Peoples Daily Newspaper, Tuesday, July 17, 2012 by Peoples Media Limited

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

Vol. 8 No. 82

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Boko Haram insurgents not foreigners, says NIS boss >> PAGE 3

. . . putting the people first

Jonathan asks new CJN to end judicial impunity

Police raid Kaduna, Okene bomb factories

>> PAGE 3

Shaaban 27, 1433 AH

Plateau crisis

N150

Atta Igala dies at 102, to be buried today >> PAGE 5

We don’t hold Fulanis responsible — DHQ

My hands are tied on white paper, says Jang From Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

efence Headquarters (DHQ) yesterday in Abuja said its order on the evacuation of some villages in Plateau Plateau did not mean the military held Fulani herdsmen and their families who

make up those settlements responsible for the unending violence on the plateau. “The military never believes that the Fulanis are responsible” for recent attacks in the state in which over 100 people were killed, including a senator and a member of the state’s legislature,

said Air Vice Marshal Dick Iruenabere, Chief of Policy and Plans at Defence Headquarters. “We have never alleged or accused any particular tribe of being responsible for the attacks,” he added. AVM Iruenabere spoke at a joint news conference by the DHQ

and the National Human Rights Commission to clarify the evacuation order given by the Special Task Force (STF) based in Jos, the state capital. The order asked residents of Mahanga, Kakuruk, Kuzen, Maseh and Shong to move to a safer place for military operation

to be taken against suspected violent criminals. He said the action was in the best interest of the villagers and the rest of the people of the country, stressing that the evacuation was not an attempt to deny certain communities Contd on Page 2

NNPC gave FG N39bn improper loans, says audit By Abdulwahab Isa

he Federal Government owes the state-owned Nigeria National PetroleumCorporation (NNPC) for improper, informal loans used to cover a range of expenses, from a presidential helicopter to maritime security, according to a partial audit quoted by Reuters yesterday. The audit, prepared by an outside organisation given access to accounts of the NNPC as part of a government effort to improve transparency at the firm, raises doubts over its independence. According to sources involved in the external audit, it will show outstanding debts owed to the oil company by a number of ministries and state agencies. The company paid for a $14 million presidential helicopter, and is owed $106 Contd on Page 2

R-L: President Goodluck Jonathan presenting an award of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) to the new Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, after her swearing-in yesterday at State House, Abuja. PHOTO: JOE OROYE

PAGE 2

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

CONTENTS News

2-11

Editorial

Op.Ed

Letters

Opinion

Metro

16-17

Business

19-22

S/Exchange

S/Report

Newsxtra

Issues

Agric

29-30

Don't' call me small boy, Oshiomhole warns Anenih, Page 37

International 31-34 Strange World 35 Digest

Politics

37-40

Sports

41-47

Columnist

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU The Peoples Daily wants to hear from you with any news and pictures you think we should publish. You can send your news and pictures to: letters@peoplesdaily-online.com pictures@peoplesdaily-online.com contact@peoplesdaily-online.com

Phones for News: 070-37756364 09-8734478

Gunmen, JTF exchange gunfire in Damaturu as Yobe govt relaxes curfew

olice in Damaturu, the Yobe state capital, say security forces and gunmen yesterday clashed anew in a city wracked by violence. The sounds of gunfire began to be heard across the town around 1:30pm, forcing people to flee the streets. Commissioner of Police Patrick Egbuniwe said suspected members of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram attacked three police targets in the city. He said the police and army fought back, but added he was

not aware of any casualties. Earlier, Police Public Relations Officer of the state Police Command, Toyin Gbadeges had confirmed that gunfire was reported but he could not tell if it was an attack or a raid being carried out by the JTF in the area. The commander of the military Joint Task Force in Damaturu, Col. D Abdulsalam , also acknowledged that the shootings heard “this afternoon” began with an attack on the Police Area Command in the city.

He said armed men in a car opened fire at the Command building and the police retaliated. The exchange drew other security agents to the scene. He did not say, however, if there had been any casualties on either side. By evening, however, calm had returned to the area. The Yobe state government, earlier, had announced the relaxation of a dusk-to-dawn curfew just before the attacks began. A press release from the Office of the Special Adviser on

Press Affairs and Information, Government House, Damaturu, said: Governor Ibrahim Gaidam has approved that the restriction of movement imposed across the state be relaxed with effect from today Monday 16th July...” According to the statement, “Restriction of movement now is between 10.00pm and 7 am. in all parts of the state including Potiskum,” but not Nguru. It urged “members of the general public to go about their legitimate businesses from 7 am until 10 pm daily.”

We don’t hold Fulanis responsible — DHQ Contd from Page 1 their places. “To avoid any unusual causality, that is why the villagers have been asked to move; move away from these places and at the end of the operation, come back to your homes,” he said. According to him, “the operation is not likely to last more than two weeks and the whole idea is to save lives of the innocent and that is why we are going to this extent to let you know. “The kind of threat we are facing is an unusual threat and if not dealt with decisively, it will become a major problem later.” Iruenabere said the Fulanis and the Beroms were living together in harmony in the camps provided by the state government, adding that what the military was doing was to ensure that damage to innocent people was reduced, if not avoided completely. “This is to debunk the statement going around that the military was targeting any particular stock of Nigerians,’’ he explained. Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, Chairman of the National Human

Rights Commission (NHRC), described the situation in Jos as difficult as many Nigerians and non-Nigerians had been victimised and killed. He said that service personnel had also been injured or killed, adding that “they have left children, they have spouses and they have left parents. “We are all Nigerians, this is our country and the concern of the NHRC is to ensure the rights of everybody in the country are protected. “We have got assurances from the conversation we have had that the legal standard, the humanitarian law standard and the relevant service standard have been taken account of and have been compiled with; this is an ongoing dialogue and we are going to continue to have it,” he said. Odinkalu said the commission would continue to be involved in the process to give the requisite support to both the service institutions and the civilian political authority. Meanwhile, Plateau state Governor Jonah Jang yesterday

expressed exasperation at his inability to implement the various white papers on the crises that have hit the state in the last one decade. According to him, his biggest headache comes from “certain interested big shots in the country” who would do everything possible to protect those indicted. Jang was speaking at a stakeholders’ forum summoned by his government in the aftermath of attacks on some village in Barkin Ladi and Riyom that left a hundred dead, including Senator Gyang Dantong and Gyang Fulani, the Majority Leader of the state House of Assembly. The governor said, “We’ve limitations to implement these reports; we do not have enforcement agencies under our control. More so, certain big shots in the country have interest, and will do anything to protect those indicted by the reports”. He wondered why the federal government said that the reports were the business of the state government, not its own. He said: “I wish to stress that as a government, we have sustained

our efforts at tackling this security challenge. “Some of these include establishing the Inter-religious committee for peace and harmony, holding stakeholders’ meetings such as this, ‘Operation Rainbow’ and, producing white papers on reports on investigations into the crises in Jos, but we have limitations in implementing aspects of the reports which involve federal agencies”. Jang said from the beginning the state government has shouldered a very high financial burden in managing the security challenge, adding that he would continue to make case to the federal government to “financially cushion the weight on the state.” According to him, however, “this is not the time to apportion blame but time for plateau people to rise with one voice to salvage the state from the siege it is under.” The governor told the stakeholders that "Plateau is above me as a governor and any of you today,” describing Plateau as a “God-given heritage which the people must take steps to defend.”

NNPC gave FG N39bn improper loans, says audit Contd from Page 1 million by the state power firm and $124 million by a maritime security agency. Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer and key supplier to the United State, Reuters reported, is pinning its future oil industry hopes on turning the debt-ridden NNPC into an independent profitable company emulating Brazil's Petrobras or Malaysia's Petronas. NNPC has a budget agreed by the National Assembly and revenue it collects from oil production is meant to be passed to the government accounts, but industry experts say powerful interests tap money before it is sent through official channels. State governors are threatening to take the federal government to court over illegal tapping of oil revenues that should be shared with local government. The finance ministry and NNPC declined to comment on the

debts and the presidency and oil ministry did not respond to requests for reaction. “We are aware of many of these debts, obviously it isn't an ideal situation,” an NNPC source told Reuters on condition of anonymity. When Peoples Daily contacted the NNPC last night for comments, its spokesman, Acting Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division, Mr. Fidel Pepple said, “We don’t have any information regarding that at the moment. When we do, we shall issue a press statement.” State agencies in debt to NNPC should be funded through the budget, so such loans add to transparency concerns. The NNPC needs its own funds to pay for joint ventures with foreign oil companies, some of which have lain dormant due to a lack of state investment. “It does highlight the extent to which NNPC has been drawn into the more opaque areas of

government - and will give ammunition to those critics who say it has operated at least partly as a slush fund for government,” Antony Goldman, Nigeria oil expert at PM Consulting said. “It points to the huge difficulties in making independent a corporation with such a complex web of assets and liabilities, at least some of which appear not to have been contracted solely on a commercial basis.” Numerous earlier reports and audits have concluded that corruption has been rife within NNPC. Last year, Transparency International and Revenue Watch ranked NNPC as one of the least transparent oil companies in the world. A parliamentary report in May uncovered a $6.8 billion fraud involving a government gasoline import subsidy, which is partly run by NNPC. That report said NNPC was accountable to no one. It said the company owed oil traders,

including privately-held Trafigura, $3.5 billion in unpaid bills. Nigeria risks its two million barrel per day oil production declining in the next few years if it fails to reduce political uncertainty, corruption and criminality. A long-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), due to go to parliament for debate within days, is supposed to spin off some assets and replace the NNPC with a new, independent and partially listed National Oil Company (NOC). A copy of the PIB seen by Reuters is thin on detail, however. The draft PIB also states that the oil minister will oversee all institutions within the industry, raising question marks over how independent the NOC would be. President Goodluck Jonathan replaced the managing director of the NNPC and three other senior directors last month in efforts to improve transparency and accountability.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

PAGE 3

Jonathan disowns fake PIB By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

L-R: Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) Plateau chapter, Mr. Haruna Dabin, the state Deputy Governor, Mr. Ignatius Longjang, and Governor Jonah Jang, during a stakeholders meeting on security, yesterday in Jos. Photo: NAN

Jonathan asks new CJN to end ‘judicial impunity’ By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem, Abuja and Edwin Olofu, Kano

She’s worthy ambassador – Kwankwaso

resident Goodluck Jonathan yesterday took a cursory look at the country’s judicial system and submitted that deep-seated impunity rules at the temple of justice. Consequently, the President, who proffered his treatise on the Judiciary at the swearing-in of the first female Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, charged the latter to end “judicial impunity” in the country. He also conferred the country’s second highest National Honour, the Grand Commander of the Order of Niger (GCON) on Justice Mukhtar during the event held at the Council Chambers of the State House, Abuja. Alluding to recent scandals in the court system and the judiciary

as a whole, President Jonathan said: “Citizens complain of lengthy trials particularly in cases of corruption, terrorism and other matters of serious public concern… Every bold and positive step we take in our march to nationhood is important. Your Lordship should apply the instrument of your hallowed office to ensure timely justice delivery and make manifestly clear that substantive justice will never be sacrificed on the altar of procedural technicalities. Impunity must have no place in a progressive Nigeria…I am sure the entire country is in agreement that Justice delayed is justice denied.” Lamenting the alleged rot in the Judiciary, the President expressed “immense gratitude” to the immediate past CJN, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, “who, despite

his short tenure, made spirited efforts to restore public confidence in our courts.” He wished Justice Musdapher “a well-deserved retirement and hope that he will avail the wealth of his experience in the continuous service of our nation.” Turning to Justice Mukhtar, he charged her to cooperate with other arms of government in the fight against terrorism and corruption. The President said: "I have no doubt that your work at our nation's apex court will benefit from your essential character of integrity, humility and courage. “Your lordship will preside over the judiciary at a time of profound changes that demand united response. We believe that judiciary can play a crucial role as we

confront critical challenges…” Meanwhile, Kano state governor, Alhaji Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso has described Justice Muhktar as “a courageous and diligent jurist” whose appointment would usher in better days for the nation’s judiciary. The governor, who spoke during a reception at the Supreme Court, Abuja shortly after the swearing-in of the new CJN, also described her as “a doyen of the legal profession and a worthy ambassador of Kano state.” “Nigerians should be happy on her appointment due to her commitment and zero tolerance for corruption,” Kwankwaso said. He assured that the government and people of Kano state will support Justice Muhktar on her well deserved appointment.

Police raid Kaduna bomb Boko Haram insurgents are not foreigners, says Immigration boss factory From Agaju Madugba, Kaduna & Abdulwahab Isa, Abuja

he police yesterday raided a bomb factory located at Rafin-Guza, near Kawo, Kaduna, where it impounded cans of explosives and bomb-making powder. Briefing reporters yesterday, the Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, said that a “confessed terrorist” led the police to a hideout where bags of chemicals, a jerry can of acid, two masks, an AK47 magazine with 27 rounds of ammunition and eight car alarm systems were seized. According to him, earlier on July 12, three bandits who robbed a filling station’s manager at Maraban Yakawada in Giwa local government area had been arrested.

He listed weapons recovered from them to include an AK-47 rifle loaded with 28 rounds of ammunition, a revolver with six rounds of ammunition and an improvised explosive device (IED). Similarly, following a bomb explosion which occurred at Obehira near Okene in Kogi state last Sunday, the Joint Military Task Force in the state yesterday raided a house at Obangede in Okehi local government suspected to be an operational base for armed bandits. An eyewitness residing close to the building told Peoples Daily that the military operation was carried out on Sunday night. He said the suspects had fled on arrival of task force team. However, the building thought to be the suspects operating base where arms were stored was reduced to rubbles in an operation he described as swift.

By Lawrence Olaoye

ontrary to speculations that most members of the Boko Haram insurgents engaged in bombing some parts of the country are foreigners, the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Rose Uzoma, yesterday clarified that they are all Nigerians. While responding to questions bordering on issues of insecurity in the country from the House of Representatives joint committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) and Navy, Uzoma Speaking before the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) and Navy, Uzoma warned that allusion should not be made to foreigners as brain behind the Boko Haram menace in the country. When asked the role of the service in curbing the activities of

the dreaded Boko Haram by ensuring that illegal migrants are not allowed to perpetuate violence in the country, the NIS boss said no official confirmation has been made of foreigners’ involvement in the activities of the sect. She said "I'm not aware, as of today, of any case of foreigner entering this country through the sea ports that have been proved to have been engaged in Boko Haram activities.” She insisted that it was a wrong tactic for any of the security agencies to attribute the successes recorded by the Boko Haram group to involvement of foreigners, adding that the NIS being the only security agency saddled with the task of deciding the status of any foreigner living in the country has not found any foreigner caught in the midst of the Boko Haram group, either as a sponsor of the group or as a suicide bomber.

he Presidency yesterday said that a document alleged to be the new Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is now in circulation and has even been published on some websites. A statement signed by Presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati said:" Before the country is assailed once again with talk about the promulgation of this very important national law being hindered yet again by the existence of multiple versions, the Presidency wishes to categorically disown the document currently being circulated and published as the new Petroleum Industry Bill." According to the statement, the authentic new Petroleum Industry Bill which was endorsed by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) last week, was still being finalized by relevant government departments before it is forwarded to the National Assembly. “Upon its delivery to the National Assembly under the official Seal of the President, the authentic new Petroleum Industry Bill will be available to all interested parties. “The general public and all stakeholders in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry are therefore advised to ignore the document currently in circulation as it is totally fake and lacking in authenticity,” the statement said.

Jonathan appoints Oronsaye, others to NNPC board By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

resident Goodluck Jonathan yesterday approved the reconstitution of a new Board for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The new board is to be chaired by Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison- Madueke with the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance and Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Engr Andrew Yakubu as members. Other members of the new board include former Head of Service, Mr. Steven Oronsaye, Professor Olusegun Okunnu, Arc. Daniel Wadzani, Alhaji Abdullahi Bukar, Mr. Bernard O.N. Otti (Group Executive Director, Finance & Accounts) and Dr. Peter S. Nmadu (Group Executive Director, Corporate Services). President Jonathan charged members of the new Board to discharge their duties efficiently and with integrity in order to enhance positive transformation of the petroleum sector.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

PAGE 4

Katsina releases N832m UBEC funds From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

overnor Ibrahim Shehu Shema of Katsina state has disclosed that the state has released N832 million to the National Universal Basic Education Commission, (UBEC) as part of its counterpart funds. The governor made the disclosure at the North-West flagoff ceremony of the distribution of instructional materials to basic education schools, yesterday in Katsina. Shema, who was represented at the event by his deputy, Alhaji Abdullahi Garba Faskari, said the administration gave N431 million to the state universal basic education board for the purchase of text books and furniture last month. Similarly, Shema added that N86 million was also released for schools rehabilitation, even as N546 million has been granted for teachers’ professional development for the year 2011/ 2012.

Pension scam: Court orders seizure of suspects’ property By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

he Chief Judge of Abuja, Justice Lawal Hassan Gumi, has granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) an interim order to take possession of the asset of all the six accused persons standing trial for allegedly defrauding the Police Pension Office of about N32.8 billion. Justice Gummi further ordered the freezing of the bank accounts of all the accused persons pending the hearing and final determination of the corruption case preferred against them by the EFCC. The six suspects who were arraigned on March 29, 2012, on criminal charges bordering on conspiracy and criminal breach of trust before Justice Mohammed Talba of the Abuja High Court, are Esai Dangabar, Atiku Abubakar Kigo, Ahmed Inuwa Wada, John Yakubu Yusufu, Mrs. Veronica Ulonma Onyegbula and Sani Habila Zira. Kigo was the director of the Police Pension Office, before he was made permanent secretary. Fifteen of the 45 properties which were ordered forfeited on interim basis, belongs to Dangabar, 11 to Mrs. Onyegbula, six to Wada, five to Kigo and four each to Yusuf and Zira. According to the order, “all the bank accounts currently being operated and maintained by Inuwa Wada at Keystone and Zenith Banks, all totaling 11 in number are hereby temporarily frozen until the determination of the charge Number FCT/CR/64/ 2012.

From Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

ocio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has asked a Federal High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos for an order compelling the chairman, Code of Conduct Bureau, Sam Saba, to release President Goodluck Jonathan’s assets declaration forms. No date has been fixed for hearing of the application. SERAP’s request in suit number FHC/IKJ/CS/159/2012 was brought pursuant to section 20 of the Freedom of Information

SERAP goes to court over Jonathan’s assets Act, and Order 34 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2009, and signed by the organisation’s Staff Attorney, Chinyere Nwafor. The plaintiff is arguing that under the FOI Act it has “the right to request for or gain access to documents relating to President Jonathan’s assets

declaration, which is in the custody or possession of the Code of Conduct Bureau, which is a public institution as defined by the FOI Act. “The defendant has no right whatsoever to deny the plaintiff to the documents sought. “The information requested for by the plaintiff/applicant

stems from the constitutional requirement which provides in section 153 for the establishment of a Code of Conduct Bureau to ensure, among other things, that all public officers, as defined in Part II of the Fifth Schedule, declare their assets on assuming office and immediately their terms of office expire.”

L-R: Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, Senate President David Mark, and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, during an international conference on law reform and the law making process, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: NAN

Nigerian elected AU commissioner for political affairs From Ahmed I. Shekarau, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

elief came the way of Nigeria at the 19th African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, yesterday as its candidate for the post of commissioner for political affairs in the AU Commission, Dr. Aisha Laraba Abdullahi, emerged victorious. Dr. Abdullahi’s victory came barely 24 hours after Dr. Jean Ping, a candidate seeking reelection for the post of chairperson of the AU Commission, who was backed by Nigeria, was defeated by South Africa’s Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. The newly elected AU

commissioner for political affairs emerged victorious during the fourth round of voting when she defeated Botswana’s candidate, her only remaining challenger in that round, after 14 others had been dropped in the earlier rounds. Dr. Abdullahi is the first Nigerian to be elected into any AU top post since its establishment almost 10 years ago. Nigeria had taken three previous shots at this particular post of commissioner for political affairs in the AU and lost in all cases, and was only lucky in this fourth attempt. Commenting on Dr. Abdullahi’s election at the end of the contest yesterday, Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister,

Ambassador OlugbengaAshiru, said it was “a well-deserved victory because we worked for it”. He added that “Dr. Abdullahi is someone that would make Nigeria proud at the AUC in view of her competence and credibility.” On her part, the newly elected AU commissioner also assured that she would not disappoint the country, stressing that she would deploy her wealth of experience in helping to deepen democracy across the continent, while also promoting good governance and a healthy political culture in Africa. Abdullahi, who is Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea, said the new decade of the Commission’s department of

Network for Justice asks FG to end ‘pogrom in Plateau’ By Joy Baba

rights advocacy organisation, Network for Justice (NJ), has said it was alarmed by the distress calls it got from Fulani living in Barkin Ladi and Riyom local governments of Plateau state following a 48-hour ultimatum to them to leave the areas through in a statement by the spokesman of the Joint Task Force (JTF), Capt. Salisu Mustapha. Executive Director, NJ, Dr Bashir Usman Kurfi, In a statement said the ultimatum amounted to “an open declaration of war by

Government against a segment of its citizens,” stressing that “it is totally against all norms of civil engagement.” The Quit Notice, according to Kurfi, “is antithetical to the constitutional provisions that guarantee citizens their right to live in any place of their choice in the country, ECOWAS and African Protocols on People and Human Rights as well as several United Nations conventions and protocols regarding the rights of the human person.” The NJ called on the Fulani herdsmen remain “calm and not take laws into their hands even as it charged the Plateau state

government to note that “the fundamental obligation of any responsible government is the protection of citizens’ lives and property irrespective of their ethnic and religious affiliation.” It urged the northern elders “to intervene in this crisis with a view to bringing it to an end.” The network also called on “all peace-loving Nigerians and international community as a matter of urgency to prevail on the Plateau state government and the Federal Government of Nigeria to be just and fair to all parties in the dispute and bring the pogrom against the Fulani people in Plateau to an end.”

political affairs would consolidate and implement AU shared values, especially on the democratization of MembersState.

Police, residents differ over man’s death in Ilorin From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

he lifeless body of a man discovered near Butterfield Bakery, along Asa Dam road area of llorin, Kwara state at the weekend has become a source of controversy between the police and residents of the area. While some people in the area believe that the man was a victim of ritual killers, the police insisted that he was killed by a hit-and run driver. Investigation by our correspondent revealed that residents of the area were afraid to report the incident to the police for fear of being arrested. Although he confirmed that the victim’s head and private part were missing from his body, Public Relation Officer, Kwara state Police Command, Femi Fabode, said: “There was a hit-and-run incident and the police were not informed on time. On Sunday morning the police later got the information and on getting there, they could not see the vehicle that hit the man.”

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

PAGE 5

Attah of Igala dies at 102, to be buried today By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

he Igala kingdom in Kogi state was yesterday afternoon thrown into mourning as news filtered in that the longest serving traditional ruler in the country, the Atta of Igala, His Royal Majesty (HRM), Alhaji (Dr.) Aliyu Ocheja Obaje, died at the ripe old age of 102. The Attah of Igala who ascended the throne of his forefathers at the age of 36 on October 20, 1956, spent 56 years as the traditional head of the Igalas

before breathing his last around 2pm yesterday. According to one his sons, Prince Aliyu Abdullahi Obaje who spoke to our reporter via telephone yesterday night, the late monarch would be buried in the afternoon today in Idah, the headquarters of the Igala kingdom. Born in 1920, Dr. Aliyu Obaje was the youngest person ever to be installed as Attah Igala. HRM Aliyu Obaje was until his death the chairman of the Kogi state Council of Traditional Rulers. It would be recalled that Obaje's

journey to the highest traditional stool in Igala kingdom started six months before his formal inauguration. He was then a civil servant at the Staff Development Centre in Kaduna and worked as an instructor in the institution. Ameh Oboni, who was the incumbent Attah Igala had died suddenly and there was tension in Idah and the entire Igala land on the choice of the next king. All eligible princes went to work in search of endorsement. In the midst of that confusion, came a terse message from the

colonial office in Kaduna. "Any person wishing to take the office of the Attah Igala must belong to the Attah Igala Ruling Family and must be literate so as to give his people good leadership in this modern era." That message significantly changed the destiny of the young Aliyu Obaje who, because of his relative age, did not even aspire to the throne. That statement disqualified most, if not all the aspirants. According to a veteran journalist and a prominent Igala

Varsity managers tasked on balance in appointments, deployment

L-R: Minister of State For Education, Barrister Nyesom Wike, Katsina state Deputy Governor, Barrister Abdullahi Faskari, Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arcitect Mohammed Sada, Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission, Dr. Ahmed Modibbo, Chairman, Katsina state Universal Basic Education Board, Alhaji Dikko Suleiman, with school children, during the flag-off ceremony of the distribution of instructional materials for basic education institutions in the North-west Zone, yesterday in Katsina. Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

By Maryam Garba Hassan

Aftermath of flood: Oyo revokes bridge contract From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

he Oyo state government has revoked the contract for the reconstruction of the Apete bridge, located in the capital of the state and promised that a new contractor will move to site in the next 24 hours, after due process must have been observed. The state Commissioner for Works and Transport, Alhaji

son, Bala Dan Abu who quoted an account of events then recorded by P.E. Okwoli, the statement or policy made Aliyu Obaje the most suitable candidate for the job because most, if not all the other pretenders to the throne, were not literate. While the confusion was raging, some Igala patriots working in the civil service of the then Northern region informed the colonial office in Kaduna that Obaje, was the most qualified. The colonial office then invited the then Prince Aliyu Obaje for an interview.

Yunus Akintunde, made this known after he addressed the press after the state weekly executive council meeting alongside the Commissioners for Information, Physical Planning and Urban Development, Environment and the Special Advisers on Physical Planning and Media. According to the commissioner, the bridge, as well as 15 others damaged across the

state during the flood that occurred on Saturday night, had also been collated for urgent reconstruction. Apparently irked by the slow pace of work on the rehabilitation of the Apete bridge, the government decided that a new contractor would take over its rehabilitation “within the next 24 hours. The Commissioner for Physical

Planning and Urban Development also told newsmen “the government is beginning soon the second phase of the removal of such structures (built on flood plains)” but were being delayed “by some landlords and landlords’ associations whose houses are located on flood plains who have taken government to court even for marking their structures for demolition ”.

anagers of Nigerian universities have been tasked to ensure balance between merit and the federal character principle in the appointment, deployment and utilisation of human and material resources on their campuses to avoid feelings of marginalisation by other sections of the country. The Chairman, Federal Character Commission, Prof. Shuaib Oba Abdulraheem, made the call while declaring open the workshop for university administrators in Nigeria yesterday in Abuja, with the theme “Actualising Federal Character Objectives in University Administration”. He said the commission was making efforts to enforce relevant laws regarding violation of federal character principles as enshrined in the constitution of Nigeria. According to him, Nigeria’s quest for national unity and integration would not be attained, if a section of the country felt alienated, adding that preventing alienation was to strive to engage all parts of the country in its affairs, especially, in the areas of university education. “We encourage the universities to search far and wide within the nation to have a very healthy mix of both the academic and nonacademic staff” he said.

Emir of Askira gets staff Vet Council staff protest bid to reclaim quarters of office From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maidiguri

he newly appointed Emir of Askira who succeeded his late father, Alhaji Mai Abdullahi Muhammadu Askirama in Askira-Uba local government area of Borno state, has been presented with staff of office by Governor Kashim Shettima. Presenting the staff at the playground of the Government Secondary School Askira, Shettima congratulated the new Emir for his well deserved appointment and recalled that, his late father, Alhaji Mai Muhammadu Askirama II, had ruled Askira

for the past 46 years after succeeding his predecessor Mai Maina in 1965 who also ruled between 1922 to 1965. He said his administration is ever committed in upholding the tenets of the traditional institution, considering its immense contribution to the peaceful coexistence and promotion of cultural values in the society. Responding, Alhaji Mai Abdullahi expressed gratitute to the governor and other traditional rulers who graced the occasion, even as he promised to discharge his duties with the fear of Allah and as well as carry everybody along devoid of ethnic or tribal consideration.

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

taff of the Veterinary Council of Nigeria occupying the council's staff quarters located at Byazin, Kubwa in the Bwari Area Council of Abuja have protested against attempts by the council to compromise their rights over Federal Government's monetisation policy as it affects their staff quarters. The council allegedly refused to comply with the directive of the Federal Government on the monetisation policy by not allowing the staff occupying the quarters to purchase their houses as done in other government establishments.

In a protest letter dated 11th July 11, 2012 and addressed to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed, the affected staff alleged that the council adopted frustrating measures against some of its staff who cooperated with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in uncovering various fraudulent activities allegedly perpetrated by the management which led to the arraignment and trial of the ousted Registrar, Dr. Daniel Garba Maddo, a former Director of Finance, Dr. Hilary Ibe and former Administrative officer, Mr. Alexander Abafi over a N90.8 million scam at the council.

PAGE 6

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

Police in Zamfara arrest former sole administrator From Salisu Zakari Maradun Gusau olice in Zamfara state have arrested former Sole Administrator of Bungudu local government area in the state, Alhaji Abbas Saidu Ma'aji, over an allegation of looting N46 million belonging to the pilgrims of last year's hajj. Our reporter gathered that the

Kebbi govt urges traditional rulers to be active in environmental management From Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi

ebbi state deputy governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Aliyu has called on rulers, Islamic scholars and educational institutions to join hands and fight the menace of environmental hazards the same way the government has eradicated cases of polio in the state. He made this statement yesterday at the opening ceremony of a two-day advocacy work-shop for traditional rulers and stakeholders on Environment and Natural Resources Management for Sustainable Development at the Presidential Hall, Birinin Kebbi. Aliyu said society cannot progress unless the traditional rulers make inputs in enlightening their subjects on the importance of the environmental and natural resource management and the danger of environmental hazards to the community. He also commended the efforts of the Ministry of Environment for organising the workshop, assuring them of government's commitment towards ensuring the success of the programme and combating the dangers of the environmental hazard in the state. Speaking earlier, the General Manager Kebbi State Community and Social Development Projects, Usman Abubakar, said the workshop will largely focus on providing the way forward by taking a good shot at those activities that lead to the deterioration of the and ensuring sustainable environment.

arrest of the former sole administrator was as a result of a complaint lodged by the state's commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Muttaka Rini to the security agencies in Gusau, the state capital. Maaji, whose tenure expired recently following election of new local government chairmen, was

said to have been picked by the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID), upon the request of the ministry supervising the affairs of local government councils. A source said the ministry has insisted he should return the stolen money as the only condition to regain his liberty. The registrar in-charge of Bungudu local government area,

in the 2012 hajj exercise, Abubakar Mainasara who was arrested along with former council boss, was exonerated from the alleged scam. When contacted on phone for reaction, the spokesperson of the state police command, Abdullahi Iga, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, declined comments and stated that he was holding a meeting.

Let us know if you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t defend us, Gana tells Jonathan From Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

ormer Minister of Information and National Orientation, Prof. Jerry Gana has advised President Goodluck Jonathan to act effectively to prevent further bloodshed in Plateau state and elsewhere in the country. Speaking when he led a delegation of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) on a solidarity condolence visit to Gov. Jonah Jang over the killing of over 100 people including Senator Gyang

Dantong and Hon Gyang Fulani of the state House of Assembly, Prof. Gana said: "We leaders of Middle Belt Forum met in Abuja last week over the unfortunate incident that led to the death two law makers and others from Plateau state and resolved to pay you this solidarity visit". According to him, "We are now being pushed to the wall and we are saying enough is enough. Our people laid down their lives to defend this country, we deserve to be

defended as well, but if Mr. President cannot defend us, he should let us know now". Responding, Governor Jang said: "It is sad that since 1994, there have been consistent plans to destabilise Plateau state, unfortunately the Federal Government is not doing anything". He said may be the Federal Government is waiting until the entire people of Plateau state are wiped out before it takes concrete steps to curb the wanton destruction.

NGO hails Oshiomhole, praises Jonathan, Jega By Morufat Ojulari

non-governmental organisation, Growth and Development Monitoring Initiative (GDMI), based in Abuja, has described the triumph of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole at the Edo state gubernatorial polls as well deserved. A press release signed by the president of GDMI, Alhaji Mohammed Musa Bagana stated: "We congratulate Comrade Oshiomhole because he deserves the victory. We observed his commitment to the growth and development of Edo state in his first term". The group also urged Oshimhole to see his victory as a motivation to do more for the state in terms of promoting growth and development in all areas during his second term. In a related development, GDMI also congratulated President Goodluck Jonathan and Prof. Attahiru Jega, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for a free and fair election which they said is the foundation for national growth and development.

Bauchi denies killing of 50 elephants in Yankari From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

L-R: Director, Health Planning Research and Statistics, Ministry of Health, Dr. Sade Yemi-Esan, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Mrs. Fatima Bamidele, and FCT Secretary, Health and Human Service, Dr. Ademola Onakomaya, during the opening ceremony of 55th National Council on Health meeting, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

3-day rain displaces residents in Benue From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

hree days of consistent rainfall has caused heavy flooding in Benue state and damaged properties worth million of naira. In Makurdi the state capital areas mostly affected are Wadata, Wurukum, Idye,

Vandeikya Street, Akpehe and some parts of North Bank. When our correspondent visited these areas, many residents were seen removing belongings from their flooded homes. One of them Mr. Tavershima Aga who spoke to our correspondent, lamented the huge

loss he has incurred by the flooding of his house, maintaining that he is making arrangement to relocate his family to a safer place. He blamed the state government for its failure to construct proper drainages, noting that even the ones started have long been abandoned by the contractors.

auchi state government has debunked the allegation that over 50 elephants were killed by hunters in the Yankari Game Reserve. It was gathered that some workers in the reserve had alleged rampant poaching and hunting of animals in the reserve which led to the killing of over 50 elephants. The Commissioner of Tourism in the state, Alhaji Salihu Ibrahim, denied the allegations while speaking to newsmen in Bauchi, saying that it's true that some hunters are killing the elephants, but that the number killed is not up to 50. "If they killed 50 how many elephants will remain in the game reserve, we are after the hunters; we had arrested one of the notorious hunters that terrorises animals in the game reserve. He is from Plateau state; the other one has fled we will soon get him, and we also traced a married woman who used to buy elephant tusks", Ibrahim said.

NAFDAC boss stresses on private sector funding of education From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

he Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Paul Orhii, has advocated more private sector involvement in the funding of the educational sector of the country. Dr. Orhii who made the call

at the graduation ceremony of his alma mater - St. Francis College, Oturkpo in Benue state during which he donated seven computers to outstanding students and teachers, regretted the deteriorating standard of education in the country, stressing that the private sector and well meaning individual should support the Federal

Government's initiatives at checking this trend. "The time has come for all stakeholders especially the organised private sector to rally round the federal and state governments to revamp the educational sector. "We are all aware that education in Nigeria is presently not where we all want it to be. I

honestly wish that things were better than what they are presently in that sector". While acknowledging that funding has become a major constraint in uplifting the sector, the NAFDAC boss charged policy implementers in the sector and teachers to dedicate themselves to the task ahead. He also charged the

graduating students to strive hard for excellence in their future endeavors, adding "you should carve a niche for yourself" Earlier in his speech, the principal of the school, Rev. Fr. Adai Emmanuel commended the NAFDAC DG for supporting the growth of education in the state and urged other individuals to take a cue from his gesture.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

PAGE 7

Experts task FG on universal health coverage By A’isha Biola Raji

he Federal government has been advised to boost its commitment to providing universal health services to the people through cost effective interventions. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Federal Capital Territory Authority (FCTA), Dr. Ademola Onakomaiya made this call at the Technical Session of the 55th National Council on Health (NCH) meeting yesterday in Abuja. Onakomaiya stated that to achieve a significant level of health services, government should make available interventions that would solve health issues at low or no cost. According to him, “it is this need that requires the idea of a Universal Health Coverage (UHC), which means everyone in the population will have right to health care when they

need it at reasonable cost. “It implies equal access to health care with the benefit of financial protection funded by government or through health insurance scheme.” Onakomaiya listed some of the feats achieved by the FCTA in terms of implementation of the Strategic Health Development Plan (SHDP), including the construction of cottage hospitals in the FCT, provision of medical equipment to secondary health facilities, employment of 900 health workers cut across all medical fields and the revival of mobile health outreach system, among others. Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Mrs. Fatima Bamidele, stressed the need to scrutinise all aspect of health in order to improve on the last year review, with the aim of meeting the MDGs on health by 2015.

BUK gets medical school, pledges high standards From Bala Nasir, Kano

uthorities of Bayero University, Kano (BUK) have completed the construction of the institution’s Basic Medical Sciences Department, with a pledge to set high standards in health studies as obtained in any university in the world. Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Abubakar Adamu Rasheed, stated this at a reception organised by Freedom Radio in honour of Prof. Salisu Abdullahi, who was elevated to professorial rank by

the BUK authorities. Rasheed also disclosed that an international institute for Islamic banking has been established in the school while a biotechnology and engineering centre would be approved by the Senate of the university next month. The VC said although the school’s student population has grown to hit the 30,000 mark, BUK has maintained its grade ‘A’ rating as one of the best eight universities in the country, even as it aimed to be among leading global centres of learning.

Senate salutes Oshiomhole over re-election

he Senate yesterday declared that respect for the will of the people remains the recipe for a sound and enduring democracy in Nigeria. In a congratulatory message to Governor Adams Oshiomhole on his re-election, Senate’s spokesman, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the Senate believed that “the success of the poll is a signpost that the principles of democracy are fast being entrenched in the people’s consciousness.” In a statement issued in Abuja, Abaribe said the Senate was “thrilled over the outcome of the election and its manifest reflection of respect for the sanctity of people’s will and their appreciation of

outstanding performance of the incumbent governor. However, the Senate according to Abaribe, “enjoins the governor-elect to be father of all in the state, unite all divergent interests in the state and double his effort at delivering democracy dividend, which was the main attraction of the people.”

L-R: National Coordinator, Peace Advocacy Initiative, Alhaji Mohammed Yusuf, with Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, during the group's visit to the adviser, on Friday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

2 Chinese arrested in Kano over murder of compatriots From Edwin Olofu, Kano

wo Chinese nationale, Jimbo Zhao Dang Dong and Smith Zhhang Ze, are cooling their feet in detention at the Kano state police headquarters over alleged stabbing to death of two of their kinsmen, Xucheng Kun and Old Man (an alias). The suspects, both employees of Zhao Dongs Nigeria Limited, were believed to have killed their compatriots over his indebtedness to them. The police arrested the suspects following a tip off by a member of the public that they

were about to escape, alongside other visitors at Xucheng’s residence in Kwanar Ganduje quarters of the city. Speaking to newsmen in Kano yesterday, the Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Idris, disclosed that Xucheng’s neighbours, who heard a strange wailing inside the compound alerted the police, who on arrival at the scene of the incident found Xucheng dead, while Old Man who died yesterday at the hospital sustained varying degrees of injury. “Although investigation is still in progress but from what we

have gathered so far, the two suspects visited Xucheng, who was said to have been indebted to them. They were believed to be highly intoxicated. When the visitors raised the issue of the money, the deceased did not respond favourably as we learnt, he told them that the debt was not documented and he could as well refuse to pay. “It was at this stage that a dispute broke out and using an axe and other dangerous weapons, they hacked Xucheng and Old Man to death. Both of them are in our custody and will soon be charged to court for prosecution

telecommunications companies. Abdu acknowledged that efforts made in the last 10 years to strengthen the country’s tax regime had culminated in the enactment of a new tax law. He however questioned why the new tax law focused more on individuals with less emphasis on multinational companies. His words: “But what kind of tax are they paying (the individuals) and what is the relationship between those who are paying tax and those who are not? “We had a very

embarrassing situation in the past where certain critical office holders do not pay tax and where you can ordinarily tax an ordinary citizen in the country. “The worst of tax leakages that we actually have is what have to do with tax holidays, particularly for multinational companies.” The country director frowned at government thinking that “the only thing that we can do to make the country develop, is by getting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)”.

ActionAid seeks review of tax holidays for multinational firms

ountry Director, ActionAid Nigeria, Dr. Hussaini Abdu, yesterday in Abuja called on the Federal Government to review tax holidays granted to multinational companies in the country. Abdu made the call at a seminar on “Tax Justice for National Development” organised by the NGO. He said that the country was losing billions of dollars in revenue as a result of tax holidays granted to multinationals and

How I met my new husband, by 70-year-old Kano bride From Bala Nasir, Kano

70-year-old woman who was among the 250 brides married off at the weekend in the second phase of Kano’s mass wedding has said that her new husband has no other wife apart from her. The new bride, Amina

Usman, who spoke with our correspondent, said she was happy with her choice as she would be the only wife of her 82year-old husband, Malam Uba Abdurrahman. A resident of Darmanawa quarters of Tarauni local government area in the state’s capital, Amina stated that she

met Malam Uba Abdurrahman through her son’s friend. Their meeting, according to her, was by divine design because both of them were looking for a spouse to live with for the rest of their lives and God brought them together through their children. On his part, Malam

Abdurrahman disclosed that Amina was the sixth woman he had married, as he had lost five wives to death and divorce, which had turned him into a loner before marrying Amina. He promised not to take a new bride, stressing that he would live till the end of his days with Amina only.

PAGE 8

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

Members of St. Micheal Yoruba Community of the Holy Emmanuel Catholic Church, after their inaguration, on Sunday at New Karu, in Nasarawa state.

The scene of car bomb near MPC filling, on Sunday in Ohehira district of Okene Local Government, in Kogi state.

R-L: Borno Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, presenting first class staff of office to Emir of Askira, Alhaji Mai Abdallah Ibn Muhammad Askirama, yesterday at Government Secondary School, Askira, play ground in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno state.

Photo: Joe Oroye

L-R: Chairman of House Committee on Water Resources, Hon. Aliyu Ahman, Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Olajumoke Akinjide, and Nigeria Ambassador to Jordan, Alhaji Taofeek Arapaja, during the presentation of microcredit loan and poverty alleviation materials to members of the Oyo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday at Ile Aperin, in Oyo State.

PAGE 10

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

Group blames PH tanker explosion on corruption From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

he Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has blamed the fuel tanker explosion which claimed over 100 lives and injured another 50 in Rivers State on the Federal Government’s failure to deliver on social infrastructure and the apathetic attitude of relevant government agencies to disaster management. The explosion at Okogbe village, between Ahoada and

Mbiama on the ever-busy EastWest Road, occurred when the fuelladen truck, while trying to avoid a head-on collision with oncoming vehicles, veered into a ditch and spewed its content. The Rivers State government said that locals immediately swarmed the scene to collect some of the petroleum products before it caught fire and exploded. In a statement issued in Lagos, ERA/FoEN described the incident as “very unfortunate” and an unmistakable reflection of the

poverty in the Niger Delta due to mismanagement of the oil wealth derived from the region. “That this sad incident occurred in the heart of the Niger Delta where the resource is extracted and the people suffer deprivation to such extent as to scoop petroleum products from an accident scene is an indication of poverty and a government that has failed to honor its social contract with the people. Nothing can be more depressing,” said ERA/FoEN Executive Director, Nnimmo Bassey.

“It is even more disheartening to note that the people caught in the inferno are victims of a system that has refused to halt large-scale oil thefts in the country.” Bassey pointed out that the Okogbe episode brings back memories of the 1998 Jesse pipeline explosion in Delta State which claimed over 1000 lives, the Abesan and Ijegun explosions in Lagos in 2006 and 2008 respectively, and many others that were not reported, even as he added that the woeful state of social

infrastructure like the situation at the East-West Road could only encourage such disasters. “It will be recalled that at the South-South Peoples Conference held in Asaba earlier this year the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, disclosed that contracts for the dualisation of the East-West Road was awarded in 2006 without required contract designs and specifications. This, for us, is, a recipe for non-delivery and blatant corruption. The delay in executing the project caused this calamity”.

North needs more newspapers, says Bello From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

Gombe state Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo (right), inspecting a construction site in Government House, at the weekend in Gombe.

‘Lingering crisis insults Plateau generals’ From Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

he chairman of Plateau Independent Publishers Association (PIPA), Chief Nanyah Daman, yesterday said the continuous killing and attacks on innocent citizens of the state is an insult on the large number of retired and serving military

generals who hail from there. Addressing a world press conference at the secretariat of PIPA in Jos, Chief Daman called on the International Human Rights Commission to as a matter of urgency look into the killings and attacks in Plateau state and Nigeria in general to disallow the degeneration of conflicts like the

case of Liberian and Sierra-Leone. According to him, since Nigeria’s security system has failed to defend the defenceless, the Federal Government should involve the UK, US, Israel, Canada and other countries of the world known with the best security system in curbing the wanton destruction of lives and properties.

Lawyer, proprietress want corruption curbed in schools From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

legal practitioner in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, Barrister Bisi Adedayo and a school proprietress, Deaconess R. O Taiwo have urged government at all levels to put in place necessary measure to ensure that war against corruption starts from elementary schools to save the society from more image damage. Barrister, Adedayo who stated this at the weekend during the graduation ceremony of pupils of Peace Kiddies Academy, Ilorin noted that leadership style were responsible for many crises in Nigeria stressing that if

pupils and young Nigerians were nurtured properly at the teenage stage, the rate of corruption would be minimal. “It is significant to mention here that leadership over the time has been a major factor in shaping the well-being and fate of societies all over the world. Hence, conflicts in across the cities and countries across the globe could be traced to leadership styles and approach. “Going into historical excursion in Nigeria will reveal that while some leaders waged a total war against corruption, others pay lip service and legalize it as a way of life”.

Chief Daman advised the state government to set up a special media committee to collate information and send to the international media outfits, the international Human Rights Commission, the Vatican and the ICC to show the world how people are slaughtered in Plateau state. He reminded Plateau citizens that the crises in the state did not start from Senator Joshua Dariye's administration and may not end with Governor Jonah Jang adding that politicians, military chiefs from the state, elites, religious and traditional rulers, youths, women, the aged and associations should unite and find permanent solution to the lingering crises in the state.

director of Peoples Media Limited, publishers of Peoples Daily and Peoples Daily Weekend, Alhaji Abdulmumini Bello, believes that the north still needs more newspapers to carry its voice across the nation and contribute to unity of the region. Bello, who stated this at the inauguration of The Katsina state NUJ elders forum over the weekend in Katsina, said northerners must strive to close the communication gap by establishing more newspapers. Similarly, the director who was part of the elder's forum, tasked NUJ to initiate ways of getting funds to execute its numerous development activities. He said, “you have to be creative. We the elders forum cannot do all the thinking for you. You must sit down, think of ways to enhance your sources of income because ours is only to assist you in realizing your dreams”. Also speaking at the ceremony, the Wazirin Katsina, Alhaji Sani Abubakar Lugga who is the chairman of the elder's forum praised the Katsina state governor for donating a permanent secretariat complex to the state council of the NUJ. The Wazirin Katsina promised to mobilize other members of the forum to fashion ways of assisting the union to improve the secretariat complex and the welfare of practicing journalists in the state.

Ajimobi congratulates Oshiomhole, performance in the last four years by the Mukhtar people of Edo state. From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

overnor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo state has congratulated his Edo state counterpart, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, over his re-election as governor, saying it was a well-deserved victory. The governor also felicitated with Justice Aloma Maryam Mukhtar on her appointment as the first female Chief Justice of Nigeria. Speaking in a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Adviser on Media, Dr. Festus Adedayo, Governor Ajimobi said Oshiomhole’s landslide victory at the poll was an appreciation of his outstanding

He also said that the triumph was a demonstration of the love the people of the state had for him and the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), adding that it was a further confirmation of the age-long progressive nature of Edo people. The governor also commended Justice Mukhtar’s elevation to Chief Justice of Nigeria, describing her as a pride to womanhood and the Nigerian judiciary. The governor said that Oyo state remembers with nostalgic feelings Justice Mukhtar’s “impeccable record when she was the Presiding Justice at the Court of Appeal, Ibadan” which he said “remains unmatched till date.”

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

PAGE 12

EDIT ORIAL EDITORIAL

Challenges before Nigeria’s first woman CJN

t her confirmation hearing before the Senate on Thursday last week, brand new and first female Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar admitted to what has for long been an open secret: there is corruption in the judiciary. “Corruption is in every sector of our country, and I cannot pretend that it is not in the Judiciary. The perception of the judiciary by the public is indeed bad and I'm saddened. I'll try to ensure that the confidence reposed in the judiciary before is restored. I'll ensure that the bad eggs that are there are cleansed. It is sad that the ordinary Nigerian feels he won't get justice, and it is because of the situation we find ourselves in,” the then CJN-designate had confessed. In the same week, her immediate predecessor Justice Dahiru Musdapher (rtd) also told a group of senior editors that corruption was indeed a problem in the judiciary. According to him, “In Nigeria corruption is everywhere. On judicial corruption, yes, there is that problem. We get 20 to 30 complaints against judges almost every week. When we go to NJC meeting what usually happens is that half the time is spent dealing with this subject matter”. Given this “home” truth about the judiciary, the new CJN’s assignment in that respect would seem to have been half done, in that with the ailment already diagnosed, remedying it remains the next and final action to take, and we believe that once the

monster of corruption in the judiciary is tamed, what other problems there may be should be easy to address. And, in our thinking, most of the other problems are not unrelated to sharp practices. Granting of frivolous injunctions is a case in point. It would seem that no injunction is unobtainable if the litigant is willing to pay the right

“

Fortunately for her, she has the benefit of more time to effect positive changes in the judiciary. We are pleased to hear that she intends to do exactly that by leading by example amount. There are also too many adjournments of cases. These contribute in no small measure to creating the impression of a deliberate delay in concluding cases and, as the old saying goes, justice delayed is justice denied. The Third Estate of the Realm is still reeling from the odium of the Justice Ayo Salami affair, in which the penultimate past CJN, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu and Salami, the suspended Court of Appeal President, washed their

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

dirty linen in public over an election case. The jury is still out on the public’s perception of the saga. As the most enduring of the three arms of government in the country, no thanks to the several military interregna, the Nigerian judiciary ought not to have been, or seen to be, sharing the same corruption bed with its executive and legislative counterparts, for the simple reason that it has had sufficient time, from independence to date, to evolve into an institution that is a model of probity, and, which is indeed the last resort of all in the society regardless of social status. Sadly, as things are in the judiciary, justice appears, in most cases, to be for none but the highest bidder. Although her predecessor has started something, he did not have much time to do much, as he spent only 11 months in office. Fortunately for her, she has the benefit of more time to effect positive changes in the judiciary. We are pleased to hear that she intends to do exactly that by leading by example. "What I intend to do to curb this (corruption) is to lead by example and to hope and pray that others will follow,” she assured before the Senate. While wishing the best of luck to the nation’s new number one judicial officer, we urge her colleagues, serving and retired, to extend a helping hand so that her tenure would regain the judiciary’s lost glory and lead it back on the path of honour.

OUR PEOPLE

OUR VISION

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

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

HEAD, ADVERT/MARKETING HUSSAINI ABDULRAHMAN, CNA

ACTING EDITOR, WEEKEND RICHARD IHEDIWA

GM PUBLICATIONS ABDULAZEEZ ABDULLAHI

HEAD, LAGOS BUREAU ADESOJI OYINLOLA

MANAGER, ADMINISTRATION HASSAN HAMMANYAJI

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

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

By Emmanuel Onwubiko

or the first time in many years, one of my published articles titled “Policing Oil Spills in Nigeria” attracted the single largest reactions from a cross segment of readers to surpass any of my previously ran newspaper pieces. The simple explanation for this is that the activities of the multi-national crude oil companies in the oil producing states in the Niger Delta has adversely impacted on the daily lives of millions of Nigerians even as the unfortunate plight of the environment of these oil rich but criminally neglected Niger Delta communities has attracted global-wide interest. Chinenye Lebechi, a teenager who aspires to gain admission at either the university of Port Harcourt or Imo state university has an uncommon fascination about the need for humanity to clean up the environment and to allow for the proper functioning of the ecosystem. The 19-year old girl was among the over two dozen persons that called me to add flesh to that piece I did which was published last week titled “Policing oil spills in Nigeria.” Chinenye Lebechi like many others followed up her call to me with an extensive email detailing what she believed are the modest achievements of some environmentally friendly institutions and nongovernmental bodies. She was particularly impressed with what she termed as the heroic achievements of “friends of the Earth”, a non-governmental organization at the forefront of

PAGE 13

Still on Nigeria’s oil spills campaigning for a global greener environment and the Nigeria’s National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) which was established in 2006. She also advocated the aggressive teaching of environmental sciences at the secondary school level in Nigeria so as to enlighten Nigerian young stars to embrace those habits that will help clean up the environment and also work towards achieving comprehensive greener environment. Chinenye wrote thus; “Sir, I read your very articulate article titled “policing oil spills in Nigeria” and I hereby commend you for this great effort. But, sir, I do not subscribe to your earlier statement in that article that not many youth are aware of the activities of the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency [NOSDRA]”. She continued; “Sir, it is my pleasure to inform you that myself and most of my friends here in Port Harcourt in River State have taken pains to understudy the activities of that government Agency and we can attest to the patriotic zeal of the staff of that organization to discharge their duties”. She said that from her investigation from sources she termed as good authority she learnt that; NOSDRA has carried out Joint Investigation Visits (JIVs) to impacted sites in concert with relevant stakeholders,

including state ministry of environment, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), oil companies and affected communities. JIVs enable NOSDRA determine causes of oil spills, inspect remediated sites for certification and participate in major re-entry programmes, as well as respond to public complaints;

Government; NOSDRA has undertaken an investorisation of the existing oil spill containment pits abandoned by oil companies in the Niger Delta in order to convert them to arable land for viable economic ventures, such as farming and fishing. Some of the sites have already been selected as pilot projects based on some support

“

To curb pollution of land and water through the activities of oil and gas companies, NOSDRA, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has reviewed and updated the following existing environmental regulations for the petroleum sector to make the players conform to the laws, guidelines and standards in the sector The Agency has identified many impacted sites (269 sites) of various oil companies for cleanup and remediation, as well as certification after being duly restored to their natural state; NOSDRA is currently a major stakeholder in the proposed clean-up and mitigation of oil devastated Ogoniland, which is being spearheaded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), under the auspices of the Federal

from the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs); To curb pollution of land and water through the activities of oil and gas companies, NOSDRA, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has reviewed and updated the following existing environmental regulations for the petroleum sector to make the players conform to the laws, guidelines and standards in the sector:

(a)National Environmental Regulations and Guidelines for the Management of Oil and Oily Waste and National Environmental Guidelines and Standards for Oil Recovery, Clean-up Remediation and Damage Assessment; (b)Blueprint on Development and Gazetting of Environmental Guidelines and Regulations in the Oil Industry; and also To guide and endure appropriate response mechanism required for different environmentally sensitive areas in Nigeria in the event of oil spillage, NOSDRA has produced the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) map of the country’s coastlines, from Badagry to Calabar, stretching 50km inland. The map has become a reliable working instrument for oil companies and other relevant stakeholders to handle different environmentally sensitive areas when oil spill occur. Impressed by this rich analysis by a teenager, I decided to carry out discreet investigation of all these claims from some knowledgeable sources and my findings correspond with Chinenye’s beautiful presentation. Readers please follow the example of this teenager by writing in to share your views on our pieces. Emmanuel Onwubiko, Head, Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria, writes from http:// www.huriwa.blogspot.com/

Is it time to give up on Jonathan? By Michael Egbejumi-David

t is a poorly kept secret that, n Jonathan’s household, Mrs. Patience, is the one who calls the shots. She rules the roost. She is the one in charge; the boss. In some cases, the woman being in charge is not actually a bad thing. In fact, it can be a good thing. However, I’m not sure if this is the case with the first family. It certainly isn’t proving to be the case now. When you look at Jonathan, when you behold and have been thoroughly put off by Goodluck’s docility, his lack of vigour and rigour, you would understand why Patience had to take charge. It’s just a shame that she doesn’t know where to draw the line. It was recently reported that Mrs Jonathan has remained on the payroll of the Bayelsa State civil service despite the fact that she hasn’t turned up for work for even one minute since her husband became the Deputy Governor in 1999. Regardless of all that, she was still considered an active staff member and was being paid in full by the Ministry of Education (of all places!) I was still digesting that appalling news and wondering when Reuben Abati would come out and announce that Mrs i

Jonathan has returned all the salaries and allowances she has been pocketing since 1999, when worse news floated in. This one came directly from the Head of Bayelsa State Civil Service, Gloria Izonfo. She announced that the same Mrs Jonathan has been appointed a Permanent Secretary. I can just imagine Don King’s hair standing on end as he shouts, “Only in Nigeria!” For one, this is sycophancy gone out of hand. People will recall that the current governor, Seriake Dickson was one of the Abuja politicians who were used to fight the previous governor, Timipre Sylva to a standstill until his election was annulled in April 2008 by the Court of Appeal. Back then, Dickson, a House of Representative member, avowed that the majority of PDP stakeholders in Bayelsa would not support Sylva’s candidacy to run again at a new election that was mandated after 90 days. He called Sylva “unacceptable” and a person lacking in skills to “build consensus.” A loyal Jonathan disciple, in 2012 Dickson was rewarded with the governorship after his oga became President and Sylva had been kicked hard into exile. Dickson was declared the winner of the governorship election by

the State Returning Officer, Prof Joseph Ajienka. (More about him later) As per our culture in Nigeria, Dickson is now thanking his oga through madam, however, he is doing it all wrong. Mrs Jonathan stopped going in to work sometime in 1999. That is some 13 years ago. Let us do the math: According to her own bio, Mrs Jonathan got her NCE (Teacher training) diploma in 1989. Then she proceeded to the University of Port Harcourt for a 3 year Bachelor’s programme in Biology and Psychology, finishing, presumably, in 1992. Then she became a teacher at a Secondary School where she was until 1997. In 1997, she left and went into Community Banking. Then things become sketchy. At some point, post 1997, Mrs Jonathan left the bank and returned “to the classroom briefly again as a teacher.” Then “she was transferred to the Bayelsa State Ministry of Education, where she served until 29 May 1999 when her husband became the Deputy Governor of the State.” So. Ok. Let’s say Mrs Jonathan stayed in the banking sector for just one year. That would mean that she returned to teaching in 1998. A few

months later, she joined the Ministry of Education in Bayelsa. To be generous, let us say she was with that Ministry for a full calendar year before she became Second Lady of Bayelsa. Once they were in office, Mrs Jonathan never darkened the doors of the Education Ministry again. However, she continued to draw a salary. On 12 July 2012, with just one single solitary practical active year experience in the Education Ministry, she was made its Permanent Secretary. So, what are the duties and responsibilities of a Permanent Secretary? The number one job of a Permanent Secretary is to run the department on a day-to-day basis. Effectively, the Permanent Secretary is the chief executive of a particular government department, overseeing its operations including, budgets, personnel, training, etc, etc. The Permanent Secretary also provides reports and advice to the political head of the Ministry, the Commissioner. Permanent Secretaries are also the accounting Officers for their department, which means they are directly answerable to the Legislature for financial matters. Furthermore, Permanent Secretaries chair their departments’ Management Boards.

Mrs Jonathan will do all of this and more with just one year of entry level experience under her belt; an experience acquired some 13 years ago. We have been told however in an attempt at clarification that Mrs Jonathan will do this in absentia. A brand new concept; a Permanent Secretary in absentia. Only in Jonathan’s Nigeria. In effect, Mrs Jonathan was just awarded a title for later use. The First Lady appellation would appear inadequate. A further attempt at clarification was made on 14 July 2012 by a Special Assistant to the governor, Daniel Iworiso-Markson. He said, “The State government believes that the services of the First Lady to the development of Bayelsa State and Nigeria qualify as essential service, which should be recognised and rewarded.” Good God! You cannot make this up, even if you were writing a very bad movie script. Provincial outlook is being nationalised. We are being forcefed parochial backwater thinking and behaviour from the riverside. Lack of refinement and outrageous buffoonery has been elevated to statecraft. God help us all. As a man, when your truculent wife comes to you with news of such “promotion,” you Contd. on page 15

PAGE 14

By Lweis Akpogena

“

breakthrough is waiting for those who persevere. If you have stopped praying, receive fresh grace to pray again. George Mueller, the great 19thcentury British evangelist, prayed in more than $7 million during his lifetime to feed the thousands of orphans in his care. He didn’t believe in telling people about his financial needs, yet he always had enough to pay his enormous grocery bill because God supernaturally provided. But Mueller’s faith was stretched in other ways. He prayed regularly over a list of five people he wanted to see converted to faith in Jesus. The first man was saved after five years. The second and third men converted to Christ after 10 years. The fourth man was saved after 25 years of consistent prayer.” “But here’s the clincher: Mueller prayed for the fifth man’s conversion for a whopping 52 years. The friend made a profession of faith in Christ a few months after Mueller’s funeral! This story challenges me to the core because I’m so impatient. I’m guilty of revving my engine at stoplights and tapping my foot when my Internet connection is slow. Technology is a blessing, but it has also spoiled me into thinking I can get spiritual results as fast as I want them. Would you pray about something consistently for 52 years if there was no sign an answer was coming? I started praying about

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

Don’t let delays defeat you some big requests three years ago, birth of their promised heir, why because God is stretching our and I realized recently that I had do we think our answers should be spiritual capacity to receive. Press through the pain! There is grown weary of the process. Prayer instant?” had become painful. Doubts began “2. You must persevere if you gain on the other side. Speaking smothering my dreams. I felt like want to receive. Perseverance is of prayer, Jesus said: “Keep on giving up, but God spoke three one of those archaic words we’ve asking and it will be given you; simple truths to my heart. They stripped from our vocabulary. keep on seeking and you will find; might help you”: Waiting is a weird concept for keep on knocking [reverently] “1. God never said this would people in the 21st century who and [the door] will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7, be easy. Jesus AMP). In other gave us many words, don’t stop wonderful, rosy praying no promises, but matter how long He also said: “In Peoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text the answer the world you messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written takes.” h a v e contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150 3. The end tribulation” result of faith is a (John 16:33, words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and larger territory. NASB). That’s a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed When Isaac not a Scripture to: sojourned in the you will find land of Gerar, the embroidered on The Editor, Bible says he rea pillow or Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, dug the wells of inscribed on a 35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja. his father and f l o w e r y Email: let ters@peoplesdaily-online.com then dug new greeting card. SMS: 07037756364 wells. After he But it’s a dug the first two, guarantee. the Philistines Anybody who attempts something great for God have movies-on-demand. If quarreled with Isaac and tried to will face difficulties. Sometimes someone tells us to wait, we just claim ownership of the water. But construction crews in my city find an app on our phone to speed when Isaac dug a third time, the erect large flashing signs along the up the process. But there is no fighting stopped and he named highway near my house. All shortcut when it comes to the new well “Rehoboth,” which drivers groan when they see the receiving God’s answers. The means “a broad place” (see Gen. message: “EXPECT DELAYS.” Life definition of perseverance is 26:18-24). Isaac could have is littered with these signs, and “steady persistence in a course of become discouraged after the first Jesus said they are part of our action or purpose, especially in well-digging fiasco. Many people training process. If Abraham and spite of difficulties, obstacles or back off at the first sign of a fight, Sarah had to wait 25 years for the discouragement.” Faith is painful but Isaac didn’t let the quarrels

WRITE TO US

stop him. He dug a second time and hit yet another roadblock. But he kept on digging. When the breakthrough occurred, Isaac declared: “At last the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land” (26:22, NASB).” The lesson Isaac learned is still part of our faith curriculum today. There is no getting around it. We must keep on believing when circumstances tell us to quit. We must stretch our faith when it feels like we have no more stretch left. We must pray beyond the delay. George Mueller said: “God delights to increase the faith of His children. We ought, instead of wanting no trials before victory, no exercise for patience, to be willing to take them from God’s hands as a means. Trials, obstacles, difficulties and sometimes defeats, are the very food of faith.” If you have grown weary, or even if you have quit believing, receive fresh grace to pray again. Let patience have its perfect work. God will fortify your faith and empower you to receive a m i r a c u l o u s breakthrough.(Source: J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma and the director of The Mordecai Project). Dr. Lewis Akpogena is reachable at akpogena@yahoo.com

Soyinka: This tree won’t make a forest By Qudus Onikeku

etween two decades before independence and two decades after, is a period Femi Osofisan refers to as the ‘age of innocence’. Nigeria knew its golden age of extremely creative talents who shook the world; they are so many that I have decided to pick one of them as the matter of this article, one with whom I feel closest to. Wole Soyinka. That lone tree, which might not make a forest in this ‘age of madness’. As a Dancer/Choreographer and one of the most privileged young artists in contemporary Nigeria, with a wide access to the international art market. I consider myself one of the very rare remaining Nigerians – not to say Africans – who have access to the prerequisite elements for creating, and able to retain the precise mental balance that their creative temperament requires. Get residencies when needed, an access to theatres to conclude technical aspects of creations, and a ready network for touring. Those who are however aware of the loss that comes with negotiating one’s space of influence and cultural backdrop before the unforgiving gaze of the ‘other’, will understand that every traveling artist, especially of this contemporary times of flux and mixing, where every notion of ‘roots’ and ‘home’ is perpetually shifting, the need for a locality is much stronger than any time. As a traveling artist who

continuously struggles to fix his sense of locality on Nigerian terrain – like many of my likes – I have mostly relied on the brains of such writers as Wole Soyinka to regain the memory of a time before time. For the purpose of authenticity and that of choice, I recognize the need for a body memory, which has lived longer than my own lived power or freedom. Soyinka’s writings have helped me a great deal in recognizing such mental territory of existence, but that is a locality solely based in a psychic asylum. Let me get back to earth; let’s take a quick excursion around the nation state called Nigeria. Let’s search all around the entire nation. Where is the cultured man whose appreciation of poetry has transformed him to a better citizen, where is that man who can understand that rather than having and doing, we can as well just BE – human BEings. – Where is such man who finds art as relevant as going to his temple? Where are the spaces required for the attainment of such man Wole Soyinka builds perfectly well with his inks and imagination? The man died I guess. I was barely two years old when WS won the Nobel Prize for literature, not for peace, not for social criticism that is linked to activism, but for literature. So, I first and foremost see WS as an artist above all other preoccupation of his, in which he himself acknowledged. I read, I

was only a kid when Soyinka will get calls from leaders of this world for a one on one meeting, from the comfort of his home in Abeokuta, he would even be called for a dinner in Paris, he will be on the same table with the likes of Mandela and other decision makers in Africa. What I meant to say is that he arrived at that point of those who run things, therefore he could do things, only when he believed strongly in it. I however find it hard to reconcile with the fact that, at the age of 16 when I decided to become an artist – in a society where such individual emerged and lives – I still have difficulties in not only convincing my parents about my chosen career, but had no single argument when they asked me ‘how will you go about it? What institutions are you going to survive on?’

It was in my dire quest to prove them wrong that I decided to study elsewhere but Nigeria. Where are the structures in place in Nigeria, solely dedicated to the fabrication of a different breeds of Nigerians, who have a different appetite for beauty, sees a different purpose for life and a vital need for artistic expressions? I guess that challenging question is still lingering in my head till this very day, and now it has led to further questions, quite hard to wave away. “The artist in African society has always functioned as the conscience of his people” WS Any society that finds it unnecessary to create necessary spaces for the lunatics amongst her citizens, it is such society that is lunatic. Did Soyinka ever believe in the power of art and what it can do? Did he ever

“

There is nothing more profiting than creating conducive spaces for a disillusioned youth, to experiment and express their creative energy. There is nothing richer than a soul that can sit in front of a painting, or listening to poetry and having either the intellectual, human or moral baggage to appreciate it

understand that it was useless to build a nation, when the people’s minds are underdeveloped? Did he think one could teach an appreciation of a higher reasoning by speaking down at them from an unreachable height? It was WS himself who thought me that the values which we live by as a people, are the values that led us into the present in the first place, that “the distorting mists of national euphoria, moral negligence and ideological barrenness which led us to this point are still seen as continuing in the identity of this nation, and since this national identity has not changed, has undergo no revolutionary purge either in its guts or at the head. Therefore, for (any) revolution to be felt, it must be made of fragments, and not as a whole body.” So, where are the ARTISTS in the NIGERIAN society? Are they all gone? Almost all? Forget the laborious corruption of that title – Artists – within the Nigerian sphere, and make a distinction between who for real is an artiste, from harlots who exploits and profit from human misery. Here I refer to those whose minds are like every other mind, got one head and two feet, therefore not superhuman, only that they possess a superlative mental power of sensation, perception, memory, and imagination which seems to be supreme and makes them appear more alive, more Continued on page 15

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

PAGE 15

What shall become of the young Nigerian? (I) By Abdulrazak B Ibrahim

he Picture: By the time this piece was written, Nigeria Security Tracker, a crowd map managed by Council on Foreign Relations, has catalogued 591 violent incidents in Nigeria between May 2011 and mid June 2012 (and still counting). Several hundreds of people have been killed and many more displaced, as a result of attacks motivated by political, economic, or social grievances. These figures are alarming, and considering the difficulty of verifying incidents of this nature, we may assume that they are the most conservative you can get. Far more alarming however, are those associated with suicide attacks allegedly perpetrated by a radical Islamic movement, known as Boko Haram, which is believed to be based in Northeastern Nigeria. With every attack, our hearts and that of our country are ripped apart as the mayhem continues. To understand the Boko Haram crisis better, readers may find useful, a Special Report published by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), in which Andrew Walker, a British journalist with experience in Nigeria presented one of the most comprehensive analyses on the issue. However, as the country grapples with the escalating violence on one hand, and struggles to understand it on the other, commentators have argued that the turbulent times characterized by these attacks and killings are a result of decades of misrule, injustice and corruption that date back

to colonial era. Theories abound in which some powerful and invisible hands, within and outside the country, are rumored to be behind the attacks for political ends. As the drums of war beat across the giant of Africa, secessionists, mercenaries, armed robbers and dare devil criminal groups are having a field day. With different opinion leaders directing tirades at each other, some have even called for the complete annihilation of any community perceived to shelter attackers and others brag about how ready they are to go to war. Conflicting and polarizing reports which keep flowing forth from largely emasculated media outfits as well as accusations and counter accusations traded amongst religious leaders, government and security agents, regarding the attacks and those behind them, serve to further polarize an already divided country. While reports of human right abuses and extortion by security forces remind the public of the extra judicial murder that took place back 2009, unexplained disappearance of arraigned suspects and reports of alleged involvement of some police and customs officers in illegal arms dealings, suggest laxity and/or complicity of elements in government. In the wake of this great confusion and what many, including those in high places, now consider a looming anarchy that may eventually consume the entire country, helpless Nigerians groan in pain, bewilderment and trepidation. While successive Sundays saw

the bombing of churches, brutally ending the lives of innocent worshippers and passersby and visiting destructions on properties, rampaging youth maimed and killed travelers on highways in “retaliation”. With the horrible bloodshed involving ethnic Berom and Fulani pastoralists in villages around Jos, central Nigeria last week, and the deaths of high level politicians, there are only confusing reports on the circumstances surrounding their deaths and the crisis itself even as the military gave eviction notice to Fulani residing in the affected areas. These incessant attacks, the most recent being reported in a mosque in Maiduguri northeastern Nigeria, and Okene in central Nigeria, and that nauseating video of young Nigerians cannibalizing on fellow countrymen they roasted, is enough to traumatize anyone. The country may indeed survive beyond 2012, but it appears we might have reached a critical threshold in the great

Nigerian dance “on the brink” on the proscenium stage, first set in October 1960 and managed by a succession of looters and criminals. For condemning or being silent on the crisis, depending on where a specific attack is carried out or who is allegedly responsible, Nigerians are trapped in a dangerous predicament sustained by a combination of fear, prejudice, hypocrisy, bigotry and plain hatred. Meanwhile, revelations on the theft of US$7.6 billion of fuel subsidy in a scam that seems to have been going on for several years now, and the intrigues associated therewith, further left Nigerians bitter, dejected and hopeless. No less worrying is the inevitable reality that seems to stare at the country in the eyes that tougher days may still be ahead when the financial dividends of corruption will rear their ugly horns with harsher vengeance. In the words of an anonymous writer, the major crisis may not have

“

In the wake of this great confusion and what many, including those in high places, now consider a looming anarchy that may eventually consume the entire country, helpless Nigerians groan in pain, bewilderment and trepidation. ...With no dream or ambition other than that of driving expensive cars and “making it early in life”, our young Nigerian has become internet fraudster, drug mule, rapist, intolerant and uncultured

started yet, but it is imminent, when the country´s “muchabused public purse will run out of money” soon. In these trying times and the catastrophic consequences they portend for the nation, perhaps the most “endangered species” is the young Nigerian. With only a few credible leaders, mostly completely powerless and frustrated, the young Nigerian is left with no befitting legacy and stripped of all hope of a better future. The so called younger generations in power have also completely betrayed him by soiling their hands at the at offer of a few dollar bills. Born in the darkness of NEPA, (now PHCN) with a poisoned mind, that those who do not practice his brand of religion or do not belong to his part of the country are enemies, the young Nigerian cuts a pathetic figure. Having learnt that the enterprising Igbo trader in his village should be addressed as arne (a Hausa word for pagan) or the despicable Hausa speaking cobbler is nama and aboki (two other Hausa words signifying meat and friend, but which, in Southeastern Nigeria denote cow and some moron from northern Nigeria respectively), he is as closed minded as they come. With no dream or ambition other than that of driving expensive cars and “making it early in life”, our young Nigerian has become internet fraudster, drug mule, rapist, intolerant and uncultured. Abdulrazak B Ibrahim is reachable at biorazi@gmail.com

Soyinka: This tree won’t make a forest Continued from page 14

susceptible to the world that surrounds them and deals less in artificial aesthetic values. More like a visionary that leads the way to the unknown, and not a manipulator of the present,

doing all he/she could to stop time, for enjoyable moment of power, fame, self aggrandizement and material wealth. The task I have placed upon myself as a human being and as

a Nigerian, resides solely in the terrain of the arts, which I believe so strongly might go a long way in doctoring our moral negligence, ideological barrenness, create a purge in our heads, and strengthen the

Is it time to give up on Jonathan? Continued from page 13

are supposed to quickly pour deserved ice water on it. You are supposed to show her the million ways in which it is wrong and inappropriate. As a Head of State, you ought to then go further and insist on decency, pick up the phone, call the bloody governor of Bayelsa and tell him to keep his Greek gift. Tell him not to ridicule further a government that is already struggling to convince people that it is a serious one. I just don’t understand: Is it that some people simply lack the ability to see what everyone else can see or they just don’t care? But it is clear Mrs Jonathan calls the shots at home. Clearly, the President is not able to curtail her overbearing and flagrant impulses. He gave up trying long ago. Our Jonah is just too happy

for her to go do her thing at any cost and leave him alone with all her wahala. In any event, they own the day now, so anything goes. Not too long ago, ‘twas for the same Jonathan that an Italian construction company, Gitto Construzioni Generali, built a huge church in the heart of his village. Jonathan even saw it fit to defend such farce and obvious corruption. Why didn’t the same firm build churches in other villages before or after Jonathan’s? Just last month, Mrs Jonathan was awarded a Doctorate by the University of Port Harcourt. On hand to confer that honorary degree on her was Prof Ajienka, the Vice Chancellor of the University. Yes, the same Prof Joseph Ajienka, State

Electoral Returning Officer who declared Dickson governorship winner. Same day, President Jonathan approved N3 billion for the development of the University of Port Harcourt. This is where we now find ourselves. Everything is so gauche. There is a complete absence of shame. No decorum, no circumspection. It is Idi Amin declaring himself the King of Scotland all over again. And the sovereignty of 150 million souls is entrusted in the care of this man? Wasn’t it Fela who sang that ‘Upside Down get them meaning too?’ Nigeria we hail thee. This poor country just cannot catch a break Michael Egbejumi-David can be reached at demdem@hotmail.co.uk and on Twitter: demdemdem1

cultural fragment of this ‘revolution’ which signifies that, as a people we cannot begin to build until we have been able to control the damage by first discovering its sources. This discovery must sink us down to the roots, to demolish and rehabilitate the foundations of thoughts and actions responsible for such damage, then begin to re-create. A people who can appreciate art are a people of high morality and matured choices. No wonder It is now a common knowledge that the powerful - clueless leaders - will always reach for their guns each time they hear the word ‘culture’. I speak here, not of a culture on sales and solely consumable by the elite class, tourists and expatriates, but that which provides a solid ground for a sense of dignity and a sense of self, which gives rise to an honest self appraisal and self renewal. That which constantly worries about the factors upsetting our ardent need for peace and tranquility, for an authentic identity and decency. This makes the artist appear to them a perpetual rebel. Through

access to the arts the people ultimately learn to know themselves and their humanity socially. For these reasons, it is not difficult to understand why theatres and music halls are closed during the reign of tyranny, for there is nothing more radical than creating theatres for a people living in anomie. There is nothing more profiting than creating conducive spaces for a disillusioned youth, to experiment and express their creative energy. There is nothing richer than a soul that can sit in front of a painting, or listening to poetry and having either the intellectual, human or moral baggage to appreciate it. There is nothing more transforming than a people who can single handedly make distinction between what is meritorious from what is merely meticulous, and determine which endeavors are worthy of their best efforts. What spaces have we to function with, as artists in Nigeria? Qudus Onikeku can be reached at www.qudus.blogspot.com

PAGE 16

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

Primus Hospital saga: Between safety of life and politics of mudslinging (II)

A theatre room at Primus Hospital in Karu, ,Abuja By Josephine Ella

fter an alleged failed attempt to extort N500 million from the Primus hospital management, the woman at the centre of the storm, which appears to be threathening the existence of the hospital whose name was simply given as Grace, resorted to threat of legal action. Subsequently, the media allegedly became a potent tool for her to achieve her aim. It did not take so long for mediums to begin to pick up her tale of how surgeons in the hospital allegedly cut her open and stitched back the cut without removing the fibroid inside her. Grace’s tale had of late formed the basis of many media reports accusing these Indian doctors of being incompetence. When despite these, the hospital failed to meet the purported demand, the battle line was drawn as she went ahead with her lawyer to make a case before a law court in Abuja, a development which the

hospital management said it was prepared to fight to a logical end. However, in an ironical twist, investigation has revealed that Grace has withdrawn the case against she instituted against the hospital upon realising that she was ill advised. What actually went wrong? What informed Grace’s decision to withdraw the case? To this, the Chairperson of the hospital, Achla Dewan confirmed on enquiry that the lady in question had actualled signed in for fibroid operation which the hospital performed. According to her, the surgeons removed all the small growths, except an extremely large one that due to the risk involved, the experts gave her drugs to take to shrink the growth which if removed could result to serious bleeding and possible death. Rather than taking the drugs given to her and returning to the hospital within the three weeks time frame given her, Grace was said to have proceeded to an indigenous hospital and next, to

some media houses to make scathing allegations against the hospital. “They wrote a letter to us demanding for N500 million which we did not comply to. They now wrote to the Nigeria Medical and Dental Association but before they could take action, she ran to the court. But as I’m talking to you now, she has withdrawn the case because she was advised that she cannot win the case. On our part, we have evidences to tender before the court to justify that we carried out the operation on her. For instance, the cuts are still with us, so the court could carry out a DNA test to ascertain this,” she confirmed. She debunked media reports of a purported N25,000-N30, 000 being charged by the hospital as registration fee, saying the rumour was ”outrageous, wrong and baseless”. Rather, she explained that the hospital charges N8,000 consultancy fees for senior consultants and N4,000 for junior consultants in the case of minor cases, while N1000 is charged for registration.

Reacting to a recent report on a national daily(not Peoples Daily) titled, ‘Karu Specialist Hospital: Built at N3.8bn, sold to Indians at N600m’, the chairperson explained that FCT administration did not sell the hospital to them, rather only 40 per cent of the hospital was leased to them by the administration in a 15 years contract. She tendered receipt of a N40 million payment to the FCT administration, dated May 5, 2012, being the annual lease fee for this year, to debunk a report on another media that the hospital has never paid the lease fee since its began operation. Dewan was unhappy that Nigerians whom they have sacrifice so much to serve, are unappreciative and in a bid to frustrate them out of business, have resorted to media war against them. She alleged that some Nigerian doctors, who gets huge commissions from hospitals abroad for referring patients seeking for medical attention,

must be playing this pull them down politics against the hospital. “I have strong feeling that some doctors in this country who benefit from hospitals abroad for referring patients to them are behind all this damaging media reports that are being sponsored against us,” Dewan said. But she said the hospital would no longer condone such publicaions as she hinted that the hospital management was set to file a legal suit against one of the newspapers. In the same vein, medical superintendent of the hospital, Dr. Eugene Emodi blamed the negative reports flying around against the hospital to the wicked antics of some selfish Nigerians. Reacting to this, the superintendent, a Nigerian of over 30 years experience in medicine, describe the situation as a “Macabre dance of death, where our own Nigerians are playing that Russian runlet with the lives of our people, patients and Staff”. “I find myself in a situation Continued on page 18

PAGE 18

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

Primus Hospital saga: Between safety of life and politics of mudslinging (II) Continued from page 16 where people are trivialising lives; they are playing politics with the lives of our people and making nonsense of my own profession, which gets me insulted most of the time. I am a doctor and I am proud to be one, I am a Nigerian and nobody can be more Nigerian than I am. On complaints of exorbitant medical bills by the hospital, he said specialised medical care such as being offered in the hospital is capital intensive anywhere in the world. According to him, the hospital was being run 24 hours on generator powered by diesel because the hospital was not connected to electricity supply by the Power Holding Company(PHCN). As a result he added that so much fund was been expended on diesel “because there are temperature range within which

we must maintain the specialised equipments that we have like the CT scan, MRI or else they will break down”. On reports that the hospital was not registered with the relevant medical authorities, Emodi maintained that as a Specialist Hospital, that has the required manpower and equipment, the hospital has been registered by the Health Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration. “This hospital has been accredited by the Medical Rehabilitation Therapists Board of Nigeria physiotherapy, when they came and found us worthy and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria,” he added, presenting the relevant certificates to some journalists during a tour of the hospital at the weekend. He said the wicked reports going round have deterred some patients from visiting the hospital for treatment, wondering why people could be so cruel for their selfish

interest. ”Instead of we Nigerians to be happy and encourage the medical people that have come to assist us and make life meaningful for you and I, people are spending all their time saying things that we cannot comprehend. They say they bring people here and they die, who died? How many people died?,” he questioned, referring to another report on the hospital titled, ‘Killer Hospital in Abuja’. He pointed out that some patients were not brought to the hospital at the right stage, saying they are brought in only when their situation had deteriorated beyond remedy, only for their relatives to be going about accusing the hospital saying “we are not magicians”. Also, reacting to a newspaper report that doctors in the hospital do not possess basic medical credentials(with the title, ‘Quack Indian Doctors killing Nigerians’), a Physician, Dr. Kiran Khuma, said on behalf of the management, that

all doctors in the hospital were very experienced. “In the surgery department, the surgeons have more than 25 years experience, the Orthopaedicians are 8 to 10 years experience, the ICU specialist has about 7 to 8 years post medical qualification and I am a physician and I have six years post medical qualification”. Majority of us are from all the highly regarded institute in different countries and we have submitted our polished degree and our registration to the medical council forum for verification and it is all open, so it is a baseless statement when you say the doctors working here are less experienced, that is not true”, he argued. On his part, reacting recently in a press conference, to reports on the media that the FCT administration had shut down the hospital due to their alleged incompetence, the Secretary, FCT Health and Human Services Secretary, Dr Demola Onakomaiya, refuted the

allegation, giving the hospital a clean bill of health as he said the hospital has been doing a wonderful job. He explained that the Indianbased hospital entered into a 15- year lease agreement with the FCTA in 2010 to provide specialised medical services and in-house training, housemanship training and tutelage for FCTA employees. The secretary said the lease has a two-year moratorium with commencement of payment of an annual N40 million lease fee, renewable every five years from April 2012. Dr. Onakomaiya explained that, the lease agreement with Primus became necessary in order to stem the migration of Nigerians requiring specialised medical care to India. He said it is also necessary to help reduce capital flight and reduce risk due to frequent travelling abroad for specialised treatment. Concluded

Asokoro hospital to commence dialysis September By Sunday Etuka

he Federal Capital T e r r i t o r y Administration (FCTA) has reaffirmed its commitment towards the provision of quality health care services to the teeming Abuja populace while assuring of equity and sustainability of its health services. This was as it disclosed that it has purchased Asokoro District Hospital for patients with kidney related issues. Speaking during a tour of FCT hospitals the Secretary, Health and Human services Secretariat of the FCT administration, Dr Onokomaiya said that without an iota of doubt, Asokoro Hospital, Abuja could be ranked as the best government health institution in Nigeria today. Dr.Demola, who made the reaction at the hospital, said all hospital being managed by the administration would be upgraded continuously as the need arises. Speaking, the Medical Director, Asokoro District Hospital, Dr. Ahmodu Abubakar, who led officials of the secretariat and media men on tour of the hospital to see the new Digital equipments purchased by the administration, said the Fluoroscopy machines are used for medical investigation. “It is about radio-diagnosis. If you have a Gastric Cancer for example, by looking at the radiology you will be able to see the affected place, even ulcer and we charge as low as N5000. The mobile

equipments are taken to the wards where patient are critically ill. The machine can scan and dictate multi growth in the body from the brain of the patient to the feet. It looks at body imaging in different dimension. Once you can make a diagnosis, treatment becomes very simple. Heart diseases can be diagnosed and treated,” he explained. According to him, the two Automated Multi parameter patient monitors are used to monitor patients by taking the vital signs, blood pressure and temperature, including the oxygen saturation. He said with the machine one can monitor the patients so as to implement a life saving measures. He said the Monitoring is done for early dictation of abnormalities, so that appropriate management can be instituted. “Dialysis, we are about to commence the services, the equipments have arrived. The machines may commence operation within two months for people who have kidney problem or dialysis related disease.” On his part, Medical Director, Wuse Hospital, Dr. Obiora Chibundu, while explaining the functions of the new equipments in Wuse Hospital said, they are life supporting machines and are very expensive. He said most people travel abroad because they don’t have the information, saying, “We should make it public to discourage them from going abroad since the services are available here. The secretariat is trying to make things much easier for the patients”.

Officers of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), rescuing a victim of a road crash involving a commercial bus with registration number KMC 837 XA, which fell into a ditch, claiming two lives on Sunday close to Abacha Barracks, Abuja. Photo: Joe Oroye

Councillor sponsors over 200 residents for computer training By Adeola Tukuru

ver 200 residents of Gwarimpa ward of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), have received certificates in different computer courses from Rhema Computer Institute under sponsorship by the councillor representing the ward, Hon Joseph Ibrahim. Speaking during the graduat on ceremony, the councillors said he believes in empowerment because the knowledge acquired would help to better the lives, of the people. While promising that the gesture will not stop, he called on his

people to continue to pray and support him in other to do more. “Today we gather to celebrate the graduation of over 200 members cutting across all the six geo-political zones from Rhema Computer Training Institute which I single handedly sponsored. The knowledge acquire will go a long way to empower them. There will be more to come. I seek for your prayers and support to enable me to do more,” he said. Speaking on his achievements since assumption of office, Ibrahim said that he had worked in collaboration with chairman of the council on construction of three blocks of classroom at Jayi village,

distribution of transformers at Mabushi, Kuchigoro, Daki-biu and Piwoyi. Other efforts according to him are in the area of disbursement of scholarship to students in tertiary institutions, distribution of fertilizers and farm inputs to farmers, the ongoing electrification at Dape village among others. The beneficiaries commended the efforts of the councillor, calling on other politicians to emulate the gesture. One of them, Hajia Talatu Kano, thanked him for the opportunity not only to be computer literate but as well have a means of livelihood.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

PAGE 17

A middle aged woman roasting yam, yesterday in Apo village, Abuja.

A young woman takes her wristwatch to a roadside horologist for repairs, in Area 3, Abuja. Little children catching fun, yesterday, at Durumi village, in Abuja.

Women buying sweet potatoes, yesterday at Garki market, Abuja.

Mechanics rmending the burst tyre of a petrol tanker, yesterday in Area 1, Abuja. Photos: Justin Imo-owo

BUSINESS

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

Email: amunuimam@yahoo.co.uk

PAGE 19

INSIDE

- Pg 20

FG awards N9.6tr worth of oil contracts

Mob: 08033644990

Shell, Manufacturers to inject N9.6bn into Nigerian Content By Muhammad Nasir

L-R: Acting Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Alhaji Kabiru Mashi, immediate past President, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN)/ West African Union o f Tax Institute, Mr Rasaq Kunle Quadri, and Secretary Joint Tax Board (JTB), Alhaji Abubakar Lawal, during the 126th meeting of JTB, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Raw Materials Council, researchers produce brake pads from palm kernel shell

he Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) and a team of researchers have produced automotive brake pad and linings using palm kernel shell. Director General of RMRDC, Prof. Peter Onwualu told the News Agency of Nigeria yesterday in Abuja, that the research commenced in October 2010 and was funded by the council. He said that the team of researchers from Obafemi Awolowo University, was led by Dr Olufemi Koya of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. According to Onwualu, the project was part of the council’s effort to develop local content. He said that the product had already been tested in three auto industries in Nigeria where it was subjected to rigorous industrial testing. “The auto industries are really excited about the product and what is now left is EXCHANGE RATES

CBN CFA • £ RIYAL $

SELLING 0.2886 190.0367 242.2999 41.5609 155.87

BUYING 207 258 40 165

SELLING 209 260 42 169

brake pads in Lagos and they are willing to adopt this raw material,’’ he said. Onwualu said that once the new raw material was adopted, the company would gradually phase out the importation of the raw

materials being used at present. The DG added that there was need for additional funding to ensure that the brake pads were delivered “with consistent quality, in large quantities and at affordable prices to the market”. (NAN)

GTBank emerges “2012 best bank” in Nigeria By Aminu Imam

uaranty Trust Bank plc, one of Africa’s leading Banking Groups has been recognized as the 2012 ‘Best Bank in Nigeria’ by Euromoney Magazine for the fourth consecutive year. The award which was presented during the 2012 Euromoney Awards for Excellence Dinner, in London on July 5th, 2012, recognizes financial institutions worldwide that have recorded significant feats within their operating environments, continuously display innovation and record

excellent financial performance year on year. According to Mr. Clive Horwood, Euromoney Magazine’s Editor, GTBank’s receipt of the prestigious Bank of the Year Award for the fourth time in a row is an unprecedented feat which pays testimony to the Bank’s position as a first class, profitable and focused institution. Speaking at the event, Mr. Segun Agbaje, Group Managing Director/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank plc ascribed the award to the Bank’s well defined operating strategy, the passion and commitment of GTBank employees and adherence to

Management Tip of the Day

16th July, 2012 BUYING 0.2686 188.8175 240.7454 41.2943 154.87

PARALLEL RATES • £ RIYAL $

to actually put the brake pads on a vehicle and run it for months,’’ Onwualu said. He said that it was exiting that a product, which was hitherto regarded as a waste product in the oil processing value chain, would be put to very good economic use. “In most of our villages, palm kernel shells were used for heating purposes, you burn them. “But this researcher has shown that you can use them to make brake pad as the friction material, and it has shown very good results and everybody is excited. “What we are now trying to do is to help the engineers who invented it to secure a patent, and then we will begin to shop for manufacturers. “Once that is done, we will package and market the product at industrial scale and even for international markets. “In fact, one of the collaborators on this project is actually a factory that makes

Consider your employees’ career paths

o boss likes to think about losing star employees. But it’s your job as a manager to help people find the next level of growth. Here are three things you can do to support your direct reports’ development: Redefine current roles. Make sure job descriptions

he Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) recently signed an agreement with five Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) that have committed to invest $62 million or about N9.6 billion in the manufacturing of local components in Nigeria within the next three years. The five companies are part of the 58 manufacturers of oil and gas equipment that met the technical requirements prescribed by NCDMB in its Equipment Components Manufacturing Initiative (ECMI) and had been issued Nigerian Content Equipment Certificates. Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr. Ernest Nwapa said at the signing ceremony in Port Harcourt that the investments planned by the five companies would create 250 skilled employment opportunities for Nigerians. He listed other benefits to include the transfer of technology know-how, development of manufacturing skills and development of after-market maintenance skills. Nwapa however disclosed obtaining the Nigerian Content Equipment Certificates was not a license to win contracts in the industry.

match people’s interests, values, and skills. This will help ensure that they’ll face new challenges as they grow. Help them network. Identify people in the company who can provide opportunities, guidance, insight, or access to a different network.

Evaluate options. Help your direct reports determine which opportunities have the greatest potential for learning. Put the company’s needs before your own when discussing options that may include someone leaving your team. Source: Harvard Business Review

values that include hardwork, discipline, a passion for excellence and a service focused culture. He further stated that the Bank would continue to seek innovative ways of offering its stakeholders exceptional service. He also thanked the Bank’s customers for their continuous patronage and tremendous support over the years. Guaranty Trust Bank’s effort to consolidate its position as a foremost African brand and the Bank of choice for discerning customers has led to numerous laurels within the last year. These include the 2011 Bank of the Year Award for Nigeria from The Banker Magazine, the 2011 Best Bank in Nigeria Award from EMEA Finance Awards and more recently its Group Managing Director/CEO emerged as the 2012 African Banker of the Year during the African Banker Awards. Established in 1990, Guaranty Trust Bank plc has grown organically to become one of Africa's foremost financial services groups with operations spread across Nigeria, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone Cote D’Ivoire and the United Kingdom.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

PAGE 20

COMPANY NEWS Honeywell Flour Mills expands operations, rewards customers

oneywell Flour Mills Plc has unfolded plans to expand its production capacity, in a bid to accommodate increasing demand for the company’s products.

FirstBank enhances service delivery with Finacle solutions

FG awards N9.6tr worth of oil contracts By Muhammad Nasir

he Federal Government has finally signed contracts allocating supply of its oil in the coming year in a string of deals worth around $60 billion (about N9.6 trillion). The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has awarded 50 companies contracts allocating supply of 1.59 million barrels a day of oil for the period from August 2011 to July 2013, a list of term contracts seen by Dow Jones Newswires showed Friday. Based on the current price of

Brent crude, the supply deals are worth $159 million (25.4 billion) a day, or just under $60 billion a year. The process of allocating term supply has dragged on for months, creating uncertainty in the market over future supply due to a dispute in Nigeria over the initial terms of application. Nigeria as Africa’s largest oil producer first invited companies to apply for term contracts in late March, but this deadline was extended later after the state-owned oil company was accused of favoring international

companies and ignoring the Nigerian Content Act. The Nigerian Content Act was passed in 2010 in a move to increase Nigerian companies’ role in the country’s oil industry. Unlike last year, when big trading companies like Trafigura Group, Vitol Holding B.V. and Glencore International Plc were awarded large volumes of crude, this year their allocation was halved, the list showed. The number of companies to receive term supply rose from 45 in 2011 to 50 in 2012, with a large number of Nigerian companies

Oil industry reforms: PENGASSAN charges workers to brace up

riven by the passion to serve existing and prospective customers better, First Bank of Nigeria Plc (FirstBank) has concluded plans to migrate its current core banking application, Finacle 7 to a more robust and secure platform, Finacle 10.

From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

Dangote Sugar pledges higher profit

espite the ‘minor’ fire at its bagging store recently, the management of Dangote Sugar Refining Plc (DSR) at the weekend assured its shareholders of improved performance in the 2012 financial year.

Nigeria, France trade volume hits N1.17 tr

Oil prospecting in the Benue/Chad trough is yet to yield positive result

rade between Nigeria and France has reached $7.3 billion (N1.168 trillion) mark, according to French Ambassador to Nigeria, Jacques Chanpagne De Labriolle.

Nigeria has great potentials in oil - MD, Conoil Producing

CIS inducts new members, introduces diploma in securities, investment

By Muhammad Nasir

he Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) at the weekend inducted 34 new members as qualified stockbrokers.

Maiden ‘tractor future farm’ in Nigeria underway

he Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is set to partner AGCO, a leading U.S.-based global tractor manufacturing company to set up the first ‘tractor future farm’ in West Africa.

included in the mix. However, traders on the West African market said many of the barrels would likely end up with the usual suspects trading companies or oil majors despite the large volume of term contracts awarded to new participants. Many of the smaller companies are expected to sell on their allotted volume to the larger players. It is also noted that Asian companies, Indian Oil Corp. and Sinopec, continued to receive the largest volume of oil under the term contracts, with both companies set to receive 60,000 barrels a day each.

ontrary to fears that the country could run out of crude soon, Managing Director of Conoil Producing Limited, a frontline petroleum exploration company, Dr. Ebi Omatsola, says large volume could be lying in different parts of Nigeria. Omatsola, who spoke in Lagos, at a recent technical session organised by the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) to commemorate his 70th birthday anniversary, painted a picture of the dynamics in geophysics to prove that much of the existing reserve is a fraction of the volume of crude that actually exists. The renowned geologist had, many years ago, prophesied current happenings in African oil and gas sector, including the shift that has benefitted new producers

like Ghana. “There are vast potentials in Africa, if we focus on where we should be looking. Knowledge must be brought to bear in looking for new basins otherwise what we have could dry up in few years to come,” warned Omatsola, who, however, expressed the hope that what the country has would serve till the end of the century. He cautioned against excessive politicisation of crude resources. Omatsola, who traced the history of Africa amidst abundant resources, said the continent, particularly Nigeria, has failed to fully explore the hydrocarbon potentials in its territory. According to him, countries across Africa such as Ghana, Kenya, Chad and Sudan have numerous basins with huge volumes of oil and gas resources lying untapped. Reviewing the global statistics, he said Africa has a record of

declining reserve, which moved from 7.8 per cent in 2001 to 7.0 per cent in 2011. While search for oil is improving in other African countries, he noted, Nigeria seems to be in static position. To ensure a future growth in the country’s critical sector, Omatsola advocated the need to improve technology, human capital development, understanding of oil basins and political will to make a change. National President, NAPE, Afe Mayowa, also lamented the low level of technology and lack of political will to develop the sector. He said much has not been discovered because of the limitation of technology used. He indentified increasing level of corruption as critical factor hindering the growth of the sector, and expressed worry that no reasonable achievement would be recorded by ongoing reform unless graft is properly checked.

he Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has charged its workers to brace up in the performance of their duties to enable them confront challenges that will accompany reforms in the oil and gas industry. PENGASSAN President, Comrade Babatunde Ogun, stated this during a just concluded three day Synergy/ Workshop on “Impacting the Right Culture in trade Union Services on PENGASSAN Staff,” organised by the union for its employees at Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, between July 9 and 11, 2012. ”Going forward, the terrain for doing our jobs will not be an easy one for the Nigerian nation and for the oil and gas industry. It will be tight because of the ongoing reforms in the oil and gas industry. Such reforms such as the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), unbundling of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and the Nigerian Content Development Act among others will impact on the industrial relations in the industry. The union president stated that the staff appraisal system will be reviewed and base on performance level of individual rather that collective to achieve optimum productivity and the growth of the association. He noted that the staff should be able to checkmate excesses of the branches and elected officers with their training and expertise to develop the union, saying that “Staff is individually responsible for their actions and inactions in the union.”

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

PAGE 21

Samsung to release a ‘sequel’ to Galaxy Note this October By Muhammad Sada

amsung’s Galaxy Note tablet has been a runaway hit – putting a dent in Apple’s lead in the tablet market with 7 million sales – and now Samsung is to release a ‘sequel’ this October. The follow-up, Galaxy Note 2, will have an even bigger screen at 5.5-inches, and a super high-resolution screen with a resolution of 1680×1050. The hit five-inch phone-tablet has become a cult smash – and the new model could even eat into the sales of the upcoming iPhone 5, which seems set to have a larger screen. It will also have a 12-megapixel camera and a quad-core processor – specifications that will keep it ahead of the likely technologies inside Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5. Samsung’s Galaxy Smartphones have been key to the Korean giant’s recent surge in profits. Samsung’s Galaxy Smartphone, dubbed the iPhone killer for knocking its Applemade rival off the top sales spot, sent the electronic giant’s profits soaring to a record high. When it finalizes its second quarter results, Samsung

expects to make underlying profits of between £3.7bn and £3.9bn, the company said in guidance given to the market. The figure is a 79pc jump on last year’s results, but such was the anticipation behind the company’s performance that these figures actually fell short of what many analysts were expecting. The South Koran company is now the largest maker of memory chips, mobile phones and flat-screens in the world. Although the company did not break down its divisions, earnings from its Galaxy arm are expected to make up 65pc of profits. The Galaxy phone models, which have already overtaken the iPhone in global sales, were the driving force behind the profits increase. The group sold six million S III models during the three months – although this was a million short of initial estimates but it could not overcome a slump in demand for electronics among in Europe, North America and China, fuelled largely by worries over the eurozone. Later in the year Apple will have its chance to retaliate by releasing its latest iPhone.

NIGCOMSAT set to capture Nigeria’s broadband market with iDirect investment By Muhammad Sada

igerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), has invested in VT iDirect’s new iDirect Series 15100 Universal Satellite hub, the investment is meant to facilitate the deployment of an Evolutionbased service to capture the growing broadband market in Nigeria. This was announced by VT iDirect Incorporated recently. VT iDirect, a global leader in IP-based satellite communications technology, said its iDirect Evolution platform will aid NIGCOMSAT’s existing VSAT solutions in the areas of military and governance. The investment will also enable the company to pursue new opportunities in business and education. Through iDirect Evolution platform, NIGCOMSAT can deliver cheap and easily deployable internet service to

end-users throughout the entire West African sub-region. Furthermore, NIGCOMSAT will be able to make broadband connectivity available to users in remote communities, thus ensuring that rural dwellers also have access to economic and social benefits of broadband connection. In addition, NIGCOMSAT will utilize iDirect’s scalable platform through which it will keep pace with rapid broadband growth in Nigeria. In his comment, NIGCOMSAT’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Engr. T. Ahmed-Rufai, noted the investment is part of NIGCOMSAT’s targets for the future. “We believe that high-speed Internet has the potential to transform the Nigerian economy, hence our partnership with iDirect to deploy a satellite network that affordably supports increasing broadband penetration in the region,” he said.(Source: Ventures Africa)

iPhone

By Muhammad Sada

n a bid to help Nigerians in ICT education in the country, Aptech Limited, has unveiled a new package called Multimedia and Animation training Brand Arena for the first time in Nigeria environment. The Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer, Aptech, Mr. Ninad Karpe, said, having a strong foothold in Nigeria with over 12 Aptech Computer Education Centres, Arena Multimedia entered Nigeria with two centres in Lagos and one in Abuja, while 10 new centres are in view in Nigeria in the next few years. Karpe noted that with over 16 years of expertise in content development and training

Samsung Galaxy Note

Aptech introduces new ICT training centres animation and multimedia, Arena Multimedia will offer Nigerians comprehensive career courses which are specifically designed for students to launch a career in the fields of Animation, Advertising, Television, Print and Publishing film content and many more. He stressed benefit to Nigerian students, these programmes have credit transfer arrangements with Middlesex University; enabling student’s to pursue a degree programme with significant cost savings. In his words: “We have been consciously developing newer

ICT conference to address issues in cashless economy By Muhammad Sada

his years edition of the National Conference of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), will among other things focus on the benefits, opportunities and challenges of cashless economy especially as they relate to technology. The conference which is scheduled to take place in Akwa Ibom State, south-south Nigeria between 25 and 27 July is the leading conference for IT

professionals and stakeholders in Nigeria. The conference attracts practitioners, decision makers, policy makers and professionals from Nigeria and all over the world. The event is also the key networking and professional event for advancing Information Technology for development and promoting the interests of IT stakeholders in Nigeria Organisers of the annual event said this years edition which has

products and markets to cater for students looking at career education in diverse geographies. Arena has an extensive network of centres across five continents and we see Nigeria as a favourable market for Arena’s growth. Arena has already taught more than 350,000 students in the past and is looking forward to offer the same skill-set that sets it apart in teaching animation. As has been seen, the universal appeal of an animated film is transcending all boundaries and hence we believe this is the right time to launch Arena in Nigeria.” the theme: “Towards a cashless Nigeria: Tools and strategies,” will also hone in on related issues for the development of the nation and the industry, adding that technology provides the backbone for any cashless economy. They said the theme of the conference was carefully chosen to evaluate the roles and strategies the Information Technology industry plays in the reforms and changes in the financial, economic and social sectors in Nigeria. The event, according to them, is also designed for the Information Technology industry to restrategise in the ongoing reforms and transfer from cash-based to cashless society.

PAGE 22

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

NBS explains disparity between growth figures, poverty rate By Aminu Imam

igeria’s high growth figures quoted in recent years do not yet reflect in the huge poverty and unemployment levels in the country because those sectors that account for economic expansion do not generate enough jobs that can make meaningful impact on the jobless population and lift citizens out of penury, the Statistician-General of the Federation, Yemi Kale has explained. Another reason for the paradox, according to him, is that apart from infrastructure

deficiency that presently discourage investments in the country, most foreign investors often repatriate their profits back to their various home countries, rather than re-invest such to spur more economic activities and be able to create more jobs. ”There is a link between growth and development but people probably do not yet understand that growth and development are different things. To get development, you need growth but with just growth without fixing anything infrastructure and all of that, you are not going to get development”, he said.

Driven basically by the agricultural and services sectors, Nigerian economy is said to have grown averagely by 7 percent in recent years, yet poverty and unemployment levels have risen to over 60 percent and 27 percent, respectively, figures which have generated some doubts. Agriculture is still practised at subsistent level while the services sector, including the telecommunications, banking, among other sub-sectors do not often expand their employment base that can bring the desired difference. Kale insisted that these figures are not manipulated to suit any

interest and explained that unless the other components that are needed to translate growth into making meaningful impact on peoples’ lives are present, much may not be achieved and development will continue to be a mirage. According to the StatisticianGeneral, “Growth is just one of those parts needed for development and there are so many others, so if one is working and the others are not, we will not go anywhere, we will just be quoting growth, growth. We can grow without development if the sectors that are growing are not employing”.

Anambra has lowest rate of unemployment, minister By Muhammad Sada

he Minister of National Planning and Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, has revealed that Anambra was one of the few states in the country with the lowest level of unemployment and attributed the situation to the entrepreneurial capability of the people of the state. This was disclosed by the Minister while speaking at Awka during the flag –off of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), computation in Nigeria, for the South-East geo-political zone, the minister said with about 10% unemployment rate, Anambra was one of the least among the 36 states in the country. According to him, “The reason is not far–fetched because the people of the state are very resourceful, adding that rather than continue to seek employment, they are mainly employers of labour”.

FGN plans shift in debt mix to boost economy By Aminu Imam

Participants at a training on International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) Ikeja district, at the weekend in Lagos. Photo: NAN

Two Sudans ready to resume oil talks

handshake between the presidents of Sudan and South Sudan signals the best hope in months that the former warring neighbours may reach a deal ahead of a UN Security Council deadline. Omar al-Bashir, indicted war criminal and president of Sudan, met Salva Kiir, South Sudan president, in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa at the weekend for the first time since fierce border fighting in April derailed talks. The two oil-dependent states face strife at home as both run short of the petrodollars that comprise the bulk of their economies. The African Union, which brokered the talks, said the two will resume oil negotiations, the first time since February after the South shut down production following a row over fees for exporting southern oil via northern infrastructure. “We are ready to resume oil production if there is a fair deal, and there is a guarantee that there

will be no diversion (of the oil),” Pagan Amum, chief negotiator for the South, told reporters. The UN Security Council in May endorsed an African Union proposal that stipulates the pair must reach a deal by August 2 or face an imposed solution and sanctions. Progress has been “rather slow and uneven”, said a weekend African Union report. In previous meetings between the heads of state, neither has uttered a word. One western diplomat told the Financial Times last week that although a deal “should be their overwhelming top priority, they’re both waiting for each other to collapse”. The two countries have yet to agree on everything from the division of debt and borders to security and oil transport fees since the South seceded last year, straining both economies, raising the spectre of domestic discontent and bringing them back to the brink of war.

Austerity measures in Sudan, where the currency has depreciated by half in the past year and inflation is rising, has prompted small, scattered street protests and fears of splits in the ruling National Congress party, which relies heavily on the army for support. Extensive border clashes in several regions also strain shrivelled budgets. An NCP insider said fighting over the Heglig oilfield cost the north $600m. Leaders now appear increasingly -bent on an agreement. Defence minister Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein, who was indicted on war crimes charges in March, is taking a more prominent role in north/south talks, which restarted last week in Bahir Dar, in northwest Ethiopia. “The minister of defence is being much more friendly in the talks than you would expect,” says analyst Magdi El Gizouli. “In the

standard rhetoric he’s the hawk, but it’s these hawks who can make deals – it’s the same thing as Nixon in China – and he’s walking in the direction of the deal.” Such top backing may prove critical to what Ramtane Lamamra, the African Union peace and security commissioner, termed a “new spirit of strategic partnership”, as the NCP attempts to overcome domestic detractors. “I have no hope of reaching a settlement with the [South],” one NCP stalwart told the FT last week. “If the security issue is not resolved, the north is very conscious that for every barrel of oil, half of it will go to the rebels and be used against us.” The two sides are focusing first on security, redeploying armies from disputed border areas, addressing accusations of proxy wars meted out by militias and developing joint border verification. (Source: Financial Times)

he Federal Government may increasingly shift its borrowing mix from Naira to foreign Dollar denominated debt, as it moves to curb domestic borrowing and boost the local economy. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the coordinating minister of the economy (CME) and finance minister, told representatives of the organised private sector and civil society in Abuja last week that she intended to launch a sinking fund in the 2013 budget. The purpose of the fund would be to retire some of the FGN’s domestic bonds. The finance ministry has a medium-term target to reduce the annual domestic borrowing requirement to N500 billion. The projections in the 2011 and 2012 budgets were N852 billion and N744 billion respectively. “A lower domestic borrowing requirement would help to address a common complaint of the CME, namely that the prevailing high interest rates are choking Nigeria’s growth potential. The finance ministry has indicated the launch of a possible Diaspora bond and a second Eurobond,” FBN capital analysts led by Gregory Kronstein, said in a research note released last week. “Since public external debt was equivalent to just 2.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in March 2012 and is predominantly concessional, a modest shift in the FGN’s borrowing mix has obvious merit.”

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

PAGE 24

PAGE 25

The ferocious battle for AU Commission chair (II) By Ahmed I. Shekarau, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

t is apparent from the result of Sunday’s keenly contested election of the chairperson of the AUC that Nigeria made a big diplomatic blunder. As the popular saying goes, “he who fights and runs away will live to fight another day”. Nigeria had been neck-deep in the contest for the headship of the administrative arm of the continental body that it was foolhardy to have tactically retreated the way it did. As it is well known in diplomatic circles, the biggest currency in international relations is ‘credit and credibility’. Yes, Ping is a Gabonese, not a Nigerian. But as indicated in the first part of this report, while on the surface the contest was between a Francophone and an Anglophone country - Gabon and South Africa respectively, in reality it was a contest within a contest. This was the perception of nearly every discerning participant in the summit. That view was justifiably so, given Nigeria’s initial commitment to the Jean Ping second term cause. To have rallied round other countries in West Africa to support Ping only to stand aloof in his most critical moment of need by pretending that “he was not our candidate but Gabon’s”, simply made Nigeria lose great part of her honour in the eyes of other AU members. This was the

Jean Ping

President Goodluck Jonathan no show at AU summit groundswell of feeling at the end of the 19 th AU summit yesterday in Addis Ababa. And nothing could be further from the truth. It was, therefore, laughable that some Nigerian diplomats even made spirited efforts on the sidelines of the summit to put up a defence for President Goodluck Jonathan’s conspicuous

absence. To most observers, he feared a humiliation, what with the robust fight put up by South Africa’s warrior president, Jacob Zuma, to ensure that his former wife, Nkosazana, clinches that coveted seat. And her emergence will, no doubt, have serious implications for Nigeria’s prestige in the AU in the days ahead. This much was

alluded to by a Nigerian diplomat who spoke to us in confidence on the sidelines of the summit yesterday. Another Nigerian diplomat had, on the eve of the summit, confessed in confidence that South Africa was all out against Nigeria, and that Pretoria “will do everything possible” to spite Abuja once Ping loses to Ms. Dlamini-Zuma. The highly placed diplomat, who also admitted that the nation “invested hugely” in campaigning for Ping’s reelection, described as “unfortunate” the president’s failure to attend the summit. President Jonathan had throughout last week been ambivalent over whether or not to attend the 19 th African Union Summit whose main agenda was to break the deadlock in the election of the AUC chair. The President, whose advance team was in Addis, including the Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, and his team, had initially asked Vice-President Mohammed Namadi Sambo to represent him. But by afternoon on Wednesday last week there was another word from President-he would attend. And then again on Thursday, he changed his mind: he was no longer attending the allimportant summit. His reason(s)? Nothing convincing; at least, not the

three suggested by some of the diplomats on the sidelines of the summit-the Edo governorship elections, swearing-in of the first female Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), planned for yesterday, a day after the AUC chairperson’s election and the death of over 100 people in the fuel tanker explosion in Rivers state. These were unjustifiable reasons because: one, he wasn’t going to cast a ballot during the Edo poll, and so, he could as well monitor the exercise from Ethiopia. More so, he brushed aside the killing of almost equal number of people in the Boko Haram bombings of Kaduna and Zaria churches to attend an earth summit that was clearly not as important as AU summit. the 19 th Similarly, President Jonathan flew out to Brussels for the World Customs Organisation’s (WCO) Conference, barely two weeks ago. He could have been represented at these two events by directors of ministries of environment and finance. Namadi Sambo’s gaffe in Pretoria Part of the blunders our leaders made in the run up

to the AUC election was VicePresident Sambo’s gaffe in May this year in Pretoria where he gave an indication that Nigeria would support South Africa’s candidate for the AUC chair. Addressing a joint press conference with South Africa’s Deputy President, Kgalema Motlanthe, on the sidelines of the first Global African Diaspora Summit on May 24 this year in Pretoria, VP Sambo was lured into suggesting Nigeria had reversed its earlier stance on Ping’s candidacy. Fielding an obviously planted question from a South African journalist who sought to know why Nigeria was not backing his country’s candidate for the AUC top job, VP Sambo, probably unprepared for that, tried to counter that notion, saying Nigeria has always been with SA. According to Sambo, he, alongside millions of Nigerian students, had in his schooling days contributed towards the liberation of South Africa from the apartheid regime, and that Nigeria had also support that nation in other worthy causes, stressing that it would always back that nation. The South African press which

South African President, Jacob Zuma

votes to 15. It was “a sweet victory” as some of the Nigerian diplomats put it, because that was Nigeria’s fourth shot at that seat. The victory was all the more “sweet” for the country given that Botswana was in the forefront of the DlaminiZuma campaign, and the entire SADC bloc had ganged up against it. But be that as it may, many keen observers have stressed the need for Nigeria to face reality and learn some lessons from its humiliation in the Zuma-Ping contest, by further tightening the loose ends in its foreign policy. This is in order to make the foreign policy much more goal-oriented than the ‘benevolent’ slant it has always assumed. This, some say, has become even more imperative because contrary to some assumptions, South Africa is not that country from who the slightest level of magnanimity should be expected towards Nigeria, given the role of the West African nation in the contest for the AUC top job. Nkosanzana Dlamini-Zuma was obviously prodded to ask that question then latched on to VP Sambo’s response by reporting that

Concluded ‘Nigeria backs Ms DlaminiZuma’. That became a major diplomatic howler for which Nigeria’s foreign minister, Ambassador Ashiru had to do a damage control, a day after. These gaffes have made keen observers to ask pertinent questions like: Why did President Jonathan fail to follow through on the country’s investment on Jean Ping’s candidacy? Do our leaders really worry about the resources the country lose in such ventures? Who precisely is advising our current set of leaders, most especially President Jonathan on national and international issues? What is the current structural framework of Nigeria’s foreign policy? Why would a country like Sierra Leone for instance, for which Nigeria lost over 800 of its soldiers aside huge financial resources to keep it as one, betray us at such critical period of need, and yet still be in the warm embrace of our leaders? Relief for Nigeria All said and done, however, the past six months of work towards the 19 th AU summit cannot be said to be a pointless venture for the nation as its candidate for Commissioner for Political Affairs in the Union’s Commission, Dr. Aisha Laraba Abdullahi, was elected yesterday in the fourth round of a keenly contested poll which saw her defeat Botswana’s candidate by 35

Vice President Namadi Sambo

PAGE 26

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JULY 16, 2011

The Fulani and the genocide dream of Jang (II) By Aliyu U. Tilde

f the JTF had taken it's time investigate the killer of the promiscuous policman, the crisis would not have escalated in the first place. The lives of the Senator and many others would have been saved. But many people believe that it is an agenda. The Agenda

here is a general understanding amongst the residents of the State that only the state governor has the key to its peace. That key doe not have a duplicate. Unfortunately, as General Jeremiah Husaini (rtd), one of the elders in the state, said this morning over the BBC, the governor is not disposed to the peaceful resolution of the crisis. He impervious to advice, said the retired general. One may dismiss Husaini as a persistent Tarok opponent of governor Jang. He is not, at least on this case. Though the crisis started before his tenure, by 2007 when Jang was sworn in as the governor, most of the ethno-religious conflicts in the state have ceased. Dariye's dream of cleansing the Plateau of Hausa-Fulani had clearly proved unattainable and abandoned especially after he was rustled by Obasanjo and the EFCC. People of various ethnic groups were moving about freely in the state without any hindrance. Business returned. Some who fled had even started returning. However, Jang renewed the genocidal dream by committing himself to three Berom-centred goals: developing his Berom homeland, cleansing it of the much bigoted HausaFulani, and vesting all political power in Jos and its environs in his tribesmen. This is why the entire state is quiet, except Beromland. Jang has largely succeeded on all the three objectives. At the expense of human lives, he has made other groups inconsequential in the scheme of things in Jos and its environs. That was his strategy behind conducting the local government election of 2008 against all security advice. He has also built a good road network in his entire Beromland, to the envy of other ethnic groups in the state. The roads leading even to remotest Berom villages are either completed and asphalt rendered or about to be completed. He has, as we noted earlier, also succeeded in expelling most Hausas and many sedentary Fulani from most of the tin mining settlements in Beromland. The only people he is yet to beat are the cattle Fulani. Expelling the Fulani from Beromland is a record that Jang would like to achieve but from what is going on, the Fulani have vowed never to allow him win that gold medal. So long as

Vehicles burnt in the Jos crisis recently. grass will continue to grow there, so long as the land and property the Fulani legitimately acquired remain there, so long as their lives and property are vandalized without the protection from government, these African gypsies, from all indications, will continue to fight for their dear lives and those of their masters. Their basic constitutional rights are the minimum that I know they, like any other group of Nigerians, will never compromise on. The Road to Peace

he road to peace therefore is one: the constitution as I have always argued. Let the dream of cleansing Beromland of Fulani end in the heart of Jang and he will find the Fulani instantly willing to embrace peace. This has happened in other parts of the state. As the governor, Jang has vowed to protect the lives and property of all Nigerians under his domain. He must keep that promise. Only then will Berom and Fulani live in peace. Otherwise, this crisis will last for generations to come. As a side note, the JTF under its new commander must not be partial on this matter. If it cannot protect the Fulani, it must not join forces with Jang to eliminate them and their property. Attempting to do so will definitely lead to loss of more lives of Berom and their supporters. The Fulani cannot be eliminated. They have never been. Let me assure all concerned that in spite of the ongoing brutality the Fulani will survive this crisis. So far they have survived the hostilities of ancient Mali, Songhai, Gobir, and Borno empires. Some of

those empires they crippled, some they stamped out completely in spite of their small number, and with the rest they were able to live peacefully until the present time. In all those instances, they were equipped with nothing but three things that nobody can deny them: the valour of the nomad, two, the strength that they derive from their unmatched group feeling or 'asabiyya as Ibn Khaldun would call it and, three, the strong thirst for justice. That group feeling has been responsible for the defeat of most sedentary dynasties in the past. It is also the key to the survival of the nomads today. As for their thirst for justice, they are never satisfied until it is served in full measure their aggressors, either by the authorities or by them. The power of Jang cannot match that of Ahmad Sekou Toure, the longest serving Mallinke President of Guinea who revived the hate of his ancestor, Sonni Ali. Toure assassinated and murdered in cold blood over thirty thousands Fulani intellectuals, leaders and tribesmen during his 26-year tenure. But they survived him, using their estrangement to work harder until they gained control of over 80% of the Guinean economy today. Jang, in spite of the support he is able to buy, is not more than a child trying to break a coconut with his teeth. Ridding Beromland of Fulani can only be temporary and certainly makes it more vulnerable to attacks by their brothers from other parts of West Africa. Take this to the bank. As a minority in the area and on the disadvantaged side in the conflict, the Fulani were not successful in initiating peace with the Berom in the past. All their attempts were rebuffed. It is the move of the more

preponderant and governmentbacked Berom that would be successful, given their monopoly over land and state resources. But the Berom, even if they want peace, are under the spell of their emperor, Jang. He controls their paramount chief and their youths. He has a choice between peace and violence. The choice of violence, on the one hand, is not a wise one because violence is a two-way commodity: Pain on this side, and pain on the other. With the egalitarian Fulani, you get just as much pain as you give him. The road to peace, on the other, is quiet and its results are threedimensional: In this case, peace to the Berom, peace to the Fulani and peace to other Nigerians living on the Plateau. With the support he enjoys from the press, his ethnic group, law enforcement agents, Plateau courts and the state treasury, Jang may foolishly choose to remain recalcitrant and prefer violence to peace. We pray that he one day sees the light, become wiser and listen to elders of the State such that the lives of to meddle into Plateau affairs. Lastly, may peace be upon the leader who brings peace to his people. And already blessed are the people who seek justice, no matter the odds, without surrendering. Bauchi, 12 July 2012 Important Update:

s at yesterday (13 July 2012) evening, things have calmed down after the JTF has destroyed Fulani homes in Riyom and Barikin Ladi local government areas. They did not kill any Fulani though. The Fulani, it is reported, got a wind of the invasion. Even last

week when they used helicopters and when fires were exchanged, most of the JTF fire unfortunately fell on the favoured Beroms. I learnt from three independent sources that in the fights last week, the Fulani sustained only one death and two injuries. You can see my point now. Jang can never be sure who will suffer most when he attempts to unleash violence on innocent people. I was speaking yesterday in Jos to someone a Jarawa from Yelwa who lost a brother when Berom youths killed 26 passengers at Haipang railway crossing last Sunday. Among the victims, he said only about six could be said to be Muslims. The rest from their looks were of different ethnicities now known to include some Tarok from lower Plateau. The youths were then just killing any Nigerian traveling on the highway. They have done this repeatedly since 2010. Nobody is arrested. Whatever it is, one, violence is not the answer, but peace. Two, the gene of the Fulani cannot be eliminated on the Plateau. A clan of the Berom, according to Berom historians, originated from a Fulani ancestor. The Fulani have therefore already done the damage: their DNA is permanently stamped on the Plateau. And they will continue to share it with other Africans wherever they go. Latest (14 July 2012) A quit notice was served the inhabitants of many Fulani settlements in Barikin Ladi and Riyom Local Government Areas this morning, signed by the Media Information officer. The text of the notice: ? (1) This is to inform the people residing in Barikin Ladi and Riyom Local Government Areas that a military operation is ongoing. The inhabitants of Mahanga, Kakuruk, Kuzen, Maseh and Shong 2 are to evacuate immediately with their property within the next 48hrs.?? (2) Meanwhile, residents of Kura Falls, Kuzuk and Sharuk Rim of Gashish and Bachit districts respectively are enjoined not to panic and to be careful of their movement within the area and avoid places of military operation until further notice. People are enjoined to report any suspicious movement and activities in their areas. (3) You are please requested to use your medium to disseminate this information to the general public. It is to be announced routinely throughout the period of the operation in order to avoid any hazard to human lives and property. Salisu Mustapha (Captain), Media and Information Officer (RESTRICTED). Concluded Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde is a renowned columnist based in Jos

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

PAGE 27

Student, 19, to Poor three-year-old Yu Yu’s feet are too big for her body spend gap year in Nigeria A helping some of the world’s poorest people s she moved slowly down the street, holding on tightly to her grandmother’s hand it is clear to see that Yu Yu is having difficulty walking. The three-year-old suffers from an undiagnosed condition which causes her feet to grow at an alarmingly rapid rate. They are constantly swollen and

heavy and make moving around for the child, who lives in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province of China, extremely difficult. Her family are extremely poor, but are slowly raising funds to take the young girl to a doctor and ask for help with her medical condition. Yu Yu’s grandfather is planning

to take her to Beijing to see a doctor after collecting money by selling several pigs. A x-ray that the family have of Yu Yu’s feet show they are malformed and curve outwards. But for the moment the little girl is shoeless as she does not have any shoes which can fit her large feet. Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Mystery condition: Yu Yu's feet are getting larger as she gets older and now she has outgrown all her shoes.

Student James Fox heads off to Nigeria for 3 months.

TUDENT James Fox has taken a break from studies to spend three months in Nigeria helping some of the poorest people in the world. The 19-year-old, from Wisbech, made the 3,000-mile journey to the African nation on Tuesday to spend three months with a family in Kwara state. While there he will also support Voluntary Services Overseas to help educate youngsters, warn about the dangers of HIV and Aids and promote the welfare of women. James has just completed a two-year health and social care course with the College of West Anglia in King’s Lynn. He said: “I am nervous. I haven’t even been abroad before.” Fellow students and staff were among those who helped him raise more than £900 towards the trip, including a 109-mile bike ride to Norwich and back and a cake stall at the former Alderman Jackson School centre in King’s Lynn where he completed his

course when it was switched from Wisbech. The state where he will be living in Nigeria has a population of some 126,000 people, living on below the equivalent of 40p a day. James will undertake a work placement while there but will not find out what this includes until he lands with a group of other students. Once he returns to the UK, he will be involved in passing on his experiences through an Action At Home programme and hopes to talk about this to students at the college. James began his studies with a year spent at the Wisbech campus, before transferring to King’s Lynn. He anticipates earning top grades in his subject and is looking to go to university in September 2013. James said he did not know what he wanted to study at university, so was keen to do something worthwhile to help others during a gap year. Source: Wisbech Standard 24

Concern: The little girl is shoeless as she does not have any shoes which can fit her large feet.

PAGE 28

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

A roadmap to Vision 20:2020 (I) By Ugwumba Egbuta

igeria, a country of serious minded people with great ambition is generally referred to by commentators as mother of Africa. This owes largely to its large population, vast land mass, natural resources endowments, good weather and military capability. These, joined together constitute what is called elements of national power; but before they become source of strength to any nation, they must be converted into real power not just potential source of power. Paradoxically, Nigeria after almost 52 good years it existed as a self determined state; it has not been able to find its fit by converting its potential sources of power into real power. As years go by, its backwardness keeps on increasing without even a sign of light at the bottom of the tunnel. Independence came in 1960 with very high expectation though not without challenges; thus pivot among the numerous challenges was that of economic development, but instead of tackling this challenge squally, the new nation rather found itself in a vicious circle of multidimensional conflicts that have defiled all solution. Presently, government has repeatedly mapped out policies aimed at addressing the developmental problems but none of these policies have completely brought back Nigeria to the right course. The most recent is the comprehensive and globally articulated Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with 2015 as the target year to round it up, Vision 20: 2020 and most recent Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment (SURE) Programme. All these policies are laudable and viable, yet, few years to their winding date, not enough change has been seen in the country; poverty, unemployment, violence of unprecedented magnitude, kidnapping, armed robbery, corruption and all sorts of social ills have been on the increase. Worst of it is the resurgence of Boko Haram saga in the North East, North West, parts of North Central and even the Federal Capital Territory. Just of recent, our financial gurus and economic giants told Nigerians that the country was on the right track of development. Ironically, such growth is only on paper. It has not been transformed into physical and human development to be seen in infrastructural and human capital development. This is a situation Mallam Nasir El-Rufai described as “Jobless Growth” while Daniel Offiong called it “Growth Without Development” Poverty level is on increase, existing infrastructure is at the state of comatose and the entire state structure is falling into limbo. Painful part of it is that few ruling political elites swim in wealth while the vast majority of the populace die in hunger and starvation every day without any defined government policy that is

President Goodluck Jonathan realistically poor-man-friendly. One of such policies, if meticulously pursued is population control policy wealth redistribution and poverty eradication through domestic financing of small and medium enterprises. The rate of growth of Nigeria’s population urgently needs to be checked to avoid future calamity as theorised by demographic scholars; likes of Sir Thomas Robert Malthus (1766 – 1834) and Adam Smith, an economist (1723 – 1790). There is hardly any nation that is not paying serious attention to issues of the size and the pattern of growth of its population, as the population of a country has profound influence on its socioeconomic, cultural and political prosperity. Populations refers to all the organisms that both belonged to the same species and live in the same geographical area (in this context, human beings); and the area that is used to define the population in this respect is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area. The world population is growing very high every day but that of Third World countries like Nigeria is growing more alarmingly than ever; in fact, half of world population which is over 6.8 billion already occurred in just six countries: India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Indonesia. Among the world’s poorest countries, population is expected to triple in the next 50 years, whereas many rich countries (of the global North) will witness population decline, as it has started happening; in keeping with the human population and

demographic transition phenomenon. When we speak of “population” what first comes to (an uninformed) mind is the continuous proliferation of human beings in an infinite and uncontrolled manner with the attendant long-term risk of “overpopulating” the earth in such magnitude as to obliterate space and deplete limited resources of the earth that is necessary to guarantee human sustenance and continued existence. This notion was strengthened many years ago by the assertions of pessimistic population theorists; the likes of popular British writer and thinker – Sir Thomas Robert Malthus (1766 – 1834) and Adam Smith, an economist (1723 – 1790). More than two hundred years ago, Malthus postulated that ‘while human population was growing at geometric rate, food production only followed an arithmetic pattern of growth; and that if human populations were left to grow unchecked, the ultimate effect would be shortage of food

supply that will seriously threaten human existence. This theory was popularized by Malthus and the idea continued through the greater parts of the 18 th century to contemporary times. Both Adam Smith and later Malthus however, used reasons to postulate abstract theories on aspects of society such as economies in relation to population to determine the roles that can be played by the numerical strength of people in societies to aspects of human existence. Malthus went further to argue that societies were doomed to destruction because overpopulation would deplete a limited food supply. He also argued that population growth was the true reason for the poverty of the poor. And finally concluded dismally, that population growth will likely limit itself naturally through famine and disease (epidemics, pandemics). What was little known then was to become clear later with the advent of the Industrial Revolution in Europe in the

“

With emphases on the rate of population growth in Nigeria which currently stand at over 3.5%, the policy makers should know that appropriate policy should urgently be formulated and enforced to avoid the country finding itself in a systematic quagmire

1700s, which revolutionised production of industrial and agricultural products and helped to elongate human existence. No doubt, there were mix feelings from different quarters as to the realities in Malthus postulation. His critics had sufficient reasons later to posit that technology has amply kept pace with population in the past, allowing more food and other resources to be explored from the environment even as population keeps growing. With emphases on the rate of population growth in Nigeria which currently stand at over 3.5%, the policy makers should know that appropriate policy should urgently be formulated and enforced to avoid the country finding itself in a systematic quagmire. The only way out of this is to develop a workable policy that will check this geometric growth and prove the UN estimates that by 2050, Nigeria will be the fourth most populous country in the world wrong. According to the figure of the last census exercise carried out in Nigeria in 2006, Nigeria’s population stood at 140,431,790 with a high growth rate of about 3.2 percent, though it has risen to over 160 million in resent time. Population issue in Nigeria since independence has always been a source of tension. This is because Nigerian population experts and policy makers in the past have always set up population policy mostly for political considerations, such as are resource allocation and governance and undermining demographic useful parameters. This reflects in the past population censuses conducted in Nigeria since attainment of independence in 1960. Nigeria’s first explicit population policy which took place in February 1988, was intended to provide a framework and guidelines for resolving what was then seen as the country’s “population crisis” in a coherent and realistic manner. The Babangida administration then (1985 – 1993) had become convinced that Nigeria’s rapid population growth brought with it, adverse consequences on the welfare of the citizens and the socioeconomic development of the country. It decided that, there was a dire need to formulate a policy on population for development, unity, progress and self-reliance. The policy, as adopted had multiple goals such as; improving living standards and quality of life, promoting health and welfare, reducing the population growth rate and achieving balanced rural – urban development, and also to promote awareness of population growth and its effect on development as well as educate young people on population matters prior to the age of marriage and child bearing and to provide family planning services and manage the special needs of in fecund and sub-fecund couples. Ugumba Egbuta can be reached on ubegbuta@yahoo.com

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

PAGE 29

Ethiopia issues new tender for 35, 000 tonnes wheat

Delta farmers laud IFAD for technical, material support

armers in Delta on Saturday commended the IFAD-FGNCommunity Based Natural Resources Management Programme for coming to their aid. The farmers, who randomly spoke in Ekpan, said that IFAD was providing technical assistance, training and material support for their businesses. The famers gave the commendations when the IFAD team led by Dr Ben Odoemena, the IFAD Country Programme Officer in Abuja, paid a visit to farm settlements in the state. The team visited the Agu-Ofu Tapioca Association, Odu-ugba Farm Settlement, Ibusa, in Oshimili North and the Uvwie Fish Farmers Multipurpose Co-operative Society in Ekpan, in Uvwie Local Government Areas of Delta. Mr Henry Ogbodu, the President, Uvwie Fish Farmers Multipurpose Co-operative Society, told NAN in Ekpan that IFAD trained 20 members of the cooperative on fish management at Songhai in Port Harcourt. He thanked IFAD for the technical support, training and provision of fish processing equipment, saying that with the support, their production had increased and poverty reduced. Ogbodu said the society was made up of fish farmers from Ekpan, New Layouts, Ugboroke, Agadaga, White House and Delta Development and Property Authority. “We have never had it so good until IFAD came in and took 20 of our members for training at Songhai in Port Harcourt. “It introduced the formation of smaller groups of at least 10 to 15 persons for easy access and management of resources, provided us with fish drying equipment and taught us how to process our fish.” Ogbodu, however, called on IFAD to introduce more training programmes and support in the areas of fish feeds, water treatment and funding, to reduce poverty to its barest minimum. Mrs Josephine Nwankwo, the Women Leader of the Agu-Ofu Tapioca Association, Ibusa, also thanked IFAD for its intervention, saying that her output had increased. Mr Chris Abua, the State IFAD Project Coordinator, assured the farmers of continued assistance to bail them out of poverty. He reiterated the state government’s promise to establish four fish mills in the state. Responding, Odoemena, the IFAD Country Programme Officer, Abuja, said the organisation’s intervention programme was aimed at giving the people a better opportunity to have access to financial institutions. “What we saw on ground is very satisfactory and they are running it as a business; they have also adopted all they were taught during the training we organised for them. “We are going to look at some of their challenges especially in the area of building confidence,” Odoemena said, and called on the state government to intervene and address some of the challenges of the farmers. (NAN)

he Ethiopian government has issued a new international tender to purchase 35,000 tonnes of milling wheat; European traders have said adding that bidding deadline was July 19, 2012. It was learnt that the grain is for the country’s strategic reserves and finance is being provided by the World Bank’s International Development Association and other aid organisations, traders said. Ethiopia has issued a series of wheat tenders this year which have all been financed by international aid agencies. It would be recalled that a tender for 30,000 tonnes was issued on June 18th and closed on July 3rd, just as a tender for 35,000 tonnes was issued on June 11th and closed on June 19th. Shipment in Ethiopian tenders is one month after opening of a letter of credit on the purchase, dealers said. (Reuters/NAN)

Fertiliser and seed sales being flagged off in Kaduna recently

Agric ministry extends subsidy to fisheries, boosts export T By Olukayode Oyeleye

he Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will soon begin to provide subsidies to operators of the fisheries sub-sector as already being done to crop farmers. In the intervention targeted at small-scale fisheries and aquaculture operators, the basic inputs will be subsidised under the current Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS). This was disclosed yesterday by the Minister, Dr. Akin Adesiina, (TUESDAY) at Oko Oba, Agege, during the roll out of the GESS in Lagos State. In a statement issued by the Special Assistant on Media, to the ministry, Dr. Olukayode Oyeleye, the Minister who unveiled the plan told the participants at the Aquaculture value chains meeting that “we will extend GES to fisheries because the sector has not been supported much. I am determined to change that.”

He promised to commence this without delay, According to the minister, “within the budget this year, I would like the value chain to expand production.” He acknowledged the importance of brood stock as “fundamental basis for production,” adding that, “just like fertiliser is to someone growing rice and maize, that is how brood stock is to someone growing fish.” He acknowledged the importance of artisanal fisheries. “Artisanal fisheries population will be captured,” he noted. He promised that “we will extend that support to fishing nets” and other inputs, stressing that, the operators could use their cooperatives, within the artisanal fisheries to access support. He promised to “provide service for mechanisation, adding that “we will also look into how we can structure affordable financing mechanism, specifically for that, including outboard engines.”

The minister lamented, however, that, presently, “we don’t have good planning because of lack of statistics. We don’t know the farmers, who they are, where they are, their challenges, everything. You can’t do anything unless you know your customers. In the GESS, we are doing it because we have registered the farmers.” He underscored the need for data capture, arguing that biometric information of the fishermen and women that will benefit will be captured, and that a database will be developed “as a matter of urgency.” According to him, “you must have the ones you can target and work through groups. Recognising the prospects and untapped opportunities in the fisheries export market, the minister said the artisanal fishery is an area neglected for so long.” He also said that, in aquaculture “we can create so many jobs by providing inputs, training and

sensitisation.” On processing for export, he noted that “we have a chain in which we know what the safety standards are, so that we can meet them.” He advised stakeholders to conduct training for members, promising that, “by the time we extend the GES to artisanal fisheries and aquaculture, we will make progress.” The minister linked insecurity, in part, with the inadequate surveillance on the nation’s territorial waters, pointing out that “there is need to meet with the Nigerian Trawlers Owners Association (NITOA) to discuss especially with the naval forces.” He expressed readiness to discuss with the chief of naval staff on the security implication of the prevailing situation in Nigeria’s artisanal fisheries industry. “We will like to convene a meeting on this, to be facilitated by the Lagos State governor,” he concluded.

than 20 years. She said that although the rehabilitation began in 2011, the Federal Government was committed to completing it in the nearest possible time. The minister assured that farmers in the area would soon have cause to smile when the rehabilitation was completed. “The frustration of the farmers will come to an end because we are rehabilitating and will ensure that the work is completed soon.” The minister added that the project was part of government’s plan to rehabilitate the 57 abandoned irrigation projects across the country this year. Mr Eme Uche, the Executive

Director Engineering Anambra Imo River Basin Development Authority, told NAN that revamping the Adarice project would bring relief to the farmers. He added although the farmers in the area had no access to the Federal Government’s fertilisers, they were still willing to put in their personal effort to farm and produce rice. “The farmers here are willing to farm even though they do not have access to the Federal Government’s subsidised fertiliser; they go out of their way to buy fertilisers on their own.” Commenting on the issue, Mr Chukwudi Okorie, a rice farmer in the area, said he had never

heard of the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme and the E-wallet Fertiliser System initiated by the Federal Government in Adani. Mr Sunday Nwaoha, a pioneer worker of Adarice farm since 1976, expressed appreciation to the minister for her zeal to revive the project. “I am so glad that the minister has decided to revive this place. When I used to work here in the 70’s a bag of 50 kilogramme of rice was sold for N17 per bag. “If rehabilitated, since the project does not operate with electricity or diesel for pumping of water, the produce from the farm will be sold at lesser rates.” (NAN)

FG revives Adarice irrigation project

he Federal Government has begun the revival of Adarice Irrigation Project at Adani, Uzo-Uwani in Enugu State, to restore it to full operation and facilitate agricultural activities in the area. Minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe, confirmed this recently in Enugu during a tour of project sites. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that the Adarice project was established in 1962 as part of a farm settlement in the present Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area. The project, which covers a net irrigation area of 1,000 hectares, has been abandoned for more

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

PAGE 30

Agric minister now member of IFPRI council By Mokhammed Kandi

he Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has been appointed into the Washingtonbased Advisory Council of the International Food Policy Reserach Institute (IFPRI) 2020 Vision for Food, Agiculture and Environment. This followed approval of his membership by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to work with some globally distinguished individuals, including former President Kufor of Ghana, World Food Prize Laureate, M. S. Swaminathan, World Bank Chief Economist Justin Lin and the President of Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Margaret Biggs. IFPRI is an international agricultural research center founded in 1975 “to improve the understanding of national agricultural and food policies and to promote the adoption of innovations in agricultural technology.” The Institute, according to a statement issued by the Ministry’s Director of Information, Salisu Na’inna Dambatta, IFPRI also undertakes food policy research and disseminates its findings through publications, conferences and other initiatives in different countires on all the continents. The agricultural sector in Nigeria is benefiting from its research findings. The Institute is part of a network of international research institutes partly funded by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), which in turn is funded by governments, private businesses, foundations and the World Bank. “The mission of IFPRI is to seek sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty through research,” an entry in a website says of the Institute. IFPRI said in its website that the 2020 Vision for Food, Agriculture, and the Environment, the Advisory Council of which Dr. Akinwumi Adesina is now a member seeks to see “a world where every person has access to sufficient food to sustain a healthy and productive life, where malnutrition is absent, and where food originates from efficient, effective, and low-cost food systems that are compatible with sustainable use of natural resources.” The 2020 Vision for Food, Agriculture and the Environment is engaged, among other activities in “generating timely, state-of-the-art information on key topics related to food, agriculture, and the environment, paying special attention to emerging issues that have long-term implications for feeding the world, alleviating poverty, and protecting natural resources.” Membership of the Advisory Council would afford Dr. Akinwumi Adesina as the Minister of Agiculture and Rural Development an opportunity to further advance the Agricultural Tansformation Agenda (ATA), which is designed to create at least 3.5 million jobs for Nigerians, generate wealth for farmers, turn subsistence agriculture into business and increase food production in the country by 20 million metric tons.

ATA: FG to distribute 2m cocoa pods, 7m fish feeds in Ogoni land By Mokhammed Kandi

he Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, yesterday announced the Federal Government’s intention to support farmers in the Niger Delta with over 2 million high breed cocoa pods as part of its ongoing Agricultural Transformation Agenda Programme (ATAP).

Adesina, who made the disclosure yesterday in Abuja while receiving a delegation of traditional rulers, led by the Gberemene King og Gokana Kingdom of Ogoni, HRM, Barnabas Bagia JP. from the Ogoni community, said plans were also on the way to offer them a 50 percent subsidy of over 7 million fish feeds for their farmers. He said under the ATA, the government was ready to provide

high breed cocoa pods that will cover over 250 metric tonnes so as to improve production as well as agriculture in the Ogoni Kingdom. “ATAP was launched to improve on value chains of some crops just as it aims at creating over 4 million jobs for our teaming youths who chunk out of the Universities. We are looking at supporting over 20, 000 farmers who are registered in their various communities,” the minister

Agric Minister, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina (middle) in a photograph with a group of traditional rulers from the Niger Delta during their courtesy visit to the ministry yesterday in Abuja.

stated. Adesina, who called on the traditional rulers to sensitise their followers on the government’s plans for them, said “the future of Nigerian lies in diversified economy, moving away from oil and practicing agriculture as a business rather than as a development programmes. The minister, who recalled that agriculture, was abandoned when the country found its oil, appealed to the Ogoni people to delve into potentials and possibilities of contributing to national development through agriculture, saying “the future of the Ogoni Kingdom lies in agriculture which it once possessed before the discovery of crude oil.” Earlier, leader of the delegation, HRM, Barnabas Bagia JP. had appealed to the minister to support its teaming youth population with its various agricultural programmes, saying “in the face of intimidating rate of unemployment, Ogoni people have started to think of how to survive through agriculture.” Represented by Vice President, Ogoni Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers (OSCTR), Gberesaakoo XII, the Ogoni leader said the appeal was necessary to help their people out of environmental deletion inflicted upon the land by various oil exploration and exploitation by some multi-national oil companies.

E-Wallet delivers inputs to Nigerian small-holders By Salisu Na’inna Dambatta

he newly-introduced e-Wallet and voucher system for delivering subsidised seeds and fertilisers (agro-inputs) to smallholder farmers in the country is a new innovation that is designed to ensure that small-holder farmers in Nigeria actually benefit fom the system by accessing the inputs at affordable prices. The fraud-proof system is a major challenge to vested interests as it seeks to dislodge them. A similar system was susccessfully applied in some Afircan countries and it resulted in helping the small-holder farmers there to improve their productivity and make food security possible in those countries. Nigeria can benefit from positive innovations to rescue its people from hunger and protect them from malnutrution. Indeed, the system is barely six months old in Nigeria and as it is making its debut in the 2012 wet season to cover 4.3 million registered farmers. They were registered in the initial round of the registration exercise scheduled to end in 2015 when at least 20 million peasant farmers would have been registered. As the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, Minister of State for Agriculture, Bukar Tijani and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. E. O. Oyemomi went round the country flagging-off the new system, which is tagged Growth Enhancement Support scheme (GESS), it became clear that a novel system that is ending the era of one mudu of fertilisers and grains as seeds for most of our small-holder farmers

has arrived on our shores. During the flgg-off exercises, this writer witnessed the spectacle of happy small-holder farmers, who had hitherto only heard of subsidised fertilisers and improved seeds as news on their radio sets or as mere rumour designed to tease them, raise and dash their hopes. They now actually pay for and collect their subsidised fertilsers and free improved seeds. For them, the e-wallet has worked and they smiled home, each carrying his two bags of fertilisers and a bag of seeds. This is an important achievement, and a paradigm shift that takes care of the agro-inputs needs of the smallholder. The small farmers, officially rated as those who cultivate a maximum of two hectres of farmland, constitute around 70 per cent of Nigeria’s food producers. They are the backbone of the Nigerian agricultural sector and deserve every support to produce more food, grow more raw materials for the agro-industrial sectorand contribute in ending a food supply deficit that costs the country US$10 million in food import annually. The Governors of states that are participating in the GESS have praised its efficacy in delivering the inputs to the targetted beneficiaries. The Kaduna state Government is so impressed with GESS that the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Lamaran Yero announced that the state government will implement the model: implying that the Kaduna State Government will no more engage in direct purchase of fertilisers and that agro dealers and suppliers will deliver their wares to the markets for the farmers to procure their needs

without going through any intermediary. As only small-holder farmers are being targeted as beneficiries under GESS, the large-scale farmers are benefiting from a separate arrangement for large scale farmers. They are to purchase fertilisers and the inputs they need through other incentives such as the Nigerian Incentives-based Risk Sharing in Agicultural Lending (NIRSAL), which povides access to loans at low interest rate. Such loans have been guaranteed. The Federal Government has also announced measures to overcome price volatility such as Guranteed Minimum Prices (GMP) for Maize, Millet, Gari, dry Cassava chips, Soyabeans, Sorghum and Paddy Rice to ensure that farmers sell their produce at competitive price, get protection from glut and fully recoup their investments in food production and earn sustainable income. More crops are being considered under the GMP to expand the safety net against poor prices for our hardworking farmers. It is also important to note that the Agricultural Transformation component of the Transformation Agenda of the Administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is expected to generate at least 3.5 million jobs through the value chains of various commodities and turn agriculture into business that can create wealth for farmers. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is also working on the Aquaculture Value Chain and Nigerian fishermen and women will enjoy several subsidies so that Nigeria can produce more fish

locally, reduce its importation and save hard curency for the country: they are getting high-quality stockbrook, fish feed and access to cedit for fishing boats. Under the honest and patriotic leadership of the Minister of Agiculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina and Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Bukar Tijani, Nigeria will soon become once again the dominant power in Cocoa export as Nigerian Cocoa farmes get improved seedlings that mature within two years and produce about five times the current yield of the existing varieties per hectre. The Agricultural Transformation Agenda envisages increasing food production in the country by 20 metric tons per annum. As a country blessed with vast agricultural land and a teeming population of youth now gearing to take to farming as a business, Nigeria is set to deepen its status as the food basket of West Africa. As the Growth Enhancement Support scheme takes its course, it is safe to postulate that, with the success so far recorded in delivering the agroinputs to small-holder farmers in redemption centres near their homes and villages, the expected benefits of the scheme will soon manifest as they start harvesting their crops with higher yields. That is the essence of the Agicultual Transformation Agenda (ATA). Salisu Na’inna Dambatta is Director Information in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

ANALYSIS

arack Obama has not been a good president. On a host of issues, he has been a bad president. But the United States could do worse. New York City throbbed with manic celebrations four years ago. Obama had beaten John McCain and people were overcome and overwhelmed for the right reasons. His candidacy had proven that the country could be as good as its promise and that the promise extended to everyone. It was a good time for the US and the world. But the candidate failed to live up to his promise, even if the country did not. He betrayed core constituencies liberals and Latinos - to a mercenary decision-making process. His priorities appeared to be informed more by the value of historic gestures and legacy-building than by immediate necessity. The universal provision of healthcare matters, but not more than the corrosive economic malaise endured by so many for years now. The president pledged to signal a commitment to the rule of law by closing the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison. When he failed, his supporters developed the nowtired strategy of focusing on the structural constraints he faced. In fact, Obama's reversal on Guantanamo was an early indication that he would preserve some of the morally abhorrent and illegal practices pioneered by his predecessor, like rendition. New and exciting ways of violating international law blossomed under Obama. The domestic surveillance state flourished beneath it. The war in Afghanistan bulged in what proved to be a senseless tactical move. Wars in Yemen and Pakistan were never declared before they were waged - ruthlessly, and with no oversight. In Bahrain, the arming of the suppression of democrats - in tandem with Saudi Arabia - was never declared at all. George W Bush rightly endured criticism over provisions of the US Patriot Act that undermine constitutional protections in the US. The new president went further. William Binney, who worked at the National Security Agency for 40 years before resigning in 2001, protesting against domestic spying, claims that 20 trillion domestic informational exchanges have been catalogued by the agency. It is an impenetrable number, incomprehensible as a concrete figure. Representationally, it signifies the arbitrary, steroidal and greedy drive to capture and penetrate the private lives of a nation. It is a number owned by Barack Obama.

PAGE 31

The US canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t afford Romney Presidential candidate Mitt Romney 'inelegantly reverses or contradicts himself on a regular basis'

And yet, the US could have done worse. The president did not overturn the Bush-era decision to end "enhanced interrogations", what normal people call "torture". He also rightly followed through on Bush's bank bailouts - even if he failed to hold anyone accountable or implement meaningful reforms and regulations. And the healthcare bill, which may have come at the expense of radical economic stimulus, appears to have established the basis for a better, more comprehensive universal healthcare system. Finally, the president has not waged war on Iran. Mitt Romney's candidacy,

on the other hand, resists characterisation. The candidate inelegantly reverses or contradicts himself on a regular basis, so his statements are mostly vacuous. While Obama's words are also hollow, he does not routinely distance himself from his own track record, something that lends him more credibility than his opponent. The absence of a coherent vision does not mean that Romney is completely unknowable. He receives large amounts of money from donors whose views may serve as a good proxy for understanding what a Romney presidency could look like. Republican billionaires

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

Sheldon Adelson and the Koch brothers are firmly embedded in the extremist wing of the party. They are contemptuous of labour unions and the provision of social justice by government. They seek to enrich themselves through processes that impoverish society. These are the men with private access to the Republican presidential candidate. With their extraordinary campaign donations, they could hold the key to the Oval Office. And in a United States where corporations are people, these men represent the largest threat to fairness, social justice and a reasonable quality of life in a generation. Most urgently, they also represent the threat of war.

The absence of a coherent vision does not mean that Romney is completely unknowable. He receives large amounts of money from donors whose views may serve as a good proxy for understanding what a Romney presidency could look like.

Judging by Romney's own pronouncements, his presidency will tend towards the "creative destruction" that Niall Ferguson eagerly, breathlessly wrote about. A US strike against Iran would surely be the worst outcome for Americans, Iranians, the Middle East and a fragile global economy. And it is mainly for that reason that many should hope and work for an Obama victory this November. David Bromwich made the sharp observation that the coming presidential election pits a centrist Republican against a representative of the far right. It is a sad fact that there is no good choice for liberals in November 2012. There is, however, a bad choice. The United States cannot afford a Romney presidency; the world cannot afford endless war. Source: Aljazeera. Ahmed Moor is a Palestinian-American graduate student of Public Policy at Harvard University and co-editor of After Zionism (Saqi Books, July 2012).

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

PAGE 32

South African named first woman to chair AU S

Car bomb kills ex-minister in Somali capital

Mohamud Ibrahim Garweyne car bomb went off yesterday in Somalia's volatile capital Mogadishu, killing a former trade minister and wounding six people nearby, officials said. "The driver who died in the car bomb was Mohamed Abdinur Garweyne, he was a former trade minister and a lawmaker," said Mohamed Dhere, another lawmaker. "The police could not identify his body initially because it was so badly burned in the explosion," he added. Police Colonel Ali Mohamed confirmed the "driver of the car was killed and six civilians walking nearby were injured, some of them seriously". Some witnesses said the explosion could have been a bomb attached beneath the driver's seat - a tactic reportedly used previously by the al-Qaedalinked Shabab armed group - as the front of the vehicle was worst hit. "The explosion was very heavy," said Hassan Muhidin, a witness. "The front part of the car was totally destroyed and the severed dead body of the driver is still lying there." Police said they were still investigating the exact cause of the blast. "My sister, who was selling tea near the scene of the explosion, was seriously injured," said Farhiyo Ahmed, another witness. "I saw several other bleeding people who were injured." No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, which follows a string of explosions including roadside bombs and grenades that have rocked the Somali capital. The city has seen a series of such attacks since the hardline Shebab abandoned fixed positions there last year and switched to guerrilla tactics against the Western-backed government and a 17,000strong African Union force.

outh African diplomat and doctor Nkosazana DlaminiZuma has been elected to become the first female head of the African Union Commission, ending a leadership battle that had threatened to divide the organisation. Dlamini-Zuma, South Africa's home affairs minister and an exwife of President Jacob Zuma, on Sunday defeated incumbent Jean Ping of Gabon, who had been at the helm of the Commission, the AU's steering body, since 2008. Dlamini-Zuma, a 63-year-old who has previously served as minister of health and foreign affairs, had to undergo three voting rounds before Ping, 69, was finally eliminated. A final confidence vote of 37 in favour gave her the 60 per cent majority she needed to be elected. "Now we have the African Union chair Madame Zuma, who will preside over the destiny of this institution," Benin's president and current AU chairman Thomas Boni Yayi said. The contest to head the Commission of the 54-member AU had been deadlocked since last year, with neither Dlamini-Zuma nor Ping winning a two-thirds majority. It pitted French-speaking states, largely backing Ping,

Dlamini-Zuma is South Africa's home affairs minister and an ex-wife of President Jacob Zuma against mostly English-speaking countries, especially in southern Africa, which gave their support to Dlamini-Zuma. Her former husband, South African President Jacob Zuma, was one of the first to offer his congratulations after the vote. "It means a lot for Africa ... for the continent, unity and the empowerment of women," Zuma

said. The impasse over the candidates had persisted through a summit of AU heads of state held in Addis Ababa at the weekend. "She's a freedom fighter, not a bureaucrat or a diplomat ." It prompted Yayi to warn that failure by the continental body to resolve the leadership deadlock would divide it and undermine its

credibility in the world. Critics say the AU showed itself hesitant and slow-moving in its response to the conflicts last year in Libya and Ivory Coast, allowing Western governments to take lead roles. "She's a freedom fighter, not a bureaucrat or a diplomat," said Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

abuses, rigging elections and corruption. The West African leader denies the charges. In a statement yesterday, seven rights groups - including Human Rights Watch - criticised Unesco's plans to go ahead with the award ceremony in the French capital on Tuesday. "It is shameful and utterly irresponsible for Unesco to award this prize, given the litany of serious legal and ethical problems surrounding it," said Tutu

Alicante, director of EG Justice another signatory of the statement. "Beyond letting itself be used to polish the sullied image of Obiang, Unesco also risks ruining its own credibility," he added. The award was first approved as the "Unesco-Obiang prize" by the UN agency in 2008, and oil-rich Equatorial Guinea was to finance it for five years. But Mr Obiang's name was dropped in March following outrage by human rights groups

and African intellectuals and writers. The award is now officially known as the "Unesco-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences". It remains unclear if President Obiang will be present at the ceremony in Paris. Last week, a French judge reportedly issued an arrest warrant for his son, Teodorin Nguema Obiang Mangue, on money-laundering charges.

Rights groups denounce Equatorial Guinea UNESCO prize as shameful

uman rights groups have denounced plans by a UN agency to award a science prize sponsored by Equatorial Guinea President Teodor Obiang Nguema. The groups said such move by the UN scientific and cultural agency (Unesco) would be "irresponsible" and "shameful". Unesco is expected to award the $3m-prize (ÂŁ1.9m) in Paris on Tuesday. Mr Obiang is accused of rights

African Union ready to send peacekeepers to DR Congo

he African Union said Sunday it is ready to send peacekeeping troops to the restive eastern DR Congo, as leaders met at a biannual summit to discuss

trouble spots and to vote for the bloc's top job. AU Commission chairman Jean Ping told African leaders at the opening of the two-day summit that

Spokesman for the AU commissioner, Noureddine Mezni, left, sits alongside Ivory Coast President Alassane Dramane Ouattara, center, and the Peace and Security Commissioner for African Union, Ramtane Lamamra, during a AU press conference in Addis Ababa on Saturday.

the AU was "prepared to contribute to the establishment of a regional force to put an end to the activities of armed groups," in DR Congo. No further details about the potential force were given at the meeting, attended by both DR Congo President Joseph Kabila and Rwanda's Paul Kagame, who rejects accusations by UN experts and Kinshasa he supports the mutiny by Congolese troops. "The violence must end immediately, countries of the region ought to respect principle of non-interference," said UN deputy secretary general Jan Eliasson. The renewed violence in the mineral-rich eastern DR Congo is a key focus of the summit as well as conflict elsewhere on the continent, including the ongoing crisis between Sudan and South Sudan.

Signs of improvement were seen in the dispute between Sudan and South Sudan, following fierce battles in April and March along their contested oil-rich border. Sudanese President Omar alBashir and Salva Kiir of South Sudan shook hands warmly, following their first face-to-face talks on Saturday since the border fighting took them to the brink of all-out war. Ping noted "with satisfaction the end to the fighting and advances made recently" in talks between Juba and Khartoum, who have been holding months of slowmoving AU-led talks to resolve a raft of contentious issues. "Their people desperately hope for security and prosperity, we have a common duty not to shatter their hopes," Eliasson said.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

PAGE 34

North Korea’s army chief ‘relieved of duties’

orth Korea's army chief has been relieved of all his posts due to illness, state media has said, in a surprise development that removes one of new leader Kim Jong-un's inner circle member. Ri Yong-ho is regarded as one of the key figures who has helped support the young, untested leader in the transition following the death in December of his father Kim Jong-il, the longtime leader of the reclusive state.

69-year-old, who became head of the army in 2009 with the official title Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, has often been seen accompanying the young Kim on visits to military bases in recent months. The North's official KCNA news agency said that a meeting of top officials from the ruling party on Sunday took the decision to relieve him of his posts. "A meeting of the political bureau

Massive anti-nuclear rally staged in Tokyo

Palestinians visit jailed relatives in Israel

ens of thousands of people rallied in Tokyo yesterday demanding an end to nuclear power, the latest in a series of antiatomic gatherings following the tsunami-sparked disaster at Fukushima last year. Demonstrators marched through streets near Yoyogi park under scorching sunshine on a national holiday, chanting in chorus: "Don't resume nuclear power operation. Prime Minister (Yoshihiko) Noda should quit." Organizers said the number of participants was estimated to reach 170,000, one of the biggest antinuclear rallies since the March 2011 quake-tsunami sparked the world's worst atomic disaster in a generation. "We are so angry because no progress has been made in terms of compensation and decontamination," said Noboru Shikatani, a 71-year-old man who evacuated Fukushima to go to Tokyo following the disaster.

Russia says West using ‘blackmail’ over Syria

ussia has said it would block moves at the UN Security Council to extend a UN monitoring mission in Syria if Western powers did not stop resorting to "blackmail" by threatening sanctions against Damascus. Sergei Lavrov, Russian foreign minister, staked out a tough position yesterday before talks in Moscow with UN envoy Kofi Annan, dismissing international pressure on Russia and China to stop propping up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. His comments are likely to dim Western diplomats' hopes that Moscow is trying to find a face-saving way to drop its support for Assad and accept that he should have no role in a transition. "To our great regret, we are seeing elements of blackmail," Lavrov told a news conference before Annan started a two-day visit that will include talks today with President Vladimir Putin. "This is a counterproductive and a dangerous approach."

of the central committee of the workers' party decided to relieve Ri Yong-ho of all his posts for his illness," it said. He was removed from the "presidium of the politburo", the country's most powerful body with only a handful of members, the agency said. He would also no longer be "vicechairman of the central military commission of the" Workers' Party of Korea, the North's ruling party, it added.

South Korean officials say they are surprised at the speed of Ri's dismissal, and that it was done so publicly. "There was an internal meeting within North Korea yesterday, on 15 July. We believe it is very unusual for North Korea to quickly and openly report the meeting result. We will keep monitoring closely the situation in the North," said Kim Hyung-suk, South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman. John Delury from Yonsei

University's Graduate School of International Studies, Seoul, told Al Jazeera: "Well this is the first major reshuffle, whether it's through illness or not, we'd have to wait and see. The next big thing will be who replaces Vice Marshal Ri…" The general was one of seven top party and military cadres who accompanied Kim when he walked alongside the hearse carrying the body of Kim Jong-il during his funeral.

Ri Yong-ho was at the front of the hearse carrying the coffin of Kim Jong-il during his funeral procession

group of Palestinians from the occupied Gaza Strip have spent half an hour visiting relatives held in Israeli prisons for the first time in five years. Sivan Weizman, Israeli prison services spokeswoman, confirmed yesterday that the visit was completed "without incident", and that such trips were now expected to resume on a regular basis, with the next one scheduled in two weeks' time. The group of 40 relatives, men and women, had gathered before sunrise at the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza City. The organisation, which helped facilitate the trip, accompanied the relatives who piled into a bus that ferried them to the Erez border crossing with Israel, some smiling and waving as they set off. Emotions were running high among the relatives as they waited to begin the two-hour journey to Ramun prison in southern Israel. Among those crossing was the mother of prisoner Mohammed Hamdiya, who said she was almost overwhelmed with excitement at the thought of seeing her son again. "You can't imagine my joy at being able to meet my son Mohammed soon, to be able to see his face again after all these years," she told AFP news agency. Fatima Nashbat was on her way to see her husband Mohammed Jaber for the first time in nearly six years, she said. "I haven't seen my husband or heard his voice or even news of him for years," she said. "I don't know what the meeting will be like, but of course my excitement is indescribable and I can't wait to see him." In all, 24 prisoners received relatives from the occupied Gaza Strip, Weizman said, adding that visits were expected to take place on a weekly basis in the future. Israel agreed to restart the visits on a trial basis as part of a deal between the prison authorities and Palestinian detainees to end to a mass hunger strike earlier this year. The prisoners went on strike to demand an easing of the conditions of their detention, including greater access to lawyers and relatives, and an end to solitary confinement. The Red Cross welcomed Monday's developments and expressed hope the visits would resume on a regular basis.

A family member of a Palestinian prisoner on her way to visit her relative jailed in Israel

An anti-nuclear protester dressed as a clown is watched by police officers during a rally in downtown Tokyo yesterday.

PAGE 35

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

civil servants try Circumcision ban could Spanish to march on Parliament make Germany F â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;laughing stockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;: Merkel G ermany's Chancellor Angela Merkel told her party the country risked becoming a "laughing stock" over a court ruling calling religious circumcision a criminal act, according to a report Monday. The mass-circulation daily Bild said in an article to be published Tuesday that Merkel warned the board of her conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) that Germany must restore legal protection for circumcision. "I do not want Germany to be

the only country in the world in which Jews cannot practise their rites," Bild quoted Merkel as saying, citing several CDU members who attended the meeting. "Otherwise we would make ourselves a laughing stock among nations." Merkel's center-right government has pledged to take quick action to protect the right of Jews and Muslims to circumcize baby boys on religious grounds, and voiced concern about the ruling by the court in

Cologne published in June. The court said the removal of the foreskin for religious reasons amounted to grievous bodily harm and was therefore illegal, in a judgment that prompted an outcry at home and abroad. Diplomats admit that the ruling has proved "disastrous" to Germany's international image, particularly in light of its Nazi past, following uproar from religious and political leaders in Israel as well as Muslim countries.

irefighters, police in plainclothes and civil servants have tried to march on Spain's Parliament to protest stinging austerity measures, but were blocked by police in riot gear manning layers of metal fences protecting the legislature. Police got in shoving matches Monday with demonstrators who numbered more than 1,000 in the latest in a series of demonstrations against deficit-cutting reforms announced last week by the

conservative government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Firefighters wore black helmets and some of the police who took part wore shirts identifying them as union representatives. The austerity measures include the suspension of one of 14 paychecks most civil servants get each year. Specifically, it is the one usually paid right before Christmas. Their wages were already cut by an average 5 percent in 2010.

Civil servants shout slogans as another holds a placard during a protest over government austerity measures in central Madrid.

Egyptâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ex-President Mubarak ordered back to prison

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (2nd R) attends a luncheon with Indonesian and German businessmen in Jakarta.

French party to sue Madonna over Nazi image

rance's National Front has said that it plans to sue pop star Madonna after the 53year-old singer showed a video at a Paris concert that contained an image of the party's leader with a swastika on her forehead. The announcement comes a week into the iconic performer's MDNA World Tour, which had displayed the image of Marine Le Pen several times at previous concerts. The party had previously warned they would pursue legal action if the image was broadcast during the singer's stop in France on Saturday night at the Stade de France. Alain Vizier, National Front spokesman, said Sunday that the party would file a complaint in French court next week for "insults". In the video, party leader Marine Le Pen is briefly pictured during a montage in which famous faces morph into each other. Soon after, Le Pen's face flashes up, and then the singer's own follows with Hitler's

mustache. Le Pen, who inherited control of the party from her father, JeanMarie, has tried to shed the National Front's image as racist and anti-Semitic, especially during her recent failed bid for president. No stranger to controversy

while on tour, Madonna's shows have previously come under attack. Most recently during her 2006 Confessions Tour, the singer was seen performing her 1986 single Live to Tell while hanging from a cross and donning a crown of thorns.

gypt's public prosecutor has ordered that former President Hosni Mubarak be returned to prison, saying that his health has improved. Mubarak, 84, was moved from prison to a hospital last month after reports of deterioration in his health. He was said at the time to have had a series of strokes and to be on a life support machine. Reports that he was "clinically dead" were later denied. In June, he was jailed for life for his role in the deaths of protesters. Prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmoud issued "an order to transfer former President Hosni Mubarak from the Maadi Armed Forces Hospital to Tora prison hospital after an improvement in his health," his office was quoted as saying. Mr Mahmoud's deputy, Adel alSaeed, said that a panel of doctors had earlier established that the former president's "health is currently stable with medication,

and it is considered good for someone of his age," according to the AFP news agency. It was not immediately known when Mubarak would be transferred to prison. However, any report about his health has to be treated with a large degree of scepticism, the BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo reports.

Hosni Mubarak was jailed for life in June

Russia charges retired cop over journalist 2006 murder

Madonna previously caused controversy while performing a cross in 2006, and for obscene behaviour in 1990

ussia yesterday charged a retired policeman with organizing the 2006 murder of opposition paper reporter Anna Politkovskaya in a case whose slow investigation has drawn repeated concern in the West. The Investigative Committee also cautioned however that it still had no clear picture about who ordered the killing: an admission that rights groups say hides the state's refusal to prosecute the high-ranking officials involved. Politkovskaya was gunned down in the elevator of her Moscow apartment building by a waiting

assailant who fled the scene and was only partially filmed by a closed circuit camera. The Novaya Gazeta paper for which she worked said it believed her murder was ordered by people close to Ramzan Kadyrov - the strongman leader of Chechnya whom she was investigating for allegedly torturing his foes. The Investigative Committee said it now believed that top former Moscow policeman Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov helped organize Politkovskaya's murder and helped track her movements for months.

PAGE 36

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

Could baldness drug cause permanent impotence in some men? A

hair-loss medication reportedly tried by Wayne Rooney may cause prolonged and possibly irreversible impotence, scientists have claimed. The recent findings come after one patient bravely stepped forward to reveal the drug left him with no sex drive and even shrank his genitals. Kevin Malley, 30, was prescribed with the drug Propecia after he worried he could be losing his hair. He said he only planned to take the pill for a year. However, just five months after he started taking it in May 2011 he found he was completely impotent and his testes also became smaller. Worried, he consulted his doctor and was told the symptoms would disappear after he stopped taking the drug. But he says a year on and nothing has changed. It will come as no surprise to Dr Michael Irwig from the University of Washington. He recently published a study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, that found the ingredient finasteride, which is found in Propecia, can cause persistent sexual dysfunction, including low sexual desire, erectile dysfunction and problems with orgasms. The male pattern baldness drug is manufactured by Merck and was approved by the FDA in 1997. While labeling on the medication in the U.S. currently warns about possible reversible sexual side effects, there is no reference to the effects being persistent, Dr Irwig said. However, other countries including the UK and Sweden do require medical companies to include the ‘persistent risk’ warning on the labeling. It was reported that Wayne Rooney started taking the medication in 2009 after he became sick of other footballer’s jibes about

his receding hairline. He has since had a hair transplant. Dr Irwig first became aware of the problems caused by finasteride several years ago when he encountered several men who reported they had developed sexual dysfunction while taking the medication. ‘It’s been very frustrating for a lot of these men because they’ve sought care from medical professionals who have looked at the literature and have not seen a risk of persistent sexual dysfunction,’ says Dr Irwig. ‘So a lot of these patients have been told to see psychiatrists and psychologists and that it’s all in their head.’ Dr Irwig then noticed that men had reported sexual dysfunction for months even after they stopped taking the medication. ‘I came across a website called propeciahelp.com with more than 1,400 registered users - many young healthy men who developed the same sexual side effects from finasteride - and I discovered that nobody had published a series looking at these men - who they are,

Unfortunate side-effects? Wayne Rooney was reported to be taking Propecia in 2009. It has since been linked with impotence.

Concern: Men worried about losing their hair may consider treatments such as Propecia. However in the UK the drug label warns about possible 'persistent' sexual side effects. how long the sexual side effects lasted, what types.’ Dr Irwig’s study included results from interviews with 71 men aged 21 to 46 years old to assess how long they took finasteride, the type and duration of sexual side effects and their sexual frequency before and after the medication. Dr Irwig discovered that 94 per cent developed low libido, 92 per cent developed erectile dysfunction and decreased arousal, and 69 per cent developed problems with orgasm. On average, the men used finasteride for approximately 28 months but experienced persistent sexual side effects for an average of 40 months, from the time they ceased taking the medication to the time of the interview. Dr Irwig also found that the average number of sexual episodes per month dropped after finasteride use. ‘It turns out that almost all the men had multiple sexual function problems,’ says Dr Irwig. ‘Before finasteride use, the men

experienced average sexual activity of approximately 26 episodes per month, but after use, it came down to approximately eight per month - an almost two-thirds reduction. ‘Twenty per cent of patients I interviewed experienced persistent sexual dysfunction for more than five years, which makes me wonder if their persistent sexual dysfunction is permanent,’ he adds. This was certainly Mr Malley’s experience. He told Good Morning America: ‘I kept expecting the side effects to go away, but they did not, they only got worse.’ Mr Malley said before he took the drug he was engaged and worked as a public health researcher at a university in Las Vegas. After he developed symptoms his fiancee broke off the engagement and he said he had to resign from his job because of cognitive problems. He said he is angry no one warned him the drug could have such lasting effects. ‘Even if the side effects are rare, that doesn’t mean that I should not

have been warned. I did have a life before this,’ he told Good Morning America. Dr Irwig said roughly 5 per cent of men who take medicine will experience sexual dysfunction, and of those ‘it’s hard to tell how many will experience persistent symptoms’. ‘We know that this is a potential problem, but we can’t quantify what the exact risk is. I can’t tell a man if he has a 1-in-100 chance, or a 1-in-1000 chance of developing persistent sexual dysfunction, but it’s pretty clear there’s a relationship here,’ he says. Topical Rogaine can be used as an alternative to Propecia - applied directly on the skin, it does not get absorbed by body and thus does not cause sexual side effects - but Dr. Irwig says Propecia is very effective in treating hair loss and thus is commonly prescribed. So Dr Irwig says it is crucial physicians treating male pattern hair loss discuss the possibility of persistent sexual side effects associated with finasteride with their patients. ‘I think it’s very important that doctors who are prescribing this medicine talk about potential risks, so men can make an informed decision,’ he said. In a statement, Merck said no evidence has proved a causal relationship between Propecia and long-lasting sexual dysfunction. A spokesman said: ‘Merck believes that PROPECIA (finasteride) has demonstrated safety and efficacy profiles and that the product labeling appropriately describes the benefits and risks of the drug to help inform prescribing. ‘A causal relationship between the use of PROPECIA and continued sexual dysfunction after discontinuation of treatment has not been established. We encourage patients to talk with their doctor if they have any questions or concerns about their health, or about PROPECIA.’ Source: Dailymail.co.uk

May your road be rough, Dasuki (III) Contd. from Back Page This, clearly, is not a task which only soldiers and policemen are best placed to lead. Indeed, such transformative or nationbuilding approach to national security is one that can best be realized under a civil democratic leadership. So, as is often the case in the United States, for example, we should have at the head of our national security bureaucracy civilian experts who are more likely to embrace fresh ideas and stimulate the kind of change which the dynamics of the modern democratic state requires. Dasuki may find useful, and use, Azazi's suggestions in the latter's national security strategy review, especial as this relates to the issue of human development of national security personnel and citizen participation, as opposed to

the obsession with esoteric concepts, brutal practices and bureaucratic power struggles. But Dasuki would do well, in his and the nation's interest, to steer well clear, for now, of the Strategic Security Alliance with the United States that his predecessor was canvassing. The proposal must be subjected to serious thinking and analysis to determine what its real nature and purpose will be, how Nigeria stands to benefit from it, who is to pay for what in the alliance, what traps and pitfalls may lie therein and whether Nigeria will not be served better if the main focus of the alliance is to get the U.S. assist Nigeria to solve the fundamental causes of insecurity instead addressing only its symptoms. The experiences of other countries that struck such an alliance with the U.S. can be a good guide. As part of any systematic

approach to reform of Nigeria's security and intelligence apparatus and practices, Dasuki must seek to forge a new national consensus on the kind of security our society requires; and also make careful strategic planning and pre-emption as its defining hallmarks. Across our nation-state and beyond its borders an array of problems and threats abound requires new thinking and renewed efforts. Such problems as inept and corrupt leadership, institutional sloth, feeble policies, slack and shady justice regime, flawed education system, poor work ethics, joblessness, whitecollar crimes, rapid population growth, resource depletion, environmental abuse, poor healthcare, pathetic infrastructures, and weak democratic and civic culture broadly define, shape and reshape

not only our security environment, but also our global economic competitiveness. The nexus or interplay of all this in turn spawns or accentuates pervasive corruption, governmental failure, poverty, social inequalities, rural-urban drift, urban squalor and decay, the spread of diseases, mass alienation, drug and small arms trafficking, youth resistance, urban violence, communal conflicts, refugee crisis, and cross-border crimes, all of which impede our economic prosperity and threaten our national and regional stability. Obviously, therefore, an essential step out of our current morass will be to develop and resolutely pursue an inclusive, coherent and long-range set of geopolitical and socio-economic strategies that will identify, advance, secure and safeguard our national security interests at

national, regional, continental and global levels so that we are always well-placed to deal with existing or emerging security threats. Such an endeavour requires of Dasuki, as of all our élites, just and wise leadership; as well as clarity of imagination and purpose that cuts through the transformational waffle of the regime he now serves. The nature of his office also requires he stays above the rough and tumble of party politics, as well as resists any urge to let his own past cloud his official judgment and conduct. Meanwhile, as both Dr Mohammed and General Azazi repair home to the embrace of their families and life in the political wilderness, I offer Sambo Dasuki my very sincere and simple prayer: may his road be rough. Concluded

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012

PAGE 37

I’m not safe in Kogi, says Echocho By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

he winner of the January 2011 Kogi state governorship primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Jibrin Isah Echocho had alleged threat to his life by the ‘powers-that-be’ in the state. He said the powers that be in Kogi state are after his life for instituting a suit in the court challenging the election Idris Wada as governor of the state. In a letter written by his counsel, Wole Olanipekun (SAN) and addressed to the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), a copy of which was made available to newsmen, Echocho recalled that the Chairman of the anti graft agency was written to reopen his trial on his alleged involvement in the Afribank scam. Responding to this, Olanipekun in the letter stated that the EFCC had on November 21,2010 through his counsel, Rotimi Jacobs and the head of its legal department, M.S Hassan informed a Federal High Court in Lagos that the name of the third accused person which is Echocho be struck out from the charge adding the trial judge, Justice J.T Soho, had consequently

struck out his name from the charge. He added that Justice O.A. Akinlade of the Lagos state High Court had also on June 1, 2011 struck out the name of Echocho when they were re-arraigned. Olanipekun in the four page letter stated that,” Our client is a politician and a leading member of the PDP in Kogi state. In fact, he contested and won the primary election of the party in 2011 and his name was sent to INEC as the PDP’s gubernatorial candidate for Kogi state in April 2011 governorship election, but for the fact that the election did not hold in Kogi state due to the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja and the Court of Appeal, Abuja which declared that the term of office of the then governor of Kogi state, Alhaji Idris Ibrahim would not lapse until 2012, but the judgment was later set aside by the Supreme Court. “Our client has since instituted an action, principally against INEC challenging the purported election of Alhaji Idris Wada as the governor of Kogi state in a purported election held during the pendency of INEC’s appeal to the Supreme Court and against the background of the Supreme Court judgement to the effect that contrary to the

judgement of the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal, Ibrahim Idris ought and should have vacated office on May 28, 2011. “As a result of the proceedings in court at the instance of our client, the ‘the powers that be’ in Kogi state have not only been harassing him to the effect that EFCC should willy-nilly prosecute him. Put bluntly, these ‘powerful’ people have been trying to use a respected commission headed by an equally highly esteemed officer of your status and person to harass, intimidate, molest and persecute our client. “Fortunately, the EFCC would not bend to their illegal machination and demands. Thus, by a letter dated 23rd April, 2012 signed by Bamanga Bello for the Head of Operations of the EFCC, our client was duly informed that he would be a witness for the EFCC in the prosecution of the accused persons in the Afribank’s criminal trial. “Despite the foregoing, the same set of ‘powerful’ people keep on continuously and continually harassing and intimidating our client that unless he withdraws his legitimate action at the Federal High Court, the EFCC has been convinced by them to now

Jibrin Isah Echocho prosecute him, anytime from now”, Oliver stated. He further stated that the only offense Echocho had committed now was that he had the audacity to challenge his stolen mandate in court, a legitimate and constitutional action that he (Echocho) should be praised for rather than being threatened or persecuted. He therefore called on the Commission not to hearken to the illegal and unconstitutional calls of these people, especially with the recent judgment in an appeal brought by Alhaji Sani Dododo,

seeking to compel the EFCC to investigate and prosecute the former governor of Kebbi state, Alhaji Adamu Aliero, for alleged corruption, where a panel consisting of Justices Jimi Olukayode Bada, Ejembi Eko and Regina Obiageli Nwodo held that the power to investigate and prosecute any suspect was discretional. It will also be recalled that Governor Idris Wada had, early last month led a delegation to the National Chairman of the PDP, Dr. Bamanga Tukur asking him to prevail on Echocho to withdraw his suit.

Don't' call me small boy, Oshiomhole warns Anenih From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

he re-elected Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Governor of Edo state, Adams Oshiomholoe, ‘yesterday’ told the chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Tony Anenih, to desist from referring to him as “a small boy”. According to him, at the age of 60 and as a father and grandfather, it would be inappropriate for anybody to refer to him as a little boy. Oshiomhole who disclosed this at a Press Conference at States House, Benin City, yesterday, recalled the fatal defeat of the PDP as a product of connection to the electorate at last Saturday Governorship election which was in his favour. The governor who was declared by Independent National electoral Commission, INEC as winner of the poll having secured 477, 478 votes to beat his PDP rival Candidate, Major Gen. Charles Airhiavbere (Rted), who polled 144, 235 votes out of 647, 698 votes cast, however, called on INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega to set up a panel

•••Calls for the retirement of INEC Commissioner Igbani, others

Governor Adams Oshiomholoe of enquiry to unravel late arrival of materials to some polling units and the prosecution of suspects arrested with INEC ballot papers. He prescribed the prosecution of INEC National Commissioner in charge of Edo, Delta and Bayelsa States, Dr Isamail Igbani for allegedly colluding to manipulate voter registers that

were wrongly allocated to New Era College polling units and Garrick Memorial Secondary School centre where the PDP candidate voted. He also berated Dr Igbani, INEC Commissioner in charge of Edo South Senatorial District Monitoring and Observation for alleged lacklustre which led to

delay in arrival of polling materials to Oredo, Egor, Ikpoba Okha-local Government areas thereby disenfranchising some voters, particularly the elites. He thanked all the stakeholders for their peaceful disposition and President Goodluck Jonathan, stressing that he will continue to respect Chief Anenih, despite differential reservations about his ideas just as he urged him to emulate former Democrat President of United States of America, Jimmy Carter, who after his service to the nation went into humanitarian health service instead of continuing in partisan politics. According to him, 'Let me also appreciate Chief Tony Anenih; I appreciate him as an elder of our state who deserve respect from all of us. But of course the challenge of democracy include battle of ideas and because of this battle of ideas, sometimes, the ideas of being seen too nice may not be present. But let me appreciate you and all our people, I appreciate you and I respect you and I 'll continue to respect you

even as I have serious reservations or even fundamental differences in terms of our political ideology. Whatever we want to do as an elder of this State he deserves our respect. I 'll continue to show respect to him and members of the great party. "Even under one man vote, one vote, victory is possible without respects for any of those guys. I celebrate the fact that this election turns out to be extremely different. However, there is no game where there is no retirement. Imagine at 60, I'm still called this boy and you're called you babies. Whoever wants to remain in office depends on how you can connect to the people. What I will not do is to go on my knees and beg anyone but to fight anyone who would want to manipulate the process. One time US Democrat after leaving the White House he was into Health related humanitarian programmes, he did not retire to manipulating elections and such other archaic things or ventures', he said.

PAGE 38

Ekweremadu describes Justice Mukhtar’s emergence as milestone

eputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu has lauded the emergence of Justice Aloma Mukhtar as the Chief Justice of Nigeria, describing it as a milestone for the country’s women and the judiciary. Ekweremadu, who stated this in a congratulatory message to the new Chief Justice, said it was gratifying that the honour was coming to someone of high pedigree, proven integrity and impeccable antecedents. ”Your in-depth knowledge of the judiciary and admission of the critical challenges facing it are clear indications that you possess the needed ideas and audacity to effect far-reaching reforms. ’’ In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Uche Anichukwu, Ekweremadu expressed optimism that such reforms would reposition this critical arm of government. The deputy senate president prayed that God should grant her the courage, wisdom, and grace to make her tenure a glorious one in the history of the nation’s judiciary. The Senate on July 11, confirmed Mukhtar as the new Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), making her the first woman to hold such a position in the country.

Yuguda slashes number of aides

he Bauchi state government yesterday announced the sack of most of its political appointees in order to pave way for a review of the appointments. A statement by Alhaji Ibrahim Dandija, Secretary to the Bauchi State government, said in Bauchi that those who were affected included directors general, senior special assistants as well as special assistants. The statement added that the disengagement was with immediate effect. It, however, stated that the review of the appointment would soon be done to reflect the ruling party’s structure. The statement revealed that the action was taken to address the complaints of stakeholders that the earlier appointments were lopsided. The directors general of projects, debt management office, ICT, and Protocol were not affected by the disengagement, the statement said. Others are the directors general, orphan and vulnerable children, recruitment, as well as managing director of the NHIS. Political appointees attached to the offices of the governor and his deputy were also exempted.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012

I don’t support creation of more states, says Rep Monguno A member of the House of Representatives, Mohammed Monguno yesterday said that he does not support the creation of more states in Nigeria. Monguno, who is the Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, said that the clamour for the creation of more states was a ploy by the political elite to control state resources. “The clamour for state creation is coming from the Nigerian political elite who want states to be created so that they can influence and control the governance of such states.” He said that instead of

calling for the creation of more states, Nigerians should be thinking of making the existing ones more viable in terms of revenue generation. “I don’t think that we need more than the existing states because some of them are not viable.” Monguno stressed the need for Nigerians to concentrate more on how to make the states viable and advocate for fiscal federalism. On the call for the establishment of state police by some Nigerians, the legislator said “it would be used for the selfish interest of some people in power if approved”.

“The Police should remain in the exclusive list under the control of the central government, not the concurrent legislative list. “If states are allowed to have their own police, it would be used as agent of oppression of political opponents by state governors. “In the past, Native Authority Police was used to victimise and oppress political opponents,’’ Monguno said. Monguno, who said that he supports the call for the reform of local government system, added that the reform would enhance the operations of the third tier of government. He said that the present

arrangement of joint account with the states was detrimental to the development of the local councils which are more closer to the people. “I very much support the independence of the local councils being the tier of government that is very close to the people at the grass root. “It should be truly independent and self accounting,” he said.

Edo voted Oshiomhole, not ACN- Ekeh By Lawrence Olaoye

R-L: Former Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman, Steering Committee of the State Peer Review Mechanism(SPRM), Justice Muhammadu Uwais, discussing with Director General, Nigeria Governors' Forum, Mr. Asishana Okauru, during the sensitisation workshop of SPRM, recently in Port Harcourt.

Commission urges varsities to comply with federal character principle

he Chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Prof. Shuaibu Abdulraheem, has told authorities of the nation’s universities to comply with the federal character principle in their recruitment. Abdulraheem made the call in Abuja yesterday at a one-day workshop, organised for chief executive officers of Nigerian universities. He said that the commission had observed that the university authorities were not complying with the federal character principle in their recruitment. Abdulraheem said the theme of the workshop, “Actualising Federal Character Objectives in University Administration,’’ was aimed at addressing and eradicating pockets of resistance by the universities in complying with the federal character principle. He noted that the workshop was also aimed at

creating a platform for universities to interact with regulators of the federal character policy. This he said, would be done through the use of channels to discuss issues and problems of implementing the guidelines and principles of the commission. “The objective and position of federal character is to ensure that the heterogeneous character of the nation is reflected in the composition of the staff of all public institutions, funded by government. ”These institutions include the universities,” he said. Prof. Julius Okojie, Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) noted that universities faced challenges in the implementation of the federal character principle as its concerned academic programmes. “For us in the university system, it is a big challenge to accept the issue of the Federal

Character Commission. “This is because in the past, only the best were taken on merit in the institutions and so wherever you came from did not really matter. “Unlike the police, the army and other organisations where they pick equal number of people from every state, you cannot do that for academics because they have specialised areas,” he said. Okojie, however, noted that the nine new universities, established by the Federal Fovernment were aimed at promoting equity and equal opportunity. He said the commission was open to advice on how to ensure equity in the running of the new universities. Also speaking, Chairman, Committee of Universities of the FCC, Aliyu Muhammad, said the seminar would edify ideas to be applied in the implementation of the federal character principle in the universities.

n Edo community leader, Williams Ekeh yesterday disclosed that the people of the state voted for Comrade Adams Oshiomhole as a person and not his party, teh Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). Reacting to the land slide victory of Oshiomhole who contested the election on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Ekeh said Oshiomhole would have won the election even if had contested on the platform of any of the obscured political party. “Oshiomhole is with the people at the grassroots. The people see his re-election as their own personal project and mobilized for his across partisan party line,” he said. Ekeh, who is also a member of the Edo state chapter of the ACN and political ally of former governor of Edo state, Chief Odigie Oyegun, emphasized that a lot of indigenes who are members of the opposition parties in the state put affiliations aside to mobilize for the re-election of Oshiomhole. “When Oshiomhole was transforming the state during his first tenure he never asked the people what political party they belong to before providing roads, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure in their communities. “You saw the way he changed the face of Edo Central Senatorial District where a chieftain of another political party came from and to show appreciation the people gave him the massive votes that were recorded last Saturday where he defeated his arch rivals in their hitherto strongholds. “Edo voted for transformation, Edo voted for reform, Edo voted for good governance and Comrade Governor Adam Oshiomhole is the face of good governance”. The youth leader further declared that Edo people have a record of voting across party line for any candidate of their choice irrespective of party affiliation.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012

PAGE 39

Observers rate Edo election high By Lawrence Olaoye

L-R: Member, House Committee on Diaspora, Hon . Sani Bello Mashi, Chairperson of the Committee, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa , and Chairman BOT, Nigerian Diaspora Alumni Network, Mr. Manny Aniebonam , during a visit by Network to the committee recently to the National Assembly, in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

PDP berates Ajimobi over Oyo lawmakers’ wives’ London trip From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Southwest has berated Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo state for approving the spending of public fund on trip to London, United Kingdom (UK) by the Speaker of the State Assembly, Hon Monsurat Olajumoke Sunmonu, and wives of members of the House of Assembly. The party, which described the trip as a waste of Oyo State resources said it was laughable that the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)’s government in Oyo State would send wives of its lawmakers to London for training on “Husband Support.” The party Zonal Publicity Secretary,

Hon. Kayode Babade, who condemned the trip in a release issued yesterday alleged that over N50 million was approved for the trip. The statement read “As we write, the Speaker of Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon Monsurat Olajumoke Sunmonu is in London with wives of members of the House of Assembly. “We learnt they will be spending eight days in London to undergo training on ‘Husband Support.’ “Also with them are retinue of aides of the Speaker and some Principal Officers of the House of Assembly. “They are presently accommodated in Custom House Hotel, London and yesterday (Sunday), the Speaker led them on a

shopping spree in Peckham. “The hotel where they are lodge is about £100 per night, with 10 nights paid per person, making £1,000. On hotel accommodation alone, over £50,000 will be spent on this trip that has no single benefit to the people of Oyo state. “And if we may ask: is it in our constitution to send wives or husbands of House of Assembly members on courses, especially outside the country? Were they voted for? “In the opinion of Governor Ajimobi, what benefit is Oyo State and its people going to derive from this jamboree on which over N50 million tax payers money is being spent?”

NCP seeks urgent hearing of application against INEC

he National Conscience Party (NCP) yesterday urged a Federal High Court in Lagos to urgently hear the case it filed against INEC on deregistration of parties. The court, which began its vacation on July 16, will only hear cases that are urgent until it resumes on Sept 17. In the suit, the NCP and one of its members, Mr Tunde Agunbiade, are challenging the legality of an alleged plan by INEC to de- register some political parties. Joined as defendants in the suit are

the National Assembly and the Attorney-General of the federation. The counsel to NCP, Mr Marcus Evarhono, in an affidavit in support of the motion for urgent hearing, stated that the substantive suit was filed on Sept. 16, 2011 and had been served on all parties. He informed the court that the plaintiffs had also filed a motion on notice dated July 3, restraining INEC from deregistering it or any political party, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

Eyarhono contended that if INEC was not promptly restrained from deregistering political parties, it could carry out the exercise which would cause irreparable damage to the plaintiffs. “Any delay in granting this application may occasion irreparable hardship to the plaintiffs,’’ he said. The Deputy Chief Registrar of the court, Mr Ben Okandeji, asked the plaintiffs to serve the motion for urgent hearing on the defendants and fixed July 23 for hearing of the case by Justice Mohammed Idris.

ndependent election observers that monitored last Saturday governorship election in Edo state have scored the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) high in the conduct of the election. Presenting their initial reports at a press conference in Abuja, members of the foremost election monitoring group in the country, Project Swift Count, PSC, said the final result announced by INEC tallied with what was obtained at the various polling units. According to PSC, they deployed 834 observers across all 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs) — 800 stationary observers at 400 polling units and 34 mobile observers to monitor the election in Edo state. “PSC is able to conclude, with 95% certainty, that its qualitative observations about the electoral process and its quantitative estimates of the election results reflect the process and results from all 2,627 polling units in Edo State, not merely at the polling units observed. “Our findings today address the processes of accreditation of voters, the voting and counting at polling units, and the verification of the Edo State governorship election results as announced by the Independent National Election Commission (INEC). “Project Swift Count finds generally that the process provided most of the people of Edo State with a meaningful opportunity to exercise their right to vote and that the official results as announced by INEC accurately reflect the ballots cast at polling units. “Project Swift Count wishes to recognize the commendable level of participation in the election by the citizens of Edo State and to congratulate their peaceful conduct. Project Swift Count also observed that the adequate security presence was of tremendous help in maintaining the peaceful environment”. The election observers declared that the result and estimate their observers obtained at the polling units tallies substantially with what was eventually declared by INEC and appeal to all the political parties that participated in the election to accept the outcome. “The order and magnitude of the INEC results for each of these parties is the same as the Swift Count estimates. Because Project Swift Count was able to independently collect official results from polling units and arrive at the same results as INEC. Political contestants and the public alike should have a high degree of confidence that the official results as announced by INEC reflect the votes cast in the Edo State governorship election”.

Deliver dividends of democracy, APGA tasks Commissioners

he All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has called on the newly sworn-in Commissioners in Anambra to strive to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people in their various ministries. The State Chairman of APGA, Chief Mike Kwentoh, made the call in an interview with

the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka yesterday. “I want them to gird their loins and put in all that is within their powers to serve, they have to uplift the lives of the people through their different ministries. “This is very important to the party and they must work to implement the

programmes of the party in Anambra,” he said. Kwentoh congratulated the new commissioners and encouraged them to bring their experiences to bear in the implementation of government’s policies and programmes. “I must congratulate them on their new

tasks, especially Mr Okoli Akirika, who has been a long standing secretary of the party in the state. “I believe the commissioners will deliver the dividends of democracy to the people,” he said. The chairman lauded Gov. Peter Obi for his wisdom in the choice of the appointees.

PAGE 40

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012

Akinjide distributes N10m worth of poverty alleviation materials By Josephine Ella

L-R: Acting National Secretary, All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Ifedi Okwenna, Acting National Chairman, Alhaji Sadeeq Masalla, and Deputy National Chairman South, Chief Onwuka Ukwa, during the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the party, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

he Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, has established a revolving N10 million microcredit loan for members of the Oyo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Akinjide, who disclosed this in Ile Aperin, Oyo state at the distribution of poverty alleviation materials to PDP members across the 33 local government areas of the state said the materials were worth over N10 million. A statement by the Special Assistant to the Minister of State on Media and Publicity, Oluyinka Akintunde, said the items distributed include six new tractors with full implements, 100 refrigerators, 100 deep freezers and 60 water pumps. The minister explained that the micro-credit loan and the poverty alleviation materials were part of concerted measures to empower the people and deliver dividends of democracy.

“The revolving loan is part of the promise I made to our people last year to empower them. This money is not from government. It is an accumulation of my salaries and allowances and other personal savings in the last one year. “I want to assure you that I remain irrevocably committed to improving the welfare of our people and will continue to do so in my own little way. Our people have to enjoy the dividends of democracy. I want to urge the beneficiaries of the revolving loan and poverty alleviation materials to utilize them judiciously,” she said. She urged members to support the PDP leadership in the state in order to sustain peace and unity within the party and the South West region. Akinjide assured that the PDP would return to the mainstream politics in the state by 2015 and solicited the loyalty and cooperation of all members of the party to the realization of the set goal.

Constitution review key to transformation agenda 4 Zamfara politicians escape lynching – Deputy Speaker for allegedly betraying ex-gov

By Lawrence Olaoye

eputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha has said the constitution amendment process, currently being undertaken by the National Assembly, is a key measure towards the positive transformation of Nigeria’s sociopolitical and economic fortunes. Ihedioha spoke yesterday at the opening ceremony of the International Conference on “Law Reform and the Law Making Process” held at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja organized by the National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS) in collaboration with National Judicial Institute, Law Reform Commission and International Law Institute, Washington DC. While noting that the 1999

Constitution specifically empowers the National Assembly to amend the Constitution as a critical part of law reform, he said the House of Representatives has already initiated several bills on law reform including constitutional amendment bills, adding that “these bills and other initiatives at constitutional amendments are receiving urgent attention” of the ad-hoc Committee on Constitution Review. The Deputy Speaker also said the Legislative Agenda of the House of Representatives has been tailored to meet citizens’ expectation that lawmakers will make laws to change society for the better. According to him the amendment would “strengthen the nation’s political and economic foundations, change outdated institutions and structures, afford greater protection to their rights

and liberties and generally to provide an enabling environment for them to improve their lives and living conditions.” He said because the dynamic nature of societal challenges infers that law cannot be static but “must be modified and shaped over time to reflect the social values that society feels are important. This normally necessitates the repeal, amendment or reform of such outdated or defective laws.” Ihedioha added that “the reliance on law as the key vessel for social transformation brings into sharper focus the law-making role of the legislature in a democracy. There is no democracy without the legislature. The legislature is uniquely positioned to translate the country’s policy preferences and choices into bills which, when passed and assented to by the President, become laws.”

Lagos lawyers applaud appointment of first female CJN

ome lawyers yesterday in Lagos applauded the appointment of Justice Aloma Mariam Muhktar as the first female Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). Speaking in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the lawyers urged the new CJN to fight the corruption in the system. Mrs Caroline Ekpendu, who described the appointment as a wellcelebrated one especially by female lawyers, urged the new CJN to rid the judiciary of all forms of unwholesome practice. She said Nigerians were hopeful that her leadership would purge the judiciary of elements that would undermine its integrity and urged her never to relent.

“The appointment of Mrs Mariam Aloma Muhktar as the first woman Chief Justice of Nigeria is a welcome development for women of Nigeria and the people of Nigeria as a whole. “I believe that this is a right step in the right direction in the sense that with a woman getting to the peak of the judiciary of this country means that a woman can cope and indeed cope with the challenges of occupying such an elevated position and public office in Nigeria and we are hopeful that this appointment of a woman as the Chief Justice of Nigeria, will also show that sooner or later a woman can even be the president of this country without much ado; and this particular period the Nigeria judiciary is

undergoing a lot of criticisms from the world over. “We believe that a woman coming to this position would really standout and move the Nigerian judiciary forward.” Cue-out audio Another lawyer, Mr Segun Oladipo, also commended the Federal Government for the appointment of Murktar, saying there should be a positive change during her tenure. Oladipo called for the reform of the judicial arm of government, saying that it should be the aim of the new Chief Justice to strive to save the judiciary from total collapse due to the alarming spate of corruption in the country and the judiciary particularly.

From Salisu Zakari Maradun Gusau

our prominent politicians in Bakura local government area of Zamfara state last week escaped lynching by irate youths for allegedly betraying the former governor of the state, Alhaji Ahmed sani by decamping from All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Those politicians prevented from entering the local government include two former commissioners, one former local government chairman and the former IFAD boss in the state. They were said to have planned to go to the town to make a formal declaration of their defection to the ruling ANPP from PDP after their defeat at the polls in the last April polls of 2011. Our reporter gathered that the people were members of the ANPP before Governor Mohmud Shinkafi decamped to PDP, and they followed suit thereby

betraying Ahmed Sani, who brought them into limelight when he was the governor of the state. The aggrieved youths, according to the investigation, also accused the people of conspiring against the former governor in favour of Shinkafi, a situation that did not go down well to the entire people of the area. Although the party chairman of the local government, Alhaji Kaura Malam, tried to persuade them to allow the people into the party, the youths continued to shout violently that any attempt by the ANPP in the area to recognize and accept them would get them angry. Our correspondent who was at the scene of the incident reliably gathered that the four prominent politicians who were believed to have hidden themselves somewhere close to the venue, stealthily drove back to Gusau, the capital of the state to avoid being lynched.

Okpella Youth Forum hails Oshiomhole’s re-election By Miriam Humbe

kpella Youth Forum has congratulated Edo state governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, on his second term reelection as the executive governor of Edo State. In a statement signed by its National President, Dr. Eshiolumaga Adewole, the Forum ascribed the overwhelming victory of the Comrade Governor in the July 14 gubernatorial election to the excellent job he is doing in the state. Describing Comrade Adams Oshiomhole as a dynamic and

visionary leader who is totally committed to the development of Edo State, the forum said that his victory was the people’s reward for delivering the dividends of democracy on their tables. “Within three and a half years of Oshiomhole’s assumption of Office, Edo State has witnessed massive infrastructural transformation that is unprecedented in the history of the state” it added. The Forum also urged the comrade governor to continue with the excellent job he is doing in Edo State adding that he would be remembered in history as one who came to genuinely serve the people.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

PAGE 41

AU seeks continental peace through football

he Commission of African Union and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in which both agreed to use the universal appeal of football to promote social change in Africa. The commission intends to initiate “Make Peace Happen Campaign”, which will centre

on using football to engender social mix and ginger cordial relationships among the states especially the youths of the continent. Speaking at the signing ceremony during the 19th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, the Chairperson of the AU Commission, Dr. Jean Ping, lauded CAF for its continued solidarity and

Price calls out Chisora next year

ritish heavyweight champion David Price says he would be happy to fight Dereck Chisora next year but admits a bout against David Haye is unlikely. Haye knocked out Chisora, 28, in the fifth round at Upton Park on Saturday, but Price, 29, said he considers Chisora a quality opponent and will be willing to take on the Zimbabwean-born British boxer. “I want to fight the best fighters and Chisora is one of the best in Britain and would be a good test for me. A fight with Chisora would create interest and if the fans wanted to see it, I’d be happy to take part.” Chisora is appealing against the indefinite suspension of his licence by the British Boxing Board of Control after a post-fight brawl with Haye in February. “I feel I can beat anyone on my day and Dereck Chisora is no different. I’ve sparred a lot with

him and we’ve had some good sessions. It would make a good fight, but I would be 100% confident of beating him,” said Liverpudlian Price. Former Commonwealth gold and Olympic bronze medallist Price has won 11 of his 13 professional bouts by knockout. He was only the second man, after Chisora, to defeat Sam Sexton when winning the British and Commonwealth titles in May. “We are in the process of arranging our first title defence and speaking to a couple of potential opponents, which we hope to announce soon,” said Price. He confirmed his promoter Frank Maloney was discussing a possible deal with broadcaster BoxNation, which screened the Haye-Chisora bout and whose

commitment to the AU’s efforts in conflict resolution. The chairperson said that CAF has through the framework of make-peace happen assisted the commission in peace building on the continent and stressed that such efforts would be sustained. It would be recalled that CAF had earlier this year in Libreville, Congo donated US $200,000 to the AU to assist the

major shareholders include Chisora’s promoter Frank Warren. Price’s potential future opponents could include the unbeaten Manchester-born fighter Tyson Fury, who vacated the British and Commonwealth titles in February before winning the WBO Inter-Continental Heavyweight title earlier in July. Haye, 31, retired in October following a points defeat in Germany to heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, but returned to the ring to beat Chisora. He may quit the sport again unless a contest can be arranged with Wladimir’s older brother Vitali, who defended his title in February against Chisora, defeating the Briton by a unanimous decision.

union in alleviating the suffering of the victims of drought in the Horn of Africa,”said Dr.Ping. “I also had the pleasure of joining Presidents Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon, Thomas Yayi Boni of Benin and Theodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, at the finals of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, to take the ‘Make Peace Happen’ message to football

fans around the continent,” he recalled. In response, the President of CAF, Issa Hayatou, reiterated CAF’s continued commitment to supporting the AU’s activities aimed at securing peace and stability on the continent. “We are delighted to be here at the AU headquarters, to formalize our long standing and cordial relationship,” he said.

Dereck Chisora fencing-off a punch from David Haye

Federation Cup Shocker

Prime shock Rangers as ElKanemi Warriors beat Kwara Utd By Patrick Andrew

ational League side Prime FC sustained the Federation Cup oddity by shocking Nigeria Preimer League tabletoppers Rangers FC yesterday in Ibadan even as newly promoted ElKanemi Warriors made their intention for a sip in the trophy known as they defeated Kwara United 1-0.

Prime FC ‘s 1-0 wind over Rangers stunned the Flying Antelope who desires a double may have gone asunder just as 10-man Kwara United failed to stop ElKanemi’s surge to victory in the opening game of the Federation Cup at the Agege Stadium in Lagos. Thompson Ezekiel scored the only goal of the game on 22 minutes after shooting from 25 yards out to beat Kwara United

goalkeeper, Kazeem Yekeen. Plateau United looked more likely add to a second and their back line anchored by Stanley Onuegbu kept things tight till half. In the restart, most of Kwara United’s attacks were carried out of by wingers, Stanley Dimgba and Anthony Okemmiri, who switched flanks. But Kwara United’s attempt to claim a point took a tumble when

Vincent Ogar stamped on Desire Wassono. Centre referee Jelili Ogunmuyiwa correctly sent off Ogar for misconduct. However, the numerical disadvantage appeared to pay off Kwara United as they pegged back Kelechi Emeteole’s men for the last 30 minutes of the tie. Dimgba pulled all the strings for Kwara United while striker Segun Alebiosu by his standards had a

Warri Wolves shun Bauchi as Rangers donate N.3m to Samba

arri Wolves have lived up to their threat not to be in Bauchi because they do not wish to risk the lives of their players after several terrorist attacks in the northern Nigerian town. The Wolves opted to boycott the centre despite assures from the NFF and the Bauchi State FA of adequate security for their players and officials. The NFF though was yet to react to the development. Meanwhile, in an uncommon gesture, Rangers chairman Festus Onuh has donated N300,000 non-league Samba also Enugu who could not travel to Bauchi because of lack of funds. With the funds, the team would travel to Bauchi today and are likely to play their matches beginning from tomorrow. Also, Substitute Brendan Ogbu was the hero for Cup holders, Heartland in their 1-0 victory over Plateau United in their opening game in Group A of the Federation Cup.

The evenly matched game was played at the Sharks Stadium yesterday. Ogbu’s 78th minute strike, a predatory finish from inside the area represented the only goal of the game as the Naze Millionaires scooped maximum points to move top of the Port Harcourt centre with the group’s other game still to come. Plateau United’s coach, Patrick Mancha cut a frustrated figure after the game. The ex-international insisted his side did not deserve to lose. “We did not lose to a better team. We made one mistake and we were punished. I am not happy and that is it but I am absolutely certain we will progress to the next round,” he said. Plateau United must now dust themselves up as they prepare to face Gombe United tomorrow. Heartland will virtually seal their place in the last eight if they defeat Nasarawa United in their second game same day.

poor afternoon. Alebiosu nearly redeemed himself with three minutes left when he ran at the El-Kanemi defence but saw his effort graze the outer upright of the post. Emeteole’s team held on for the full points and will face Crown FC on Wednesday, while Enugu Rangers would have to beat ElKanemi same if they are to entertain hope of securing a quarter-finals ticket. Also in Lagos, relegated NNL side Crown FC drew 1-1 with NPL title contenders Kano Pillars. Pillars drew the first blood in the 45th minute through a free kick from 20 yards. Gambo Mohammed’s best effort was a 20yard rocket that hit the bar in the 20th minute. Crown FC equaliser came through Bode Daniel, who fired home in the 64th minute from edge of the box. Daniel praised his team’s spirit after this result. Nasarawa United drew goalless with Gombe United in the second game of the group, while giant killers Dynamite FC held Sharks FC to a 1-1 draw at Adamasingba Stadium Ibadan. Bright Ejike put Sharks in front in the first half, before Dynamite regained parity through penalty in 65th minute.

PAGE 42

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

CAF Confederation Cup

This cup is Al Ahly’s to lose, says Razak Yakubu Amir Khan vs Danny Garcia

Khan rules out retirement despite Garcia defeat

mir Khan has dismissed suggestions that he should retire after losing his WBA light-welterweight title with a fourth-round defeat by Danny Garcia. IBF super-middleweight world champion Carl Froch said he would quit boxing if he had been knocked out in similar style to Khan. But the Bolton fighter, 25, told BBC Sport: “I’m not talking about retiring, I’m still young, I’ve got a lot in me. “I’m still hungry and I’ll come back a lot better and a lot stronger.” It was the third setback of Khan’s career following a first-round knockout against Breidis Prescott in 2008 and the loss to Lamont Peterson in December. Froch said at the weekend: “Khan’s been knocked out by someone who is not touted for the top level. It’s very damaging. I would retire if that happened to me.” But Khan responded: “Carl’s always got his little things to say and I’ll leave it to that really. If he wants to retire he can retire. “I’m in a tougher division, I’m fighting better opposition and I’m a bigger name than him. That’s what burns him really. “People are going to say things after this fight, but people said things after the Prescott fight and you see how I came back from there.” Prior to the fight, Khan had talked about stepping up to welterweight for a meeting with unbeaten American Floyd Mayweather. But he now admits it is more likely he will remain at light-welterweight for at least one more bout. “It’s put things back,” he explained. “I made 140lb very comfortably this time and I think it will be ideal for me to stay maybe one more fight - if I can win the title and then move up to 147lb. No rush. “People believe ‘Amir should be moving up, doing this, doing that’. People forget how old I am. I’m still young and there’s a lot I need to work on before I do move up to the next division. “We’re going to try for the rematch. I don’t know if they’re going to take it, but if we can get that in England it will be amazing.” Khan insisted he had “no regrets” apart from the huge left hook that dropped him to the canvas in round three. Trainer Freddie Roach feels his fighter can return from this latest setback, but Khan hinted that he would examine their partnership. Khan’s recent fights •Danny Garcia -lost •Lamont Peterson -lost •Zab Judah -won •Paul McCloskey -won •Marcos Maidana -won •Paulie Malignaggi -won •Dmitriy Salita -won Khan has spent a number of months away from home, training in Los Angeles and the Philippines before facing Garcia in Las Vegas. “I’m going to sit down when I go home and see where we go from there,” he added. “I want to be the main priority. “A lot of travelling - going to the Philippines, here, there, everywhere - does take a lot out of you, especially when you’re a young fighter and I’ve never done it before. “I’m going to start thinking about myself because normally I’m thinking about others too much and I’m the one who’s in the ring taking the punishment. It’s time now where maybe I do things a bit differently. “When you’re nice and just agree with everything, sometimes even though you’re not happy doing things, you just do them. But I’m going to have to sit down with the team now and do things I want to do. There are a lot of untied knots there and we’re going to fix them.” Khan’s defeats •Breidis Prescott -knocked out in first round in Manchester, September 2008 •Lamont Peterson - Split decision loss in Washington, December 2011 Danny Garcia - knocked out in fourth round in Las Vegas, July 2012

Sudan’s Al Ahly Shandy Ghanian skipper Razak Yakubu said that his side’s victory over Cotonsport Garoua in the Orange CAF Confederation Cup was a dream come true but more is to come from Ahli Shandy in this competition. Former Ghana’s King Faisal player told Cafonline.com that they are ready to upstage their fellow Sudanese clubs Al Hilal and Al Merriekh when the mini-league matches kick off. What is feeling like to qualify for the group stage for the first time in history in your first attempt? It was a wonderful feeling for us and the fans of this country, everybody is proud of this historic achievement and we are confident this adventure will continue fro hereon . The team is proud of this achievement and this is just the beginning, we are not looking back. Did you expect to reach this stage? As a player I knew it was difficult because it was our first time of playing at this level, but I had enough confidence in my team that we could make it and thankfully we made it. It is a massive dream come true for us. How crucial were coach Kouki’s instructions to you for this game? He is a tremendous coach and is the best for us. He is a good tactician and a sharp reader of the game. He told us how to be quick on the opposition and attack swiftly all this based on what we learnt from the first leg and we came away with success through his methods. How did you contain Cotonsport during the game? Our plan was to attack them as quickly as possible and also try to control the game while keeping ball possession. We planned to use our chances when we got them and every teammate did a perfect job. Every player performed to the highest level and was composed when needed to in the match. Every player was calm because we knew we could find the opener at any time, so that was cool. I was glad to see that in them because Cotonsport is a very strong side and now we are hoping we will continue playing like this.

Was there a moment when you feared Cotonsport could ruin it for you? Cotonsport came stronger in the end stage of the game because they knew a goal would have seen them through and at this stage we needed to focus and concentrate and we managed to do just that. How are you going to handle battles with fellow Sudanese sides Al Hilal and Al Merriekh in group A? It is a pleasure playing against Al Hilal and Al Merriekh because they are the two big and most successful clubs in the country and surely we are aiming for upsets and continue with our fine run in this competition. How important is that Al Ahly qualified to the group stage? It is a dream come true for us, this is just the beginning there is more history still to come from this team just watch this space!

“

Our plan was to attack them as quickly as possible and also try to control the game while keeping ball possession. We planned to use our chances when we got them and every teammate did a perfect job. Every player performed to the highest level and was composed when needed to in the match

Sudan’s Al Ahly players celebrating after scoring

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

PAGE 43

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

Liverpool battle Chelsea for £15m Walcott

Ghana youngster Acquah joins Parma on loan

I Clint Dempsey

talian Serie A side Parma have acquired the services of Ghana midfielder Afriyie Acquah, in one of its preseason signings. The 20-year-old moves from Palermo on loan with an option to secure his outright transfer rights. He made 20 appearances for the Rosanero last season and could be handed more game time at the Stadio Tardini. Acquah has a non-stop engine and can play as a defensive midfielder and on the wings. He has joined Parma’s first team squad on pre-season at Levico. Acquah made his Ghana debut as second half substitute in a friendly against Chile this February.

Reds set to Tottenham invite Niang add at the tail end of the season Dempsey to on trial before last. He also impressed last ottenham hope to pip squad Arsenal to the campaign despite his

lint Dempsey could be the next addition to Roger Brendan’s Liverpool squad. Already, the Reds have signed on Fabio Borini and look set to bring on the American as part of efforts to strengthen its attack. Liverpool are in the frontrunner to land Dempsey and are reportedly constructing a $12 million dollar offer for the goal-scorer. Both Spurs and Everton have been linked to Dempsey recently but Liverpool has begun to stick out as the favorite. A deal could to be completed within the next week.

signing of French teenager M’Baye Niang, but also face competition from Manchester City. The powerful centreforward has spent time on trial with the Gunners but now Spurs have invited the Caen man for a similar stint.Progress in north London has in turn forced Roberto Mancini’s hand as he looks to get in some of Europe’s hottest talent. Hot prospect: Caen’s forward M’Baye Niang is on trial with Premier League clubs Niang, 17, burst on to the scene less than 18 months ago, and scored three goals in seven games

Newcastle up Carroll’s loan offer but Reds insist on outright buy

ewcastle have intensified their bid to land Andy Carroll after making an official enquiry to take the Liverpool striker on a season-long loan, but the Reds would only budge if there is an out right demand to buy the player. Liverpool, who bought Carroll from Newcastle in a r e c o r d - b r e a k i n g £35million deal 18 months ago, flatly rejected the offer but it is now clear they are ready to off-load their No 9. Newcastle only offered to pay a small part of the striker’s £80,000-a-week wages in their offer, which was made with a view to a permanent switch at a specified price next summer. That deal was not

Andy Carroll

appealing to Liverpool, but Anfield sources have indicated that the club would be willing to sell Carroll if an “attractive” offer was tabled. They would also take a hit on the £35 million they paid to Newcastle 18 months ago. Whether the Magpies will be willing to return with a new offer for Carroll, who has failed to live up to his hefty price tag, since leaving St James’ Park, remains to be seen. Newcastle boss Alan Pardew spoke of his admiration for Carroll last week and would like the Gateshead-born forward to support Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse. Carroll, though, wants to stay at Anfield and fight for his place. He has never given any indication he wants to move and he is reported to have said that he would turn down any suitors. He had been hoping to persuade new manager Brendan Rodgers that he can play a part in his plans but, reluctantly, Carroll is accepting he is fighting a losing battle. Liverpool, who signed Italy forward Fabio Borini

team’s hopeless form which ultimately ended in relegation. It is believed that an offer of £5million would be enough to encourage Caen to sell.

Theo Walcott iverpool and Chelsea are in fierce battle to secure the signature of Arsenal’s wing attacker Theo Walcott. Walcott has just a year to run on his contract with the Gunners and could follow Robin van Persie’s lead by seeking a move away from the Emirates Stadium if the club does not

last Friday for £8m, would be prepared to off-load Carroll if they received either a suitable bid or loan deal that has a commitment to buy at the end of 12 months. Liverpool go to the United States for their pre-season tour but Carroll will not be in the travelling party, like other players who went to Euro 2012. He is now on holiday and is expected to link up with the squad in Boston next week. West Ham and Aston Villa were also interested in loan deals, but the shortterm option does not appear to be one Liverpool want to consider. West Ham would be prepared to sign him initially on loan with a view to buying him for more than £15m should they retain their place in the Barclays Premier League. Fulham are also interested and Aston Villa became the latest club to join the race when manager Paul Lambert confirmed on Saturday that the 23-year-old was one of his key summer targets. With Cisse and Ba potentially going to the Africa Cup of Nations next January and February,Newcastle would be looking to bolster their attack all summer following failure to land Luuk de Jong of FC Twente.

prospects when asked last week and many have questioned whether his physical, powerful approach would fit into the intricate passing style favoured by the new boss. And Liverpool, who signed Italy forward Fabio Borini last Friday for £8m, would be prepared to offload Carroll if they received either a suitable bid or loan deal that has a commitment to buy at the end of 12 months. Newcastle had a loan bid for the £35m striker rejected on Sunday. Walcott, 23, has already attracted interest from Chelsea and super-rich Paris Saint-Germain.

Modric to earn £30m in Real

M’Baye Niang

boost his wages to £100,000 per week. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger wants to keep hold of Walcott, who was man of the match for England against Sweden at Euro 2012, but some of the club’s board are ready to cash in, according to The Sun. As a pacy winger with an eye for goal, Walcott would fit seamlessly into Rodgers’ preferred playing style. Target-man Carroll, however, may find opportunities under Rodgers more limited. Rodgers refused to give any assurances about the England frontman’s

uka Modric will earn £30m in Real Madrid who have concluded personal terms with the Tottenham midfielder. Real, who have beaten other contenders to the negotiation table are at the verge of completing transfer negotiations with the London club for the services of the prolific player. According to report, Real are just a few elements away from sealing the deal with Tottenham to be ironed out. The clubs are currently haggling of add-ons to the mega-money deal, with

Spurs hoping to secure £5m but the Spaniards only willing to add £3m. A number of different caveats have been tried over the course of the transfer window, especially the inclusion of Madrid players to bring the cost down. Ricardo Carvalho and Nuri Sahin were both mooted, but neither were open to idea of moving to north London. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Julio Cesar has been offered to Tottenham after Inter Milan told him he would no longer be No 1 at the San Siro next season. Spurs had been tracking

Luka Modric France and Lyon stopper Hugo Lloris but have now backed away from the deal.

Thiago Silva completing his transfer, valued at £30 million, on Saturday. “We continue to hold talks with Zlatan,’’ Leonardo told Gazzetta dello Sport. “The negotiations are going forward but I can assure you that today we have no meetings scheduled.’’ Ibrahimovic is reported to have asked for a threeyear deal worth •15

million per annum, but the French side are currently offering •12.5 million package, for a duration of four years. The Sweden international was topscorer in Serie A last season, finding the target on 28 occasions as Milan finished runner-up to Juventus and is currently contracted at the San Siro until 2015.

£2m delays Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s PSG deal

latan Ibahimovic’s move to Paris SaintGermain is only being held up by haggling over £2m difference. Whereas AC Milan are insisting on £35m, PSG which have been spending as if money is going out of fashion, are bent of paying £33m for the services of the player. Accordingly, Milan’s sporting director Leonardo has revealed that Ibrahimovic’s transfer to the French side could not be completed yesterday as earlier planned. Ibrahimovic, 30, is in talks with PSG, but the two parties are yet to agree on the terms of a contract that would see him join former team-mate Thiago Silva at the Parc des Princes. A bid of around £62 million was accepted for the duo last week, with

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

PAGE 44

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

London Olympics

Japan send oldest London Olympian

iroshi Hoketsu will be the oldest London Olympic competitor when the Games begins on July 27. At the age of 71, Hiroshi Hoketsu will likely be the oldest athlete at the games this year. NPR reports Hoketsu won a spot in early March just before his 71st birthday. He competed in Beijing in 2008 at the age of 67 and was the oldest Olympian four years ago where he placed 35th. Time magazine reports another amazing tidbit about Hoketsu: He competed in the 1964 Summer Games at Tokyo in front of the home crowd and finished 40th in show jumping. Hoketsu will not break the record for the oldest Olympian that distinction belongs Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn, who won a silver medal in 1920 at the age

eathrow to handle 236, 9 5 5 passengersHeathrow Airport will witness no fewer than 236,955 peacetime passengers thus breaking the previous record of 233, 562 set in July 2011. This was disclosed as athletes and officials began to arrive in Heathrow yesterday barely 11 days to the commencement of the London Olympics Games. The Games is scheduled to be held from July 27 through August 15. Heathrow says athletes from 50 nations will touch down in what is being described as Britain’s biggest peacetime transport challenge and will thus require some 1,000 volunteers to greet arrivals 500 were working yesterday alone and created special teams to deal with oversize items like Olympic javelins, bikes and other sports equipment. All wore bright pink to easily stand out. Hundreds of immigration agents were

of 72 in Antwerp. He would be one of the five athletes that Japan would send to the Games. The country debuted in the Olympics in 1912 and has been a steady presence ever since. In Beijing in 2008, Japanese athletes scored nine gold, six silver and 10 bronze medals. Japan though would be represented by an intriguing collection. Here are their five representatives. Homare Sawa, Soccer: The emotional leader of a young Japanese soccer (football) team is Homare Sawa. The team qualified for the London Olympics by shocking the Americans in the 2011 Women’s World Cup in Germany. Sawa, a midfielder, equalized in the 117th minute against Team USA before Japan won in the penalty shootout. Narumi Kurosu,

Hiroshi Hoketsu M o d e r n Pentathlon: The March 2011 earthquake and tsunami literally swept away the hopes, dreams and lives of thousands of Japanese. Narumi Kurosu of Ibaraki almost didn’t make the Olympic team. The earthquake and tsunami damaged

Kurosu’s training facilities, but just 10 days after the disaster a South Korean trainer took her in and the young lady moved to the peninsula. Sports F e a t u r e s Communications states Kurosu earned a spot in London when she placed high enough at the Asia

Oceania Championships Kenki Sato, Eventing: Kenki Sato’s family includes multiple members of the country’s equestrian team. His father qualified for the 1980 Moscow games before Japan boycotted. His younger brother competed in Beijing in 2008 and his sister is a five-time national showjumping champion in Japan. Although not expected to win a medal, Sato’s story is intriguing. Yuki Ota, Fencing: The defending silver medalist from Beijing will have his hands full of European competitors in the individual foil category of fencing. Yuki Ota was Japan’s first medalist in the sport of fencing when he took on German Benjamin Kleibrink in the men’s foil final in 2008. China Daily reports fencing will have a more Asian flavor this year China’s Lei Sheng is the defending champion.

Heathrow to handle 236, 955 passengers also on the job to ease the long lines that have plagued the airport and there was an increased police presence, including sniffer dogs. Rows of Olympic VIP buses then whisked teams and coaches to the Athletes Village in east London. At least one athlete, twotime world 400-meter hurdles champion Kerron Clement, was less than complimentary in a tweet after the bus taking the American to the village had a hard time finding its destination. Clement tweeted: “Um, so we’ve been lost on the road for 4hrs. Not a good first impression London.” Clement, who won the world title in 2007 and 2009 before losing it to Britain’s Dai Greene in Daegu last year, is the defending Olympic silver

medalist. Heathrow usually handles 100,000 to 110,000 arrivals a day, but that was expected to swell to 120,000 on Monday, many of them Olympic VIPs. Another big arrival day will be July 25, two days before the opening ceremony. “We have spent seven years preparing for the Games’ challenge. Now we are putting that planning into action with thousands of extra staff and volunteers on hand to welcome the world to London,” said Nick Cole, head of Heathrow’s Olympic operations. Also yesterday, an official a “Games Lane” was opened along the vital M-4 highway from Heathrow into central London for Olympic officials, VIPs and athletes. More “Games Lanes” will open in other

parts of London as the Olympics approach. London has four other airports, but Heathrow is the only airport where participants can get their

Olympic credentials, so it will handle the bulk of Olympic arrivals. The London Olympics start July 27 and end August 12.

Athletes arriving at the Heathrow Airport

Olympics medalists to undergo drugs test

ondon 2012 will see the biggest antidoping operation in the history of the Olympic Games. Half of all the competitors are to be tested for drugs, with 150 scientists set to take 6,000 samples between now and the end of the Paralympic Games. “I’m confident that everything possible is being done to catch drug cheats at London 2012 and that makes these Games really special” Team GB’s Phillips Idowu, Beth Tweddle, David Weir, Graham Edmunds and Marlon Devonish are fronting a campaign highlighting the anti-doping programme. Sprinter Devonish won an Olympic gold in the 4x100m relay at the 2004 Athens Games. He said: “Winning an Olympic medal is the best feeling in the world and as an athlete it’s so important to know that anyone who stands on the podium has got there through their own hard work and dedication, not by doping.” More than 1,000 people will staff the anti-doping laboratory, with up to 400 samples tested every day for more than 240 prohibited substances. Double gold medalwinning Paralympic swimmer Edmunds was part of the winning 4x100m freestyle relay teams in Athens and Beijing. “It’s my biggest motivation. And knowing you’ve reached the podium because of all the hard work you’ve put in nine sessions a week, two hours each session, three gym sessions a week for four years is the greatest feeling.

Libyan Olympic Committee chief abducted in Tripoli

unmen yesterday abducted the president of the Libyan Olympic Committee in the nation’s capital, grabbing him from his car and bundling him into a waiting vehicle, his brother said. Salah al-Alam said his brother, committee chief Ahmed Nabil al-Taher al-Alam, was kidnapped on Sunday near the organization’s offices in central Tripoli. He said there has been no contact with him or the captors since. Security officials said they are investigating alAlam’s disappearance. They did not provide any further details. Salah Al-Alam said he learned of the abduction from his brother’s friend, who was with the

LOC chief when the kidnapping took place. The gunmen stopped al-Alam’s car, shoved him into another car and sped off, leaving the friend unharmed on the street. The abduction comes amid a wave of score settling between rivals of Libya’s eight-month civil war that ended with the capture and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in October. Dozens of former rebel groups now operate independently, often ignoring the nation’s weak central authorities. Since Gadhafi’s fall, militias frequently have taken matters into their own hands and rounded up officials with ties to the ousted regime. Al-Alam, who served as the head of the Libyan

Football Association under Gadhafi, is known to have been friends with Gadhafi’s son, Mohammed, who was al-Alam’s predecessor as the Libyan Olympic Committee president. International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge expressed “grave” concern about the kidnapping, and said his office have “offered any possible help if we can do something.” “Hopefully this will evolve in a good way,” he told reporters in a conference call from Lausanne, Switzerland. Five Libyans have qualified to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics to be held in London.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

1 1. Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo has revealed that Zlatan Ibrahimovic's transfer to the French side would not be completed yesterday as expected. 2. Thousands of athletes and officials begin arriving in London for the Olympic Games, as questions remain about security recruitment. 3. Roger Federer breaks another record on Monday as he begins an unprecedented 287th week as world number one. 4. Fourteen-time major champion Tiger Woods and Justin Rose are drawn together for the first two rounds of the Open for the fourth time. 5. India and Pakistan look set to resume bilateral cricketing ties after a gap of several years, with plans for Pakistani cricketers to tour India. 6. Liverpool has rejected a loan bid from Newcastle United for Andy Carroll but is willing to listen to offers for a permanent deal. 7. David Haye admits his knockout victory over Dereck Chisora could be his last fight unless he can face Vitali Klitschko.

PAGE 45

pictorial

2 6

PAGE 46

imbledon champion Serena Williams clinched the Stanford Classic final in straight sets ahead of her return to London for the Olympics. Williams saw off set point in the opener to beat compatriot Coco Vandweghe 7-5 6-3. Williams’s successful defence of the Stanford title was her 43rd career title, the same total as sister Venus. The siblings have each won more titles than any other active player and are joint 10th on the all-time list alongside Justine Henin and Martina Hingis. Following her triumph at the All England Club, Serena has now won 28 of her last 29 matches, with her first-round defeat to Virginie Razzano at the French Open her only loss since the start of April. But the 30-year-old admitted that, despite her winning run, she still has yet to hit top form as she prepares for the start of London 2012’s tennis tournament at Wimbledon on July 28. “I survived and didn’t play my greatest, but mentally I was there and that really helped me a lot,” she said. Now, her focus is on winning the gold at the Games after failing to reach the final four years ago. She was beaten in the singles quarterfinals by eventual gold medalist Elena Dementieva four years ago in Beijing, but won doubles gold alongside Venus. “A gold medal will mean a lot to me, but I can’t lay all my hopes and dreams on that,” she added.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

Serena Williams set sights on Olympic gold after Stanford win

Serena Williams Serena at the Olympics •Sydney 2000: Did not play singles, Doubles gold with Venus Williams •Athens 2004: Did not compete Beijing 2008: Quarter-final defeat to Elena Dementieva. Doubles gold with Venus Williams.

Federer breaks Sampras’ records By Patrick Andrew with agency report

rguably the most celebrated and stunning tennis ace in recent times, Roger Federer equalled and outpaced Pete Sampras’ Grand Slam record and broke yet another of the legend’s record yesterday when he began an unprecedented 287th week as world number one. The 30-year-old drew level with Pete Sampras on 286 weeks with victory over Andy Murray in the Wimbledon final. The victory ensured Britain’s 77 years trophy drought remains. He also denied Andy Murray yet another chance of winning a Grand Slam in front his teeming supporters at the All England Club. That was Federer’s 17th Grand Slam title, a record-equalling seventh at SW19 and put him top of the rankings for the first time since 31 May 2010. Although Federer has insisted he does not feel like the greatest player ever despite winning his seventh Wimbledon title, tennis

bluffs would hardly agree because statistics clearly showed him to be the best. “I don’t feel better than anyone, because we need past champions to pave the way for our generation and we have become very professional. They have led the way and inspired myself and other players to chase the big records out there,” he said. Nonetheless, he commented that he was proud to enlist in the same class with Sampras stressing though that the America remain tennis idol. “I’m proud and honoured to beat Pete’s record as he was my childhood hero and I’ve always looked up to him,” he said. “It is an amazing feeling to have regained the number one ranking. I had set a goal with my team to try and get back to the top of the rankings, but I never thought with the depth in the game this year that I would have been able to get it back so quickly.” Victory means Federer has emulated Pete Sampras and William Renshaw by capturing seven men’s singles titles at the

All England Club. And it took the 30-yearold back to the top of the world rankings, defying critics who had suggested he was past his best. The Swiss had some difficult times soon after losing his top position to Rafeal Nadal who was eventually dethroned by Novak Djokovic. The Latter defeated Nadal six consecutive to establish supremacy over the Spaniac but surrendered to the same Barcelona tennis player sometime this year. Even while the duo exchange positions in the tennis cadre, Federer never really moved far from the top and gradually made his way back just when critics thought he was off form. “The hardest thing to do in sports is the ability to stay on top. Roger has been able to do so by great play and durability,” Sampras said to complement his surge back to the top at the expense of Djokovic and Nadal. Federer, who turns 31 in August, is the second oldest man after Andre Agassi to hold the world number one ranking. “I’m so happy I’m at the age I am right now, because I had such a great run and I know there’s still more possible,” said the Swiss. “To enjoy it right now, it’s very different than when I was 20 or 25. I’m at a much more stable place in my life. I wouldn’t want anything to change. So this is very, very special right now.” Federer holds a 75-point lead over world number two Novak Djokovic and is guaranteed to hold top spot heading into the Olympics. He has won five titles this year and compiled a 63-6 win-loss record since the 2011 US Open, going 17-0 at the end of 2011 and 46-6 this season. It is a fine achievement for a player whose last major title before Wimbledon came at the 2010 Australian Open. Federer also had to recover from a painful defeat by Djokovic in the US Open semi-finals, when he led by two sets and had match points. “I think it was a time where I just had to believe that things were going to turn around for me,” he explained. “I think when I came back to Basel, which was a home tournament,

things obviously changed for me to winning ways again. Then the confidence rose as I went to Paris and also to London. I think this is when I realised a lot is possible in 2012.” Federer first became world number one in February 2004 and held it until August 2008. He reclaimed it in July 2009 before being deposed by Rafael Nadal after the 2010 French Open. FEDERER BY NUMBERS •22 - aged 22 years and five months, Federer becomes world number one on 2 February 2004 •30 - aged 30 years and 11 months, Federer sets the record for most weeks at number one •237 - consecutive weeks at number one from 2 February 2004 to the week of 11 August 2008 •853 - 853-192 win-loss record during his career •75 - career titles from 106 finals •17 - Grand Slam titles •20 - Masters 1000 titles 6 - ATP World Tour Finals titles Top Grand Slam title winners •17: Roger Federer •14: Pete Sampras •12: Roy Emerson •11: Rafael Nadal, Bjorn Borg, Rod Laver 10: Bill Tilden

Roger Federer

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

PAGE 47

Cuban boxers hope to strike Olympic gold

uba has lined-up 32 Olympic gold medals in the ring, and would likely have won more if it hadn’t boycotted two games. London Olympics are about staging a comeback after the bitter disappointment of Beijing where its boxers won eight medals at the 2008 games. “Everyone is ready to do better than last time, and to get gold,” Cuban lightheavyweight Julio Cesar la Cruz explained during a

training session in Havana, shortly before heading to the UK. “I think we can beat our last result. That’s why we’ve been training so hard,” he said, as sweat slipped down his forehead in the stuffy gym. Already world amateur champion, Julio Cesar la Cruz (81 kg) is Cuba’s greatest hope for London. He missed the last Olympics through injury but his trainers say he’s fighting fit now.

Roniel Iglesias, who won bronze in Beijing, is also eyeing gold this time, while eight boxers have qualified in all. Cuba scouts for boxing talent very young - boys face their first competitive fight at just nine years old - and the intense training is free. The paint is peeling from the gym walls and the windows are missing panes of glass, but the punch bags and boxing gloves are new.

N Julio Cesar la Cruz

IOC to discuss FIFA bribery affair in London

he International Olympic Committee will discuss the bribery affair involving former top FIFA officials at its executive board meeting in London this week but ruled out any sanctions against former member Joao Havelange. A Swiss prosecutor said in a legal document released last week that former FIFA President and IOC member Havelange and former FIFA executive committee member Ricardo Teixeira took multi-million bribes on World Cup deals in the 1990s from the now defunct sports marketing body ISL. Current FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who is also an IOC member, has denied any knowledge at the time. “I expect them to be discussed at the executive

board, of course,” IOC President Jacques Rogge said in a conference call yesterday. He ruled out, however, any sanctions against Havelange, who was the oldest IOC member when he resigned in December, days before facing an ethics hearing.

Rogge also said by resigning, Havelange was no longer part of the Olympic family, neither as a member nor as an honorary member. “Mr Havelange is not any more a member and he does not fall under IOC rules. That goes without saying Mr Havelange has

Joao Havelenge, Ex-FIFA President

resigned as member and he is not eligible to become honorary member.” ISL sold the commercial rights to broadcast World Cup tournaments on behalf of FIFA. It collapsed with debts of around $300 million in 2001. Blatter, who has been with FIFA since 1975, and

Sepp Blatter, Current president

Nigeria’s Olympic medalist dies at Lagos Stadium

para-table tennis player, Muritala Ibrahim, 42, has died at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, where he made home for many years. Ibrahim, had represented Nigeria in several

Bolaji Abdullahi, Minister of Sports

Games: Coach sure of medals in table tennis

para-table tennis championships, including the Barcelona 1992 Olympics, Atlanta 1996 Olympics and Sydney 2000 Olympics and won silver medals in the three Games. Security men at the stadium, who confirmed the development, said that Ibrahim was among the some destitutes that had made the stadium their place of residence. He had taken ill on Sunday night and died shortly after. The Lagos Liaison Officer of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Mr Tayo Oreweme, expressed shock over Ibrahim’s death and condoled with his relations. Oreweme, however, disclosed that Ibrahim’s death could have been avoided if he had a proper accommodation, noting also that he had failed to heed to her advice not sleep wityhin the stadium premises. She said that she was sad over the incident because the deceased might have got help when he fell ill if he was with his family. The liaison officer said that physicallychallenged athletes had been cautioned not to sleep in the stadium and appealed to them to desist. “I have warned these people that it is wrong to come and sleep in the stadium because they are exposing themselves to a lot of dangers. “They are putting their health to serious threat and the result is what has happened today. I am not happy at all,’’ Oreweme said.

succeeded Havelange as president in 1998, said last week he knew that payments were being made. He referred to them as “commission” and said they were not illegal at the time. Asked in a question-andanswer session with FIFA’s websit on Thursday if he had known of payments, Blatter replied: “Known what? That commission was paid? Back then, such payments could even be deducted from tax as a business expense. “Today, that would be punishable under law. You can’t judge the past on the basis of today’s standards.” Havelange is still FIFA’s honorary president while Teixeira quit his post earlier this year, shortly after resigning as president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF).

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Ms Ngozi Braide, has confirmed that Ibrahim died during his sleep. Braide said that the police were investigating the cause of Ibrahim’s death. Reacting to the death of the athlete, the Coach of the Ogun State Para-Table Tennis Association, Yekini Salau, told NAN that Ibrahim was a great man who lived an exemplary life. He said that the death of the player shocked him as Ibrahim was a motivator to physicallychallenged people in the country. “It is a great loss. He was the one who motivated and developed a good number of us. When he started, he never knew that he could do sports because he was training for the fun of it. “And it was his ability to play the game very well that raised the morale of every other person,” Salau said. The National Table Tennis Coach, Rauf Bello, who spoke from Germany where he is on training tour preparatory to the London Olympic Games that Ibrahim’s death was a “great shock’’ to him. “Ibrahim was the first person to make it known that a disabled person can go into sports. It is unfortunate that he died this way. Other athletes should always identify with their families so as not to end up dying in the stadium. “Athletes should always be concerned about their health and ensure they undergo medical checks to avoid sudden death,’’ he said. Ibrahim’s fellow para-athletes had made a coffin and arranged to take his corpse to his family home in Ilorin, Kwara.

asiru Bello, the National Coach, Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), says his players are in top form at their training camp in Germany, where they are preparing for the London Olympics. The Coach’s confidence derives from the quality of training the ping pongers are being subjected in germany. Peoples Daily Sports recalls that the country will be represented in the table tennis event of the Games by Funke Oshonaike, Offiong Edem, Segun Toriola and Aruna Quadri. Bello told NAN in a telephone interview that the players were preparing seriously for the Games, adding that the training they were undergoing had helped them to improve on their proficiency. “The players’ are on course and our training tour to Germany has really added value to our preparations, which gives me the confidence that they will make the country proud. “The environment has also made us to be focused as we have the opportunity of training with the necessary apparatus which enhances players’ competence,’’ he said. Bello said the players had been in Germany since May as part of their preparations for the Games, adding “I am confident that they are training for Olympic gold”. The table tennis team will feature only in the single’s event at the Olympics. The London 2012 Olympic Games hold from July 27 to August, 12.

Funke Oshonaike

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

. . . putting the people first

TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

SPORTS LA TEST LATEST

The Open 2012: Tiger Woods and Justin Rose grouped together

iger Woods and Justin Rose have been drawn together for the first two rounds of the Open for the fourth time. Defending champion Darren Clarke believes Royal Lytham's difficulty could boost his chances They will be joined by Spain's Sergio Garcia, while defending champion Darren Clarke will tee off on Thursday morning alongside Ernie Els and Zach Johnson. World number one Luke Donald has been drawn with Phil Mickelson, who tied for second last year, and Geoff Ogilvy. And Rory McIlroy will play his first two rounds with Louis Oosthuizen and Keegan Bradley. Fourteen-time major champion Woods, who is bidding for a first major since 2008, also played the first two rounds of the Open in the company of Rose at Muirfield in 2002, Carnoustie in 2007 and St Andrews two years ago. They tee off at 09:42 BST in the first round on Thursday and 14:43 BST in Friday's second round. Clarke, who clinched his maiden major title at Sandwich 12 months ago, will be joined by 2002 winner Ernie Els and American Zach Johnson when his bid to retain the Claret Jug begins at 09:09 BST. Lee Westwood is alongside Masters champion Bubba Watson and Japan's Yoshinori Fujimoto, taking to the first tee at 09:20 BST, while McIlroy's trio tee off at 14:21 BST. A trio of former Open winners have been drawn together, with Sandy Lyle and Americans Todd Hamilton and Mark Calcavecchia getting their first round under way at 07:03 BST.

Tiger Woods

ADVERT: BUSINESS: NEWS: LAGOS:

0803 0805 0803 0805 0803

QUO TABLE Q UO TE UOT QUO UOTE I will want the revenue allocation for mula to be rre evie wed. If ffor or nothing orm view nothing,, it has outlived its usefulness, especially when it’s the law that it evie wed e should be rre ver y 10 y ear s view ev ery year ears — Go v. Ba bangida Aliyu Gov Babangida

May your road be rough, Dasuki (III) I

n the few weeks since the new NSA assumed duty, there has been no let in the Nigerian State's oppressive and brutal conduct in its handling of the nation's insecurity challenges. It seems, in fact, that while Dasuki is preaching peace, advocating dialogue with and extending the olive branch to the insurgents, the security operatives in the field are busy trying to beat their own terrible record in savagery and bestiality and set a new one. Consider the situation in troubled Plateau State. Not done with the senseless Shooting, killings, brutalising and sacking village and settlements in especially parts of Barkin Ladi and Riyom loca government areas of the State - inhabited largely by Fulanis - our armed forces have now taken to the air and have, in the last two weeks, according to reliable reports, conducted two air raids, using helicopter gunships, that left in their wake, countless dead bodies, hundreds of dead cows and animals and flattened Fulani villages and settlements in these parts of the state. As if it this is not bad enough, the Joint Task Force in Plateau last Saturday, and, later, the Defence Headquarters in Abuja itself, served a 48- hour notice on residents of some villages, including Mahanga, Kakuruk, Maseh and Shong-- largely Fulani settlements-to move out of these villages, "with their properties", because the armed forces have planned and would be conducting a full scale military operation in the areas. Move out to where, the JTF and the Defence Headquarters are not saying and are not interested. Imagine! In the year of the Lord 2012, the Nigerian State is ordering its own citizens, against their will and not in any situation of natural disaster or emergency, to vacate the homes and villages where they have always lived, tilled the land, raised families, reared cows and animals, established and run businesses and trades and generally eked out a living, and where their own ancestors had also lived and diedthe only homes and villages they know as and can rightly call their own. Even in this widely acknowledged land of impunity, this order has gone way over the top. No provision in our constitution and no law in any of our statutes

311 689 606 327 454

7458 1765 3308 1969 0344

FOR THE MASSES By Rufa’i Ibrahim ruf585@hotmail.com

Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin permit such forcible removal of whole communities from their land. And collective punishment, which is what this quit order and the daily attacks and harassments of groups and communities by the JTF amount to, is a crime under both national and international laws -and, far from solving the problems of insurgency and militancy, it only compounds them, as resort to it by past regimes here in Nigeria amply show. Recall Odi. But what is even worse in this affair is that this draconian order has been targeted at a particular ethnic group, against which, it is all too obvious, the Nigerian State has taken sides in a quarrel between ethnic groups, and which it has, therefore, profiled, labelled and adjudged the aggressor, the terrorist and the guilty party in the crisis. Obviously, the JTF men and their superiors are encouraged in their savagery and acts of impunity by the resignation and lack of protest by the affected groups and other Nigerians, as well as the acquiescence of some powerful forces in especially the North. But, in case they don't know, ethnic cleansing is clearly indicated in most of what they are doing. And the shootings, killings, burning and sacking of whole settlements and villages of a particular group, on account- as

in this Plateau case -largely of its ethnic origin and religion, may well ground charges of genocide and crime against humanity, which may see our leaders, including the Commander-inChief himself, standing trial at the International Criminal Court, one day. Given that both the quit order and the declaration of full scale military action against Nigerian citizens were issued by the Defence Headquarters itself, it may be that that was what was decided by the national security council which met last week but kept mum about what was discussed and agreed at the meeting. The government may keep deluding itself that the crisis in Plateau is a peculiar one requiring a special treatment. But what the quit order and the intended collective punishment tell us about the government's handling of the country's insecurity situation is that Azazi's departure has not brought about a change in either perspective or approach, that his standard manual which prescribes a mascular approach is what is still being followed, in spite of its many inadequacies. And this opens the door upon some very important questions about the new NSA. Did Dasuki go along with the decisions to issue those villagers a quit notice and carry out full scale military operation in their villages? And the new wave of killings, air attacks, burning and sacking of villages and settlements in Plateau state and elsewhere -do the orders for such acts emanate from his office? How much control does Dasuki have over the JTFs operating in some of the Northern states? Is he really in charge? Is what we are seeing an indication that the military top brass, notably the Service Chiefs and ranking Generals - with their obsession with ranks - are not, or are yet to bring themselves to be deferring to him as the president's

security tsar? And is the new NSA worthy of our trust and confidence? With time, maybe, Dasuki will take full charge and reveal his hands. But these questions give some cause for concern, especially when they are viewed against the backdrop of the fact that he has also come to office with some baggages. Consider, for instance, his past as a military officer -a past that features blind loyalties and coupmaking. The young Dasuki was an archetypal "IBB Boy" -one of blind devotees of General Ibrahim Babangida who in August 1985 sacked General Buhari to become Nigeria's military president, and to whom Dasuki was ADC for some time. Many wonder if he has -and Dasuki, now in his late fifties, really needs to show that he has, in fact outgrown his days as an "IBB Boy" and so deserves to be trusted by all interests to protect the realm for the common good. In particular, many will watch to see whether Dasuki's legacy of coup-making against fellow Sokoto aristocrat, Shehu Shagari, and General Buhari, or his sacking and that of his father as Sultan of Sokoto by the now deceased General Sani Abacha, would come into play in the conduct of his office. Especially as Buhari is now a major factor in the Nigerian drama, with Abacha's ambitious son also a leading state politician in the same political party. In fact, the thinking in some quarters is that Dasuki was chosen as a counterpose to General Buhari. The way Dasuki chooses to act or not act will say a lot about the sort of person he is, or isn't. Colonel Dasuki's choice as NSA by Jonathan follows a familiar tradition of reserving the job for only serving or retired military or police officers. In the evolution of our national security apparatus, no real civilian expert has ever led it, except perhaps for three months under President Shagari. This has meant that the apparatus has had to operate within the structures and rigidities of military -police authoritarian ethos. Even if Dasuki succeeds, and we hope does, it is high time that we as a nation begin to think conceptually, laterally and vigorously, and stop seeing national security as primarily about cloak and dagger effort in the pursuit of regime stability or preservation, or the office of National Security Adviser as the exclusive fief of serving or retired soldiers and policemen. It is time we shed the stifling legacies of the military state by embracing a more inclusive conception of national security that sees as its chief purpose the pursuit and defence of the wellbeing and prosperity of the largest possible number of our citizens at home and abroad. Contd. on Page 36

Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza, Utako, Abuja. Lagos Office: No.8 Oliyide Street, off Unity Road, Ikeja, Lagos, Tel: +234-09-8734478. Cell: +234 803 606 3308. e-mail: contact@peoplesdaily-online.com; pmlnewsdesk@gmail.com ISSN: 2141– 6141