Saturday 15th March, 2014 Weekend Edition by Peoples Media Limited

Army repels Boko Haram attack on barracks

True federalism unrealistic —Prof. Kwanashie >>Pages 2,3

UNIMAID bombed; dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed on Borno

*Sen. Zannah explodes on B/Haram >>Pages 16,42

>>Page 6

weekend.peoplesdailyng.com

. . . Putti ng the p e o p l e fi rs t Vol. 3 No. 82

SATURDAY — SUNDAY, MARCH 15-16, 2014

JIMADAL- ULA 14-15 1435 AH

Northern Elders Forum says:

N150

Boko Haram created by govt >>Page 6

Fulani, Tiv crisis too

Wants service chiefs sacked President Goodluck Jonathan on his knees during a courtesy visit to the mother of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in Katsina yesterday

News

We’ve killed 8 of Katsina gunmen —Vigilante >>Page 11

News

Female Banker defrauds Emir of Kano of N17m >>Page 11

Cover

As Confab begins: The fears, the plots, the futility >>Pages 7,8,9

2015 campaigns: INEC as a partisan umpire (Special Report)

>>Pages 4,5

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

Page 2

Interview

True federalism is a farce —Prof. Kwanashie

Professor Mike Kwanashie is a political economist, who is afraid that the Nigerian state may not be only collapsing but headed for the doom unless urgent steps are takent o stem the tide. He also suggested a possible mass agitation against the ruling class. The Vice Chancellor of Veritas University, believes true federalism is a farce borne out of greed and loss of faith in the Nigerian project. He spoke with Peoples Daily Weekend team of editors: Hameed Bello, Patrick Andrew and Ibrahim Abubakar. Excerpts…

ir, you participated in a conference on the subject of ‘2015 Election’, what do think are the concerns for the 2015 election? I think the major concern is that most Nigerians are afraid that looking at the developments within the political parties that 2015 might actually end up being a very difficult year for Nigeria and that after the end of the election in 2015 the country, might find it difficult to coalesce around the new leadership. In other words, you could have a government that emerges in 2015 that is unacceptable to a reasonable number of Nigerians, and that might whittle down the legitimacy of that government. Nigeria, at this stage of our development, cannot stand an illegitimate government. No matter how legal the government is if in the eyes of most people in this country that government is illegitimate I think we are going to create a circumstance for unprecedented crises in this country. So 2015 could actually signal the beginning of prolong crises in Nigeria and that is what most people are afraid of. During your public presentation you gave the impression that perhaps the solution to bad leadership in Nigeria is people hitting the streets to demand for the right leadership, were you advocating mass protest? No, one is not advocating mass protest. Rather, one is foreseeing mass protest. The issue is reading the signs of the time and very clearly sounding the caution that mass protest might become inevitable because that seems to be where the political class is leading the Nigerian people. I think if you look at the political development in this country since the last election, it is clear that the long time hegemonic control of the people by strong political elite seems to be whittling down. Most of the political elites are in the control of the followership and people are increasingly challenging what you may consider to be power bases in the Nigerian politics. I think if you look at the signs and if you take the post 2011 election crises in parts of this country into consideration, I think there is enough sign to begin to worry that if the next election is not credible, and if for any reason the Nigerian people believe that the outcome of the election is not acceptable, I think you cannot but expect that sort of action. Anybody who understands Nigerian politics, and who has gone through the history of Nigerian politics, would know that Nigerians would not indefinitely just go along with the power game, irrespective of their

own feelings about the electoral process. It is important for the electoral commission, for the Nigerian political class to realise that they cannot seat in their high offices and decide who rules this country, whether the people like that person or not and everybody will keep quiet and watch. I am just sounding a note of warning. If care is not taken in 2015 the people themselves will hit the streets. I am not advocating it, but if you look at what happened in the Arab Spring, you don’t know what you will get. You have no way of controlling the leadership that emerges and even those leaders could even be more dictatorial than the one that you had. So one is not saying that people should disrupt the system but just allowing the people’s leadership to emerge, without this it could actually worsen the problem. So, there is a chance for us in this country especially the political class, to understand that the way they are going they are pushing Nigeria to a limit and that nobody knows where that limit is. Some of us, who are analyzing the situation, think we are approaching that limit. And if care is not taken, this country will explode. You did say that there is hardly a difference that one could pick between the PDP and the APC in terms of ideology, could that be the reason for the many conflicts and the lack of leadership that we seem to have in Nigeria? ou see, the political process is suppose to provide choice, people are suppose to make choices based on the programmes of and their perception of the ability of the political party to lead them forward. Again, if you look at the global crises politically and countries where people

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Professor Mike Kwanashie have demanded for change, the majority of the people suddenly believe that the sort of programmes they are getting and the sort of leadership that they are getting from the existing governments are no longer desirable, and therefore the need for a change. They are shouting we need change. They are basically saying that they are dissatisfied with the present leadership. If you ask me, I will say without any fear of over-emphasizing it. I think Nigeria needs change. I think Nigerians are dissatisfied with the sort of leadership we have in this country. You see the choice is not clear except for personality cult. People are supporting a particular platform because of the people on the platform not because of any demonstrated commitment to changing the reality of the Nigerian situation. And if you look at the political class they are all saying the same

There is nothing like true federalism, each circumstances provide emerging structure. I think the problem is basically that of greed. You see, people have lost faith in the Nigerian project, so they now want their own resources to be given to them so that they can do as they want.

thing, the people don’t have a choice. Those of us looking at the political parties from outside don’t have a choice. There is no political platform that has come out to say look we are moving this country in a different direction. If you ask me as an observer, I will say that I think the Nigerian people need a radical rethinking of Nigeria political structure and that in my mind is radical rethinking of the Nigerian economy. hat was why I said we should not be thinking whether Nigeria is growing or not, the resources are there, the problem is who is expropriating that growth? Therein lies the contradiction in the Nigerian situation: we are growing at six or seven percent, yet the larger number of your population are getting poorer and poorer. It just means that the political class or those wielding political power in Nigeria are expropriating those wealth and that those wealth are ending up in the hands of a few persons. So we need a political class or platform that is committed to changing that. If everybody coming up is not committed to changing that situation, not committed to giving people the voice, to allowing the people to choose, then I think the platform is the same. I think the difference is personality, tribe, ethnic group, and religion. Those are factors that determine where people stand right now and in the long run that is not going to lead Nigeria anywhere. You have talked about radical change of the political process in line with the aspirations of Nigerians, can

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PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

PAGE 3

Interview

Nigeria will explode if ...Kwanashie Contd from Page 2

you illustrate what exactly you meant and how that can be achieved? First, by readjusting the electoral process. Let’s even begin with that. I think all political parties should allow the Nigerian people from the grassroots to elect their leaders. The so-called founding fathers of the parties might not like the persons, but they should simple go to the grassroots and ask the people; who do you want to represent you and then build up the party that way. That is a way of genuinely giving people their leadership. I am not saying that if you do that way you will get the best leadership, no, but, at least, it will be the people’s leader. They would have, in their own free will, selected who they think should represent them and that fellow would be held accountable to them. y point is that you will discover that people that emerge through that process will, in themselves in effort to remain in power, do things that the people who elected them care for. Once this is done, you have already changed: the ideology, the way the parties are organised, the way politics is played, you have already changed the economic structure. So, what we need is simply allowing people to dictate their ways. Right now, the political heavyweights decide who will run and who will not run, decide whether there is automatic ticket or not. In essence, we are not even running a democratic system. Once you go beyond giving people a voice then the people will begin to align themselves. This process you are yearning for can be possible at the local government level where the electoral process is very vital for choice, but in the state which is conscripted in such a way that the governor can decide who sweeps the election, do you think this is possible for the 2015 elections? Well, we have to look at history of societies around the world and see whether we have seen this thing happen within a short period. And as I said in my presentation, I have not seen a movement simply restructures itself within such short time, no, no, it will not even happen. The example given of South Africa happened in a long time and they have got to that point

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where there seem to be oneness in purpose. Here in Nigeria, I honestly don’t see that happening between now and 2015 and that’s why the question you asking is, if it can’t happen where are we headed for? That’s why I am afraid of 2015. What could be done within the short time to mitigate this type of fear in the polity? Cuts in…. Mass mobilization. Yes, mass mobilization. And the question is, who does the mobilization? That is where I was encouraging the youth, they must come out, they must speak out. I expect to see more vibrant civil society in Nigeria. At the moment, the civil societies in Nigeria are pre-occupied in their individuals’ political concerns. You don’t find a threshold of people who are not politicians. Real civil societies are groups of Nigerians who are feed up with the political process and class and come out to say no, this can’t continue. Unless we have such independent movement, the political parties cannot transform themselves. Actually, they are digging in and we are hoping the political conference, which is the National Conference might provide the platform for the political class to look at themselves and say look you know what, we are driving this country crazy. You are going to win election but can’t control the outcome. We can’t continue this way or there won’t be country for us anymore. Unless they meet and tell themselves, let’s reform the system. But can they? I don’t think so. And I think if we mismanaged the 2015 election, then I’m afraid for this country. In addition sir, the likes of the late Segun Okeowo, the fulcrums of youth mobilization, are not there. What we have today are a crop of young ones who pander to the wishes of the politicians, they are bought over. In fact, the leaderships of the unions belong to one political party or the other, what are the alternatives? Again, you are making me even more afraid and nervous about it. Look, the groups of youth you are talking of are likely more enlightened, many of them have gone through the university or have had some forms of education and have had some political awareness. What I am afraid of are those youth who have not gone through that. They have no political education, no consciousness to

Professor Kwanashie the level of understanding the intricacies of governing a state. They don’t really understand, all they know is that they are tired. And the way it will manifest itself is that, my person has not won the election, my part of the country has been denied the presidency, my man wanted to be president but you pushed him out of the race, and that could provide the basis for trying to bring the state down. nd then, the leadership will try to halt them by saying no, you can’t do that, you can’t bring down the state. You are going to have the political space taken over by people who know nothing about the larger implication of fanaticism, who don’t even have the means of communicating leadership principles to them. So when you get to that point then there is danger. I am one of those who believe that the insurgency in Nigeria today is a function of the political economy that we are running. No matter how you look at it. I don’t want to debate what trigger it off. Yes, some zeal must have triggered it off, but it has lasted because the political and economic structures just don’t give room for self expression. If you look at the political space, I think if anybody has ideology he should be able to express it without intimidation. If I think Western education is not proper I should have the space to say it without anybody harassing me. I should have a peaceful atmosphere to say

Nigeria, at this stage of our development cannot stand an illegitimate government. No matter how legal the government is, if in the eyes of most people in this country that government is illegitimate I think we are going to create a circumstance for unprecedented crises in this country.

it. If I have a political space that does not tolerate that you push people to the wall, to the extreme where they then dare the state. As I said in the lecture, you have a collapsing state, a weaken state, you have a state where the administrative structure is literally crumbling: crumbling in the way of corruption, immorality, and loss of societal values. When you read daily about daring acts, each succession of leaders getting more and more morally bankrupt, you eventually see the state in pains. People are disillusioned, the political process is disillusioned and we are gradually heading that way. But what baffles me is that the political class is in denial: they can’t even see the clear signals, they just stay in their cocoons and take decisions and believe every Nigerian will just toe the line. That period is gone. One of the major handicaps in Nigeria is the umpiresthe electoral agency and the security agencies, they easily compromise. What recipe can you proffer to tame the tide? I think for me it is very difficult because the security agencies and the umpire are all part of the political processes. Nobody, who controls power, will allow the electoral umpire to just go and do whatever they want. There is a temptation to believe that once you control power that you should influence the electoral process. It is not easy avoiding the temptation to influence the umpire. However, I am of the opinion that it is possible. When push comes to shove they will try and do it. It is even more difficult in Nigeria because it is money politics. Just give somebody money and he or she looks the other way. Again, somebody makes the point today, I think Alhaji Isa Funtua, that the problem is not leadership but followership: you are talking about decay in the society, moral bankruptcy in leaders, if somebody comes and places a bag of Ghana Must Go and I am willing to look the other way then that’s also part of the problem. So, all these are part and parcel of

the same faulty processes, they go together. You earlier complained about the political and economic structures, do you have any issue with the present fiscal structure of Nigeria? I think at the national conference we are going to see a lot of debate about our fiscal federalism. People argue about true federalism. Each time I hear that as an economist, I am at a loss because federalism takes different forms: from the political basis and then transforms into economic structures. There is nothing like true federalism, each circumstances provide emerging structure. I think the problem is basically that of greed. You see, people have lost faith in the Nigerian project so they now want their own resources to be given to them so that they can do as they want. If you pursue that logic to its conclusion, what they are actually asking for is confederation. e should sort that one out first. Is that what we are heading for? Do we want regional structure? We still have to ask, are we united, have integrated or not? Or are we different nationalities just sitting round the table and having a means of relating with each other? Once we answer this question what is true or not federalism will emerge. It is really about the legitimacy of people governing them, loss of faith in the Nigerian project. And the feeling is not restricted to any one part of the country. Poverty is of the extreme in North East, so it is in Lagos, Niger Delta and in fact in all parts of the country. So the people have the same concerns, fears and agitations. These people don’t care whether it is fiscal federalism or not what they want is the essentials: basic necessities of life. It is neither a class issue nor regional issue. The agitation for fiscal federalism is fueled by elites from the various regions to expropriate the resources for themselves. It has nothing to do with the welfare of the masses of this country. We are 100 years, anything to celebrate? I think we should celebrate. I can understand why people ask, what are we celebrating? It is simply because of the way things are being done. Still, I think we should celebrate. If you read the amalgamation speech by Lord Lugard, I think the amalgamation came about as a result of the economic viability of the regions, which must have been a major consideration. I agree, if we had managed our country properly, honestly there is no country in Africa that would have been anywhere near this country. I am one of those who believe in Vision-20-20-20. If there is anything the late President Umar Yar’ Adua bequeathed it is planning: Leading the country on a charted course. Sadly, there have been digressions. Countries that were behind us at independence are well ahead of us now. Nigeria has potentials but need leaders and followers who will truly get this country moving. Believe you me, the world will marvel at what we can achieve.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

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Special Report

2015 campaigns: Why is INEC chasing shadows?

President Goodluck Jonathan By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

ore than eleven months to the 2015 general elections, both the ruling and opposition political parties have rolled out their campaign trains, even though in disguise. The leaders of opposition and ruling party alike have been crisscrossing the length and width of the country, seeking to win the sentiments of voters. This early campaigns is probably one of the grand designs by the two major opponents: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to cash in on any perceived shortcomings of opponents, through early influence on the electorates. Based on these early campaigns, political observers have therefore expressed deep concerns over why the electoral commission has chosen to become a toothless bulldog, only barking on television screens and pages of newspapers, even when the crimes it is meant to fight, are being committed before its very eyes. According to the tradition and guidelines recently released by the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) for the 2015 general elections, embargo on political campaigns would be lifted ninety days to the elections. Therefore based on the foregoing, and in compliance with the INEC’s 2015 timetable, campaigns by political parties are billed to commence on 16th of November, for both the Presidential and National Assembly elections. On the other hand, campaigns for governorship and State House of Assemblies are supposed to commence on the 30th of November. These dates are in line with Section 99(1) of the 2010 Electoral Act (as amended),

Vice President Namadi Sambo which provides for 90 days campaign before the actual election day. Given that Presidential/National Assembly elections and Governorship/State Houses of Assembly elections have been scheduled for 14th and 28th of February, 2015, it does not need emphasis to understand that any campaign being carried out currently is a clear breach of the constitutional provisions and therefore criminal. lmost eight months to the date when embargo on political campaigns would be lifted, billboards, posters and jingles on radio and television stations, promoting one candidate or the other, or the ruling PDP or opposition APC, are increasingly churned out on daily basis without recourse to the threats of sanctions by INEC. Major towns, cities and other public places across Nigeria, have been flooded with

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posters and billboards of major contenders in the 2015 general elections. On this basis, the two major parties; PDP and APC, have been trading blames over this offence. While the opposition APC accuses INEC of lacking the courage to call the ruling party to order with respect to these illegal campaigns, the ruling PDP blames the APC for lacking the moral guts to obey the laws of the land by going to the streets before the campaign embargo is lifted. pparently worried by the chances that this early campaigns could destabilise the polity, other smaller opposition parties, including All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Labour Party (LP), United Progressives Party (UPP), among others, have called on the electoral body to wake up and tackle this early campaigns by the two dominant parties.

Almost eight months to the date when embargo on political campaigns would be lifted, billboards, posters and jingles on radio and television stations, promoting one candidate or the other, or the ruling PDP or opposition APC, are increasingly churned out on daily basis without recourse to the threats of sanctions by INEC.

They demanded that the electoral commission should blacklist these two parties from the 2015 general elections, as a measure to bring them to control. This, many people believe, would change the perception of the electoral commission as a weak umpire. INEC itself had made several threats to sanction any political party which breaches the ninety-day constitutional embargo, but unfortunately, these threats fell on deaf ears, as politicians and their parties seem to have capitalised on this glaring lack of courage by INEC to implement the law. In a statement issued by Koyode Idowu, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, the commission said it would sanction political parties that have begun campaigns ahead of the 2015 general election. It further expressed concerns that some political parties have commenced pasting of campaign posters and radio jingles in violation of the electoral law, warning that such practise contravenes the electoral law and is capable of heating up the polity. ccording to the statement, “The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has observed that some politicians and registered political parties have begun unbridled campaign towards the forthcoming General Election, thereby heating up the polity. “It is observed that campaign posters are being indiscriminately displayed, while electioneering broadcasts are being aired outside the statutory provision for campaigning towards elections into various elective offices. This trend is unhealthy and portends ill for the political process. Indeed,

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PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

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Special Report

2015 campaigns: Why is INEC chasing shadows? Contd from Page 4 it is a threat to Nigeria’s democracy. The Commission went further to remind politicians of the provision of Section 99(1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended), which says, “For the purpose of this Act, the period of campaigning in public by every political party shall commence 90 days before polling day and end 24 hours prior to that day.” “Political parties are advised to note that campaigning outside this provision is a violation of the law, and the Commission will not hesitate to apply appropriate sanctions against culprits as provided by relevant sections of the law”, the commission warned. t the time INEC issued this warning, presidential campaign posters of President Goodluck Jonathan and some serving governors have sprung up in some states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Among the posters that have been pasted strategically in major streets in selected cities across Nigeria include those with portraits of Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers state, Sule Lamido of Jigawa state. Others are posters of Former Head of State, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, among others. Meanwhile, the commission has urged the security agencies to apprehend violators, whose activities in this regard pose a threat to public order. Early campaign, away from being a threat to democracy, it is also a significant factor to consider in credibility or otherwise of an election. Where politicians

Alhaji Ahmed Mu’azu campaign with absolute disregard to the extant Electoral Act, such election cannot be said to be free or credible. INEC had warmed also that the early campaign trends being witnessed in the country is a threat to democracy which deserves a very decisive action from the electoral commission. The practice of pleading with political parties to adhere to the 90 days before polling day rule as outlined in Section 99(1) of the Electoral Act 2010, indicates that the commission has relented in implementing one of the major components of its Act. Apparently, this unwillingness by the commission to set example against this challenge at national level, explains why the trend has spiralled to the state levels, where the posters and jingles of intending governors and House of Assembly members are recklessly springing up daily.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega

Chief Bisi Akande In Bauchi state, there was a reported clash between thugs loyal to two different governorship candidates in the state. This was a direct consequence of early posting of posters of rival candidates by thugs. Reacting to this crisis, including the obvious defacing of the state which was becoming an embarrassment to the state, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in charge of the state threatened to sanction erring political parties with N500,000 fine. n the statement signed by the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Samuel Madaki, the electoral body also warned political parties against backing such campaigns, saying that the law prohibiting early campaign activities was still in force. However, this is not the first time the electoral commission is threatening early campaigners with adequate actions to address this

IGP Mohammed Abubakar

problem. Political observers have come to believe that the involvement of President Goodluck Jonathan and other bigwigs of the PDP, including Senate President, David Mark, Tony Anenih, PDP chairman, Adamu Mu’Azu, among others, is the major factor why INEC has been dragging feet in sanctioning early campaigns. It would be recalled that the First Lady, Patience Jonathan, blew the lead open, when she defied the 2010 Electoral Act and held a ground shaking political campaign for her husband, President Jonathan. The event tagged, “Women Peace Summit”, which was held in Abuja, attracted thousands of women groups from the 36 states of the federation, including Federal Capital Territory (FCT). All the cries and calls on the INEC to apply the law, unfortunately, did not gain any attention from the electoral commission. Of late, President Goodluck

Jonathan has been traveling from one state to the other, campaigning for votes from the electorates, even though he is yet to declare his intention to contest for the 2015 Presidential election. Barely to the end of first quarter, President Jonathan has visited almost ten states for political campaigns. He was in Imo state for campaign, from where he proceeded to Anambra state. Even though the event was designed to be a flag off of the Second Niger Bridge, it turned out to be South South and South East campaign avenue for the President. In the North, he has Visited Kwara State, Kaduna state, Katsina state, Sokoto state and Kano states for campaigns, yet INEC is not giving any countenance to this fragrant abuse of the law. n the other hand, the opposition APC has vigorously embarked on party promotion strategy of flooding major cities and towns with posters and other party promotion techniques. The solidarity visit to Rivers State governor, Chibuike Amaechi, by the leaders of the APC, including General Muhammadu Buhari, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Bisi Akonde, among other party stalwarts, was a landmark campaign strategy. It is therefore worrisome that despite these breaches of the law, the electoral commission has turned its ears against any call to sanction political parties. The earlier the electoral commission rises up to this challenge, the better for it and Nigerian democracy. INEC must not allow the hard earned democracy in Nigeria to derail on the altar of sacred cows. The powers that be must be confronted frontally if the commission wishes to assure Nigerians of its neutrality and independence to administer the 2015 general elections. This starts by sanctioning erring political parties, irrespective of how highly placed they are.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

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News

‘Boko Haram created by govt’ By Patrick Andrew

he Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has taken a swipe at the federal government’s discriminatory policy in addressing militancy in the country and insisted that the Boko Haram insurgence in North East is the creation of the government. Vice Chairman of the Forum and former Minister of Steel Development, Dr Paul Unongo, said yesterday that the Boko Haram menace has lingered with colossal socio-economic damages to Nigeria and particularly the North East region because the federal government had failed to consider the grave implication of adopting a segregated policy on youth restiveness. Further, the NEF said government’s resort to massive military action without considering the collateral damage to the civilian populace in the affected area clearly

demonstrated that insincerity for the protection and safety of citizens in that of the region. “We had advised the government on how to tackle the growing menace of the insurgence because it is a very serious issue. We know that there are political Boko Haram, the criminal Boko Haram, the religious Boko Haram and the economic Boko Haram and several others some of which the president admitted were in his government, yet the federal government paid deaf ears. “He ought to have studied the reaction of the ordinary people that are not Boko Haram. When you go after Boko Haram members and you had collateral damages, you hurt other people, if they can see that you have tried not to hurt them they will react differently. “But if they are given collective punishment simple because the people that are called Boko Haram supposedly come from their place, then

they will resent the government,” Unongo said stressing that the forum felt that the government has failed to adopt and apply the right approach to tackle the insurgence. The NEF, according to Unongo, frowns at the disdain with which the federal government handles the issues of the Boko Haram insurgents such as deliberately ignoring the option of amnesty which would have opened the way for the government to the address the problem of poverty and lack of opportunities for useful ventures for youth in that part of the country. Further, the forum lamented the federal government’s clear disdain for the basic needs of the youth within the North East region even as it publicly commits billion of naira to the training and empowerment of militants from the Niger Delta and added that the discrimination tended to have fueled insurgence and gross crimi-

nal activities in other geo-political divides. On the rumoured resignation of the Minister of Defence, Gen Mohammed Aliyu Gusau, because of the alleged refusal of heads of Armed Forces to take instruction from the minister, the NEF urged President Goodluck Jonathan to sack the Service Chiefs for subordination because their portents danger for democracy. “The Nigeria National should look into it. It should never be tolerated. We are feed up with military administration. if you are not ready to be subservient to the civilian government and ready to take instruction from the cabinet who annunciates the policy of government, then Such a person is wanted in the system. He should be flushed out of the system,” the NEF vice chairman. “If were the president, I would not sack my minister but I would have sacked all the heads of Armed

Forces that refused to honour my minister’s invitation for a meeting. And if I were the one appointed as minister of defence I will insist that the president do so and if he refuses I will insist on resigning,” he said. Also, the NEF have reacted to the recent surge in the Fulani herdsmen and Tiv conflicts and attributed to politics. The forum, according to him, has learnt that the alleged herdsmen arrested in Jato Aka were actually military men who disguised as herdsmen noting that they were part of the troop sent from Makurdi. Unongo, who addressed the press in Abuja yesterday, said the growing incidences of alleged violent clashes between the herdsmen and Tivs were not ordinary noting that facts have emerged that the clashes were purely political and warned against the grave consequences should the government continues to turn a blind eye.

Army repels Boko Haram attack on barracks From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri & Joy Baba, Abuja

uthorities of the Defence Headquarters have said troops in the troubled Maiduguri, the Borno State capital have foiled attempts by Boko Haram insurgents to free their detained members in the custody of the military. This was contained in a statement signed by the Director of Defence Information (DDI) Major General Chris Olukolade in Abuja yesterday. The statement said the attempted attack was successfully repelled with heavy human casualty on the side of the terrorists adding that some of the victims of the terrorists’ efforts to break into the detention facility, included those they came to rescue. “Many of the terrorists and their weapons have been captured” the statement added. Unspecified numbers of insurgents, security forces and civilians were killed yesterday morning when suspected members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect launched a daring attack on the 21 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, popularly known as Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital. The rampaging insurgents reportedly broke into all cells and freed several detainees being held for alleged link with the Boko Haram. However residents captured many of the detainees, while others were killed by the security forces in the process of escaping. Bombs also went off at the University of Maiduguri killing two persons, according to student who witnessed the incidents but could not determine whether the victims were students or not. Our correspondent reports that before the establishment of the new 7 Division Of the Nigerian Army, Giwa Barracks, has the life wire of the military in Borno state The surprising morning attack

which started around 7.20am and lasted for over two hours, shook unsuspecting residents who had started celebrating the return of peace in the state capital following the recent raid at the Sambisa Forest by combined forces that led to the killing of hundreds of insurgents and sacking of training camps. The incident has scuttled socioeconomic activities in the entire city as banks, schools, markets, shops and other commercial centres remained shut. Roads were also immediately deserted as residents remained indoors. However sources at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital said many civilian corpses had been deposited it. “Some people are also here receiving treatment from the gunshot injuries they sustained,” a source at the hospital said. It was gathered that several corpses of the insurgents who attempted fleeing but shot dead littered all major roads leading to the scene of the attack. Security forces and residents have also begun massive search for those who have already sneaked into the public after throwing away their weapons. Members of the youth vigilante group, assisting security forces in the fight against Boko Haram, otherwise known as Civilian JTF and thousands of other residents, were equally mobilised to the barrack and captured several fleeing insurgents. Some members of the group who failed to heed the warning given by the military to stay back, were said to have hurriedly confronted the insurgents, but were shot and killed by the attackers. Residents said the assailants sneaked into Maiduguri and divided themselves into groups, some headed towards the Giwa Barracks, while some stormed the University of Maiduguri. Others laid siege on Fouri-a thriving settlement of elites

and locals while hundreds of others stormed parts of the new GRA. It was gathered that over 500 insurgents, armed with sophisticated weapons and explosives drove towards the barracks in a convoy of 30 vehicles. Credible sources said the insurgents “ gained access into the Giwa Barracks” and freed dozens of their members held in custody. “Following a reinforcement and arrival of fighter aircrafts, the terrorists were intercepted and effectively neutralized’’, the source added. It was also gathered that there was “prompt” intervention by two fighter jets that dropped bombs on the rampaging Boko Haram insurgents who attempted “coordinated and elaborate onslaught” on Maiduguri. “The terrorists have been

subdued though it is not yet over.“Honestly speaking they were well prepared and ready to fight to finish but we are confronting them,” one of the sources said. The militants had reportedly attacked civilian locations before reaching the military formation, burning houses and killing everyone at sight. ‘’They set many houses on fire in Fouri and killed innocent people... I escaped by the grace of God,” Malam Bulama Kolo, who fled to Damboa road told our correspondent. “I saw dead bodies and many people with gunshots scars and wounds. The gunmen came to our area in droves, they wore flowing gowns and brandished guns, chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’ as they set houses on fire,” he said. “There was thick smoke billowing when I was fleeing as the assail-

ants were hurling explosives into the Giwa Barracks while the multitude of soldiers inside the barracks were firing back’’, he added. Dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed Following the deadly attack carried out Boko Haram insurgents on Giwa military barracks and the University of Maiduguri, the Borno state government in conjunction with security forces, has imposed a dusk-todawn curfew in Maiduguri. The Secretary to the State Government, Ambassador Baba Ahmed Jidda, in a statement said the action was necessitated by the attack in Maiduguri by suspected Boko Haram elements. According to Ambassador Jidda, the curfew would be reviewed as soon as the situation improves.

One of the vehicles used by the attackers captured by troops… Photo: Courtesy Defence Headquarters

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Confab: The fears, the plot, the futility The National conference starts on Monday against the backdrop of limited time ahead of the 2015 elections. News Editor Abubakar Ibrahim examines the initial hiccups especially the fears of the North and how it may rub on the outcome of the event many consider to be a tactical distraction in the face of pressing national insecurity and corruption in the polity.

he advocacy for a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) much engineered by the ProNational Coalition during the General Sani Abacha era, is the quest for a better Nigeria’s constitution in order to address concerns of different nationalities under the Union supposedly foisted by the British colonialist in 1914 for merely political and economic profit. The demand became more urgent with the perceived “dominance” of power by northern military and civilian elements, as well as the denial of democratic privileges. The advocates then and now are asking for inalienable rights to life and liberty, free speech, religious freedom, right to live and work in any state of the federation without hindrance; resource control, Devolution of power, true national Constitution, fight against corruption, powersharing, State creation etc. However, at each turn, the sitting leaders including in recent timesGenerals Ibrahim Babangida, Sani Abacha, Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan- see the word “sovereign” as affront on their legitimacy and that of elected members of the legislature whose duty is to represent the various groupings. Each leader rejected the SNC outrightly as outrageous demands or constituted his own version of the confab but with caveats. Principally, the 1979 and 1999 constitutions were products of such conferences whose delegates were both nominated and elected. Some of the conferences’ reports especially that of President Obasanjo’s National Political Reform Conference in 2005

is yet to see the light of the day. It was a talkshop without substance apparently due to the motive alluded to it- amendment of the constitution to accommodate Obasanjo’s third term ambition. President Jonathan also initially hated an SNC citing the sacredness of the democratic institutions in place but made a sudden volte face after two major events. First, it would be recalled that tempers flared on the floor of the Senate Tuesday, March 5, 2013 when the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) was re-presented at the chamber, with some Northern senators vehemently rejecting three sections of the bill, while others opposed its passage. The contentious sections in the PIB dwelt on the remittance of 10 per cent of net profits of oil companies to host communities, establishment of the petroleum technical bureau in the office of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, as well as the perceived excess powers of the minister. he Northern senators said with the existing 13 per cent derivation fund accruable to oil producing states, making a further provision for oil producing communities was misplaced. Secondly, President Jonathan reversed his stand at the heat of stalemate with the seven northern governors over his bid for re-election. So, the National Conference billed to commence Monday has continued to cause ripples. The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) through its spokesman, Lai Mohammed, accused President Jonathan of proposing the national dialogue at the wrong time, diversionary tactics, and that the Federal Government lacks the credibility to organise the conference.

“The primary duty of the Sovereign National Conference is to address and find solutions to the key problems afflicting Nigeria since 1914 to date. The concern is to remove all obstacles which have prevented the country from establishing political justice, economic justice, social justice, cultural justice, religious justice and to construct a new constitutional framework in terms of the system of governmentstructurally, politically, economically, socially, culturally and religiously”. -Chief Gani Fawehinmi (2000)

“We want to make it abundantly clear that we are not averse to any meaningful and honest dialogue. However, this government has lost focus. They cannot handle the economy. They cannot handle education and the welfare of our children; the country under this administration is on fire and corruption has developed legs,” he said. Apparently to support its stand, APC refused to nominate any delegate to the national conference. Last week, the presidency announced 492 names of nominated and selected participants at the Conference. Retired Justice Idris Kutigi, former Foreign Affairs minister, Bolaji Akinyemi and Valerie Azinge were also announced as chairmen, deputy chairman and secretary of the Conference respectively. But that development elicited spontaneous reactions across the nation, including alerts by sections of the country alleging exclusion from the Confab. The North is however split with eminent citizens divided on whether or not the region should participate in the parley. The region’s apex socio-cultural organisation, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) is determined to participate in the conference convened by President Jonathan, while other eminent citizens think the north has no basis partaking in the National Conference. The ACF Chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie, a retired Inspector General of Police, is leading the group’s delegation to the forum. But during the week at the Conference of Leaders and Elders of Northern Nigeria in Kano, sons and daughters of the region raised opposition to North’s participation in the parley. Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, who was guest speaker at the forum, cautioned the northern elders who have agreed to take part in the confab to look beyond the pecuniary gains by protecting the interests of the North citing how a united North determined the date of the nation’s independence in 1953, and lamented the region’s current weakness and disunity. “In spite of major setbacks suffered by the National Conference idea, President Jonathan had insisted it had to go ahead. It suffered from the denunciation that it will not be

President Goodluck Jonathan a sovereign conference. It has been condemned for not accepting to end up with a brand new Constitution. It has been condemned for having its output submitted to the National Assembly, without a referendum. It has been condemned over its timing so close to an election. It has been condemned for lack of legitimacy by its nominated delegates, for its no-go areas and for ignoring basic indices historically used in determining participation quotas. “The release of the delegates list has crippled this conference even more seriously. It is setting the North against the South, which may be a good one for President Jonathan if that is his plan. It is offending Nigerian Muslims with roughly 198 delegates, while Christians have 294. It is offending northern Christians in the North-west; Muslims in Plateau state and the North-central zone; Christian communities in the North-east; Ijaws, Ogonis and South-western Muslims,” he pointed out. aba-Ahmed said: “The conference will be engaged in quarrels over composition of committees, rules and agenda, while northerners ask who exactly is killing them in towns and villages in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa and Kaduna states”.

He therefore warned that: “For the Northern delegates who are about to enter the ring with one hand tied behind your back, we can only appeal to your conscience to do the right thing. Do not attend if all the conference will give you is a few millions in allowances and three months in a comfortable hotel, away from all the problems of your people. If you have to attend, pay close attention to how the conference can redress its massive baggage. Insist that the offensive imbalance between Muslims and Christians are addressed; that Christians in some parts of North who are not represented are; Muslims who have been ignored find a voice in the conference; insist, before the conference takes off that its composition is balanced. If you cannot achieve this, work to prevent any discussion of any substance, because this conference is the least qualified of all conferences in the past, to discuss serious issues. If you cannot do any of these, walk out. Resist the temptation to believe that the North will be hurt more if it has no delegates at this conference. Every northerner who walks out robs the conference of more of the very little credibility it has. The more of you that walk out, the less

Contd on Page 8

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likely it will be that they will claim that they held a National Conference”. The Northern Elders Forum has also dismissed the National Conference, saying it “lacks a constitutional basis or any form of legitimacy or authority to speak for the people of the North or other Nigerians.” In a declaration adopted at the end of its meeting in Kano on Tuesday, the group said the proceedings, conclusions and recommendations of the National Conference would be meaningless and unacceptable to the people of the North because the critical issues of national development were fairly well known and could be incorporated in amendments of the constitution. For this, NEF urged the North to work with other Nigerians in seeking more legitimate avenues for discussing the nature and future of the Nigerian nation, including all options which may be negotiated with other Nigerians. he northern elders’ declared among others that “the rather diabolical, purposive and systematic underdevelopment of Northern economic and its social structures by the national leadership and some leaders in the North must be resisted; and policies which deepen inequity, underdevelopment injustice against the North must be reversed. “Political activities, including elections must respect the will of the people; and further attempts to deprive the North of its rights to benefit fully in the democratic process will be lawfully and firmly resisted; “Unfair and unjust allocation of resources of the nation which deprive the North of its legitimate rights must cease; and the North must intensify efforts to improve the exploitation and management of its own human and other resources.” NEF also called for the 2015 elections to be conducted in a peaceful atmosphere throughout the North and the nation, stressing that the armed forces and the police must not be abused in the process and that the will of the people must prevail. It urged Northerners to resist attempts to intensify insecurity or cause further divisions and violence around faith and ethnic groups in the North. Spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum, Professor Ango Abdullahi has said that a Sovereign National Conference is impossible unless President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Assembly vacate their positions. He said, “anybody that understands the constitution would tell you that there cannot be a sovereign conference with the President on his

Confab: The fears, the plot, the futility seat or the National Assembly in place.” He added: “They all have to vacate so that the chairman of the sovereign conference takes over the leadership of the country and whatever the resolution is forms the basis of the new constitution.” He said: “This is the ridiculous thing about this country. If we go back to past constitutional conferences, beginning with the Lugard Constitution of 1914; Clifford Constitution (1922); Arthur Richards Constitution (1945); John Macpherson Constitution (1951), Oliver Littleton Constitution (1954), Independence Constitution (1960); Republican Constitution (1963) and 1979 Constitution, and, of course, there was another draft Constitution in 1989 prepared during the regime of former President Ibrahim Babangida which was never tried until General Sanni Abacha’s administration brought about the 1994/95 constitutional conference which laid the foundations for the 1999 Constitution. “Fortunately or unfortunately, I accept all, except one of them because all the issues raised which are important to our existence as a country were there. To me, there must be some other factor that is driving those who think we should repeat the same activities we had gone through over the years.” e said President Jonathan could not be taken seriously on the issue. “Maybe he is under certain political pressure. Really, if President Jonathan is to be taken seriously and if he wants to be different from those who had this kind of conferences before, he should give Nigerians a sovereign national conference. Anything short of a sovereign national is diversionary. A sovereign national conference will create a new level playing field for Nigerians to decide their future. “In doing so, everyone, including the President, governors, lawmakers at national, state and council levels must vacate their offices and allow for a truly sovereign national conference to take over the running of the country. “It is left for Nigerians whether or not to take him seriously. But for me, it is a waste of the people’s time, waste of resources to engage in a discussion that is no way different from the ones we have had before, unless the discussion is going to take the form of a sovereign national conference.” The Deputy Leader of NEF, Dr. Paul Unongo, who made a media briefing in Abuja recently, also accused the President of selecting his friends as sole delegates for the impending

Justice Idris Kutigi, Confab chairman National Conference. According to the forum, the confab had been primed to advance the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan. The elders met in Abuja to review the state of the nation, lamenting the seeming inability of the Federal Government to tackle rising menace of terrorism in the North causing a lot of havoc and dislocation in the region. Unongo pointed out: “What they are going to do is not a national conference but a Jonathan conference because almost all the delegates are selected by him and his friends instead of an open election that was adopted for the previous exercises even during the military era. “This is not fair. The manner of selecting only the friends and associates of the President for the conference does not represent the generality of Nigerians and we cannot be part of such a sham,” the former minister said. delegate to the conference who preferred anonymity confirmed to Peoples Daily Weekend that some delegates found their names on the list without their knowledge. “ When I complained of not being earlier informed beforehand, they simply told me that my name is there because they see me as a friend of the regime and things will depend on how much I cooperate when the time comes”.

Minorities kick Meanwhile, practitioners of the African Traditional Religion in the country have predicted that the National Conference holding soon will “amount to nothing and end in futility.” This is coming just as ethnic minorities across the northern states of the country are crying foul over their non-inclusion in the event, alleging that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim is intentionally sabotaging their genuine representation at the Conference. One of the groups, Tarayyar Masihiyawan Nigeria, a Hausa, Fulani and Kanuri Christian Association, in a Memorandum to the Presidential Advisory Committee raised fears over “the issue of marginalisation, repression, persecution and discrimination of Hausas, Fulanis and Kanuri Christians in Nigeria”. In their own protest letter addressed to President Goodluck Jonathan, the Gbagyi ethnic nationality under the umbrella of Gbegnu Boknu Yakwo wondered why that in spite of the contributions to national development, their numerical strength and spread, they have been inexplicably excluded from the National Conference. The pan-Gbagyi association whose people spread across Kaduna, Niger, Kogi and Nasarawa states including the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, introduced their chosen representatives to the President, urging him to include them in the list of participants at the Conference. The Kwarrarafa ethnic nationalities, found in 27 states of the country, including the FCT, are also asking for inclusion in the august event which will provide the constituent nationalities opportunities to be “resurrected” as they have long been “buried.” As it were, the timing and motive of the conference given the current political realities, has undoubtedly taken the sail off the conference before it starts Monday. Besides that, the issue of religious and regional representation allegedly in favour of the South raised by NEF is another bone of contention at the onset (see 2015 conference list for comparison). xpectedly, as the issues progress at the floor of the confab, creation of more states for regional balance, resource control, devolution of powers and power-sharing promises to fray nerves but may be tactfully handled by Justice Kutigi. The conference may at that stage, be referred to the committee levels and packaged for the National Assembly… and probably for the shelves once again

2005 NATIONAL CONFERENCE: DELEGATES LIST Elder statesmen Name ........................................... ......... State Dr..Ume.Eleazu.................................... ................Abia. Senator.Mahmud.Waziri............................. ..... Adamawa. Chief.Ndaeyo.Utah................................. ...........Akwa. Ibom (i).Chief.Emeka.Anyaoku........................... ....... Anambra (ii)..Arthur.Nwankwo.............................. .......... Anambra (i).Alhaji.Sule.Katagum (ii)...Amb..Mahmoud.Yahaya........................ ....... Bauchi. Mr..Serena.Dokubo................................. .........Bayelsa. (i)Chief.Barnabas.Gemade.......................... ....Benue. (ii).Chief.Paul.Unongo............................ ........Benue. Dr..Shetima.Mustapha.............................. ......Borno. Chief.M.T..Mbu.................................... .................Cross. River............ Mrs..Stella.Omu...Delta.

Chief.(Mrs.).Mabel.Aneke.......................... .....Ebonyi. Prof.Christie.Okogie.............................. ........Edo. Chief.Tony.Enahoro................................ ........Edo. Chief.Afe.Babalola................................ ...........Ekiti. Chief.P.C..Egbogu................................. .............Enugu. (i).Alhaji.Usman.Faruk............................ ..........Gombe. (ii).Amb..Yerima.Abdullahi........................ .......Gombe. Dr..Kema.Chikwe................................... ..............Imo. Alhaji.Sule.Lamido................................ ............Jigawa. (i).Mrs..Aisha.Pamela.Sadauki..................... ...Kaduna (ii).Father.Matthew.Kukah......................... ...Kaduna. Dr..Abdullahi.Umar.Ganduje........................ Kano. (i).Senator.Ismaila.Mamman........................ ...Katsina (ii).Dr..Bala.Usman............................... ............... Katsina. Dr..Haliru.Bello.Mohammed........................Kebbi. (i).Chief.E.O..Otitoju............................ .............Kogi. (ii).Prof.J..Idachaba............................. ..............Kogi. Dr..Olusola.Saraki................................ ...........Kwara. Chief.J.O..Williams............................... ..............Lagos. Alhaji.Aliyu.Akwe.Dona............................ ....... Nasarawa. Contd on Page 9

Senator.Jibrin.Salihu............................. .......Niger. (i).Prof.Wole.Soyinka............................. .........Ogun (ii).Prof.Bayo.Adedeji............................ ...........Ogun. Prof.(Mrs.).Omotayo.Olutoye....................Ond o. Mrs..Tejumade.Alakija............................. .......Osun. Dr..Lekan.Are..................................... ..................Oyo. Mrs..Elizabeth.Pam................................ ...........Plateau. Dr..Chukwuemeka.Nnan.Obi.......................... Rivers Alhaji.Ahmed.Mohammed.Gusau..................Sokot o. Mrs..Salome.Jankada............................... ........Taraba. Alhaji.Adamu.Ciroma............................... .........Yobe. Dr..Garba.Nadama.................................. ............. Zamfara. Mrs..Esther.Audu.................................. ............FCT Retired civil servants Ason Bur Benue Mrs. F. Emmanuel Lagos Retired diplomats Amb. Usman Yola Kano Amb. Dapo Fafowora Osun

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Confab: The fears, the plot, the futility Contd from Page 8 Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Engr. Charles C. Ugwuh HRH Eze G.C. Adiukwu Chief G.G. Giwa Chief Sam Bolarinde Amb. (Dr.) Hassan Adamu (Wakillin Adamawa) Alhaji Bashir M. Borodo National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Manufacturing and Agriculture (NACCIMA) Chief John Agboola Odeyemi, FCA South west Dr. Ignatius Ijegwa Adaji, mni, FNIM North central Dr. Simeon Chukwuemeka Okolo South east Rear Admiral Murtala Nyako (rtd) North east Alhaji Mohammed Munir Ja Afaru, OFR, mni North west Chief (Mrs.) Mary-Awhotu Iyasere South south Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) Mr. J.D. Lawuyi, MON Mazi Sam I. Ohuabunwa, MON Mr. Albert Kattiems Mallam Mamman Adeju Mr. Val Usifo Mr. A.O. Osinowo Civil societies Chief (Mrs.) Bisi Ogunleye, OFR South west Prof. Audu Idris North East Mallam Shehu Sani North west Mr. Idris Miliki Abdul North central Chief Bar. Mike A.A. Ozekhome South south Barr. Mike Nkwocha South east Moslem leaders Alhaji Umaru Aliyu Shinkafi - Marafan Sokoto Zamfara State Dr. Ibrahim Tahir- Taiban Bauchi Bauchi State Professor Ishaq Oloyede Ogun State Justice Abdulkadir Orire (rtd) Kwara State Sheik Adam Idoko Enugu State Alhaji O.R.T. Okiri Rivers State Christian leaders Dr. Haruna Mshelia North east Dauda Ishaya North west Barr. John Achimugu North central Monsignor John Aniagu South east Bishop Peter Adebiyi South west Rev. Dr. Daniel Oko South south National Association of Nigerian Students Comrade Tony Nwoye Comrade Mahmoud Nasir Nigeria Guild of Editors Mallam Halilu Baba Dantiye Nigeria Union of Journalists Prince Smart Adeyemi Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria Chief Ajibola Ogunsola Mr. Nduka Obaigbena Physically challenged people Danlami Umaru Basharu Miss Nike Akinbola Yinka Ibidunni (blind) Nigerians in Diaspora (1 each from Europe, America, Asia and Africa) Dr. Ola Kasim - Chairman, NIDO America Dr. Francis Ifejika Adike - Asia

Dr. Olufemi Olojugba - NIDO Europe O. Luther King - Ghana Dr. Isa Odidi - Canada Traditional Rulers North Central: HRH Alfred Akawo Turkula IV, Tor Tiv North East : HRH Alhaji Usman Shehu Abubakar, Emir of Gombe North West: HRH Dr. Zaiyanu Abdullahi, Emir of Yauri South East: Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe South South: HRM King Edward Pepple, Amayanabo of Bonny South West: Oba Olateru Olagbegi, Olowo of Owo Academicians North Central: Dr. Joseph Omada North East: Engr. (Dr.) Nuhu Yakubu North West: Dr. Kabiru Isyaku South East: Professor Cletus N. Uwazurike South South: Professor Nimi Briggs South West: Professor Peter Okebukola Labour Representatives Mr. Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole (NLC President) Mr. S.O.Z. Ejiofor, mni Mr. Peter Adeyemi Alhaji A.A. Salam Mr. Emmaneul Ugboajah Mallam Salihu Lukman Trade Union Congress of Nigeria Comrade Dr. (Mrs.) Nkiru Peace Obiajulu Comrade (Chief) John Kolawole Nigeria Youth Organisations Engr. Yusuf Onogo North Central Awwal Tukur North East Mr. Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN) North West Amb. Greg Mbadiwe South East Dr. Wale Babalakin South West Norbert Ezenwah South South Women Groups Dr. Enyantu Ifenne North Central Mrs. Zainab Maine North East Hajia Bilikisu Yusuf North West Mrs. Joy Ngozi Ezeilo South East Olori Yetunde Gbadebo South West Mrs. Nkoyo Toyo South South Special Cases Mr. Kanu Agabi Professor Jerry Gana Mr. Fola Adeola Alhaji Iro Dan Musa Prof. Joy Ogwu Arewa Consultative Forum Major General Ibrahim Bala Haruna, CFR Chief (Mrs.) Margaret Icheen Engr. Bello Suleiman Mallam Ibrahim Mai Sule Igbimo Agba Yoruba Major General R.A. Adebayo (rtd) CFR Afenifere Senator Femi Okunronmu Ohanaeze Professor J.O. Irukwu, SAN Senator Francis J. Ellah, OFR, KSGG, FNIM Middle Belt Forum Hon. Isaac Shaahu Mr. John Dara Contd on Page 26

Ijaw National Congress (INC) Chief F.J. Williams Political parties PDP Nze Ozichukwu F. Chukwu South east Chief Obinna Ogba South east Barr Venatius A. Ikem South south Dr. S.O. Ogbemudia South south Prof Femi Otunbajo South west Mrs. Iyabode Pam North central Barr. Humphrey Abah North central Alhaji Farouk B. Farouk - North West Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman - North West Senator Maina Ma’aji Lawan - North East Alhaji Mohammed Waziri (rtd) - North East ANPP Chief Don Obot Etiebet Alhaji Sani Dahir El-Katuzu Hajia Halima Alfa Alhaji A. Bayero Bello Others (CNPP) Senator Ike Omar Sanda Nwachukwu Chief Chekwas Okorie AD List being awaited Retired Military Personnel Lt. Gen. Joshua Dongoyaro (rtd) Plateau Army Rear Admiral Hamzat Sani (rtd) Kogi Navy Air Commodore Emeka Omeruah (rtd) Abia Airforce Retired Police Personnel Fidelis Oyakhilomeh (AIG), (rtd.) Edo Alh. L.A. Akande (CP), (rtd.) Oyo Retired SSS Personnel Chief Joshua Fumudoh Delta Alhaji Sada Ilu Katsina State representatives (6 per state & 2 from FCT) ABIA STATE Dr. Sam Eke Dr. J.C. Ogbonnaya Chief Vincent Brown Dr. Nnaukwu Ukoha Dr. John Austin Chikezie Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe (rtd.) ADAMAWA STATE Mallam Abdulkarim Albashir Prof. Musa Yakubu Barr. Boss Mustapha Dr. Aminu Gurin Mr. Vidon Jaule Sa’adu Maiyaki ANAMBRA STATE Chief (Dr.) Chukwuemeka Ezeife Barr. Zik Obi Chief Mike Ajegbo Engr. Chris Okoye Chief Gabriel Akwaeze Dr. Obi Ogene AKWA IBOM STATE Lady Barrister Ime Essen Udom Senator Emmanuel Ibok Essien Senator Akaninyene Ukpanah His Excellency, Amb. Etim Okpoyo Her Excellency, Mrs. Helen Esuene Dr. Ekeng Anamdu

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News

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

Boko Haram: Northern governors seek more action

From Yakubu Mustapha,Minna

he Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) has expressed shock and

Gov Aliyu Dissociates self from presidential campaign posters

From Yakubu Mustapha,Minna.

he Niger State Government said it has uncovered a plot by some political jobbers to flood Abuja with presidential campaign posters of Dr Goodluck Jonathan as presidential candidate and Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu as Vice Presidential candidate for the 2015 general election. Governor Aliyu said in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Danladi Ndayebo that neither he nor the state government has any link to the posters. Describing the plan as the handiwork of political jobbers, the government advised members of the public not to link the posters to it or any government official. ‘‘Those who are planning to paste those posters are neither agents of the state government nor that of the governor. They also do not have the sympathy of government or any of its officials,’’ the statement insisted. Ndayebo said that the Niger state government will continue to respect the decision of the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party which has placed a ban on all forms of campaign ahead of the 2015 general elections.

sadness over the killing of several persons in Katsina on Thursday by unknown gunmen, urging security agencies to do all that is humanly possible to halt the

senseless killing of innocent citizens across the country. Chairman of the forum and Governor of Niger State, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu

expressed the forum’s deepest condolences to the families of the victims, saying no grievance can justify such a dastardly act against defenceless citizens.

National confab: Nominees’ to be accredited after inauguration

ominees to the National Conference would be accredited after their inauguration on Monday, the Assistant Secretary, Media and Communications, Mr James Akpandem, has said. Akpandem told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja yesterday that the delegates would ``report

directly to the conference venue” on Monday for inauguration. He said that accreditation for the media would be done before the inauguration, adding that the secretariat would work till Sunday in preparation for the inauguration. Akpandem said that

preparations were on top gear to ensure the success of the inauguration and proceedings during conference adding, ``the secretariat is prepared for the inauguration”. He said that necessary facilities had been provided to make the delegates comfortable throughout the conference. (NAN)

he leader of the Anticorruption Network, Hon. Dino Melaye has called for the immediate suspension of the minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison Maduakwe and the group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petyroleum Corporation(NNPC), Mr Andrew Yakubu, or face a massive nationwide protest soon. Speaking during a press briefing yesterday, Malaye stated that the protest which is scheduled for an unstated date in the nearest future, would be conducted by the Anti-corruption Network with the collaboration of 96 similar groups across the country. Malaye said the suspension of the Minister was necessary, considering the fact that she had been indicted six times by various reports including the NIETI Report

12 years old girl killed as police rescue Bauchi Lawmaker

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

L-R: Gov. Adams Oshiomhole of Edo; Gov Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto; President, Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mr Femi Adesina and Gov Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara at a retreat of Nigerian Governors’Forum yesterday in Lagos. Photo: NAN

Suspend Diezani, Yakubu or face massive protest, Melaye tells Jonathan

By Evelyn Okakwu

In a statement signed by Governor Aliyu’s Chief Press Secretary, Danladi Ndayebo yesterday in Minna, the forum also condemned the reported killing of 30 Tiv farmers and destruction of property aleegedly by Fulani herdsmen in Benue State, describing it as one attack too many. The statement called on security agencies to ensure that the perpetrators are caught and brought to justice, to prevent recurrence. The forum also condemned the attack on Army Brigade Command in Maiduguri yesterday by suspected insurgents and urged the perpetrators to lay down their arms and embrace dialogue.

and the Senate committee report on subsidy among others, adding that there was no justification for the continued stay in the office of the two, considering the forensic audit that has been authorized on the sum of $ 20 billion allegedly missing within the NNPC. “We call on the President of the federation, to immediately, in the spirit of Sanusi’s suspension, to suspend the minister and the group managing director of the NNPC so that the forensic investigation can take place without undue influence. “We cannot have a secretive probe; we want to know how reputable this auditing firm is”. They expressed displeasure over the statement of President Jonathan through his special adviser on media, Dr Ruben Abati. “Abati had said that the president had approved the forensic probe of the NNPC; but was quick to add ‘Phantom

$20 Billion’ if the spokes man of Mr president is already, before investigation, referring to the said sum as phantom, then automatically that is announcing the mindset of the presidency on the whole issue. We therefore call on Ruben Abati to withdraw the use of the word, Phantom or we conclude that the wholeprobe exercise is a mirage and a waste of time” Speaking further Malaye called for the immediate resignation of the Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo Eweala. “It is laughable that theMinister of finance who doubles as the coordinating minister of the economy is claiming ignorance of the deduction of subsidy that has resulted in the defrauding Nigeria. If this is the case then she is not fit to be the minister of finance. Yet if she is aware and has kept quiet for three years,

then she is an accomplice in the whole thieving saga. We therefore call on the minister to resign her appointment for gross incompetence,Speaking also at the briefing, the director, research and Documentation, Anti-corruption commission, Ebenezer Onyetakin noted that the reports of the economic bleeds in Nigeria are alarming and can only be described as destructive adding that “Not even the largest economy of the, world, the USA and the second largest, in China can even afford this kind of economic bleeds” Some of the groups to join in the intended rally include the National Youth Leadership Forum, (NYLF) the Arewa Youth Movement, (AYM) the Middle Belt Youth Consultative Forum, (MBYCF) Center for Civic Education, (CCE) National Association of Women Traders (NAWT) and the National Association of Democracy, (NAD).

olice in Bauchi has rescued the kidnapped member the Bauchi State House of Assembly representing Jemma constituency, Hon. Yusuf who was abducted last month in his country home of Zalau in Toro Local government area of Bauchi state . In the process, a 12 years old girl was killed. The Police Public Relations officer of the state command, DSP Haruna Mohammed disclosed to newsmen that a joint police/ vigilante group carried out the rescue operation, adding that the lawmaker was in stable condition. DSP Mohammed said that during a fierce battle with the suspected kidnappers, a stray bullet hit a 12 years old girl, Hauwa’u on the leg but “she later died at the hospital while receiving treatment” He said the suspects abandoned their Golf 3 vehicle with registration number MKR 553 AA and escaped into the bush with bullet wounds while the command recovered five expended 7. 62 mm ammunition shell. It could be recalled that Hon Yusuf was abducted by gunmen at his house in Zalau village in Toro Local Government Area of the state on March 3. The lawmaker had been in captivity since February while his abductors demanded a ransom of N20 million, disclosed a source close to the family who pleaded anonymity. The police command however urged members of the public to report anyone with bullet wounds to the nearest police station.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

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News

From Edwin Olofu, Kano

female banker simply identified as Amina has defrauded the account of Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero to the tune of N17 Million in Kano. A source at the Kano office of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), who doesn’t want his name in print told our correspondent that the female banker who is in her late 30s, was a staff of leading bank and the monarch’s account officer. The source added that the woman has been managing the account for some years now and running errand for the emir, has therefore won the confidence of the bank’s management. This gave her the courage to hatch

Female banker defrauds Emir of Kano of N17M plans to defraud the Emir starting since 2011 before she ran out of luck recently when it was discovered by one of the staff that the Emir’s signature was actually forged severally by her. Amina was said to have requested for a new cheque book allegedly on the orders of Bayero and she was handed over a new cheque book for delivery to the Emir but unknown to the officials, the cheque book remained in her custody.

Our correspondent further gathered that Amina started cashing money with the new cheque leaflet by allegedly forging the Emir’s signature. She was said to have tricked all the bank officials because none of them have access to the Emir to confirm the cheques, as she is his account officer and only one that clears the Emir’s cheques. Amina was systematically

making withdrawals ranging from half a million Naira to one million Naira to the tune of N17 Million before she was eventually caught. The matter was reported to the Kano state office of the EFCC by the management of the bank, and the operatives of the Commission arrested Amina. EFCC also quizzed twelve staff of the bank and released them, but held the female banker in their custody. Already, the management of

The Emir of Lafia, Alhaji Mustapha Agwai and Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura of Nassarawa State, during the foundation laying ceremony of Lafia square, recently in Lafia

From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

SS III students of the Government Secondary School (GSS) Angwan Jarmai in Kokona local government area of Nasarawa state, have abandoned school for lack of teachers even as they prepare to write their final examination. The students numbering about 95, were absent from school, leaving behind only four of their classmates because there are no teachers in the school to teach them even in their final year. Peoples Daily Weekend made the discovery yeaterday when the chairman of the Nasarawa State Universal Basic Education Board (NSUBEB), Malam Abdulkarim

okoto state deputy governor, Dr. Mukhtar Shagari, yesterday dispelled insinuations that his life and his job are under threat because he refused to follow his boss, Governor Aliyu Wammako to the All Progressives Congress (APC). He also described as unfounded, reports that the party structure in the state has been handed over to the former governor, Attahiru Bafarawa, adding that they both enjoy close

We killed 8 Katsina gunmen, says Vigilante From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

Students abandon school in Nasarawa Muhammad Abdullahi paid a visit to the school in continuation of his statewide inspection and monitoring of schools. Investigations by our reporter indicate that even while the school lacks the adequate number of teachers, 10 of the teachers were recently transferred from the school but without replacement. The school has only 10 teachers presently for both the junior and senior secondary schools. According to one of the teachers who conducted the NSUBEB chairman round the school, with the principal away on

official function in Lafia, three of the teachers were absent as at the time of the visit. One of the students in JSS I, Happiness Emeka, confirmed to our reporter that they lack teachers to handle five subjects namely; basic science, social studies, home economics, Hausa and physical health education. Emmanuel John, one of the four remaining students of SSS III, confided to journalists that most of the students abandoned school because there are no teachers in the school. When asked how he intends to

write and even pass his final year examination, Emmanuel turned philosophical, saying God will see him through. “Most of us resort to extra mural classes. I take extra lessons in Mathematics and English given to us by corps members”, he explained. Earlier, the board chairman who was quick to show his dismay over the situation, particularly when he discovered that a class was idle, with their Biology teacher absent, reported the matter to the state Ministry of Education for immediate disciplinary action.

Defection: My life, job not threatened, says Sokoto Deputy Gov By Lawrence Olaoye

the bank has paid the Emir of Kano the amount and asked all the staff concerned with the transaction to repay the bank. Effortsn to get a reaction from the EFCC headqunarters did not yield results as repeated enquiries by our corresporent we are not obliged.

relationship for the benefit of the party. The deputy governor stated this while briefing newsmen after the swearing in of a 16 member PDP Sokoto State caretaker committee by the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Adamu Mu’azu, in Abuja. Wammako defected to the APC from the PDP last year, while Shagari stayed put in the PDP. Responding to impeachment plots because he declined to move to the APC like his boss, Shagari said “I have made my position very clear to everybody. I joined

PDP in 1998 and I joined based on principle. And I think it is the best party for Nigeria. Through that party, I became a cabinet minister twice. I contested to be the candidate of the party in a transparent primary which I won. The party decided to bring in the current governor and gave it to him. I supported him and remained loyal to him. When he decided to leave, I decided that I will not leave my party because I have principles. I joined this party because I believe in it. I cannot move to a party that I

don’t understand, I don’t know the people in that party, they have nothing political to do with me... So far, I don’t have any problem with the governor and I don’t think he has any problem with me”. Dispelling insinuations that the party structure has been handed over to Bafarawa, the deputy governor said “the issue is that Bafarawa has joined PDP and he has consistently made it clear that he did not join PDP because he is looking for position or that he wants to be the overall boss in the PDP”.

vigilante group operating in Danduma, Sabuwa and Faskari local governments where no fewer than 103 people were killed by gunmen disclosed that they had, Thursday night, giiven the gunmen a hot chasewhere they allegedly killed eight of them. Speaking with our correspondent on condition of anonymity, the leader of the group noted that when they heard information on the movement of the daring gunmen, his group chased them to ‘Yar Dorayi village where the engaged them in a fierce fight. He noted that on reaching the area the vigilante sighted them along the bush path riding on more than 80 motorcycles with three riders on each bike, adding that on sighting them the gunmen started shooting at their direction. According to him, ‘you know we are only with knives, catapult and daggers. When they started shooting we strategized where we used our catapult to bring down some of them. And through this effort, we killed eight of them and burnt 30 of their motorcycles’. The vigilante leader said that through this courageous effort, they were able to push the remaining gunmen away from the area into the nearby forest, stressing that they are still mounting surveillance in the area to thwart any possible attack by the hoodlums. However reports from the war torn area indicated that the residents are still recovering corpses from the nearby bushes in the area of Maigora, Unguwar Doka and Mararrabar Maigora. A resident of the area who visited Maigora Village told our correspondent of anonymity that’I was in the village of Maigora for condolence when the residents of the area uncovered two more corpses in the nearby bush’.

Page 12

Photo Splash

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

The Charred remains of the canoe on 6th Avenue, Festac town canal, where 13 commuters being conveyed reportedly lost their lives and five others rescued when it capsized on Tuesday. The canoe was said to have been burnt by angry youths in the area who blamed the canoe operators for the mishap.. Photo: NAN

Abuja Inter-School Chess Competition organised by Olumawu Basic Education School, recently In wuse 2,Abuja . Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

A Fulani Cultural group entertaining guests during the Inauguration of the Fulani Kara market as part of activities marking 100-days of Isin local government areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s administration anniversary at Owu-Isin in kwara Photo: NAN

People passing by a heap of uncleared refuse near Sabo bus stop, yesterday in Ikorodu, Lagos state. Photo: NAN

One of the victims of Power bike crash (accident), during the the Consumer protection council (CPC) road show to mark world Consumer protection day, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

PAGE 13

PEOPLES MEDIA LIMITED 2ND CONFERENCE ON “NIGERIA: THE 2015 QUESTION” WHICH HELD AT THE LADI KWALI HALL OF THE ABUJA SHERATON HOTEL AND TOWERS ON THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2014.

COMMUNIQUE

a. The conference was chaired by former Head of State, Gen Abdulsalami Alhaji Abubakar, rtd., (GCFR) who also delivered the opening remark b. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (CFR) was the Special guest of honour and delivered an opening remark c. The Chairman of Peoples Media Limited, Malam Wada Maida (OON, FNGE) gave a welcome remark d. The lead paper was delivered by the Guest Speaker, Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, represented by his Commissioner for Information, Mrs Ibim Semenitari. The paper was titled, “Metaphor of Change and the Politics of 2015”. e. The second paper was delivered by Professor Mike Kwarnashie, Vice Chancellor, Veritas University, Bwari, FCT, with the title, “2015 and the Nigerian Paradox ” f. The papers were discussed by three people: i. Engr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Governor of Kano State, represented by Commissioner for Information, Professor Umar Farouk Jibril ii. Ms. Toyosi Akerele, Founder and CEO, Rise Group, Lagos. iii.Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, represented by his Media Aide, Mr. Kinsley Osadolor

RESOLUTIONS

At the end of the conference, the following resolutions were drawn from the presentations and deliberations: 1. That the problem of Nigeria is mainly the political leadership which is characterised by wastefulness and lack of vision.

2. That the political parties are mere platforms for winning elections, and are lacking in clear ideologies. 3. That the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the political class must ensure that 2015 is free and fair, and reflect the wishes of the electorate. 4. That government at all levels must be more responsive in delivering democracy dividends, and the electorate should demand their right for good governance from the political class. 5. That there is contradiction between the fast growth in Nigeria’s economy and the mass poverty of the people. 6. That corruption remains a major threat to development and must be tackled genuinely by the authorities. 7. That political parties must be more than mere platforms for winning elections, and should do more to become genuine parties with clear ideologies. 8. That the quality of leadership is the bane of our country and the youth were challenged to elect people who would deliver on good governance. 9. That Nigeria, a country of about 160 million people is ruled by fewer than 5,000 who control political power and our common wealth. Majority of the people were challenged to hold the government accountable on good governance and service delivery. Signed: Emmanuel Yawe (Chairman, Communique Drafting Committee) Hammeed M. Bello (Secretary)

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

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Crime Cycle

Stanley Onyekwere pmlcrimecycle@gmail.com 08138559513

2 undergraduates, vulcanizer to die in Ekiti for robbery, murder, rape

n Ado-Ekiti High court, in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti state, has sentenced three persons to death by hanging for robbery, murder and rape. The judge, Justice Olusegun Ogunyemi, gave the verdict at the conclusion of trial. The convicts are Kolade Fowosere, a medical student; Blessing Owhorisi, also a student and Ojo Ogundare, a vulcanizer operating in Ado-Ekiti. Delivering his judgment, Ogunyemi said the evidence before the court was direct and unequivocal.

He said that the accused were convicted based on the confessional statements they made during investigation. Ogunyemi said he found them guilty as charged, saying ``the three accused persons should be hanged till life is out of them.” The prosecuting State Counsel, Mr Gbenga Daramola, said the accused committed the offence on July 4, 2011 at Omisanjana quarters in AdoEkiti. According to him, the offence contravenes Section 319, 1 (2) (a) of the Robbery and Firearms

(Special Provision) Act, cap RII, Vol. 14, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2014. He said the accused were said to have robbed at Ido-Ekiti, Omisanjana and Moferere in AdoEkiti. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the prosecutor told the court that they also killed a police officer, Olusegun Olufowobi, popularly called “of London”, during their operation at Moferere on July 20, 2011. He said that the convicts also raped a lady in the course of their operation.

Man bags 1 year jail term over N2.7m fraud

n Akure Chief Magistrates’ court, in Ondo staste, has sentenced a 30-year old man, Olajide Adedara, to one year imprisonment for N2.7million fraud. The Chief Magistrate, Mr. Johnson Adelegan, however, gave the convict an option of N50,000 fine. Adedara of no fixed address

was arraigned on a three-count charge of conspiracy, fraud and stealing, charges he pleaded not guilty to. Earlier, the Police Prosecutor, ASP Ibrahim Zakari, had told the court that Adedara collected N2.7 million from one Mrs Grace Atilola under the pretext to locate the whereabouts of her missing son,

Jide Atilola. News Agency of Nigeria reports that Zakari told the court that Adedara obtained the money between August, 2007 and 2009 in Akure Area. According to him, the offences contravened sections 516, 419 and 390 of the Criminal code cap 37 vol.1 laws of Ondo State of Nigeria, 2006.

Communal crisis: Forum advocates intensive security operations in Benue

Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam

iddle Belt Youth Leaders’ Forum has called on the federal government to intensify its effort towards resolving the lingering communal violence in Benue state, which is seemingly taking the dimension of a civil war. According to the Forum, the federal government should increase security operations in the state to match the violence that is visited on innocent peasant farmers the state. It added that the federal government

should summon a meeting with political, traditional and religious leaders from Tiv, Idoma and Miyetti Allhah Cattlemen alongside Fulani elders to sit and channel out peaceful means to ending the crisis. Speaking at a press conference, in Abuja, the publicity secretary of the Forum, comrade Abdullahi Ebiloma, said it was worrisome that what was initially seen as a communal clash between the Fulani herdsmen and their host has degenerated into full scale terrorism not far from Boko Haram sect. “Our call is borne out of the fact that the federal government owes the state a responsibility to protect all its citizens from internal and external aggression. “We are also aware that the situation has not only crippled the economic life of the state, but also tends to threaten the very existence of the inhabitants of the state as not only one ethnic tribe is bedeviled with this menace but all senatorial districts,” he said. Also, the forum condemned Mondays attack on Benue state Governor, Gabriel Suswam, and other incessant attacks on Tiv farmers in the state. It would be recalled that Governor Suswam, Speaker of the State Assembly, TerhileAyua, Special Adviser on Security, Col. Basil Kwenbeh, Commissioner of Police, Adams and other top government functionaries escaped death by the whisker in Tse-AkenyiUmenger, Guma local government area when their convoy was caught up in a gun duel with suspected Fulani mercenaries.

IGP M.D. Abubakar

Police arraign guard for cash, cigarette theft

security guard, Femi Thomas, 25, has appeared in a Grade 1 Area Court in Mararaba, for allegedly stealing N201,000 and half a cartoon of cigarette. Thomas, who resides in Gwagalape in Nyanya, Abuja, is charged with breaking into a shop and theft. The prosecutor, PC Friday Adaji, told the court that the matter was lodged at the ‘A’ Division Police Station, Mararaba, on March 5 by Mr Christian Agha of Mammy Market, Mararaba Adaji said that on same date at about 5 a.m., the accused broke into Agha’s shop located in Mammy market and stole N201,000 and half cartoon of cigarette valued at N41,000. He said that the accused was

arrested by the security men in the market who were on duty. Adaji said the offence contravened the provisions of sections 347 and 288 of the Penal code. If convicted, he faces eight years in prison or with an option to pay a fine or with both. The accused, who was not represented by any counsel, pleaded not guilty to the charges. The presiding judge, Mr Albert Maga, admitted the accused to bail in the sum of N100,000 and a surety in like sum. Maga said that the surety must be a responsible citizen with landed property and must be resident within the jurisdiction of the court. Maga adjourned the case until March 20 for hearing proper.

Truck driver in trouble over sand theft

23-year old truck driver, Adeoye Ogunyemi, is standing trial for alleged theft of sharp sand, worth N130, 000 at an Apapa Senior Magistrates’ court in Lagos. Ogunyemi, who lives at Waterside Town, Kirikiri, Lagos, is facing a charge of stealing. The prosecutor, Sgt. Umeh Kalu, said the accused allegedly committed the offence on February 19 at 1.25 p.m. at Waterside Town, Kirikiri. According to him, the accused diverted his truck with registration no. AAA 461 XE loaded with sharp sand to an unknown destination to sell it. “The sand which belongs to Bolex Enterprises Nig. Ltd valued at N130, 000, was diverted to

an unknown destination by the accused. “The accused was arrested when the plaintiff later found out that Ogunyemi did not deliver the sand,’’ Kalu said. The prosecutor said the offence contravened Section 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge. The Senior Magistrate, Mr Owumi Olubi, granted the accused bail in the sum of N50, 000 with two sureties in like sum. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 285 stipulates three years imprisonment for stealing. Further hearing in the case was fixed for March 24.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

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Politics

2015: Role of women as electoral change agents

Akilani Abdullah, in Lagos, writes on calls for higher participation of women in the 2015 general election

or millions of many Nigerian women, taking part in elective politics is not easy. Women often do not receive the support and mentoring they need to compete with their male counterparts. In turn, many voters do not fully appreciate the benefits of having a mix of men and women in government. Recalling the general election in 2011, female candidates fared poorly in the country’s electoral process, with barely 8% representation, leaving only 32 women elected to the national parliament out of 469 members. These among other gender issues took center stage in Lagos during a public lecture organised by the Women Arise Initiative in commemoration of the 2014 international women’s day in Lagos, themed: ‘Inspiring change’ and the topic “Lifting the siege on woman kind in Nigeria.” Speakers at the event called for higher participation of women in the 2015 general election. President, Women Arise and Centre for Change, Dr. Joe OkeiOdumakin, called on discerning Nigerian women, “ who will truly inspire change to come out and join the struggle for the Nigerian female gender in order to be better equipped to participate in forthcoming national election in 2015.” On his part, US consular General to Nigeria, Mr. Jeffery Hawkins called on the government to politically and economically develop Nigerian women This, he said is a way to effect change in Nigeria in the area of gender equality. Hawkins noted that women need to stand by themselves and be able to decide by themselves saying the right time have come for the peaceful revolution of the Nigerian women to engage in economic and political activities as prominent actors. “For far too long, women in Nigeria have been held back by cultural traditions that dictates that a woman’s place is in the house. In the 1960’s and 70’s, women in America faced the same stereotypes until they decided that a woman’s place was in the house of representatives. Women decided to stand up for themselves and be counted among the decisionmakers in America.” Hawkins noted. Stressing further on the gender equality as critical to Nigeria development, he maintained that women in Nigeria have a role to play in changing the perception of women as second fiddle citizens saying the world is changing, Nigeria and its people need to change, and the women are not exempted too.

Women are also critical stake holders in the democratic process Hawkins said, “This brings me to a sensitive subject that needs to be addressed in this country, that of domestic abuse. We all know that gender roles are defined at early age. When mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles teach boys and girls that girls and women are to be subservient to progress, to call for change, and to celebrates acts of courage and determination by women who have made a difference in their communities and countries. It is with this in mind that I am so delighted to be here with you today to promote gender equality and advance the status of women and girls in Nigeria. “I believe that engaging women as political and social actors can change policy choices and make institutions more representatives and better performing. And a growing body of evidence shows that women bring a range of unique experience and contributions in decision-making on matters of peace and security that lead to improved outcomes in conflicts prevention and resolution. Nigeria needs to hear your voice. Nigeria needs your perspective. Nigeria needs you to be active and engaged participants in politics, in NGOs, in the private industry and in government.” He added. Also speaking at the event, the special guest of the occasion, US Ambassador’s wife, Dr. Pamela Schmoll, made it known that for

change to effect on the gender equality of the Nigerian girls and women as social and political actors, they need to take education serious, stressing that empowerment of women is essential, not only in self- expression and self realization, but full participation in the social, economic and political process. he said, “I think that one of the thing we need to do as work to empower women is to also educate them about what an important and powerful tool the vote is and how we cannot afford to take it for granted. Change in a democracy is sometimes infuriatingly slow. But it does happen.

“

“First, the simple fact of our physical presence at the voting centers send a powerful message to our leaders, our fellow citizens and the world that we, as women, we care; that we are engaged and involved, that we are watching and, ultimately, holding our leaders accountable for what happens in the political process. “Our presence confirms that we are a force to be taken seriously. But there is another, equally, important reason that we as individuals and, indeed as nations learn overtime. So we need to educate our children, sons and daughters, about how democracy works. And the best way is to show

Stressing further on the gender equality as critical to Nigeria development, he maintained that women in Nigeria have a role to play in changing the perception of women as second fiddle citizens saying the world is changing, Nigeria and its people need to change, and the women are not exempted too.

them by our actions. Our sons needs to see their moms actively voting so that this is the norm to them, so that when they grow up and have families, they don’t even think to question their wife’s or daughter’s right to vote “Likewise, our daughters need to see us, their mothers, grandmothers, and aunts going to the polls so that they not only feel confident participating the political process, but fully appreciate that this a civic right and responsibility that they share equally with men.” Schmoll added. n his part, the Convener, Save Nigeria Group (SNG) and Chairman BOT. Centre for change, Dr. Tunde Bakare, noted that to effect the change for the gender equality of the Nigerian girls and women as an active actor in social and political front, we should not only abandoned the responsibility to the government and the NGOs alone, we need to start the change from every home saying the male gender should stop treating the female gender as a weaker vessel. “Women are not chances to be used, they are to be respected, they have shown that they can lead at every stage of the government. What a man can do, give opportunity to the women, they will do better. they should not be used for advertisement alone but also as an agent of change.” He said.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

PAGE 16

Politics

Boko Haram: Jonathan’s Dialogue Committee has failed woefully —Sen. Zannah

Senator Ahmad Zannah Khalifa, representing Borno central, suspects there is a conspiracy against the Borno people in the ongoing engagement with the Boko Haram insurgents. He also believes the military are not only demoralized and ill-equipped, but thoroughly overwhelmed by the insurgents’ military tact and superior fire power. The Senator, however, strongly asserts that arming the locals to confront the insurgents will in no time bring the insurgency to its knees. He Spoke with Patrick Andrew on these and other sundry matters. Excerpts…..

n the last two weeks there have been incidences of sustained attacks in the North East in three major states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, what is your opinion on this? It is really very pathetic and disturbing. For a nation like Nigeria not to contain a small insurgency, like the Boko Haram, is very disappointing and my people are very disappointed. I don’t know the reason behind the lackluster attitude of the military. We are really concern and some people are even skeptical about the attitude of the Nigerian security agencies to us about this insurgency. Now, some of my people are reading meaning into this attitude- something which I cannot say now. Soon, when we confirmed the reasons or certain instances that have led to people’s suspicion, we will expose them. Would you know the level of casualty in the state so far? The level of casualties in the last two weeks are in thousands because Bama alone is about a 100,Yadi is about 200, there is also Golomba area which has never been reported in the media because the place has not been accessed uptil today as I am speaking to you. Since the Boko Haram insurgency started no fewer than 20 villages in that area had been attacked. Because of lack of security coverage nobody has been able to go there to see what had happened in that area. People who were able to run away from the area and came to Bama and Maiduguri have reported that at least 300 people were killed and at least 20 villages were razed. What do you think could be responsible for the increased attacks in recent times? Since the imposition of the state of emergency, the people in Borno, particularly the youth, were able to volunteer themselves into civilian JTF and were able to chase the Boko Haram members into the bush. The bush is the terrain where the military are supposed to go in to wipe them out. But unfortunately, there has never been a time where the military were able to chase Boko Haram in the bush. We don’t know the reason why. So, the Boko Haram in the bush are able to regroup and at the same time recruit new members from the surrounding villages. Of course, they are taking people by force and then training them and after sometime the forceful recruitment becomes a voluntary venture. People voluntarily joined the Boko Haram ranks because the insurgents would give a villager N50,000 or N100,000, which they

will never get in their life, just for teaming up with them. Therefore, unwilling recruit will become willing recruit. It follows then that the numbers of Boko Haram kept on multiplying to whatever level one cannot know. Sometimes, they may even attack a village with between 400 to 500 persons- well armed. And then,they are spread all over. They may attack different locations at the same time, which means that their numbers have swollen to a level that has overwhelmed the Nigerian Army. What is your level of confidence in the nation’s Security and why has it taken so long a time for the Northern elders to be able to speak to their youth to sheathe the sword. Only yesterday the governors of Borno and Yobe told the boys that ‘enough is enough’. Why didn’t they do this long ago? We have been talking to the boys since. Unfortunately, the federal government has been playing double standard: they will say they want to go into negotiation while at the same time they will be attacking members of the Boko Haram. If there is negotiation taking place it means there must be a ceasefire, but it has never been so. The federal government talks about negotiation just for the sake of satisfying the public but they don’t have the intention to go into real negotiation. This has infuriated the boys in such a way that they don’t have confidence that the government really meant business about negotiating with them. esides, whenever their members are caught in the cities or wherever they are arrested and given to the securities operatives, immediately the person will be shot. They boys have become aware of this that those arrested are always immediately shot by the security agents. This has led to loss of confidence on whatever the federal government says and they don’t also have confidence that coming back into the city will augur well for them. They are not confident that they will be re-admitted into public life to stay in peace because whenever they return to the city they are shot. Therefore, whether they are going into hiding or return to the city they are being killed, So it is better for them to die while fighting. I think this is the notion that they have. Eventually, the insurgents have realized that the military are incapable or unwilling to eliminate them so that unwillingness emboldened them to come and

it was not intended to achieve anything. It was set up just to satisfy a certain section of the country while my own people continue to suffer. Before the dialogue committee went to Maiduguri all the detainees in government detention were killed. This was immediately after the state of emergency was declared. hy was the state of emergency imposed? Of course, because they say about 20 local governments were in the control of the Boko Haram. But uptil today, what do we see? Most of these local governments, if not all are still in the hands of Boko Haram. And you ask, What has been achieved? The local governments are in the hands of Boko Haram. Though they have not hoisted their flags in these local government areas but at least there is no school, there is no judiciary, no local government administration, there is no market taking place in most of the cities. If this is so, what do you think? Are these areas in the hands of Boko Haram or not? Are they in the hands of government? Of course, they are not. The lack-lustre attitude of the military, can that be traced to the condemnation the military received when they carried out defensive actions against the Boko Haram in Baga and other places? Before that time, let me tell you, the military were having a field day killing innocent people just as you mentioned that of Baga. My colleague senator told me he counted 228 fresh graves in Baga at that time, I think you are aware. And all these people were killed by the military not by Boko Haram insurgents. But it was alleged that

Senator Ahmad Zannah Khalifa attack even military barracks. You can take for example the attack on Maiduguri Airport, Bama Barracks, the example of the attacks on Mongono Barracks about a year ago, all of which emboldened them to become more and more forceful. They also realized that in most cases the security agencies are not armed properly like themselves. Even without us telling the public how well equipped and emboldened the insurgents are, they have, by acts and gut, shown how well equipped and motivated they are. They have grown in gut and confidence because they are not being countered in all the attacks that had taken place.

“

For us, it is necessary for the world to know that the government has not equipped the military to confront the Boko Haram, that they are only paying lip service to the war against the Boko Haram. We have also been patient and silent in the hope that the federal government would do something concrete, eventually. ir, are in essence saying that the National Dialogue Committee set up to dialogue with members of the insurgent group has failed in its mandate? It has failed woefully because it has achieved nothing. And I think

Contd on Page 42

If the Army are demoralized, if they are afraid of Boko Haram I want them to engage our young men who are willing to die in order to save their people. Even though they do follow the military into the bush sometime with bathroom slippers, without any protective ware, if you give them 15, 20 or 30 days training even just 1000 or 500 of them and let them go together with the military, they will wipe out the insurgents immediately and they will take only a month.

PEOPLES Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014 15-16, 2014 PeoplesDAILY Daily WEEKEND, SATURDAY — SUNDAY, MARCH

Of missing money and denials W

ell, the NNPC has been in the news, of course for unholy reasons, according to Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, former CBN Governor. No, don’t miss the point. Sanusi has his place in history, particularly of the CBN. He worked hard and earned his reputation, which isn’t cheap. Now, though the issue is the spate of missing money and umpteenth denials. First, it was $12.8bn, then $10.8 bn, then it swung its magic rod and it became $8bn and now it hovers at $20bn. No, the spate of denials has been awesome, mindboggling and sublime. Yet they kept re-occurring and the centres around the same elements: NNPC and its subsidiaries. Recall the main issue had to do with failed remittances or non transfer of remittances to the appropriate coffers. The NPDC saga you recall. Now, there is another in the mix. The Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency International. NEITI for short. That’s the new one. Wait a moment, the sum involved is $8bn. That’s okay and nothing unusual too because the sum always hovers around $8 and point something in front. Yes, back to the NNPC and the missing $20 bn. The corporation after its internal forensic search has found that rather than failing to remit the above controversial amount to the federation account that it is actually running at a loss to the tune of $2.1 billion. And that the federation account would have to reimburse it. Andrew Yakubu, the group managing director of the corporation was furious when he declared, “We have given a detailed account. No

money is missing. Each business is governed by a different business arrangement. “If you do not trace it to the business arrangement and the governance structure, you will not understand. Now you heard here, we had under lifted. And reconciliation are held quarterly, when you say to reconcile, you will be able to balance your books and come up with the true position of things.” Further, Yakubu wondered why people clearly uninformed about government procedures (Does that include Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi?) rushed in to draw misleading conclusions. “So I am saying it is too hasty for people to say that money is missing and apportion such a large amount. You have seen how we have broken them down to the various business arrangements and how monies are accounted for in various arrangements. The fact that money is not seen in the Federation Account does not mean the money did not go to other beneficiaries” “If you have been following the activities here, you would have seen clearly that everybody that participated in the business arrangement is entitled to his own share: the banks are entitled to their own share, the equity contributors are entitled to their own share as well. So you cannot take $20 bn and give it to Nigeria alone, there are other people that contributed to the business endeavours as well as must be paid.” The chairman on the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi said his committee has all the submissions except one; the report from the PPPRA on certification of subsidy

PAGE17

FROM THE GALLERY With Patrick Andrew

from July 2013 to December 2013, both for kerosene and PMS and that it will soon make their reports known to the Senate. “In respect of unremitted revenue we have received virtually all that we need to receive. The rest are what I enumerated; reports of our own independent forensic auditors on the expenses and other losses totaling 2.1 billion Dollars and final certification from PPPRA July to December 2013 on subsidy. That is what will make us finalize our work and make our report to the senate.” That closes the chapter on NNPC’s missing or non-remitted $20 billion. As the chapter also closes on NEITI’s missing $8 bn. After all Mr Ogbonaya Orji, the Director, Communications, NEITI, who had a job to do and did well by refuting the claim ascribed to NEITI during

its presentation at the public hearing over alleged connivance of NNPC with SWISS oil dealers. Recalled that on Feb. 26, the NEITI Executive Secretary, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, was invited to make a presentation to the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Upstream, investigating the alleged connivance of the NNPC with Swiss Oil Dealers. “There is no cost efficiency in the transactions with the offshore processing organisations.’’ ``By this we mean that the total cost of offshore processing when compared with the reported price of PMS, DPK, AGO and other retained

products proceeds paid to NNPC is not economically beneficial to the country. ``This is as a result of the under deliveries of petroleum products to the tune of 866 million dollars by the companies involved in the swap,” the agency said in the statement. And when the NNPC was quizzed over its budget, many had looked forward to NEITI especially when the corporation disclosed it spent N520 million on “media components”, whatever that meant. Well, coming week will for provide yet another opportunity for a swim in more murky waters of mindboggling missing dollars.

Diezani Alison Madueke

Senator Hope Uzodinma

Mal. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

owoidoho_ng35@yahoo.com

08136531513

Kunlere takes a swipe at the envelope Sen. Victor Lar’s one-man report threat T … Kunlere’s poison, Uzodima’s honey “C W

hairman, I won’t accept this, No, I won’t take this. I can’t sit and approve this budget. This is no equity in this, no fairness at all. I write one-man report (minority report) to the senate on this.” ThatwasVictorLar.Hewasfumingwithangerwhen MohammedWakil(MinisterofStateforPower)appeared before the Senate Committee on Power presided over by Philip Taminu Aduda. Lar was furious allegedly for the lopsided nature of the Ministry of Power’s distribution of ruralelectrificationprojects.Hisconstituencywasallotteda paltry three projects while the South East and South West zonesgotthelionsharesofsame. “I sympathized with my colleague from Sokoto”, (Sen. Gobir) in apparent effort to scurry support from Gobir – a member of the committee as he went on to urge the committee to stand down the budget until observed inadequacies were corrected. Of course, he got his wish. First, Gobir protested, Ngige corroborated the lopsidedness of the projects and appealed to the minister to ensure “even distribution of projects” for fairness and equity. And Senator Aduda stepped in with the bang of the gavel. “Look Minister, we know you. You are hard working. Please, you must quickly settle down to work and must correct this.” And then, he stepped in in rising tone- headmaster-fashion, “First, collect the 2014 budget and thoroughly look at it and correct all the unfair distributions of projects. Do this quickly before they start telling you half truths,” he said but was silent on who ‘they’ that would feed Wakil with half-truths actually are. Aduda seems obsequious before the minister

as he constantly sang his praises as if he and not the minister needed assistance. All the same the minister left shoulder high as every member of the committee present sought to have his attention privately after the session was adjourned.

…And Senator Abaribe walked out

e came midway into the NNPC’s defence of its 2014 budget. But he never took a seat. Or rather he had no seat as every space meant for members of the Senate Joint Committee on Oil and Gas (upstream and downstream) were fully occupied. However, Enyinnaya Abaribe walked in sure of his place in the well-spotlighted committee. But there was no front roll seat left. Of course, the back roll may be are meant for second class citizens and Abaribe surely isn’t nor would have wanted to be so seen. So, he opted out but not without loud protest: “Why did you keep on calling me. The place is full and there is no seat,” he voiced out audibly as he turned back and showed all his clean pair of shoes. Well, one could not tell whether it was the presiding officer of the committee, Senator Emmanuel Paulker, that had kept calling him or some other of his colleagues on the committee, but Abaribe wasn’t about to take the back seat, the klieg light would have missed his handsome demeanor.

his subject has been recurrent. At least it has provided every member of committee something to vent one’s anger on or show solidarity with the other traducers of the administration’s financial projections. Senator Boluwaji Kunlere could not let the chance slipped by when it was the turn of the defence of the Petroleum Training Institute. He thundered out almost quaking the Room 022, “Is this budget for development or what? This envelop regime is inimical to our development,” he grumbled. He was an excited man. He trudged on oblivious of Paulker’s discomfort especially since he had by fiat restrained his colleague senators from posing questions on the NNPC’s subsidiaries. Paulker’s verdict had been clear, “You must confines yourself and question to the NNPC and not to the parastatals under it. We have already treated them and I won’t sit here and entertain questions on the NNPC’s subsidiaries,” he had said. So, when Kunlere had his chance he breached Paulker’s warning and took a swipe at the envelop system which has so far featured in all the budget

defences than any other matter.

hereasKunleresparednogoodthoughtfor the envelop system condemning it for its being detrimental effects on development projects, Senator Hope Uzodima thought otherwise. The ebullient lawmaker who presides over the Aviation Committee sees nothing undesirable about the envelope. He loves the envelop regime and an economist applauds rather than enlist in the school of the traducers of the regime. “The envelope is beautiful because government does not have all the money to meet all the needs. The government cannot hands out all money needed by the ministries and agencies. It must prioritize its projects and allot money accordingly,” he said in swift response to complaints by members of the committee on the paltry allocation to the aviation ministry.

Ashafa’s ‘rich also cried

enator Gbenga Ashafa’s had his laugh. And it was infectious. No, it had nothing to do with defection. That’s the growing fever and the swing fear across the parties. Rather, the object of his excitement was the NNPC’s discomfort. He was derisive or rather compelled to be because the presidency’s ATM is suddenly being starved of its milk. The NNPC, like every other parastatals, draws its funds from the federal account. Forget that the NNPC may have had issues with correct transfer of funds from its confines to the coffers of the commonweal.

For instance, it got an envelope of N3.4 billion for 2014 for capital projects down from N4.4 billion it got last year. Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, openly cried out about shortfalls of funds for basic projects. The NNPC needs money to contain vandalism, rehabilitate rusty pipelines, invest on other essentials to generate more funds like the local refining processes being researched on, but is greatly handicapped. It was this tears that excited Ashafa who openly pondered oh I mean mocked the milk cow and some person’s ATM.

PAGE 18

Social Media Trends

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

New study reveals Nigeria behind S/Africa, Egypt in top tweeting cities

The Tahrir Square in Egypt has become symbolic for mass action where tweeters maximise their phones

witter activity in Africa during the last quarter of 2013 peaked on the day of Nelson Mandela’s death, according to How Africa Tweets, a new study analysing Twitter activity on the continent. In a follow up to its 2012 study, strategic communications agency Portland analysed geo-located tweets originating from Africa during the final three months of 2013. The second How Africa Tweets study dives deeper into Twitter use on the continent, looking at which cities are the most active, what

“

languages are being used the most and what issues are driving the conversation online. How Africa Tweets found that, during the final three months of 2013: · Johannesburg is the most active city in Africa, with 344,215 geo-located tweets, followed by Ekurhuleni (264,172) and Cairo (227,509). Durban (163,019) and Alexandria (159,534) make up the remainder of the top five most active cities. · Nairobi is the most active city in East Africa and

Johannesburg is the most active city in Africa, with 344,215 geo-located tweets, followed by Ekurhuleni (264,172) and Cairo (227,509). Durban (163,019) and Alexandria (159,534) make up the remainder of the top five most active cities.

the sixth most active on the continent, with 123,078 geolocated tweets · Accra is the most active city in West Africa and the eight most active on the continent, with 78,575 geo-located tweets · English, French and Ara-

bic are the most common languages on Twitter in Africa, accounting for 75.5% of the total tweets analysed. Zulu, Swahili, Afrikaans, Xhosa and Portuguese are the next most commonly tweeted languages in Africa · Tuesdays and Fridays are the most active tweeting days. Twitter activity rises steadily through the afternoon and evening, with peak volumes around 9pm · The day of Nelson Mandela’s death – 5 December - saw the highest volume of geo-located tweets in Africa · Brands in Africa are becoming increasingly prevalent on Twitter. Portland tracked major hashtag activity from top brands such as Samsung (#SamsungLove), Adidas (#Adidas) and Magnum ice cream (#MagnumAuction) · Football is the mostdiscussed topic on Twitter in Africa. Football was discussed more than any other topic, including the death of Nelson Mandela. The most mentioned football team was Johannesburg’s Orlando Pirates (#BlackisBack, #PrayForOrlandPirates, #OperationFillOrlandoStadium)

Tweeters during Mandela’s funeral

· Politically-related hashtags were less common than those around other issues, with only four particularly active political hashtags tracked during the time period. This included #KenyaAt50 – celebration of Kenya’s independence – and the competing #SickAt50 Allan Kamau, Head of Portland Nairobi, says: “The African Twittersphere is changing rapidly and transforming the way that Africa communicates with itself and the rest of the world. Our latest research reveals a significantly more sophisticated landscape than we saw just two years ago. This is opening up new opportunities and challenges for companies, campaigning organisations and governments across Africa.” Mark Flanagan, Head of Digital for Portland, says: “As well as adding diversity of perspective on political and social issues, Africa’s Twitter users are also contributing linguistic diversity. Twitter is now established on the continent as a source of information and a platform for conversation”.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

PAGE 19

Tourism

he Mambilla plateau is a high grassland Plateau which is a part and extension of the Adamawa, Obudu, Shebbi and Atlantic mountain chain. The Mambilla Plateau, which lies to the southern edge of Taraba State, is renowned for its rich scenic beauty. It stands at well over 1,830 metres above sea level and has a temperate climate with lush pasture green vegetation. The access route up the Plateau and the canyons is a breath-taking delight, with snake â&#x20AC;&#x201C; like winding road that ascends the Plateau and natural springs that turn off through rocks adorning the road. There is also a spectacular bridge suspended over a valley. The Plateau is one of the few places in the federation where temperate plants like Apples, Pears, Arabica Coffee, Strawberries, Tea and Irish Potatoes grow very well. The whole area is Tsetse fly and Mosquito free with more than 2 million herds of cattle. The Mambilla plateau is a high grassland plateau with an average elevation of about 1,524 metres (5,000 ft) above sea level, making it the highest plateau in Nigeria. The plateau which has an undulating landscape free of insects also has temperate climate within a tropical region. Located in the highland region of Taraba State of Nigeria, Mambilla plateau houses Chappal Waddi mountain considered as the highest point in Nigeria and probably in West Africa with an average height of about 2,419 metres (7,936 ft) above sea level. As soon as one reaches the top of the mountain, the hot weather witnessed at the foot of the mountain disappears and you will be greeted by fresh and very chilled breeze blowing across the plateau. Mambilla people of Nigeria and Cameroon live on the Mambila Plateau (in Taraba State) and on the Tikar Plain in Cameroon as well as in several small villages further north towards the town of Banyo. These people regard themselves as a group with a common identity.

At an altitude of some 700 metres, these villages live in a different ecological zone where oil palms grow and gallery forest is found. The Mambila language is a congeries of dialects and related languages. Mambila plateau features unique physical and climatic conditions for human settlement and cattle breeding. The plateau which developed on basement complex rocks, measures about 96km along its curved length and 40km wide, and bounded by an escarpment which is about 900m high in some places. The Mambilla Plateau forms the watershed from which the major drainage systems in Taraba State take their source. Rivers Benue, Donga and Taraba (from which the state derives its name) are the dominant drainage systems which flow across the Muri plains to drain the entire state. Mambila plateau offers attractive settings and is well worth a visit. It has cattle ranches, tea plantations and rolling, grassy hills. It is home to some rare species of birds and animals, especially at the Gashaka-Gumti National Park. Best times to visit: Mambila plateau has some of the coolest climatic conditions in Nigeria with daytime temperatures sometimes reaching around 40C. The driest months are from December to January with relative humidity dropping to about 15 percent while the wet season usually starts from August till September. Mambila plateau has mean annual rainfall that varies between 1058mm in the north around Jalingo and Zing, to over 1300mm in the South around Serti and Takum. Because of the remote location of the plateau and lack of properly tarred roads which are still under construction, utility vehicles are recommended and visitors should make sure that the essential camping equipment and food are included in their journey.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

Page 20

Homes Unique moodenhancing living rooms

n order to have a beautiful home, you do not have to worry about trends. Color trends will come and go. The people who live in a home make it beautiful by choosing colors that reflect their likes and their personalities. The trick is to blend those colors you like into a pleasing combination. Choosing color combinations is one of the most intimidating steps for beginners. Color has the power to change the shape and size of furnishings as well as the shape and size of the room itself. Selecting colors is not difficult if you equip yourself with some basic information about color and its effects, so letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s find out more about room colors, and how these influence your mood. Keep in mind that each color has a psychological value. Think about how those colors make you feel- they can influence any feeling from tranquility to rage. So when trying to create peace and harmony in your home, choose your colors wisely. Some colors in large amounts will have just the opposite affect on you and your loved onesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; moods. What mood do you want to create? Which colors will help you achieve that mood? Find clear answers to these questions. If you find this task difficult try to look at magazines, decorating books, blogs and websites for ideas, or let your fabric be your guide. In fact, this is a good approach to take even if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re starting from scratch. Fabric, carpeting, furniture and tile are available in a more limited range of colors than paint, so choose them first and then decide on your paint color. Once you find something you like, limit the number of colors in a room to no more than three or four. Too many colors can make a room look busy or cluttered. Paint is fairly inexpensive and transforms a room more quickly than anything else, so you can afford to experiment a little. Crimson can make some people feel irritable. Invoking feels of rage and hostility, this is a color that should be Freshome.com

avoided as the main color of a room. Sitting for long periods of time in a room painted in this color will likely affect the peace and harmony you are striving to create in your home.

Orange evokes excitement, enthusiasm and is an energetic color. While not a good idea for a living room or for bedrooms, this color is great for an exercise room. It will bring out all the emotions that you need released during your fitness routine. In ancient cultures orange was believed to heal the lungs and increase energy levels.

Yellow captures the joy of sunshine and communicates happiness. It is perfect for kitchens, dining rooms, and bathrooms, where happy colors are energizing and uplifting. In halls, entries, and small spaces, yellow can feel expansive and welcoming. Even though yellow although is a cheery color, it is not a good choice to use in main color schemes when it comes to designing a room. In chromotherapy, yellow is believed to stimulate the nerves and purify the body.

Green is considered the most restful color for the eye. Combining the refreshing quality of blue and the cheerfulness of yellow, green is suited for almost any room on the house. In the kitchen, green cools things down; in a family room or living room, it encourages unwinding but has enough warmth to promote comfort and togetherness. Green also has a calming effect when used as a main color for decorating. It is believed to relieve stress by helping people relax, also believed to help with fertility, making it a great choice for the bedroom.

Magazine

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

Entertainment

Fashion

Beauty Tips

PAGE 21

Kannywood

Hollywood

Bollywood

How I learnt Hausa to become Kannywood actress â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Hadiza Gabon

PG 36

Womanhood

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

Page 22

Your Body, Image & U

Drowning in alcohol to keep stress away A

whole lot of time, we listen and watch adverts in the media on alcoholic drinks and at the end of each advert, you will see and hear....’’Not suitable for those under 18years...drink responsibly’’. First, I will say that such statements are totally useless because outlets and shops that sell alcoholic drinks in Nigeria hardly question or deny those under 18years of age from buying and consuming alcohol. It is open for anyone who can afford to buy them. Secondly, what exactly does –‘’drink responsibly’’ mean to consumers and lovers of alcoholic beverages? Ever asked your self this question? Again to me, it makes no sense in Nigeria because anyone can choose to even get drunk, beat people at home, on the streets and get away with it. One secret about those who consume alcohol as if it is going out of season is that, most ‘heavy consumers’ tend to use it to solve their stress problems. The vital issue here is-- Does using alcohol to tackle stress work? Let us find out. Stress and its related problems are so complicated to those who pretend about their stress problems and use the wrong methods trying to solve their stress problem which inturn leads them to bigger health and social mess. In

Drink driving

Nigeria like I always say here, most people are under stress but pretend not to be. There are also a group of people who are under stress but not knowing it is stress they are suffering from. This group of people can be pardoned because they are ignorant of what is happening to them but how do you deal with someone who is aware of what his/her problems is/are but decides to ignore it? Ok..I will leave you to answer this but if you belong to this group, time to take a wiser shift of your life. Those educated and also reasonable enough to know when to stop when consuming alcoholic beverages do not have issues with the devastating and deadly effects of alcohol. Infact such people benefit from using alcohol because they know when to stop when consuming any type of alcohol of their choice and cannot allow alcohol to rule their lives. You can also differenciate such people from the group who use or rely on alcohol. There are so many alcoholic beverages sold all over the world and Nigeria is not left out on this. Infact, right here in Nigeria, we have lots and lots of them. There is no type of alcoholic beverage you desire that you will not get easily in Nigeria and the more fascinating, the more patronage. The medics will tell you that some amount of alcolhol like wine is very good

for the health but the problem is that, most consumers in this part of the world hardly keep to the restricted consumption quantity necessary for good health. Those who abuse alcohol in the name of solving stress do not keep to the medical rules of alcohol consumption. ABUSING alcohol, that is the ‘king’ word for my talk today. Those who use alcohol to cure stress are simply abusing alcohol and when the word ‘abuse’ comes into play to what ever we do in life, it means danger and destruction. re you among those who resort to alcohol rendevous to run away from stress? Do you really get the desired results by drowning in all kinds of alcoholic drinks? Confused about the second question? Yea, you are confused because inside of you, the effects of the drinks sometimes gives you some brief relief and the more you take the drinks, the more you are drawn to the drinks and rather than solving your stress issues, it crashes your entire body. Listen, you cannot fool your self on this, believe it or not, once the effects of the alcohol wears off, your problems are still there and instead of you being incharge of your problems, you are getting into deeper mess. Most of you even lost total control of your senses because,

alcohol inhibits your natural ability to think sensibly and react to life issues reasonably. All it does is to block out your right

With Jacqui Iwu bwreforms@gmail.com 08184825606 (sms only)

Glasses of wine

senses and keep making you to feel you are all good and dandy for some period of time the stuff is in your blood streams but once the effects stops working, your brains hit you back with reality and this shifts your mental stability to a confused –rioting arena. Psssssssssssssssttt!!! This is the worst condition anyone who desires a good productive life dare finds its thinking ‘box’. At this stage, you are in the worst state of mind to even know who you are not to talk of solving any intellectual issues. So how can a human being function correctly when your mental state is shattered? How did you get to this rut? Alcohol dependence!!! Let me also ask those of you hooked on this roller –coaster habit.....have you tried to get off the hook but no success? If you really need to get off the hook as you read this, I commend your courage but bear in mind you must maintain this good frame mind and seek professional help to guide you properly. Believe me, you need a Stress Expert to flush out your system and renew your entire body. You have two deadly issues hunting you down— ‘Alcohol addiction and Stress’ destroying your life gradually and it is no tea party but a hard core decision you must make to put your life on a right path. You have tried it on your own but

failed, get an expert. We all know how difficult it is for people to break off bad habits. We are also aware that the word ‘stress’ still sounds alien to Nigerians though destroying and killing them silently so , you need an expert to piont out these issues out for you and ‘detox’ your entire system of all the garbbage for you to function well. hat courage you get from alcohol which makes you to shout at your spouse and abuse him/her at home and in public, is not you acting but ‘alcohol’. The worst part, after all the heavy consumption, your energy level declines, your vital organs suffers, your brain goes into a sleeping mood and your productivity level drops. Top executives suffer more from this because you must be active and alert brainwise but alcohol cannot give you this but rather the opposite. Think about this!! Give your life a LIFT!!

Jacqui IWU is a Body Image Coach A Stress Management Expert, Conference Speaker A Media Relations Personnel BLOG: http://bluntjacqui. blogspot.com FB: http://facebook.com/ beautifulwoman.column

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

Page 23

KATSINA STATE GOVERNMENT

PRESS RELEASE

onsequent to skirmishes between cattle rustlers and local residents in some communities in Katsina State, the Katsina State Government hereby deeply sympathizes and condoles with the affected residents. Government condole the families of those who lost their lives and sympathize with the injured. The Katsina State Government has therefore constituted a Committee under the Chairmanship of Brig-General Maharazu Ismaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ila Tsiga (Rtd) to immediately swing into action to access the unfortunate incidence,render assistance, advice on measures to stamp out the banditry and forestall future occurrence. Signed

Katsina State Government

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

PAGE 24

Kiddies World

With Miriam

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS

Humbe

ABCDE

HIS AND HERS CORNER

Gidan Makama museum, Kano Say ‘cheese’

Cartoon

Tom and Jerry Front view of Gidan Makama Museum

idan Makama Museum or Kano Museum is situated in Kano. This building served as temporary palace of Kano before the current palace Gidan Rumfa was constructed in the 15th century. It has significant collections of arts, crafts and items of historic interest related to the Kano area. Located in a 15th-century historical building which is recognised as a National Monument by government, the museum is divided into many galleries, each with their own centre of focus. Galleries include the Zaure in the main entrance with displays of traditional materials, city walls and maps of Kano, the history of statehood, Kano in the 19th century, the Civil War, economy, industry and

“

music. This building served as temporary palace of Kano before the current palace Gidan Rumfa was constructed in the 15th century. The museum has a significant collections of arts, crafts and items of historic interest related to the Kano area. Located in a 15th-century historical building, which is recognised as a National Monument by the Government of Nigeria. The museum is divided into many galleries, each with their own centre of focus. Galleries include the Zaure in the main entrance with displays of traditional materials, city walls and maps of Kano, the history of statehood, Kano in the 19th century, the Civil War, economy, industry and music.

Located in a 15th-century historical building which is recognised as a National Monument by government, the museum is divided into many galleries, each with their own centre of focus.

Mickey and Minnie mouse

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

PAGE 25

Kiddies World

With Miriam

AFRICAN TALES

The tortoise with a pretty daughter

here was a very powerful king who had great influence over the wild beasts and animals. Now the tortoise was looked upon as the wisest of all beasts and men. This king’s name was Ekpenyon. He married fifty young girls as wives for his son, but the prince did not like any of them. The king was very angry and made a law that if any man had a daughter who was finer than the prince’s wives, the girl and her father and mother should be killed. This time, the tortoise and his wife had a daughter who was very beautiful. The mother thought it was not safe to keep such a fine child, as the prince might fall in love with her, so she told her husband to hill her daughter and throw her into the bush. The tortoise was unwilling, and hid her until she was three years old. One day, the tortoise and his wife were away on their farm, the king’s son was hunting near

their house, and saw a bird perched on the top of the fence round the house. The prince shot the bird with his bow and arrow, and it dropped inside the fence, so the prince sent his servant to gather it. The servant came across the little girl, and was so struck with her form, that he immediately returned to his master and told him what he had seen. The prince broke down the fence and found the child, and fell in love with her at once. He talked with her for a long time, until she agreed to become his wife. He went home, but concealed this from his father. Next morning, he got sixty pieces of cloth and three hundred rods, and sent them to the tortoise. In the early afternoon he went to the tortoise’s house, and told him that he wished to marry his daughter. The tortoise saw that his life was in danger, so he told the prince that if the king knew, he would kill not only him (the tortoise), but also his wife and daughter. After much argument, the tortoise consented, and agreed to hand his daughter to the prince as his wife at the proper age. The prince went home and told his mother what he had done. However, the queen, wanted her son to marry the girl, Adet who he had fallen in love with, so she went to the tortoise and gave him some money, clothes, yams, and palm-oil as further dowry on her son’s behalf. The prince told his father that he

was going to take Adet as his wife. The king was very angry, and sent word all round his kingdom that all people should come on a certain day to the market-place to hear the matter. When the day arrived the market-place was quite full of people, and the stones belonging to the king and queen were placed in the middle of the market-place. When the king and queen arrived all the people stood up and greeted them, and they then sat down on their stones. The king then told his attendants to bring the girl Adet before him. When she arrived the king was quite astonished at her beauty. He then told the people that he had sent for them to tell them that he was angry with his son for disobeying him and taking Adet as his wife without his knowledge, but that now he had seen her himself he had to acknowledge that she was very beautiful, and that his son had made a good choice. He would therefore forgive his son. When the people saw the girl they agreed that she was beautiful, and begged the king to cancel the law he had made. The king agreed that for the future no one would be killed who had a daughter more beautiful than the prince’s wives. The tortoise’s daughter married the prince, the same day. A great feast was then given which lasted for fifty days. When the feast was over the king gave half of his kingdom to the tortoise to rule over, and three hundred slaves to work on his farm. The prince also gave his father-in-law two hundred women and one hundred girls to work for him, so the tortoise became one of the richest men in the kingdom. When the king died, the prince ruled in his place. All this shows that the tortoise is the wisest of all men and animals.

CREATIVITY

How to make a homemade savings bank

ould you like to have a little bank that you can keep your money in, at home? It is fun to create a bank through reusing objects around the home, enabling you to save money even in the process of creating your little bank! Steps Take your wide mouth bottles (or paper rolls) and tape them together. Wrap them in paper tape together. Take any marker and draw it eyes or a pattern on it. Then write on the one side SA (savings) and SP(spending) on the other side.

Finished. Tips • You can use bath tissue rolls (empty) and cover the bottom with paper. • It’s great to do with kid or grand kids. • Give it yarn hair or button eyes use your imagination. Things you’ll need • Paper, bath tissue rolls (empty) • Wide mouth bottles and tape • Paper • Marker • Art supplies

Humbe

ABCDE

MODEL OF THE WEEK

Laurel Andrew

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

Cover

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PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

Confab: The fears, the plot, the futility Contd from Page 9

BAUCHI STATE Alhaji Mohammed Bello Kirfi, CON Alhaji Kaulaha Aliyu Ambassador Mohammed Adamu Jumba Dr. Ibrahim Yakubu Lame Ambassador Mohammed Chad Abubakar, OFR Barriter Habibu Aliyu BAYELSA STATE Prof. Kimse Okoko Barr. Oronto Douglas Chief Francis Doukpola Dr. Amba Ambaowei HRM King A.P. Diete-Spiff Chief Lionel Jonathan-Omo BENUE STATE Chief Senator Jack Tilley-Gyado Lt. Gen. Victor Malu (rtd) Sir George Korgba Barrister Fred Oti Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Ejiga (rtd) Chief Stephen Oto BORNO STATE His Excellency, Alhaji Mohammed Goni Alhaji Ibrahim Damcida Ambassador Baba Ahmed Jiddah Alhaji Mohammed Kagu Alibe, mni Professor Mohammed Nuru Alkali Alhaji Mohammed Lawan Buba CROSS RIVER STATE Rt. Hon. (Dr.) Joseph Wayas Chief (Dr.) Matthias Offoboche Ntufam (Dr.) Sandy Onoh Dr. Out Abam Ubi Chief Ogban Ebock Brig. Gen. Bassey Asuquo DELTA STATE Mr. Sylvester I. Moemeke Rear Admiral Mike Onah Deacon Gamaliel O. Onosode Prof. Omafume Onoge Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark Prof. Itse Sagay EBONYI STATE Elder Anyim Ude Elder (Dr.) Agom Eze Chief Martin Elechi Chief Chima Innocent Ugo Chief Polycarp Nwite Chief (Barr.) Agama Agama EDO STATE Mr. A. O. Eghobamien, SAN Chief Sam Iredia Prof. R.A Aneo Chief C. Abebe Mr. Tuned Lakoju EKITI STATE Chief S.K. Babalola Prof. Isola Olomola Barr. Dele Adesina Barr. Sole Akinyede Barr. Akin Omole Dr. (Mrs.) Ibidayo Alebiosu ENUGU STATE Chief Sunday Nnaemeka Orji HRH Igwe Samson C. Nnamani Rev. (Dr.) Hyde U. Onuaguluchi Chief (Mrs.) Christy Nkem Okoye Chief Barnard Anaezionwu Eze Chief Hon. Okey Fred Agu FCT General A.B. Mamman

Rev. William Okoye GOMBE STATE Senator Muhammad Uba Ahmed Prof. Idris Mohammed Alhaji Magaji Mu’azu Hon. Nuhu Poloma Alhaji Abubakar Aliyu Deba Alhaji Abubakar Mu’azu Hassan IMO STATE Justice C. Oputa Barr. B. Nwakanma Chief E.C. Iwuanyanwu Dr. Douglas Acholonu Chief Ziggy Azuike Chief Chika Okafor JIGAWA STATE HRH Najib Hussaini Adamu, Emir of Kazaure Alhaji Suleiman Baffa Alhaji Mohammed Bashari Gumel Hajia Fatima Maibornu Alhaji Aminu Ringim Alhaji Tijjani Inuwa Dutse KADUNA STATE Dr. Umaru Dikko Alhaji Ja’afaru Makarfi Prof. Ango Abdullahi Alhaji Abdulkadir Jibrin Dr. Christopher Shuaibu Abashiya Mr. Emmanuel Toro, SAN KANO STATE Alhaji Magaji Dambatta Alhaji Sule Yahaya Hamma Prof. Auwalu H. Yadudu Alhaji Isyaku Umar Tofa Dr. Haruna Salihi Alhaji M.T. Waziri KATSINA STATE Alhaji Garba Ja Abdulkadir Alhaji Sa’idu Barda Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmadu Coomasie Alhaji Kabir Sa’idu Daura Alhaji Tukur Mani Barrister Ibrahim Shehu Shema KWARA STATE Alhaji Saidu Isa, MFR Alhaji Mahmoud Ibrahim Prof. Albert F. Ogunsola, OFR Hon. Kola Shittu Alhaji Ayinla Folorunsho Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Bareje KEBBI STATE Col. Bello Kaliel (rtd) Alhaji Isa Mohammed Senator Abubakar N. Ab1dullahi Professor Attahiru Jega Alhaji Abdullahi Ahman Dr. Sa’idu Muhammed Birnin Yauri KOGI STATE Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim, SAN Col. Ahmadu Ali (rtd) Gen. David Jemibewon (rtd) Dr. G.T. N. Ajakpo Engr. Ahmed Onogo Mr. Joseph Suleiman NIGER STATE Lt. Gen. Garba Duba (rtd) Prof. Shehu A. Jibrin Bida Alhaji Abubakar Magaji Barrister Umaru Kawu Hon. Dahiru Awaisu Kuta

Alhaji Isiyaku Musa Jikantoro OGUN STATE Prince Bola Ajibola, SAN, CFR Dr. Tunji Otegbeye HRH Oba Sikiru Adetona (Awujale of Ijebuland) Brigadier-General Oluwole Rotimi (rtd), CON Aremo Taiwo Alimi, ANIPR Senator Ayodeji Otegbola FNIVS, FRICS ONDO STATE Dr. Olaiya Oni Dr. Ade Abitoye Dr. Femi Adekanye Dr. Tayo Dairo Admiral Akin Aduwo Chief Olusola Oke OSUN STATE Hon. Justice Bola Babalakin (rtd) Chief Ebenezer Babatope Dr. Olu Alabi Hon. Dosu Oladipo Prof. A. A. Ayoade Dr. Wale Oladipo OYO STATE Chief Sunday Adewusi Prince Jibola Afonja Chief Richard Akinjide, SAN Chief M.K. Fagbohun Chief Bayo Oyero Barrister Bayo Shittu PLATEAU STATE Air Commodore Jonah Jang (rtd) Senator John Wash Pam Barr. Danjuma Maina Alhaji Yakubu Sambo Chief (Dr.) Solomon D. Lar Amb. Yahaya Kwande RIVERS STATE Chief Albert K. Horsefall Chief Sampson Agbaru Chief Barinua M. Wifa Dr. Silas Eneyo Barrister Akeodi Sunday Oyaghiri Senator Dr. Tari Sekibo SOKOTO STATE Alhaji Abubakar S. Tambuwal Alhaji Baba Hassan Amb. Hamzat Ahmadu Alhaji Ahmed Achida Dr. M.Z. Umar Barr. Suleiman Usman TARABA STATE Hon. Tanko Bobbo Andami Rev. Sen. Lika Zanya Alhaji Ibrahim Abubakar Hon. Emmanuel Bovoa Hon. Yaku Agbaizo Mr. Jonny Atiku YOBE STATE Dr. Adamu Fika (Waziri Fika) Alhaji Aji Saitu Dapchi Alhaji S. Kauzma Col. Mohammed Audu (rtd) Alhaji Gujbama Abubakar Maj. Gen. Alwali Joji Kazir (rtd) ZAMFARA STATE Alhaji Yusuf Garba Barr. Malami Aliyu Yandoto Alhaji Abubakar Hussaini Moriki Mansur Khalifa Mallam sani Malan Yahaya Abdul-Karim Alhaji Muhammad Sani Takori

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

PAGE 27

Entertainment Xtra Jaywon/Kennis music war: Singer wants deal cancelled; label moves to ban his songs

olice officer Brian Weir is suing the city of Beverly Hills for damages in regards to the investigation following Whitney Houston’s death on Feb. 11, 2012, when another officer allegedly made inappropriate comments about her appearance, Hollywood Reporter has said. In legal papers that were filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court, Weir, who was assigned as a sergeant in the SWAT team and K-9 units of the Beverly Hills Police Department at the time -- responded to the Beverly Hilton Hotel where Houston was found and attempted to secure the crime scene. In order to prevent contamination, he covered Houston’s body with a sheet and then claimed that Detective Sergeant Terry Nutall (now Lieutenant) arrived at the scene and removed the sheet that covered her pubic region “and came in close proximity to touching the body of the decedent while making inappropriate comments,” including that she “looked attractive for a woman of her age and current state,” according to the court documents. The lawsuit claimed that Nutall violated federal rules against moving a body without the coroner’s permission and that he treat-

ed the body “in a way that would outrage ordinary family sensibilities.” The suit stated that members of the police department and the city of Beverly Hills -- including Chief of Police David Snowden, Captain Tony Lee, Lieutenant Nutall and Lieutenant Lincoln Hoshino -- took reprisal actions against Weir when he disclosed this information. After complaining to his superiors, Weir was removed from his position with the SWAT team and K-9 units and denied promotion and favourable job assignments, as well as undergoing the loss of overtime, special pay and was allegedly ostracized and harassed. The case claimed that the “substantial motivating reason” for these actions was retaliation for the information that Weir disclosed and has caused him to lose income including pensions and benefits amounting to a sum to be determined during the trial. In addition, he has “become mentally upset, distressed and aggravated.” Weir is seeking damages actual, consequential and incidental losses, emotional distress, injunctive relief to restore him to the position of SWAT and K-9 Sergeant and attorney’s fees and legal costs.

igeriafilms.com has learnt that the face-off between Kennis Music and Jaywon may soon not be over going by the latest information reaching. It said the estranged artiste of the respected label has reportedly written to his boss to terminate his contract with them, which he did through his lawyer. In a statement made available to Nigeriafilms.com by the Public Affairs Unit of Kennis Communications, it was stated that, “IledareOluwajuwonlo James aka Jaywon has written a letter via his lawyer requesting for his contract with Kennis music to be terminated.” The statement further disclosed that,

“Jaywon wrote, in the same letter, his readiness and willingness to pay off all costs therein accordingly.” However, Kennis Music has urged the Independent Broadcasters Association of Nigeria (IBAN)members and all broadcasters on all platforms to un-list the works (Either single performances or and collaborations) of Jaywon from their respective rotational play lists until his request to buy over his contract is fully completed to avoid litigation. Meanwhile, Jaywon has refused to speak on the matter when contacted by Nigeriafilms.com.

Jaywon

Fans go crazy on Twitter over Wizkid’s latest single

t is excitement and encomium all the way on Twitter overWizkid’s latest single titled ‘One Question’ in which he featured Yemi Sax. Fans are of the opinion that the track is the best ever released by the music prodigy and cannot wait for the release of his much-anticipated sophomore album as tweeted by a fan. “Me self geh 1 question 4 @

Whitney Houston Wizkid

wizkidayoAin’t u dropping dah ur album again? Cos we’ve been waiting since.” Another fan had this to say, “I’m at a loss for words to describe this modern Afro-Jazz/Highlife masterpiece.” Yet another fan tweeted thus; “@ wizkidayo Baba Drop Dis Album Na. We Gats Turn Up” The track was produced by ‘DrFrabz’.

Beauty Page 28

TIPS

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

Compiled by Andrew Patrick

Want glossy, glowing skin, let saffron do the magic

affron is an old spice, some believe as old as civilization. The saffron plant is native to Asia Minor where it has been cultivated for centuries. Known as a dye for fabrics or glassware, it was later used in cooking and for medicines. The flowers are of a beautiful violet colour and they have an intense and heady scent. Once they are dried they make up the pure saffron that we sell in small bags. Crocus Sativus is the scientific name of the plant. Saffron is the most precious spice of this world, which is used in myriad cooking recipes to add an alluring aroma to your favorite cuisines. Saffron is also a big storehouse of many health benefits, which enhance the overall well being of a person. In Florence, Italy where it flourished in the 13th century, Saffronâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s precious stigmas were considered rare trading goods, while the flowers were used to decorate tables in banquet halls. Apart from these amazing qualities, saffron provides a lot of beauty benefits too, which will induce you to use saffron in your beauty routine daily. All beauty uses of saffron are very effective and easy to use. Read on to know how to use saffron in your beauty applications. 1. Take 1 teaspoon of sandalwood power, 2-3 strands of saffron, and 2 spoons of milk. Mix all ingredients together. Prior to applying this face mask, wash your face and wipe with a cloth. Apply this mask when the face is still wet. You can massage your skin thoroughly with this pampering face pack in a circular motion. Let it dry for 20 minutes and then rinse it off. Apply this sandal-saffron mask at least once a week for a radiant and smooth skin. 2. Saffron is teeming with anti-bacterial qualities, which make it ideal for curing acne. Saffronâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exfoliating qualities make it a wonderful aid in clearing and brightening up the complexion. 3. Soak up few stands of saffron in milk for 2 hours. Then smear this milk all over your face and neck. Wash off after few minutes. On continuous use, you skin will start getting fairer naturally. 4. Saffron is an excellent skin lightening agent that

helps to lighten your skin tone dramatically. You can make a skin lightening face mask with 2-3 strands of saffron, 1 pinch of sugar, 1 teaspoon of milk, 1 teaspoon of water and 2-3 drops of coconut oil or olive oil. Keep 2-3 strands of saffron in one teaspoon of water overnight. By morning, colour of water will turn yellow. Then add milk, sugar and coconut oil/olive oil to this. Dip a piece of bread in this mixture and wipe your face with this piece of bread. Small pieces of bread can stick to your face but it will come off easily when you wash the face. Keep this mix on your face for 15 minutes. This saffron mask freshens up the dull complexion instantly. It helps to ease off dark circles and fatigue lines. The immediate benefits of applying this nourishing saffron mask is that it helps in blood circulation resulting in a glowing skin. 5. Soak up chirongi (Sunflower seeds) and saffron in milk overnight. Grind this mixture in the morning to apply on your skin. This face mask is very beneficial for making your skin fair and glowing. 6. Massage your face with malai (milk cream) with two strands of saffron added to it. On continuous use, you will notice fairer and radiant skin all over. 7. If you mix few strands of saffron with milk and drink it regularly, your complexion will improve naturally. 8. You can mix few strands of saffron with olive oil, almond oil or coconut oil to massage your skin. Massaging your face with any of these oils gives lighter and softer skin. 9. You can mix one pinch of saffron with liquorice and milk. Apply this mix on your bald patches; this mask helps to arrest hair fall and promotes the growth of new hair. 10. Apply honey with few strands of saffron added to it. Massage your face with magical face mask that acts as a home facial. It is very powerful home remedy that provides oxygen to the skin stimulating blood circulation. Use this facial mask for getting luminous complexion. Now you know how to use saffron in your beauty applications. So why wait then? Try out these aforementioned beauty uses of saffron in your beauty regimen right away! Be all set to flaunt the skin, which every eye follows!

Saffron

Saffron with honey for facial excellence

A lady undergoing saffron beauty treatment

Saffron

Compiled by MIRIAM HUMBE

Fashion

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

Page 29

Black and white, the perfect combination

lack and white colors are simply the most elegant, powerful and engaging combinations. Black and white come from each end of the colour spectrum, and therefore has maximum contrast. This can easily draw the onlooker’s attention. Black and white also gives elegance; smart and uncompromising perfect finish to your fashion sense. It can instantly set a sophisticated and fashionable tone. Some colour combinations drift in and out of fashion but definitely, not black and white. It’s always there, it’s always being used and gives brands a timeless basis on which to establish themselves. Black and white is understood in every culture, can be clearly seen by everyone, and is simple to use effectively. It is simply beauty from simplicity and can represent confidence, power, quality and class.

Pots & Pans

PAGE 30

Ingredients: Okra 3 Hot chilli (Atarugu) 2 Long pepper (Tatasai) 4 fresh tomato or one large tin of tomato puree 1 Onions(Alubasa) 5 Garlic Ox tail Cow ribs Dried fish Spices: Cooking cubes, curry, bajji, coriander and turmeric Method: Marinate ox tail and cow ribs. Chop in garlic, onions, and a little bitter chilli.

Allow to simmer for 15-20mins. Blend tomato, chilli, long pepper. Pour mixture into the marinated meat add a little salt to your taste and stock cubes. Allow tomato puree to marinate with the meat for about 10minutes. Soak dried fish in hot water and clean, pour fish into the soup and stir. Allow to simmer for half an hour. Pour a little â&#x20AC;&#x153;Kanwuâ&#x20AC;?(bicarbonate of soda) and pour the okra. Allow to boil for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, pre-heat water to boil and pour grounded semolina. Use a whisk or wooden spoon to stir for about 3 minutes and allow to heat. Use wooden spoon to stir and drive the semolina. Pour half a cup of water to soften it, cover the pot and allow to simmer. Serve or dish out as desired.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

Ingredients: 12 tangerines Directions Lightly roll each tangerine on the counter and cut in half. Use a citrus press or reamer and squeeze into a glass. Strain and serve over ice if desired.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

PAGE 31

Relationship

Compliment as soothing therapy By Kekong Susan Eneh

hear the truth from some guy).

It is the perfect ice breaker. It’s friendly, fun - and by its very nature, ego boosting: compliment.

You look fine’ If a woman has spent some time getting ready to go out with you, telling her she looks ‘fine’ when she asks will not cut the mustard. Go with ‘beautiful’ or ‘gorgeous’ or something similar and, for extra points, pick out a detail like “...and I really like your new lipstick. You’re so beautiful, you’re so beautiful, you’re so beautiful’ (ad infinitum) Yes, being called beautiful is indeed a compliment, and one that will no doubt be appreciated, but using the same compliment over and over again wears it out, like a toothbrush or a pair of shoes. If you can’t manage to think of an original thing to say now and again, the woman in your life is going to think you’re either unimaginative, boring or you’re only with her for her looks, neither of which paint you in an attractive light.

compliment is a formal act of civility, courtesy, or respect. Friend, girlfriend, wife or lover-they all love a compliment. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t? It is advisable that compliment should never be given out too often or too freely. It sooner loses its value than later. Giving too loosely, it smacks of clear lack of sincerity. It takes confidence and selfesteem to notice good things about people and to make the first caring move to tell them about it. Sincere compliment is always a welcome boost to someone. Sometimes a compliment can be completely backhanded, even when you don’t mean it to be. While you’d hope your date or friend would overlook the occasional off-target compliment, we can all be extremely sensitive to criticism. And while you may mean your compliment with utter sincerity, it’s a natural human reaction to immediately be made aware of the traits that we’re not so confident about. This is made ever more powerful on a date, when we actually really do care what the other person thinks of us. You probably think whatever you said was completely innocent. But let’s just examine how these dodgy compliments are likely to be interpreted by your date. Here are 11 compliments we women actually find incredibly insulting. You don’t want your charming words to backfire, do you? You clean up nicely: Oh, so I normally look like shit? Even if that’s not what you meant, this will be the first thing that your date thinks upon hearing it. Even if it’s not true, we want to think we look somewhat attractive most of the time - not just when we put on makeup and a going out dressed up (yes, a girl can dream ... or at least not have to

You’d be prettier if you smiled more: Really? Well that’s a shame because this is how my FACE looks. And since no normal human being walks around 24 hours a day with a permanent grin, you must think I’m ugly for 90% of my day. Being told to smile on command is like being told to do a dance in front of an audience. We’re not puppets. Don’t tell us to smile. For future reference, we will smile if: a) You say something to make us laugh b) We’re thinking about something that sparks happy feelings c) We make eye contact with someone and the exchange warrants a smile. What you need to do is work out which of these criteria you’re going to fill to bring on the smile, NOT just tell us to. You have a great personality: Sure, this sounds innocent. And we’ll probably smile politely and say thank you. What we’re really doing, though, is mentally filing you away as the guy who pulled a cheesy

A smiling African-American woman compliment out of his ass. Then - it gets worse - for the rest of the night, we’ll sort through the rest of our features (below the neck), and start questioning what’s wrong with our breasts, bum, hair, legs ... the list goes on. If you zero in on our face we’ll expect there’s something wrong with the rest of our body. If you zero in on our body we’ll think, ‘What’s wrong with my face?’ Yeah, you can’t win. Best to just keep it general. You’re not like other girls: e spend a lot of our lives hoping to stand out to the guy we’ve got a crush on, to have that ‘something special’ that makes him choose us above every other woman. So while our initial reaction may be to blush, what we quickly realise is the subtext: we’re dating a guy who thinks all girls are rubbish, even if we’re apparently the exception.

You’re so innocent! No woman wants to hear that you think of them as ‘innocent’. Not only does this immediately mean you think of us as your little sister, but the subtext is also that we haven’t done anything that would qualify as ‘experience’. This can span from sex to travel

(mostly sex) and we’ll spend the next few hours casually bringing up every edgy encounter we’ve ever had just to prove you wrong. You’ll learn more about us after that comment than you ever wanted to. You look like a girl who knows how to have a good time! When a man tells a woman “You look like a girl who knows how to have a good time!” It doesn’t usually mean cooking elaborate dinners together while spoon feeding each other mouthfuls of chocolate fondue. Instead, it suggests we’re eager for crazy nights of partying that end with kinky, porn movie sex. That’s a lot to live up to. And no woman wants to hear she comes off as easy to get into bed. You’re so bubbly!: “Bubbly” is a word often used to describe the likes of Rebel Wilson. What you’re describing is that they’re hyper, and energetic ... and completely annoying. And of course, for some there is the implication that they’re on the larger side, which is something no one wants to hear about themselves. Even the sound of the word isn’t something you want to also describe you. It’s plosive, round, and the ‘ubly’ sound is always going to sound silly. It’s one step away from “jolly” -- and if you call someone that, you can jolly well expect a slap in the face. A big, fat slap. And if you need any more evidence, we present Exhibit B: Urban Dictionary’s definition: Bubbly : A euphemism for “fat

“ A man could earn this for a bad compliment

and annoying”. Used mainly by girls to describe themselves in an attempt to block out the harsh realities of life. Also used tentatively by guys as a compliment to girls whose defining features are that of being fat and at the same time, annoying. Nope, no thanks guys. I like a girl with meat on her bones/ You look healthy: Do not ever mention a woman’s weight especially if you’re trying to pay her a compliment. Even in long-term relationships the “Do you think I’m fat/How do I look” conversation needs to be treaded with extreme caution. It is dating suicide to bring it up. Even if your intention is sincere, what we will hear is “You’d look better if you lost a few kilos ... but you’ll do.” Also of note: “This girl knows how to eat.” Even if we look like Kate Moss and could stand to gain a few kilos, chances are a comment like this will tap into any lingering latent insecurity we’ve ever had. That was one of your best ideas!: hat you’re really saying here is that everything else we’ve said in your company is pure s***, and you’re secretly moaning about how useless we are to anyone who will listen. Of course, if this exclamation is in response to our inventing the DomiCopter or Amazon drone drops, ignore all the above.

This article originally appeared on AskMen.

Yes, being called beautiful is indeed a compliment, and one that will no doubt be appreciated, but using the same compliment over and over again wears it out, like a toothbrush or a pair of shoes.

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Fiction

Tunde’s bus adventure

on a Monday morning is... Rain bad luck. For some, it portends a premonition of doom, especially if you had an incorrigible boss you had to hide from, a spouse you had betrayed or someone you could not stop lying to. After the excitement of the night before, the deep dreamless sleep, it was mortifying to wake up on a work day to the sound of rain drops hammering away on zinc roofs, the characteristic sound like the quick march of a hundred soldiers. Usually, the sound would have brought unconscious dreamy smiles to many sleep-deep faces if it had been 2a.m in the morning, but by 6a.m, disgruntled faces left their beds. And because the electricity had disappeared sometime in the night, hands groped about in the blind hoping to feel the smooth slender body of a candle stick. Tunde, like many others woke up late and after preparing for the office, he made a brave decision to enter the heavy rain. The clock on the wall read 6:30a.m when he made his decision. He grabbed his small black umbrella and with his folio tucked under his armpit, he opened the door. To his dismay, the front of his house was flooded and the drops of rain lashed at him with a vengeance. Despite the rain, soft white light had kissed the once dark cloud introducing dawn. Grunting, he folded up his trousers and locked the door behind him. He plunged into the semi-darkness gasping as the cold seeped into his blood and the wetness made his shirt cling to his skin. Despite the umbrella, he was drenched in minutes. The water level had risen almost to his knees; he couldn’t make out the gutters but avoided them by instinct. He had once fallen into a flooded gutter and the memory still gave him nightmares. A terrible stench assailed his nostrils and he noticed that the dustbin that served most people in the area was overflowing. Most of the garbage had fallen into the water and bits of trash floated past him including a dead rat that almost touched his leg before he noticed it and jumped forward. There were several crawly white things on the bin and several of them swam happily in the green coloured water. Maggots. Tunde cringed. He thought he was going to be sick. He waded through the water out into the main road and squeezed some water from out his pants. The streets were empty except for two women who huddled close underneath a spoilt umbrella in a mechanic workshop. They too were shivering like Tunde and speaking in loud Yoruba language. Tunde was lucky as a motorcyclist in a yellow raincoat came riding by. Dashing into the street, he flagged him down before the women could. The women rained abuses at him, calling him a lazy man in their local language. Tunde paid them no heed. This was the latest he had ever been on the way to his office. It was a new job he had resumed three months ago. To his surprise, his boss had developed an instant dislike for him and enjoyed barking at him over every little mistake. “Alakija bus stop,” he told the motorcyclist and hopped on without bargaining the price. He knew it would be a waste of time as the

motorcyclist had an upper hand in the dreary weather. Five minutes later, Tunde got to the bus stop. The motorcyclist called a price four times the usual price. Tunde spread his five fingers at him in a familiar gesture of insult. As he gave the motorcyclist the money, Tunde continued mumbling calling him a good-fornothing thief. The motorcyclist grinned, pocketed his money and drove away. He was left standing in the rain. t was now broad daylight and some people were huddled under roofs. There were few vehicles on the road. Only bus conductors braved the rain, yelling their destinations into the wet morning. “CMS last bus! CMS last bus!” a conductor yelled close to his ears. Tunde dashed into the bus to escape the rain. In annoyance, he folded his umbrella that had proved as useful as a pencil on a farm. The bus was empty. He was sure that the other buses had left and this was the last one heading his way. He wondered how anybody could have managed to rise up earlier than he had in the crazy weather but thought to himself that this was Lagos. Crazier things happened even without the rain. One by one, the familiar faces he had grown accustomed to meeting at the bus stop trickled in. The man that preached every morning came in next. Tunde almost groaned aloud when he recognised the navy blue button down coat with short sleeves. The man climbed in front, wiping his dripping face with a chequered handkerchief. “Good morning, my brother,” he said to Tunde. “Good morning, Sir,” Tunde replied, trying not to notice the thick dark curls on the man’s arms. “Thank you, my brother. God bless you.” The man promptly launched into a familiar worship song singing out of tune but with such reverence that Tunde felt that he ought to bow his head and join him. Worthy...you are worthy...King of Kings, Lord of Lords, I worship

“

The Yoruba woman came after the preacher. Everyone knew her as the Yoruba woman. From the long gashes across her cheeks to the haphazard way she tied her head tie and her thick Ibadan accent, it was quite easy to know.

you... The Yoruba woman came after the preacher. Everyone knew her as the Yoruba woman. From the long gashes across her cheeks to the haphazard way she tied her head tie and her thick Ibadan accent, it was quite easy to know. She was usually one of the early comers except she might have decided to sleep in today. “Ah conductor, come and whyne up your window-o. This rain is toushing me, abi?” The bus conductor did not hear her as he was still shouting his bus stop so she poked her head through the window and yelled at him some more. She cradled her head in her hand in boredom. Few minutes later, she was nodding off in sleep. The others came almost simultaneously until the bus was full. There was the UBA man who always had the logo of the bank where he worked pinned onto his breast pocket. UBA man was tall and handsome and was so polite that it infuriated Tunde. Like Sade, his girlfriend who always wanted him to call three times a day (especially at night before she went to bed), pull out a chair for her to sit down and hold her hands in public. It had been the reason for their last quarrel and she still had not called since a week ago. Tunde snorted. A short young man came in next carrying a carton containing a DVD player. He did not say anything to anyone; just climbed in and

sat still. It was until he answered his phone that Tunde knew that he was a trader in the popular Lagos market. Most of his conversations were spoken in Igbo language and the rest in pidgin English. isha came in next. Her house was not far from Tunde’s. Her aged parents ran a shop attached to the front of their house. She was a shy lady who hardly talked much. Tunde knew that she was married but her husband had been out of the country since the marriage. Nobody knew why and nobody thought to ask any question. She greeted Tunde, looked around and satisfied that she did not recognise any other person stuck ear phones into her ears and launched into silence. Tunde noticed an old Toyota Camry draw up in front of the bus. A plump fair woman got out, waved to the man driving and dashed into the bus. Then the car continued down the street splashing water on the sidewalks. “Good morning oh. Good morning,” she greeted everyone in her loud squeaky voice. Tunde noticed there were patches of white on her face and the dark smudges on her cheeks she had hidden cleverly below layers of make-up were starting to show. Her curly hair was wet, plastered on her cheeks but her lips remained a bright caked red as if she had smudged red foundation powder on them. The Yoruba woman in front woke up, startled and turned around. Her frown quickly

melted into a smile. “Madam Eunice, how na?” the Yoruba woman asked. “Fine. Iya Bosede, how work?” “We thank God. Your husban’ and shidren?” “They are fine. My husband just dropped me off. He dey go work.” Madam Eunice’s voice reflected pride. She continued, “this rain, eh? I told my children to stay at home. No school for them. Market go dey today, sef?” “Ah, market must dey, Madam Eunice. Market must dey. Na market me I dey go.” “Ok. I did not want to go to work but if I stay at home with those children, I will grow grey hair,” Madam Eunice stated, her fingers fluttering delicately in the air. “Abi oh?” Madam Eunice continued her idle chatter while Iya Bosede, apparently used to the annoying voice and tired of it, replied her with casual nods. When she could take it no more, she joined the preacher in his song. Madam Eunice took her cue and shut up. Feeling odd then, she too joined in the worship song. When the pretty slim girl arrived, Tunde could not help but stare at her. He had met her at the bus stop only once before and had not tried talking to her because she had that air of arrogance about her that announced that she knew she was beautiful. She wore a turquoise blue shirt now dark blue in some patches that showed off tantalizing runs of smooth brown skin. The UBA man got out of the bus when he saw her to allow her come in first before he did. Tunde noticed that though they mumbled a greeting to each other, she tried hard to avoid him touching her. The pretty girl entered and sat beside Tunde in the backseat so she was sandwiched between Tunde and the UBA man. “Theresa, you didn’t reply my greeting,” UBA man said to the pretty girl when they were seated. Tunde was trying not to gaze at her rain tightened shirt. Sentinelnigeria.org

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PAGE 33

Romance

Kabir’s night out with a ‘gold digger’

hat Saturday morning when destiny knocked on Kabir’s door, he refused to open for he thought it was a Jehovah Witness. In his defense, Jehovah Witnesses could be early Saturday morning pests, clad in their Sunday best and flaunting Watchtowers and their convictions. The door hammering persisted and, for a minute, Kabir feared that he had misjudged; that the early-rising intruder was the landlord. Then he remembered he still had a month before Aduke’s rent lapsed. He sighed his relief and attempted to drift back to sleep. But her snores brought back memories of last night. Last night, he had drunk himself to stupor on the premise that he was not buying. Mike, his friend, was the buyer and a lucky one too. His fate had been sealed earlier that afternoon with a U.S visa stamped on his green passport and he was in an ecstatic mood of alcoholic generosity. He declared for everyone in the club until they began to decline his generosity. “Haba,” Mike would say, “Are you not happy for me. Guy have another beer.” He would persuade and with a reluctant yet grateful grip, one would accept and would drown deeper into that flood of celebratory binging. Kabir had been sitting beside a young lady with a tooth-gap and deep dimples. She wore a blond wig and her painted nails were carved like claws. She had an easy laugh too. Her name was Marg, Matt, or Maltida. And she said she was a professional dancer. Now in street parlance, if a scantily-clad lady told you she was a dancer, it meant that she was available for the night, for a token fee of course. And Kabir— infected by the high spirits, inebriated by beer and overdue for a sensually memorable night—was willing. It won’t hurt, he thought, yielding to his intimate desires for female company that night. Three months had passed since Aduke left. And she still hadn’t phoned. So on the whim of alcohol, Kabir dismissed the thoughts of infidelity and continued to flirt with the obliging, dimpled-smile blonde. After all, he thought, he was sure of what Aduke was up to in faraway America. “I am a Dee-jay, you know,” he said with all enthusiasm he could muster, “and I would like to play you a record.” “Here, now?” she inquired. “No silly, back at my house.” She giggled like a teenager and leaned over to bite his left ear. She rasped, “Hope you know it would cost you.” He nodded. At ten’ o clock that Friday

night, a couple emerged from a curtain of thick smoke and multicolored lights and mounted a motor-cycle. That was how much Kabir remembered. He could hardly remember powering his motor-bike at top speed whilst blasting loud music muffled by the swift passing of winds. Or the nimble knuckles of the blonde that clutched his waist as the winds threatened to strip off her wig, or his incessant swigs from the bottle or his immediate drift to sleep when they got to his flat. Lying beside him on the bed was the naked girl, her hair drawn in six unkempt braids, her blonde wig hung carelessly over her head like a displaced halo. He contemplated waking her before she launched into a peculiar form of snort which infuriated him so he smacked her hard on the buttocks. “Oya, get up,” he said irritably. Incoherently, she said, “uhmm, uhmm.” A knock suddenly jerked her into consciousness and she asked wide-eyed, “Who is that?” abir didn’t seem to mind who it was any longer, he snatched his pants and drew on a used shirt. He made to the door and threw it open; ready to pounce on whomever it was, disturbing his peace that Saturday morning. There was nobody at the door, which he found rather quirky as his facial expression contorted into what was neither stark surprise nor a frown. He peeped into the street and still was clueless as there were just a bunch of chewing-stick wielding landlords in loin-cloths mumbling in quiet tones the fate of the street-roads that had been rendered immotorable by the incessant rains. Yearly there was always a campaign for fund donations that went into grading the untarred roads. But soon after the rains began, rainwater found new ways for itself, digging up trenches that swallowed car tires and shocked shock-absorbers. So that Saturday morning, as he returned to the flat, he noticed a poster tacked to the door. It read: This is Destiny knocking at your door! Get rich Quick-quick with Pot of Gold!!Invest 10k and make 40k CASH in three weeks!!! Kabir spent time scanning this advert before removing it. When he returned to the room, the girl was clasping her brassiere over her rounded breasts. And Kabir could feel blood flow down his loins. “Who was that?” she inquired nonchalantly as she put on her blouse. “Can’t find the person but I

found this,” he showed her the poster of a smiling, young lady leaping to catch dollars in the air. It seemed to arouse her curiosity as she snatched it from Kabir. “Could this be real?” she questioned, leaving her blouse half-worn. “One can’t tell about these things,” Kabir replied as he sat on the bed, peeling off his shirt, “but you must be ready to take a risk if you want to.” “Risk?” she said, pausing for a moment to look at Kabir, “what more risk can I take, I follow men I barely know daily, I sleep with them. What do you even know about risk?” Kabir could hardly believe he was being quizzed by a prostitute. He had been told several times that he was a cynic. When Aduke had obtained the Green Card Lottery form that had changed her destiny, she also obtained his. But he refused to fill and submit the form, and every time she asked after it he would shrug and say he didn’t have time or he forgot. Now she was gone. Now he wished he had not been so adamant. Just before she had left, she had thrown a tantrum at his lackadaisical attitude,

“

his withdrawal from believability, reality. “Don’t you believe anything good can happen to you?” The question she had asked seemed rhetorical. When his colleague also obtained the Visa Lottery Application, he was aware and instead of obtaining his, he had helped his colleague fill his form. Now Mike was also leaving for greener pastures, whilst he remained hinged to the squalor of a failing state. The now fully-dressed prostitute slung her bag on her shoulder and sat beside him on the bed. “I have some money. I want to invest in this thing,” she squeezed the poster, “Will you help me?” abir frowned. This seemed outrageous, he thought. This was a prostitute he had not slept with, seeking his favour. But he could hardly restrain himself from approving. He found himself nodding and asking her name. “Mary,” she smiled, “I will be back in the evening.” And the door slammed behind her. There was something haunting about the gingerly exposure

“Risk?” she said, pausing for a moment to look at Kabir, “what more risk can I take, I follow men I barely know daily, I sleep with them. What do you even know about risk?”

of her sparkling teeth. The smile bore an unequivocal resemblance to Aduke’s. For a moment, Mary’s rounded face contorted into Aduke’s and instead of walking away, she walked towards him in springy steps, her recently clad clothes dropped to accentuate with each toward step… It was yet another knock that intruded his fantasy. He stood to open the door. It was Mike. Mike looked unsightly, still dressed in yesterday’s clothes, all doused in sweat, smoke and alcohol. He seemed to be having a terrible hangover for he leaned against the wall. “Oh boy, how far?” Kabir asked, “you like what the cat dragged in.” Mike muttered something incoherent as he walked into the flat. This was not his first impromptu visit especially after a Friday night binge. It was no news that he didn’t have an apartment. Rather, he nestled with an older widow, whom he fell out with earlier that week. Since then, he had been keeping different nights at apartments of different colleagues. Today was inevitably Kabir’s turn. ike staggered towards the bathroom and then there was a distinct retching sound and afterwards the drone of a flushing toilet, then sounds of splattering water, and the humming of a high-life tune. Soon Mike emerged looking refreshed, clad in wet shorts, with Kabir’s towel around his neck. “Uhmm,” he crooned pleasantly, “this feels a lot better. You don’t want to know where I spent the night.”

Romancemeetslife.com

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

PAGE 34

Hollywood James Blunt, Birdy to perform at German Echo Awards

ritish pop stars, Birdy and James Blunt are heading to Berlin for this year’s Echo Awards, Germany’s top music honors, Hollywood Reporter has said. Blunt is nominated an Echo in the category best international rock/pop act, alongside Justin Timberlake, Robbie Williams, Joe Cocker and Passenger. Birdy is competing in the best international female rock/pop artist, against fellow Brit Katy Perry, New Zealand phenomenon and double Grammy winner Lorde, Austrian singer Christina Sturmerand ex-ABBA member, now solo artist, AgnethaFaltskog. The Echos, which will hold in Berlin, March 27 and broadcast live on public channel ARD, are considered the German equiv-

alent of the Grammys. Blunt, currently on tour in Germany in support of his latest album Moon Landing, will perform the single “Heart To Heart” at the Echos. Birdy will perform “Words as Weapons,” the new single from her Fire Within album. Numerous German acts have also confirmed they will perform live at the Echos, including rap and soul artist Jan Delay and German hip-hop pioneers Die FantastischenVier. Delay will perform the single “St. Pauli” from his new album, Hammer & Michel, which drops April 11. The single will be available for download in Germany directly after the Echo awards.

Blunt

BBA winner, Dillish in South Africa after leaving Flavour

x-Namibian beauty queen and BBA ‘The Chase’ winner, Dillish Matthews has expressed her excitement for being in South Africa. She is surely living the good life she may have always dreamt of. “Waking up in a different country with a perfect view is what I love. Good morning South Africa, she said.” The beautiful entrepreneur announced this on Wednesday morning on twitter. Meanwhile, her fans have continued to

Dillish Matthews

hail her and wished her a good stay in the country. “Good morning delicious Dillish, welcome to South Africa,” a fan wrote, while another said, “welcome to South Africa”. Dillish is speculated to be in South Africa to promote her makeup line, ‘Dillish Lipstick’ and ‘Dillish Lip Gloss’ by Vault. Dillish was recently in Nigeria and it was rumoured that she had an affair with Flavour, which both have denied.

arren Aronofsky’s biblical epic,Noah, got a mixed reception at its world premiere in Mexico City recently, Hollywood Reporter has said. It added that hundreds of screaming teens attended the red carpet event at the Pepsi Center, with many people on hand to see actors Logan Lerman, Jennifer Connelly and Douglas Booth. Co-writer Ari Handel also joined Aronofsky onstage before the screening. The film’s star, Russell Crowe, wasn’t present. Taking the stage before the show, Aronofsky told the audience to expect the unexpected. “It’s a very, very different movie,” he said. “Anything you’re expecting, you’re wrong.” When all was said and done, Noah drew a somewhat muted response from the crowd and mixed comments from both the audience and film critics. After the credits rolled, the audience applauded for about 30 seconds while remaining seated. One American critic said he would give the film a favourable review, but another felt it was “a bit long and dragged in spots.” The critics requested anonymity due to a studio embargo on reviews ahead of the U.S. release.

Mexico City-based W Radio critic Mario P. Szekely said he doubts the film will connect with Mexican audiences. “They won’t connect emotionally with the main character because it betrays the essence of the biblical character, and the payoff just isn’t good enough,” he said. Some in the audience praised the film’s visual effects, while others had issues with the pace. Moviegoer Manuel Salgado said Noah started slow, but gained momentum as it moved along. Another cinemagoer, Veronica Muratalla, said: “In general I didn’t like it. It seemed slow, and I found it tiring.” Noah has been banned in several Middle Eastern countries for contradicting Islamic law by portraying a prophet, but here in predominantly Catholic Mexico there have been no protests or controversy yet. Martin Scorsese’s 1988 drama The Last Temptation of Christ was banned from Mexican theaters for 15 years due to pressure from the Catholic Church. The film was finally released in March 2004, at the same time that another controversial religious-themed movie was set to hit cinemas: Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion of the Christ’.

PAGE 35

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

Bollywood/Hollywood

ay Z and Beyonce might not be attending close friends; Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s star-studded Paris wedding this summer, allegedly because of the too-many cameras involved. According to reports, the Hollywood most powerful couple might just have to give the Yeezuz star and his reality TV star bride an option of cancelling the wedding going live on TV before they can make it. Kanye might not find it funny not having his best friend and business partner Jay Z at his biggest life’s event but the royal couple’s denial to attend may also come as no surprise.

“They are extremely private. But again, how do they attend the Grammys and BET Awards which also go live on international TV? Is there something else going on here?” a source said It’s not hidden that Kanye has been going back and forth about whether he’ll televise his wedding to all the Kardashian sisters. He started off by saying that he wanted the ceremony to be private, but it wasn’t long before he claimed he may as well take advantage of the monetary potential and go fully public -like airing it on Keeping Up with The Kardashians.

I feel complete when I’m in a relationship, says DeepikaPadukone

ctress DeepikaPadukone might not be addressing her relationship status publicly but the Bollywood beauty has confessed that she is completely ruled by her heart. Padukone, 28, who has been linked to her co-stars multiple times, said being in a relationship is the most important thing for her. “I am completely ruled by my heart, not just relationship-wise but choosing films also comes straight from my heart. For me, being in a relationship is very important. I think I can speak on behalf of most women that they feel complete when they are in a relationship. “But it has to be a beautiful relationship - a relationship that encourages you and makes you a better person. If it pulls you down or you start becoming someone that you are not, it is not a place to be in. And I have been in both,” Padukone said Mar. 8 on the sidelines of the India Today Conclave 2014. When asked to comment on her relationship with “Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram-Leela” co-star Ranveer Singh, Padu-

kone said, “I think I am at a stage where I don’t want to rush into something. For a young girl like me, it’s very important to get to know someone; maybe it also comes from the fact that I didn’t want to go through heartache again and you want to be sure about the person that you eventually land up with.” The “Cocktail” star was in a serious relationship with actor RanbirKapoor, but the couple split after dating for one year. Despite her personal life, Padukone is on a career high after giving backto-back hits with “Cocktail,” “Race 2,” “YehJawaaniHaiDeewani,” “Chennai Express” and “Ram-Leela.” The actress does not think she has a set formula when deciding on a film, but she says she follows her heart while choosing a script. “I don’t think success for me has a particular formula. I think success comes from following your heart, believing in yourself and being the person you want to be versus being someone that you are expected to be. I don’t think you are living an honest life if you are doing that,” she said.

DeepikaPadukone

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

PAGE 36

Kannywood

Kannywood: I quickly learned Hausa and English languages to become actress —Gabon For six years, Hadiza Aliyu, popularly known as Hadiza Gabon, has carved a niche in the Kannywood film industry as one of the most successful actresses. In this interview with Mustapha Adamu, the diploma holder, super star and screen diva, talks about her acting sojourn and challenges faced in her career. an you tell us about yourself? C My name is Hadiza Aliyu popularly known as Hadiza Gabon. I was

born and brought up in Gabon but my mother happens to be from Adamawa state, so to me being in Nigeria is like coming back to my second home. How old are you? “Laughter” Age is something at which by far making someone to be an adult. You said you were born and hailed from Gabon, how miraculously did you become an actress in Hausa film Industry? I actually came to Nigeria for the first time on a visit purpose to meet with my sister, and at that time I could only speak Fulfulde and French and for the simple fact that I wanted to stay a little bit longer in Nigeria. I became pos-

sessed by the need to understand Hausa and English languages being the most frequent spoken languages in the country. So in view of this, my sister influenced me to be watching Hausa movies because she believes language can easily be learned when demonstrated with actions. What is your education qualification? I attended a high school and obtained a diploma in school of Informatics Institute in Gabon. What inspired you to engage into film making? It was in 2007 then, and I was gradually learning and speaking the two major Nigerian languages quickly because of my interest. However, I became so much interested in becoming an actress in the Hausa movie industry after watching nice and interested movies with my sister. I could remember the first time I voiced out my interest to people close to me and there was some discouragement from them, they usually laughs at me and pointed out that my dreams were a childish illusion. But that was proved wrong to them because within one and a half year I was able to future in a Hausa movie called Artabu. Though it is not easy at it sounds, b u t what matters here i s

that Hadiza did make it successfully to the Hausa movie industry. The roads were rough and there were too many risks and so as well some challenges along the way. I thank God that today; Hadiza Gabon has become a household name, thanks to my numerous supporters worldwide. How long have you been in the film making? Well, I stated acting sometime in 2008. It was so interested then. A lot of people were looking at me as a new comer. But my full engagement made it possible for me to be appearing in home videos with large no of movies being produced by different producers. What is your first (debut) movie? My first film in Kannywood is titled “Artabu”. What was your experience in your first debut? Well, it was amazing, despite the fact that I appeared in only one scene. The reason was that, I was so naïve and scared, but the good thing is that with that single scene I was able to conquer all the fears and the anxieties coupled with my poor understanding of the language. So, how many movies have you featured in so far? Hmmm, actually I can’t remember precisely how many they are because there were so many of them. Some making waves in the market while others are yet to be released. But I have appeared in so many movies that astonished many of my fans including the latest ones which are “Babbar Yarinya” and “Daga Ni Sai Ke”. Among your movies, which one of them is your favourite? When you talk about favourite, it is something which you are categorizing. So to me, all my movies are my favourites. Who is your favourite actor/ actress in the Kannywood? Kannywood is a big industry and everyone there happens to be a favorite of one another. We work as a team and with collective responsibilities we were able to serve our numerous viewers with the best movies we were producing. As an actress I don’t see myself as a superior to others; we are all colleagues and work towards achieving a common goal. Therefore in Kannywood everybody is my favourite. What problem or challenge have you ever encountered since the day you start film making to date? Challenges often come in a natural way to every human in life and could be those you imply or that you have set yourself for (example: you’re appearing in a new movie which you have not being fully prepared for or organizing an event for yourself or someone close to you). And I have to admit having mine in a normal way. Every new movie happens to be a challenge, so it’s very difficult to recognize which was the toughest for me in my career. But the first challenge I faced was that of convincing my parents to accept my choice of acting as a profession; because at the initial stage my mother was totally against it, but as for my father we have had a very good understanding and he accepted my decision after praying for a good future for me and later my mother accepted with good wishes that followed back. The only question asked by my father was “Hadiza! Is that what you want to do?” and my answer was “yes”. My

Hadiza Aliyu dad said to me “Always remember that you are a Muslim and where ever you may find yourself to be a good ambassador of your religion as well as this family.” And they finally blessed me. Secondly, is my naivety during my first scene shooting; I was so scared and I keep telling myself “common girl you can do it” yet another part of me was telling me “respect yourself and walk out of this place.” And I later got myself composed. It was like this is what I have chosen for myself and why should I keep fretting over it? I gathered all the courage I could summoned and I did it. Do you produce or direct film? Hmmm… Movie production always goes to producers. You have recently unveiled your own personal website www. dandalina.com. What is the rationale behind that move? Dandali Na is a social networking services website not a personal site, which gives everyone the ability to connect and share contents in real time with their connections. Today, the connections between people increasingly happens online and I realized that there was a need for me to provide an avenue where everyone can get connected and which is why I came up with such an idea in collaboration with my partners. You share your common interest with others and that way we can educate one another. It is a way of telling the world that Kannywood and its backers are hard-working people and did not stop only on producing home videos. You see, we have to believe that this world is changing and dynamism of the world is what would compel every right thinking individual to follow the suit. People have been under rating the Hausa movie industry and the people behind it to the extent of terming us as parasites leaching on an already existing avenue. Of course, everything you need to start in this life someone has already started or done it. But I do believe that I can be committed to help in achieving my own personal goals and in a way that I can help the country’s economic progression. I am a person with a high principles and ethical behavior. I believe in basic human rights and allowing everyone’s to fulfill his desire. I always work hard to create opportunities for unemployed and economic development, both of which go hand in hand, not only to rely on producing movies. Do you think the website can become a workforce center? Dandalina.com is a limited liability company and has extensive experience staffs that are good in project management and business solutions. With our seasoned and experienced developers, we have the capabilities and expertise in the areas of communications and Information Technology. At dandalina.com, we perform as a

team to ensure that every project is accomplished with the optimum competence and blueprint. Our professional team consists of skilled and talented engineers with years of corporate ICT experience. We have a complete control over the quality of the services we provide to our site users. Our technical team uses a range of modern techniques to meet the needs of everyone on the site. Within the shortest possible time of our existence, we have mastered the ability to serve and protect the interest of our sites members and working towards providing an avenue for an ordinary Nigerian to work together to tackle unemployment issues as well as adding more value to the country’s economy. We cannot operate without workforce with whom we trust and work together as a team, building understanding of our job. The door is open for everyone to join us. Our current workforce exceeds 30 and still considering more that are interested to join. The working environment is taking shape; we are working together with our partners to put building blocks in place for many years to come. Apart from film making, which business do you engage in? You already asked similar question. Dandalina.com is another business as it is a separate entity on its own. So you can call an Internet entrepreneur which is another engagement. How did you find life in Kannywood since joining the industry? Interesting, endearing and adorable. Which advice would you give to your colleagues in the movie industry? Not all advices, however, are good. Some are outmoded, out of context, unworkable, even malevolent. At times, something which works for me might not work for others. But a further quality one must cultivate is to know when and how to ignore, reject, or fake fascinating terrible advice even when it is offered with the best intention. Who is your favourite fan? Fans may be those you know and who you do not know. They could also be around you or at a very far place. So choosing one of them means you are selective to those supporting your role as an actress. Moreover, everyone who watches my movies is my favourite. Which message do you have to your fans? Keep watching my movies and correct me via my page on www.dandalina. com whenever I am wrong. Which project are you currently working on in the film industry? A lot. Because there are so many on my coffee table which are being studied before coming to the stage. Thank you very much. You’re welcome

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Entertainment Flakes

With FUNSHO AKINWALE PHONE NO: 08051101191

Yoruba Movies Academy Awards to hold March 30

fter several controversies, the Yoruba Movies Academy Awards,is now set to hold on Sunday, March 30, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The award night will take place at the prestigious Civic Centre, Agodi, in Ibadan with a Yoruba drama kicking off in the evening. According to executive producer of the show, Tunde Laface, “All is now set to put a world class event after several disappointments from Oyo State Government because it was supposed to have been held”. The news of the event has generated excitement in the Yoruba movie industry as practitioners are looking forward to the day. A scene from a Yourba movie

Brandy indicates interest to sing with Tiwa Savage

merica songstress, Brandy has indicated interest to work with Nigerian singer, Tiwa Savage. The international super star expressed her desire while in Nigeria for a show recently. While addressing the press in Lagos, Brandy disclosed that she has admiration for Savage, adding that the Nigerian songstress has an amazing voice. Further, she said that she wouldn’t mind doing a song with Savage,who used to be a back- up singer for Mary J Blige, another popular American female music star. Savage returned to Nigeria few years ago after dumping her banking job in the United Kingdom to pursue her music in Nigeria. She is now a brand ambassador for Pepsi, Etisalat Nigeria and recently also for Forte Oil, which contrat she sealed few weeks ago. Savage is married to her manager, Tunji Balogun, better known as TeeBillz.

Clarion Chukwurah’s ‘Apaye’ premiered in Lagos

paye, a mother’s love movie, has been premiered in a ceremony that brought together the who is who in movie industry. The much anticipated block buster movie that re-launched Nollywood actress, Clarion Chukwurah’s face back to the movie world, was few days ago premiered in Lagos. The event, which was star-studded, saw several celebrities such as Kanayo O Kanayo, Bellinda Effah, who were casts in the film as well as Frank Edoho, Bobby Micheals, Susan Peters, Julius Agwu,Teco Benson, and Daniel K Daniel featuring. Others are Uduak Okumanam, Emem Isong, Desmond Elliot, Majid Micheal, Juliet Ibrahim and several others.

Justice Oputa flown abroad

Tiwa Savage

he ailing retired Judge of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Justice Chukwudife OputA, the father of the popular musician, Charles Oputa, famously known as Charly Boy, has been flown abroad. Oputa reportedly flown abroad last week, few days after he was hit by stroke that almost rendered him incapacitated. The family of the retired justice, it was learnt are still worried and devastated by the current development.

Justice Oputa

Chukurah

M-Net Africa MD,Biola Alabi resigns

labi was said to have resigned for some unknown reasons. Further checks have it that Alabi’s resignation is mired in controversy as its alleged that she was forced to resign. Her resignation,sources said has not been made public in other to ensure that the organization holds one of its biggest project,the 2014 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards. The is still a shock to many as the award ceremony holds this weekend.Alabi,who was at the forefront of the expansion AfricaMagic channels brand across the continent, is known to have been a major force behind the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards that debuted last year. Meanwhile, M-Net,it was learnt has named Wangi Mba-Uzokwu as its first Regional Director,West Africa. The CEO of M-Net Sub-Saharan Africa,Mrs Patricia Van Rooyen said Uzokwu’s appointment reflected the broadcaster’s rapid growth in West Africa.

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L etters

Nigerians skeptical about U.S.$20 billion forensic oil audit By Mark Caldwell

igerians were largely unimpressed by a pledge from President Goodluck Jonathan to order an international forensic audit into some $20 billion allegedly missing from petroleum sales. President Jonathan’s announcement of the audit addresses a crisis that has been simmering for several weeks Lamido Sanusi, who was ousted by Jonathan as central bank governor last month, said the money came from sales made between January 2012 and July 2013 by the state-owned Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that was not remitted to the treasury. It is unclear whether the revenue, being generated at a rate of more than $1 billion a month, was still being diverted. News of the audit came buried in a presidential statement attacking Lamido Sanusi. It insisted that his removal from his post as head of the central bank was not related to whistle blowing about what the statement termed “the phantom missing funds” Jonathan also denied Sanusi’s charges that the money has been diverted to fund campaigning for February 2015 elections. The statement also refutes Sanusi’s latest charges that the government was

WRITE TO US

Peoples Daily Weekend welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150 words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed to: The Editor, Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, 35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja. Email: opinion@peoplesdailyng.com adverts@peoplesdailyng.com pictures@peoplesdailyng.com contact@peoplesdailyng.com trying to bury the mystery of the missing petrodollars. Olaonipekun Adeyemi, founder of the Patriots for New Nigeria Initiative: “We are not going to keep quiet” “In keeping with its avowed commitment to full transparency, openness and accountability in governmental affairs, the Federal Government has authorized the engagement of reputable international firms for the recommended forensic audit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation accounts,” it said. Campaigning against corruption Nigerians were largely skeptical. Olaonipekun Adeyemi is the founder of

the Patriots for New Nigeria Initiative, an anti-corruption group. He told DW they were not going to “keep quiet” in spite of the investigation. They would be pressing ahead with a protest they were organizing. “We want to know the true situation with the twenty billion dollars missing money, what is happening.” he said. Another Nigerian, Abiodun Ayodele told DW in Lagos “It was a good thing that the president had already set up a probe.” But Ayodele also thought the government “will start something they will not be able to finish and at the end of the day everything will be swept under carpet.” When he was re-elected in 2011, Jonathan promised to fight corruption that keeps an elite fabulously wealthy while the majority of Africa’s most populous nation of some 170 million

people struggle to survive on less than $1 a day, according to U.N. statistics. President Goodluck Jonathan promised to fight corruption on being elected in 2011 But now Jonathan’s administration is seen as shielding the corrupt, most infamously by the pardon issued by the president last year of the ex-governor from his home state of Bayelsa, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, because he was “remorseful” after being convicted of moneylaundering. Alamieyeseigha’s properties and funds in the United States and Britain were seized as proceeds of corruption in recent years, and he had jumped bail from Britain in 2005. Previous investigations of billions in missing public funds have ended without resolution, with no one held to account and no money recovered. No one has been prosecuted for a fuel subsidy scam uncovered in 2012, in which some $17 billion was paid to companies for fuel that never was delivered. DW correspondent Sam Olukoya said Nigerians were getting increasingly frustrated about frequent reports of “public officers stealing huge sums of state funds.” Caldwell was sourced from allafrica.com

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PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

Opinion

Sanusi Lamido: My enemy, my friend, my hero and my whistle blower By Obinna Akukwe

anusi Lamido Sanusi, the suspended and victimized Nigeria’s apex bank chief is already my man of the year for 2013- he has oscillated from my enemy to my friend, my whistle-blower and my hero. In Nigeria where religious and tribal sentiments have beclouded our reasoning that we do not see anything good in someone from another tribe, religion, political party or ideological leaning, it is not surprising to close associates that I have failed to crucify Sanusi the manner the $20 billion dollar oil thieves and their ethnically and religiously brainwashed followers wanted. CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi Sanusi represents many things in Nigeria. In an earlier piece “Presidential Victimization of Sanusi and the treasonable theft of $20 billion dollars’, I posited that “To many persons, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi represents many things-To majority of Christians in Nigeria, he is a religious fundamentalist who wanted to impose Islamic Banking on the nation. To some Churches, he is the villain who ordered the freezing of the accounts on accounts of terrorism. To some indigenes of Southern parts of Nigeria, he is a suspected Boko Haram sponsor. To the Kano Citizens, he is the Best successor to the throne of the Emirship of Kano. To International investors, he restored confidence in the Nigerian economy. To stock brokers, he maintained stability in the stock exchange market. To business men, he controlled inflation and brought it to all time low in many years. To corrupt bankers, he is the demon who is worse than the EFCC, seeking to retrieve money that is not his father’s .To PDP

politicians; he is the Lucifer who wants to stop the accumulation of funds to prosecute the 2015 presidential elections. To financially aware depositors, he is the champion who ensured that every fund they deposited in any bank in Nigeria is always available on demand even at huge cost to national treasury”. Sanusi is my enemy because he donated CBN money to the tune of N100 million naira to victims of Boko Haram in Kano while abandoning that of other states especially from South East of Nigeria- he could have extended same to others. Sanusi is my enemy because while he was proposing his Islamic Bank (which I am not against), he should have given force to our proposals for a Christian Bank. Sanusi is my enemy because during his tenure as CBN chief, he reserved most plum jobs for his tribesmen to the detriment of other equally competent persons from the rest of the country. Sanusi is my enemy because he mischievously blocked bank accounts of many churches in Nigeria whilst seeking for sponsors of Boko Haram. Sanusi is however my friend because he dealt with monarchical bank chiefs who bled the Nigerian economy with sharp practices, enriching their pockets at the expense of genuine business credit administration. Sanusi is my friend because he frowned at the huge cost of maintaining government establishments especially the National Assembly while leaving little for capital development. Sanusi is my friend because he maintained the stability of the naira especially at the time thieving government officials at the federal and state levels are illegally transferring over $25 billion dollars annually at great cost to capital retention in the

economy. Sanusi is my friend because he used federal reserves to shore up bank reserves of distressed banks, thereby giving Nigerian depositors ultra-caste protection and restoring confidence in the banking system. Sanusi is my friend because while hiding the identity of certain religious leaders, he attacked their acts of aiding and abetting corrupt practices among the banking communities in Nigeria. Sanusi is my hero because led or (misled) the international community to believe that poverty is largely responsible for militancy in the north-thereby effectively drawing international sympathy to his northern brothers- something our Igbo politicians are too timid to do. Sanusi is my hero because he exposed the level of rot among the governors of South South region who stole their states blind and enriched banks and businesses in the US and Europe- while leaving their people in poverty. Sanusi is my whistle blower because he refused to be bribed, settled or intimidated into stomaching a monumental corruption that can cause $ 20 billion dollars (N3.6 trillion naira) to disappear in just eighteen months under his constitutional oversight. He sided with the Nigerian people instead of the looters. I have said it at different public forums that an Igbo man who used his influence to attract $ 1 billion dollars of national cake to develop the South East is far better than one who stole $ 10 billion dollars and reserved it for his family in a foreign bank. Sanusi’s intervention fund favored the north more than the south. He is better than other government officials who embezzled hundreds of billions for the benefits of their family while abandoning the rest of the north

in poverty. Sansusi in my view is not as bad as people tried to portray him. He has a rare courage lacking in most establishment critics. He understands the level of poverty of his people and knew what to do to help them, hence his Islamic Bank. However, the manner the bank was presented to the public was very offensive and attracted enemies. Sanusi was looking for sponsors of Boko Haram and asked banks to blocked accounts of some churches till they meet certain suspicious guidelines. I found that act irritating, thus when my fellow senior Christian clerics ordered me to rescue the situation, I carefully released a report on the issue causing the apex bank to refreeze churches accounts within 24 hours. Were Sanusi to be Igbo, with his abrasive adamancy, the entire world would have known that some blood thirsty Nigerians murdered 2 million Igbos unjustly, and probably the international community would have forced the Nigerian State to pay reparations in trillions of naira. Were he to be Igbo, probably a new Niger Bridge, Onitsha Sea Port and Umuahia International Airport would wither have been built or nearing completion stages. Sanusi occasionally exhibits official recklessness, which in itself could be irritating. However, his official recklessness equally saved the banking industry, stabilized the naira, reduced inflation and exposed monumental corruption. Let us see Sanusi through lens devoid of tribal sentiments or religious animosity and many could agree that Sanusi could be an enemy, a friend, a hero and a whistle blower all rolled into one. Obinna Akukwe profetobinna2@yahoo.com

Saraki committee and the alleged contract in Boko Haram enclave By Bamikole Omisore

he Senate Committee on the Environment and Ecology, on Monday, queried the Federal Ministry of Environment for paying N21m to a contractor who claimed that his firm was currently executing a construction project in the Bama community of Borno State. It therefore directed the leadership of the ministry to institute a probe into the issue and forward their findings to it before the 2014 budget they submitted would be approved. Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr. Taiye Haruna, had listed the Bama road construction which also included drainage work and erosion control as one of the 20 other constituency/intervention projects at different stages of execution and on which N1.4bn had been paid. He stated this when he represented his Minister, Mrs. Lawrencia Labaran-Mallam, when the senate committee led by the Chairman, Senator Bukola Saraki, went to the ministry headquarters in Abuja on oversight functions. Haruna had drawn the anger of members of the committee when he claimed that his ministry had effectively implemented all the 20 constituency/intervention projects under its supervision and reeled out the details. A member of the committee, Senator Boluwaji Kunlere, immediately drew the attention of the Permanent Secretary to the fact that there was no way any contractor could execute any project in Bama between July 2013 and now when the area had been fully

occupied by the Boko Haram insurgents. Kunlere, who is also a member of the Senate Committee on Security and Intelligence, alleged that the claims of the contractors were fraudulent because it was difficult for his team led by heavily armed military personnel, to gain access to the area when they went there on oversight functions within the same period. The Permanent Secretary referred the issue to a director in charge of the project who justified the N21m paid to the contractors when he said that convincing evidences including documents and pictures were presented to him. Haruna however told the committee that the N1.4bn appropriated to the ministry for constituency projects had been fully disbursed to the various contractors that handled them. He said his ministry generated N267m as Internal Generated Revenue last year, explained that given an enabling environment to operate, it could generate over N1bn as IGR. The committee members however expressed dissatisfaction over the presentation of Haruna and threatened to recommend zero allocation to the ministry if its officials failed to convince them that money appropriated were being effectively utilised. Vice Chairman of the committee, Senator Ben Ayade, also faulted the payment of N100m to the various consultancy firms hired by the ministry to carry out studies on its N3.7bn Great Green Wall project aimed at controlling desertification in some areas of the country. He said rather than spending the

whooping sum to buy information which was always available online, the ministry should have spent to execute physical projects like tree planting among others to check desert encroachment. Rounding off his committee’s observation, Saraki said, “The documents presented to us by the Permanent Secretary as completed projects was different from the reality on ground at the various project sites. “That further showed why it had taken you so long to reply our letters. This is given us serious concern and obviously, there is crisis, there is the issue of competency, commitment and seriousness. It has to change.” He observed that notwithstanding the fact that the ministry’s capital project was reduced from N12bn in 2012, to N9bn last year and further reduced to N6bn in 2014, the amount involved was still much. He noted that Nigerians were aware that projects in their constituencies were not being executed and they know that money are being released. He said, “I am not ready to put my name and signature in such document again this year except there is a change. This shows that it is either that we were deceiving them or there is a problem of fraudulent malpractice going on. “I think this ministry really needs to address all these issues. It is getting to that stage. We have gone through a number of projects today and its the same story. “There is a case of Borno state where any Nigerian would tell you that there is no access to the place, how then can a contractor now tell us that he is working there and deserve to

be paid N21m? “The Director in charge of the project said he stands by the payment and I hope that the ministry would investigate this case and make it as an example. It would be a miracle that in a place where the military cannot enter, a contractor has the capacity to go and work there. “That shows the problem we have been having with the ministry of the environment. Honestly, it is the right time we address these issues. I would not want to sign anything again that I know that the mechanism has not been put in place, to ensure that the money would be used for what it was designed for. “The ministry need to sit down and look at the mechanism otherwise, we will just turn this ministry to corruption incorporated when contractors will just believe that they can come here, do a project that they know nobody knows what is going on there and put up a certificate which he knows would be signed and collect his money. As a senate committee, we have been patient enough.” Saraki asked the ministry to design an institutional method that would ensure that when a project is 90 percent completed on paper, it will be so on site. Senators present were Senator Bukola Saraki, Senator Ben Ayade, Senator Aidoko, Senator Kunlere and Senator Gbenga Ashafa Bamikole Omisore SA Media to Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki

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Comments

Promoting security consciousness

By Moshood Isah

t is just the third month of the year and the activities that has irrigated the nation is to say the least, very enormous. Most notable is the activity of insurgents in the country and the recent counter response from the Nigerian security. Even the most cynical critics of the Nigerian armed forces will shower encomiums on the security’s recent accomplishments in cracking down on the insurgents, especially in the Northeastern parts of the country towards the borders with neighboring countries. The terrorists according to the Director, Defence Information (DDI), Major-General Chris Olukolade, were captured from their various camps in the fringes of Lake Chad by the Multi-National Joint Task Force and other locations around Dikwa, Cross Kauwa, Kukawa and Alargarmo. Recently reports have indicated that many terrorists have either been killed or arrested by a combined force of Nigerian security on a special operation that began raid of Sambisa forest, which is the insurgents’ camp in Borno State. The military has also been successful in continuous tactical offensive air raid on various camps of the insurgents like the Alagarno and Ajiri satellite camps. As a matter of fact,

a large chunk of the wounded terrorists are pleading for mercy and as such divulging relevant information with regard to the reminiscent of their forces. Even though it is believed that most of the camps of the insurgents have been disbanded following starvation and incessant bombardment, thus inability to fulfill their sinister mission, the security are not resting on their laurels in making sure that insurgency comes to a complete end. The herculean task of combating insurgency in the country may have diverted the mind of service chiefs and defence headquarters from other security issues in the country. The bloody clash between native Tivs and Fulani herdsmen in Benue State has assumed a phenomenal status with its occurrence gradually irrigating the whole state, leaving on its trail pools of blood of casualties on both sides. It all began in February 2011, where armed Fulani herdsmen, numbering between 200 and 500, sacked three districts in Gwer West Local Government Area of the state, with scores dead and about 20,000 people rendered homeless. According to media report, the operation was akin to invasion of the State by members of insurgents. Basically, it starts with a Fulani herdsman or herdsmen driving their cattle into crop farms to

graze. The farmers, in order to protect their crops, farms and livelihood, attack the Fulani or attempt to chase them away. The Fulani retaliate by opening fire or violently defending their cows by killing or maiming the farmers. The conflict escalates as the Fulani migrate from that scene to yet another. The lives that have been terminated as a result of what seem to be a trivial issue is increasing in geometric progression almost on a daily basis. These innocent lives also include a handful of security personnel. The killings in the region may not be as outrageous as insurgency but it is gradually going towards that direction, with the recent attack on Benue state Governor, Gabriel Suswam. In as much as the security are mandated to protect the citizens from criminals and is responsible for fighting crimes and terrorism, the role of citizens in

“

assisting the security agencies by being security conscious is inevitable at this period of our lives. We should always be security conscious. The recent radio jingle in some selected radio stations by I-Nigerian Renaissance initiative is a welcome development. The respective and relevant institutions and media should educate the populace on the need to be security conscious always. There is need to be vigilant and report any strange movement or development to the security agents. It is a known fact that, marauders take time to lay siege and do surveillance before they wreak havoc in our communities. The domiciles of that area have more responsibilities to identify a stranger or any strange objects within and around their environment and report such immediately to the relevant authorities. With the current security situation in the country, security

consciousness is not limited to only northeastern states but every state of the federation. This is due to the fact; the recent crackdown of insurgents in the northeast may force their relocation to other states and possible regrouping for their dastard activities. Security consciousness is not aimed at sending panic to the spines of populace but simply ginger the need for everyone to be alert at all time. There is also a new trend of threat in most states whereby undesirable elements lure children with small things like sweets or biscuits in order to kidnap them. Those are some of the reasons we have to be mindful of the people we entrust with our children. A stitch in time saves nine just as prevention is better than cure. Therefore we must all be security conscious. Moshood Isah Garki, Abuja. moshoodpm@gmail.com

Security consciousness is not aimed at sending panic to the spines of populace but simply ginger the need for everyone to be alert at all time.

Still on Confab of National Unity By Ada Stella Apiafi

he long-awaited National Conference is to be formally flagged, with its inauguration, and the swearing in of the NC delegates on Monday, 17th March 2014. Along with every well-meaning Nigerian, we should all welcome this crucial Conference that will, from all indications, not only chart a refreshingly “new” course for the continued sustenance of our dear country, but also emphasise the clarion call for UNITY – indeed, UNITY, far above all else remains our focus as a country. Since the Federal Government announced the composition of the membership of National Conference, there has been a flurry of comments and reactions from different sections of the country. Even with a few days to its inauguration, many are still debating the viability

of this venture, while others are squabbling about issues of composition. To be sure, Nigeria needs a serious Conference where representatives of the people will brainstorm over the future of the country, and arrive at an appropriate and sustainable blueprint for moving forward especially for the sake of our national growth. To our own minds at I-Nigerian, the main goal of the Conference is to address and find solutions to the key issues confronting Nigeria in the last 100 years – UNITY and NATIONAL INTEREST! Conference delegates, must appreciate their historic, and VERY critical role as they begin their deliberations on Monday. They have been charged with a huge responsibility to address the myriad of obstacles to our political, economic, social, cultural, religious growth and development; so that they can ulti-

mately come up with recommendations for a new constitution that will improve on current structures and systems of our polity. Whilst Sir Hugh Clifford, Governor-General of Nigeria between 1920 and 1931 had described Nigeria as “a collection of independent Native States, separated from one another by great distances, by differences of history and traditions and by ethnological, racial, tribal, political, social and religious barriers;” as a people, we have risen above that statement, and the diverse issues that have threatened our unity. Irrespective of how the welding of the various peoples that make up Nigeria came about, we have become complementary of one another. Despite our various challenges, we as a people, have managed to remain as one entity, and today we mark the 100 years of our Amalgamation. Not only should this count for

something, it should actually be the reference point all the NATIONAL Conference delegates; and in fact, should register in the minds that they have been mandated to come up with a modus that will ensure a lasting unity for this “diverse” set of people, and to suggest ways to purposefully address the challenges to our continued unity. Nigeria, we must all admit, is at a crossroads today, where the divergence in our voices seems to be getting louder, yet, the positivity in that divergence, is actually what we should be focusing on. We expect members of the Conference to deliberate upon all grievances from all sectors, sections, and sides, whether contained in Memoranda or Letter from singular individuals, or groups – at home and abroad. Nigerians are Nigerians, be they within or outside the country. We equally enjoin members to discuss and deliberate

on how to preserve the country in which Nigerians will have fulfilment of their hopes and aspirations as a unified people. Like every well-meaning Nigerian, we expect that this National Conference will put National Interest above all else in their deliberations, so that at the end of the exercise, they will rebuild and rebind this single sovereign entity called Nigeria. We need not remind them of course, that history stands in the “shadows,” ready to judge them, or applaud them for the great work they have done. Every deliberation, every argument and every agreement must be in the NATIONAL INTEREST. I-Nigerian joins all Nigerian in wishing them well, in all their deliberations Ada Stella Apiafi Cordinator I-Nigerian Initiative Abuja

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

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Online Comments

Why are Boko Haram fighters successful? Elisha says: They appear to be successful because they live among the people some of whom are sympathetic to their course. Well, at first it was the least concern because it seems they were up in arms against nonMuslim leaders. Another reason is that the press has been very unfair to armed forces by exaggerating any miscalculation which in normal warfare would be regarded as death from a friendly fire. There is a sense of despondency on the part of the Armed Forces because they are really feeling unappreciated. The fact, is so long as they are blamed for the death of civilians so long will they be despondent and less enthusiastic in war against the insurgents. The soldiers are also wary because of the fear of being taken to the International Criminal Court of Justice at The Hague by the very people they are fighting to protect. So they are demoralised and perhaps not fighting as soldiers should. Yes, these are some of the reasons why the hoodlums seem to be succeeding.

Bukola Saraki

Chibuike Amaechi

Gov. Wamakko the game at the confab. No, we can’t remain subservient. I suggest that the delegates from the North should stage a walk out if the interests of the region are not properly addressed.

Okonjo-Iweala alone and let her focus on the right thing? Aren’t they tired of attempting to cow her? Thank God, she is a very brave and intelligent woman and does not easily get bullied.

Fixing Nigeria’s moral deficit

2nd Peoples Media Confab: Jonathan institutionalized corruption – Amaechi

Garba says: It looks to me that some people will not air their views on national issues without finding a way to insult Madam Ngozi Okonj-Iweala. Na wa ooooo. Anyway, whatever one sow that’s what he or she will reap. We must not forget that whenever one points one finger at someone else the other four fingers point at the pointer himself.

This crop called corruption is doing just fine (II)

Hd Solo Beats says:

Adebola says: This piece is fulled of sentimental conclusions and baseless assumptions. Whilst it is true that corruption is a problem in Nigeria, it is wrong to make a culprit of everyone. The author’s comments about Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala are wrong. Her stance against corruption has been clear as ever; and her integrity has not waned at any point in time.

You made it appear really easy with your presentation. But I think majority will find this matter rather difficult to understand and I think I would never understand. How on earth can you so shamelessly declare that Jonathan institutionalised corruption when is right under your watch there is corruption in Rivers state. Besides, there had been corruption before now. It sort of feels too complicated. It doesn’t seem sincere and honest. It’s all about politics, is it? Please, let’s give consideration to real nation issues without moderating it with unnecessary politics and bias.

2015: APC to correct PDP’s wrongs – Wamakko

BOI MD, Oputu, in sit-tight drama

Aka Ikenga says: Amputated Politicians Congress (APC). Look the APC should focus more on issues than mere propaganda and cheap lies. Most members of APC were former members of the PDP and should in anyway exonerate themselves from the ills of the party.

Reps summon Minister, AGF, others over N29bn pension fund Freeman says: We know what these lawmakers are capable of doing. They have never been serious. Perhaps, they want a cut. That’s what usually happens each time they make such allegation. Well, we all know that they are all worked up for selfish purpose. It’s just motion without movement. Just shout to be heard while nothing really happens at the end. So, it’s activity without results. Will they ever leave Madam Ngozi

Funsho Ibrahim says: Your story on Evelyn Oputu of BOI is interesting. You need to cast your net wide if you don’t want to be selective. Meeks Ezeh, the DG of Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) has been there since the time of Olusegun Obasanjo and he is still there probably as DG emeritus. God save Nigeria

Kwara has nothing to show under JonathanSaraki Ibrahim Abdulwaheed says: Imagine, this Bukola Saraki self! He was governor for eight years and now senator for almost four years what did he do and has done to standout? No, he is only playing wicked politics. If he had given the people fish instead of hocks there won’t have been a stampede when he distributed bags of rice two months ago. Of course, politicians like him deployed sentiments: religion and tribe to scurry the people’s support. Shame to you Saraki! Nigerians need all the basic essentials for survival not blind and parochial politicking such as practised by Saraki.

Bala Mohammed

The North: A past in the future Aminu J. says: Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed has said it all. The North, as we used to know, has been battered. It needs redemption from its ‘leaders’. Half of what the region is going through cannot be tolerated by leaders in South-East, SouthSouth or South-West, because they would surely have rebelled against it. But up here in the North, anything goes because its leaders have succumbed to inducement, blackmail and docility. The people of the region have been reduced to orphans. We blame government for its cluelessness. But the major part of the blame goes to Northern leaders.

Confab: North rejects delegates’ composition Aminu Jibril says: The northern part of this country has been relegated to the background by Jonathan’s administration. And it is a deliberate attempt to make it a toothless bulldog when the confab takes off. But the submission of Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed at the Northern Elders Forum meeting held in Kano will suffice for Northern delegates to take a strong stand on several issues that will be raised at the confab. I believe the North has enough qualified technocrats and deft politicians to play

My aides deceived me, Bala Mohammed confesses

Dav. says: Lying by aides of key government functionaries is an open secret. Sadly, the key players in government hardly see through the lies. At last the scales were removed from the eyes of Senator Bala Mohammed, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister who openly confessed that his aides plus major directors in the mandate secretariat have been lying to him on various subjects. I say thank God for opening your eyes to see through the lies. Thank God that you now know that your directors have been feeding you with half truths and outright lies. It is important that you now realise how removed they are from you and your objectives. It is good that you now know that they don’t share your vision and mission and lack the gut to admit it and let you be. Of course, no one can pursue a vision that he neither have nor believe in. Your vision of making the FCT great is strange to them. They are better off with unnecessary bureaucracy, motion without movements, eye service and crass irresponsibility. That’s the civil servants for you. Okay, now that you have awaken to this reality, have you began searching for like minds, persons with the same mental acuity, consciousness and zest for public service and accountability? Being awake to the truth and yet doing nothing to change the system makes no sense. Kudos to you for owning up to the truth. I hope your colleagues at the FEC will come alive and reflect same in acts and poise.

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Politics

... Govt conspiring against Borno people ... Zannah Contd from Page 16 these people were killed during the fighting between the insurgents and the military. However, the insurgents came in and killed one officer who was selling alcohol in the city. It was at a beer palour which was abandoned by somebody and in affront the officer took over the beer palour and began to sell alcohol drinks. The members of Boko Haram from another village came and killed that man (officer), burnt the place and left, no one else was harmed. It happened at around 7.30pm and around 10 pm the military came, killed people indiscriminately and burnt down the place. We know all these that have taken place. If not for the recent attacks, I think the numbers of persons killed by the insurgents are minimal compared to that killed by the military, which sadly they always attributed to Boko Haram attacks. In the last six months, there have never been official killings of members of the Boko Haram. But there have been similar killings by the military, who would always put the blame on Boko Haram. ecently, some Northern elders said they were compiling records of killings and that they will drag the former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Ihejirika to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, how far is that going? Right now we are still investigating and compiling our records, because we are not very sure of the complicity of the retired general. If there is any complicity we shall exposed that when we are through with our investigation. In all of these, how are you personally affected? Do you remember when my house was raided by the military allegedly in search of incriminating documents? They said I was holding a Boko Haram officer or commander. Unfortunately for them, that man was not found in my residence but in somebody else’s residence yet the military came out and said that he was found in my house. After that, there have been other incidences and threat which I never disclosed to the public. I have been very worried because these incidences. Even top security personnel have warned me that I should be wary. I know I have been under the watch of certain security agencies. But have you related your case- repeated threat to your life- to the President of the Federal Republic, Goodluck Jonathan? No, I have not. How can I get access to Mr. President. I think with all that have happened in Borno and I as a sitting senator he is the one who is suppose to call me because I

have no access to him. With the threat, could that be the reason why you have stayed away from visiting your constituency? Exactly. Because I knew that my life was in danger, so I shied away from visiting my constituency until now that things are getting out of hands and I have to go to the higher authority to secure permission so that I will go and come back safely. How does your constituency cope with your absence? My constituency understood what I am going through and I have stood by them all these while, they have known my travails. So I told them it is not necessary for me to be there regularly since I am taking all the necessary pre-cautions to safeguard their lives. My physical presence is not all that important. There have been hue and cry over the alleged involvement of former Gov. Ali Bunu Sheriff in the Boko Haram crises, could you substantiate the degree or otherwise of his involvement? I really don’t know. But the first allegation we made was that when he was vying for governor in 2003 he went into alliance with Boko Haram and they supported him. He promised he was going to implement Sharia and when he could not implement Sharia they fell apart. So after falling apart he came after them in 2005 or 2006 alleging that they were a threat to his administration or whatever and formed a certain security outfit called Operation Flash. This was the genesis of the misunderstanding and eventually the insecurity in the state. And of recent, when the state of emergency was imposed, the vigilante group or what some people called the civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) were able to fish out the Boko Haram members within them and sent some of them into the bush, those they could catch they caught and handed them to the state security agencies and they were executed. When the security situation has calmed within the state capital, Sheriff wanted to go to Maiduguri in order to start his campaign but the civilian JTF said no, you had created

“

insecurity in the state; your presence is not needed in the state since you are involved in the whole affairs we don’t want you to be in Maiduguri. Some Army officers were aware of his involvement and the insecurity that could arise whenever he comes into Maiduguri and they backed the civilian JTF. So he felt that these people are a threat to his ambition so he got his way to transfer those officers out of Maiduguri. cried out that these officers were the pillars of peace in Borno, why transfer them out of the place? Please leave them, but the then Chief of Defence Staff was able to return them to Maiduguri but after some three weeks the then Chief of Army Staff sent a signal that they must report to wherever they had been posted to. We knew all these things were being engineered by Sheriff. So when these officers were redeployed out of Maiduguri that was when the security situation became worse than it used to be and it has given the Boko Haram a breathing space to get more people into their fold, which explains the recent upsurge in the activities of the insurgent group. Distinguished Senator, we have been told that this Boko Haram have external connections that some of them are based in Cameroon, Niger and Chad, are you looking at the possibility of government seeking to get them extradited? No, they are not Cameroonians or Nigerien or Chadians. Most of them are Nigerians who were given free access into Cameroon and were even allowed to stay in Cameroon. This was as a result of an agreement between the Cameroonian government, Chadian and Nigerian governments when five French men were kidnapped by the Boko Haram: that they (Boko Haram) will gain access into Cameroon and will not be arrested. So they have freedom in Cameroon, they can come out from and go back to Cameroon sometimes without fear of arrest. However, of recent, the Cameroonian government is now taking action to send them away. But even recently, let me tell you something personal. One of my inlaws that was staying in Cameroon was visited by members of Boko

I think the numbers of persons killed by the insurgents are minimal compared to that killed by the military, which sadly they always attributed to Boko Haram attacks.

Senator Ahmad Zannah Khalifa Haram and told that since he is learned in Islam ‘come and teach in our camp’. He refused and then they came with guns and forcefully took him into Nigeria. Two days later, they returned and arrested two of his sons insisting that their father wanted them. Then some three days later they came again to pick the wife and one of the daughters. Well, the wife pleaded that she needed to put some things together – that she needed to collect money from those indebted to her- that they should give her two days to finish that after which she would go with them. So she was able to run away and came and reported this to me just five days ago (last week). This is the level of the involvement of Cameroon. I cried over a year ago to the government, that why is the government not contacting the Cameroonian, Chadian, French authorities for assistance, since they have given free access to Boko Haram and these Boko Haram are coming to attack Nigeria and Nigerians. If these authorities refused to cooperate why can’t Nigeria complain to the international community at the United Nations? All these have not taken place. We have a feeling. Is there a conspiracy in what is happening in Borno? Is Nigeria also conspiring against Borno people? Some people coming from another country to attack your citizens and you are not complaining, what does it entails, what does it mean? So we are still investigating. What is your opinion on the way to resolve this imbroglio in the North East? Also, the Northern elders group led by Prof Ango Abdullahi has called for the prosecution of the former Army Chief, retired Gen. Ihijerika at The Hague, what’s your take and finally are you in PDP or APC? I am in PDP. I am a PDP senator and I am still in PDP. I haven’t defected. Secondly, on the prosecution of the former Army Chief that is left for the future. The allegation that Ihejirika will be taken to The Hague we are still gathering our evidences. Though we

have enough but we are still looking for more. At an appropriate time you will know. And the way out of the Boko Haram menace or how to tackle the problem of Boko Haram, I want the federal government to be serious. If the president is being misled by certain people, now let him be awake. Let him be serious about solving this problem because this involves human lives. You cannot play politics with human lives. He became president without dropping a single drop of blood. By allowing certain people to kill people will not bring him into power. This is playing with God’s favour and God will not favour that. Number two, if the Army are demoralized, if they are afraid of Boko Haram I want them to engage our young men who are willing to die in order to save their people. Even though they do follow the military into the bush sometime with bathroom slippers, without any protective ware, if you give them 15, 20 or 30 days training even just 1000 or 500 of them and let them go together with the military, they will wipe out the insurgents immediately and they will take only a month. I assure you. I have confidence in my constituents; let the federal government give us the benefit of doubt. his was exactly what happened in Sierra Leone. Recall that the Sierra-Leonian raiders were cutting the limps of our soldiers when we went for peace keeping but when the locals were involved and armed, they wiped them out within the shortest time. Something that took the military about two years without any head way but when the locals were involved they accomplished it within no time. I was told by someone should know, who could not even communicate with the Defence Headquarters at that time in spite of being given sufficient money for that purpose that they went to buy arms from off the shelve and gave them to the locals and the result was success for Sierra Leone. Let them not be afraid. We will return all the arms that will be given to the young men and we are ready to sign a guarantee to that effect.

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PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

News Extra

Nigerian author Adichie wins fiction prize

himamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “Americanah,” a novel about race and identity by the acclaimed Nigerian author, has won the National Book Critics Circle prize for fiction. Adichie, whose other works include “Half of a Yellow Sun,” was chosen over “The Goldfinch” author Donna Tartt and three other finalists. Sheri Fink’s book on Hurricane Katrina, “Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death In a Storm-Ravaged Hospital,” won for nonfiction. The biography winner was Leo Damrosch’s “Jonathan Swift: His Life and His World” and Amy Wilentz’s “Farewell, Fred Voodoo: A Letter from Haiti” received the autobiography prize. Other winners at Thursday’s ceremony in Manhattan included Frank Bidart’s “Metaphysical Dog” for poetry and Franco Moretti’s “Distant Reading” for criticism, with books by Jonathan Franzen and Janet Malcolm among the other nominees. The critics circle presented its inaugural award for a debut book of any genre, the John Leonard Prize, to Anthony Marra for his novel “A Constellation of Vital Phenomena.” John Leonard, who died in 2008, was a longtime reviewer, avid supporter of new writers and a founder of the critics circle. Rolando Hinojosa-Smith, an

Adichie influential Chicano author, teacher and translator, received a lifetime achievement prize. Katherine A.

Powers, whose criticism has appeared in the Washington Post among other publications, was given an honorary award

for “excellence in reviewing.” The NBCC was established in 1974 and has around 600 members.

Zuru Emirate: From Rafin Mose to modern boreholes

One of the boreholes in Zuru Emirate From Ahmed Idris, in Kebbi

uru Emirate Council is one of the three emirates in kebbi state. It is the emirate that has producesd prominent Nigerians, especially military Generals and others who held high positions in the Federal Civil Service. Zuru Emirate was created in 1976. It served as a divisional headquarters in

the then native authority under the Niger Province. The source of water then was open wells and a stream popularly called Rafin Mose which traverses some parts of the ancient town. There are two major water points which served as the sources of drinking water of the people for so long. However, government has tried its best in providing portable water in the area but all cannot be done by the government alone.

The government needs support either from individuals, NGOs and other agencies that could provide social amenities to the people. For instance, a philanthropist and the Managing Director, Assabur Global Resources Foundation, Alhaji Zubairu Abdulahi Turaki, Waziri Dabai has brought succour to the generality of the people of Zuru Emirate by reducing the suffering owing to scarcity of portable water,

assisting the youth by making them to be self employed, constructing islamic schools, building boreholes in the town and donating food items to the prison. Indeed, the issue of water scarcity in Zuru Emirate is grinding to a halt. Recently, when our correspondent visited some of the water and other projects of Zubiru Foundation, the Deputy Controller in charge of Zuru Prison, Mohammed A. Haruna, expressed thanks to the Assabur Global Resources Foundation for assisting the inmates with Food items and constructing two boreholes in the prison and also called on the Individuals, NGOs and Traditional rulers in the state to be visiting the prison to assist the inmates as Government cannot do it all. The controller who conducted our reporter round the prison said that the prison is not a place where people should neglect. He explained that Zubiru has touched the lives of the inmates by providing them with two boreholes, and also food items such as six bags of rice, G/corn, millet, salt and cloths every month. The DC further pointed out that Zubiru has also paid N300,000 for the release of over 17 prisoners whose cases were first offenders, such as fighting, stealing and others minor cases while he called on the well to do to emulate the same gesture made by Zubiru. People daily also visited Zuru Central Market where Zubairu also constructed boreholes and spoke with the chairman market cola note association, Alhaji Mohammed Ali thank the Foundation for providing them with water.

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Archive

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

Nigeria: History of rich past, diverse cultures

igeria, republic in western Africa, with a coast along the Atlantic Ocean on the Gulf of Guinea. Most of Nigeria consists of a low plateau cut by rivers, especially the Niger and its largest tributary, the Benue. The country takes its name from its chief river. Until 1991, the capital was the largest city, Lagos, on the southwestern coast; at that time, the city of Abuja, in the country’s interior, became capital. Nigeria is by far the most populated of Africa’s countries, with more than oneseventh of the continent’s people. The people belong to many different ethnic groups. These groups give the country a rich culture, but they also pose major challenges to nation building. Ethnic strife has plagued Nigeria since it gained independence in 1960. Nigeria has a federal form of government and is divided into 36 states and a federal capital territory. The country’s official name is the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Lagos, along the coast, is the largest city and the country’s economic and cultural center, but Abuja, a city in the interior planned and built during the 1970s and 1980s, is the capital. The government moved from Lagos to Abuja in 1991 in the hope of creating a national capital where none of the country’s ethnic groups would

be dominant. Nigeria long had an agricultural economy but now depends almost entirely on the production of petroleum, which lies in large reserves below the Niger Delta. While oil wealth has financed major investments in the country’s infrastructure, Nigeria remains among the world’s poorest countries in terms of per capita income. Oil revenues led the government to ignore agriculture, and Nigeria must now import farm products to feed its people. The area that is now Nigeria was home to ethnically based kingdoms and tribal communities before it became a European colony. In spite of European contact that began in the 16th century, these kingdoms and communities maintained their autonomy until the 19th century. The colonial era began in earnest in the late 19th century, when Britain consolidated its rule over Nigeria. In 1914 the British merged their northern and southern protectorates into a single state called the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Nigeria became independent of British rule in 1960. After independence Nigeria experienced frequent coups and long periods of autocratic military rule between 1966 and 1999, when a democratic civilian government was established.

Tin Mining in Nigeria Nigeria is an important source of tin, most of which the nation exports. Its major tin mines are located on the Jos Plateau in the center of the country. Thomas D.W. Friedmann/Photo Researchers, Inc.

Town Planning in Abuja, Nigeria Nigerian officials study plans for the city of Abuja, the new capital of Nigeria. Government agencies began moving into the city in the 1980s and it became the nation’s official capital in 1991. Mick Czaky/Hutchison Library

Young Wrestlers in Nigeria Wrestling is a favorite sporting and leisure-time activity among young Nigerians, although soccer and boxing rank as the most popular sports. Gordon Gahan/National Geographic Society

Ground Nut Piles, Nigeria Most crops in Nigeria are raised for domestic consumption rather than for export. Nuts are one of the few crops the country produces in sufficient quantity to export. Here, stacked sacks containing ground nuts await shipping. Moss J./Photo Researchers, Inc.

Fishing in the Gulf of Guinea A Nigerian family fishes from a green-and-gold painted boat near the Niger Delta town of Brass, which is situated on the Gulf of Guinea. M. Bertinrtti/Photo Researchers, Inc.

Textile Art in Oshogbo A woman dips cloth into a blue dye found only in Oshogbo, a town in southwestern Nigeria. Oshogbo is regarded as the cradle of Yoruba native art, and many artists live in the town, including internationally acclaimed batik masters who employ unusual dye-and-wax techniques. Betty Press/Woodfin Camp and Associates, Inc.

Argungu Festival Nigerians armed with nets and gourds dash into the Sokoto during the annual Argungu fishing festival. This festival is held each February or March, at harvest time, in the village of Argungu in northwestern Nigeria. About 5,000 people compete to catch the largest Nile perch, some of which weigh as much as 64 kilograms (141 pounds). Marcus Rose/Panos Pictures

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

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News

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

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Yola residents decry rising armed robbery despite emergency rule From Umar Dankano, Yola

ollowing the incessant armed robbery attacks in Yola and environs, residents said the Emergency Rule imposed is not functioning effectively as their lives and properties are not secured. The position of the residents came less than 48 hours after the Speaker of Federal House of Representatives Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal decried the lackluster performance of the emergency rule imposed on three north eastern states saying that it has woefully failed. Recently, the spate of Armed robbery in Yola and environs have escalated causing panic among residents of the area as the armed robbers seems to be having a

field day whenever they strike as they usually operate for hours unchallenged. The latest armed robbery which took place at Anguwar Magaji in the ancient city of Yola took residents by surprise as the point of the attack was less than 2000 meters from the major military checkpoint inYola. A resident of the area, Mallam Mohammed Ahmed said the armed robbers struck the area around 3:00am and operated for close to one and half hours without any help coming from the soldiers that are stationed a stone throw away from the area. Another resident who does not want his name in print said, when the armed robbers struck, they asked him to open his door or

risked being killed as they shot into the air. “When they came, they banged on my door and asked me to open the door or risked being killed forcing me to open the door as they robbed me of my valuable property” He said the armed robbers seem not to be in a hurry to leave as they seemed to have envisaged no challenge as the robbery lasted. Another victim of the armed robbery said when the armed robbers struck they forced the gate of his house open as they fired shots into the air and asked him to open the door to his parlor. “At the first instance, I was reluctant to open the door but when they threatened to kill me I have to open and they robbed me of my properties” he said.

He added that his brother was stabbed on the head when he tried to escape from the house as the armed robbers gained entrance into the compound. He expressed concern over the security lapse in the area despite the presence of a military checkpoint a stone throw from the area. Another victim of the armed robbery who simply identified himself as Mr. Abafara said the armed robbers entered about five houses, saying, “They came and ransacked everywhere in the house as they seemed not satisfied with the crumbs I gave them making them to be angry to the extent of beating up one of my daughter” Abafara said. The Yola incidence happened

less than 24 hours after some armed robbers struck Yolde Pate a suburb of Yola where they robbed residents of the area of valuable properties. All effort to speak with the Army Public Relations Officer, Captain Nuhu Jafaru proved abortive as he refuses to pick calls directed to his GSM line.

HIV/AIDS: OGHA pledges accelerated passage of anti–stigma bill

From James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta

R L-R: First Lady, Mrs. Patience Faka Jonathan, and First Lady of Serbia, Mrs. Dragica Nikolic, during an official visit by Mrs. Jonathan, yesterday to Montenegiro, in Serbia.

Zone 10 PPRO among 350 police officers promoted in Sokoto From Raji Bello, Sokoto

he Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in-charge of zone 10, Mr. Sanni Zuberu were among three senior officers promoted by the Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar. Assistant Inspector-General of Police in-charge of the zone, AIG Mamman Sule performed the decoration, where Zuberu and two others were elevated to the

rank of Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP). Others include eight inspectors who were promoted to the position of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) from the zone. In the same vein, no fewer than 339 policemen were promoted from the State Command. Speaking at the event, the State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Shaibu Gambo advised

those promoted to be diligent, rededicate and re-double in their new responsibilities. He urged the beneficiary officers to protect the news ranks and use it to dignified the image of the Police force. According to him, “Today, the Inspector General has shown and put it straight that welfare and motivation top his priority because we have not had high number of promotees at the past like this. We must commend our

IGP.” He said six officers were promoted to the position of Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), four DSP to Superintendent of Police (SP), five were elevated to Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP). Others include 80 Inspectors to ASPs, six Sergeants to Inspectors, 21 corporal to Sergeant ranks and 217 constables were elevated to the position of Corporal.

… 252 officers decorated with new ranks in Adamawa

From Umar Dankano, Yola

he nationwide promotions released by the police headquarters in Abuja recently, was received with high enthusiasm as 252 police officers of the Adamawa Police Command also benefitted. Addressing the newly promoted police officers, the Adamawa State Commissioner

of police, Mr A.J Abakasanga, yesterday charged them to be up and doing, as their elevations to the next ranks were based on merit, hard work and dedication to duty. According to him, the event was driven by the vision and mission agenda of the Inspector General of Police, one of which, he said was to engender an efficient, effective welfare for all officers for

and men of the force. Abakasanga, who decorated the officers of the command on behalf of the Inspector General of Police, IGP,MD Abubakar said the promotions cut across all ranks in the force and have proven to be deserving for the decoration through hard work. The CP charged the officers to live up to the expectations and the

confidence reposed in them by the IGP and the Nigerian society that found them worthy of the rare privilege, Among those promoted are 173 constables to corporals,10 corporals to sergeants,10 sergeants to Inspectors,48 Inspectors to Assistant Superintendents of police, three ASP to DSP, five DSP to SP, three SP to CSP.

eprieve will soon come the way of people living with HIV/AIDS in Ogun State as the State lawmakers have promised to expedite action and ensure the quick passage of the anti-stigma bill before them. Indication to this emerged yesterday at a public hearing held by the lawmakers in Abeokuta where they assured the people of their readiness to help put an end to all forms of discrimination as well as protect the rights of people living with the virus in the State. Speaking at the forum, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Suraj Adekunbi, who directed proceedings at the Stakeholders’ Forum on the House Bill NO. 33/OG/2013 said that when passed, the law would ensure prevention of all forms of stigmatization, protection and care for all persons living with and affected by the virus. Adekunbi, who was represented by the Chairman, House Committee on Health, Hon. Aina Akinpelu affirmed that when assented to by the State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, the law would further give hope and promote the selfesteem of the affected people. He assured that all inputs and submissions of various stakeholders at the forum would be taken and incorporated into the proposed bill. In his contribution, Commissioner for Health, Dr. Olaokun Soyinka underscored the need for a total behavioral change, highlighting that refusal to do away with behaviors that aggravate the spread of the virus had been a major challenge to the crusade to stop its spread. Soyinka assured that once the bill is passed and assented to by Governor Amosun, necessary machineries would be put in place to ensure strict enforcement. Speaking in the same vein, the Director of the State Agency for the Control of AIDS, Dr. Kehinde Fatungase expressed confidence that the bill would give succour to affected persons and curb the challenges of discrimination and stigmatization confronted them.

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PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

Inside Politics

Kogi APC shivers as Audu, Ocholi factions draw daggers By Adama Omale, Kogi

or a long time, there has been an uneasy calm in Kogi State All Progressives Congress (APC) over who should be the helmsman. But last week a chieftain of the party decided to go public over the simmering crisis rocking the party in state. Alhaji Abu Onaji, cried out to the national secretariat of his party in Abuja to urgently wade into the factional crisis tearing apart the prospect of the APC in Kogi State. Onaji, a former Director-General of Kogi State Radio Corporation told journalists in Lokoja that the continued pretense that there is no crisis in Kogi State APC is threatening its existence ahead of 2015 election. According to him, it is worrisome when some people still claim that there is no faction in the party, stressing that there are two existing factions headed by Prince Abubakar Audu and Barrister James Ocholi which is tearing the party apart if urgent steps were not taken to resolve the crisis. The concern over the lingering problem of leadership threatening the growth and stability of APC in the state is shared by many people including those of PDP members who are waiting to join APC in order to effect changes in the 2015 election. Onaji said “our members are worried because the national secretariat of the party appears to be turning a deaf ear to what is happening in the state where the two leaders are busy dividing the members. Investigation revels that there is indeed a division among party members who have lined up behind the two main politicians seen to be fighting for the soul of APC. This is unnecessary because a sitting governor is automatically the leader of the party in the state, and in the absence of a sitting governor, a senator takes over as the leader. But unfortunately, the inability of Senator Atai Aidoko Ali to assert himself as leader has compounded the leadership problem in the state. Senator Aidoko’s predicament is understandable although not acceptable to many people. Audu is his benefactor, and he would not join issues with him. He has indeed conceded his leadershipof the party as the most senior elected official to Audu. Senator Atai Aidoko should have promptly assumed the leadership of the party in the state. But unfortunately, he abdicated or surrendered his rightful leadership position to ex-governor Alhaji Abubakar Audu. He is seen not to have lived up to the expectation of the people who, in 2011 election, rose in his defence and elected him Senator because of the perceived injustice meted to him by ex-governor Ibrahim Idris who forced Alhaji Aidoko out of the race for House of Representatives and gave the ticket to his son, Mohammed Idris. The inability of Senator Aidoko to assert himself as leader of the party has therefore brought the problem of leadership in Kogi State. APC Senator Aidoko’s predicament is however, understandable but not acceptable to many people. This is because Alhaji Abubakar Audu is “his political god-father.” For example, when PDP leadership in the state refused him ticket to return to the House of Representatives in 2011, Alhaji Abubakar Audu, who had nurtured ANPP in Kogi State for 12 years before he left for ACN in 2011, manipulated the election process and brought Attai Aidoko into the then ANPP to replace Alhaji Hassan Enape who was already the Senatorial candidate of the party. Attai Aidoko eventually won the election through court decision and naturally he has remained grateful to Abubakar Audu. He therefore would not see himself trying to contest the leadership position of the party with his god-father now that they have found themselves in the same party (APC). Some school of thought believe that Alhaji Abubakar Audu has outlived his political usefulness. Some people seem to be tired of his alleged autocratic attitude and lifestyle.

Audu

Ocholi

They are suspicious of his unrepentant quest to seek for the governorship of the state and many people fear for his vindictive tendency more especially as he is only entitled to one more tenure. His perceived master-servant disposition is being resented by many people, who only expect him to encourage the young ones to take over leadership positions in the state. To several others however, Audu is a political icon who has little or no equivalent in Kogi state. They see him as someone who commands respect and has clout among the political elite and could turn things around. James Ocholi (SAN) whom Prince Abubakar Audu is believed to be in contention with for the APC leadership is seen by many people as a very courageous person. Many people believe he needs to do better and spend more of his time and money with his people at the grassroots in order to create more followership and a formidable structure. Some others see him as lacking in cognate experience and reach. They do not think he has the capacity to turn things around. hen confronted in an interview over the allegation that he was creating crisis for APC in Kogi State, James Ocholi said that he could not be the problem but an agent of solution to Kogi politics. In his words, “there is persistent clamour for change of leadership in the state. And most people are sufficiently aware that we cannot have the change we desire if we do not come together to chase PDP out of power. However, the basic truth is that we have passed the stage of arbitrariness in politics . I can bet with you that with the way Audu is handling people around him, nobody will like to vote for APC in the state and certainly he cannot win any election on his own in the state.” Mr Ocholi explained further that “when Prince Audu started calling meetings without informing him and many other party members, he drew the attention of members of the national and State Assemblies asking them how they could tackle the problem in Kogi State especially with the merger of opposition parties. Tinubu, Buhari and other national leaders were threading the path of merger experiment based on the zeal for national redemption of Nigeria. If we do and win at the presidential election and do not replicate it at the state level we will have problem in winning the next election in Kogi State”, he argued. “The people then decided three different party chairmen and their secretaries meet and call a meeting without me since they think Prince Audu is not happy with me representing the state at the national level. Prince Abubakar Audu sees me as using my position at the national level to gain political advantage over him for his governorship ambitions. “ I want to say openly that I did not lobby

for appointment into the merger committee, and I did not lobby to be appointed into NEC of APC. It came by the divine intervention of God. But each time I went round to brief members of the party on the developments of merger until APC came on ground, I never raised issue about what position I will take and I never campaigned on any issue. After the meeting with the national and state assembly members, they said that since Prince is negatively disposed towards me let the six of them midwife a meeting. They will choose those to attend and where to meet so that it will be independent of me in order to have unity. “They met without me and wrote to invite us for a meeting in Lokoja. At the meeting, about 500 people from all the local governments of the state attended comprising party Local Government chairmen, secretaries, youth leaders, women leaders etc. It was decided that we should start such regular meetings. It was also decided at that meeting that we should try to go and see Prince Audu in order to bring all groups together since he did not attend that particular meeting. Some people objected arguing that Prince Audu would not change, but I insisted that we give it a try so that history will judge us fairly. I told them that we should accept his leadership but to let him know that dictation from him should die in order for us to make progress.” owever, when Prince Abubukar heard of this he sent a message to his supporters in the defunct ACN not to attend further meetings with us. I called him and said that in ANPP, Senator Attai is the leader, in ACN he is the leader and in CPC, I am the leader. If he calls a meeting of three of us, he would have met the leadership of APC, after which each of us can go and mobilize our supporters for a big and better meeting in the interest of Kogi State. I asked him why would you call others and not me only for me to hear from other people. Whom are you treating as leader of defunct CPC? He then called the name of Alhaji Taware. I asked, who told you that Alhaji Taware is the leader of CPC in Kogi State? He said he thought he is the leader” I told him that there is no way we would not respect him as two times governor of Kogi State and secondly, I would not have contested with him as to who is the leader of APC in Kogi State. However you do not have the monopoly of knowledge about merger. Please brief me on any issue and carry me along so that we do not have division. And the one I know as NEC member I will brief you to carry you along. He told him, that I am not a politician because political meetings have no agenda. He stressed that he is an international politician and not a local politician. I said, what has local or international politics got

to do on this matter? In any case I know that all politics is local because it starts from the grassroots. During the last fasting period, I called him again and told him that we were coming to see him, so he gave us time and date in Abuja as venue. Three members from each of the three parties together with me met him. We told him how we respect him and that we cannot wish him away. Our coming to him was to demonstrate that we respect him as a statesman. However, we said he should allow all of us to partake in the running of affairs of this party because people are tired of the old style of dictation. You call a meeting, roll out what you want to discuss and then disperse the people. That is not good enough. Don’t underrate any party, but carry everybody along. Prince Audu surprised everybody and apologized that he was sorry and that it was the mistake of the head and not the mind. That he would carry everybody along and asked what we should do next. We said that his meeting with a select group should be put aside and our own group meetings will be put aside so that we can have one joint meeting henceforth. He said that was ok by him. We fixed the next meeting again in his house. Modality for attendance so that it will not be rowdy was agreed with ten each from the three defunct parties. Each party chairman was to bring 10 delegates and his CSO will ensure those on the list will be admitted for the meeting. But on the day of the meeting, people that were not on the list submitted by the chairmen but which Prince wanted to attend in order to spite me were allowed in. There were six of such people from CPC that were invited by Prince personally and were already seated before we arrived. My delegates were naturally angry and asked the chairman why those not on the list were already seated. He denied inviting them but Prince sad he brought them using his veto power as chairman of the meeting. Senator Attai supported him and I told him about Alhaji Hassan Enape who was having a running battle with him, pointing out that if I give him (Hassan Enape) instead of Senator Attai recognition, will he like it? In my opinion, why do you do to another person what you do not want to be done to you? At our first joint meeting he was creating this crisis. How would he want us to make progress? Why starting a meeting by positioning people against me as if we are fighting. But for peace to prevail, I swallowed my pride and remained for the meeting till the end. The second meeting after this experienced the same attitude and behavior from Prince even when attendance was increased from 10 to 20 each. I am at pains to say that there is lack of honesty, trust, fairness and equity in the attitude of Prince Abubakar towards building a strong and united APC in Kogi State. It will be recalled that after the 2011 Kogi State governorship election, the spokesman for Wada/Awoniyi campaign organization, Mr. Tunde Olusunle said that ACN lost because it miscalculated in the choice of its flag bearer. He wondered why ACN who claimed to be a progressive party decided to “impose a bourgeouis politician noted for his exclusive tendencies. According to Alhaji Abubakar Audu who lost gubernatorial bids in 2003, 2007, and 2008 to PDP candidates Idris Ibrahim in the re-run election was the wrong person to be considered to run again for 2011 election. r. George Olusola Olumoroti, a former ACN governorship aspirant said that PDP won the election and ACN lost because the coming of Abubakar Audu into ACN was welcomed with mixed feelings. The apprehension was that Audu was never a democrat because as soon as he joined the party everybody realized that he was coming in only with the aim of pursuing his selfish agenda of becoming the governor in order to vent his anger on those who frustrated his ambition to rule the state since 2003.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

PAGE 48

Business

Dunoma and the daunting task at FAAN

he musical chairs clanged into action again in the aviation industry on March 4, 2013 when President Goodluck Jonathan, in the name of “reorganization”, removed the heads of agencies under the aviation ministry the supervising minister of which, Ms. Stella Oduah, was swept away in a gale of scandals a month earlier. A statement from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, named those affected as the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. George Uriesi; Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nnamdi Udoh, and the Rector of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) Zaria, Mrs. Chinyere Kalu. At the FAAN, Sale Dunoma, an engineer cum

Engr Sale Dunoma, new MD of FAAN

administrator, replaces Uriesi, who spent only two and a half years of a minimum 4-yeartenure. He was appointed to that position in October 2011. His misfortune was that he served under the tempestuous tenure of an aviation minister which incidentally also saw the nation’s airports receive a major physical facelift and personnel behavioral change

.However, those positives were cancelled out by upheavals in the industry, including two fatal air crashes in the country on June 3, 2012 and October 3, 2013. The first involved a Dana Air aircraft which left Abuja and crashed in Lagos with over 163 people killed, while the second involved a flight operated by Associated Airlines which crashed few minutes after takeoff from the Lagos airport, killing 13 persons. Oduah courted controversy when she forced the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), headed by DirectorGeneral Fola C. Akinkuotu, now also removed, to buy for her two BBM bullet proof cars worth N255 million. Akinkuotu was confirmed in office by the Senate only last July. Besides the scandalous purchases, Oduah had a problem with her academic qualifications. The new helmsmen in the aviation industry, therefore,

are taking office under no illusions about the size of the responsibilities that they have taken on, none more acutely aware of this than the new FAAN managing director, Engr. Dunoma. This agency is basically concerned with security around the nation’s airports. Most of them are not fenced and animals have been known to stray onto their tarmacs when planes are taking off or landing. Fortunately, Dumona brings to his new job a vast wealth of experience and competency. The fact that he is an insider should be another plus for him. He came to FAAN first as a young and fresh university graduate in 1981 as a corps member under the compulsory one year of NYSC national service. On finishing, he was handed a pensionable job. He rose gradually up the hierarchy and the last position he held before last week’s changes catapulted him to the very top was as director of

special projects. Engr. Dunoma spoke with this reporter shortly after he received handover notes from his predecessor, Mr. Uriese. His “immediate challenge”, he explained, was to “ensure safety and security at all the nation’s airports”. He said that he intended to “tackle the challenge through the provision of required infrastructure and facilities at the appropriate places as well as to ensure strict adherence to global best practices”. With Nigeria becoming a major tourism destination and elections coming up in a year’s time when politicians will be crisscrossing the nation, many of them by air, Dunoma does have his work cut out. However, he can count on his vast experience, competency and inside knowledge, as I pointed out earlier, as well as highly motivated personnel and a President under pressure to deliver good results to see him through.

Nigeria to revamp coal mines to lure Indian firms

igeria’s moves to revamp its moribund coal mines may be aimed at attracting investment from Indian companies as, according to industry experts, Indian companies have shown their commitment in the coal mining sector in other parts of Africa. “That is the reason why the government has

gone far in creating the necessary conditions that would attract interested foreign companies,” said Richard Mordi, a mining engineer based in the country’s capital. Mordi is confident that if the plans to revamp the coal mines succeed, Nigeria may soon be attracting Indian companies that have showed interest in coal mining in other African

countries. According to the Indian high commission in Abuja, Nigeria has been one of the main sources of crude for India. “Nigeria is highly important for our energy security matters as we import around eight per cent to 12 per cent of our crude requirements from Nigeria,” a website posting of high states, adding that “in recent times, India has

become the largest importer of Nigerian crude”. This is why the Nigerian government is intent on changing the coal mining sector so that it would add other sectors to revive its ailing economy. With increased attention to coal mining in Nigeria and India’s Jindal Power and Steel’s move into coal mining, mainly in southern Africa, it may not

Shell suspends Nigerian Forcados oil exports

hell said on Friday it had suspended third party exports of Nigeria’s Forcardos grade of crude oil due to a leak in the pipeline which it is repairing. “The line was immediately shut down when we observed the leak on March 4,” the statement said. A spokesman said less than 15 barrels of oil had leaked. Traders had earlier

told Reuters the grade was subject to delays of at least a week, and that at least two cargoes due to load in March had yet to do so. Reuters interactive mapping showed vessels around the port had been waiting for days without loading at the Forcados oil terminal. Shipping data gathered by Reuters showed there

were six cargoes of Forcados oil due to load in March, representing 177,000 barrels per day. The first had been due to load on March 4 or 5 and was still waiting outside port, a traders said, making the delay at least a week. Nigerian oil has frequently been subject to oil theft from pipelines, pushing output well below target.

Diezani Allison Madueke

take long for the company’s attention to be turned to Nigeria. Jindal officials themselves have said that they wanted to entrench their foothold in Africa. The company is already mining coal South Africa, Mozambique and Botswana. In addition, it has copper, lime stone and iron ore mines in Zambia, Madagascar and Namibia.

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

Side Talk

PAGE 49

By Jacinta David

his week on side talk certain issues trail our concern. Indeed the battle field in Nigeria’s kind of democracy continues to increase in such light that side talk deems it necessary to bring the issues to our notice. The clash of the

titans for example within the military regiment in recent times could not go unnoticed by side talk. The popular saying that: “There is no smoke without fire” came clearly to play this week with the array of events at the helm of the Nigerian

military; side talk wonders why the newly appointed head of defense workers would for any reason be reported to have resigned. Also the latest development in Abuja where a group of Military men render innocent Nigerians

prisoners in their own homes, under the guise of performing road checks could not help catching the interest of side talk. More so the pace of killing that continues unabated in Nigeria’s Benue State and the other parts of North east

makes it worthwhile for side talk to look into the efficacy of Nigeria’s regimented troops and the possibility of this Giant of Africa and leader of the ECOWAS troop of soldiers to overcome this raging internal war in its fatherland.

road, one finds it difficult explaining what this people are actually doing to the ones they are supposed to put at ease. The report by our credible source has it that these officers actually held the whole area and neighboring environment within the Federal Capital Territory hostage by mounting a road block to stop and search vehicles in such manner that the entire roads became so impenetrable that the residents of the area cried out for fear of being rendered prisoners in their very homes. They said the road block rendered the place impenetrable for over 24 hours The entire scenario causes side talk to wonder whether these people really understand the true meaning of democracy and the actual role they are supposed to partake in the dispensation. This doesn’t mean that side talk does not consider their efforts relevant though; it is only worthy of note that side talk, like most Nigerians, cannot applaud the actions of a set of

people punishing the Nigerian masses in the name of helping them. The BH or the great ‘S’ of Nigeria, which is actually stronger?

the opportunity of the loosed defense mechanism to unleash terror on innocent children in schools. While Nigeria mourns the unexpected killing of these children, the array of similar killings of innocent lives in the middle beltan axis of Nigeria has continued to be on the increase. Side talk particularly finds interesting the fact that these set of ethnic killers in one of the Middle beltan States of the Federation decided to welcome the leader of this country into the territory with an unholy attack of innocent lives and a rampage that sends villagers in the area running for their dear lives. The attack which had gone on for some time catapulted to a whooping 103 total as the nation’s leader visits the domain of this people hunted by a set of foreign hunters in their domain. Side talk considers it necessary to remind the leaders of this country that if something is not done drastically, and soon to hunt these hunters, innocent lives, including theirs will persistently be hunted.

No smoke without fire

ur first story was inspired from the rumor that managed to make its way through almost every paper in the National dailies. In fact every paper that mattered had to prove its might by having that story on its front page. So did all the other important media outlets in the country. The story is none other than the rumor about the resignation of the leader of this country’s helms man at the defense quarters. This man was reputed to have resigned following a row between himself and members of the Military cabal. According to our source, the news became evidently true when the man absented himself at a vital meeting without any explanation to that effect either to the meeting or to the media. The report was however refuted when members of the. Nation’s leading spokes camp said the man had not resigned. The man himself was said to have stated that he has not resigned, as was speculated. But after proper analyses of the situation, side talk discovered that the story which in its actual form was not published without credible pointers to the issue, or traces of uncertainty, but as a statement of fact borne from a lineup of real happenings. Side talk therefore deems it necessary to ask Nigerians if there has ever been smoke without fire? Also where did the source of the story emanate from in the first instance? Side talk considers it particularly interesting that a clause existed in the story. Want to know what the case is? A member of the military cabal who had attended the meeting in which the helms man at his department was absent, had said and quote: ‘The Military would not be dictated to’ Therefore side talk seeks to find out who is the man in question referred to, who is dictating to who and what is the implication of the said dictation? Are we to expect another display of prowess in the

three women gossiping

shortest possible time, or is this minister’s denial really having the weight of oil, rather than that of water. Regimented guards or captors: which one? Our next story is equally captivating. Our military men are doing a fair duty to the nation and to us by protecting, in whatever manner, our lives from the hands of the evil men that have bedeviled Nigeria, especially in the Northern axis. But if the efforts of these people will render Nigerians prisoners in their own homes, then at side talk, we dare to ask what the trouble is worth? For those who know the Federal capital territory well enough, the traffic jam usually located in the old Nyanya road will remind one of a nightmare never best imagined. So when an occupant of one of the houses in the area where these men claim to be protecting likens the traffic jam experienced by the activity of the officers to one even worse than that of the old Nyanya

ur final story for the day still revolves around these officers. In fact the concern of side talk on this issue is the stench of mockery emanating from the confines of these ruthless killers of our time to those of the regimented warriors of Nigeria. Indeed the rate of killing perpetrated by the actors of terror in Nigeria despite repeated attempts by government to settle the mayhem has gradually led any rational Nigerian to conclude that these killers are more sovereign than the leaders of our country. only a few days ago, the president of the federation had asked for a relief of forces to pave way for talks with the set of human devourers with the group responding to such gestures from the Commander in Chief of Nigeria’s Armed Forces by deciding to seize

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Sports

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

FIFA U-17: Flamingoes begin hunt for diadem in Costa Rica Sunday

edigree and team preparation will be put to their real test from Sunday, March 16 when the national under-17 women football team, the Flamingoes, step out in Costa Rica. They will be stepping out for action at the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup which begins on Saturday, March 15, after having qualified without kicking any ball. South Sudan’s withdrawal from the African qualifiers had given the Flamingoes an automatic qualification for the competition’s fourth edition, for Nigeria’s fourth consecutive appearance since its inception in 2008. But that has since then raised fears about how the Flamingoes would fare on the world stage. Having identified the challenge such automatic qualification could pose to the team’s performance, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has since organised friendly matches to prepare the team. Their preparations started with three friendly matches against three female clubs playing in the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL), where they won one, drew one and lost one. They then went on to beat fellow qualifiers Ghana 5-1 on aggregate in a two-leg international friendly, before proceeding on a three-week training tour of Faro in Portugal. The Nigerian side also played some friendly matches in Portugal and travelled to Belgium to take on their Belgian counterparts, where they played a 0-0 draw. However, Nigeria’s pedigree at the event has much more helped to raise expectations about a better performance. Even though Nigeria failed to go beyond the first round at New Zealand 2008, it has gone on to finish better at Trinidad and Tobago 2010 and Azerbaijan 2012. The Flamingoes lost after penalty kicks in the quarter-finals at the two editions. But this time around, they look capable of going farther and

even surpassing what any other African team had ever done in this tournament, going by their group stage foes. They have been drawn in Group D with Mexico, Colombia and China PR and, judging from performances at previous editions, Nigeria has the richest pedigree among the Group D peers. Mexico have only ever qualified for the 2010 and 2012 editions of the competition, while Colombia qualified for the 2008 and 2012 editions. China PR will be having their second appearance with this Costa Rica outing, having previously qualified for only the 2012 edition. Going by the performance of the four countries in previous editions, only Nigeria has ever qualified for the quarter-finals stage in Azerbaijan 2012. The other three countries have always crashed out at the first round stage of the previous editions they featured in. Perhaps this is why Flamingoes’ players and officials are optimistic they can surpass Africa’s feat at the Women’s World Cup by winning the trophy. The team’s head coach, Bala Nikyu, is optimistic the team can get a better result than it did in 2012. “The team should get a better outcome than we did at the last edition in 2012 at Azerbaijan. The team spirit is high and we are ready for the World Cup and the only thing we ask for is good luck to succeed in Costa Rica,’’ Nikyu said. Assistant coach Ann Chiejine said the Golden Eaglets’ victory in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in November 2013 would even serve as a morale-booster to the team. ``The Golden Eaglets’ victory at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in the UAE has given the girls the confidence that they can do it too. So, the girls will put in everything they have. We have prepared enough, right from Nigeria where we played series of friendly matches.

Ogenyi-Onazi latches on the play during one of the Super Eagles’ matches “There is understanding and cohesion in the team and we are not going to leave any stone unturned and we will do our best. I think the girls are in high spirits and ready to go,’’ she said. They believe they can achieve like the Golden Eaglets did last October because of the way their team has been well built in all the game’s departments. With Chinwedu Ihezuo as a

record highest goal scorer in a single match, with five goals in Nigeria’s 11-0 victory over Azerbaijan in 2012, much is expected from the team. Ihezuo will be leading 20 others in a bid to replicate their male counterparts’ achievement. And with, Tessy Biahwo, Joy Bokiri and Aminat Yakubu who were at the 2012 edition also part of the team, the Flamingoes have

some experience to fall back on. But, their performance when they file out against China on Sunday, March 16 in their first match will be a determinant in how far they can go. Thereafter, they will go on to face Colombia on Wednesday, March 19 and Mexico on Sunday, March 23 in their last Group D match. Of course, anything can happen after this. (NAN)

Insecurity forces suspension of matches in Maiduguri By Patrick Andrew

he growing spates of insecurity in the North East have forced the League Management Company (LMC) to cancel the El Kanemi Sports Centre, the home of El kanemi Warriors, as venue for the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL). The LMC said matches originally meant to be played at the venue have moved to new venues meaning that Kano, El Kanemi’s alternative venue will play host to its matches until further notice. A statement on the league organisers’ website yesterday said the suspension was as a result of the current security challenges in the Borno capital. Peoples Daily Weekend Sports recalls that some clubs including Warri Wolves, Rangers and

few others had requested the LMC to relocate their matches with El Kanemi to safer venues because the spates of bombings by insurgents. “We are constrained to put on hold all league matches in Maiduguri, until further notice, due to latest security intelligence from the area,’’ the LMC statement said and included this weekend’s match between hosts El-Kanemi Warriors FC and Abia Warriors FC of Umuahia among the suspended matches. However, the LMC has assured participating clubs and other stakeholders that they were working to serve their best interests. ``Once again, we want to reassure clubs that decisions of the LMC at all times will be guided by the need to serve the greater good and (are) hinged on existing realities,” it said.

Nduka Irabor

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PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

Sports

Delta Queens in Jalingo to shock Taraba Queens By Albert Akota

elta Queens of Asaba lived up to expectations last weekend when they travelled to Jalingo to force the home team FC Taraba Queens to a goalless draw. The Asaba based team is expected to pick their first home win this weekend against a high flying Confluence Queens of Lokoja. But they would surely meet their march in the Captain Idris Wada propelled girls who are not ready to drop any point both home and away. FC Taraba will enjoy their second consecutive home match against Rivers Angels of Port Harcourt.

The match which is expected to be full of actions, will see the visitors unleashing the likes of Gloria Ofoegbu, Evelyn Nwabuoku, old war horse Stella Mbachu, Cecilia Nku on their host. Osun Babes of Osogbo would try to pick their pieces together after they narrowly lost to Pelican Stars last weekend. They would be home against Nasarawa Amazons who last weekend defeated the Adamawa Queens by two goals to nil. The Aregbe girls would have to contend with the likes of diminutive striker Recheal Okotete , Adejoke Ejalonibu, and Rachael Akpojofor. Bayelsa Queens would be at home for

Pelican Stars, while the Ibom Angels would travel to Benin City for a date with Edo Queens FC. The final match of the week would be in Fufore, Adamawa State where Adamawa Queens would play their home match against Sunshine Queens of Akure. This follows the clean sheet the League body gave to Adamawa Queens to resume hosting matches at home. According to the League Secretary, Isaac Ajisafe, the home FA has fulfilled all the security requirements needed for all the visiting teams.

World Cup: FIFA offers additional 284,597 tickets for sale

Coach of Delta Queen, Dan Evbumena

Fixtures

Adamawa Queens Vs Delta Queens Vs Edo Queens Vs Bayelsa Queens Vs Osun Babes Vs FC Taraba Vs

Sunshine Stars Confluence Queens Ibom Angels (Live on NTA) Pelican Stars Nasarawa Amazons Rivers Angels

KFN proposes refresher course for technical officials

he Karate Federation of Nigeria (KFN) said it would hold a compulsory comprehensive seminar on March 27, to update its officials on current trends in Karate. The KFN Secretary, Anthony Idaye, said that officials who did not take part in the seminar would not officiate in the KFN President’s Championships. The official said that the championships would hold at the Township Stadium, Ilorin, from March 26 to March 29. He said that knowledgeable resource persons would be invited for the one-day programme. “This is the first championships that we are holding this year

Fans FIFA has allocated 284,597 tickets for sale in the first 24 hours of the second period of the second sales phase ahead of its 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The second sales phase which started on Wednesday, March 12, was for 60 of the 64 matches. According to a statement by FIFA, Brazil remains the country with the most requests for tickets, with 207,649 tickets, followed by USA with 20,981 tickets. “Colombia has 5,901 tickets,

Australia 5,793, Argentina 4,648, England 4,262, Mexico 3,989, Chile 3,024, France 3,325 and Canada 2,891 for the top 10 countries on the list. “This sales period is expected to last until April 1,’’ the statement said. No tickets were, however, available yet for the Opening Match on June 12 in Sao Paulo and for the July 1 Final Match in Rio de Janeiro. In the same vein, tickets were

not yet made available for the two semi-finals in Belo Horizonte and Sao Paulo. According to the statement, all spectators, including children of all ages, must have a ticket to watch the games in the stadiums for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The 2014 World Cup will hold from June 12 to July 13 in 12 Brazilian cities, with Nigeria’s Super Eagles one of the 24 participating teams.

Athletes

and we must ensure hitch-free officiating, being the reason we are making the seminar imperative for officials. “We have also invited experienced instructors who will thoroughly educate officials on what is required from the karate athletes at the course, to avoid problem,’’ he said. Idaye said that participants would be examined on practical and theoretical aspects of the course, to ensure that they fully understood the issues discussed at the seminar. He said that letters had been dispatched to the technical officials concerned, ahead of the programme.

PAGE 52

Sports

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

Manchester United aim to dent Liverpool’s title hopes

iverpool’s Luis Suarez (left) and Manchester United’s Jonny Evans (right) battle for the ball Manchester United will be looking to dent Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes and boost their own top four ambitions when the teams meet at Old Trafford tomorrow. The Red Devils find themselves four positions and 11 points adrift of secondplaced Liverpool, who are seven points behind log leaders Chelsea but have a game in hand on the London club. United have found it difficult to accept that they will not be retaining the league title, a fate made even worse because arch rivals likes Manchester City and Liverpool are very much in contention for the prize, as Wayne Rooney begrudgingly admitted. “To see City doing well, and particularly Liverpool, is really difficult,” the England striker told club magazine Inside United. “It’s not nice when we know we are capable of being up there challenging and we haven’t been doing that this season. “However, it means we have to step up and get back up there because the feeling we’ve had this season is not a nice feeling at all to have. “We have to keep working, keep progressing and finish the season stronger. “As a group of players and a team we haven’t been good enough this season and we have to put that right. “After Sir Alex being here for 26 years, there was always going to be a change whoever came in and, in fairness, I think the players have to do better.” Rooney insists that United have not

Gareth Bale of Real Madrid

Barclays Premier League Hull City v Everton v Fulham v Southampton v Stoke City v Sunderland v Swansea City v Albion Aston Villa v Sunday Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur v

Manchester City Cardiff City Newcastle United Norwich City West Ham United Crystal Palace West Bromwich Chelsea Liverpool Arsenal

French Ligue 1

Liverpool’s Luis Suarez (left) and Manchester United’s Jonny Evans (right) battle for the ball given up hope of making the top four: 1-0 win. “Hopefully we can make the top four but, Sturridge and Luis Suarez have been if not, we will still come back firing for next in sensational form and United’s young season.” central defensive partnership of Chris When the teams met earlier this season Smalling and Phil Jones will have their at Anfield, an early goal from striker Daniel hands full in trying to tie them down. Sturridge was enough to hand Liverpool a

Real Madrid warn-up for Malaga trip R eal Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has referred today’s La Liga clash against Malaga as a cup final. The Whites are currently at the top of the La Liga standings with 67 points from 27 matches following last weekend’s 3-0 win over Levante. With the ‘Clasico’ against rivals Barcelona set to take place next weekend, Ancelotti says his side cannot afford to drop points at the Rosaleda Stadium on Saturday. “We have to keep going, we cannot relax, we have a cup final on Saturday,” he said. “Facing Barça with a four-point lead isn’t the same as facing them with just a one

Weekend Fixtures

or two-point lead.” Malaga is unbeaten in their last three league matches, the latest ending in a 2-0 win over Osasuna. The Anchovies are place 13th on the table with 29 points from 27 matches and fullback Vitorino Antunes says they need to do well at home to guarantee their safety. “I wouldn’t say we’re relaxed, but the atmosphere has definitely improved,” he told reporters. “The clash against Madrid will be a tough game, but we’re playing at our ground and we hope to achieve a positive result. Antunes will also be reunited with compatriots Cristiano Ronaldo, Pepe and

Fabio Coentrao, but he says he will only focus on the doing his best for Malaga. “I’ll most certainly give my all in this match,” he added. “We’re friends before and after the game, but there’s no such thing as friends on the pitch.”

Lille Ajaccio Evian Nice Rennes Sochaux

v v v v v v

Nantes Guingamp Valenciennes Bastia Toulouse Lorient

Sunday Montpellier Lyon Paris Saint Germain

v v v

Bordeaux Monaco St Etienne

German Bundesliga 1899 Hoffenheim v Borussia Dortmund v E/ Braunschweig v Hertha BSC v SV Werder Bremen v FC Bayern München v

1. FSV Mainz B/Mönchengladbach VfL Wolfsburg Hannover 96 VfB Stuttgart Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Sunday Hamburger SV Eintracht Frankfurt

v v

1. FC Nürnberg Sport-Club Freiburg

Spanish La Liga Levante

Celta de Vigo

Rayo Vallecano Málaga Atlético de Madrid

v v v

Almería Real Madrid Espanyol

Sunday Elche Barcelona Sevilla Real Sociedad

v v v v

Real Betis Osasuna Real Valladolid Valencia

Manchester City shift focus to title chase M anchester City’s Joleon Lescott appears dejected after their loss to Barcelona Fresh off their midweek elimination from the UEFA Champions League, Manchester City will look to bounce back against Hull City this afternoon. Manuel Pellegrini’s side’s fate in Europe was sealed with a kiss from the Spanish on Wednesday evening when they bowed out of the knockout stages in the competition. The Catalans were already in the driving seat after they claimed a 2-0 win at the Etihad, and only further added to their aggregate when they recorded a 2-1 win at the Camp Nou this week. The elimination comes just days after the Citizens’ shock FA Cup defeat to Championship side Wigan last weekend, and after having three competitions to contend with last week, they are now down to just one. City midfielder, Yaya Toure, felt that their UEFA Champions League result was

influenced by refereeing decisions but has called for an immediate refocus. “What could’ve been different? We had to have a good referee. If we had a good referee in both games I think things would’ve been fine. To be honest with you, we lost the game in the first leg,” he said after the match in Spain. “We will get out of this and we just have to focus on the Premier League and the next game, we will see what we can do.” Manuel Pellegrini’s men have far too much talent for anyone to take them lightly, even if their form away from their Etihad home is hardly sparkling. And with many taking the route that Hull City can relax and enjoy the visit of Manchester City as few people expect them to take any points from the game… that is when they will bite. Hull, meanwhile, will be extra buoyed by the fact that they booked their ticket to the semifinals of the FA Cup and Sone Aluko admits the squad is ‘buzzing’ with their triumph.

PAGE 53

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

Weekend Digest

Meet Jonathan, St Helena’s 182-year-old giant tortoise By Sally Kettle St Helena

ur world is full of weird and wonderful creatures, many of which amaze scientists and non-scientists, alike. But is it true that a living tortoise could have started its life in the first half of the 19th Century? Plantation House in St Helena sits proud amid gumwood trees alive with chirps and whistles. It is the official residence of Mark Capes, Governor of the British Overseas Territories in the South Atlantic. I have not come to see the governor, nor the large brown hillocks which dot the pristine lawns. It’s only when my guide Joe Hollis, the sole vet on the island, bangs on a large metal bowl, that all becomes clear. The hillocks rise and trot surprisingly swiftly towards us. Meet Jonathan, Myrtle and Fredrika, three of five giant tortoises who live on St Helena. Their shy friends David and Emma are hiding in the rough. “He is virtually blind from cataracts, has no sense of smell - but his hearing is good,” Joe tells me. At 182, Jonathan may be the oldest living land creature. Jonathan is a rare Seychelles Giant. His lawn-fellows hail from the Aldabra Atoll in the Indian Ocean. Aldabra Giants number about 100,000, but only one small breeding population of Seychelles tortoises exists. St Helena was born as a violent volcano, and along with Ascension and Tristan du Cunha in the South Atlantic, is famed for its isolation and close-knit society. Jamestown, its capital, became a centre of commerce for the East India Company in the 17th Century. Many victims of the slave trade - sick and dying - would spend their final hours on the shores of St Helena. And then there was Napoleon, in exile.

Its inhabitants, known as Saints, share this complex past, and ethnic traits of Africans, Americans, Europeans and Chinese. Nobody knows why Jonathan ended up in St Helena. During the 17th Century ships could contain hundreds of easilystacked tortoises, like a fast-food takeaway. In the Galapagos islands alone around 200,000 tortoises are thought to have been killed and eaten at this time. How did Jonathan avoid this fate? Maybe he became a curio for Hudson Janisch, governor in the 1880s. A photograph taken in 1882 shows Jonathan at his full size, and it can take 50 years to reach that physical maturity. The years since haven’t always been kind. Tourists would often do whatever it took to get “that” photo. Now, a viewing corridor runs along the bottom of the lawn to keep overzealous sightseers at bay. It was a huge privilege for me to get so up close and personal. He snaps for his food - bananas, cabbage and carrots - with some ferocity. Joe almost lost the end of his thumb and has resorted to wearing thick gloves. “He doesn’t mean to nip me,” he says, “he just finds it difficult to locate his food.” Tortoises scrape at the grass with their horny beaks, made from keratin, like nails. More on Jonathan • Seychelles giant tortoises can weigh up to 300kg (660 lbs) and grow to be 1.3m (4 ft) long • Jonathan’s life has spanned eight British monarchs from George IV to Elizabeth II, and 51 prime ministers • It is thought Jonathan was brought to St Helena from the Seychelles as a mature adult in 1882 • If it’s correct that he is 182

Jonathan, a Boer War prisoner, and a guard, around 1900

years old that would make him about 10 years too young to have met Napoleon, who died in 1821, even if he had spent his whole life on St Helena Blindness made it hard for Jonathan to find the right vegetation, and due to malnutrition Jonathan’s beak became blunt and soft, adding to his problems finding food. Now there’s a new feeding regime, in place where Joe delivers a bucket of fresh fruit and vegetables every Sunday morning. With this extra nutritional boost Jonathan’s skin now looks plump and feels supple. His beak has become a deadly weapon for anyone attempting to shove a carrot anywhere near his mouth. And he can belch. Tortoises may be slow but they are noisy, especially when they mate: “A noise like a loud harsh escape of steam from a giant battered old kettle, often rounded off with a deep oboe-like grunt.” Joe reassures me it’s another indicator of good health. Unfortunately, Jonathan’s trysts have not produced young thus far. Though giant tortoises like Jonathan can live up to 250 years, the community has already drafted a detailed plan for when he finally pops his shell - dubbed “Operation Go Slow”. It will ensure all runs smoothly when the inevitable happens, in fact his obituary has already been written. It has also been decided that stuffing Jonathan would be a rather morbid and outdated thing to do. Instead his shell will be preserved and will go on display in St Helena. The Saints would like to raise funds for a life-size bronze statue of him. When he goes, Jonathan will be mourned by friends and admirers on St Helena and around the world. But to me, he is also a symbol of a remote society, soldiering on in genuine isolation. Source: BBCNews.com

Thirty-three governors have come and gone since then, and nobody wants Jonathan to die on their watch. Mr Capes is certainly keen “that he should be treated with the respect, attention and care he surely deserves”.

Jonathan loves having his neck stroked. His head extends out from his shell to a surprising length.

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PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

Healthy Living

History of Dentistry

With

Dr. Samuel Omodele Awosolu 08108155239 (SMS only) samawosolu@yahoo.co.uk (Text only)

.W. Weinberger once said “A profession which is ignorant of its past experiences has lost a valuable asset for it has missed its best guide for the future” Dental decay has been found in historical periods on so many continents. It is with this knowledge in mind one can safely assume that toothache resulting from dental decay is as old of the human race, now no one should ask me if Adam suffered from toothache, the bible though has a number of references to the pain of toothache/broken teeth, The psalmist gives a vivid picture of this as he asks the Lord to break the teeth and jaws of his enemies. From the archaeological and historical point of view , the earliest evidence of dental activity was found in a document, the Ebers papyrus named after the discoverer, Professor Ebers in the 1800’s He was a celebrated Egyptian scholar. The document details dental practice from a period 3700 B.C to 1550 B.C, a span of close to 200 years. Similar documents have been discovered this time penned in Chinese language and detailed in the Canon of Medicine believed to have been authored about the same period 2700 B.C. by Huang-Ti, Who has been referred to as the yellow emperor of China. The book contains chapters on dentistry, diseases of the mouth and gums. There are other Chinese language documents and book that describe the cleft lip and its repair during the Ch’in dynasty. A period spanning 255 B.C. to 206B.C. Phoenicians and Eltrusians in the fifth and sixth centuries B.C. developed bridge work as a way of replacing natural teeth loss for one reason or the other using ligatures. Through civilisations various references to dental work and practice have been discovered, a few will be detailed below. THE GREEKS Hippocrates who lived in the period 460 B.C to 377 B.C. popularly referred to s the Father of Medicine , to whom the Hippocratic oath sworn by all newly qualified medical practitioners including dentists, compounded a dentifrice (tooth-paste) of some sort and a mouthwash. Another Greek Aristotle 384B.C

to 322B.C. made several references to the teeth in his writings, though a few of his views were quite strange and where later proved to be untrue. For example that men had more teeth than women, proved to be untrue during a period of history referred to as renaissance. THE ROMANS The Romans had a fine for any man who causes the tooth of another man to fall. The fine is 300 as, the roman coins used for a free man and for a slave it is 150 as. These fines as contained in the law of the twelve tables were considered to be heavy fines in the period , it does go to show that the Romans valued human teeth. Cornelus Celsus author of De Medicina which details medical and surgical science during the period made references to orthodontic practice now ortho dontic is a way to put right mal- aligned teeth (Malocclusion). This he said was achieved by finger pressure, in recent time’s orthodontics involves brackets and springs, literarily braces in simple terms. Claudius Galen another roman made remarks about nerves in the teeth, the teeth he wrote are furnished with nerves just like naked bones , they need to have sensibility so that the animal may avoid being injured or damaged by mechanical or physical agencies and because teeth are with the tongue and other parts of the mouth, they are designed for perception of various flavours. In the middle ages of history people like Scrapion, an Arabian physician was able to note accurately the number of roots of the tooth in the mouth. His opinion “The upper molar s have need for three roots in order to keep firm Inspite of its pendant position, whilst two roots alone are sufficient to keep the lower molars in place on account of the support they receive from the jaw” The first record of the scraping of teeth to remove calculus a process called scaling and polishing in modern times was detailed by Abukasis a Spaniard. Vesalius the founder of modern anatomy discredited several uncontested theories . He was able to similarly claim that teeth were arranged to articulate in a specific fashion what is

called occlusion today. Fauchard in 1728 published a book “Le chirurgien Dentiste” which translates literarily as the dental surgeon. This book is regarded as one of the most important ones in dental literature. John Hunter who excelled mainly as an English physician and a professor of surgery contributed immensely to dental science, He was a trained anatomist, reforming the classification of teeth into incisors, cuspids, bicuspids and molars. He went on to design several appliances used to straighten crooked or mal-aligned teeth. He practiced the complete removal of the pulp of a teeth today referred as root canal therapy.He crowned it all by publishing “The natural history of the teeth detailing the structure , development , form growth and diseases of the teeth”. Toothache was described by Ambrose Pare as the most atrocious pain that can torment man without being followed by death. Restorative dentistry and fillings had its share of developmental phases too, John Barker introduced the use of dental gold to be used as fillings in 1768. Paul revere had a lot of work in

prosthetic dentistry where Natural teeth lost or missing are replaced by artificial ones. The first college of dentistry in the world was founded in Baltimore in 1840 by Chaplin Harris. Dental amalgam used in dental fillings was introduced a s a silver dental amalgam paste in 1826 by G M Taveau in Paris. Prior to these period gold has been used almost exclusively for fillings in dentistry. The use of dental amalgam did not last long before problems came to fore as there were problems with the manipulation. In 1843 silver dental amalgam use was declared malpractice by the American Society of Dental Surgeons. It should be noted that silver dental amalgam is in use in dentistry today , it is safe and certified . The errors of previous formulations have since been corrected. Dental assistants were introduced to dentistry by a certain Edmund Kells .They were known as the first lady in attendance, prior to this period it was difficult for ladies to attend the dental surgery without their husband or escort. This is something surprisingly having vestiges in some middle eastern communities where women cannot be attended to by a male doctor etc or the northern part of Nigerian in which some communities do not allow the women to attend the clinic alone without an escort or receive treatment most especially surgery without their husband or even receive family planning without the consent of the husband there are many ramifications to this , Some fatalities have resulted from Caesarean sections not being carried out as the husband was not around or the Jehovah witnesses refusing to have blood and blood products transfusions. Some would not allow tooth extraction without the consent of the husband , for a minor the consent of the parent may be understandable for surgery but for a medically and healthy adult I believe they can give self consent.

From readers

Dear Dr Awosolu I am very happy to read your column regularly. The oral health column is a welcome development. We generally care very little about our teeth. My problem doctor is I need help; I have thick saliva that is disturbing me greatly. The doctors and the dentists I have seen have not been able to offer any solution to it. Please advise me, I am eighty one years old. Olajide Akure. Dear Pa Olajide, I must first complement you for still taking time at your matured age of eighty one to read the column. This should be something our younger people should do, I mean read seek useful knowledge not block their ears with loud music all the time or sag their trousers and argue about football from other land. A lot of whom neither read write nor study and when they do they write text slangs like ur for your, I mean the sms, short messenger service messages seen in text messages. Now to the problem, from the description you have given me you could be having either mostly thick saliva. Saliva is produced by the glands in the head and neck. They are described as Major namely the Parotid, Sub-mandibular,

There have been a lot of developments and machinery and inventions through dentistry a few are mentioned below DENTAL ENGINE The development of the dental engine made the process of creating cavities for fillings to treat tooth decay less arduous , it also enhanced dentist ability to work quickly and treat dental caries. COHESIVE GOLD The introduction of cohesive gold to dentistry greatly enhanced the use of gold in tooth fillings it was introduced Robert A Arthur of Philadelphia in the USA. This led to use of dental inlays and gold crowns. X RAYS Cathode rays were discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen X rays have been applied to dentistry and indeed into general medicine ever since ANAESTHESIA Introduced to dentistry by Horace Wells in 1844 , the main use was pain relief from the process of tooth extraction. Ether was introduced as an anaesthetic by William T G Morton firstly in dentistry and later to supplement surgical operations. There is no need to be a genius to think of the excruciating pain in dental work prior to these period, as the old fable went , the tooth was tied to the door knob and pulled for extractions. Similarly one would wonder how amputations were done in those period where the practice of loss of blood from trepanation was accepted, to trepan a hole is made into the skull and blood let out to “cure” psychosis. This article will not be complete without a few words about dentistry development in Africa and Nigeria that will be done in due course see you next week

Sub-lingual salivary glands. There are several hundred minor saliva glands scattered all over the mouth , lips, cheek and the soft palate. The type of saliva produced depends on the kind of foods. Dr Mouth may also be a result of symptoms or pathology hence a sign or symptom, It could be a result of some drugs being used. Some people complain of dry mouth and in reality have sufficient saliva. When there is dry mouth there is a higher likelihood of infection and dental caries (tooth decay). On the other Hand production of a lot of saliva is known as siallorrhea, it is characterised by drooling of saliva at the corner of the mouth , and these are usually due to inflammatory conditions. Do you wear dentures, artificial teeth. Sometimes neurological disorders may inhibit swallowing. Rabies is another rare cause , Mercury poisoning is another. The repositioning of the ducts of the major salivary glands may be necessary. Foods that lead to the production of thick saliva may be avoided , is there a possibility to see an oral health specialist at your nearest federal medical centre or teaching hospital See you next week

PEOPLES DAILY Weekend, Saturday 15,- sunday 16, march, 2014

Page 55

Becoming a habitual thanksgiver (III)

lory be to God! I’m so pleased to bring you the concluding part of this message. In case you missed the previous parts, you may ask your vendor for the copies or access them online. The emphasis of this message is that thanksgiving should not be something you do towards the end of December or whenever something you consider important has happened to you. It is something you should do as a lifestyle. It should not be something that you need your pastor or another person to encourage or persuade you to do; it should be something you do voluntarily with excitement, with enthusiasm because you are a good thinker who appreciates all that God has done for you. Grumblers don’t thank God; they are complainers. Don’t be an ungrateful child of God. In the last edition, I started highlighting the importance of thanksgiving. Let me talk more on this as I round off this message today. • Thanksgiving provides an avenue for you to honour God. Thanksgiving brings honour to God. “But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.” (Ps 50:23 NLT) So make sure you honour God regularly by offering sacrifice of thanksgiving to God. And you can rest assured that if you honour Him, He will honour you. “But I will honor only those who honor me, and I will despise those who despise me.” (1 Sam 2:30 NLT) • It shows your continuous dependence on God. It is a proof that you’re not living independent of Him; you acknowledge that it is He that has given you power to get wealth. (Deut 8:18) And you know without Him you

are nothing and you can do nothing. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5 NKJV) One who is dependent on God gives thanks to Him often. • Through thanksgiving, you bring more and more glory to God. Great thanksgiving from those who come to God will bring more and more glory to Him. “All of these things are for your benefit. And as God’s grace brings more and more people to Christ, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.” (2 Cor 4:15 NLT) Ensure that you don’t deny God the glory that is due to him because He expects you to give glory to Him. “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.” (Rev 4:11 NLT) When one of the ten lepers Jesus healed saw that he was healed, the Bible says, he returned, “And with a loud voice glorified God.” (Luke 17:15 NKJV) When last you return to give thanks to God? Let your thanksgiving bring glory, and more glory to God too every day. • Thanksgiving is good and giving thanks makes you align yourself with the will of God. When you give thanks to God habitually, you`re doing what is good. Ps 92:1 says, “It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to the Most High.” (NLT) And when you offer thanks to God, you’re in His will. “No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1Thess 5:18 NLT) God loves thanksgiving that’s why Jesus asked for the remaining ungrateful nine lepers. “Jesus asked,

‘Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?’” (NLT) Those nine lepers were outside the will of God. Be in the will of God - offer Him thanksgiving habitually. • Thanksgiving is a catalyst for divine multiplication and honour ¬- a trigger for God’s blessings. Jer 30:19 says, “Then out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of those who make merry; I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.” (NKJV) When you give thanks to God and make merry in His presence, God says, “I will make them increase and not diminish them. I will make them honoured and not disdained.” (Jerusalem Bible) That means a habitual thanksgiver will never decrease; he will always increase. He won’t know demotion; he will experience promotion. So instead of worrying and grumbling about a negative condition, keep giving thanks to God, and from where you are, God will multiply you just as He multiply those loaves of bread and fishes that Jesus after giving thanks used to feed no fewer than 5,000 and 4,000 people each on two occasions; God will bless you abundantly. Choose to be a habitual thanksgiver, and not an unrepentant grumbler. Your life will improve tremendously as you give thanks to God regularly. • Thanksgiving is good for your health. This should excite you because good health is a great asset, and everybody I know cherishes good health. I read about the research of Prof Robert Emmons on gratitude, and I liked it. Prof Robert Emmons, described as the world leading scientific expert on gratitude says that studies have shown

From the Pulpit green pastures By Pastor T. O. Banso

cedarministryintl@yahoo.com GSM: 08033113523 that gratitude is good for our bodies, our minds and our relationships. Prof Emmons who had been studying the effect of gratitude on physical health, psychological well being and relationship with others have studied more than one thousand people from ages 8 to 80. The results have shown a lot of physical, psychological and social benefits. The physical benefits enjoyed by those who show gratitude include having stronger immune system, being less bothered by aches and pains, having low blood pressure, exercising more and taking better care of their health and sleeping longer and feeling more infected upon walking. The psychological benefits are: they enjoy higher levels of positive emotions, are more alert, alive and awake, have more joy and pleasure and enjoy more optimism and happiness. The social benefits of gratitude the studies have shown are that grateful people are more helpful, generous and compassionate, more forgiving, more outgoing and feel less lonely and isolated. I believe that the health benefits to habitual thanksgiver will even be higher when the gratitude is towards The Almighty God and not just man. He is the Great Healer; the Lord that heals His children. God will always give more back to us when we give to Him. Having read this message thus far, I believe that you have decided to cultivate the habit of giving thanks to God everyday and every time; let His

praise be continually in your mouth. TAKE ACTION! If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus. I urge you to take the following steps:*Admit you’re a sinner and you can’t save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start to attend a Bible-believing, Bible -teaching church. There you will be taught how to grow in the Kingdom of God. Kindly say this prayer now: “0 Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and surrender my life to him today. I invite Jesus into my heart today. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you Jesus for saving me and making me a child of God” I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible believing, Bible teaching church in your area where you will be taught how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things becoming all God wants you to be.

Divine intervention after disciples’ intercession Acts 12:1-25

he enemy’s opposition against the spread of God’s saving truth was resumed by Herod. He stretched forth his hands to vex the Church. He intended to pursue the violent, intense, severe persecution of the Church to “please the Jews”. What would please the Jews and please the Herods at the same time? “That it (the message of salvation through Christ) spread no further among the people” (Acts 4:17). That they “speak not at all nor teach in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:18). That the Apostles “should not teach in this name” nor fill “Jerusalem with (His) doctrine” (Acts 5:28). “That this Jesus of Nazareth” should not “change the customs which Moses delivered” them (Acts 6:14). That Jesus be not proclaimed as Saviour and Lord of all (Acts 9:29). Herod, in pleasing the Jews and pleasing himself, displeased God. “He killed James and proceeded

further to take Peter also.” His plan was to eliminate the Apostles so he could destroy the Church. He began by destroying “the pillars” so he could demolish “the temple”. He imprisoned Peter, intending to execute him later. The Church prayed fervently and without ceasing. God delivered Peter miraculously by angelic visitation and ministration. Herod, because of his sin and pride was smitten dead by the angel of the Lord and the Word of God has continued to grow and multiply until this day. 1. SEVERE PERSECUTION AND PLOT AGAINST THE PIONEERS Acts 12:1-4; John 15:18-20; 16:1-4; Mark 10:35-40; Galatians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:4-6; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 21:12,16-19,34-36; Proverbs 19:21; 21:30; Isaiah 14:24,27; 46:9,10. “Now about that time”, the time of the predicted famine, when Barnabas and Saul took “relief to Jerusalem” (Acts 11:29). “Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex”, that is, to

By Pastor W.F Kumuyi

oppress and persecute the leaders in the Church. James, Peter and John were pillars in the Church. The Apostles were the foundation on which the visible Church was built (Galatians 2:9; Ephesians 2:20). To discourage, disorganize and destroy the Church, Herod focused his attention on the pillars and pioneers – to afflict, injure and even kill them. He began by suddenly killing James, the brother of John. The incident was not surprising or shocking to the early Church that James, one of the two

sons of Zebedee, became the first martyred Apostle. It was the fulfilment of Christ’s prediction and the Apostle’s commitment. “Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” “We can.” “Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized.” Neither Herod nor any other persecutor could go beyond whatsoever Christ’s “counsel determined before to be done” (Acts 4:28).

“And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also.” His actions were not based on the principle of righteousness or justice. As a king or ruler, he was not committed to ‘upholding the constitution’, protecting the innocent, preventing evil and punishing evil-doers. The promotion of his own popularity was the motive of his actions. Herod sacrificed his soul and his eternal happiness to keep a temporary position of no lasting value. Oh, how foolish! How many monarchs and political figures there are, how many people there are, who throw their souls to hell, who sell themselves to Satan, living only and always to please men in order to earn and secure popularity. Peter was Herod’s next object of attack. He took him, apprehended and imprisoned him, intending to kill him after the Passover of the Jews. That was the end of Herod’s evil ambition. Soon after this, he perished without seeing his desires fulfilled.

BIG PUNCH The proceedings, conclusions and recommendations of the confab are designed to achieve goals that will compound the nation’s problems, and they will not be accepted by the people of the North. —The Northern Elders Forum

Peoples Daily WEEKEND, SATURDAY — SUNDAY, MARCH 15-16, 2014

Will Nigeria disintegrate?

igeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, will on Monday, March 17, 2014, inaugurate the 492-member National Conference whose task is to redefine “the way forward for our nation”. The initial antipathy to the conference, it seems, has given way to cautious optimism. Of course, there are still people who do not see the opportunity this conference offers. And on the other side, those opposed to the conference because it was convoked by the Jonathan administration. Their grouse is two-pronged: they do not “trust” President Jonathan; and then there is the other matter of a presidential election due early next year. I understand the concern about the general elections of 2015. If we dismiss those hankering after election because of selfish reasons, the reality is that – for those who genuinely believe in changing Nigeria – nobody can “fix” Nigeria the way it is presently structured. Our concern, therefore, should go deeper. We can’t, for example, be fixated on an election – knowing that President Jonathan appointed the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC – and at the same time dismiss the “Jonathan National Conference”. For those who can’t see the forest for the trees, this conference can’t be about President Goodluck Jonathan. Whether called by President Jonathan or not, a national conference to negotiate Nigeria has always been a historical imperative. Luckily, we are going to sit down to talk not because the country has descended into a full-blown civil war. Make no mistake, this conference is not the cure-all for our problems; just as a Sovereign National Conference is not a silver bullet. Of course, nobody (not even the organisers) can say for certain how this conference is going to end. Nobody goes into a conference of this nature – with a surfeit of tension, anger and bitterness – knowing for certain how it is going to turn out. It may well signal the beginning of the end of what is today known as Nigeria. Personally, I think in the year of our centenary, when the crisis of identity and nationhood is at its zenith, nothing can be more comforting, even rewarding, than a “peaceful” gathering of the “nationalities” and other stakeholders in Nigeria. It seems the logical thing to do when a country finds itself on the brink. This conference offers us a great opportunity. Perhaps, it will help us come to the realization that “Nationbuilding,” as Chidi Odinkalu noted in the preface to the book, Nigeria is Negotiable, “is not a project for the faint-hearted or for those with a short memory.” It may also show

that Nigeria was not meant to be. Not many countries have a second, much less a third or fourth chance to get it right. After 100 years, it is time we stopped seeing ourselves as Yorubas, Igbos, Hausas, Ijaws, Efiks, Ibibios, Fulanis, Tivs and everything in between. It is time we began seeing ourselves as Nigerians. Nigeria has been run as a unitary state since 1966. Clearly, it has had its debilitating effect; but it has also served, to a great extent, in blurring the country’s ethnic fault line while exacerbating the contradiction between social classes. What we have seen is the emergence of “civic nationalities” in places where “ethnic nationalities” once thrived. For example, in the last four decades, the wealth of the Niger Delta has been used to “develop” different parts of the country and has also enriched individuals stupendously across the length and breadth of the country. I am a Nigerian first and foremost. My birth in this geo-political space should confer on me that identity. I am a Nigerian – unless that geopolitical identity changes tomorrow – before I am Igbo or a Christian. My parents are from Imo State in southeast Nigeria. I wasn’t born there. I didn’t grow up there. I live and work in Abuja and I am married to a lovely woman from Ogun State in southwest Nigeria. et, I have to “claim” Imo State because in the crazy world of Nigeria your “state of origin” confers on you certain privileges and opportunities depending on what you are looking for and where you find yourself. I am sure there are millions of Nigerians who share my unease; millions like me who want, to paraphrase Martin Luther King, Jr., to live in a Nigeria where citizens will not be judged by their ethnicity, “state of origin” or what religion they profess, but by the content of their character. That is why we should go to this conference leaving behind our ethno-religious baggage. Agreed that the “building blocks” of Nigeria in 1914 were “ethnic nationalities”, Nigeria of 2014 is no longer the sum total of its “ethnic nationalities”. If we were having this conversation at independence in 1960 perhaps it would have made some sense. Undoubtedly, ethnic oppression exits in Nigeria. After 100 years of amalgamation, almost 54 years after independence, 44 years after an internecine civil war that cost more than three million lives to “keep Nigeria one”, it is time to break that oppression and forge a new, united and prosperous nation. The National Conference, therefore, should not be a forum for the ventilation of narrow-minded religious, ethnic or tribal agenda. The social and economic realities make such an agenda futile. On the contrary, it should be an opportunity

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answer, of course, is yes. The future of Nigeria depends ultimately on what Nigerians want! What the national conference should focus on basically is the erection of federalism in its genuine sense as a contradistinction to its parody that exists today. Of course, the natural off-shoot of this evolvement is the decentralization of power. Furthermore, the conference should look at how we generate and distribute wealth and redefine the meaning of citizenship. et constituent states manage their internal affairs, control their resources and generate their own wealth; let them decide the internal structure of governance – how many local government areas they want – and operate their own police alongside the federal police. Let every Nigerian be free to reside in and “claim” any state they want as long as they fulfill citizenship obligations. While we may not have a common “origin”, we can still build a common future. While Nigeria was “forced” on us, we can emerge from the shackles and build a new nation with new national ethos. But it all depends on whether we are willing to do the right thing. Nigeria is not the only country that was “created” by the British for economic and imperialistic reasons. Ghana, in West Africa, and Canada, in North America, are two examples. But both countries, the challenges of diverse ethnicities and multiculturalism notwithstanding, are functional states. We can attest to what Kwame Nkrumah, the first prime minister of Ghana, did to unify the country from 1957 when it gained independence. In the case of Canada, according to Mary Vipond, the country “was created (by the British) in 1867 as a political and economic entity for pragmatic and imperial rather than nationalist reasons. Only after the formation of the Canadian state out of several different colonies was the attempt to create a Canadian nation begun. One of the principal means by which national unity was promoted was by the construction of networks of communication, beginning with the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).” Today, we have the choice and opportunity to begin the process of building the Nigerian nation. We may be 54, or even 100 years late, but we can make it happen. I hope those who will represent various “nationalities” and interest groups in Nigeria at the National Conference will be open-minded, conscious of the fact that too many of our compatriots – including the 60 students murdered in their hostel in Yobe State a few weeks ago – have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the process of nation-building. Onumah could be reached on Twitter @conumah

Prof. Mike Kwanashie to focus on why with billions of Naira accruing to the federal government every year, millions of our people live in extreme poverty, why millions can’t enjoy basic health service, why millions of school age children are not in school and those fortunate to be in school are victims of murderous fiends. f course, there is the troubling issue of those coming to the conference with the notion that Nigeria – or better still, parts of it – is there for the taking; and on the opposite side, those who think the country is just perfect the way it is and, therefore, does not require fundamental restructuring. If we isolate these fringe groups, clearly there seems to be a general understanding, if not agreement, that we want to live together as one country. The issue then is how

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to define the terms of our living together. That definition is central to any plan to reshape or redefine the new Nigeria we envisage. ne thing is certain: the socalled ethnic homogeneity in Nigeria today is a ruse. Our thieving and utterly hopeless ruling class, whether from the east, west, north or south, who are united by their greed and corruption have shown us that it is possible to put behind us our so-called ethnic and religious differences and forge a common identity; a nation united, not by greed and corruption but by justice, equity and egalitarianism. Will Nigeria survive? It depends on who you ask. Of course, the world will not come to an end if Nigeria disintegrates. Do we need to reexamine the way we live? In other words, is Nigeria negotiable? The

That is why we should go to this conference leaving behind our ethno-religious baggage. Agreed that the “building blocks” of Nigeria in 1914 were “ethnic nationalities”, Nigeria of 2014 is no longer the sum total of its “ethnic nationalities”.

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