatunde Sofoluwe at the age of 62.

The President who described the late Professor Sofoluwe as “an accomplished and renowned academic,” commended his remarkable achievements in the field of computer science in particular and the sciences in general.

President Jonathan also lauded the administrative acumen of the late 12th ViceChancellor of the University, especially the reforms he introduced in the area of Information Technology.

A statement signed by Presidential spokesman, Dr Reuben Abati said :”While the President hopes that his successors will build on the worthy legacies bequeathed by Professor Sofoluwe, he regrets that his expertise will be greatly missed especially at this time that university administrators are faced with the daunting challenge of making the nation’s universities true citadels of learning and incubators of developmental ideas in order to make them globally competitive.”

Anti labour bill: NLC fingers presidency Contd from Page 1

The ‘elements’, whose identities the NLC did not disclose, ‘are hiding under a guise of registering a new movement which they hope will support anti-people policies and cause distractions in the labour movement’. The NLC leadership further claimed the elements were behind anti-labour bill currently before the National

Assembly.

NLC said “these government agents have even fixed July 2012 as the registration date of their proposed new labour centre and they are responsible for the anti-labour bill currently before the National Assembly”. It however, described the move as “myopic” as they do not realise that the NLC is a major buffer against any unconstitutional or anti democratic bid for power in

the country.

“They do not recognise the fact that when the chips are down, it is the NLC and not the political parties that is capable of mobilising and getting tens of millions of Nigerians on the streets to defend our democratic project”, the statement stressed.

The apex labour body further enjoined President Jonathan to call to order those officials engaged in the renewed

campaigns to further increase the price of fuel under the guise of a nebulous deregulation policy which the House of Representatives has exposed as being fraudulent. The NLC said the continuous waste of public funds on media campaigns, the enticement of youths and socalled Town Hall meetings was a criminal enterprise, more so that such funds could to be put to better public use.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

PAGE 3

Reps summon minister over deportation of 3 Nigerians from Egypt

By Lawrence Olaoye

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he House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs has summoned the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Olugbenga Ashiru over the recent deportation of three Nigerians by the Egyptian authorities.

The minister, billed to appear before the committee chaired by Rep. Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje, would be required to give explanations on the recent illtreatment being meted out to Nigerian travellers in fellow African countries.

Elendu-Ukeje said, in a statement in Abuja at the weekend, that the committee was disturbed by the diplomatic row brewing between Nigeria and other African nations.

She said the committee was worried by the series of negative attacks on Nigerians by sister African countries.

The lawmaker said the denial of the three Nigerians entrance into Cairo at the weekend was the height of insult to the integrity of the country, insisting that something must be done about the matter.

One of the victims, Sekinat Abiola, said they were denied entry and were forced to return via the Ethiopian airline which had airlifted them.

Abiola and her other Nigeria victims claimed that they were granted a valid three-month visa at the Egyptian Embassy both in Lagos and Abuja, but intended to stay for only two weeks for their respective businesses.

She said they left Nigeria on Sunday and were kept in a room till Tuesday “without food, water or bed to sleep. This is the second time they are doing this to us

without the Nigerian government doing anything’’.

Rep. Ukeje said, “We are indeed worried about all these indignities and scorn Nigerians are subjected to all over the world especially by her sister African nations, which calls for a review of our relationship with these countries’’.

“So, we have invited the Minister of Foreign Affairs to a meeting on Tuesday (tomorrow) to come and explain to us our relationship with these countries and why Nigerians are being subjected to ridicule all over the

world”, she said.

Elendu-Ukeje (PDP-Abia), said though the latest information was that the three Nigerians were denied entrance because they were carrying fake documents.

The lawmaker said it was a high time the country put its act together and took its rightful position in Africa, which could only be done with Nigeria redefining her relationship with these African nations.

“The outcome of the meeting will shape our next line of action, as a parliament, in our foreign policy direction and relationship with these countries. We cannot allow these insults on our citizens and country continues unabated”, she said.

Military pensioners demand 53% arrears From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

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L-R: Outgoing Special Task Force (STF) Commander, Major-General Muhammed Ibrahim, and his successor, Major-General Henry Ayoola, signing the handover/takeover documents, yesterday in Jos. Photo: NAN

FIRS nabs CEOs over N2.17bn tax default

By Abdulwahab Isa

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he tax enforcement team of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has nabbed four Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Lagos firms for tax default amounting to N2.17 billion.

The affected firms are: Pivot Engineering Ltd, N609, 911,992:36, Reliance Telecommunications Ltd,

N592,756,627:00, HITV Ltd, N309,500,065:55 and UTC Nigeria Plc, N277,589,163:74 A statement issued over the weekend by FIRS Assistant Director (Public Affairs), Emmanuel Obeta, said the enforcement drive was led by FIRS Assistant Director (Legal and Prosecution Department), Mr. Abu Stephen and is aimed at recovering arrears of taxes accruing to government from Company Income Tax (CIT),

Education Tax (EDT), Withholding Tax (WHT) and Value Added Tax (VAT).

The service had earlier served notices on the companies, including four others to pay their outstanding tax liabilities or be compelled to do so.

Other firms listed as tax defaulters include, Sweet Sensation Confectionary Ltd, N155,483,013, Entertainment Highway Ltd, N197,444,964:55

and John Holt Nig. Ltd, N33,073,487:52.

However, some of the companies had admitted their outstanding tax liabilities when the enforcement team called at their offices.

For instance, Mr. Opedemowo Olayemi, the Chief Accountant of Sweet Sensation Confectionary Ltd, said the company was owing to the tune of N60 million for VAT alone.

Thieves stole N365,000 from Ogun NHRC partners NAWOJ on revenue office, not N20m, says Police gender-based violence From Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji, Abeokuta

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he Ogun state Police Command at the weekend denied media reports that armed robbers broke the vault of the state’s Internal Revenue Service and made away with the sum of N20million.

The Command Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, while refuting the reports, said it was a case of burglary, which has now landed two of the security guards in detention, as

investigations have already commenced.

The Command further explained that the sum of N365,000 were stolen from the one of drawers, which was the proceeds of licenses sold on the day in question.

He said complaint from the affected office was that thieves broke into the office, ransacked the drawer and made away with the proceeds and a laptop, adding that the publications over the incident were distorted.

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

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he National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) will partner with the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) in the fight against gender-based violence in the country.

Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Prof. Bem Angwe, who gave this assurance while receiving executive members of the Kaduna branch of NAWOJ at the weekend, described as unacceptable the worrisome cases

of gender-based violence cutting across all strata of the society.

“We must address this issue squarely and the NHRC and NAWOJ should partner to provide the leadership to deal decisively with this social problem”, stated Prof. Angwe.

Professor Angwe said NHRC had completed the first phase of research on the prevalence of gender-based violence in the country with a publication, adding that the next phase will focus on issues of child abuse and domestic violence.

he Military Pensioners Association of Nigeria yesterday urged President Goodluck Jonathan to order the immediate payment of 53 percent arrears of pension without any further delay.

In a statement issued and signed by their South-South chapter chairman, Comrade Gabriel Oaikhena and made available to newsmen in Ibadan, Oyo state capital, the pensioners said that life had been unbearable for them in the last few years as the state of the economy has not been favorable for them.

“With deep sorrow in our heart, we are appealing to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, as our father, to see reason with us as to why we should not be allowed to die uncared for, going by our past contributions while in active service as soldiers, most especially during the 30month Nigeria/Biafra civil war between 1967 and 1970 in which over 500,000 of our colleagues either lost their lives or became disabled.

“With this supreme sacrifice, which was enough evidence for every right thinking Nigerian, most especially those at the corridor of power, to have sympathy on us by supporting our passionate plea for the payment of the 53% pension arrears by the Federal Government. President Jonathan should endeavor to see that we are paid the arrears because we are tired of that language ‘Very Soon’ as we see it as a language of deceit, neglect and marginalisation”, the statement stressed.

Similarly, the association pleaded with President Jonathan to intervene in the payment of the monthly pensions, which they said in the last three months are being paid in arrears without any reason for such irregularities by those incharge of the payment.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

PAGE 4

2015: Yoruba youths accuse Tinubu of destabilisation plot From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

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he Yoruba Youths Congress (YYC) has accused former governor of Lagos state and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) leader, Senator Bola Tinubu, of plotting to destabilise the President Goodluck Jonathan-led Federal Government and the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

The group alleged in a statement issued today by its Director of Media and Publicity, Comrade Funso Babarinde, that the plot was part of Tinubu’s agenda towards the 2015 presidential election, adding that part of the plans was to use the House of Representatives to pass a vote of no confidence on the President, with impeachable offences already being compiled

against him.

The group alleged that Tinubu was working towards becoming the next Vice President of the country in 2015, warning President Jonathan to “beware of the deceit of Tinubu and his men because they do not mean well for the President and his party, the PDP.” “We are constrained to raise this alarm having been substantially informed of the sinister move by Tinubu and his party, the ACN to discredit the Federal Government and destabilise the PDP, especially in the Southwest.

“Part of the plot against the PDP is to infiltrate the party’s rank and use some disgruntled members to file frivolous suits against the party at all levels so as to impede its activities.

CNPP urges EFCC to act fast in Kogi From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

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he leadership of the Conference of Nigeria political Parties,(CNPP) in Kogi state has said it would not stand by and watch Kogi state being looted by successive chief executives, calling on the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to act fast.

In a statement issued over the weekend in Lokoja by its publicity secretary, Tijani Ramat Momoh, CNPP noted that their call for the probe of former governor Ibrahim Idris recently was borne out of their genuine desire for accountability and transparent governance.

The CNPP wondered that the same EFCC that was so fast in commencing the process of the trial of Timipriye Silva few days after he left office is taking so much time in inviting Alhaji Ibrahim Idris for interrogation.

He said the present lukewarm attitude of the anti-graft agencies

had made the present occupant of the Lugard House to continue to administer the state as a sole administrator without a cabinet, noting that this is not healthy for the state.

He said as a responsible group, their duty was to ensure good governance, defence of human rights and civil liberties of all the citizens and the promotion and safeguarding of respect for the rule of law.

While reaffirming their position of ensuring that the right thing was done at all times, the group stressed that the people need to know how the former governor managed the resources of the state in his eight-year tenure.

“Kogi people need to know what went into the Lokoja Greater Water Project, the uncompleted stadium complex, the uncompleted 20 housing units in each local government areas, the many non executed but budgeted road projects across the state and several others”, the statement read.

Lead poisoning: Doctors want FG to release N850m intervention fund *Say children are dying in Zamfara From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

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umanitarian aid group, Doctors Without Borders, has urged the Federal Government to release the N850 million allocated for intervention in the lead poisoning crisis in Zamfara state, saying it is urgent and essential to save thousands of children from the risk of this disease in the state.

The demand was made at a press briefing, after a two-day discussion on how to salvage the lead poisoning crisis in the state, which has claimed the lives of over 400 children since 2010 and left over 2000 others at risk.

The group lamented that there had been so much talk about funding without action, pointing out that the N850 million ecological funds budgeted since November 2011 is yet to be released for the clean-up.

The health and humanitarian experts noted with dismay the prevailing alarm in the state, saying that the environment is still in need of clean up and children’s lives are still at risk.

They complained that funds set aside for intervention in Zamfara were yet to be released, over five months after approval by the authorities.

They argued that prohibiting mining in Zamfara state would not solve the problem, insisting that the indigenes will definitely explore their natural resources in secret and hide the ailing children, thereby causing more death and intense contamination of the environment.

It would be recalled that the provision of fund is part of the actionable plans and resolution made at a gathering aimed at cleaning up affected communities in the state and treating children who have been poisoned in the contaminated environment.

Ajimobi, Australian firm sign MoU on mining, agriculture From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

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he Oyo state government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with an Australian consortium for the exploration of mineral resources in the state.

While Governor Abiola Ajimobi and other top government officials signed on behalf of the state government, Dr. Dapsy Olatona signed on behalf of MM&E Australian Company.

The relationship would also involve the production of fruit juice, development of farm settlements across the state, as well as vocational training for students in tertiary institutions.

Speaking at a brief ceremony at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Ibadan, Ajimobi said that with the signing of the MoU, the various mineral resources which abound in the state would be fully explored for the growth and development of Oyo state.

He told the investors to fashion out a programme of

implementation to enhance the exploration of the resources.

Gov. Ajimobi, who described the signing of the MoU as a right step in the right direction, commended the investors for their interest in the areas of agriculture and mining, in which he said the state, had comparative advantage.

Earlier in his remark, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Solid Minerals, Hon. Mathew Oyedokun, said the interest of the investors extended to the production of fruit juice, development of farm settlements, as well as vocational training.

He said that the presence of the investors was the aftermath of Governor Ajimobi’s recent visit to Australia.

The Head of MM&E Consortium, Dr. Dapsy Olatona, had earlier expressed his company’s willingness to include education and vocational training in its areas of interest, adding that his company would also deploy modern technology to the production of fruit juice.

Vice- Chairman, LONA Global Resources Ltd, Hon. Salisu Ibrahim Mohammed (middle), delivering his address, during the Annual General Meeying (AGM) of Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OASN), recently in Lagos.

Stop hacking each other to death, Jonathan tells Nigerians From Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

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resident Goodluck Jonathan has said despite the security challenges confronting Nigeria, the country was on the march as his administration is focused on making Nigeria a strong, powerful member of the comity of nations, calling for the cooperation of all and sundry.

Speaking during the 25th convocation ceremony of the University of Jos held at the J.T Useni Stadium, President Jonathan regretted that while Nigerians were hacking each

other to death and wasting precious energy seeking revenge for perceived wrongs, the rest of the world keeps progressing, stressing that the progress of Nigeria will not yield to obsolete and destructive dogmas.

The President, who was represented by the Minister of State for Education, Barrister Ezenwo Nyeson Wike, disclosed that the administration was conscious of its responsibility to secure the lives and property of all Nigerians.

According to him, “It is a fact that every nation faces different

obstacles at different stages of their evolution. This is often shaped by their history and experience.

Nevertheless, the nations that prosper are those that embrace their diversity and turn it into a source of strength.”

Meanwhile, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof.

Hayward Babale Mafuyai, assured that he would work assiduously to transform the institution to a world class university of learning and research, where freedom will be cherished and opportunities created.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

PAGE 5

Terrorism: Ajimobi defends Jonathan From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

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he clampdown on the Boko Haram sect through military approach would remain an empty rhetoric, except participatory governance that is firm, transparent, commitment and development driven are entrenched.

Oyo state governor, Sen. Abiola Ajimobi, made the declaration in an interview with newsmen at the 13th founder’s Day lecture of Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo state, where he delivered a lecture titlefd ‘Making progress in the midst of challenges: The Nigerian example’.

Ajimobi said the survival of Nigeria was largely determined by how the leaders are able to translate crises into development, adding that President Goodluck Jonathan’s slow and steady approach in tackling the Boko Haram sect appears to be yielding the desired result.

“We will survive it. Even

the greatest nations have gone through their own phases of crises, it is a development factor that must be taken care of. So it’s our ability to manage it that will determine our structure,” he added.

The governor described as unacceptable the illiteracy level in the country and derided some

tertiary institutions which confer academic honours on people with questionable character or on wealthy people instead of on merit.

He also tasked the academy to encourage intellectualism in governance by awarding degrees to only people with integrity that possess the requisite academic requirements.

Group condemns Potiskum massacre

By Maryam Garba Hassan

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body known as CODE GROUP, has condemned the recent massacre by gunmen at the cattle market in Potiskum, Yobe state, which resulted in the death and injury of many people, including an unspecified number of cattle.

A statement issued at the weekend by Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki Nakande, on behalf of the group, condemned the act which it described as “most barbaric and most horrendous crime” ever committed against humanity anywhere in the world in recent history and extended its sympathies and condolences to the bereaved families and to humanity.

“It is incredible that nearly two weeks since that massacre, there is no official explanation as to what actually happened, who the gunmen were, what prompted the massacre or even a sign that the relevant agencies of government fully comprehend the gravity and implication of such wanton disregard for human life”, the statement said.

“The CODE GROUP demand that the families of those killed, the multitude of businessmen who lost millions of naira worth of their investment in the unprovoked attack deserve the respect of being given full explanation over what happened and what the authorities are doing to ensure that the full force of the law is visited on the perpetrators of this act ”.

According to the statement, Nigerians are still wondering what the members of the Joint Task Force stationed in Potiskum were doing while the massacre went on for all of three hours and not a single arrest has been made.

In the same vein the group extends its condolences to the Edo state government, the Nigerian Labour Congress and the family of the slain Olaitan Oyerinde who was shot dead in cold blood last week.

However, the group called on the government to rise up to the grave dangers of allowing the shedding of the blood of innocent citizens to go unpunished and enjoined Nigerians to realise that violence does not solve problems, but rather escalates it, noting that solutions to all human problems are found in honest dialogue and mutual respect, not in indiscriminate acts of violent behaviour.

Borno state Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima (right), presenting an appointment letter to one of the 1,500 youths employed under the state environmental sanitation scheme, at the weekend in Maiduguri.

IG orders arrest, prosecution of unlawful users of siren, SPY plate numbers

By Lambert Tyem

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cting Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar, at the weekend ordered Zonal Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs) and state Commissioners of Police (CPs) to arrest and prosecute with immediate effect the indiscriminate users of siren, revolving lights, tinted glasses and Police Supernumerary (SPY) plate numbers by unauthorised person or persons on public highways across the country.

Abubakar said this became necessary in view of recent security reports that suspected criminals now hide under the cover of official privileges associated with the use of

sirens, revolving lights and SPY plate numbers to commit crimes, beat police and other security checks, thereby evading arrest and prosecution.

“We wish to state clearly that the Nigeria Police Force can no longer fold its arms and allow few Nigerians to turn our highways into dangerous and lawless theatre, harassing, intimidating and endangering the lives and property of other road users through the reckless and indiscriminate use of sirens.

“In the same vein, members of the public are reminded that SPY plate numbers are only to be used on operational vehicles of banks and companies so assigned to and cannot be used by private persons

(VIPs and executives of corporate organisations inclusive) under any guise whatsoever.

“Citizens are therefore advised to immediately dismantle/ remove from their vehicles all unlawfully procured revolving lights, sirens, tinted glasses and SPY plate numbers as police officers nationwide have been directed to ensure strict enforcement of all extant laws regulating their usage.

“In addition, the Police High Command wishes to advise owners of vehicles, motorcycles and tricycles plying our nation’s roads and highways without plate numbers to take urgent steps and register such automobiles immediately.”

Lagos begins community policing with 500 neighbourhood watchers From Ayodele Samuel & Ojebola Matthew, Lagos

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n its determination to address the insecurity in the state, the Lagos state government has flagged off a one-week intensive training programme for 500 Neighbourhood Chief Watchers and NECOS at the NYSC Orientation Camp, Iyana Ipaja.

Addressing the watchers, the

Commissioner for Rural Development, Cornelius Ojelabi, said the training programme was aimed at re-orientating them for optimal service delivery.

He promised to provide over 400 walkie-talkies for watchers found suitable at the end of the training for effective communication with other security agencies.

Noting the sensitivity of the base stations, Ojelabi promised to increase the allowance of the watchers that would be manning them to encourage them to put in their best.

Furthermore, he said the ministry would also distribute 90 motorcycles to watchers in the rural areas to facilitate their movement in policing and relaying information on their environment to the appropriate authorities.

Auto crash claims 3 in Borno From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri

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hree persons including a nurse were at the weekend killed in a ghastly road accident in Benisheikh town, headquarters of Kaga local government council of Borno state, along Maiduguri-Damaturu highway.

Our correspondent gathered that the nurse, whose name could not be ascertained as at press time, was returning to her duty post in Maiduguri when the accident occurred.

The incident happened when the car she was driving, a Toyota Carina model had a head on collision with a Golf Volkswagen taxi with five passengers around 4.15pm on Saturday.

Two people were said to have died at the spot while another gave up later at the hospital where he was taken for treatment.

Eyewitnesses said that four of the passengers in the taxi, also sustained various degrees of injuries on their heads, and limbs and were rushed to Benisheik General Hospital by the rescue team of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

Head of operation of Borno state sector command of the FRSC, Amos Yakubu, who confirmed the incident, said he was yet to get the details on the actual cause of the mishap.

PAGE 6

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

I regret being governor of Plateau, says Jang T From Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

he governor of Plateau state Grp. Capt. Jonah David Jang has decried the continued killing of his kinsmen under his administration, regretting becoming the governor of the state at this time of incessant killings.

Governor Jang, who was reacting to last Wednesday’s and

previous killings in Riyom local government area of the state, expressed his frustration during the graduation ceremony of the Theological College of Northern Nigeria (TCNN), which held in Jos on Saturday.

He said: “I keep on wondering why God called me to be Governor of Plateau now to come and face the crisis particularly the killing of my own people.

“You can imagine what I’m going through every morning when I wake up not knowing the news that I will hear again as it has always been bad news everyday.”

He regretted the killing of seven people last Wednesday night, and noted that the victims were his own Berom brothers and sisters, expressing near helplessness that it has become a daily occurrence.

The governor challenged

R-L: Mrs. Laraba Lemuel and Mrs. Grace Akanbi, jointly presenting a gift to Reverend Timothy Akanbi, during Mothers Day celebration, yesterday at Faith Baptist Church, Lugbe Airport Road, in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

Christians to rise up to the security challenges by repenting of their evil ways and seeking the face of God to bring an end to the destruction of lives and property in the state.

Also speaking, Senator Gyang Dantong described the decision of Federal Government to impose a state of emergency on Jos North, Jos South, Barkin Ladi and Riyom all within his constituency as an ill conceived one saying the problem in those LGAs are purely ethnic crisis while the situation in other LGAs in some state that are affected by the declaration are different issues entirely.

He asserted that the killing recently in Riyom LGA was a strategy of the attackers and their sponsors to finish his kinsmen; urging the security personnel deployed to the area to rise up to the responsibility of protect lives and property.

According to him, the aim of declaring a state of emergency in four LGAs of the state has been defeated since the killing of innocent people persists. he lamented that the situation in the state did not call for the declaration of a state of emergency.

The lawmaker said in the past, the attacks were carried out in the night but now the attackers have changed their methods of attack by striking in broad daylight and as a result, his constituents don’t go to their farms for fear of being attacked.

Stakeholders bemoan use of wrong English in sub-titled indigenous films

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takeholders in the Nigerian movie industry have criticised the wrong use of English in sub-titled indigenous films.

The Publicity Secretary, National Association of Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP), Mr. Ozi Okoli, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Lagos that indigenous films were usually put together in a hurry.

He said this was responsible for the poor English used in the sub-titles.

Okoli added that executive producers, who financed productions, always wanted the films to be out as quickly as possible.

"As a result of this, postproduction work is hurriedly done without adequate editing to check errors.

"Again, illiteracy plays a

major role in paraphrasing and translating Nigerian films.

"That the translator understands Yoruba language is not enough for him to also have a firm grasp of English language", he said.

Okoli suggested that it was necessary to engage competent professionals in linguistics for a hitch-free translation of the films.

He argued that by so doing,

Nigerian films would be saved the problem of "quacks and the shameful packaging of postproduction.

"These films go out of the country for image making and some producers do not care", he said.

Okoli urged Nigerian film producers to employ either English Language graduates or linguists to help them do a proper sub-titling. (NAN)

Fashola, students mourn UNILAG VC From Ojebola Matthew, Lagos

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he Lagos state governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) have expressed shock at the passing away of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof.

Adetokunbo Sofolu we, describing the sudden death as a loss to the nation.

Fashola, in separate letters to the VC's widow, Dr. (Mrs.) Olufunmilayo Sofoluwe, and to UNILAG's Registrar, Mr.

Oluwarotimi Shodimu, said that he remembered the warm reception he was accorded at the university when he was invited to deliver the School of Post Graduate Study's annual lecture in January this year.

He conveyed his sympathies on behalf of the Lagos state government and people of Lagos state, saying that the calm and easy going manner late Prof.

Shofoluwe chaired the proceeding that day showed him as an amiable gentleman, whose dedication to the university was not in doubt.

"In the short time since January 2010 when he was appointed Vice Chancellor, I was privileged to have made his personal acquaintance on a number of occasions. I therefore know him to be a very jocular, affable and unassuming gentleman and I looked forward to our meetings from time to time," Fashola stated.

Also, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), in a statement by its national president, Dauda Muhammed, described Sofoluwe's death as painful coming at a time interactions between him and NANS towards restoring

students' unionism had reached an advanced stage.

He added, "NANS negotiation with the school to restore unionism to UNILAG had reached an advance level; now we have lost Prof. Sofoluwe. It is a loss to us because the process may start all over again."

Prof. Sofoluwe had a cardiac arrest during the university council meeting and later died at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in Idi-Araba, Lagos.

Unilorin Imam blames nation crises on insincere leaders From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

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he chief imam of the University of Ilorin, Prof.

Abdulganiyu Oladosu, has expressed concern about the state of the country saying that Nigeria "is on fire as a result of the various crimes against God and humanity perpetrated with impunity".

Oladosun, who stated this while addressing a congregation at the permanent site of the institution, suggested that the way through which the crises could be resolved was when leaders were truly sincere on their efforts.

The cleric noted that the happenings in Nigeria seemed to defy understanding and called for sincere prayers. He however added that the prayers would not be answered except Nigerians repent from their sins and atrocities.

The scholar regretted that things were falling apart in the country and it was shocking that people die on a daily basis in a brutal manner from ritualists, terrorists, cultists, politicians, armed robbers, among others, thereby wantonly violating the sanctity of human life as enshrined in the Qur'an.

Oladosu also decried the high rate of corruption in Nigeria while describing the pension scam and pension fraud as typical examples of crimes committed against the people by office holders entrusted with the commonwealth.

Security challenges: Neighbourhood watch advocated From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

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he old method of detecting strangers within a given community as a way of checking intruders has been described as a portent weapon for fighting crime and criminal activities in the society.

Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP Dawaki Iman Isiaq, dropped this hint at a one-day sensitisation workshop for the members of vigilante group in Lokoja, Saturday, saying criminals are not spirits.

He said police alone could not fish out criminals because criminals know the police; but a vigilante whom they list suspect could bring in useful information to the police.

"If you pass by and see where crime is being perpetrated, you could quickly inform the police since you have no power of arrest and this could help the police in no small measure to track down criminals in the society", he said.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

PAGE 7

2015: I’ll consider it an honour to serve – IBB’s son From Iliya Garba, Minna

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nderground moves by political juggernauts in Niger state to select a successor for Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu in 2015 have begun with Mohammed Babangida first son of the former military president,

General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida saying that he would consider it an honour if he is asked to contribute to the development of his state in any capacity.

“There is only one 2015 and I think they are all milestones in the journey of life. But for me generally it is an honour

for even my name to come up in any forum that I can contribute positively to the development of my community, my state and the country. I would gladly do so”.

Mohammed said over the weekend in an interactive session with journalists at the Justice

Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference Center, Minna.

Mohammed, who is the captain of Nigeria’s National Polo Team, however stated that he has not taken any decision, stressing that he was just going with the flow of events to see what 2015 has in store

for everybody.

“Right now, I have not taken any decision as I am just going with the flow to see where it takes us” he stated.

In his goodwill message, Mohammed said that the NYSC scheme was all about the youths as well as about Nigeria moving forward through

the youths: ”It is really an opportunity for the entire citizens to talk about the key issues of the challenges of the NYSC based on the last year’s general elections and what happened to them.

And it is about time we put our heads together to see how best we can protect them”, he said.

Nigeria, Cameroon to beacon boundary by year-end

Naspoly matriculates 521 students

he Director General of National B o u n d a r y Commission (NBC), Dr. Mohammed Ahmed, has said that Nigeria and Cameroon are taking final steps to beacon their boundary in 2012.

Ahmed told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview in Abuja, yesterday, that the commission had made appreciable progress on the project.

“Our commission is making appreciable progress to ensure that the two countries will finally beacon their entire boundary by the end of 2012”, he said.

5

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Ahmed said a joint field team, comprising UN, Cameroon and Nigerian surveyors, was working seriously to ensure that speedy and positive results were achieved within the year.

He said the team was involved in international boundary field tracing with the aim of ensuring speedy demarcation and provision of pillars at the boundary.

He said two thirds of the over 1,900km boundary, involving five states in Nigeria, n a m e l y , B o r n o , Adamawa Taraba and Benue and Cross River had been accessed.

Ahmed said the two countries were having disagreements on the issue but that with the intervention of the UN and surveyors, the boundary problem had been tackled.

He said the countries with the joint field team would hold the 29th session meeting at Yaoundé between June and July.

“The progress of work recorded on the Nigeria and Cameroon international boundary by the joint field team will fully be discussed when the two countries’ mixed commission meets”, the NBC boss said. (NAN)

From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

21 newly admitted students of the Nasarawa state polytechnic were, at the weekend, matriculated in a ceremony that marked their formal admission into various diploma programmes run by the consultancy services unit of

the institution.

Rector of the polytechnic, Engr.

Emmanuel Jatau, while congratulating the matriculants, urged them to cultivate and display exemplary character, stressing that it is the combination of good academic achievement and good character that will make them the type of

future leaders the country needs.

He further enjoined them to be part of the collective effort by Nigerians to fight vices such as examination malpractice, cultism, rape, violence and disregard for constituted authority, which according to the Rector, has become prevalent in the society.

Community wants Kebbi PHCN Business Manager sacked From Ahmed Idris, Brinin Kebbi

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esidents in Badariya area of Brinin Kebbi have made a passionate appeal to the Minister of Power and Steel and the General Manager of Power Holding Company

of Nigeria (PHCN) to remove the Business Manager in charge of Kebbi state.

A letter signed by the leader of the group, Malam Umar Alhassan stated that since the assumption of office of the Business Manager, Kebbi state had

experienced load shedding and blackouts, most especially in Badariya area where often for two to three days there would be no light. “If it’s our turn we will not get light and our businesses are being paralysed”, the letter stated”.

FG targets 6 months for completion of power project – Minister

T

he Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, has said that the country’s power generation and recovery project, aimed at improving public power supply, will be completed within six months.

Nnaji, who spoke yesterday in Enugu at an interactive session with newsmen at the end of a two-day power summit, said that the project would be funded with loans from the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB).

He expressed optimism that the project, which would commence by the end of May, would generate additional power capacity of 958 megawatts, when completed.

“We want to improve power generation either by repairs or by new plants which will be constructed.

I have informed you that the recovery of capacities that we installed, but not working up to 958 megawatts, will be funded with loans from the World

Bank and the AfDB. “We will also mobilise management contractors of the project with these loans. Our expectation is that by the end of this month, we will have the funds available to kick start the project. All these projects must be completed within six months.

“When this project is completed by the end of the year, power generation and transmission capacity will improve”, the minister said. (NAN)

2 percent of deaths of men in Nigeria related that “Nigerians consume to tobacco smoking – NGO about 14 billion cigarettes

T

he executive director, Youth Action on Tobacco Control and Health, an NGO, Dr. Seye Omiyefa, said yesterday, that 2 percent of deaths of men in Nigeria yearly were related to tobacco smoking.

Omiyefa told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that “recent statistics derived from some government hospitals in Lagos revealed that at least two men die each day

from tobacco-related diseases.

“The 2012 Tobacco Atlas, the world’s most comprehensive analysis of tobacco-related activities, said this is the most preventable cause of death in the country and globally”, he said.

He said the government spent a lot annually on tobacco-related diseases The director quoted the British American Tobacco Nigeria, in 2006 as saying

every year”.

He said that the level of consumption had increased drastically as the 2012 Tobacco Atlas revealed that Nigerians smoked about 17 billion cigarettes annually.

“The atlas shows that 21.7 percent of youths in the country are exposed to second hand smoking in their homes and as such are at risk of cancer and other allied diseases”.

(NAN)

PAGE 8

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 11, 2012

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R-L: Vice-President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETF), Professor Mahmood Yakub and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar, during the meeting on Almajiri, recently at the State House, in Abuja.

L-R: An outstanding NYSC member, Abubakar Jimoh, receiving a scholarship award for his outstanding advocacy campaign on disaster risk reduction from Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency, Malam Muhammad Sani-Sidi, at the weekend in Abuja.

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R-L: Amir of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at of Nigeria, Dr. Mashud Adenrele Fashola, with his Naib Amir Northern Region, Dr.Yakin A. Habeeb, during the first Northern Region Jalsa Tarbiyyat (Moral Training Conference) of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, at the weekend in Abuja.

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Photos: Joe Oroye & Mahmud Isa

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2

4

L-R: Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Father of the Groom, Senator Isiah Balat and Chairman, House of Representatives, Committee on Sports, Hon. Godfrey Ali Gaiya, during the wedding reception of Senator Isiah Balat’s daughter, at the weekend in Kaduna.

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PAGE 10

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

Jalingo residents defy curfew From Yusha’u Alhassan, Jalingo

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he dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed by the Taraba state government on motorcycle riders in the state capital is no longer effective.

Investigation by our reporter revealed that both commercial and private motorcycle riders have been carrying out their operations freely in the glare of security agents.

A concerned citizen,

Mohammed Usman who spoke with our correspondent, condemned the trend saying that the curfew was for the good of the citizenry considering the security problems in the State brought about by the recent bomb blast in Jalingo.

He asserted evil doers used motorcycles to perpetrate their criminal activities, stressing that it was mandatory for motorcycle riders to comply with the government order to ensure a crime free society.

A civil servant, John Michael, said that the recent armed robbery in Jalingo at the Oando filling station where millions of naira and other valuables were carted away was perpetrated by men of the underworld on motorcycles.

He called the police to deal decisively with those thwarting the order in the interest of peace and developement.

In his reaction, the state Commissioner of Police, Mamman Sule, said the curfew was still in

force and he has not directed the molestation of any body by his officers.

Mamman Sule, who was speaking on Taraba State Broadcasting Service (TSBS) phonein Hausa programme monitored in Jalingo, said police were supposed to be friends of the public.

A caller from Unguwan Gadi regretted that some overzealous policemen have been using the security problem in the state to manhandle innocent people, the

situation the CP pledged to correct.

On receiving gratification, Sule denied knowledge of the wrong doing and appealed to the public to report erring police men to his office for action.

The police, according to the CP, has raided the Karofi Bridge in Jalingo and arrested hoodlums with Indian hemp and other incriminating items, calling on the public to report suspected characters to the police to maintain law and order in the state.

Job creation will grow North’s economy, says don From Agaju Madugba, Kaduna

A

Pupils writing the common entrance examination for admissions into Unity Schools, on Saturday in Abuja.

Imo-Owo

Photo: Justin

Court frees suspected killers of Guardian editor From Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

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Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja, presided over by Justice Lateefah Okunnu, has discharged three persons charged for conspiracy and murder of Bayo Ohu, Guardian newspaper's Assistant News Editor and ace political reporter.

The discharged accused persons are Dada Yemi Adesanya, Ganiu Sulemon and Idris Balogun.

Ruling on a no-case submission filed by the defence lawyer, Yemi Omodele, Justice Okunu held that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The court stated that no evidence whatsoever was placed before the court to show that the defendants were at the scene of the alleged crime.

Justice Okunu observed that none of the police officers listed before the court as witnesses came to testify saying “they abandoned the case and did not turn up”.

The court further held that there was no correlation in the evidence of, Mr. KashiTaiwo (PW1) and Mr. Bode Adetola, (PW2) that the defendants were the persons that killed Bayo Ohu. Besides, the court held that

what the prosecution had against the defendants was at best mere suspicion which goes to no issue adding that throughout the trial no legally admissible evidence was tendered by the prosecution.

The Lagos state government had in suit No-ID/216C/2010 accused Dada Yemi Adesina, Ganiu Sulemon and Idris Balogun of conspiracy and murder of Bayo Ohu. They were said to have on September 20, 2009, at number 9 Oyeniji Street, Odukoya Estate, Akowonjo Egbeda, in Ikeja judicial

division, armed with offensive weapons robbed one Bayo Ohu of one lap top computer and two mobile telephone sets.

They were also alleged to have murdered Ohu in the process of robbing him of his belongings. But the defence lawyer, Yemi Omodele in his no case submission argued that the prosecution charged the defendants to court without being able to link them with the alleged offences even with the evidence of their witnesses.

He submitted that in a

criminal proceeding, it was not enough for the prosecution to bring a charge against a defendant for an alleged offence adding it was also necessary to link the defendant with the offence.

He urged the court to discharge and acquit the accused persons adding that theprosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubts as required by the law.

Bayo Ohu was shot dead in his apartment in Egbeda, a Lagos suburb on September 20, 2019.

Sacked doctors’ eviction lawful – AG From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

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ollowing controversy trailing the eviction notice issued to sacked doctors from their official quarters, the Lagos state government has said the action was in order as the doctors are no longer tenants to it.

The state government had in an eviction notice dated May 8, 2012, and signed by the secretary, Staff Housing Board for the Head of Service, Mr. L. Shoyemi, directed all doctors to immediately vacate their official residences with immediate effect.

The letter stated: “Consequent upon your dismissal from the service of the Lagos state government with effect from May 4, 2012 and in accordance with the Civil Service Rule 13115, (a) “No officer shall continue to occupy state government quarters after the date on which his resignation/ dismissal takes effect.

“I wish to request you to vacate the state government staff quarters allocated to you immediately. In view of the above, you are hereby requested to submit the keys to the quarters to the secretary of Staff Housing

Board to forestall forceful ejection.”

In his reaction, the first Vice Chairman of the state chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Dr. Johnson Emene, criticised the move to evict the sacked doctors from the official quarters, saying they are covered by the tenancy law which the state signed nine months ago.

According to Emene, the state tenancy law states that tenants should be given at least six months’ eviction notice, adding that the NMA has instructed the doctors to ignore the quit notice.

university don, Prof. Mike Kwanashi of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria says the northern economy may remain stagnant until the leaders begin to promote its growth through job creation outside the formal economy.

According to him, “the north has to devise means of meeting today’s and tomorrow’s key economic and technological challenges and identify some of the potential driving forces that technological transformation in the north entails.”

Kwanashi spoke in a paper he presented at the on-going Northern Impact Summit, on sustainable transformation of northern Nigeria, organised by the Arewa Transformation and Empowerment Initiative.

According to him, “today, more than ever before, innovation, enterprise and intellectual assets drive economic growth and increase standards of living.

“Countries that have recognised this and have taken advantage of them have seen dramatic improvements in the living standards of their people.

“Productivity in the north must be driven by internal dynamics of northern societies to be sustainable. The most critical element in this regard is the level of private indigenous investment in the region.

“While outside investors have played a major part in developing of most capitalist economies, it is imperative for local investors to show greater commitment to the process of capital accumulation and direct investment in the productive sectors of the economy.

“Agricultural productivity has been hampered by lack of conducive policy environment, lack of required input, and lack of development of necessary value chains in key products.

“Agriculture is still the mainstay of the Nigerian economy and more so, northern Nigeria.

Approximately, 66 percent of the country’s total land mass of 92.377 million hectares is suitable for agricultural production.”

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

PAGE 12

EDIT ORIAL EDITORIAL

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No to this hasty bid to amend the CBN Act

he recent hasty moves by the two chambers of the National Assembly to amend the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act, primarily to whittle down the independence of the apex bank is a very disturbing development. It is quite worrying for a number of reasons: First, the curious manner in which the motions for the amendment of the CBN Act were tabled on the floors of both the Senate and the House of Representatives within a short period. Secondly, the hasty approaches of the two chambers in trying to weaken the banking sector regulator.

Whatever the motives of the lawmakers may be in this bid, on the surface of it, some of the arguments behind the proposed amendment to the CBN Act appear germane. For instance, leading discussion on the bill before the House of Representatives on the 3rd of this month, Hon. Adams Jagaba said the proposed amendment was to enhance transparency and entrench the principles of checks and balances in the administration and operations of the CBN. This is quite logical, especially in regard to the provision of the bill which seeks to divest the Board of the CBN of the power to consider and approve the bank's annual budget. The argument is, if budgets and performances of all government agencies, including the Presidency, are constitutionally subjected to supervision, it then becomes inexplicable that the

operations of the apex bank, one of the arms of the executive could be excluded from scrutiny and oversight by elected representatives of the people.

However, it goes against the slightest grain of commonsense that the proposal by the lawmakers also seeks to provide for the appointment of a person, other than the CBN Governor,

“

It is imperative to remind our lawmakers that the idea of having an independent central bank does not emanate from Nigeria. It is a vital feature of any well-functioning economy, given the speed with which global economic activities could cause unprecedented financial stress in any system as chairman of the board of the apex bank, while also seeking to exclude the CBN deputy governors and directors from serving as members of the bank's Board of Directors. In fact, what this particular provision in the bill has tended to do is to lend credence to the speculation that one of the primary goals of the lawmakers in this whole process is to spite the current governor

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

of the bank, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

Sanusi, it will be recalled, has incurred the wrath of the legislators in many respects, especially during his squabble with some senators over his allegation of financial indiscipline against the National Assembly.

But beyond speculation, one thing that is clear is that appointment of an external chairman and members to the CBN Board is not a guarantee for good governance. Conversely, it is public knowledge that doing that has in many respects contributed to the failure of most government agencies. And indeed, it would worsen the situation for a highly complex professional institution like the central bank, which has the sole responsibility of maintaining price stability and ensuring non-inflationary growth in the economy. It is imperative to remind our lawmakers that the idea of having an independent central bank does not emanate from Nigeria. It is a vital feature of any well-functioning economy, given the speed with which global economic activities could cause unprecedented financial stress in any system.

It is against this backdrop that we call on the two chambers of the National Assembly to be more circumspect in this amendment process, and to ensure that they organize public hearings to allow for relevant inputs by all stakeholders in the polity before making any changes to the current provisions of the 2007 CBN Act.

OUR PEOPLE

OUR VISION

CHAIRMAN MALAM WADA MAIDA, OON, FNGE EDITOR, DAILY AHMED I. SHEKARAU

DIRECTOR/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RUFA’I IBRAHIM CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER ALI M. ALI

ACTING EDITOR, WEEKEND RICHARD IHEDIWA

GM PUBLICATIONS ABDULAZEEZ ABDULLAHI MANAGER, ADMINISTRATION HASSAN HAMMANYAJI

HEAD, ADVERT/MARKETING HUSSAINI ABDULRAHMAN, CNA

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

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

PAGE 13

JEGA and the Gaffes band, now playing

By Ayo Turton Just because you’re not for real Why you wanna hurt me, girl Just because you’re not for real Why you wanna hurt me, girl Just because you are not for real Why you wanna hurt me, girl You took my money, you took my time You made me think everything was fine Like the clock on the wall said dingding-dong Got to find another lover that won’t be gone…(and the beat goes on)

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or those of us who were teenagers and growing up in the 80’s we would remember this song. The title of the song was “Burn Rubber On Me” the group started out as Greenwood, Archer and Pine Street Band. They were later to become known as The Gap Band.

We swayed, twisted and “breakdanced” to the beautiful lyrics and the instrumental accompaniment to no end with moans and groans of ecstasy.

Thirty-something years after there is a new band in town, it is called The Gaffes Band led by a “God-chosen” leader who was nicknamed by a political jester from Oyo State as “JEGA” The band is busy burning rubbers all over our bodies but unlike the Gap Band of the 80’s we are not enjoying it, it is almost literal, the only moans and groans we can hear are moans and groans of anguish, frustration and resignation and we are definitely not dancing.

Unlike the harmonious synchronization of lyrics and instruments of The Gap Band, what we are getting from The Gaffes Band is discordant

By Kayode Oladele

E

very defendant in a criminal case has the right to a speedy trial and the right arises from the time the government has arrested, indicted or formally filed a criminal complaint against a person. The reason is simple- it keeps the defendant from sitting in jail for an indefinite period before trial as well as improves the chances that an adequate defense can be prepared. The speedy trial right is “an important safeguard to prevent undue and oppressive incarceration prior to trial, to minimize anxiety and concern accompanying public accusation and to limit the possibility that long delay will impair the ability of an accused to defend himself.”

Dickey v. Florida, 398 U.S. 30, 37–38 (1970). In addition, if a trial is delayed for a long time, it may cause prejudice to the defendant; witnesses may become weary or start to disappear, memories may begin to fade or entirely lost thereby affecting the ability of witnesses to recall evidence as passage of time “may blur the memories of the witnesses leading to an unjust verdict”, death or insanity or other mental disability of key witnesses after a long delay. Crucial evidence may also be lost or destroyed in the process.

tunes from a cacophonous disagreement of the vocals, the instrumental accompaniment and the dance steps.

We invested time and money in this band, they live free, get free cars and fuel to go with it, they also eat free as a matter of fact we are feeding the leader of Gaffes Band with One Billion Naira this year alone. They made us think everything was fine or would be fine, but what they are dishing out to us as music are outputs that make us squeeze our faces and sometimes block our ears in disgust. Are they for real? I do not think so. Well this is what you get when you are cheap and uncoordinated, you set out to eat at an upscale Chinese Restaurant and you ended up at Chineze Akpu joint.

Gaffes on Security Matters Singing about the bombing at Eagle Square on October 1st, 2010 Independence Day celebration, the leader of The Gaffes Band, rushed to judgment when a group claiming to be MEND laid claim to carrying out the atrocious act.

He said no, they lied, MEND did not do it. That presupposes that he knew MEND too well and who did it, well it is almost two years, he is yet to tell us who did it. Gaffes leader, JEGA once cried out that Boko Haram the Nigerian terrorists group has infiltrated his band with a tone of helplessness, we started to wonder why we are supposed to know and what we are supposed to do about it when the prerogatives of security and all the apparatus of implementation lies in his hands. That also presupposes that he has an idea who they are or where they may be found, we thought he should have removed them from his band

and dispose them off with surgical precision, we are still waiting.

In another security gaffe, JEGA(ffes) was reported to have said that our military installations are below standard, he did not say this in a briefing to our military leaders, he said so in foreign country in faraway Germany and some of us were like “o ti o” no wonder he got Prof. Tam David-West fuming. He may be right but it is not everything that is the truth that is expedient.

Gaffes on Political Matters.

The Gaffes Band leader on a campaign trip to Lagos seeking to get support from the people thought the best way to get it was to refer to their leaders as “bunch of rascals” rather than telling them what he would do differently. In his home state he promised to stone a Governor if he fails to perform, again at the release of that lyric, we were like “tufiakwa” we were cool with a President that had no shoes, but a stone-throwing President? We would reconsider. He is no lion, military General or Pharaoh he once told us, yet our security challenges requires the heart of a lion, he has on many occasions dressed in Military General Regalia, and we let him as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces because our expectation of him is that of a Military General when occasion calls for it. We can tell he is not a General when he said he became weak when a retired General from the hill top decided to contest against him. Yea right, he is not a Pharaoh but not even the Pharaoh in his majesty was fed with One Billion Naira in one year! In his attempt to show off in his home town recently he told a story of

how he got a government contractor to donate by way of renovation to his home church at Otuoke and we collectively yelled “Church Haram!”

Gaffes on Economic Matters.

JEGA once claimed that China became prosperous when it shuts its doors to foreign goods in his attempt to make us eat cassava bread, whereas direct opposite was the case.

China became prosperous when it threw open its Communist doors to the outside world. I am not blaming the band leader alone for this barrage of assault on our ears; a leader is only as good as the people he surrounds himself with. Just looking at the roll-calls and the resume of some of his band members they look very good on paper until they open their mouths. Why I am not surprised at the Gaffes Band leader Chinese example? He and his economic gurus even up till now still think that whatever they called “oil subsidy” benefits only 20% of Nigerians that own and drive 10 or more SUVs on the streets of Lagos! What fake witnesses are will still looking for?

It became more ridiculous when they were invited by the House of Representatives to defend their figures, coordinating band member whose band name sounds like “eWahala” was singing “akiko na egwu, Mike Ejeagha” while another band member in charge of “black gold” whose name sounds like “DieSardine” sang egwu ekperi, PPPRA boss sang Highlife and the whole house became another “Fuji House of Commotion” This is why I am kind surprised at the reactions of the some members of Producers Destroying Production (PDP) and the leaders

of The Gaffes Band at the attempt of one band member known as Patoo-a-Caesar to add his velvet tone to the whole show. There is a Yoruba saying that goes “omo o le jo baba, ka ma binu omo” meaning you cannot begrudge a child for resembling his father.

Patoo-a-Caesar thinks that PDP caused the security crisis in the country and he says it as he sees it, he is in good company as a leading member of The Gaffes Band! Oga Patoo nothing do you joo. Carry go! The Gaffes Band would sing and gaffe on everything, they own the trademark.

Some people might be thinking how come I have nothing to say about the contributions of the Lady Leader of the band, some might even think that my essay is discriminatory, but naaaw, I am not going there, get behind me Satan. As long as she is staying out of our lives as she is trying to do now and there is no repeat of that drama she recently created in Lagos.

It is scary that The Gap Band follow-up song to “Burn Rubber on Me” was “You Dropped The Bomb On Me” and the hint we are receiving from faraway South Africa from a drowning man is that The Gaffes Band leader dropped the bomb on us, after burning rubbers on us? We may view this as an attempt by a drowning man to cling to some straws, but then it could also be a “dying declaration” Whichever way it goes, we may have to tear the umblerra and find another lover that won’t be gone, the way The Gap Band did it.

Ayo Turton is a US based Lawyer.

Even though, the right that is being protected is the defendant’s right not to have a prolonged wait between arrest or indictment and the trial, the right to a speedy trial is also in the best interest the prosecutor and the general public as it reduces the cost of prosecution.

However, on the length of delay, there is really no clear or absolute time limit that is considered too long of a delay.

Generally, it is presumed that a defendant is denied a speedy trial if there is a delay of a year or more from the date of indictment or Aarrest. The government may overcome this presumption by giving showing a good cause for the delay as long as the prosecutor has not been negligent in the prosecution of the case. In addition, if the defendant is out of custody then, his trial may take a much longer time as the Attorney General may require additional time to make a filing decision. For instance, in most serious high profile cases particularly, where the defendants are out of custody,

prosecution may last several months or even more than a year because the interest of both the public and the defendant in obtaining a speedy trial is outweighed by the need to insure adequate time to properly gather, review and act upon the extensive evidence, documents and other discovery materials which may be located around the world.

Under such circumstances, a long delay from the indictment to the trial of the defendant would be excludable or excusable delay for purposes of determining whether or not the defendant’s right to a speedy trial has been violated.

In some jurisdictions, the following delays are also excusable and are excluded in computing the time within which trial must commence: Any period of delay resulting from other proceedings concerning the accused, including but not limited to the following, delay resulting from an examination of the physical and mental condition of the accused, delay resulting from

proceedings with respect to other criminal charges against the accused, delay resulting from extraordinary remedies against interlocutory orders, delay resulting from pre-trial proceedings and delay any period of delay resulting from the absence or unavailability of an essential witness. Under the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(1)(F), (USA) 1974, certain pretrial delays are automatically excluded from the Act’s time limits, such as delays caused by pretrial motions. In Henderson v. United States, 476 U.S. 321, 330 (1986), the Supreme Court held that the Act excludes “all time between the filing of a motion and the conclusion of the hearing on that motion, whether or not a delay in holding that hearing is ‘reasonably necessary.”

In addition, the defendant’s own action such as filing frivolous motions or requesting prolonged adjournments to delay his trial and extend the pretrial phase of his case cannot be used in

computing the length of delay for the purposes of determining whether his right to a speedy trial has been violated because a defendant may not benefit from his own delinquency or aggregate wrongdoing.

By and large, for a defendant to benefit from his right to a speedy trial, the defendant must be proactive in asserting his right early enough in the case, otherwise, he may waive his speedy trial rights. He should not allow prolonged adjournments or accept several pretrial delays by the prosecution or even the Court and later come back to complain against the violation of his right. Even though, in many jurisdictions, the right to a speedy trial is statutory, a defendant’s conduct, larches and acquiescence and filing frivolous pretrial motions can be very crucial in determining whether speedy trial rights have been violated. In most cases, these conducts are regarded as a waiver of a defendant’s speedy trial rights.

Throwing the baby away with the bath water? (II)

PAGE 14

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

Oritsejafor’s final call on FG over Boko Haram

By Muhammad Ajah

I

n as much as no patriotically driven soul who can proudly wear the beautiful gown of the nation called Nigeria will not sympathize with the Nigeria people over the national security challenge, it is quite disturbing the way the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is handling the matter. I think by now, after many twists of events and cross-examination of the matter by the Nigerian powers of today, it is bare to the sun that the Boko Haram of today transcends mere religious inclination.

When this menace started, the powers in Nigeria were busy choosing proper names for it.

They graduated to the level of trading blames and before any meaningful step could be made to tackle it, it gradually turned into a wild fire threatening the fabric of our core existence.

CAN President, Ayo Oritsejafor’s stand on this matter is quite understandable. He is the leader of Christianity just and

By Shittu Ahmed Obassa

T

he coming of MajorGeneral Suleiman Labaran as the 13th Chief Executive Officer of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) in June, 2009 might have marked a new beginning in the march towards making DICON a more vibrant military industrial complex.

All his actions and utterances in the last three years were inching it towards an attractive venture for foreign direct investments, having travelled widely across the globe meeting great minds in military engineering and visiting similar ammunition manufacturing conglomerates.

He first bared his mind on the occasion of the send-forth of the then Special Adviser to the Chairman on Special Projects, retired Colonel Segun Toba at his official residence. His inspiring speech to the staff left no one in doubt that it was not going be business as usual. Defence analysts said Toba taught General Labaran at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, jaji when the former was a directing staff.

He replaced the then directorgeneral of DICON, Major-General Charles Maduegbunam who, as the most senior military engineer, was redeployed to the Defence Headquarters, Abuja, to take charge as the Director of Engineering Services .

The Defence Industries Corporation (DICON) was established in 1964 by an Act of Parliament. After it came into being, a German manufacturing firm called Fritz Werner was assigned the task of providing technical expertise and as well as setting up an ordinance factory in Kaduna.

This firm from West Germany therefore became the first technical partner of DICON. Fritz Werner of West

It is unarguable that the the Sultan of Sokoto is the leader worried too than those who have of Islam in Nigeria. If religion lost their beloved ones and activities of the Boko Haram were to be a similitude of political properties. But all Nigerians, have hitherto put immense parties, President Goodluck including the innocent children restraint on the restive and Jonathan would have been through prayers, have aggrieved millions of Nigerian.

But for any automatically Nigerian to the Christian begin to leader while claim that a Alhaji Namadi group is Sambo would be Peoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text b e i n g that of the messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written specifically Muslims.

But contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150 targeted and with the struggle words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and so can no between the two a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed l o n g e r religions, that to: guarantee ideology cannot s u c h be far from being The Editor, cooperation if incontestable.

Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, this trend of Oritsejafor terror is not cannot be as 35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja. h a l t e d much worried Email: let ters@peoplesdaily-online.com immediately about this SMS: 07037756364 is really illdevelopment as t i m e d Mr. President himself on whose shoulders lies continued to seek workable ways because it is capable of causing the responsibility to secure our to put a stop to this menace. I was more harm than remedies.

Whatever nomenclature lives and properties, or his vice shocked when one of my children or the Senate President or Mr. asked me this very disturbing that it attributed to the Boko Speaker. The Church leadership question while we watched a wild Haram or extremist Jamatu as well as all well meaning scene on the television: Dad, why Ahlis sunnah lil daawati wal Nigerians, including the Muslim do people kill human beings? Is it jihad, any reprisals by the restive and aggrieved millions leadership cannot be more not bad?

WRITE TO US

of Nigerians will mean declaration of the deadly religious war, which many socio-political analysts believe to be more consuming than the ethnic or political. True Nigerians should resist the temptation of being lured into any further destruction of our dear lives and hard-earned properties.

Nigeria is sure a secular state with Islam and Christianity dominating the religious sphere of the country. Yet, other minority religious groups, including free thinkers are as free as the birds in the country living their lives the way their individual hearts dictate to them. So, no level of killings and bombings by any tiny group will break up Nigeria or even instill fears in the minds of the patriots.

Eradicating religious freedom, democratic liberties or even targeting Christianity directly and Islam in disguise is a futile venture.

Muhammad Ajah is a writer based in Abuja. E-mail mobahawwah@yahoo.co.uk

DICON: Charting a new path for higher productivity Germany designed and built the Kaduna-based Ordinance factories in 1964 with the following production capacities: 5000 units of BM 59 Rifles per year, 18,000units of SMG12 annually 12,000 rounds of 7.62mmx51 per annum and 4,000,000 rounds of rounds of 9mm x19 per year.

The 30-month Nigerian civil war which occurred 1967 and 1970 necessitated the tripling of the production rates and the factory was thus able to make a significant contribution to the war. After the war in 1970, the arms market also came to an end.

DICON then chose to remain afloat by producing civilian items such as rural water supply equipment, industrial spare parts, and furniture for sale.

The fortunes of corporation dwindled under successive regimes and staff salaries were owed for many months. Under retired Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa, who was appointed the Chairman of the Board of Directors, the corporation returned to its oiriginal mandate as many fine hands were recruited to bring it up the international standard, once again. DICON made several accomplishments and achievements as rifles and military equipment had been designed, produced and tested to the admiration of two former Commanders-in- Chief.

Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo launched the DICON-made rifle named “Obj 007” at Kachia Shooting Range in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State and late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua

launched the locally manufactured “Combat Kitchen” at Murtala Mohammed Square in Kaduna on the occasion marking the Nigerian Army Day and the Centenary Anniversary of the Nigerian Army.

Imbued with a new vision since he assumed duty, Labaran has striven to reposition the resuscitated corporation on the path of steady growth and in keeping with its motto:”Towards National Defence and Enterprise”.

As part of his strategic plan of taking DICON higher, he created the Department of Business Development with a substantive director in charge.

An inter-ministerial committee has also recently been set up on the need to expand the scope and focus of the corporation which, according to him, must run on a sound commercial basis.

The committee has since finished its assignment and submitted its report to the supervising ministry to study for necessary action. A bill for an Act is said to be in the pipeline that will help in redirecting DICON so as to compete on a firm footing with other defence industries across the globe.

DICON in 2011 invited some expatriates to meet the current Minister of Defence, Alhaji Mohammed Bello Halliru to partner with the corporation in the production of military hardware. The expatriates were also in Kaduna to an on-the- spot assessment of the facilities installed in the factories.

The corporation has now deemed it fit to organise a 12-day investment drive training

programme for the staff of the industry. The training started on Monday, May 6, 2012.

The main objective of the programme is to re-orientate the workforce from the culture of the civil service under which the corporation has been managed for over 48 years.

General Labaran has this to say on the programme:” If we are to run on a sound commercial basis it presupposes that we run like a proper industry that will make for itself and government. We cannot do this if the staff members are not properly educated and knowledgeable in the areas of investments. We have over the years operated more like civil service organisation and we all know the mentality of the civil service.

“We are going to have people who will come with their money to partner with us.As such we must understand the issues involved in such investments.

And so we decided that our staff must have the basic skills in those areas and under the culture and value context.”

The Nigerian Investment Promotion Council has offered to do the training for DICON’s staff in view of the fact that their involvement will further facilitate the inflow of the anticipated investments.

The Executive Secretary of NIPC, Alhaji Mustafa Bello, at the commencement of the training, gave his own perspective as to how DICON should be transformed. He wants the corporation to wear the toga of Nigerian Communication Commission

which is a regulator in the telecommunication industry.

According to him, the manufacturing ammunition should cease to be the major mandate of DICON. “A military industrial complex if well established, the quantum of resources it is going to turn up into the nation’s economy cannot be overemphasised. It is very expensive to produce military hard ware such as aircraft, armoured carrier, tanks, and if we are able to do them in Nigeria, we are going to save our economy huge amount of resources” , he stated.

He cited the example of Israel, which has acquired the knowledge to produce arsenal from the United States and that the quantum of arsenal the country produces locally has repositioned it well enough to stop importing military hardware and yet be able to ward off aggression and any form of security threat.

To this end, he said: “What we have today is to first start by training the staff of DICON to be able to acclimatise to a culture that aims at transforming the corporation into a regulator that will now see the advent of investments into a military industrial enterprise.”

Defence analysts believe that DICON will soon transform into a viable mass employer of labour, judging by the fact that ammunition manufacturing is both necessary and inevitable both during war and peace times.

Shittu Ahmed Obassa wrote from Abuja.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

A

bba Dabo, my Editor at the Sunday New Nigerian introduced me to the newspaper world. He also introduced me to the world of urban terrorism.

Thirty years ago, he sent me to Maiduguri to cover the Maitatsine uprising in Bulumkutu, a seedy neighborhood of the Borno state capital.

For the first time in my life, I realized that the life of a reporter is a life of adventure. What makes the job most interesting is the risks that are integralal part of it. A reporter without a breathtaking story to tell his children is like the general who never saw action on the war front. He is not a reporter.

I arrived Maiduguri that fine afternoon in October of 1982 at the instance of Abba Dabo. To my dismay, the whole town was in one huge commotion. To be fair, he had briefed me in a hand written memo, which I still keep, about the upheaval in that town. I was not a new comer to Maitsine anyway.

When they made their first outing in December 1980 in Kano, I was there. Not as a reporter; still I was a witness to the havoc.

Now, in Maiduguri, I was left to my devices as a reporter to send reports to the New Nigerian, the most authoritative newspaper in Nigeria at the time. How could I get a report, especially based on Abba Dabo's detailed official memo to me when all residents of the town were running hither and thither?

I had no option but to follow the maddening crowd. We, (both

PAGE 15

Salkida in Senegal Christians and Moslems) run to to sleep; finally Maitasine was the north, to the east, to the south worsted in Maiduguri. I remember and to the west. All we needed to that day very well. The Nigerian prompt us to run to a certain police got us, we the remnants of direction was for somebody to point reporters they could still find in to the opposite direction and shout: Maiduguri (most of our colleagues "gasu, gasu" in Hausa meaning 'see had fled) and marched us to the them here, see them here.'

Bulumkutu headquarters of I soon got tired of Maitastsine. running around It was a aimlessly. It didn't horrible make sense. Was I sight, the going to send back a type I will live report to my editor t o detailing my remember. credentials as an In my Olympic sprinting presence, a athlete? I got back to mass grave my senses and soon w a s Emmanuel Yawe traced my way to the uncovered at 08024565402 house of ASP Ayuba, t h e royawe@yahoo.com M a i t a t s i n e the courageous police man whose murder headquarters.

by Maitatsine fanatics in Human carcass, roasted like goats Bulumkutu sparked off the whole were being unearthed for us to see. bloodbath in the town. The family I almost threw up! But what members were very kind. Till date, frightened me the most was the I regret the fact that I never kept action of the then Borno state the contact I established with this Commissioner of Police Mr Dahiru exceptional family. They gave me Jidda who threatened to shoot me ASP Ayuba's picture and the New because he felt I was getting too close Nigerian was the first newspaper to the scene of action. In a less than in Nigeria to publish the picture of a year after this threat, the same this gallant nAationalist who gave Commissioner was to issue a us his life to save Nigerians from similar warning to the great Zik of terrorism.

Africa at the Maiduguri airport. It Three days of running up and suddenly occurred to me that this down, three days of uncertainly, man was a happy 'kill and go' police three days of not knowing where man and if he could threaten the

first indigenous Governor General of Nigeria like that, who was I? In January 1984, Maitatsine came again. This time it was in Yola, the capital of Gongola state at the time. I again got my marching orders from Abba Dabo.

Pronto I was there.

Musa was my mechanic in 1980-1982 when I was a reporter with the News Agency of Nigeria in Yola. I knew he had only one problem: he used to wet his bet at night. It was a problem that was whispered around the workshop he operated. But he was a damn good mechanic so if his wife did not bother about his turning the marital bed into river Benue every night, we his customers cared less.

I got to Yola in January 1984 to discover to my dismay that this damn good mechanic was the man who started that years Maitatsine uprising in Yola. So, apart from wetting his bed every night, this man had another problem; he wanted to wreck many Nigerian families with his mindless violence.

One of the first lessons you learn as a journalism student is to be fair to all sides of a story. There are always two sides to a story. A good reporter must always try to get both sides to each story before going to press. This means every story must be balanced. In my

reportage of Maitatsine terrorism in Maiduguri and Yola, I failed in this cardinal test. The violence I saw, the barbarity, the carnage, all convinced me that Maitasine had nothing positive to offer. There was no need seeking their views.

Today, one young, brave and enterprising reporter has proved me wrong. We as reporters may disagree with Maitatsine and Boko Haram. But it is still our duty to seek them out and report them accurately. Maitatsine was a child's play compared with Boko Haram. But unlike me who never cared to seek out Maitatsine leaders or members for their views, Salkida Ahmed has gone all out to make contact with Boko Haram. I bow to this young man who was at a time my reporter every time we meet.

He has conquered territories that Napoleon and Hitler could not reach.

Regrettably, he has been abandoned by his constituency.

Two Nigerian newspapers, the Trust and Blueprint where he worked have so far rusticated him.

The Nigerian Union of Journalists has also issued a disclaimer of him.

The last I read of him was on the internet where he addressed the international community in Senegal on his plight as a Nigerian journalist who tried to report both sides of the Boko Haram story.

Hunted by the Nigerian security services and suspected by his professional colleagues, Salkida is still a rare breed to me. I pray every day that he lives to tell his fantastic story.

A charade called constitution review H

By Godwin Onyeacholem

ow did Nigeria arrive at this tragic juncture? At no time in the turbulent history of this country has there been this degree of hopelessness.

Unconsciously, this era of (mal)governance – no matter the ill-conceived sentiments of its perverse apologists – has stubbornly infused in the growing crowd of cynics a more solid impetus for perpetual skepticism.

For, except in the eyes of the extremely naive and incurable swindlers in the corridors of power, this country has already collapsed; only that the horror of its probable disintegration would be difficult to face. And take note, when ‘this house’ eventually falls, one group that must be held responsible for its indiscretion is the National Assembly members.

The legislators, especially the senators, who are in a pole position to drive the agenda for meaningful change, seem to be the ones obstructing progress through forceful narrow-mindedness and thereby gradually wheeling the country and its severely battered people toward certain destruction.

By exhibiting an unspeakable indifference and discounting widespread demand of the Nigerian people for a brand new constitution, the legislators have again sufficiently demonstrated that the people whom they claim guaranteed their status as lawmakers don’t matter. The way they carry on promotes not just arrogance, but leaves no other impression than an undeclared

resolve to preserve a sclerotic system. Consequently, when the chips are down, as it increasingly seems apparent, it is not unlikely that mob justice would surely be the ‘portion’ of our legislators, to mimic the language with which overzealous Christians are certain to put it.

In the face of the multidimensional problems buffeting the country, there is no question that the task of renewing the hopes of the people would be difficult.

Resourceful and imbued with a high quality of rigorous thinking, the people remAain thoroughly disturbed by the yet unsettled subject of nationhood. Many still argue today that there are no Nigerians in the true sense of the word – that the word NIGERIAN is merely a distinctive tag for those who live in the geographical space called Nigeria. Added to this is the vexed question of citizenship which often assumes the frontline on the rostrum of serious public discourse.

These and much more are the areas an envisaged freshly minted constitution is bound to address once and for all. That thirteen years of democracy has not been able to finally put to rest the hang-ups created by aberrations like these does no credit whatsoever to the sensitivity of the ruling PDP, the self-acclaimed largest party in Africa.

And typical of its character, the PDP-dominated National Assembly feels no qualms worsening the situation by going to town with the garbage of constitution amendment (they like to call it review), when even

the blind can see and the deaf can hear the deafening clamour by the people for a new constitution. For long, the Nigerian people have been calling for a constitution that they will accept as truly originating from them, not the one foisted on them by bandits disguised as benevolent leaders. Yes, the National Assembly has powers to amend or review the constitution, but they would be wasting their time embarking on this process for the 1999 constitution whose provenance already gives it away as a fraudulent document.

What are these lawmakers afraid of? Why are they shying away from confronting history by leaving their names on its positive side as a result of allowing the people agree on a constitution they can truly call their own, at least for the very first time in the history of this country? Instead of settling down to consider over 50 amendments for a beleaguered constitution, why not arrange for a constituent assembly to simply write a new constitution? Why dissipate energy on a military-era document that falls terribly short of charting a viable course in the daunting challenge of inventing a modern Nigeria anchored on the vision, hopes and aspirations of the people?

There is no doubt that attempts to provide answers to these posers would produce a tapestry of reasons that conclusively depict self-interest as the sole motif.

In times like these, the legislators know that acceding to an entirely new constitution that would be approved by a referendum of the people would

definitely not be in their favour.

They are aware it would seem like tying nooses around their necks because it would amount to an effective cessation of the stream of outrageous perks that they lavishly enjoy, and which habitually push them to want be in the legislature by hook or by crook. Besides, they dread the prospect of restructuring as it is full of potentialities for a reconfigured National Assembly and a revised status for its members.

They have read the mood of the people and observed that it is tilted towards inserting in a new constitution a unicameral legislature with far fewer members, as well as drastic cuts in salaries and allowances. They fear where all this would leave them. And not unmindful of the dirt from an enraged public sullying their reputation as a bunch of overfed liabilities, they are not prepared to take chances.

Therefore to ensure a preservation of the jamboree, the best option, they must have advised themselves, is to continue to paper over the cracks on the ruined walls of the present constitution.

But the people are not deceived. They know what this latest move is all about. Amend the constitution to retain old privileges and underwrite new entitlements.

Amend the constitution to award the President, governors – and possibly legislators – additional years in office. This is the ignoble role reserved for the National Assembly in the wider concept of a dubious transformation. The

last time this project was undertaken for similar selfish reasons during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration it ended in a fiasco.

This time round nobody should be led into believing that anything has changed. A linchpin of that disgraceful outing is firmly in place, now holding down a more persuasive position as he perches atop the commanding heights of a supposedly hallowed institution.

With Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his committee determined to go ahead with what, obviously, is at best a charade, there should be no question about how the people should respond. They should be prepared to equally match the committee’s disdain and defiance with a resounding disregard for the call for submission of memoranda, since what is likely to come out from this wrong-headed exercise can never be compared with the kind of document Nigerians have in mind.

As for the civil society organisations, they would be better off remembering that the country has been going round in circles for decades through the machinations of a string of governing elites who lack foresight. They would therefore need to maintain intellectual distance from a programme propelled by collective delusions, such as the one the legislators have undertaken concerning the constitution. This is the only way to go, if in the end the country chooses to get up and walk.

Godwin Onyeacholem is a journalist based in Abuja

PAGE 16

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

Foundation expresses commitment to develop capacity of youths

T

A man frying fish in Garki village, Abuja

AMAC Chair lauds Minister over achievement

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

T

he Chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Micha Jiba, has lauded the present FCT Minister, Sen. Bala Muhammed for uniting the people and creating employment for youths in the FCT, saying it is the best achievement which placed him above his predecessors.

Jiba, who gave this commendation in Abuja over the weekend, explained that the present leadership had more people’s oriented programme than any other in the history of the FCT. He said that the youths who were usually abandoned in the street had been involved in more productive ventures, adding that such effort needs to be encouraged if the country

must move forward.

On the issue of creation of more districts by the minister, the chairman said, “Bala is a man of credibility. I so much believe that this initiative will bring about development and create effective atmosphere for investors in the country. With this kind of project which other administrations have not been able to achieve, Nigerians should rally behind him in championing the transformation agenda of president Goodluck Jonathan”.

Jiba further called on the FCT minister to clarify the issue of compensation and resettlement for the indigenes, which he said would calm the hue and cry generated from the issue of compensation.

“We know that Abuja belongs to everybody, but there are certain people that do not

have any state to call their own, therefore I want to appeal to the minister to clarify this issue so that the people will understand.

“If there is going to be resettlement in a particular place, it should be done according to the laid down rules and regulations so that the people will be duly compensated and have a place to call their own”, Jiba said.

It would be recalled that on the 26th march, Garki indigenes appealed to the minister to set up a panel to investigate the past resettlement exercises conducted in the village so as to find out the lasting solution to the irregularities that beclouded the resettlement exercise with a view to prosecuting the scrupulous people behind it.

he T.Y. Danjuma Foundation (TYDF) is determined to develop the capacity of Nigerian youths, Mr. James Gala, the Communication Officer of the organisation, said in a statement in Abuja on Sunday.

“TYDF through its Income Generating Programme is committed to providing grants to young people and youth organisations that are ready to contribute to vital aspect of our national development.

“We need to build the capacity of the youths to sustain themselves and become self employed, `` the statement said.

It said the foundation had concluded arrangements to equip more than 1,000 youths with skills on career success and business development.

“The foundation will provide the youths with life building skills and an opportunity to interact with their mentors who will train them, `` the statement said.

It pointed out that youths were a strong force in the development process and as such the long- term investment of any responsible society.

“If their future is mismanaged, then we as a nation may be missing out on an

FCT scribe harps on synergy for effective service delivery

By Josephine Ella

T

he Secretary, Agricultural and Rural Development Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Olvadi Bema Madayi has emphasised the important of synergy among staff of varioAus department of the secretariat for effective service delivery.

According to her, “synergy amongst the staff and departments would ensure that objective of increased food production, empowerment of the FCT farmers and job creation as well as poverty alleviation in the rural communities in the FCT is

FCTA partners World Bank on pedestrian bridges

By Josephine Ella

F

ollowing the alarming increase in the number of pedestrians losing their lives while crossing major roads in the city, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) administration has concluded plans to construct six pedestrian bridges at critical locations.

The FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, who disclosed the plan at the weekend, while

reviewing some of the challenges in the transport subsector of the FCT, listed the locations where the pedestrian bridges would be constructed to include; the Nnamdi Azikwe Expressway by Tafawa Balewa (Old Secretariat); Nnamdi Azikwe Expressway by Olusegun Obasanjo (Wuye Junction), Shehu Yar’Adua Way by Okonja Iweala Way (V.I.O Mabushi); Shehu Yar’Adua Way by Ladi Kwali

Street (Sheraton Junction); Nnamdi Azikwe Expressway by Ahmadu Bello Way (Banex Junction) and Nnamdi Azikwe Expressway by Shehu Shagari Way (Nicon Junction).

The Minister revealed that the FCT Administration is undertaking the construction of these pedestrian bridges in collaboration with the World Bank.

He expressed displeasure over the daily loss of lives of

important aspect of future,’’ the statement said.

The organisation urged youths “to take the bull by the horn and attempt becoming employers themselves as well as be determined to discover the geniuses in them.

“We have to take the bull by the horn and start to chart our own course; Facebook and Microsoft were started by young persons “That is the challenge for the youths today because Nigeria is not a country of beggars but of initiators. `` The organisation observed that 46 per cent of the 67 million youths in Nigeria were unemployed, adding that about 80 per cent of the number did not have more than the First School Leaving Certificate.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that T.Y. Danjuma Foundation has invested in programmes aimed at ensuring that youths become self-reliant by supporting projects targeted at building the capacity of youths at the grassroots.

The foundation also has an internship programme through which youths are trained to be agents of positive change (NAN)

pedestrians crossing major roads in the Abuja metropolis, pledging his commitment towards proffering lasting solution to the menace.

He therefore directed the, Directorate of Road Traffic Services, the Nigeria Police Force and the Federal Road Safety Commission to ensure that all traffic rules and regulations, especially speed limit, are strictly obeyed within the FCT.

achieved”.

Madayi made this known at a two-day budget retreat held to prioritize the secretariat’s 2012 budget projects and early preparation for the 2013 estimate held at the Chesbury Hotel in Abuja.

She noted that early preparation on the 2013 budget was commendable as it would give impetus to the transformation agenda of the President Goodluck Jonathan, while expressing displeasure over delayed submission and passage of the 2012 Appropriation Bill.

While delivering a paper on “Budget for Effective Rural Development,” the Director, Economic Planning, Research and Statistics, Alhaji Muhammed Ari, explained that the secretariat has a lot to offer in the actualisation of the transformation agenda of the present administration.

Ari further emphasised the importance of access to irrigation water, saying this would provide a substantial production gain and increase food production.

He added that irrigated farms meant more productive harvests, which in turn will lead to more food, new way to earn income, and relative prosperity for rural household and communities built around them.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

PAGE 17

PHOTOS BY Joe Oroye & Justin Imo-Owo

Proscribed Okada riders back in business, at the weekend in Area 1 Garki, Abuja.

L-R: Chairman Bwari Area Council, Hon. Yohanna Perters, receiving Best Performance Award from Waseeu Adebayo, bestowed on him by the RootWatch Magazine, on Friday in Abuja.

Artisans producing local mats at Apo, in Abuja.

An abandoned Nitel office over-grown by grasses in Maitama, Abuja.

A farmer tiling the land yesterday at Gudu Village, in Abuja.

PAGE 18

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

The Day vulnerable groups in FCT smiled home with N53m(1)

By Josephine Ella

H

er speech was lengthy, but very touching.

"Turn a new leave from the indecent, risky business of prostitution and embrace the rehabilitation programme of the FCT administration", the National Coordinator of Society against Prostitution and Child Labour in Nigeria (SAP-CLN), Mrs. Grace Adogo, advised, as she wrapped up a bizarre tale of a charming lady, who met her waterloo while engaging in prostitution.

The occasion was the graduation ceremony of the second batch of 137 repentant commercial sex workers, held last month at the Sabon-Lugbe Rehabilitation Centre which was witnessed by dignitaries drawn from the National Assembly and the FCTA. Linda (not real name), according to Adogo, was among the most recent batches of prostitutes picked up from a notorious spot within the city centre.

Quite alright, together with her friend, she had opted to avail herself of the rehabilitation programme of the FCT administration in partnership with SAP-CLN, a n o n - g o v e r n m e n t a l organisation (NGO), collaborating with the administration to enforce the

ban on prostitution, street hawking, trading and begging in the city.

However, along the line, she backed-out of the training, leaving her friend behind.

Adogo, who told the story with pictoral evidence on a projector, emphasised that she had actually enrolled and checked into the Sabon-Lugbe Rehabilitation Centre before quitting.

Sadly, the last trip she embarked on with her male client to Jos, the Plateau state capital during the last valentine celebration in February 14, this year was to be her last escapade in the risky venture.

The following day; her unsuspecting male client was already on his way out of the hotel, where they had both lodged. He was said to have told staff at the reception that he had paid two days up front for the lady to relax in the hotel room.

Not until after two days when the lady did not check out of the hotel as her payment had expired, that workers of the hotel decided to knock on the door of the room, but to their utmost chagrin there was no response.

The next option was to break into the door and when they did, the horror that steered them in the face was a

monster as the lady had turned into a snake by means of a strange, diabolic power employed by her male client.

The only human part that was left was her head and the golden weavon on her head but her face had metamorphosed into a monstrous one, and from her neck down, was a big serpent.

Her mobile phone was the only thing left with her that could be used to trace her identity, Adogo continued.

The hotel workers, who squealed out of the room in fear, were said to have contacted the police, which through the mobile phone contacted her friend, who was still undergoing training at the rehabilitation centre, with whom she had the last conversation before the incident.

As the video of the monster played on the projector and the narration by the SAP-CLN coordinator went on, both the graduands and the guests at the ceremony were gripped with fear as they stared in bewilderment.

With her narration over, Mrs Adogo took time to give a rundown of the activities of the NGO since it entered into partnership with the FCT administration as she recalled that they had earlier graduated 39 trainees in the

National Coordinator, SAPCLN, Mrs Grace Adogo, addressing graduands and other guest at the ceremony first batch of there habilitation programme in 2011.

She explained that in the second batch, a total of 473 women were graduating from the centre, out of which 137 are repentant commercial sex workers, who were trained on hair dressing, tie and dye, hat/ bead production, fashion

Secretary, Social Development Secretariat, Mrs blessing Onuh presents the cash grant/starters pack to a grandaunt from the Bwari vocational centre

designing, soap and cream production, baking, computer appreciation, among other vocations.

Though, the scope of its activities at the Sabon-Lugbe rehabilitation centre was initially confine to only repentant commercial sex workers, the NGO recently, decided to include other vulnerable women like widows, divorcees and other less privileged women which constituted greater percentage of the graduands.

She said that SAPCLN had opened a centre in Jabi, where these other categories of women were being accommodated, adding, "Women displaced from different parts of the country, due to the security problem have also been included in order to prevent them from falling victim to the menace of prostitution".

In her address at the ceremony, the Secretary, FCT Social Development Secretariat, Mrs. Blessing Onuh, who has been at the forefront of the crusade against prostitution, begging, street hawking and trading in the FCT, said the administration is determine to rid the territory of all nuisance.

This, she said, was what informed the campaign and commitment of the administration towards rehabilitation of those engaging in these acts at the rehabilitation centre, which was established in 2011 in the wake of the ban on these activities in the FCT. .....to be continued

BUSINESS

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

Email: amunuimam@yahoo.co.uk

PAGE 19

INSIDE

- Pg 20

CBN targets 20% financial inclusion by 2020

Mob: 08033644990

Etisalat: Lack of power, sabotage affects service

E

tisalat Nigeria, an affiliate of the No. 2 Gulf Arab operator Etisalat, said a lack of reliable electricity and sabotage were to blame for poor service after the regulator fined telecom firms for failing to meet quality targets.

Etisalat Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom and MTN Nigeria, a unit of South's Africa's MTN, were fined a total of 1.17

billion naira ($7.43 million), according to local media reports.

Etisalat Nigeria said fines averaged $2 million per operator for "non-compliance with the quality of service targets set by the regulator", according to an emailed statement.

"This year alone we are investing more than half a billion dollars in expansion of our

5 Nigerian banks get ACI African payment awards

A

leading international provider of payment systems, ACI Worldwide, has honoured five Nigerian banks for outstanding achievements.

The banks are First Bank of Nigeria, Ecobank, GTB, Zenith Bank and Sky Bank.

The awards were presented

by Raymond Moodley, ACI Africa’s Sales Director, at the Nigerian user group meeting at Four Points by Sheraton in Lagos.

All of the major banks in Nigeria now process electronic transactions on an ACI

Flight schedule AIR NIGERIA (MONDAY - SUNDAY) LOS-A BJ: 07.15, 11.40, 14.00, 16.30, 17.00, 17.20, 18.30.

ABJ-LOS: 07.00, 09.30, 10.30, 11.15, 16.15, 19.15, 19.35 ABJ-KANO: 18.40 KANO-ABJ: 08.35 ABJ -SOK (MON): 09.35 ABJ-SOK (FRI): 10.10 ABJ-SOK (WED/SUN): 11.20 SOK-ABJ (MON): 11.35 SOK-ABJ (FRI): 12.00 SOK-ABJ (WED/SUN): 13.20

AEROCONTRACTORS (MON - SUN) LOS-ABJ: 06.50, 13.30, 19.45 LOS-ABJ (SUN): 12.30 LOS-ABJ (SAT): 16.45 ABU-L OS: 07.30, 13.00, 14.00, 19.00 ABU-LOS (SUN): 10.30, 14.30, 19.30 ABU-LOS (SAT): 18.30

DANA AIRLINES (MON - SUN) LOS-ABJ: 07.02, 08.10, 12.06, 15.30, 17.10 ABJ-LOS: 07.20, 09.36, 13.05, 14.40 ABJ-LOS (SAT/SUN): 13.05, 18.00 LOS-KANO : 08.10 KANO-LOS: 11.25 KANO -ABUJA: 11.25 ABUJA-KANO : 10.08

IRS AIRLINES LOS -ABJ: 9.45, 11.45, 2.45

platform. These banks are linked to the central postilion switch operated by Interswitch, where inter-bank transaction switching takes place.

Interswitch, a value added services aggregator providing bill payment and prepaid products via all the electronic banking channels, facilitated the criteria and judging of the awards.

Five awards were presented during the dinner. First was the award for Adoption. The award recognised the bank that has endorsed the greatest number of electronic funds transfer over the past two years, including the number of position modules licensed, implemented, and generating live transactions.

The winner in this category was First Bank of Nigeria.

Award for Growth was awarded to the bank that processes more than one million transactions per month and has seen the highest percentage growth in transaction over the past two years. The winner in this category was First Bank of Nigeria.

Award for Achievement went to the bank that has shown the greatest improvement in ranking based on transaction volumes in the past year. The winner in this category was Ecobank Nigeria.

The award for Operations was given to the bank that has consistently demonstrated professional operation management. The winner in this category was GTB. Skye Bank won the award for Issuing Efficiency for demonstrating the most efficient card issuance strategy and sustained the highest active card rates in the industry.

EXCHANGE RATES

CBN CFA • £ RIYAL $

LOS-KANO: 6.15 LOS-KANO (SAT/SUN): 16.30 KANO-LOS: 07.30 KANO-LOS (SUN/SUN): 10.30

SELLING 0.3068 201.6495 250.96 41.5289 155.75

£ RIYAL $

BUYING 243 43 154

SELLING 257 45 159

Nigeria only provides its 167 million inhabitants with around a quarter of the amount of electricity used by New York City, leaving those who can afford it to use expensive diesel generators and those who cannot to live without any power.

The country's power ministry has said it is confident privatisation in the sector will be completed by October and current power output of no fewer than 4,000 megawatts can be boosted to 6,000 by the end of the year and 10,000 by the end of 2013.

UAE's Etisalat owns a 40-

percent stake in Etisalat Nigeria, which launched services in 2008 and had 10.75 million mobile subscribers at the end of 2011, data from the regulator showed.

This gave it a mobile market share of 11.9 percent, behind MTN Nigeria's 46 percent and Globacom's 22 percent. Airtel, a subsidiary of India's Bharti Airtel, had a 19.9 percent share.

Etisalat's network covers 74 percent of Nigeria's population, according to its parent firm's 2011 annual report, up from 59 percent a year earlier. ($1 = 157.4500 Nigerian naira) (Reuters)

Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga and Director-General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms. Arunma Oteh, during the during the opening of 2012 world economic forum on Africa, recently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Power privatisation winners to be named in Oct–BPE

I

n a bid to stop chronic electricity shortages holding back Nigeria’s economy the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) said at the weekend the preferred bidders for state power assets would be announced in October,.

The BPE plans to sell off 11 distribution and 6 generation companies as part of plans to privatise a power sector rife with inefficiency and corruption.

It said the 152 potential investors had been sent transaction documents and once bids had been received

they would be vetted.

“The announcement of the preferred bidder for the 17 successor companies by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) will be made on/or before October 23, 2012,” a statement signed by Chukwuma Nwokoh, BPE spokesman, said.

BPE has said Nigeria’s economy could be growing at over 10 percent if it solved its power crisis but it would need $15-$20 billion of investment in the next three years.

Nigeria holds the world’s seventh largest natural gas

reserves but only provides its 167 million inhabitants with around a quarter of the amount of electricity used by New York City, leaving those who can afford it to use expensive diesel generators and those who can’t to live without any power.

President Goodluck Jonathan has made reforming the power sector a priority and a significant upsurge in electricity output would bring him support from the Nigerians who have been disappointed with his progress since taking office last year.

(Reuters)

Management Tip of the Day

11th May, 2012 BUYING 0.2868 200.3548 249.3487 41.2623 154.75

PARALLEL RATES

ABJ-LOS: 11.30, 3.45, 4.45

network capabilities and capacity," Chief Executive Steven Evans said.

The company said capacity constraints alone where not to blame for poor service, citing roadworks, sabotage and a lack of electricity as industry challenges.

"Foremost among these is the absence of reliable power which necessitates that every one of our over 3,000 cell sites needs to be served by two generators which run 24 hours a day and need regular maintenance and provision of weekly supplies of diesel," it said.

Respond thoughtfully to online customer feedback

W

hether you’re a small company or a Fortune 500, customer feedback matters. But it can be tough to navigate online feedback. Which reviews are valuable and which are unreliable? Consider the following when dealing with the negative ones:· Seek a solution.

Post a response and offer a way to turn the situation around.

Always extend an olive branch if you can.·Don’t treat all comments equally. Anonymous reviews should never receive the same attention as authored comments.· I n v i t e comments. If you’re open to

hearing input, you’re more likely to hear positive things. Create forums for discussions about products or services, allow customers to post video testimonials, and keep social media lines open.

Source: Harvard Business Review

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

PAGE 20

Interbank rates rise on cash shortage

COMPANY NEWS

Nigeria, Ghana firms in N2.3bn deal to boost trade

N

A

s part of measures to boost cross-border trade amongst members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Sonnex Packaging Nigeria Limited and Kasapreko Company Limited Ghana have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)on bilateral trade cooperation to boost economic prosperity of the African sub-region.

Cadbury’s focus on advantaged brand gives way for growth

C

adbury Nigeria Plc, foremost confectionary company, has declared a gross earnings of N34.1 billion for its 2011 financial year.

This was a remarkable achievement when the figure is compared to N29.2 billion it achieved in 2010.

Nigeria to deepen local content of oil & gas sector

Girls selling Kuli-Kuli (groundnut cake) and groundnut oil, yesterday at Ibi waterside market, in Taraba state.

Photo: NAN developed an exposure draft on financial inclusion strategy for Nigeria. The strategy is aimed at reducing the percentage of adult Nigerians excluded from financial services from 46.3 he Central Bank of Nigeria The draft, according to a percent as at 2010 to 20 percent (CBN) has said it had statement obtained on its by 2020. developed a strategy website at the weekend, was “This is with a view to aimed at reducing the prepared by a German-based enabling them to have access to percentage of Nigerians consultancy firm – Roland financial services, engage in excluded from financial services Berger, in collaboration with economic activities and from 46.3 percent as at 2010, to Enhancing Financial contribute to the development of 20 percent by 2020.

Innovation and Access (EFInA). Nigeria. As part of the process of As a result of this, the apex “In continuation of its consultation with stakeholders, bank said it had developed an developmental role in the we solicit for inputs from the exposure draft on financial Nigerian economy, the Central public to enable the Bank inclusion strategy for Nigeria.

Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has finalise the document,” it said.

CBN targets 20% financial inclusion by 2020

T

N8.33m assets recovered from microfinance banks in liquidation

N

igeria is planning to set up its own pipeline industry to boost domestic employment and also to enhance GDP, according to the Executive Secretary and CEO of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Ernest Nwapa has said.

Shoprite, Resilient plan 10 shopping malls for Nigeria

S

hoprite Holdings Ltd. and Resilient Property Income Fund Ltd. plan to spend more than N19.7 billion ($125 million) building 10 shopping malls in Nigeria, the Financial Mail said, citing Resilient’s Chief Executive Officer Des de Beer.

Dangote Cement sees profit at N77.5bn

D

angote Cement Plc of Nigeria said net income for the six months through June will probably be 77.5 billion naira.

igeria’s interbank lending rates climbed this week to an average of 14.16 percent, from 13.91 percent last week, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) aggressively mopped up excess liquidity by selling treasury bills.

Traders said apart from a primary auction of treasury bills, where N147 billion ($932.59 million) worth ranging from 3month to 1-year were sold, the central bank also issued over N100 billion in short-dated debt bills through the conduct of open market operations (OMO) this week.

The CBN conducts open market operations regularly as part of measures to curb inflation.

“The CBN has been mopping up liquidity using OMO instruments and this has significantly reduced the volume of cash available for transactions in the market,” one dealer said.

The market opened with a cash balance of about 87 billion naira on Friday, compared with 131 billion naira last week.

Dealers said cost of borrowing among banks will trend up further next week, as no fresh cash inflow is anticipated, while the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is expected to recall a portion of its deposits with banks to its account with the central bank, which would further reduce liquidity. (Reuters)

F

Inflation rates from Apr, 2011 to Mar, 2012 Max = 12.6%, Min = 9.3% for period in display.

Current Inflation rate = 12.1% Source:CBN

or N8.33 million assets to be recovered to date from microfinance banks in liquidation, shows that the measures put in place for assets recovery by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) are effective.

The NDIC recently appointed debt recovery agents (DRAs) for microfinance banks (MFBs) in liquidation to fast track recovery

Earnings Report for Banks Source:Pro-share Nigeria

of debts owed to the 103 closed MFBs’ customers nationwide.

In his acceptance speech at the occasion of the Business Hallmark ‘People of the Year’ award, Umar Ibrahim, Managing Director/CEO, NDIC, disclosed that the sum of N8.33 million had been recovered to date in respect of the closed MFBs. According to him, one of the principal liquidation activities of the corporation is the realisation of assets of the closed banks. The cumulative recovery for the banks in liquidation since 1994 rose from about N21.756 billion to about N22.158 billion in 2011, representing an increase of about 2 percent.

Ibrahim noted that in August 2011, the corporation commenced payment of insured deposits to the depositors of Triumph and Fortune banks closed in 2006, thereby bringing relief to the depositors whose deposits were trapped due to protracted litigation.

Following the revocation of operating licences of the 103 MFBs by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in September 2010, the corporation had, as of August 2011, directly paid an aggregate sum of N2.024 billion to about 70,424 depositors, which represented about 41 percent of the total insured amount of about N4.94 billion. (NAN)

PAGE 21

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

Equity market dips by -0.19% in the week amidst profit taking

T

rading activities on the Nigerian bourse closed southwards in the week after recording three consecutive weeks of positive stance while the negative market transactions witnessed in three of the trading days under review pulled market back to the red zone as envisaged in our Sentiments Analysis Report.

Furthermore, market activities closed downbeat by 0.42% after three days rally to open the first trading day of the week negative while market resumed uptrend in the second session to close optimistic by +0.38% as bargain hunting permeate market activities across the main board.

The bears return to the bourse as trading activities closed negative to erase previous day gain by -0.54% in the third session while similar posture was recorded in the fourth session as market maintained southwards movement by -0.10% due to continuous profit taking amid low volume turnover and Naira Votes.

Conversely, trading activities on Friday closed northwards as sentiments turned green.

Consequently, the key benchmark indices inches up by +0.49% while market closed the week with aggregate loss of 0.19%.

Further analysis on acquiring banks since

transaction date showed that the share price of Access Bank Plc has recorded 35.35% gain, followed

by FCMB with 34.62% gain while Union Bank Plc leads the chart with 138.67% gain. However, Sterling Bank recorded -3.15% gain while ETI closed negative with -1.46% loss recorded.

However, the All-Share Index in the week under review moved down by -0.19% to close at 22,622.44 as against an upbeat by +2.52% recorded last week to close at 22,665.99.

In the same vein, the market capitalisation in the week depreciated by N13.88 billion (US$92.59 million) to close at N7.21 trillion (US$48.08 billion) as against appreciation by

N177.49 billion (US$1.18 billion) recorded last week to close at N7.22 trillion (US$ 48.17billion).

The total volume traded in the week closed at 2.24 billion units valued at N19.35billion (US$129.01 million) compared with 2.44 billion units valued at N20.74 billion (US$138.23 million) exchanged in 16,961 deals last week. The volume transaction in the week when compared with the previous week data moved down by -8.41% as against upwards movement by +24.79% recorded last week.

Weekly value also went down by -6.66% as against positive position of +20.33% recorded last week.

UBA shelves plans for $500m Eurobond

U

nited Bank for Africa has shelved its plans for a $500 million Eurobond as it focuses on strengthening its existing businesses, its chief executive said on Friday.

“What we’re doing right now is just to consolidate the business,” Phillips Oduoza told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Africa in Addis Ababa.

Oduoza said in March the

bank was looking at issuing a $500 million Eurobond by the fourth quarter of this year or early 2013.

“For now we put it on hold.

It’s not an immediate priority, we can look at it sometime, but not right now,” he said on Friday.

UBA, like many other Nigerian banks, made a pre-tax loss in 2011, totalling 28.49 billion naira. That was largely

owing to a balance sheet clean up, as bad debts incurred during a banking crisis in 2008/09 were written down.

First quarter results showed a profit of 10.3 billion naira, as UBA and the banking sector in general started to bounce back.

UBA operates in 19 African countries, including Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia.

The bank aims to make 25 percent of its pretax profit outside

Bond market last week D uring the week under review, activities in the bond market were driven largely by trading in response to the release of inflation figures for the month of March by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which showed consumer prices inching up to 12.1 percent, from 11.9 the previous month.

The head of market risk at United Bank for Africa (UBA), Kubi Momoh notes that inflation expectations will remain elevated, at least for the next three months.

“There were some expectations that monetary policy would soften at the next policy meeting, but with this new inflation figures coming in now, we are not so sure, meaning the policy rate will

stay a bit longer at current levels” she said.

Meanwhile, over-thecounter (OTC) trading remained relatively stable and active as yield movements across all tradable maturities were insignificant.

“We believe this trend suggests that the more attractive yields available on short-tenured securities remains the central consideration regarding investors’ portfolio decisions; hence, the flattening of the domestic yield curve” said bond analysts with investment firm, Dunn Loren Merrifield (DLM).

Surplus liquidity within the system was also a key driver of market activities in view of the inflow of budgetary

allocations from the preceding week. As a result, market concentration was at the short end of the curve.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continued its attempt to mop up the excess liquidity through the use of Open Market Operations (OMO) as it offered for sale N70 billion worth of 118day and 239day treasury bills (t-bills) whilst N89.53 billion was sold at marginal rates of 14.08 percent and 14.19 percent respectively.

The t-bills were oversubscribed to the tune of 94 percent whilst the amount allotted when compared with the offer amount was higher by 27.90 percent. The OMO auction result also affected the market as the rates came out higher than expected given

Nigeria by the end of this year, up from 18 percent currently. In five to six years, Oduoza said he wants the non-Nigeria business to account for half of all profit.

UBA eventually hopes to enter South Africa, the continent’s biggest economy and one of its most competitive banking markets.

“We are not ready to go to South Africa yet. We need to be adequately prepared.”, he said. that treasury bills with similar Date to Maturity (DTM) to the auctioned securities were trading between 11.00 percent - 12.00 percent.

Consequently, this led to significant change in yields on treasury bills as traders tried to adjust accordingly.

“In our opinion, the oversubscription is not unconnected with the increase in system liquidity on the back of the N300.00 billion budgetary allocations for the month of April.

In the week ahead, we expect the maturity of treasury and OMO bills worth N127.06 billion and N130.05 billion respectively. While there will be a floating of about N147.06 billion worth of treasury bills.

The market is expected to remain relatively liquid in the absence of further liquidity” added the DLM bond analysts in their research note.

INVESTORS NEWS BEAT

Rencap securities most active firm on NSE

D

ealing members activities posted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange website showed that in volume and value terms, a security firm led the other 327 firms between January and April, 2012.

FG sells N147bn in T-bills, yields fall

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igeria has sold a total of 147.05 billion naira in treasury bills ranging from three months to one year with high demand from investors pushing yields lower.

Investment firm rolls out four new mutual funds

I

nvestment firm, Finance and Commercial Services Limited (FCSL), has rolled out 4 new mutual funds for the Nigerian market which provides an avenue for asset diversification and risk management.

The launch of the funds occurred at the FCSL investor forum, which was held in Lagos last week.

Sterling Bank reports N 17 bn earnings in Q1, 2012

S

terling Bank recently reported its first quarter earnings. The bank took made N 17 billion in gross earnings, up 78.8% from the N 9.6 billion it made in Q1, 2011.

HSBC sells largest structured note linked to Nigerian debt

H Source:Pro-share Nigeria

SBC Holdings Plc sold two structured notes tied to Nigerian government debt including the largest credit-linked note referencing the nation since at least 1999.

The two 10-month securities, one for $33.5 million and the other for $7.69 million, are tied to naira-denominated Nigerian treasury bills due March 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

PAGE 22

Insurers urged on information disclosure From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

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he Director-General, Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), Sunday Thomas has called for a full disclosure of information for transactions beyond a specified reason in the industry.

Consequent upon this, he said, the operators be henceforth required to preserve their customers’ information for not less than 10 years at the end of any transactions.

Thomas, who spoke at a forum organised by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in Lagos, stated that the move was

in line with the industry’s bid to have detailed information of customers.

He said insurers were to identify the scope of the business to be transacted, obtain evidence of identification, keep up to date customers’ information and review their information in every transaction.

He urged insurers to report to NAICOM observations detrimental to their operations, adding that they have to receive and vet suspicious reports from staff; rendering “nil” reports with the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), where necessary to ensure

compliance. They are expected to co-ordinate the training of staff in Anti-Money Laundering/Combating Financing of Terrorism (AML/ CFT), engage in awareness, detection methods and report requirements to the commission and the unit.

He urged the operators to develop a robust risk management system including procedures, internal control and audit systems as well as perform the necessary Customer Due Diligence (CDD) on their customers, owners and beneficiaries.

He charged operators are also to effectively monitor unusual transactions, take

enhanced measures on higher risk customers, keep adequate records of transactions and respond to enquires by the NFIU on any transaction.

He noted that there should also be protection of the security and confidentiality of such requests. Insurance firms are to create more awareness and training among the staff that branches and subsidiaries observe appropriate AML measures.

Acting Director, Inspectorate Directorate NAICOM, Farinu Olusegun called on stakeholders to support the government in the fight against money laundering, adding that the governments cannot successfully prevent and control money laundering without the support of the civil society, especially the private sector.

He said those who developed the standards against money laundering recognised the role of industry and, therefore, included specific obligations and responsibilities for the industry.

He said Financial institutions, according to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards, were at the forefront of the fight against financially motivated crimes.

He said NAICOM would continue to forge partnerships with stakeholders, especially, insurance institutions that should be in the vanguard of the crusade against money laundering and terrorist financing.

He added that the commission should sustain its co-operation with other organisations at home and abroad to share best practices and promote greater cooperation.

N160bn Sovereign Wealth Fund to start operating in next few months

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igeria’s $1 billion (about N160 billion) sovereignwealth fund is set to start operating in the next few months, said the country’s finance minister Ngozi OkonjoIweala, in what would mark a crucial step to help the governement finance the revamping of its ramshackle

roads and power grids.

Ms. Okonjo-Iweala, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, said the $1 billion will be pulled from Nigeria’s Excess Crude Account, which also funds the country’s fuel subsidy. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

Dangote Sugar posts N4.12bn profit in Q1 Fishing baskets on sale, yesterday at Ibi waterside market, in Taraba state.

Photo: NAN

Kaduna spends N489.3m on water projects –Commissioner

A

s part of efforts to provide potable water, the Kaduna state government has awarded contracts worth N489.3 million in the last one year, according to the Commissioner for Water Resources, Mr Sunday Katung.

Katung, disclosed this in Kaduna recently while addressing a news conference, said the contracts were awarded to boost water supply to urban, semi-urban and rural dwellers in the state.

He said that the projects included the upgrading of 11 KV to 33 KV supply lines at Kofar Doka, Zaria andSamaru Booster stations and the Zaria old Water Projects, which had been completed.

He further said that the state government had spent N379.8 million on the purchase of chemicals, including alum, calcium hypochlorite and chlorine.

"Prior to the inception of this

administration, the baseline capacity utilisation of water was put at 37 per cent before the intervention.

"But following the intervention, the capacity utilisation has increased to 65 per cent,'' he said.

He said that the contract for Zaria new water treatment plant, awarded at the cost of N15.7 million, had been reviewed to N24.6 million due to changes in the original scope of work and additional component.

Katung said that the project, when completed, would serve 2.2 million people residing in 23 communities in eight local government areas of the state by 2025.

He said that prior to the launching of the initiative to improve water supply in the state, most of the Regional Water Supply Schemes had witnessed dry taps due to inadequate power supply.

"Zaria, Zonkwa, Kafanchan,

Kwoi, Machok and Kagoro towns are now enjoying improved water services.''

Katung further said that the government had within the period under review, paid N322.5 million, representing outstanding liabilities under the Millennium Development Goals' projects to contractors.

He said the government had earmarked N128 million in the 2012 budget for the Kaduna State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Projects (WATSAN).

"WATSAN collaborated with UNICEF and relevant agencies to intervene on the cholera outbreak through house inspection, taking of water sample for analysis and water storage facilities of consumers in the state.''

The commissioner said that the government would soon award contract for the construction of 46 solar-powered bore holes in the state at the cost of N373.3 million. (NAN)

By Aminu Imam

D

angote Sugar Refinery Plc (DSR) has reported a profit before tax (PBT) of N4.12 billion in the first quarter ended March 31, 2012.

The 2012 first quarter profit is more than double the N2.05 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2011.

The Sugar refinery posted a gross profit of N5.34 billion in the period under consideration in contrast to gross profit of N3.24 billion for the preceding year.

According to the results released on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange at the weekend, profit after tax rose to N2.80 billion from N1.393 billion reported in the corresponding period of 2011 while its revenue grew from N21.54 billion to N26.73 billion.

DSR performance was buoyed by the introduction of the Company’s new retail Dangote Vitamin A fortified sugar packages in one kilogram, 500 grams and 250 grams packs.

The management said the figure was as a result of various sustainable growth strategies being implemented by the

company.

“However, the board is mindful of continued economic challenges facing businesses in recent times, but barring any unforeseen circumstances, it is hopeful that this trend will be sustained even in the remaining quarters of the year”, the statement said.

It would be recalled that the Dangote Sugar Refinery had embarked on strategic introduction of the Dangote Vitamin A fortified refined white sugar, in a more consumer friendly packages into the market.

The acceptance of the three new different sizes of 1kg, 500g and 250g in the market has been a source of encouragement to the management and is therefore positive that it will achieve the set targets as anticipated by impacting positively on the sales volume, earnings and ultimately profitability.

The management assured its consumers that it was applying all available resources and its strategies effectively to ensure quality processes and output as well as the delivery of goods and satisfactory services to ensure the achievement of the stated objectives for the 2012.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

PAGE 24

PAGE 25

How US Military plans the ‘Hiroshima, Dresden’ treatment for Islam’s holiest cities T

he U.S. military taught its future leaders that a “total war” against the world’s 1.4 billion Muslims would be necessary to protect America from Islamic terrorists, according to documents obtained by Danger Room. Among the options considered for that conflict: using the lessons of “Hiroshima” to wipe out whole cities at once, targeting the “civilian population wherever necessary.”

The course, first reported by Danger Room last month and held at the Defense Department’s Joint Forces Staff College, has since been canceled by the Pentagon brass. It’s only now, however, that the details of the class have come to light. Danger Room received hundreds of pages of course material and reference documents from a source familiar with the contents of the class.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff recently ordered the entire U.S. military to scour its training material to make sure it doesn’t contain similarly hateful material, a process that is still ongoing. But the officer who delivered the lectures, Army Lt. Col. Matthew A. Dooley, still maintains his position at the Norfolk, Virginia college, pending an investigation. The commanders, lieutenant colonels, captains and colonels who sat in Dooley’s classroom,

listening to the inflammatory material week after week, have now moved into higher-level assignments throughout the U.S. military.

For the better part of the last decade, a small cabal of selfanointed counterterrorism experts has been working its way through the U.S. military, intelligence and law enforcement communities, trying to convince whoever it could that America’s real terrorist enemy wasn’t al-Qaida — but the Islamic faith itself. In his course, Dooley brought in these anti-Muslim demagogues as guest lecturers. And he took their argument to its final, ugly conclusion.

“We have now come to understand that there is no such thing as ‘moderate Islam,’” Dooley noted in a July 2011 presentation (.pdf), which concluded with a suggested manifesto to America’s enemies.

“It is therefore time for the United States to make our true intentions clear. This barbaric ideology will no longer be tolerated. Islam must change or we will facilitate its selfdestruction.”

Dooley could not be reached for comment. Joint Forces Staff College spokesman Steven Williams declined to discuss Dooley’s presentation or his status at the school. But when asked if Dooley was responsible for the

Fringe teaching: The classes were taught to military officers by a rogue instructor Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia. course material, he responded, “I don’t know if I would classify him [Dooley] as responsible. That would be the commandant” of the school, Maj. Gen. Joseph Ward.

That makes the two-star

Total war: The instructor said extreme measures, like the fire-bombing of Dresden, Germany in the Second World War, might be necessary to protect the US from Muslims.

general culpable for rather shocking material. In the same presentation, Dooley lays out a possible four-phase war plan to carry out a forced transformation of the Islam religion. Phase three includes possible outcomes like “Islam reduced to a cult status” and “Saudi Arabia threatened with starvation.” (It’s an especially ironic suggestion, in light of today’s news that Saudi intelligence broke up the most recent al-Qaida bombing plot.)

International laws protecting civilians in wartime are “no longer relevant,” Dooley continues. And that opens the possibility of applying “the historical precedents of Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki” to Islam’s holiest cities, and bringing about “Mecca and Medina[‘s] destruction.”

Dooley’s ideological allies have repeatedly stated that “mainstream” Muslims are dangerous, because they’re “violent” by nature. Yet only a few of al-Qaida’s most twisted fanatics were ever caught musing about wiping out entire cities.

“Some of these actions offered for consideration here will not be seen as ‘political correct’ in the eyes of many,” Dooley adds.

“Ultimately, we can do very little in the West to decide this matter, short of waging total war.”

Dooley, who has worked at

the Joint Forces Staff College since August 2010, began his eight-week class with a straightforward, two-part history of Islam. It was delivered

by David Fatua, a former West Point history professor.

“Unfortunately, if we left it at that, you wouldn’t have the proper balance of points of view, nor would you have an accurate view of how Islam defines itself,” Dooley told his students. Over the next few weeks, he invited in a trio of guest lecturers famous for their incendiary views of Islam.

Stephen Coughlin claimed in his 2007 master’s thesis that then-president George W. Bush’s declaration of friendship with the vast majority of the world’s Muslims had “a chilling effect on those tasked to define the enemy’s doctrine.” (.pdf) Coughlin was subsequently let go from his consulting position to the military’s Joint Staff, but he continued to lecture at the Naval War College and at the FBI’s Washington Field Office. In his talk to Dooley’s class (.pdf), Coughlin suggested that alQaida helped drive the overthrow of Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak and Libyan dictator Muammar Gadhafi. It was part of a scheme

by Islamists to conquer the world, he added. And Coughlin mocked those who didn’t see this plot as clearly as he did, accusing

them of “complexification.”

Coughlin titled his talk: “Imposing Islamic Law – or – These Aren’t the Droids Your Looking For!” Former FBI employee John Guandolo told the conspiratorial World Net Daily website last year that Obama was only the latest president to fall under the influence of Islamic extremists.

“The level of penetration in the last three administrations is deep,” Guandolo alleged. In his reference material for the Joint Forces Staff College class, Guandolo not only spoke of today’s Muslims as enemies of the West.

He even justified the Crusades, writing that they “were initiated after hundreds of years of Muslim incursion into Western lands.”

Guandolo’s paper, titled “Usual Responses from the Enemy When Presented With the Truth” (.pdf), was one of hundreds of presentations, documents, videos and web links electronically distributed to the Joint Forces Staff College students. Included in that trove: a paper alleging that “it is a permanent command in Islam for Muslims to hate and despise Jews and Christians” (.pdf). So was a video lecture from Serge Trifkovic, a former professor who appeared as a defense witness in several trials of Bosnian Serb leaders convicted of war crimes, including the genocide of Muslims. A web link, titled

“Watch Before This Is Pulled,” supposedly shows President Obama — the commander-inchief of the senior officers attending the course — admitting that he’s a Muslim.

Dooley added the caveats that his views are “not the Official Policy of the United States Government” and are intended “to generate dynamic discussion and thought.” But he taught his fellow military officers that Obama’s alleged admission could well make the commander in chief some sort of traitor. “By conservative estimates,” 10 percent of the world’s Muslims, “a staggering 140 million people … hate everything you stand for and will never coexist with you, unless you submit” to Islam. He added, “Your oath as a professional soldier forces you to pick a side here.” It is unclear if Dooley’s “total war” on Muslims also applied to his “Muslim” commander in chief.

After the Pentagon brass learned of Dooley’s presentation, the country’s top military officer, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, issued an order to every military chief and senior commander to get rid of any similar anti-Islam instructional material. Dempsey issued the order because the White House had already instructed the entire security apparatus of the federal government — military and civilian — to revamp its counterterrorism training after learning of FBI material that demonized Islam.

By then, Dooley had already presented his apocalyptic vision for a global religious war. Flynn has ordered a senior officer, Army Maj. Gen. Frederick Rudesheim, to investigate how precisely Dooley managed to get away with that extended presentation in an official Defense Department-sanctioned course. The results of that review are due May 24.

Ironically, Dooley and his guest lecturers paint a dire picture of the forward march of Islamic extremism right as its foremost practitioner feared its implosion. Documents recently declassified by the U.S. government revealed Osama bin Laden fretting about alQaida’s brutal methods and damaged brand alienating the vast majority of Muslims from choosing to wage holy war.

Little could he have known that U.S. military officers were thinking of ways to ignite one.

Culled from Wired magazine.

Extreme measures: 'Starving' Saudi Arabia and destroying Mecca could scatter and cripple the Muslim world, the officer claimed

Destruction: Army Lt Col Matthew Dooley said the bombing of Hiroshima set historical precedent for attacks on Muslim cities

PAGE 26

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

Desperate survivors up to their necks in attempt to salvage possessions after fire sweeps Manila shanty town

By Amy Oliver

T

wo people are missing and 10,000 are homeless after a huge fire swept through a sprawling shanty town in Manila.

Several residents jumped into the bay, clutching small appliances, to escape Friday's blaze in Manila's Tondo district.

Chief Inspector Bonifacio Carta said fire officers had difficulty getting enough water to put the fire out and were forced to call coast guard boats to spray water from the

• Several residents forced to jump into bay to escape blaze • Around 800 homes on stilts destroyed in fire • Homeless evacuated to nearby sports complex • Others waded into ash-covered water to try and retrieve belongings bay.

Many of the displaced residents lived in wooden huts on stilts.

Officials said people left

Dangerous: Residents waded into the ash-covered water in Manila's Tondo district to salvage any belongings floating among the debris after the devastating fire

homeless had been evacuated to a nearby sports complex.

Others waded into the ashcovered water up to their necks

in order to salvage any belongings they could find amid the debris.

Ch Insp Carta said at least

three people have been injured and brought to hospital. It is not yet know how the fire started.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Refuge: Officials said people left homeless had been evacuated to a nearby sports complex

Rubble: Residents walk through the the ashes and over crumpled heaps of roof and bed springs twisted by the heat of the blaze

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

Minister commends Growing interest in Mathematics

T

he Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i, has commended the National Mathematical Centre (NMC) for re-awakening the interest of students in mathematics.

Rufa’i gave the commendation in Abuja while declaring open a three-day National Workshop on Mathematics, with the theme: “Mathematics, Key to National Transformation: the Role of Local Governments”.

She described mathematics as the bedrock for the development of any nation, expressing the determination of the Federal Government to nurture and provide world class education to Nigerian youths, especially in mathematics and science education.

She said the workshop was organised by the centre for Local Government Chairmen and their officials, to enable them to join in the efforts to popularise and simplify the teaching and learning of mathematics in schools.

The Minister said that as part of the celebration of the 2012 Nigeria Mathematical Year, the government had “carefully designed”15 projects to motivate excellence in mathematics.

She said that this initiative would promote new areas of application and increase the impact of mathematics in the drive to attain global competitiveness.

“The Federal Government, under the “Special Computer Initiative for Education in Nigeria for Competitive Economy”, will provide every teacher and student a laptop computer.” She stated, adding that the equipment would be paid for through a contributory scheme involving the government, financial institutions and beneficiaries.

The minister also promised that government, through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), in collaboration with UNESCO, would provide science equipment to enhance the application of theoretical concepts to the real world.

Also speaking, the DirectorGeneral of the NMC, Prof Sam Ale, said that the workshop was aimed at providing the participants with “a breath of knowledge and skills” to effectively and efficiently manage the resources of the local governments.

“It will also enable them to develop strategies, ideas and logistics that will assist them in managing the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programmes at the local government level.”

Ale said that the workshop would enlighten the participants on how they could use egovernment for administration at the local government level.

PAGE 27

UNILAG to introduce M.sc programme in terrorism, security, says VC

T

he University of Lagos (UNILAG) is planning to introduce a master’s degree programme in terrorism and security studies, as part of the effort to address the nation’s security challenges.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof.

Adetokunbo Sofoluwe, made this

known at a news conference in Lagos to announce the university’s 50 th anniversary celebration scheduled for October.

Sofoluwe said the university was concerned about the security challenges and would contribute its best toward

eradicating terrorism in the country.

He said that the university authorities were determined to make the institution to rank among the world’s best 100.

Sofoluwe said UNILAG must attain that feat to justify its appellation as Nigeria’s pride.

The professor of computer science said that the university had enjoyed international visibility through partnerships.

He said that the recent ones were with China’s Soochow University and the University of South Africa.

R-L: Vice-President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Rufa'i Ahmed, Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, and Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETF), Professor Mahmud Yakubu, during a meeting on Almajiri school system, recently at the State House, in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi with Agency report

T

he Federal Government says it will extend the Almajiri Education Programme to all parts of the country to cater for indigent children who cannot afford basic formal education.

Vice-President Namadi Sambo disclosed this in Abuja at the opening of a Review Meeting of the Almajiri Education Programme held at the Presidential Villa.

He said the government was committed to fulfilling its promise to remove all the 9.5 indigent children from the streets and provide them with necessary knowledge and skills to actively participate in national development.

Almajiri education programme to cover Nigeria, says Sambo He said that the meeting of the committee was convened to come up with suggestions on how to extend and improve the efficacy of the Almajiri programme.

“It is being recognised now that there are several other children out there, throughout the country, who are indigent and cannot afford basic formal education.

“That is why government has risen to the occasion to tackle the challenges posed by this growing phenomenon.

“Accordingly, meetings with state governors and traditional rulers have been convened as a Forum to consider and agree on ways of extending the programme to cater for all similar problems in all parts of the country.”

Sambo said the review committee had the responsibility of ensuring increased participation of stakeholders, particularly states, local governments and traditional institutions.

WAEC: Nasarawa govt. warns school principals against over-crowded halls

N

asarawa state Commissioner for Education, Hussaini Abubakar, has warned school principals in the state to desist from registering students for WAEC above the carrying capacity of their facilities.

Abubakar gave the warning in Lafia, while monitoring the on-going Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) in the state.

He expressed dissatisfaction over the sitting arrangement in

some of the schools visited and said, “the sitting arrangement will encourage examination malpractice”.

According to him, the present administration in the state has zero tolerance for corruption and other related practices.

“It is quite appalling to jampack more than 1,000 students in a hall that can only accommodate about 500 and expect the students to perform well and not to cheat,” he said.

The commissioner, however, attributed the situation to system collapse, lack of proper monitoring and inspection.

He gave the assurance that he would work closely with field officers for adequate supervision of schools across the state.

In their separate remarks, Mrs Felicia Akaba, Principal, Government Secondary School (GSS), Akruba and Jibrin Orume of GSS, Tudun Kauri, Lafia, promised to abide by the directive.

Briefing the State House Correspondents after the meeting, Minister of Education, Ruqayyatu Rufa’i, said the first phase of the project covered 18 Northern States and Edo State.

She said from a total number of 102 schools approved for construction in 2012, 66 were handled by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) while the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETF) constructed 36.

The minister gave the assurance that the second phase of the programme would cover every part of the country as directed by the vice-president.

Rufai said that the second phase would be an interventionist programme outside of the Almajiri school programme and would be based on the peculiar circumstances of the zones across the country.

She identified sustainability as well as the difficulty of removing the children from the streets as some of the imminent challenges.

Rufa’i said that the review group and special forum to be convened on Friday would proffer solutions to the challenges and design methods of improving on programme.

PAGE 28

Dr. Victor Osaro Edo is a Senior Lecturer in History Department of the University of Ibadan. In this interview, he ex-rays the causes of and possible solution to crises in the Universities. He also warns about imminent industrial action by the Academic Staff of Universities Union (ASUU) and urges for cultural and moral reawakening. Olanrewaju Lawal was there.

Excerpts:

O

ur universities are prone to crisis, as a lecturer in the University, what do you think is responsible for this?

You are very right about our being prone to crisis. For about 6 months now, there has been crisis in our Universities; private, State and Federal. It was first Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, later Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye.

Thereafter, the University of Abuja and at the moment, the University of Ibadan. We cannot rule out the fact that while students themselves appear to be unruly, there is also a general failure of the system. There is management problem especially when it is considered that the reasons for these unrests have to do with situations that even students themselves cannot manage but government. The current crisis in the University of Ibadan, for instance, is one that has become perennial. It is perennial in the sense that for some months now, or, indeed, over a year, the university system has witnessed lack of water and electricity. There is no way development can thrive in such a system. It would be difficult for students to learn. It is even difficult for lecturers to get prepared for lectures, not to talk of those in the Sciences where students and lecturers would have to work in the laboratories.

And without electricity and water, the laboratories cannot function properly. And so teaching and learning cannot function properly. Government must endeavour to do something about this. It goes beyond what the management of the Universities can do. That is why we are clamouring for the enough funding and autonomy of the University system. I think it has to do with systemic failure.

What is the solution to these crises?

Government must come to the aid of the universities. This is one thing which the various Governing Boards, who are representatives of Governments and authorities of the institutions or universities, whether private, state or federal, should come to terms

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

ASUU strikes: FG has never been sincere, says Don with. They must realize that money must be provided to ensure that an enabling environment is put in place.

These crises are re-echoing because managements are not providing what they ought to provide. When we talk of management, it goes beyond the university authorities because there is nothing that university authorities can do without funds. Government is in charge of funding and so government must wake up and release money for funding of the universities especially when such institutions does not have enough Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to sustain the system.

People often blame the moral decadence among Nigerian youths on the absence of link with cultural past. Therefore, they are clamouring for the revival of cultural studies in the university curriculum. What is your take on this?

There is a general lack of values. Of course, the way it is now, there are no values in the Nigerian system. And so because no society can grow above or beyond its universities, I agree that there should be the study of more arts and indeed cultures in our universities, as well as other tertiary institutions and even primary and secondary schools.

Values should be taught, the cultures of Societies as well as morals should be taught of course, the tenets of the bible and the Qur’an should in fact be taught to our students. As they grow up to become leaders of tomorrow, they would have been well built up. There is absolute need to bring to the university curriculum and system cultures, values, morals.

All these are expected if we look forward to a virile society in the future. We would need virile leaders who would be able to turn around the society, then we must begin to look inward.

Looking at education globally, do you think the standard has really fallen in Nigeria. What can we do to redress the situation?

Well, it is right that the standards are falling. It is no longer anything new. It is even becoming perennial. You find a situation whereby university students cannot speak correct English, cannot write good sentences. I think the problem is not with the university. The problem starts right from our primary and secondary schools where there are no good teachers; where the basic things are not being taught.

Invariably, they come to the university and become problems. The solution is that we must begin to revamp our educational system. Proper training must start from primary and secondary schools.

For our teachers at these levels,

Dr. Victor Osaro Edo there is need for in-service training so that students coming to tertiary institutions would have been well groomed before coming into the universities.

The solution is that we must begin to produce good students right from primary and secondary schools. Again, we must introduce the reading culture. Nigerians, as it is at the moment, are talking people and not reading people. We must bring back the reading culture that prevailed in the 70s and 80s if we must move forward in this country. Again, parents must also wake up to their responsibilities. We have had instances in which parents indulge their wards or children

in examination malpractices.

This must stop.

How do you think teachers can contribute towards improved education standard in the country?

On the part of teachers, teachers must do what they are paid for. Government too must provide an enabling environment. Nothing can be done if the enabling environment is not there. We must wake up to the reality of the fact that things are getting bad. There should be a general re-awakening.

A lot have been said about Academic Staff of Universities Union (ASUU) strikes. Some are of the view

that as academics, ASUU should look for alternative means to industrial action. Do you subscribe to this?

Well, that is exactly the position of the general public.

They say this because at the end of the day, those who suffer are our children. It is public that suffers at the end of the day. But again, as a member of ASUU myself, I wonder what other alternative can be adopted. In a situation where at all times, government remains insensitive, what else do you think can be done? The only weapon that we have to be able to fight government is industrial action. I do not think that there is any other option that can be used apart from strike. What the general public is saying cannot work. The general public is supposed to go on strike. They should as a matter of fact join ASUU to go on strike so that government would know that ASUU does not go on strike for nothing sake. The blame should not be on ASUU but rather it should be on the government.

Government would enter into agreement not just with ASUU alone, but with all other unions and they would never fulfill it.

It is sad. All of us must talk to government. They must be sensitive. Most of the crisis is not caused by ASUU or other unions but by government because most times they never fulfill their own part of an agreement.

Even now, ASUU is planning to go on another strike because since 2009 that they reached an agreement, which should be reenlisted in another three years, government has refused to do exactly that. Therefore, ASUU must definitely go on strike.

When they go on strike, they go on strike not for their own sake but for the betterment of the whole society. It is rather unfortunate that those calling for alternative have not provided one. How I wish that they would provide one and we try it. Let them provide alternative for ASUU since ASUU does not have alternative.

New school curriculum underway, says NERDC

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi with Agency report

T

he Nigeria Educational Research Development Council (NERDC) has said it would reduce the national education curriculum to meet with the international best practice and standards.

In line with this, the council intends to reduce the number of subjects from 20 to nine in what will become the new Basic Education Curriculum (BEC).

Prof. Godwin Obioma, the Executive Secretary of the council, who disclosed this in Abuja, also said the implementation of the new

curriculum structure would begin in September, disclosing that a study carried out by the council has shown that the old curriculum was over-loaded in terms of subjects being offered at both the primary and Junior Secondary School levels.

He said that the council was directed by President Goodluck Jonathan, through the Presidential Task Force’s Report on Education, to ensure that the curriculum was compressed at all levels of basic education.

He said that the council was also directed to ensure that standard quality was maintained in spite of the compression of the curriculum.

Obioma said that the curriculum would integrate security education under the title “religion and national values”.

He added that the incorporation of such ideals became necessary owing to the current security challenges in the country.

The executive secretary said: “It is very important that we begin to think about being security- conscious at the level we are.”

He said with the new structure, the council was optimistic that there would be a significant reduction in mass exam failures in the country.

PAGE 30

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

Side effects of inhaling bleach B

leach is a common household cleaning product. Generally stored in the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room or basement, bleach can be used for laundry as well as for cleaning and disinfecting. If you inhale bleach, side effects could result.

Prevention/Solution • Inhalation of bleach can occur when laundering or cleaning a surface in the home.

The best way to avoid excessive exposure to dangerous fumes is to wear a mask or open a window or door to allow the fumes to escape. Always use bleach products according to the manufacturer’s label and wash skin immediately if bleach spills onto it.

Effects • Inhalation of bleach can cause severe internal damage, including deterioration of the esophagus lining and lungs.

Scarring of the respiratory tract can also occur, according to “Poisons Under Your Sink: Hidden Danger of Cleaning Products,” an article published by mamashealth.com. While these effects may not occur with each incidence of inhalation, it is best to limit exposure to bleach and use only while in a wellventilated area. If bleach is diluted with water, it will have a

lower concentration and may pose a lesser risk. The safest and most effective way to combat overexposure is to use a surgical mask, which can be purchased at pharmacies and large retailers in the first-aid aisle.

Fumes Trapped in the Skin • Because bleach has a pH

greater than 8, it is classified as a base and will create a slippery effect on the skin, according to visionlearning.com. Wash the skin of all residue to remove trace odor of the bleach. The slippery effect may make removal more difficult. Use vinegar or lemon to assist this process. According to chacha.com, lemon and

vinegar—two acids—can cancel out the smell and slippery feel of bleach. Repeat as necessary and reduce contact with your face and nose. Though concentrated at a much lower level, fumes trapped in the skin can still be damaging if inhaled over an extensive period of time. Trapped fumes can also exacerbate

previous inhalation symptoms.

Exposure to High Concentrations of Bleach • Exposure to high concentrations of bleach can result in eyes burning, nose irritation and coughing.

Exposure to extremely high levels of bleach, such as 500 ppm (a concentration significantly greater than household bleach), could result in respiratory damage, chronic bronchitis and airway hyperactivity. In some cases, death can occur. Always wear the appropriate equipment and protective masks when working near high concentrations of bleach.

According to the Hazardous Substance Emergency Events Surveillance, a report published by the state of Maine, you should always report any symptoms that may occur, including coughing, nausea, shortness of breath, watery eyes, chest pain, irritation to the throat, nose and eyes, and wheezing, Warning • Contact a poison control center to seek immediate treatment if inhalation occurs.

Speak with a health care professional to determine whether additional treatment is necessary.

By Charlie Gaston, eHow contributor

Eating yoghurt could make men more virile E

ating probiotic yoghurt is known to calm troubled tummies - now scientists have found it could boost virility as well.

Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found male mice fed the vanilla-flavoured dessert had a certain ‘swagger’ when they walked.

They discovered these mice had testicles that were five per cent higher than other mice on a normal diet and 15 per cent heavier than junk-eating males.

What is more, in mating experiments the yoghurt-eating males inseminated their partners more quickly and produced more young than control mice.

Yoghurt-fed female mice benefited too - they had larger

litters and were more successful at weaning their pups.

The findings could have implications for human fertility and the team will next look at the association between yoghurt and semen quality in men.

The researchers stumbled across the interesting finding when studying the effects of yoghurt on obesity.

In a bid to prove whether yoghurt could help stave off agerelated weight gain in humans, researchers Eric Alm and Susan Erdman fed pro-biotic vanilla yogurt to mice with some unexpected results.

The yoghurt eating mice had

shinier fur than their non-dairy fed siblings and the male mice were described as all of a sudden having a ‘swagger.’

‘We knew there was something different in the males, but we weren’t sure what it was at first,’ Ms Erdman told ABC News.

‘You know when someone’s at the top of their game, how they carry themselves differently?

Well, imagine that in a mouse.’

It could perhaps would explain the sex-appeal in recent yoghurt advertisements such as the strapping farmers singing for Yeo Valley.

Other beneficial effects

included slimmer bodies and shinier fur in both sexes as yoghurt-fed mice had 10 times the active follicle density of the control group.

Not only did the girl mice sport the shiny fur coat and considerably slimmer physique of their male counterparts, they also tended to be better mothers to their (as a result of their dairiedup partners) larger litters.

‘We think it’s the probiotics in the yoghurt,’ Mr Alm explained.

‘We think those organisms are somehow directly interacting with the mice to produce these effects.’

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Could eating pro-biotic yoghurt make men sexier and more virile?

Studies on mice suggest it.

Originally carried out to fight obesity in humans, the results of the study were completely unexpected. The scientists think the effects came from the probiotic bacteria in the yoghurt.

One of the now classic Yeo Valley advertisements depicting hunky farmers, although the new study showed that it the probiotic bacteria in the yoghurt might have played its part.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

GALVmed research contracts to help save Africa US$5bn a year

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dinburgh-based charity the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed) has announced three Drug Discovery contracts in an effort to combat Animal African Trypanosomosis (AAT), a disease which is estimated to cost Africa US$5billion in one year.

A statement made available to Peoples Daily has shown.

According to the statement, Animal African trypanosomiasis, transmitted by the tsetse fly, is a parasitic disease which affects livestock, resulting in a chronic illness often ending in death. “An estimated 50 million cattle and 70 million sheep and goats are at risk, with around 3 million cattle dying annually from the disease causing economic losses in livestock,” the statement read.

According to the statement, the drugs that are currently used were developed in the 1950s and 60s and drug resistance is now a commonly reported problem. “With few other options available, these drugs are the most important method of controlling the disease,” the statement declared.

It further stressed that, as part of Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) supported project, Anacor and their partners discovered a series of compounds to combat the human form of AAT, Human African Trysanosomsis (HAT).

A number of compounds produced under this programme have properties which could make them suitable for the treatment and prevention of animal AAT. These relevant compounds will now be screened for efficacy and safety under the GALVmed contract.

Dr Kevin Read, who is Head of Drug Metabolism and Pharmo kinectics at the drug Discovery Unit is leading a piece of drug discovery and development research, which aims to develop new drugs for the treatment and possible prevention of AAT in cattle, and also a diagnostic test for use in the field.

He said, “I am very excited to be working in partnership with GALVmed to apply our extensive drug discovery expertise in HAT to identify and bring forward new potential drugs for the treatment and prevention of AAT. The new project offers an exciting opportunity to reposition compounds showing great promise for the treatment of first stage HAT into AAT, thus improving food security in some of the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa.”

PAGE 29

Road accident: FG to commence national emergency ambulance services Stories by A’isha Biola Raji

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he Federal Government is to begin a programme called National Emergency Ambulance services as part of actions laid down in preparation for the likely rise in Road Traffic Collision (RTC).

The Minister of Health, Prof.

Onyebuchi Chukwu mentioned this at a press briefing on this year’s UN Decade of Action Concept Anniversary in Abuja on Friday.

Onyebuchi, who was represented by Dr Michael Arene, Director Special Project federal ministry of health, said the ambulance service would be provided with prompt response within 30 minutes.

He said, “Nigeria with a shocking figure of 162 deaths per 100,000 people calls for need to avert the situation in order to achieve MDGs 4 and 5 aimed at

NOA/ NPHCDA signs MoU

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he National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at ensuring the success of the transformation agenda of President Jonathan’s Administration in the primary Health Care Sub-sector.

The signing ceremony was held in Abuja last week where the Executive Director of NPHCDA, Dr. Ado Muhammad said the overall objectives of the partnership was to ensure effective mobilization, sensitization and enlightenment of Nigerians in the rural areas with a view to enabling them access quality health care services offered by the Government.

This was contained in a press statement signed by Sa’ad Salahu, Head Public Relation Unit of the agency.

Dr, Ado further stressed that with the agreement, NOA was to reach out to the general Public in order to create more awareness on the activities of the agency in the fight to eradicate Polio and other Killer diseases as well as providing technical support and information.

In his words, the DG, National Orientation Agency (NOA) Mr. Mike Omeri promised to use all available tools at his disposal to spread information to the public through the media.

He assured that every aspect of the MoU must strictly be adhered to by giving the public adequate information in order to enable them understand the enormity of the challenge being taken by the agency.

reducing infant mortality and other avoidable loss of lives.”

In his welcome address, the National Focal Person Decade of Action Concepts, Dr Sydney Ibeanusi said, with other countries exiting traffic related

deaths, Nigeria is approaching 3 rd leading country with RTC related deaths with figure expected to be at 65% by year 2020.

According to him, key stakeholders have outlined steps

that will curb the menace, a lot of which he said, “are being utilized in Lagos.”

The steps include, road safety management, safer roads, safer vehicles, safer road users and post crash care.

L-R: Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Ado J.G. Muhammad, Legal Adviser, NPHCDA, Dr. Patience Umor and Director General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr. Mike Omeri, during signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the two agencies, recently in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Playing football or tennis regularly ‘can protect against brittle bone disease’

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en in their early twenties who play a lot of football are protecting themselves from brittle bone disease, according to a study.

Playing volleyball, basketball or other load-bearing sports, such as football or tennis, for four hours a week or more increases bone mass and could help prevent osteoporosis.

The largest study of its kind discovered that young men who actively resisted the urge to adopt a ‘couch-potato’ lifestyle seemed to gain the biggest bone benefit.

Senior study author Doctor Mattias Lorentzon, of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said: ‘Men who increased their load-bearing activity from age 19 to 24 not only developed more bone, but also had larger bones compared to men who were sedentary during the same period.’

Bigger bones with more mass are thought to offer a shield against osteoporosis, a disease that affects men and women alike, in which bones become porous and weak over time and start to fracture by the age 50 or later.

Dr Lorentzon added: ‘Osteoporosis actually seems to get its start by age 25 when bones start to lose tissue.

‘So this study sends an important message to young men: the more you move, the more bone you build.’

Sports that involve jumping or fast starts and stops and increase the load put on the body’s bones seemed most associated with the enhanced protection for men.

Dr Lorentzon and his colleagues found that basketball and volleyball seemed the best kinds of activities for building bone mass, followed by football and tennis. Such load-bearing sports seem to push the body to form new bone tissue.

Activities that do not put an increased load on the bones such as swimming and bicycling - did not seem associated with the building of bigger bones or more bone mass, even though they offer other health benefits.

Osteoporosis affects more than 200 million people worldwide yet many are unaware that they are at risk. The disease has been called the silent epidemic because bone loss occurs without symptoms and the disease often is first diagnosed after a fracture.

It is more common in women, but men also develop it, usually after age 65.

The researchers studied 833 men who were 18 to 20-yearsold at the start of the study. They measured their bone mass and

collected information about their exercise habits. Five years later the recruits came back to the lab to report activity levels and get bone scans again.

The researchers discovered men who both started off with a high level of load-bearing exercise at the study’s beginning and those who stepped up the pace had a better chance at building bone than men who remained sedentary or those who slacked off during the five year period.

They found that for every hour of increased physical activity during the five-year study, the men in this study gained bone mass.

The study found that recruits who participated in load-bearing sports for four hours a week or more showed an increase in hip bone density of 1.3 per cent.

At the same time, men who remained sedentary during the five year study lost about 2.1 per cent of bone mass in the hip, a worrying finding because thinning hip bones are more likely to break later in life. Hip fractures in men often lead to serious disability and complications.

The findings were published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

PAGE 31

Iran & Israel Presidents

ANALYSIS

By Ben

I

srael, the US, and some European powers have alleged that Iran aims to build nuclear weapons to complement its conventional arms, but Tehran says its current programme is for peaceful, civilian purposes.

Regardless, Western powers generally agree that Iran does not yet have a nuclear weapon and is at least many, many months away from having a deliverable warhead - if the development of one is indeed its goal.

While a military strike on Iranian nuclear sites is far from certain, the possibility of a confrontation looms nonetheless.

A look at the comparative strengths of the Iranian and Israeli forces reveals discrepancies in equipment, capabilities and numbers of enlisted troops.

Iran has a population ten times larger than Israel's, from which to draw its armed forces, but much of its military hardware is of dubious condition - due to the arms embargo in place since in various forms since 1979.

Many Iranian tanks and planes use older technology with varying levels of maintenance and modernity, says David Roberts, deputy director at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). The country's most recent major engagement was an almost decade-long war with Iraq in the 1980s, after which Iran has credibly maintained a "no first-

Iran and Israel: Comparing military machines (I) strike doctrine" along with a code of "plausible deniability" for irregular military actions, he says.

"In a very general sense, it's no secret or cutting-edge analysis that Israel's military is the bestequipped and best-trained in the whole region," says Roberts. "But some sections of [Iran's military] are battle-tested."

"Then again, it's not Iran's conventional forces which are the concern [for the US and its allies].

The Revolutionary Guards are better-paid and organised [than the rest of Iran's military]," Roberts told Al Jazeera. "Their Quds Force and naval capabilities are a big unknown - especially the asymmetrical way that they would fight with these unusual weapons, in small decentralised units."

Roberts also says, while the two militaries are not likely to enter direct army-to-army combat any time soon, they may well end up squaring off via proxy forces in Gulf or Mediterranean states. Any direct confrontation between Israel and Iran would likely involve long-distance aircraft, air-defence weaponry, small naval craft and ballistic missiles.

"The way to best characterise the Iranian view of the Israeli military is to look from the point of view of geography," says Kamran Bokhari, Vice-President of Middle Eastern and South Asian Affairs with Stratfor. "On a map, Israel may not appear too far from Iran, but in reality, they are too far from each other to be engaged in some sustained conflict.

"It's not as though Iran has reach into Israel, and even though

“

Israel has a far superior military, it is unable to wage a [long-term] campaign against Iran," Bokhari told Al Jazeera. "Iranians know that, and aren't concerned about Israel attacking as much are they are concerned about the US ... with assets very close to Iranian borders."

The Israeli military, having fought repeatedly with several neighbours for the better part of its existence, is made up of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF, also known by Hebrew acronym Tzahal), Israel Naval Force (IN) and Israel Air Force (IAF). Service is compulsory for most Jewish and Druze citizens starting at 18 years old.

Israel has 176,500 personnel on active service, made up of 133,000 in the army, which includes 107,000 conscripts. The

The Israeli military, having fought repeatedly with several neighbours for the better part of its existence, is made up of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF, also known by Hebrew acronym Tzahal), Israel Naval Force (IN) and Israel Air Force (IAF).

Service is compulsory for most Jewish and Druze citizens starting at 18 years old.

navy has 9,500 sailors on active duty and there are 34,000 in the air force, as well as a total reserve force of 565,000.

Iran reprotedly has more than 523,000 personnel on active service, comprising 350,000 in the army, including 220,000 conscripts.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, viewed as the most loyal guardians of the ruling system, has a further 125,000 soldiers.

Young Iranian men are obliged to serve 18 months in the military service when they turn 19 years old, and volunteers begin at 18 years old. A paramilitary volunteer militia, the Basij Forces (literally "Mobilisation of the Oppressed"), takes members from age 15.

Charged with defending the country's borders and maintaining internal order, Iran's military is comprised of the Islamic Republic of Iran Regular Forces (Artesh), which has ground forces, a navy, an air force (IRIAF) and Khatemolanbia Air Defence Headquarters. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enqelab-e Islami) consists of the Ground Resistance Forces, Navy, Aerospace Force and the Quds Force (special operations).

Culled from Aljazeera.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

PAGE 32

South Sudan police withdraw from disputed Abyei: UN S outh Sudan has withdrawn its police from the disputed Abyei region on its border with Sudan, the United Nations said on Friday, after the U.N. Security Council threatened the African neighbors with sanctions to try and stop an escalating conflict.

Sudan and South Sudan both claim Abyei, a border region containing fertile grazing land, which Khartoum took in May last year triggering the exodus of tens of thousands of civilians - after a southern attack on an army convoy.

Recent border clashes between Sudan and South Sudan, which culminated with South Sudan seizing a disputed oil field, prompted the Security Council to pass a resolution last week threatening sanctions if the two sides did not follow an African Union roadmap stipulating a cease-fire and a return to talks.

"The U.N. Interim Security Force for Abyei reports that

yesterday South Sudan's inspector general officially ordered the withdrawal of the South Sudan police service from the Abyei area," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Kimoon's spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters.

"Following the announcement, some 700 South Sudan police, with the U.N. mission's logistical support, relocated to South Sudan," he said. "The U.N. mission is in the process of verifying that all South Sudan police elements have withdrawn from the Abyei area."

The withdrawal comes almost two weeks after South Sudan told the United Nations it planned to pull its police out of Abyei, where the world body has 3,800 peacekeepers.

Nesirky said South Sudanese police officers had been ordered not to visit family in the Abyei area in uniform and with guns.

The United Nations said in

U

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir (R) listens as his South Sudanese counterpart Salva Kiir speaks during a joint news conference in Khartoum, October 9, 2011.

March that Sudan has 400500 troops in Abyei and South Sudan has about 300 soldiers based less than two miles south of its border with Abyei.

The Security Council is due to vote on the renewal of the mandate for the U.N. peacekeeping force in Abyei on May 16.

EU observers: Algeria vote a step towards reform

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uropean Union observers gave a qualified endorsement on Saturday to an Algerian parliamentary election which handed victory to the ruling party, bucking the trend of the "Arab Spring" revolts.

Some opposition forces expressed

suspicion there had been manipulation of Thursday's vote, a charge the authorities denied.

Jose Ignacio Salafranca, head of the EU's observer mission in Algeria, said there were shortcomings in some technical aspects of the election but there were "as many positive

A woman casts her ballot during parliamentary elections at a polling station in the Berber region of Issers, east of Algiers, May 10, 2012.

points as there were weak points".

"This election constitutes a first step on the path to reform which should lead ... to a deepening of democracy and human rights," he told a news conference.

The National Liberation Front (FLN), the party of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, won 220 seats in the 462-seat parliament.

The RND party, led by Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, was in second place and a moderate Islamist alliance with links to the ruling establishment came third, according to the official results.

Analysts had expected the Islamists to win the election, That would have brought energy exporter Algeria closer into line with the changes in countries such as Tunisia and Egypt in the wake of last year's insurrections.

Thursday's election was the first time Algeria had invited EU observers to monitor a vote, a move seen by diplomats as a sign it was committed to a more transparent election.

Asked about allegations of voterigging, Salafranca said Algeria had a mechanism in place to expose any abuse and, if it did happen, it would be up to the judiciary to decide what action to take.

He said he was concerned that the Interior Ministry had refused to give his observers free access to the national electoral role.

In past elections, evidence has emerged of the same people being registered to vote in several places, creating the potential for ballotrigging.

The observers also noted there was a need to build up voters' trust in the political system, a reference to the low turnout. Over half of the electorate stayed away on Thursday, with many saying their vote would change nothing.

"This election represents an important stage. We would like to encourage the pursuit of democratic reforms in the near future," said Tokia Saifi, a member of the European Parliament who took part in the observation mission.

South Sudanese refugees begin journey to Juba

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he first group of South Sudanese refugees stranded for months in a camp in Sudan is on its way to the south.

About 400 people - out of a total of up to 15,000 - are being taken by bus to Khartoum from where they will be flown to the South Sudanese capital Juba.

The camp residents were last month declared a security threat by the authorities, who gave them a deadline to leave Sudan. This was later dropped.

They lost rights to Sudan nationality when the south seceded last year.

The airlift comes a day after UN human rights Chief Navi Pillay condemned Sudan's bombing of

bombing of South Sudan, carried out despite a UN resolution demanding an end to hostilities.

South Sudan seceded last July as part of a deal to end years of civil war.

But disputes stemming from the secession, especially over oil, led to clashes last month and fears of a return to all-out war.

On Wednesday, South Sudan accused its neighbour of continued bombing raids. Khartoum said it had the right to respond to acts of aggression.

The group of South Sudanese is being taken to Khartoum from Kosti in White Nile State, about 300km (190 miles) south of the capital.

They will be flown out of

Uganda captures top LRA commander Achellam

Khartoum early on Sunday morning after spending the night at a government transit centre, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) head Jill Helke told AFP news agency.

The IOM says the 15,000 have been stuck in Kosti for anything up to a year, after boat traffic south was cut because of cross-border violence.

They have been living in makeshift shelters and are entirely dependent on aid agencies as they wait for transport.

"Part of the problem has been that in the period since independence, although the people were supposed to be given a choice to leave or to become legalised, there

have not been the arrangements available for people to legalise their stay in Sudan," Ms Helke told the BBC. "And so for many the lack of choice has made them decide that going to South Sudan is their only option."

Correspondents say many of the group have never been to South Sudan, so settling there is likely to be a challenge.

Many have relatives in the south and the IOM and other humanitarian agencies will be providing some help, the aid agency said.

Hundreds of thousands of South Sudanese left Sudan after the south seceded, but about 350,000 remain.

ganda has captured one of the Lord's Resistance Army's top five rebels, bringing it a step closer to catching Joseph Kony, the LRA leader accused of war crimes.

The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) said yesterday that Caesar Achellam, a major general in Kony's outfit of about 200 fighters, was captured in an ambush on Saturday along the banks of the River Mbou in neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR).

They said Achellam had been armed with just an AK-47 rifle and eight rounds of ammunition. He was being held with his wife, a young daughter and a helper.

The army, which has a force hunting for Kony full-time in the jungles of CAR, backed by American troops, said the capture of Achellam would encourage other fighters to abandon the LRA. "The arrest of Major General Caesar Achellam is big progress because he is a big fish. His capture is definitely going to cause an opinion shift within LRA," said Felix Kulaigye, UPDF spokesman.

A reporter from the Reuters news agency who accompanied UPDF forces to CAR said Achellam, who was paraded before the media, was walking with a limp, which he attributed to an old wound.

He was returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo when he walked into the Ugandan soldiers' ambush. UPDF said it had been on his trail for a month.

The LRA waged a war against the government in northern Uganda for nearly 20 years before it was ejected in 2005.

In December 2008, Uganda launched Operation Lightning Thunder, dispersing the rebels and pushing them north into CAR. Analysts said Achellam was a close ally of Kony who had masterminded the group's relocation from northern Uganda.

Uganda's army said the capture of Achellam would encourage other fighters to abandon the LRA

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

T

he leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah said his militant group was capable of striking any target in neighboring Israel, saying "the days when we fled and they did not are over."

"Today we are not only able to hit Tel Aviv as a city but, God willing, we are able to hit specific targets in Tel Aviv and anywhere in occupied Palestine," Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address.

PAGE 33

Hezbollah says able to strike anywhere "For every building destroyed in Dahiya, a building will be destroyed in Tel Aviv," he said, referring to Hezbollah's stronghold in a suburb of southern Beirut.

Nasrallah's comments were some of his harshest words against Israel in several months, and came amid rising tensions between Israel and Hezbollah's main backer, Iran.

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters via a screen during a ceremony in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday.

Israel argues Iran's nuclear enrichment project is being used to make an atomic bomb and has warned it could launch a strike to stop Tehran. Iran says its nuclear program is for civilian purposes.

Hezbollah has long been seen as a proxy for Iran and Syria and many analysts believe that in the event of an Israeli attack on Iran, Hezbollah could return fire.

"The days when we were forced from our homes and they were not forced from theirs are over," Nasrallah said, to cheers from a crowd of supporters watching his speech.

"The days when we were afraid and they were not are over," he said. "And we say to them: The time has come when we will remain and you will be the ones who disappear."

Hezbollah is both a powerful political party and militant group in Lebanon and fought a war with Israel in 2006. The group claimed it won a victory even though Lebanon suffered high casualties and many areas were heavily bombed.

Nasrallah was speaking at an event to mark the completion of Hezbollah's renovation projects for neighborhoods in southern Beirut that were damaged by Israeli bombing in the 2006 war.

Several dead in clashes in Lebanon’s Tripoli

A Rocket-propelled grenades were reportedly used in the fighting between the two neighbourhoods in Tripoli

Arab-Israelis protest the Israeli practice of detaining Palestinians indefinitely and without charge

t least four people have been killed, and another 24 injured, after fighting erupted overnight in the Lebanese city of Tripoli between residents loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and those supportive of the Syrian opposition, witnesses and security officials have said.

Rocket-propelled grenades and automatic rifles were used in the fighting in an Alawite enclave and surrounding Sunni neighbourhoods in the port city, 70km north of Beirut, the capital.

"The clashes peaked at dawn. The sound of gunfire is still echoing in the city," a Lebanese security official said.

The fighting underlines how tensions in Syria could spill over to neighbouring Lebanon. Clashes are common between the two sects in Tripoli.

Lebanon's National News Agency reported that a sniper shot dead a Lebanese soldier while he was inside a car in Tripoli early on Sunday morning.

Clashes broke out on Saturday night between the army and a group of young Islamists, who were demonstrating in Tripoli for the release of a terrorism suspect, another security source said.

Gunfire first erupted between the Islamists and the army as the youths, sympathisers with the ongoing revolt in Syria, tried to approach the offices of the pro-Assad Syrian Social Nationalist Party.

Israel and Palestinians ‘committed to peace’

I

srael and the Palestinian Authority have issued a rare joint statement saying both are committed to peace, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispatched an envoy to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Netanyahu's office issued the joint statement on Saturday after envoy Yitzhak Molcho met Abbas in Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority's administrative capital.

"Israel and the Palestinian Authority are committed to achieving peace and the sides hope that the exchange of letters between President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu will further this goal," the statement said.

The envoy carried a letter from Netanyahu replying to one he received last month from Abbas, in which the Palestinian leader stated his grievances over the collapse of peace talks in 2010 and laid out his parameters for a resumption of negotiations.

Details of Netanyahu's letter were not released, but Israeli officials said last week that they did not expect him to accept a key Palestinian demand to halt all settlement building in the occupied territories before reopening any talks.

Nabil Shaath, the Palestinian negotiator, said Abbas's April letter was meant to challenge the Israeli leader over the collapse of the peace process and "put Mr Netanyahu on the spot."

‘Progress’ in Palestinian hunger strike talks sraelis and Palestinians are

I

negotiating through Egyptian intermediaries to end a mass hunger strike by at least 2,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, officials say.

Palestinian officials on Saturday said Egyptian officials were trying to mediate between the strikers and Israel.

"There was progress in talks between Egypt and Israel," Ismail Haniya, Hamas' Gaza prime minister, said in a statement on Saturday. "This is an important development concerning the demands of the prisoners."

Al Jazeera's Cal Perry, reporting from Jerusalem, said the issue of releasing Palestinian prisoners has become a key demand of the Palestinian leadership.

"People in the occupied territory seem to put more and more pressure on the Palestinian leadership to address this issue. We now have more than 2,000 Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike.

Two of them have been on hunger strike for more than 76 days. Their lawyer is saying that they could die any day now."

PAGE 34

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

Thousands march against economic gloom in Spain, UK

nowhere were protests as large as in Spain.

A year after tens of thousands set up a month-long camp in Madrid's central Puerta del Sol square, drawing international attention, indignant Spaniards have even more to be angry about.

Unemployment has soared to over 24 percent, over half the

country's youth is out of work, the economy has dipped back into recession and one of its largest banks has been nationalized.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative government has passed painful austerity measures that have hit oncesacred public health and education spending in an effort to appease international markets and avoid a Greek-style bailout.

"We have to stand up and say enough is enough! They pull our hair telling us we're lazy so they can dismantle social welfare and take away health and education and now they're bailing out the bankers," said Gloria Bravo, 48, a civil servant.

Rescue money for banks, crippled after a 10-year building bubble burst four years ago, is a touchy subject for Spaniards, especially after the government took a stake in lender Bankia on Wednesday.

"They bail out banks but not people," banners read in Cantabria, northern Spain, home to Spain's biggest bank Santander.

Demonstrators gathered in more than 80 cities across Spain, chanting the slogan that has become a mantra at protests over the past year: "They say it's democracy but it's not."

In central Madrid, streets were

when they were blocked from boarding a commercial flight without prior notice, and were later denied any effective means of petitioning the government to be removed from the list.

"They have been deprived of their rights without redress," Nusrat Choudhury, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer, said in court, adding that her clients "want the opportunity to be heard before a decision-maker."

A US district court judge in Portland, Oregon, dismissed the original lawsuit, filed in June 2010, ruling the court lacked jurisdiction over the matter.

Nusrat Chadoury, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, National ACLU National Security Program, talks with reporters following oral arguments on the ACLU No Fly List challenge Friday in Portland, Oregon.

Protesters pack the Puerta del Sol plaza in central Madrid on Saturday May 12, 2012

T

housands of Spaniards fed up with economic misery and waving banners against bankers marched on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of the grassroots "Indignados" movement that has sparked similar protests around the world.

Up to 600 people denouncing the Bank of England rallied in

Merkel faces rout in state vote over austerity

The election is likely to return the SPD-Greens coalition to power with a stronger mandate

G

erman Chancellor Angela Merkel looks poised for a setback as polls show the country's most populous state will likely vote in favour of a centre-left government, which she has sought to label as irresponsibly spendthrift.

A week after voters in Greece and France clearly plumped for anti-austerity policies, the citizens of North Rhine-Westphalia could also punish conservative champions of belt-tightening.

About 13.2 million people - more than a fifth of Germany's electorate - are eligible to vote in Sunday's state legislative election in North Rhine-Westphalia, which includes Cologne, Duesseldorf and the industrial Ruhr region.

London and a Reuters witness said scuffles broke out between some demonstrators and police, with at least 12 arrests.

The Indignados and the offshoot Occupy and Take the Square movements had called for a global day of action against anti-debt austerity policies and the widening gap between rich and poor, but

blocked as activists convened in various neighborhoods across the capital to march toward Puerta de Sol, which filled up with people waving flags and chanting to the beat of horns and drums.

"The situation is getting worse but the root of the problem remains the same; this is a moment of crisis for capitalism," Jesus Gonzalez, 38, an airline employee said as he made for the Puerta del Sol. Some 2,000 anti-riot police deployed to prevent protesters from setting up tent in the capital in a repeat of last year's camp-out.

Protesters vowed four days of demonstrations to inject fresh life into a movement that has suffered internal divisions.

The group behind the Puerta de Sol encampment last May - "Democracia real Ya!" (Dry), or Real Democracy Now - recently voted to register as a formal organization, drawing the ire of the group's unconventional purists.

In London, up to 600 people marched through the center of the city, the number dwindling to around 200 after the demonstration reached its destination at the Bank of England.

Protesters erected 11 tents nearby and flew banners that read "Bank of England, the St. Paul's of money," in reference to St. Paul's Cathedral, from which a long-running Occupy tent encampment was evicted in February.

US Muslims question ‘no fly’ list in court

A

panel of federal judges grilled Justice Department lawyers on Friday over the US government's "no-fly" list, questioning whether those barred from commercial air travel for suspected terrorism ties are given any realistic avenue for appeal.

Government attorneys were asked to defend the process as lawyers for 15 Muslims in the United States who have been placed on the no-fly list sought to reinstate their constitutional challenge of the airline security measure.

The plaintiffs, who are US citizens or permanent legal residents, said they learned of their "no-fly" status

Greek crisis talks fail to yield cabinet deal

G

reek radical left leader Alexis Tsipras says he will not join or support a pro-bailout coalition

government, saying he cannot agree to what he terms a mistake.

His continued refusal makes new

Socialist leader Venizelos said on Saturday he had failed in a lastditch bid to form a government

elections in the crisis-struck country more likely.

Tsipras made the comments yesterday after attending a meeting convened by President Karolos Papoulias with the head of the conservative New Democracy and socialist PASOK parties.

Papoulias is making a last-ditch effort to broker an agreement and break the deadlock created by the elections, which left no party with enough parliamentary seats to form a government.

"Even now, despite the impasse at the meeting we had with the president, I hold on to some limited optimism that a government can be formed" If no deal is reached, Greece must hold new elections next

month, prolonging the political uncertainty and endangering the country's euro membership.

Papoulias, whose ceremonial role normally keeps him above the political fray, was to meet smaller parties elected to parliament later in the day.

European Union leaders have warned that without a government that backs the rescue plan, Greece will stop receiving payments and could find itself pushed out of the eurozone. yesterday's meeting broke up after less than two hours of talks, and leaders said the discussions had hit a snag, though they expressed the hope that difficulties could be overcome.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

PAGE 35

Boat ploughs into Florida bungalow after separating from tow truck R

esidents of a Florida bungalow got that sinking feeling when they returned to their home to find a 35-foot-long boat parked in its roof space.

The cabin cruiser was being towed by a truck across Lehigh Acres in the southern part of the state when it became unattached and sailed across the property's front garden before crashing into the top half of the building.

Tens of thousands pounds worth of damage was caused in the collision, although the householder was not home at the time.

Local resident Charlie Robbins, 47, said that a neighbour heard what she

thought was an 'explosion' and was visibly shaken by the incident.

'The damage to the structure was quite extensive as the trailer had entered the exterior wall, travelled through the interior wall and into the attic ripping apart plumbing and wiring in the wall. The roof of the home also received damage where the bow of the boat tore into the soffit area leaving a gaping hole,' she added.

The driver of the tow truck was later warned by police for not securing a load properly.

While Florida is well-known for its boating and sailing scene, it is advised that enthusiasts drop anchor in the Keys or Port of Palm Beach for a safe mooring.

A boat has moored itself in the roof of a Florida bungalow (Pic: BNPS)

Tonya the elephant packs her trunk - and says goodbye to the zoo

Police officers escort family of ducks across busy motorway

The ducks receive a police escort (Picture: YouTube/ Juan Epstein)

T

hey're usually only reserved for royalty, world leaders and VIPs, but a group of ducks were recently honoured with their very own police escort as they attempted to cross a busy motorway.

The unusual incident was

Dog gets over initial confusion to chase wallaby in Kent field: Video

Angry duo: Douanita and Tonya in Prague

H

ow a pair of trunks spelled misery for elephant herd, and ended with an eviction.

The three-year-old Asian elephant has been banished, along with her mother Douanita, to keep the peace.

Pregnant Douanita had been filmed on CCTV bashing herd

members - including her adopted mother, Irma - with her trunk.

Keepers said the clashes at Rotterdam zoo were only the elephant equivalent of handbags but decided to pack the pair off to Prague. 'It was all still pushing and pulling. But we do not want a real fight, so we had a choice,' one

zookeeper said.

Experts believe Douanita, who first came to the zoo in 1988, wanted to be the leader of her herd. She was named after the Dutch word for customs, having been discovered by officers badly malnourished in a container aboard an East German ship.

Fun-loving bears line up and get ready to do the conga

A

group of bears showed off their fun side after gathering together in preparation for a cuddly conga.

While most bears have a fearsome and dangerous reputation, these young cubs appear to have the same outlook on life as the Jungle Book's

Un-bear-ably cute: The bear cubs make a conga line (Picture: YouTube/ Petsami)

captured on camera in Texas as the group of ducks struggled to cross the road as a series of cars whizzed past them.

However, help was on hand for the ducks when a team of police officers pulled over to give the brave quacking birds some support.

laidback fictional character Baloo.

They may as well have all been singing the film's hit song I Wanna Be Like You as one bear after the next began forming a conga line.

The cute clip shows ten of the baby bears lining up for a spot of grooming, with each one licking the back of another's head.

More: Unsuspecting texter gets a fright from giant bear Over 150,000 people have watched the 51-second recording on video-sharing website YouTube where it has received hundreds of likes.

One amused fan commented: 'I was expecting Bear Grylls to show up and get in the line.'

While another added: 'Im sat here crying with laughter.... brilliant !'

T

hey are usually spotted roaming around the wild Australian Outback - so one dog walker and her pet were left dumbstruck, at first anyway, after coming across a hopping wild wallaby in a Kent field.

Teacher Alex Pooley was out walking her golden retriever Shackleton when the friendly marsupial came bouncing towards her along a mud path in the quiet village of Pluckley.

The 29-year-old managed to capture the strange incident on her mobile phone before her startled canine companion chased the Australian native away.

'We were in a field near the train station and I saw what I thought was a giant hare, but then it moved and started hopping,' Ms Pooley revealed.

'I was a bit surprised to say the least and the dog was off the lead at the time.

'I saw it hopping down the path towards us - it seemed pretty friendly and quite intrigued because it came right up to us.'

The clip, which has been uploaded to YouTube, shows Shackleton looking initially confused while watching the wallaby.

After staring for longer than is natural, though, his base instincts kick in and he gives chase - while Ms Pooley tries in vain to restrain him while not dropping her phone.

Shades of the now worldfamous 'Fenton' video that was such a hit last year...

A spate of wallaby sightings have been reported in southern England in recent years, including in Devon and East Sussex.

A friendly Wallaby hops towards Alex Pooley and her dog Shackleton (Picture: YouTube/ Paws4Shackleton)

PAGE 36

Living close to a major road poses a significant risk to heart attack survivors, a study has found.

Researchers found heart attack survivors living less than 100 metres from a carriageway had a 27 per cent higher risk of death within 10 years than survivors living at least 1,000 metres away.

The team from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston added that the risk receded to 13 per cent for those living between 200 and 1,000-metres from the traffic.

Lead author Dr Murray Mittleman said: ‘Living close to a highway is associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes in those with underlying cardiac disease.

‘Besides air pollution, exposure to noise could be a possible mechanism underlying this association.’

The study of more than 3,500 heart attack survivors in 64 medical centres recorded 1,071 deaths over 10 years. Of that total, 63 per cent of the patients died of cardiovascular disease, 12 percent died of cancer and four per cent died from respiratory disease.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

Living near a motorway hikes your risk of dying after a heart attack

Harmful highway? The study is the latest to suggest long-term exposure to roadways can worsen health for those with heart disease. Researchers analysed factors larger burden of the risk such as personal, clinical and associated with exposure than n e i g h b o r h o o d - l e v e l people with more resources.’ characteristics such as income In a study published earlier this and education. year, a team led by Dr Mittleman Dr Mittleman said: ‘People found air pollution, even at levels with lower levels of education and generally considered safe by income are more likely to live in federal regulations, increases the communities closer to a major risk of stroke by 34 per cent. roadway, so they are bearing a Exposure to ambient fine

Chemical found in apples, onions and green tea can help beat blood clots

particulate matter, generally from vehicle traffic, was associated with a significantly higher risk of ischemic strokes on days when the EPA’s air quality index for particulate matter was yellow instead of green.

These finding provide new evidence that long-term exposure to roadways is associated with an increased risk of death in patients with underlying cardiovascular disease. Writing in the latest edition of Circulation ‘Clinicians need to educate their patients on the risks posed by particulate matter pollution and encourage patients with cardiovascular disease to avoid unnecessary exposure to traffic,’ said Dr Mittleman.

‘On a public policy level, city planners should consider locating housing developments away from the most heavily trafficked roadways.’

Dan Costa from the U.S Enviromental Protection Agency, said: ‘This study adds to the growing knowledge linking roadways and traffic to health problems, even death, especially among those with pre-existent disease - in this case a previous heart attack.’

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Mothers struggle to realise if their toddler is overweight

M Super foods: Apples and oranges also contain rutin that could help prevent blood clots and protect against heart attacks and strokes

C

hemicals found in apples, oranges and onions could prevent blood clots, claim scientists.

They believe that rutin - also present in black and green tea could be used in future treatments to protect against heart attacks and strokes.

Harvard researchers found that the chemical helped block a potentially dangerous enzyme involved in the formation of blood clots.

This enzyme - called protein disulfide isomerase - is released very quickly when blood clots form in the arteries and veins.

The researchers tested the ability of 500 different chemicals -including rutin- to block PDI using scientific models on computers. They found that rutin was by far the most effective.

The scientists - whose paper is published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation discovered that it could protect blood clots that occur in both the arteries and veins.

In future they hope to use rutin to help develop simple, in

treatments that could be used in patients at risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Professor Robert Flaumenhaft, from the Harvard Medical School said: ‘Rutin proved to be the most potently anti-thrombotic compound that we ever tested in this model.

‘Clots occur in both arteries and in veins. Clots in arteries are platelet-rich, while those in veins are fibrin-rich. This discovery suggests that a single agent can treat and prevent both types of clots.’

He added: ‘A safe and inexpensive drug that could reduce recurrent clots could help save thousands of lives.’

Blood clots, or thromboses, occur in arteries and vein and restrict the flow of blood. They can become dislodged and move to other parts of the body.

If a clot occurs in one of the main arteries leading to the heart it causes a heart attack.

A clot occurring in an artery leading to the brain causes a stroke.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

other doesn’t always know best when it comes to judging her own child’s size, according to researchers.

A study of mothers and their toddlers suggests they often have inaccurate perceptions of their youngster’s body size - especially if they are overweight.

The researchers said this could lead to inappropriate feeding habits, such as encouraging a healthy-weight child to eat more.

Doctor Erin Hager and colleagues at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in the United States conducted a study that included 281 mother-toddler pairs.

The average age of the toddlers was 20.2 months and 54.1 per cent of them were boys. The

mothers ranged in age from 18 to 46 and most (71.9 per cent) of them were overweight or obese.

According to the results, nearly 70 per cent of the mother were inaccurate in assessing their toddler’s body size when selecting a silhouette that correctly reflected their child’s true body size.

Dr Hager said: ‘Mothers of overweight toddlers were more than 88 per cent less likely to accurately perceive their child’s body size.’

‘This may be because highweight status is often regarded as a sign of successful parenting, especially during the early years when parents are responsible for their child’s health, nutrition and activity opportunities.’

She added: ‘In conclusion, the

Specially trained doctors can interpret weight-for-length charts and flag up any growth concerns.

majority of mothers were satisfied with their toddler’s body size, yet were inaccurate in their perception of their child’s actual body size.

‘Future studies should examine how parental satisfaction and/or accuracy are related to parenting behaviours including feeding behaviours and encouragement of physical activity.’

Commenting on the findings published in the journal Archives of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Doctor Eliana Perrin, of the University of North Carolina, said: ‘This research is instructive because an emerging body of literature suggests that parents with accurate perceptions of weight have greater readiness to make weight-related behavioural changes and are more effective making them.’

Overweight children are much more likely to become overweight adults, putting them at increased risk of a range of health problems including high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.

In the UK, a child’s weight is measured by measuring their Body Mass Index, which is then compared to their peers. A child may be considered overweight if they are heavier than 85 per cent of children the same age and obese is they are heavier than 95 per cent of their peers.

Babies who were overweight anytime during the first two years of life are more likely to be obese at age five or age 10.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

PAGE 37

Capital Market: Intrigues, undercurrents behind Oteh’s trauma FEATURE

By Lawrence Olaoye

M

s. Aruma Oteh, the D i r e c t o r General of the Security Exchange Commission is obviously facing the most challenging period of her times.

Barring the possibility of having to deal with nagging bosses and unconscionably insubordinate followers in the past, Oteh is probably learning some new lessons in cosmic curriculum of leadership.

Oteh is currently facing grueling interrogations from those charged with the responsibilities of legislation, representation and oversight in the House of Representatives, and she is not finding the task easy. The House in exercise of its constitutional responsibility of oversight with a view to exposing corruption in the system has summoned the SEC DG for an interface on the near collapse of the Capital Market with a view to engendering investors' confidence after the market has remained comatose since the global recession.

Unarguably, so many lives have been dispatched to their early graves with some others condemned to the cesspit of debt due to the colossal loss of their resources invested in the Capital Market and this has thrown up the imperatives for a holistic approach towards the resuscitation of the comatose market. World over, the Capital Market has always been an investors haven because of its reliability and dependability.

These reliability and dependability however are predated on the principled of transparency, accountability and accountability on the party of the drivers and regulators of the market.

But the global economic crisis that swept through Europe and Americas between 2009 and 2010 saw to the withdrawal of huge amount of money from the nation's Capital Market by foreign investors, ostensibly to re-inject such funds in their domestic economies. The nation lost several billions of dollars to the world economic regression. While some other economies have begun to recover and rebound, Nigeria's Capital Market recuperation has maintained at a snail speed causing worries and anxieties in some quarters.

Even before the Green Chamber initiated the investigation into the stagnation of the market, investors and stakeholders in the Nigerian stock trade have begun to yearn for institutional intervention to save the market. The resolution of the House to intervene, to some people,

Arumah Ateh

Prof. Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke

gave the much needed reprieve that, at least, the government is interested in getting the market back on its feet.

But the initial approach used by the botched substantial House Committee on Capital Market chaired by Rep Herman Hembe caused a lot of stir that only succeeded in making the people to misconstrue the actual essence of the investigation that turned awry. Hembe had pointedly accused the SEC boss of corruption by her ostentations lifestyle having allegedly spent the chunk of the Commission's budget on hotel bills and feeding fees. However, Oteh equally stunned the bewildered public with the allegations that the committee was actually hostile to her because she refused to accede to the request for

N44 million by from Hembe to sponsor the botched hearing. She equally alleged that Hembe and his Deputy were sponsored on a trip to Dominican Republic; a trip they never made even as they failed to return the estacode received.

Scandalized, the House in its plenary suspended the substantive committee and raised another adhoc committee consisting of legislative 'egg-heads'. Analysts were however unanimous in their submissions that the Committee may be hostile to the SEC DG because of the events preceding the hearing that has finally brought to the fore corruption and opaque administrative style both in the SEC and the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Financial regulatory agencies, including Central Bank of Nigeria

“

But the initial approach used by the botched substantial House Committee on Capital Market chaired by Rep Herman Hembe caused a lot of stir that only succeeded in making the people to misconstrue the actual essence of the investigation that turned awry.

(CBN), were unanimous in their submissions that they were culpable in the situation that eventually led to the collapse of the nation's Capital market, especially the money market. Heart rendering disclosures were made of how the nation's banking sector was bastardized and milked to death by those who were expected to protect the system.

Kingsley Moghalu, Deputy Governor of the CBN was unequivocal in his submission that the apex bank was lax in its responsibilities of oversighting the banks and therefore the loopholes created in its policy enabled the sharp practices in the stock market, especially in the banking sector. He equally blamed other regulatory agencies including SEC for culpability in the downward slide in the market.

Oteh in her submission exposed the alleged profligacy perpetrated by the NSE under the former Director General of the exchange, Professor Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke.

She gave a mind-boggling account of how the former NSE boss squandered N187 million on yacht; N185 million on Rolex wrist watches and N1.3 billion on travelling expenses. She was equally alleged to have shared the sum of N1.7 billion amongst her council members. These she remarked were against the CAMA laws.

Oteh stated "In 2009, N1.7billion of the 2008 operational

surplus was distributed to Council members and employees in violation of CAMA and SEC rules which preclude the NSE from such given that the NSE is a company limited by guarantee. This happened in previous years. Other notable fraudulent transactions include the reclassification of the sum of N1.3billion originally expended on business travels.

"It was also brought to our attention that there were incidences of financial skimming, misappropriation, false accounting, misrepresentation, and questionable transactions.

For instance, the NSE bought a yacht for N37million and wrote down the book value within one year by recognizing it in the books as a gift presented during its 2008 Long Service Award (LSA), yet there are no records of the beneficiary." revealed Oteh continued " The Exchange also spent N186million on 165 Rolex wrist watches as gifts for awardees out of which only 73 were actually presented to the awardees. The outstanding 92 Rolex watches valued at N99.5million remain unaccounted for. These were the kinds of financial imprudence that were perpetrated at the NSE. These transactions were routed through companies owned by some senior officers of the Exchange Contd from page 38

PAGE 38

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

Capital Market: Intrigues, undercurrents behind Oteh’s trauma Contd from page 37 " Of this sum, N953million was reclassified under "Software Upgrade" and subsequently expended as against being capitalized. There were other cases of such unethical accounting practices."

But the former NSE boss in her submission replied that as a private operator, she was not answerable to anybody on her expenditures once she had the clearance from the Board of the Exchange.

According to her, "The SEC has no business in how a private company decides to spend its money; it is not government money and the approval for the spending rests on the Governing Board."

But Okereke-Onyiuke said Oteh was merely using the allegations to cover her ineptitude as SEC's DG having watched helplessly as the market nose-dived.

She also told the committee that she had in her kitty a court ruling nullifying her removal from office even as she added that a Federal High Court had ordered the SEC to pay her N500 million as compensation for her forceful removal.

She added that the court ruling also ordered that she be reinstated as the SEC DG even as she claimed that with the ruling reinstating her, the SEC has no substantive DG, legally.

Oteh equally told the committee of the existence of the blueprint aimed at catapulting the nation's capital market to a world standard. This claim was openly rebuffed by the members of her management team who claimed that they were ignorant of such document.

They denied ever participating in the conceptualization of the roadmap. The open disagreement between the SEC boss and her Executive Commissioners

Rep Herman Hambe indicated a disconnect in the administration of the Commission which the authorities concerned must address for there to be any headway in the task of rescuing the Capital Market. Watchers have reasoned that the infighting in the SEC may actually have affected the Commission's regulatory functions over the NSE. They equally criticized Oteh for introducing an alien management style that has alienated the members of the management team just as they alleged that her attitude has eroded trust and administrative conviviality in the Commission.

The signs of lack of management cohesion became apparent when the Commissioners said they were ignorant of the decision of the SEC boss to have two Access Bank staff on secondment to provide technical expertise to the Commission. This position ran

Hon Ibrahim Tukur El-Sudi contrary to Oteh's submission that the decision was jointly taken by the management.

Before the open argument, SEC's Human Resources Director, Useni Dauda had told the panel that due process was not followed in the recruitment of some contract staff. He said the staff were brought by Oteh upon assumption of office and were yet to get the endorsement of the Executive Committee. He also refused to deny the allegation that the contract of the staff was renewed despite the advice of the audit department.

However, Oteh had through her aide Obi Adindu said "First of all, it is important to note that the current executive commissioners came into office in June 2008.

Their four-year tenure expires in June this year, about a month from today. Contrast that with Ms Arunma Oteh who took office in January 2010, and still has three years to the end of her first term.

It is also important to note that at least two of the Commissioners have each spent not less than 20 years at the SEC, having been appointed from within the SEC. That is a huge plus in terms of in-house experience, but it also creates an entitlement mentality - the feeling that Ms Oteh is an outsider and that the SEC really belongs to them. That is the easily the genesis of the mutual distrust which came to light on Wednesday.

"Although the Executive Commissioners denied knowledge and participation in Project 50, there is ample evidence that they took part in the planning, and played key roles in the October 31st2011 formal launch and investment forum events. For instance, as they admitted, the board of the Commission, comprising all executive commissioners, the DG and non-executive

commissioners approved the SEC expenditure for the project to the tune of N42 million. The Commissioner Legal, Mr Charles Udora also seemed to suggest that regular staff of the SEC were not involved in any way. A list of SEC Project 50 sub-committee heads obtained today however shows that only two contract staffers were committee heads, namely Frana Chukwuogor and Obi Adindu.

Adindu in a release made available to newsmen insinuated that the Commissioners 'ganged-up' against Oteh in order to frustrate her efforts at repositioning the Commission in discharging its regulatory responsibilities. "On a final note, some quick deductions are compelling. The current Executive Commissioners of the SEC oversaw the collapse of the market, having been appointed in June 2008. They were key market players in the days of the frequent, usually over-bloated IPOs. From what Mrs. Okereke, former DG Nigerian Stock Exchange, and many other speakers at the hearings said, the SEC of which the Commissioners were a key part, looked the other way as infractions were committed by banks and other issuers, with impunity. Mrs Okereke even revealed at the hearing that as DG of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, it was she who nominated Mr Musa Al Faki for appointment by the then President as DG of SEC. A regulated entity appointed the regulator?!It is easy to see why the SEC was weak relative to the NSE, and why there was "harmony" between the then DG and these same Commissioners.

Now that an "outsider" has come to transform the market, the internal resistance (apparently also from some SEC staff) leaves one wondering: what are these people afraid of?"

Agriculture remains the mainstay of our economy, says PDP Chairman

By Lawrence Olaoye

T

he National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Bamanga Tukur, has identified agriculture as the sector that holds the key to the survival of Nigeria as a nation because of its potentials for creating millions of jobs, eradicating poverty and arresting youth's restiveness.

Givinmg an account of the reception held in honour of the party Chairman i9n Jada, Adamawa state, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, quoted him as saying "Fellow compatriots, agriculture holds the key to our survival as a nation. It is by massively investing in agriculture that we can truly eradicate poverty, create millions of jobs and reduce insecurity. With vast land and water, there is no reason any Nigerian should stay hungry."

"Since hungry people are angry people, we should feed our people to secure our nation. For this reason, I urge all states

government to develop a minimum of 50,000 hectares of arable land for round-the -year farming. If we do that, youth's restiveness shall be a thing of the past."

He promised that the PDP and the government will increase their support, efforts and policies to make agriculture the mainstay of the nation's economy, but observed that "these efforts should not end with the PDP government. No! NonPDP governments, where they exist, should also give agriculture the utmost priority it deserves."

"The Peoples Democratic Party, under my leadership, will ensure that all PDP governors are effective in their performance," he pledged.

Representing President Goodluck Jonathan at the grand reception, Vice President Muhammad Namadi Sambo, noted that the Federal Government was addressing the agricultural sector as top priority through new approach, saying "We have changed the

concept of agriculture from agriculture as programme to agriculture as business."

According to the Vice President, "This will address the whole value chain of agriculture as government is providing the necessary educational, financial and infrastructural support to our farmers in the area of essential skills, power, transportation, mechanization and other facilities required in our quest for agricultural transformation. We are currently constructing and rehabilitating over 200 small and medium dams and irrigation schemes across the nation; some of which include the Gurara in Kaduna, Chad basin in Borno, Auyo in Jigawa state, Jada in Adamawa state and Didinkowa in Gombe state - just to mention a few."

The grand reception was attended by several governors, Assembly members, PDP BoT members, party state chairmen, and other important party chieftains from across the nation.

Seaker and after speaker extold the vitue of Dr. Turkur,and

descrbed him as the right man for the job.

Tukur added "I could see Nigeria in PDP. Even some of the states who decided to go on sabbatical leave are now coming back, so that all of us will be together in building our nation."

According to him, even though the office of the National Chairman of the PDP has its own unique challenges, it offered another opportunity to continue to offer selfless service to the party and to give President Goodluck Jonathan all the support he needs for rebuilding of the nation.

He added that his tenure as the party's national chairman will ensure that Nigeria was remolded into real democracy; a feat that could only be achieved through a party built in equity and justice.

He lamented that though many of Nigeria's problems have been with it for some time, some of them that are new and staring the nation in the face."

"Our country today faces a

number of daunting challenges; the challenges of abject poverty and unemployment, the challenges of youth restiveness , the challenge of near collapse of infrastructure, and most importantly the challenge of alarming prevalence of corruption."

"The most challenging is the growth of insecurity and extreme use of violence as an instrument of agitation. The way it is being used is new to us. It is important, therefore, that we come together as members of one family to seek a wise solution to this unfortunate development."

As national chairman of the Africa's largest party, Tukur pledged to assist in all possible ways to rid Nigeria of all imported negative values, emphasizing that "the new emphasis should be on dialogue and peaceful resolution," because "where debate ceases, democracy will never grow. So, by joining hands to shun violence, we shall be protecting and promoting a healthy and ideal democracy."

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

PAGE 39

Group assures Oshiomole of winning Esan land From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

T

he Concerned Citizens for Good Governance in Nigeria has assured Edo State Governor of Comrade Adams Oshiomole of more than 2,000 votes from Edo Central in the July 14 gubernatorial election.

The group in a statement signed by its patron Mr. Francis Onabis, a Presidential aspirant in 2011 general election, said the group had since

commenced rigorous campaign for the governor's re-election bid after an assessment of projects carried out throughout the five Local councils making up the Esan land of the state.

Onabis said "Our people are set to turn out en-masse to vote for Oshiomole in order to ensure further transformation of the state and good governance."

The group said projects carried out in Esan land by Oshiomole administration remained visible

landmark of good governance in the region, thus making mobilizing the Esan people for his re-election easier.

He urged Esan people not to be deceived by politicians playing ethnic and money politics in the region saying "one good term deserves another." The group stressed that voting politicians without manifestoes will lead to retrogression and more year of impoverishment of the masses. 'We Esanians believe that re-electing the ACN party in the

election will bring more massive developmental projects to the region and indeed the entire Edo." The group however warned politicians contending for the governorship position against introducing ethnic and religious bigotry insisting that election of governor or other political officers should be based on merit and ability to deliver dividend of democracy to the people and not on ethnic sentiment.

R-L: Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, President, National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Ajani Olawale James and Vice-President, North Central of NYCN, Tijani Kabiru Mohammed, during the NYCN solidarity visit to the speaker, at the National Assembly on Saturgay in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Legislators should be directly involved in developmental efforts -Niger lawmaker

By Augustine Aminu

T

he need for legislators to be directly involved in the development of their individual constituencies has been stressed by the Chief Whip of Niger State House of Assembly and member representing Mashegu constituency, Hon. Sa'adatu Kolo.

She made the statement at the weekend on the occasion of the first leg of her

presentation of health, agricultural and disaster relief materials and financial assistance to some individuals and organizations at Mashegu town, headquarters of Mashegu Local Government, Niger State.

According to her, though it was not the primary responsibility of legislators to provide infrastructure for the people, it has become necessary for them to provide occasional

intervention in view of the level of poverty in the country, especially in the rural areas.

Hon. Sa'adatu Kolo asserted that in addition to providing legislations that would bring about good governance, even distribution of the state resources, wooing development projects and serving as a voice of the constituency, she would continue to do her best within her limited resources to provide hope and the

necessities of life for her people through financial and material assistance and skills acquisition programmes.

In her words: "We shall continue to liaise with the relevant agencies, organizations and institutions to ensure that our people benefit from whatever agricultural development initiative that is being put in place. We shall continue to be very active in the eradication of malaria, polio and other killer diseases."

FMC Markurdi Crisis: An affront to transformation agenda – NGO

By Augustine Aminu

C

oalition for Civil Society Organisations for Transparency in Governance has said the crisis rocking the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Makurdi, which followed a petition sponsored in the House of Representatives

by Rep Herman Hembe, was an affront to the President Goodluck Jonathan's transformation agenda.

The coalition said it had become very worrisome that 'emergency Comrades' are attempting to distrupt the smooth transformation processes of Dr. Matthias Oyigeya led administration of the tertiary medical institution.

According to the National President, Comrade Ibrahim Alih, who spoke on behalf of other Civil Society Organizations which went on assessment tour of the centre, the plot to destabilize the management system using corruption was a cheap blackmail that cannot be bought by well meaning Nigerians.

In his words, "There is no doubt that some emergency Comrades are trying to hijack the transformation policies initiated by Dr. Matthias Oyigeya to uplift Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi to a world class tertiary medical institution in the country but the present tactics implored by these self seeking elements is laughable considering how transparent and accountable the leadership has conducted itself in delivering world class services to majority of Nigerians.

"It may be understood that those who are in a hurry to succeed him in office through the back door have a right to implore every available strategies to stop Mr. President from re-appointing him, but these are enemies of transformation of the common people of this country because they know very well that Dr. Matthias Oyigeya deserves more than a 2nd term by virtue of his performances in every ramification".

Women empowerment, the cardinal point of my tenure at PDP, says Kema Chikwe

By Lawrence Olaoye

T

he National Woman Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ambassador Kema Chikwe, has assured women members of the party of her readiness to better their lots.

According to her, "the federal government is controlled by the PDP, and majority of states governments are controlled by PDP. It is therefore imperative that

a percentage of empowerment programmes and activities are reserved for PDP members, especially women.

"The policy thrust of my tenure shall be empowerment for the Mobilization of women for the PDP" .

Mrs. Chikwe made the pledge at the weekend during her maiden meeting with the party's women BoT members, Women National Ex-officios, Zonal Women Leaders and all States women

leaders at the PDP National Secretariat, Abuja.

The meeting, which was part of Chikwe's consultations agenda intended to trickle down to zones, states and wards levels, was the first of its kind in the history of the party.

The Women National Leader, who was also a former minister, outlined her programmes for the PDP women which she said "will require well structured, articulated and aggressively

dynamic approach."

She said that in line with the reformation agenda of the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Bamanga Tukur, the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP's manifesto, she intended "to introduce changes and inspiring programmes aimed at reforming, repositioning and rebranding the image of our party, PDP, through consultations, cooperation and partnerships."

To increase the women population in the Africa's biggest party, the national women leader revealed that she was convening meetings with computer literate young women, especially university graduates, with a view to sensitizing, motivating and mobilizing them to join and work for PDP. "They will be very resourceful in engaging the younger generation and young women," she said.

PAGE 40

You can’t compare Ajimobi with Akala - ACN From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

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he Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Oyo State chapter, has said that there was no basis for comparison between the government it is running in the state and what it called "the unmitigated disaster cloaked in governmental robe" of the immediate past PDP government of Otunba Adebayo AlaoAkala.

The party made this known in a release signed by its Publicity Secretary, Hon Dauda Kolawole, in reaction to criticisms from the state chapter of the PDP. In an online release, the PDP had castigated the ACN-led government as a disaster, stating that the government was composed of "fools" and that the Ajimobi government was the worst the state had ever witnessed.

In its reaction, the ACN said that the PDP, due to a combination of mischief and naivety, had decided to close its eyes to the monumental achievements of the government in the last one year.

"We understand where they are coming from. The Ajimobi government is at present constructing and rehabilitating about 199 roads simultaneously in all the 33 local governments in the state; nine bridges, including the Secretariat/Bodija bridge are under construction; an overhead bridge that is being constructed with the sum of N2.1 billion, the first since the days of Major General Jemibewon, is under construction in the state capital; government is reconstructing/ renovating 235 schools in the state, among others.

"It is noteworthy that many of the 199 roads being rehabilitated/reconstructed by the Ajimobi government were some of the shoddy roads Akala mis-constructed with billions of our unaccounted money which needed urgent reconstruction. We are clearing the filth (metaphorical and literal) that the PDP left in our state and Ibadan is becoming a clean city again. It is thus understandable that the PDP, which left our state in ruins, would blind its eyes to the efforts of someone reconstructing and clearing their filth," the ACN said.

Kolawole said the ACN does not have apology to offer the PDP, which accused it of failure to "give largesse" to the people, stating that it cannot run the same profligate government which stole the state blind as the PDP did, which it said earned the leader of the government the sobriquet of "ATM." "On Thursday, May 10, 2011, Governor Ajimobi was at Igbinedion University, Okada, to deliver the school's Foundation Day lecture entitled "Making progress in the midst of crisis: The Nigerian challenge." It was a refreshing day for the people of Oyo State who used to have a governor who was bereft of anything upstairs.

Ajimobi did justice to the topic, so much that he received a standing ovation from the university community for the people of Oyo State whom the previous government portrayed as illiterate, violent and cousins of NURTW kingpins," the party said.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

Gombe to set up Judicial Panel on Kalare menace From Auwal Ahmad, Gombe

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ommittee on Security set up by Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo has recommended the establishment of a Judicial Commission of Inquiry be set up to examine the activities of the Kalare menace in the state in the last eight years.

The recommendation was contained in the report submitted to the state Governor, they sector-based committee chaired by a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Adamu Gombe.

Presenting a summary of the committee's report during a ceremony organized by the state Government to receive

the reports of the 12 sectorbased committees who reviewed performance of the government with respect to the implementation of their original recommendations of 2011, the Chairman said that this was necessary so as to heal the wounds of those who were aggrieved or lost their loved ones through Kalare menace.

He said the panel could carry out discreet investigations on the past and on-going Kalare activities in the state and any one found liable should be made to face the full wrath of the law so as to serve as a deterrent to others. It also observed too that in-spite of the Governor's pronouncement banning Kalare activities in the state in

2011, it has surfaced with ferocity and vengeance.

The committee also noted that although most of its 2011 recommendations had been captured, it was imperative for the public to understand and also appreciate that security was a collective responsibility and not preserved only for government and security agencies.

The Chairman insisted that there was need for the public to assist security outfits with useful information and intelligence reports that would assist security agents so that collectively, the state would become secured and to the admiration and pleasure of all citizens of the state.

He commended the efforts of

the state government for establishing a three-tier community based security committees primarily to complement efforts of the security agencies in the state. It however observed with utter dismay that these committees were not functioning as envisaged and the purpose for which they were established has been injuriously and woefully defeated.

The Committee also observed that there was serious apathy on the part of the public in volunteering useful information to security agencies for fear of safety. The government was urged to address the impediments militating against the performance of the community-based security committees.

L-R: Former Vice- President Atiku Abubakar, welcoming Vice- President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, during the reception in honour of National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, on Saturday in Jada, Adamawa state.

Group demands explanation from FG over Yobe massacre A

By Joy Baba

Non Governmental Organization (NGO), Code Group, has demanded an immediate explanation from the Federal Government to Nigerians on the recent massacre in Potiskum cattle market, Yobe state.

The Group is demanding an immediate and detailed explanation both from the Federal and Yobe state Governments as to the circumstances that led to the monumental tragedy.

In a statement signed by the representative of the group, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki Nakande, the NGO said it was incredible that nearly two weeks after that

massacre, there was yet no official explanation as to what actually happened; who the gunmen were? What prompted the massacre or even a sign that the relevant agencies of government fully comprehend the gravity and implication of such wanton disregard for human life. "Any society that can tolerate such barbarism is a society courting total anarchy," the group stated.

The statement further condemned in the strongest terms the most barbaric act and extended its sympathies and condolences to the bereaved families and to humanity at large.

"Nigerians are still wondering what the members of the Joint

Task Force that were stationed in Potiskum were doing while this massacre went on for three hours. Hitherto not a single arrest has been made. This is yet another testimony to the increasing impotence of our security services in the face of deadly challenges and in spite of the colossal amount of resources that are being channeled into them, " the Code Group said.

It will be recalled that On Wednesday, May 2 2012, gunmen surrounded a popular cattle market in Potiskum, Yobe State North-East Nigeria, and for three hours massacred nearly 100 people and an unspecified number of heads of cattle. Hundreds of people were also injured many of them

critically.

"In the same vein the group extended its condolences to the family of the slain Olaitan Oyerinde who was shot in cold blood last week in his residence.

At the time of his murder, Oyerinde was the principal private secretary to the governor of Edo state. We commiserate with his employers, the Edo state government and with the members of his wider constituency, the Nigerian Labour Congress. We do hope that the presidential directive to the IGP to find his killers would go beyond previous similar directives in the aftermath of such heinous acts that have never yielded any result said the group," Nakande stated.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

By Patrick Andrew They waited for 44 years. ere arguably the best English Premier League side in the season: scored the highest number of goals, conceded fewer goals than any other side, had the best goals aggregate advantage and had only a formality match against relegation threatened QPR, who in comparison were far from being their equals, away from clinching the trophy.

Well, football is no mathematics.

For 92 minutes Manchester City trialed Queen Park Rangers 1-2 momentarily handing desperate city rivals Manchester United the much desired chance for a hand on the Barclay League shield.

Then, came the magic. In barely incredible fashion, Edin Dzeko secured a respite to restore parity and then Sergio Aguero netted the breather.

Both goals came in the stoppage time, thus creating the most dramatic end to a surprise-laden season.

Waiting with bated breath right on the pitch were city rivals, United, who, aided by the sudden inspired form of Taye Taiwo side, had hoped to profit from Rangers’ form to sip from the trophy.

But it was not to be. Taiwo failed to stop Aguero who burst into the area to angle a shot past Paddy

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PAGE 41

After 44 years, Man City clinch title in dramatic fashion Kenny and spark wild celebrations as City became top dogs for the first time since 1968.

City and United both finished on 89 points with City’s better goal difference settling the most gripping

title race since Arsenal edged out Liverpool on the final day of the 198990 campaign.

Juve finish league season unbeaten

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City players showing off their prestigious trophy

LOGS

Ehiosun to join Eagles in Abuja, 24 players jostle for 17 shirts

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amsumsport of Turkey striker, Ekigho Ehiosun, will join the Super Eagles camp in Abuja latest by tomorrow even as the 24 domestic league-based players intensified their efforts for the 17 shirts on offer to Lima, Peru for the international friendly scheduled for Wednesday next week.

Ehiosun is one of the five foreign based players picked by Stephen Keshi for the trip and did said he could make it to Abuja and train for some days with the team before its departs for Lima. The other four, namely Nnamdi Oduamadi, Gege Soriola, Obiorah Nwankwo and Raheem Lawal will join the team directly in Lima.

Meanwhile, all the 24 players who were in camp last week but were released for continental and league action last weekend are expected back on Monday as the battle for the 17 shirst for the trip to Peru hots up. Keshi and his crew are expected to name the lucky 17 before Friday, as the team will jet out on Saturday to Peru.

As usual, all players have been assured of level playing field in the selection process, with Keshi insisting that all those who proved themselves in training and test games will be chosen for games no matter how many weeks on days they have spent in the national camp.

Continental Campaigns

Heartland, Warri Wolves crash, as Sunshine Stars sail on

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igeria’s hope for a sip from the CAF Confederations Cup will remain a mirage following the exit of her representatives Heartland FC and their Warri Wolves counterparts who were both bundled out of the fiesta.

Ironically, the Confederations Cup losers were eased out of the race for the prestigious stage of the campaign by two clubs all bearing

On a free-scoring climax to the English season Arsenal finished third, coming from behind to beat West Bromwich Albion 3-2 at the Hawthorns, edging Tottenham Hotspur into fourth after their north London rivals beat Fulham 2-0.

Arsenal will join City and United in the Champions League group phase while Spurs face an anxious wait to see if they get a crack at a Champions League qualifying tie.

Should Chelsea win the Champions League they would demote Tottenham to the Europa Lague.

Bolton thus joined Wolves and Blackburn Rovers to the lower league.

leopards.

Warri Wolves tutored by versatile coach Maurice Cooreman could not make their 3-1 first leg advantage to count as they failed to twinkle losing 0-2 to PSL bottom placed Black Leopards in South Africa, yesterday.

Heartland, who had a slim chance of sailing through also could not successfully climb the mountain as

they cowered before their hosts AFC Leopards in the Congo. The Owerri based team had managed to score a late goal in the first leg to escape with a 3-2 win.

But in Brazaville, Congo yesterday, the story was different. The Federation Cup champions were turned back 2-1 and crashed out as well.

However, the only bright spark in an otherwise gloomy day for

Nigeria were Sunshine Stars as they provided little to cheer with a slim but vital 1-0 win over Mali’s Djoliba to advance to the group stages of the CAF Champions League on 2-1 aggregate.

The exit of Heartland and Wolves brought to three Nigerian teams sent crashing from continental glory. Dolphins had earlier lost to Cotonsport.

hampions Juventus broke AC Milan’s record of 42 matches unbeaten and finished the league season undefeated with a 3-1 win over Atalanta yesterday.

It was also the perfect send-off after 19 years with the Old Lady for club captain Alessandro Del Piero, who took the armband for the final time in a Serie A game in Juve’s colours and netted his team’s second goal.

The victory meant Juve took their unbeaten run in all competitions to 43 games, including the final match of last season, a record for an Italian team.

They also produced the first unbeaten Serie A campaign since Milan in 1992, and the first since Italy moved from an 18 to a 20-team league. If they avoid defeat in next weekend’s Cup final they will become the first team to go an entire season unbeaten in league and cup, although they were helped by not playing in Europe.

Meanwhile, Milan finished their season with a the perfect party scenario as 38-year-old Filippo Inzaghi scored the winner on his 300th and final appearance for the club before retiring in a 2-1 win over relegated Novara. With popular stalwarts Inzaghi, Gennaro Gattuso and Alessandro Nesta all making their final bow in a Milan shirt, this match took time to come to life.

Gattuso captained the side but looked a shadow of his former self while the biggest cheer of the afternoon was reserved for Inzaghi’s entry from the bench.

Later. Milan desperately tried to set up Inzaghi to sign off with a goal, which duly came eight minutes from time, ensuring the party could start.

It was Inzaghi’s 156th goal in Serie A and just to top things off, it was fellow veteran Clarence Seedorf who played the pass.

PAGE 42

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

Ikhana dismisses Falcons fears for Falconets

Olukoya U18 athletics tourney winners hope to represent Nigeria

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inners of the 2 nd Athletics Federation of Nigeria/Dr D.K .Olukoya U-18 Championships have expressed confidence in their abilities to represent the country at international fiestas if given the opportunity by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN).

The winners, who spoke after Saturday’s finals declared that they have what it takes to meet international standard stressing that should they be given necessary support, they would bring honours to the nation at international championships.

In the some of the results posted at the finals, it was noted that the junior prospects returned quality times that would delight coaches who would help shape them to improve on the times.

In the girls 400 metres, TosinAdeloye from Ekiti won the race with a time of 53:46 seconds beating Chinonye Chukwu of Abia and Oluchi Offorma of GEJ Athletics Club to second and third place.

Chukwu clocked a time of 56:06 sec while Offorma returned a time of 57:37 sec.

Adeloye also won the 200m race in 24:52sec with Aderonke Ademosu of Buka Tiger Club taking the second position in 25:03 sec and Chukwu of Abia State coming third in 25:16 sec.

In the men’s 400m, AbubakarAbas from Kano State led the pack with a time of 49:03 sec while Ololade Durojaiye of Buka Tiger Club came second in 49:35 sec, Nurudeen Hassan of Ogun was third in 51:13 sec.

Abas said the championships had shown him that talents abound in Nigeria and just required grooming to break into stardom.

Goke Ogunseye from Ogun, who won the men’s 800m in 1:56.20 sec, said that he was delighted coming first in the event, saying he could not have done it without his coach.

Johnson Akindujoye of Lagos State came second in 1:58.95 sec, while Godwin Daniel from Adamawa was third with a time of 2:00:45 sec.

Ogunseye said that the AFN had done well by organising the championships to enable athletes at the grassroots to showcase their talents.

In the men’s Javelin event, Ferdinad Tsafa of Benue came first with a throw of 56:65 metres, while Delta’s Precious Peter with a throw of 51:25 metres came second.

The third position went to Babatunde Jemiye of Eaglesight Club with a throw of 45:90 metres.

The women’s Javelin event had Priscilia Zever of Benue win with a throw of 38:22 metres, Kasie Ugeh of ASFAN Club was second with 34:15 metres and Judith Aniefuna, also of ASFAN club, was third with a throw of 32:93 metres.

No fewer than 320 athletes from different states, clubs, and schools participated in the championships held at the sports centre of the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos.

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Coach Kadiri Ikhana

ead Coach of the senior women national team, Kadiri Ikhana at the weekend dismissed claims being spread within the football family that his girls were scared of engaging the U-20 women national team in a training match.

Both teams are in Abuja preparing for their respective qualifiers “I know that the Chief Coach of the Falconets, Edwin Okon has approached me for a friendly but l politely turned it down based on the fact that it may not be best for both teams,” explained Ikhana. “Secondly the timing is too close or have you ever seen the Olympic team, which is the U-23 national team square up against the Super Eagles. I do not think such a match will be agreed by

the coaches,” he said.

Speaking from a father figure perspective, the one- time Enyimba FC and Kwara United tactician, said such a match if played could produce casualties.

“In a bid to outwit themselves, players can get injured and that l would not to happen at this moment. Furthermore some of these players may be threatened by the presence of their fellow players particularly those wishing to come into the senior team,” the coach said.

Arguments have been in favour of the Falconets defeating the Falcons because of their present form that has seen them knock out Zimbabwe from the 2012 FIFA U20 Women World Cup qualifiers.

Ogunjobi wants govt to set up insurance scheme for players

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aiwo Ogunjobi, a former SecretaryGeneral of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), has appealed to government to set up an insurance scheme for players.

He made the appeal in an interview in Ira, Kwara at the eighth day Fidau prayers for the late Rashidi Yekini. Ogunjobi who is the Chairman of Osun Football Association noted that this would help to cater for players’ welfare in the country.

“There is the need to help retired national football players in the country.

Government should come out with a programme to help these players while they are still active.

“This is important because they cannot play football for life. If you don’t leave football, football will leave you one day.

“Government should develop a programme to educate these players and assist them to save for the future, which will serve as their welfare package after retirement.

“Majority of Nigerian players are not educated enough to plan for the future,”

he said.

Ogunjobi also lauded the Nigerian Premier League competition and urged the organisers to continue to improve on the achievements made so far.

He noted that the state of facilities in the nation’s stadia required the urgent attention of all stakeholders.

The former NFF board member appealed to government to develop the infrastructure in the stadium across the country, so as to improve the quality of football in the country.

Golden Eaglets relish, afia efere, afang, other delicacies in Calabar T

he players and officials of the national U-17 team, the Golden Eaglets, are being sufficiently spoilt with sundry delicacies by in Calabar. where they are camping in preparations for their June qualifies.

Morakinyo Abodunrin, the team’s Media Officer, disclosed yesterday that the players and officials were being adequately taken care of by the government and people of Cross River.

The hosts are known for their hospitality and their cuminary abilities. Such delicacies like afang soup, afia efere, ekpang-nkukwo, edikang ikong and several others which usually easily winover victors are daily served the team.

“Since we came on Monday, we have been enjoying our stay here and the atmosphere is very conducive; the people have really welcomed us and we are happy

to be in Calabar.

“There are little or no challenges in terms of accommodation because where the state government has provided as camp is in perfect condition and the training pitch is okay.

“We have been training since we came with little or no hitches. Everything has been okay,” Abodunrin said.

He said that there were 40 players in the camp and 10 officials, including team manager, coaches, curator, medical officers, doctors, psychologist, and the media officer.

Similarly, Suleiman Abubakar, the Team Coordinator, also confirmed that the Cross River people and government had been very nice to them.

“We have been having a wonderful time since we came here. The accommodation is a good place for camping; the city is very

Manu Garba, Emmanuel Amuneke, and Nduka Ugbade, coaches of the Eaglets

clean and safe for us.

“We love it here. It is a place where we will love to come back again if given the opportunity. The people have been very friendly. We are at home here.

“In fact, if we have the opportunity, we will carry food from Cross River back to Abuja; we have been having a very wonderful time. “We have been eating Edikang Ikong, Afia Efere and Afang on a daily basis. We cannot even say more, we are really grateful, especially to Gov. Liyel Imoke and the Cross River Government. They have been very helpful,” he said.

Abubakar said the team would be in camp till June 4.

The Eaglets are in camp in preparation for their fixture against Niger Republic in September in the qualifiers for the 2013 African Under-17 championship in Morocco.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

Ex-NRA scribe optimistic about referees’ improvement

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former Secretary of the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA), Sunday Audu, has expressed joy at inclusion of some Nigerian referees to officiate in continental and international tournaments.

Audu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) via telephone interview that the call up of four referees to officiate at the CAF Confederation’s Cup was a welcome development.

“I will say that referees in Nigeria are progressing in their careers because they are now being invited to officiate at continental and intercontinental competitions. “Last year, Jelili Ogunmuyiwa was invited to officiate at a 2011 FIFA Beach Football tournament in Italy. Peter Edibe officiated at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.”

Audu noted that if FIFA and CAF were not confident that they would officiate well, they might not have been invited.

“Now, four of them will officiate at the CAF Confederation’s Cup. They are going places because CAF and FIFA believe in their ability to execute the tasks well. “To me, it is a great improvement on the ranking of the Nigerian referees because we are being recognised in the world.”

Henry Ogunyamodi, Peter Edibe, Isah Usman and Benjamin Odeh would officiate during the return leg match between AS Real De Bamako and Wydad Cassablanca of Morocco, scheduled for May 12 in Mali. Audu commended FIFA and the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) for the continued support to ensure that referees were constantly updated on the changing trends.

“FIFA and NFA have really been trying their best to ensure that our referees are not in obscurity in terms of the changing trends in football. “I am aware that a recent course was held this year where an assessor came into the country to update referees.”

Audu appealed to upcoming referees not to relent in acquiring the knowledge that could stand them in good stead in their careers, saying the world was watching to see those that would qualify for international competitions. He predicted that soon the world federations would be clamouring for Nigerian referees, judging by their high level of performance.

Olatunde Oyetola, Nigerian referee

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School sports in Nigeria still vibrant, Yekini’s says WASSU’s president wife seeks

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homas Olaiya, the President of West Africa School Sports Union (WASSU), has debunked assertions that school sports were almost non-existence in the country.

Instead, he claimed that school sports were vibrant contrary to popular views that they were extinct and therefore in dire need of revival.

“School sports are bubbling in Nigeria now; school sports are vibrant in Nigeria that is why Nigeria has taken the leadership of school

sports in West Africa. If not for the fact that Nigerian school sports were vibrant they would not have called on one of us to come and lead West Africa School Sports Union.” Olaiya called on the three tiers of government not pay lip service to it because it would guarantee the future development of sports in the country.

“I think we need to make a clarion call to our state government and to the federal government of Nigeria that they should serious attention to school

sports. “School sports should not be used in public places as lip service but we should pay real attention to it. We should make sure that school sports have its place in the scheme of things.”

He stressed that physical education and sports should be made compulsory as a part of the curriculum of schools in order to awaken the interest of students.

Olaiya said: “we need to ensure that school’s curriculum includes physical education and sports, so that students can be interested in sports from a tender age. But if made an extra-curricular activity, then we are in problem.”

Kano Pillars, Dolphins upbeat about league title

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ano Pillars and Dolphins of Port Harcourt, two contenders for the Nigeria Premier League shield are undaunted in the quests to secure the prestigious league title despite recent loss of forms.

Coaches, Kabir Baleri and Zakari Baraje of Pillars and Dolphins respectively made this known after the weekend games and stressed their teams have the capacity to successfully challenged others contenders for the title.

Although Rangers opened a four point gap on the log, Baleri said the Pillars would still fight on undeterred till the end of the season.

“We will keep fighting and I am sure we are going to win the league. There is something good for us. It is very important for us to continue to fight on. We are daily improving and we can keep on the fight till the end,’’ Baleri said.

Similarly, Baraje said the Dolphins have the depth and resolve to challenge for the title and noted that there would always be changes at the top.

“Recall that Gombe United were first at the top, then we

Zakari Baraje of Dolphins

took over before Kano Pillars took charge, Rangers are there, but they are not invincible. Like others before them, they too will make way for another team to assume that position. We are convinced when the right time comes it will Dolphins.

“We have depth and players to challenge for the league title. We can do it and we are determined to do so. For now though, Dolphins will keep fighting on and as we steady our focus, nothing will stand between us and the title,” he said.

Meanwhile, Enyimba’sChairman, Felix Anyansi-Agwu, expressed disappointment with the players for dropping points at home. He said the players failed to exhibit what they were taught in training by the coaches during the match.

“I cannot blame the coaches; they are trying, but the players, who were not able to convert the begging chances to score goals.”

The Enyimba chief urged the players to improve in their subsequent matches to justify the management’s huge investment in their welfare.

Gunmen kill kick boxing medalist in Uyo A kwa Ibom kick boxer Alexander Joseph, nick named “Ibom”, has been killed by gunmen.

An eye witness told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that Ibom was attacked by his assailants at about 9.30 am on Saturday at Uyo Township Stadium during a training session.

They said that the no fewer than five persons had trailed the victim to the stadium and inflicted several machete cuts on him before firing three gunshots on his neck.

Some athletes, who trained with Ibom the previous day, said that the deceased was in top form for 2012 National Sports Festival scheduled to hold in Lagos later this year.

The athletes described the murder of Ibom as terrifying, adding that he attempted to resist the assassins.

Mr Onyeka Orji, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), confirmed the incident and said that the police had made some arrest on incident, while investigation continues.

Reacting to the news of Ibom’s death, Mr Aniedi Dickson, the State Director of Sports, said that the deceased was a strong boy.

“It is quite unfortunate, he was our medal hopeful, he is a very strong boy, and his death may dampen the moral of our boys. We organise trial

for them every quarter in the last trial two weeks ago he was very strong, he was excellent,” Dickson said.

Dickson, who said that he was yet to be briefed by victim’s coach, said that the demise of the kickboxer was painful.

It would be recalled that ‘Ibom’ won a bronze medal for Akwa Ibom in the 2009 National Sports Festival hosted by Kaduna State.

Bolaji Abdullahi, Supervising Minister of Sports

govt assistance for children’s education

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rs Bilikis Rasheed, one of the three wives of late exSuper Eagles striker, Rashidi Yekini, has appealed to government for assistance in the education of the deceased’s children.

Bilikis, who is based in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, pleaded for the assistance over weekend in the late ex-international’s hometown of Ira, in Kwara. She said her daughter, three-year-old Mosidat Damilola Yekini, is the youngest of the late footballer’s children.

“The burden of taking care of the child’s education and upkeep alone is overwhelming. Mosidat is living with me in Abidjan and is in a nursery school and financing her education all alone won’t be easy,” Bilikis said. She also urged government to immortalise the deceased as a way of recognising Yekini’s contributions to Nigerian and African football.

Meanwhile, the Onira of Ira, Oba AbdulRahaman Oyetoro, has disclosed that a street had been named in the town after the late Yekini.

He said the footballer’s death was a great loss to the town, saying government should assist in catering for the family of the deceased.

Also speaking the state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Prince Tunji Moronfoye, and the Commissioner for Sports, Kayode Towoju, advised Nigerian youths to emulate the late football icon.

According to them, Yekini had a fulfilled life and used his talent to serve his fatherland by bringing glory to the country.

They said the state government decided to give him a befitting burial because of his contribution to the state and the nation.

Meanwhile, the state government donated N1.5 million to the Yekini family and organised the eighth day Fidau prayers with another N500,000.

At the end of the prayers, a football statue was unveiled at the junction to the family house named after the late 1993 African Footballer of the Year.

Those present at the Fidau prayers included Yekini’s former teammates, NFF officials, representatives of the Kwara government, and exinternational Taiwo Ogunjobi who represented the Osun government.

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PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

Paralympian urges FG for give greater support to special sports

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Nigerian weightlifters in action

unday Eze, one of Nigeria’s representatives in the Para throws event at the London Paralympic Games, has urged the Federal Government to support special sports.

Eze, who made the appeal in Lagos, said that the Paralympic athletes needed government support as special people because of their disabilities stressing that such support would enable them to prove that there was ability in disability.

“We are pleading with the management of the team so that they will put things in place in order to make the athletes to bring out what they have. “I believe that the officials and technical crew are there in order to compensate the athletes and we believe that whatever they need, the federal government is going to assist them to assist special sports.“ Eze gave the assurance that he

would perform exceptionally at the tournament, saying that to that extent, he would require quality support and encouragement.

“We are praying that the officials and the technical crew will put things in place in order to make the special sports athletes to smile; we are still waiting for them; we believe that we are going to give them the best. “After giving them the best, we believe that they are going to show their appreciation to us by giving us whatever we need and we are believing that they are working harder to show appreciation to the athletes.”

He expressed the hope that at the end of the tournament, special sports would be deservedly recognised.

The 2012 Summer Paralympic Games, which will hold in London between August 29 and September 9, is the 14th edition of the tournament.

FIFA’s coaching training a laudable development, says Amadu

Lagos swimmers steps up preparations for sports festival

he FIFA sanctioned Win-InAfrica-With-Africa (WIAWA) workshop, which ended last Friday in Abuja, would rejuvenate the technical knowledge of the game in the country.

This was the view of the NFF’s Acting Secretary General, Musa Amadu, who disclosed that the coaching course was designed to keep the participants abreast with the latest trends in coaching.

He added that since most of the participants were drawn from the country’s national teams and the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) club sides, the standard of the game in the country would improve tremendously.

“The programme is to upgrade elite coaches; obviously it is the elite coaches that have being invited to participate in this special coaching programme.

“That is why we have 20 league coaches and the six National coaches, so that they can imbibe news coaching ethics and pass it

he Lagos State Swimming Association has embarked on an intensive training programme for its swimmers for the forthcoming 18th National Sports Festival scheduled for Nov. 27 to Dec. 9 in Lagos.

The association’s Head Coach, EniolaOmope, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos during a training session at the swimming pool section of the TeslimBalogun Stadium, Surulere.

She stressed that the body was working systematically to prepare the athletes for the task ahead, and to sharpen their competitive edge for the big showdown at the national sports fiesta.

According to her, the swimmers were rusty and needed vigorous training programmes to be in a tip top shape. The coach noted that the vigorous training session had begun to yield positive responses from the swimmers, who have showed remarkable improvement in their speed and timing; an important prerequisite in swimming competitions.

“The swimmers have been undergoing series of trainings for some weeks now and I am impressed that they are improving on their speed and timing,” she said. Omopedecried the lack of competitions and motivation needed to sharpen and improve the competitive edge of the association’s swimmers; an absence that impacted negatively on their performance last year in Port Harcourt. The coach added that the state’s government had improved on the welfare of its athletes, a lapse some states had previously capitalised on to poach Lagos athletes.

She commended the state government for organising series of competitions for swimmers in the year and also motivated athletes by paying them training allowances.

“I commended the state government for taking into cognisance steps that would improve the state’s chances at the festival. I am confident that my swimmers will aim for gold at the forth-coming festival,” Omope said.

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on to their players. The programme is heading in the right direction, it will also reform and improve the quality of play,” the secretary said.

He said the FIFA coaching training initiative was the first of its kind, which will be a yearly event, he said the training would involve all spheres of football.

“This coaching course is the first of its kind in the country, and it will be a yearly event that will be sustained by FIFA. “Administration is an essential part of football, the two are like car and engine, and they cannot function without each other. We will run administrative courses for all the General Manager’s and Secretary’s, it is also a FIFA initiative,” Amadu said.

It would be recalled that in March, there was a CAF/FIFA sanctioned course for different categories of coaches while an administrative course will take place in Abuja, sometime in June.

Amadu noted that the competence of the FIFA instructor,

Jan Borge Pouslen, a former Danish international, speaks volume about the quality of the programme content “With this training under the explicit FIFA instructor Pouslen, the selected invited coaches will definitely imbibe new techniques which will be imparted on their teams,” he said.

Musa Amadu, NFF Scribe

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Presidential Aide tasks sports journalists on professional ethics M

Sarah Jibril, Presidential Aide

rs Sarah Jibril, Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Ethics and Values, has tasked sports writers to adhere to professional ethics in their reportage.

Jibril gave the charge in Abuja at a public lecture organised by the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and the presentation of a book written

by Valentine Ejeh with the theme: “Peace, National Unity and Cohesion Towards a Better Image for Nigeria.

The Special Adviser noted that the absence of ethical practice among some media practitioners has contributed to the high level of corruption in the country.

She implored media practitioners to use their profession as an antidote to corruption.

“When we are talking about transformation, ethics has become a relevant factor to the agenda. Whenever we do a sports report and mellow it down, it is corruption,” Jibril said.

In his contribution, the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro said sports writers have a lot to contribute to the development of Nigeria adding that the rules of football should be imbibed in policy enactment to help in achieve set goals.

Moro, who was represented

by Mr Adetayo Sode, a Director in the Ministry, said that

“Football game has attained its present height today because it thrives largely on quality and fair play and stressed that these were crucial factors that the leaders need in their policies as they embark on the project of nation building.

“We can make politics a good game if we embrace fair play, equity and team work in politics.

After all just as scoring goals is the ultimate aim of every player, achieving good governance remains the objective of any genuine political enterprise,” the minister said.

Mike Omeri, the DirectorGeneral, National Orientation Agency (NOA), also said that sports can be used as a leverage

to improve Nigeria’s image if their attributes can be harnessed towards peace and unity.

Omeri, represented by David Dogo, a Director in the Agency, encouraged the members of SWAN to pay more attention to the Nigerian football league to generate public interest.

“We on our own part are working towards collaboration with the national team to mobilise Nigerians each time the Super Eagles are playing a match,” the NOA boss said.

Highpointof the event was the presentation of the book titled“The Feast of Wits and Strongest: Africa’s search for the Holy Grail of football”.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

PICTORIAL

Serena Williams is in top form to beat the world number one Victoria Azarenka 61 6-3 and win the Madrid Open.

Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado takes his debut win in Spain and ends Williams's eight-year wait for a victory.

PAGE 45

Teenage fly-half George Ford guides Leicester to an eighth successive Premiership final with a 24-15 semi-final win over Saracens.

Dramatic stoppage-time goals have handed Manchester City their first top-flight title in 44 years. Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero scored to give City a 3-2 victory over QPR and deliver the Premier League title at the expense of Man Utd, who beat Sunderland 1-0.

American Kevin Na takes a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Players Championship in Florida.

Jonny Brownlee and Helen Jenkins complete a British double with victory in the San Diego World Triathlon Series.

Dereck Chisora's manager Frank Warren warns the British boxing board against removing his licence over the David Haye fight.

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MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

SPORTS LA TEST LATEST

Federer, Serena win Madrid Open

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oger Federer came back from one set down to beat Tomas Berdych and win the Madrid Open 3-6 7-5 7-5.

Also, Serena Williams beat world number one Victoria Azarenka 6-1 6-3 to win the Madrid Open for the first time.

Berdych had beaten Federer twice this year, but the Swiss got his own back on Madrid's controversial blue courts . It's the 11th time Federer has beaten Berdych, the world number six.

It was Federer's first game in 44 days and he had already been beaten twice by Berdych this year.

The win, his third Madrid title and the 20th Masters tournament of his career, also earned Federer a framed Men In Black suit from actor Will Smith.

Williams hit a series of winners to take her 41st WTA singles title. It is the eighth time the pair have met, with Williams winning on seven occasions.

Azarenka's only victory over Williams came in the final of the 2009 Miami tournament, but she came nowhere near the American on Sunday, with Williams superior in every department.

The Madrid Open is the second consecutive WTA clay tournament for Williams, coming a month after she won in Charleston.

Results: EPL Chelsea 2 Everton 3 Man City 3 Norwich 2 Stoke City 2 Swansea 1 Tottenham 2 West Brom 2 Wigan 3 NPL Dolphins FC 0 Ocean Boys 0 Lobi Stars 2 Kaduna Utd 2 ABS FC 2 Pillars 2 Sharks 5

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QUO TABLE Q UO TE UOT QUO UOTE The man of knowledge must be a ble not onl y to lo ve his lov ab only enemies but also to hate his friends —F riedric h Nietzsc he Friedric riedrich Nietzsche

A North without people Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable — J.K Gailbraith, 1969

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he Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima says the north of Nigeria will be inhabitable in five years if the current security situation is not addressed. Actually, the details of his remarks dealt more with the dangers he sees in the creeping alienation which is breeding lawlessness, crime and impunity particularly among young people.

The rich and the privileged are no longer safe, and young, unemployed (and unemployable) persons now grab whatever they can, and they target the wealthy and the powerful with pronounced venom. This, the Governor says, is the result of poverty. He says if in five years time, the leaders and the wealthy and the privileged in the north do not address poverty and insecurity decisively, nobody will stay or live in northern Nigeria, because it will be profoundly unsafe to do so.

It is instructive that the Borno State Governor who sees the destructive power of violence crime and poverty daily, made these remarks when some members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) visited him to sympathize over the virtual siege under which citizens of the State live. If his visitors whose party runs three-quarters of the nation had flown to Maiduguri and then drove to the Government House, they would have observed the tragic consequences of the prolonged damage and garrison existence under which citizens of Maiduguri live. Between Boko Haram insurgents who live and operate almost at will from within its communities, and security forces who act as if the entire population is the enemy, the once thriving economy of Maiduguri has shrunk beyond recognition. Poverty will obviously highten. Bitterness will feed the insurgency. It will fight with sustained vigour, hoping that the strong-arm tactics of the state will tilt the balance of public sentiment in its favour.

If the PDP bigwigs had driven to Borno State capital from a neighbouring State, they would have seen even more damage to the economy and the social system which is making people even more desperate. If they started from, say, Kaduna, they would have left a city which lives with fear and

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FIFTEEN MINUTES with Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed drbabaahmed@yahoo.com

Gov. Babangida Aliyu uncertainty.

Its many checkpoints have not stopped frequent attacks, and they are becoming more daring and spectacular. If they drove through Kano, they would have seen evidence of the panic and pain under which the BUK community lives, the long faces of parents, colleagues and friends who lost loved ones recently, and many more checkpoints. They would have seen burnt-out and demolished police stations, and maybe even a few demolished residences where security forces say they encountered Boko Haram insurgents. If they drove through Bauchi and Gombe, they would have seen fear and suspicion on every face, and alert security men and women who are anxious to know who is the enemy and who is the friend. They would see that banks now close up around 2 or 3pm; markets are haphazard, people cannot park in church premises when they go to worship; all police and military facilities are heavily barricaded, and all motorcycles have to be pushed past checkpoints.

If they drove up through Kano to Yobe, they would have left hundreds of families from the south in the process of relocating, or fiercely resisting the pressure to move, from families down south. In Yobe State, they may have stopped to offer sympathies to the people of Potiskum who were recentlyvictims of a massacre, and who rose up in protest against what they alleged was security connivance or indifference. They

would have heard, if they saw the Governor there, that the town was promptly placed under curfew as a result of the protests. If they visited the Governor, they would have heard similar lamentations regarding the state of insecurity and its linkages with poverty as they heard from Governor Shettima.

There are serious issues, however regarding the lamentations of governors over poverty and insecurity arising from Boko Haram activities in the north. To single out poverty and blame the current state of insecurity on it is fallacious and dangerous. Poverty has predated Boko Haram, and is quite likely to survive it. To create the impression that you will solve the threat of Boko Haram by throwing money at it is shortsighted and self-serving.

Certainly, the levels of poverty, boosted both by large-scale corruption, inept and insensitive governments and massive demographic changes taking place in the north, are unacceptable. If crushing poverty and hopelessness arising from total lack of opportunities were the sole fuel of Boko Haram, half of all young Muslim northerners will be Boko Haram insurgents; or they would have created their own versions of the insurgency.

Addressing poverty is likely to limit the appeal, attraction and sympathy for Boko Haram among the young, but it is wrong to think policies which should routinely and specifically improve infrastructure, quality of education and reduce corruption should be pursued only as a strategy to fight a religious insurgency which appears wellfunded to continue to threaten the Nigerian State.

The Governors in the north which Governor Shettima says will lose its people in five years time are responsible for much of what the north is today. Many of them say they inherited massive problems, and they have no resources to solve them. May be so, but this is not an excuse the people in the north will accept.

Governments in the north mean a lot to the vast majority of the people.

The failure of governments to build and equip schools and recruit teachers literally means that millions of children will not receive any education or acquire skills. Many parents who cannot send their children to modern schools send them to almajirci schools. This way, they are at least assured that they may grow up as good, even if poor Muslims. Rural roads transform economies. Rural health centers transform quality of lives in villages. Investment in infrastructure creates jobs. All these are the businesses of governments. When they do not do them, citizens who are already crippled by poverty are unlikely to do or provide them.

Northern leaders also need to be careful about the manner they rise to like Boko Haram insurgency with the poverty they should fight. They are not likely to get much sympathy and the huge amounts they think they will get from a national leadership and a people which blame them for creating or sustaining the conditions for the emergence of the current levels of poverty in the first place. Secondly, they create the false impression that Boko Haram's mission is all about bread and butter.

This insurgency speaks a different language, and it is important that it is engaged in the language it speaks. It raises fundamental questions at the ideological and political level, and northern governors know only too well that it is at this level that an affective engagement will occur.

But the Governor of Borno State is also wrong in his assumption that the north will have no people in five years. It will certainly lose many of its affluent citizens, who will move to safer areas with their wealth and families. But its 90 million citizens will stay put, quite possibly in worse conditions, if the governors do not do something dramatic and genuine to arrest the decline engendered by poverty and violence.

Northerners also need to read between the lines: their governors and other leaders are likely to jump ship in five years time, if the environment, for which they have full responsibility, does not improve. There will be people in the north by 2017, but they are likely to be more desperate and more threatened, unless the federal and especially northern governments move from lamentations to action.

Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza, Utako, Abuja. Lagos Office: No.8 Oliyide Street, off Unity Road, Ikeja, Lagos, Tel: +234-09-8734478. Cell: +234 803 606 3308. e-mail: contact@peoplesdaily-online.com ISSN: 2141– 6141