Peoples Daily Newspaper, Monday 17, September, 2012

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

Vol. 9 No. 26

Monday, September 17, 2012

. . . putting the people first

Shawwal 30, 1433 AH

N150

Investment House will boost Yobe’s economic fortunes – Gaidam

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

T

he Yobe State Governor Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam, has said the Yobe Investment House due to be

competed at the end of this year will greatly increase the economic fortunes of the state.

He spoke yesterday while inspecting the building which is under construction at the Central

Business District of Abuja the nation’s capital.

The seven-storey building according to the governor when completed will be rented to corporate organizations and will

generate huge sums for the state annually.

He said the money will be channelled into other ventures that will assist in the development of the state.

Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam praised the quality of the structure which stands out among others within the area and urged the contractor to ensure the Contd on Page 2

Four-year-old, parents shot dead in Kano From Edwin Olofu, Kano, & Agaju Madugba Kaduna

U

nknown gunmen yesterday shot and killed a four- year-old girl, her parents and her crippled uncle in their house in Hotoron Gabas area of Kano, the Kano state capital.

Four gunmen, were said to have stormed the home of the victims on two motorcycles, locked them up in a room and sprayed them with bullets after which they left.

Residents said the deceased father, who was an intelligence officer with the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) identified as Samaila Hassan, was at home with his wife, Aisha, the daughter and his younger brother when the gunmen attacked them at about

….Crippled uncle also killed

Contd on Page 2

PD INDEX

17th Sept., 2012

CBN RATES $ £ EURO CFA RIYAL

BUYING 154.7 249 199.8 0.2853 41

SELLING 155.7 250.8 201 0.3053 41.5

PARALLEL RATES EURO £ RIYAL $

BUYING 205 258 40 158

SELLING 207 260 42 160

L-R: Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa'ad Abubakar, Niger state Governor, Dr Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu, and National Chairman, Ulama Council of the Jama'atul Izalatul Bidi'a Wa'ikamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS), Sheikh Muhammad Sani Yahaya Jingir, during the closing ceremony of the 16th Annual Qur'anic Recitation competition, at the weekend in Minna.

Tambuwal urges use of social media in governance >> PAGE 2

Fuel hits N150 as scarcity spreads in Lagos >> PAGE 3

ACN, CPC, CNPP, others accuse Jonathan of cover up over wife’s health >> PAGE 2

PAGE 2

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

CONTENTS News Editorial

2-11 12

Op.Ed

13

Letters

14

Opinion

15

Metro

16-18

Business

19-20

S/Report

24

Law

26

Education

27

Health

29

Cracks in PDP as governors boycott Tukur’s 77th birthday, Page 39

International 32-34 Digest

36

Politics

40

Sports Columnist

41-47 48

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

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

Phones for News: 070-37756364 09-8734478

ACN, CPC, CNPP, others accuse Jonathan of cover up over wife’s health

By Lawrence Olaoye, Ikechukwu Okaforadi, Umar Mohammed, Abuja & Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

P

olitical parties in the country have challenged President Goodluck Jonathan and the Federal Government to stop playing politics with the health of First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan saying the Presidency should come out clear on the her actual state of health.

This is coming on the heels of mounting anxiety over the health of the First Lady, who was airlifted two weeks ago to a German hospital where she is said to be secretly undergoing treatment for an undisclosed ailment amidst conflicting statements from government quarters.

First to fire the salvo was the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) which at the weekend challenged the Presidency to tell Nigerians the truth about the illness of the First Lady, saying the people deserved to know.

The National Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, threw the challenge in Ilorin, Kwara state at a welcome reception for former members other parties who defected to the ACN. He posited that Nigerians deserved to know the exact situation of the First Lady’s health status.

The party averred that the Presidency was playing games with the issue saying it should not be handled in the same manner the leadership of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) handled that of late president Umaru Musa Yar’adua whose health condition was kept secret to Nigerian until his unfortunate and painful death.

Also commenting on the matter, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) said keeping the issue secret is

tantamount to holding the Nigerian people in contempt.

Speaking on the issue, CPC National Publicity Secretary, Rotimi Fashaki said: “It is a shame that the Jonathan regime, as always, believes that Nigerians are underserving of being treated transparently.

Dame Patience Jonathan is the nation’s First Lady and as such makes it imperative for the Jonathan regime to inform Nigerians about her state of

health.

“The silence of the presidency, in spite of the wild speculations about the first lady’s health, is tantamount to holding Nigerians in contempt.

This smacks of immaturity and leadership deficit. It is quite sad that the Jonathan regime is treating this issue of the First lady’s health in the same opaque manner that has become its trademark. The nation’s first lady had had cause to spend

Tambuwal urges use of social media in governance

By Lawrence Olaoye

S

peaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has advocated the use of social media in day to day running of governments, saying the platform offers unlimited opportunity to enhance good governance and transparency in all parts of the world.

Speaking at the weekend when he delivered a paper on the ‘Role of social media in modern day politics’ at the closing session of the 58th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tambuwal said developing countries must invest resources, time and energy to develop ICT infrastructure in their localities.

A statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Malam Imam Imam, quoted the Speaker as saying that social media contributes to the deepening of political processes and practice, which therefore makes it a veritable instrument for political development.

“I wish to recommend that African and other developing countries should support the programs and policies that will

facilitate the development of social media infrastructures in their countries,” he said.

According to him, based on careful examination of the context of social media and politics, it is an incontrovertible fact that the role which the media plays in modern politics, particularly in Africa, is decisive.

Tambuwal said the significant role played by the social media during the 2011 general election in Nigeria has remained a reference point in history. He said of particular note was President Goodluck Jonathan’s declaration to contest last year’s presidential election which was made on facebook.

The move, according to the Speaker, ignited wider interest on the importance of social media not only among the youths but in the country as a whole.

While emphasising the need to develop the platform by investing more resources in the provision of computers in the rural areas, Tambuwal reiterated the determination of Nigerian parliament to enact laws that will help vulnerable members of the society in order for them to make informed choices at all times.

Four- year-old, parents shot dead in Kano Contd from Page 1

12 noon.

It was gathered that the attack lasted about five minutes.

Neighbours said they saw when the four men arrived on two motor cycles and entered the house. After the killing, they jumped back on their bikes and sped off while shooting sporadically into the air.

The shooting caused pandemonium in the area before the arrival of the combine team of the Joint Security Task Force (JTF).

Kano state Police Commissioner, Ibrahim Idris, confirmed the incident saying they were murdered by persons

suspected to be assassins.

He said that the gunmen had already left before the arrival of the police.

Idris said investigation has already commenced on the matter and vowed that the police would do everything possible to nab the culprit. He said the remains of the victims have been deposited at a Hospital.

. . . Three feared killed in Kaduna Meanwhile three persons have been feared dead in Malali, a suburb of Kaduna metropolis in Kaduna state when they were hit by unknown gunmen at the weekend.

Though earlier reports said three people were killed, the

police said it can confirm the death only one person.

Kaduna state Commissioner of Police, Olufemi Adenaike, said he got that report but that only one person died. He however asked reporters to contact him today for more details as he did not have the full picture of the issue as at yesterday.

Eyewitness accounts said that the gunmen had invaded Ghana Road at Malali at about 8 pm on Saturday and started firing sporadically at the shops.

A least three persons were said to have been hit in the shooting spree.

Residents dismissed the likelihood of robbery as the attackers did not make steal anything from the shops.

public funds, though unbudgeted for, in the cause of performing her role as the nation’s first lady”.

Also commenting on the issue, the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) argued that the Presidency must come out clear on the health of the First Lady saying such issues should not be hidden.

Speaking, CNPP National Secretary, Willy Ezeugwu said: “Anything pertaining to the health of the First Lady should not be hidden, if she is dead or alive, Nigerians have the right to know.

Moreover, since she and the President are being taken care of by the tax payers’ money, the tax payers should know what is wrong with her state right now. Her medical bills is most likely going to be paid with tax payers money, even what she eats there, then why should the Presidency now say her affair is an exclusive preserve of the President in Nigeria.

“This is what happened during the time President Musa Yar’adua died; they always like to play hanky-panky with everything in this country. Since she became the First Lady, she ceases to be the Wife of the President but wife and mother of Nigerians,” Ezeugwu stated.

However, responding, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, said the opposition parties especially the ACN were merely craving for attention.

Investment House will boost Yobe’s economic fortunes – Gaidam Contd from Page 1

work is completed by the end of the year.

“Let me at this juncture praise the efforts of the contractor for the quality Job he has executed as this justifies that the money invested is not a waste. It is an excellent job.”

The state commissioner of Housing Alhaji Mohammed Ago Dala said the building has reached 95 per cent completion with only electrical fittings remaining and hoped the work will be completed before the end of the year.

He showered encomium on the Gaidam led administration for initiating the project which according to him will be beneficial to generations to come.

The building according to the commissioner will provide office accommodation to several organizations waiting anxiously for the completion.

PAGE 3

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

Lebanese Fuel hits N150 as scarcity spreads in Lagos deny fleeing A Kano From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

s petrol scarcity spreads in Lagos metropolis, residents are lamenting the hike in pump price from N97 to N150 in major parts of

the state.

The scarcity which bit harder at the weekend led to the return of long queues and total closure of some filling stations which claimed shortage of supplies.

Our reporter’s checks around the city yesterday indicate that outlets of major marketers of the product where not selling, while the NNPC outlet in Agege area of the city sold for 120.

2000 displaced by flood in Ringim

From Edwin Olofu, Kano

T

he chairman of the Lebanese community in Kano, Tahir Fadallah, has debunked reports suggesting that Lebanese are fleeing the ancient city in droves because of the general insecurity which has gripped it.

Speaking with newsmen in Kano over the weekend, Fadallah said that he has taken the pain of going round to check on his members in Kano and has discovered that there is no iota of truth in the matter, saying it was a fabrication intended to only cause confusion among his people whom, he said, are citizens of Nigeria.

Fadallah added that majority of the Lebanese in the state have become citizens and that they have no other place than Kano and Nigeria because their grandparents were born and bred in the state.

“We are indigenes; we were born in Kano because we have no other place than Kano; we own our houses, businesses all in this great state, so tell me where we are going; in fact we don’t know any other place than Kano.

“Look we create jobs for our fellow indigenous Kanawas; the Chinese and Indians I believe don’t have all these background in this state, Kano is our home town we can’t leave it because of the security challenge”, he maintained.

2012 Hajj: Lagos to begin airlifting pilgrims in October From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

T

he Lagos state government is set to commence the airlifting of Muslim pilgrims to this year’s pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia on Monday, 1st of October, 2012.

The Commissioner for Home Affairs and Culture, Alhaji Oyinlomo Danmole, who disclosed this during the inauguration of a 25-man central working committee on 2012 Hajj, added that the airlifting of intending pilgrims is expected to run till 8th of October, 2012.

While noting that the official airline for the state this year is Marx Air, he stated that apart from the 25-man committee, there are other sub-committees like Orientation, Passport/Visa, and Security that would be set up to ensure a hitch free Hajj for intending pilgrims.

Hundreds of the commercial buses, taxi cabs and commercial motorcycles were in long queues at NNPC mega stations which were the only stations selling the product.

From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

N

Yobe state Governor, Malam Ibrahim Gaidam (2nd right), Commissioner for Commerce, Musa Maina Dumburi (2nd left), and others, during inspection of completed Yobe Investment House, at the weekend in Central Area, Abuja.

Insecurity: Man O’ War pledges to assist in intelligence gathering

By Josephine Ella

M

an O’ War Nigeria has pledged its commitment to continue to assist security agencies across states in the country in intelligence gathering towards addressing the security challenges bedeviling the country.

The paramilitary organisation also solicited for funding by government at all levels to enable it carry out its activities successfully.

The national commander of the organisation, Ikenna Chidoka, who spoke in an interview with journalists during a meeting with state commanders and patrons of

the organization held in Abuja at the weekend, lamented that the organisation was constrained in the discharge of its duties because of lack of funds.

“Funding is one of the major challenges because the government of the day has not been able to recognise the major role we are supposed to play in the society. Man O’ War is a volunteer organisation but it is supposed to be funded so that we can have offices. I have made an appeal to the National Assembly to include us in the next budget and I hope it will come to pass”, he said.

According to him, the meeting was to bring the state

patrons together to network and educate them on their roles as patrons.

He said Man O’ War had been assisting other security agencies by providing them with information gathered from the communities, where they live and work among the people.

Chidoka added that the issue of factionalisation within the organisation has been resolved through a court ruling that said the Man O’ War association was illegal and gave the right to the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre, under which they operated, as the only organisation with the power to establish such an organisation.

o fewer than 2000 women and children were displaced by flood at Yakasawa village in Ringim local government area of Jigawa state.

The displaced victims have been camped at the Government Junior Arabic Secondary School in Ringim town as an initial step to provide them with shelter and to also rescue them from infection.

This was disclosed by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) North-west zone coordinator, Alhaji Musa Ilallah while presenting some relief materials to the victims in the camp yesterday.

Illalah explained that out of the said number, 45 were pregnant women and 30 were disabled.

The coordinator noted that his agency is committed to mapping out strategies for preventive measure of the yearly flood disaster and reduce the threat to large part of the areas.

Also speaking the Ringim local government council chairman, Alhaji Murtala Abubakar, said already the council has provided over 250 plots of land to re-settle the victims of Yakasawa village, adding that “we are also in contact with the state Ministry of Lands to re-settle other villages under the threat of the flood”.

Tambuwal under pressure to overhaul c’ttes as NASS resumes tomorrow

By Lawrence Olaoye

A

s the lawmakers in the National Assembly resumes tomorrow after nine weeks of recess, there are intense pressures on Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal to overhaul the over 80 committees in the House of Representatives for more effectiveness.

This, according to sources in the parliament, is to ensure that round pegs are put in the right holes.

There are groundswell of criticisms

against some of the current chairmen of the existing committees bordering on ineptitude and ineffectiveness.

Although the agitation for the reshuffling of the committees began before the House went on recess, the call became more stringent during the holiday as some aggrieved lawmakers felt sidelined in the running of the parliament, especially as it concerns its oversight responsibilities.

The aggrieved lawmakers, who are mostly first-timers, are not happy at the way some

of the chairmen of the committees conduct their affairs without adequate consultation. Some of them, it was learnt, do not convene meetings and conduct oversights over the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) under their jurisdiction alone.

The source who is also a member but craved anonymity, said: “Out of 92 committees of the House, less than 35 of them are actually working while the others are in the pockets of the chairmen who do not deem it

necessary to carry their colleagues along; there are some of them who have not called a single meeting with their colleagues since the committees were inaugurated.

“Despite huge amount of money released for the committees to work on the referrals to them, there were several pending reports which are yet to be submitted; although, there were many investigative hearings embarked upon by those committees, but up till now reports have not being laid on the table”. the source added.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

THE PAGE 4 REPORT

FG’s questionable hasty clearance of DANA Air DANA Airline, whose operations were grounded on June 5, two days after one of its planes crashed in Lagos, killing all the 153 people on board and several others on the ground, will soon resume flight operations following the Federal Government’s decision to lift the suspension on its operating license. The decision has expectedly attracted the public’s ire considering that it came at a time when all the issues surrounding the fatal air crash were still to be resolved, reports Aminu Imam.

N

inety-eight days after the fatal DANA Airline plane crash in Lagos, the Federal Government penultimate Wednesday lifted the suspension on the operating license of the airline.

The Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah, said in a terse statement from the office of the special adviser on media to the minister, Joe Obi that the airline was being allowed to resume operations because its aircraft has been certified airworthy.

“By this development, DANA Airline is free to resume its normal commercial flight operations”, said the statement.

The operating license of DANA Airlines was temporarily suspended on June 5, 2012 following the crash of one of its aircraft on June 3, in Lagos, as a safety precaution.

The crash claimed the lives of all 153 persons onboard and scores of others on the ground.

Expectedly, the clearance elicited immediate condemnation from Labour, rights activists, lawyers and relations of the DANA crash victims, who said it was premature. Among those who criticized the decision were legal icons, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) and Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) as well as the Deputy General Secretary of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, the President of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Dr Osahon Enabulele and the President-General of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Comrade Peter Esele.

Deputy General Secretary of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero faulted the lifting of the operating license of the airline, faulting the timing as the issues surrounding company’s air crash have yet to be resolved.

Comrade Ajaero, who is also the General Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), said the decision showed that we place value on money more than life.

Maverick lawyer Mr. Femi Falana said “it was unfortunate that the step was a mockery of the coronary being conducted in line with the law by coroner court in Lagos state. Once government has taken this step, the unfortunate

Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Odua

Managing Director of DANA Air, Mr. Jacky Hathiramani DANA Air tragedy has been put behind us while we unfortunately wait for the next similar tragedy.”

TUC’s Comrade Peter Esele observed that “One would have expected the Federal Government to order proper investigation of what led to the crash of the airline’s plane, apply sanction where necessary and, after that, conduct audit on all the airlines in the country and state the way forward.

“However, if government has done its own, it is left for Nigerians to do the needful. It happened with Bellview when its licence was lifted after suspension, Nigerians boycotted the airline. So, if Nigerians feel the government did not do what they expect, they are at liberty to do what is needed and necessary.”

On his part, Agbakoba said the government should have ordered an inquiry on the matter to establish the cause of the accident before clearing the airline to resume operations.

His words: “I hope that DANA Airline would have learnt its lesson from the recent fatal

accident. As a rule, it must be made clear that an accident does not mean that an airline must not fly again. The only thing I see is that if the regulatory authorities have cleared them to fly, they can resume operation. I am not talking specifically about DANA now.

“What happened in the DANA case is that we do not have full disclosure on what went wrong with its ill-fated flight. The clearance came out of the blue.

The decision clearing DANA must be in the public domain.

“So if the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authorities, NCAA, had conducted an investigation, which must be thorough and if after investigations, it comes out to say the airline can fly again, that will be acceptable. But the only problem I see is that we have not seen the report of the accident and we don’t know what went wrong with the ill-fated flight.”

To NMA President, Osahon Enabulele, the decision came as a big surprise because “Nigerians are still trying to grapple with even the findings of the last

investigative panel of the inquiry into the last disaster.

“Going by the trend in this country, the citizens may not get to see the implementation of the inquiry. We thought that this would even be a departure from the past. Now, in less than three months or thereabout, we are now having a situation whereby the ban on DANA Air is being lifted; we want to question the rationale and the basis for that.

“Nigerians need to know what the finding of the panel was. To what extent was it carried out in terms of implementing the findings of the panel and in what direction will this lifting of suspension take Nigeria? Are they saying that DANA Air has substantially cleaned its own house, or perhaps they have put in place the recommendations of the panel?”

He continued: “I thought that a bit more of scrutiny ought to have been done by the Federal Government before making a move to lift the ban. I do not know why they did this but for somebody who has been monitoring events of the disaster, it is totally not acceptable.

Certainly for me, it is a hasty decision and Nigerians would want to know what happened along the line.”

However, some aviation stakeholders such as the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) hailed the decision even when only 45 families of the victims of the crash were compensated so far.

Meanwhile, insurers of the ill-

fated flight have reportedly only been able to pay compensation to just 45 families of the victims out of the 135 that were involved in the crash.

According to findings, the consortium of six insurance companies led by Prestige Assurance Plc have only been able to settle just 45 of the victims, with the remaining families still undergoing the process of acquiring letters of administration which they will use to claim the compensation.

Although the local insurers have promised to pay the 30 per cent of the share of the insurance cover, the foreign insurers who have 70 per cent of the cover are yet to commence any form of payment.

Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel said that some victims of DANA air crash had received $30,000, adding that the balance $70,000 of the $100,000 would soon be paid. He noted that the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) would ensure that the local insurers that underwrote the risks live up to expectation.

Daniel noted that the sum involved was $350 million, which comprises life and third party liability coverage exclusive of the claims for the aircraft. He said families of those that died in the mishap had to present death certificates and certificate of administration before they would be paid the outstanding claims.

He assured that, “Whether the coinsurers pay or not we would hold the lead insurer responsible and legitimate claimants would be paid adequately.”

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

PAGE 5

20 FCT schools for Korea scholarship quiz

By Mohammed Kandi

T

he newly appointed Director of the Korean Cultural Centre (KCC), Mr. Kwon Yong-Ik has announced that 20 FCT schools are to partake in the 2nd Korea Scholarship Quiz Competition this year .

Addressing the press at the weekend in Abuja, Mr. Yong-Ik said the effort in collaboration with the Federal Capital Territory Secondary Education Board (SEB), was aimed at "fostering cooperation in the area of education between our two countries by assisting Nigerian students in public schools participate in the Korean

Government Scholarship programme."

"As you are aware, this is the 2nd edition and already the National Institute for International Education is working on the shortlisted candidates for last year's edition.

When it is concluded, the successful candidates will proceed to Korea for their studies," he explained.

"We have expanded the scale of the program from 10 schools to 20 schools this time. Two winners will also get the opportunity to enjoy a full undergraduate scholarship in Korea for 2013 and 2014 academic year while many others will be given cash prizes," he pledged.

Kidnappers seek N20m bounty on gov's aide

By Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

G

unmen suspected to be kidnappers of the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Edo State deputy governor, Mr Kelly Odaro are demanding N20 million ransom before releasing him.

Wife of the aide, Mrs. Patience Odaro who confirmed the development said, her husband was kidnapped on his way home from the Edo State Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Mrs. Odaro said that two armed men who rode on a motorcycle waylaid her husband. "Normally, when he is closer home, he will call me, so that we can come from upstairs to open the gate.

"But, I was only surprised when people in our street came to call me that my husband has been kidnapped very close to our house by unknown gunmen".

"I met the doors of his car open and the ignition key was still there.

There was a helmet beside the car probably the one used by the

motorcyclists, while one of my husband's shoes was equally on the ground there but they went away with his phone."

"Through out Saturday evening that he was kidnapped nothing was heard about him until Sunday around 6 am when the kidnappers asked him to call me and demanded the sum of N20 million for his release".

Contacted, the Edo state police image maker, DSP Anthony Airhuoyo, said, the police are aware and has since swung into action.

Bandits cart cash from Jalingo homes From Yusha'u Alhassan, Jalingo

A

rmed bandits stormed Lassandi area in Jalingo local government area of Taraba state at early hours of yesterday, carting away cash and valuables belonging to their victims.

Investigation by our reporter showed that about five bandits armed with machetes, arrived the area by 2 am and held their victims hostage after breaking into their houses.

Some of the victims who spoke with our reporter said the bandits unleashed terror on them before ordering them to surrender their money, handsets and other valuables.

A victim, Endurance Solomon confirmed that they were seriously beaten by the robbers.

The ward head of the area, Ezekiel Kanke who confirmed the reports advised the people to be conscious of their security by reporting suspicious characters in

their midst to the authorities.

In another development, the chairman, Takum local government council of Taraba state, Tanko Tamti has expressed shock over the killing of the councillor for Rogo ward in Takum, Ahamdu Haruna Sule in a robbery attack along the TakumKatsina Ala road.

In an telephone interview with our reporter, the chairman said the corpse of the deceased was taken from the scene of the incident in Katsina Ala and buried in Takum.

He said he had already reported to the appropriate authorities for prompt action.

The late councillor was said to have ran into the robbers along Katsina-Ala road after they had attacked a Bank in Katsina- Ala town of Benue state on Wednesday and were speeding off.

The Taraba state police public Relations officer, Amos Olaoye said investigation into the incident had begun.

… Marketers blamed for scarcity of petrol

From Yusha'u Alhassan Jalingo ndependent Petroleum Marketers in Taraba state have been blamed for creating artificial scarcity of the commodity.

Motorists in the state who reacted to the situation, wondered why independent marketers, including the Mega stations have refused to sell the product to the public despite constant allocations from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

They appealed to the taskforce committee on petroleum procurement and distribution to compel the independent marketers into operating within the confines of the law.

Investigation showed that no single filling station sold fuel while black marketers make brisk business by selling the commodity at an exorbitant rate with many wondering how they got their supply.

For instance, a gallon of petrol now costs between N750 and N800 as against the former price

I

of N600.

Managers of filling stations in Jalingo metropolis declined to speak with our reporter on the development.

Chairman of the Petroleum Procurement and Distribution committee who doubles as the chairman, Taraba state Muslims Pilgrims Welfare Board, Hamman Adama Tukur could not be reached for comments.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (left), addressing the diplomatic corps after the closing session of the 58th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Conference, yesterday in Colombo. With him is Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, F.A Rotimi (right).

Jonathan’s national honours lists now 155

By Richard Ihediwa

T

he list of those to be honoured with national merit awards today by President Goodluck Jonathan has increased from the original 149 to 155 with the inclusion of six paralympians who won gold

in the just concluded Paralympics games held in London.

The ceremony is expected hold at the Merit House today in Abuja.

Vituperations had trailed the initial list of 149 as Nigerians lamented that some of those who

Unidentified body found in locked room gutted by fire From Mohammed Kaduna

U

Adamu,

nidentified body of a man has been discovered inside the locked room of a police officer whose house was gutted by fire around 1am yesterday, opposite Kabala Doki market, a suburb in Kaduna.

Narrating the incident, the Dagacin Kabalan Doki, Mallam Danlami Bawa said he was alerted by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Kabala Doki about the incident in the morning.

He said: "We were told that

the fire was triggered by a nearby electrical transformer that sparked off at about the same time the house went up in flames.

"What really surprised us is the body of the man with an Athsma Inhaler in his pocket found lying dead in a room of one of the tenants and a police officer this morning.

The police private just came back from duty and we found his room gutted by fire and no signs of him breaking in or falling from the roof top", he said.

It is not clear if the body belonged to the police officer or

someone else.

According to him,"the body has been deposited at the Barau Dikko Hospital and we are continuing the search for his relatives.

"However,… another woman has been treated for suffocation.

Property and cash worth over N10 million was lost in the house that occupies about 12 shops and 14 rooms.

The Public Relations Officer, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Abubakar Zakari confirmed the incident saying "the fire was successfully put off".

made that list did not deserve the award.

Interest groups had sternly criticized that list saying it was principally made up of politicians and money bags including those said to be of questionable characters especially those allegedly indicted in the oil subsidy scandal.

Business mogul, Mike Adenuga, who is to be conferred with the award of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) tops the list of 149 awardees which also has serving governors, Supreme Court Judges, members of the National Assembly other top politicians and bureaucrats.

However, the inclusion of the paralympians in the list appears to be accepted by Nigerians especially as they made the nation proud by winning gold medals in sporting events after their able bodied colleagues could not win any medal.

PAGE 6

NGO decries politicisation of FUT Minna vice chancellorship

By Augustine Aminu n education based nongovernmental organisation, Concerned Citizens for Educational Development has decried what it termed attempt by some highly placed persons to politicise the appointment of Vice Chancellor in Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna.

The organisation warned that the governing council and Nigerias to beware of some elements that are going about in the name of ethnicity to scuttle the already laid down criteria for selecting vice chancellor in any Nigerian university.

According to a statement issued by the executive director of the organisation, Comrade Ibrahim Alih, the purported attempt to shortchange the existing statutory stipulations in the National University Commission's Act as regards the selection of a vice chancellor in Nigeria just to favour people of a particular extraction remains a negative precedence that should not be allowed in the educational sector for any reason. "The issue of a host community has nothing to do with the merit and professionalism of selecting the chief executive officer of an ivory tower like the great Federal University of Technology, Minna and any other reputable citadel of learning as far as academic excellence is concerned", he warned.

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PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

Police arrest dare-devil robbery gang in Benue From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

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he Benue state Police Command, at the weekend, arrested 8 members out of 30 of a daredevil robbery gang who attacked First Bank, Katsina-Ala, in the state.

Briefing newsmen in his office while parading the suspects, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Christopher Katso, narrated that men of the

‌recovers guns, rocket launchers Operation Zenda as well as State Rapid Response Squad (SARS), confronted the robbers and engaged them in an exchange of fire but they escaped.

He added that another team intercepted the robbers at Tor Donga and Zaki-Biam during which eight of them were arrested with bullet wounds.

The CP who said an inspector

was shot during the gun duel and is undergoing medical treatment while a generator repairer and another man whose car was intercepted by the robbers were shot dead.

Mr. Katso disclosed that several items including a large cache of AK47 guns, 80 fully loaded AK47 ammunition and rocket launchers four vehicles -

a Volkswagen with registration number FKJ450XA, Toyota Avalon WWA 94AA, Honda Accord ABC535AE and KIA PH450XA were recovered from the robbers; stating that the police have embarked on a manhunt to get other members of the gang who escaped.

"Two of the robbers are assisting us in tracking down the others while investigation is still ongoing", Mr. Katso said.

NGO provides free HIV/AIDS test for Kubwa residents

By A'isha Biola Raji

B

rothers Across Nigeria, a nongovernmental organisation in the Federal Capital Territory, has provided free HIV/AIDS test to people living in Kubwa part of Municipal Area Council.

The Kubwa chapter coordinator of the NGO, Mr. Cyril Uduehi on Saturday at Kubwa Central Market, venue of the free test, counseling and HIV/AIDS awareness, called on residents of the area to know their HIV status irrespective of their looks.

He said, "a lot of people do not know that looking healthy, fat or slim does not determine if they are actually HIV positive. The best way to ensure safety is to go for HIV test which is the reason we are providing free counseling and testing to the people here in Kubwa".

According to Cyril, The NGO generates its funds within the people (friends) who constitute its membership. "We are a group of like minds that have come together, we are friends, we contribute within us.

"This is how we generate our funds which is being used to carry out this project", he said.

A member of the organisation, Mr. Shola Idris, used the opportunity to demonstrate to the people how to use condom in order to guarantee a certain level of safety. He called on the people to avoid the use of teeth in opening condom "tear from the rough edge," he advised.

L-R: Guest Speaker, Dr. Otive Igbuzor, Pharmacist Abu Shehu, and chairman of the occasion, Barrister Ben Amodu, during the opening ceremony of 2012 Pharmacy Week, recently in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Prisons call for synergy among security operatives in Kogi From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

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fficers and men of Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS) have been urged to exhibit patriotism and love of country in their dealings as the nation strives to address its security challenges.

Controller of the service in Kogi, Adam Omale, made the call yesterday in Lokoja at the decoration ceremony for officers of the command who were

recently promoted.

Adam said he had no doubt that the present generation of officers in the country would do to the nation proud but urged them to imbibe hard work, discipline, honesty, love for the country and the people.

He pointed out that with the security situation in the country, all hands must be on deck to provide workable solutions and assured of the service' collaboration with other

agencies.

The controller noted that promotion was a challenge as well as opportunity to strive at attaining perfection in service delivery and urged the newly promoted officers to work "assiduously" to improve the Service.

While urging officers and men of the service to always remember to improve themselves through constant training to attract promotions,

he however cautioned that such training should not be at the expense of their official duties, noting that well informed individuals would be an advantage for the society The comptroller noted that Prison Service should be given its proper regard as a functional tripartite member, narrating "the police prosecute the offender, the judiciary pronounce the sentence and prison execute as the custodian of the offenders.

NOA to honour police investigators in Cynthia's murder

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

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s part of the National Orientation Agency (NOA's) drive to promote positive value reorientation among public office holders, the agency will soon confer its Citizens' Responsibility Recognition Award on seven police officers for their dedication and professional competence displayed in the speedy unraveling of the circumstances

surrounding Cynthia Osokogu's murder.

The Director-General, NOA, Mr. Mike Omeri who disclosed this over the weekend in Abuja, said the prompt, tactful and excellent manner in which the officers have investigated the matter showed the efficacy of the reforms being carried out by the leadership of the Nigeria Police within the ranks of the force.

A statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary of the agency, Paul

Odenyi, indicated that the police personnel who were drawn from the Area E Command of the Police in Lagos included one Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), one Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), two Assistant Superintendents of Police and three other junior personnel.

In his words: "We, at NOA, have been insisting on a re-evaluation and restructuring of the system of awards in this country. People who

truly distinguish themselves in their fields of endaevour and chosen callings must begin to be recognised as against the former practice of honouring persons whose characters are questionable and whose activities were bad examples of what our values should be. We will recognise these officers as good examples of excellence in service, diligence in duty and commitment to our collective war against crimes as a people", the statement said

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

PAGE 7

Wada lauds past governors From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

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L-R: Minister of State for Education, Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, Design and Planning Consultant, Almajiri Schools Project, Architect Baba Aliyu, and Deputy Executive Secretary, Services, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Professor Rashid Adeniroye, during an interactive session with contractors executing Almajiri schools project and Federal Government Colleges libraries project across the country, recently in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-owo.

$559m fine: Don’t pay tax to FIRS, Appeal Tribunal orders Halliburton From Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

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he Tax Appeal Tribunal sitting in Lagos, yesterday directed Halliburton Energy Services Nigeria Limited, not to pay the sum of 167.7 million US dollars to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), as tax from the 559 million US dollars the company was fined by the US authorities for bribing Nigerian officials in January 2009.

Chairman of the five-man tribunal, Mr Kayode Sofola (SAN), gave the order while delivering judgment in an appeal filed by Halliburton against the FIRS over the tax dispute.

The FIRS had on February 24, 2009, sent an assessment to Halliburton asking it to pay the money, the sum being 30 per cent of the total money involved in the global bribery scandal.

The tribunal held that the FIRS assessment breached the terms of settlement and nonprosecution agreement entered into by the Federal Government of Nigeria and Halliburton on December 11, 2010.

Sofola said: “Clause 2(i) of the agreement provides that the FGN/ or any FGN authority, its agencies, officials and agents agrees that it will not file or seek to file any criminal charges, complaints , allegations , lawsuits (civil or otherwise), indictments, or causes of action of any kind against the accused Persons or the Companies arising from or relation to the TSKJ Joint Venture, the liquefied natural gas plant on Bonny Island, Nigeria, or any of the facts or allegations asserted in the criminal charges pursuant to any Nigerian Law”.

He said the terms of agreement had exempted Halliburton USA Inc. and its

subsidiaries from the imposition of the assessment by the FIRS. The tribunal chairman said, “While foreign companies may be liable to the imposition of tax in Nigeria in appropriate cases, Halliburton Inc. USA is not chargeable to tax in Nigeria with regard to the fine it paid to the American Government in the circumstances of the case”.

According to him, there is no evidence before the tribunal to determine the quantum of the bribe that was paid to the Nigerian officials.

He said: “The respondent speculates that the fine of 559 million US dollars or the entire bribe would have formed part of the expenses that was charged in the tax returns to FIRS. “We find that the fine is not profit and to the contrary, is a loss.

“Thus the case of the respondent as presented before us is untenable”.

Open theft of mosquito net rises in Benin

S

ome health workers and mothers in Benin, the Edo state capital, have decried the high rate of theft in mosquito nets from distribution centres across the state.

In separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin, they expressed surprise at the action of those perpetrating the act.

Mr. Samuel Akele, a community health extension worker posted to Quality Medical Centre, said that some mosquito nets were stolen from the medical centre on Thursday.

“Some youths broke the fence of this health centre and went away with nine mosquito nets.

“We have been hearing from

other distribution centres that people steal nets and sell them in the market,’’ he said.

Akele, however, said the presence of securitymen at distribution centres would have prevented such occurrences.

Another health worker, Mrs Therma Okokobili of Iwogban Health Centre, said she sustained bruises on her arm in the process of dragging a net from a youth who attempted stealing it.

“Some boys came here yesterday (Friday) and broke the door to the store room, and one of them tried to run away with a mosquito net.

“I had to make sure that we gave out all the nets yesterday evening to prevent them from being stolen at night,” she said.

Mrs. Mary Osagie, a mother of two, said the act of stealing mosquito nets which were distributed freely was barbaric.

She, however, advised that the masses should assist the government in implementing policies that would make life more meaningful for the populace.

Mrs. Faith Imaredon who said the distribution process was too stressful and timewasting, said the rate of net thefts would not have been high if the nets were distributed from house to house.

The net distribution programme which is part of the Federal Government roll back malaria initiative, started on September 12 and would end on September 17 in Edo. (NAN)

he people of Kogi State have been praised for co –existing peacefully for twenty one years without any internecine attrition or sectarian violence.

Kogi State Governor, Capt.

Idris Wada, stated this at a Gala night to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the creation of the State.

The governor said that the present administration has taken a clear lead in agriculture, especially cassava, rice and cashew production,adding that his administration would create a great State capable of meeting the yearnings and aspirations of the people, through knowledge-based and k n o w l e d g e - d r i v e n programmes.

Wada assured that attention would be given to the health matters and solicited support for his administration in its quest for guided development.

He urged the people to rise above sentiments and accommodate one another in love, de – emphasize differences

and build on the strength of the State.

Wada lauded the prospects of the State as a confluence of possibilities and described the attainment of 21 years as a State as no mean achievement.

He saluted the pioneering courage of the first military administrator,Col. Danladi Mohammed Zakari, and the corrective and stabilizing military regimes of Col. Paul Omeruo, Col. Bzigu Lasa Afakiriya and Col. Augustine Aniebo He also praised the works of the pioneer civilian governor, Prince Abubakar Audu and Alhaji Ibrahim Idris since the advent of democratic role in the last thirteen years.

Earlier in his welcome address, Prof. Olugbemiro Jegede, Secretary to the State Government, commended the zero tolerance against corruption by the Wada administration.

Highlight of the gala night was the presentation of gifts to former military administrators, civilian governors and their deputies.

. . . NULGE boosts members with motorcycle loan From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

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edeeming pledge to members by the leadership of National Union of Local Government Employment (NULGE) in Kogi state, over 7 000 motorcycle were distributed on loan.

The President of the Union, Comrade Tom Abutu at the ceremony in Lokoja, Saturday stressed that the union was keying into the transformation agenda of the present government, noting that

government alone cannot saddle the responsibility of the citizenry.

He noted that the union would in no distance weeks embark on car loan to senior executive members with the sole aim of ensuring equity.

He called on all members to embrace hardwork, discipline, fairness and accountability at the local government level.

Abutu called on members to avoid divisive tendencies capable of weakening the union.

Bauchi MPs summons commissioner, MD over N1bn loan From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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he Bauchi State House of Assembly has resolved to summon the state Commissioner of Agriculture, Managing Director of Bauchi Agricultural Supply Company (BASAC) and that of Fertiliser Company over intention of the state government to secure a loan of over N1billion .

The Assembly presided over by the Speaker, Yahaya Mohammad Miya which resumed plenary session last week after a recess of more than one month, directed the Clerk of the House to invite the commissioner of Agriculture and top officials of BASAC and fertilizer company to appear before it tomorrow.

He said the request became

necessary, so that the officials would explain the reason behind the loan after a debate by members on request by the executive to secure another agriculture loan of N1.176billion for next year’s farming season.

According to the request, the loan would be used to procure chemicals for the production of compound fertilizer.

Commenting on the loan, members of the Assembly, Baba Abubakar (CPC , Azare constituency), IliyasuIrahim Zwall (PDP, Lere/Bula) and Garba Babale (PDP, Hardawa) called for critical investigation on how the last loan was expended before granting another approval.

PAGE 10

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

Price of beans rises by 40% in Auchi T he price of beans has increased in Auchi and i t s environs in Etsako West local government area of Edo forcing the residents to resort to the use of “native” specie.

Aside from the price of the commodity which has gone up by about 40 per cent, it has also become scarce in major markets in the area.

At the popular Uchi market in Auchi and Jattu market at Jattu, brown beans measured in a Custard bucket now sells at N1000 as against N600 it was sold for about a month ago.

Similarly, the price of a cup of the commodity has increased from N40 to N80 just as the same quantity of white beans sells for N60, up from N30.

A Custard bucket of the

white type has also gone up to N850 from the former price of N500 in all the markets.

A resident, Mrs Rachael Ehigimetor, said: “This is certainly a difficult period for us, especially the poor. The price increase of beans is just too much.

“One now goes to market and becomes afraid to get close to where they are selling beans.

“It is as bad as that, and the situation has forced residents to resort to the native beans which is often difficult to prepare because it takes longer time to cook.’’

Another resident, Jennifer Oreye, lamented: “One wonders how they came about this sharp increase in the price of beans and the reason for the scarcity. We really do not know what is happening.”

At Uchi market, a beans seller, Mrs Dana Raheem, attributed the rise in price of

the commodity to scarcity, saying there was a shortage in supply around the country.

She said that it was usual for the commodity to be scarce during this period of the year, but admitted that the prevailing one was much and had resulted in high increase in price.

However, Mrs Rose Oise, another seller of the commodity, said the price would drop “when fresh beans begin to come into the market”.

(NAN)

Monarch advocates roles for colleagues in constitution From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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L-R: Niger State Deputy Governor, Ahmed Musa Ibeto, President, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Engineer Mustafa Balarable Shehu, and NSE Chairman, Abuja branch, Engineer Emeka Ozioko, during the opening of the NSE 2012 National Engineering Games, at the weekend in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-owo

he Emir of Dass in Bauchi state, Alhaji Usman Bilyaminu Othman has agitated for a special provision for traditional rulers in the Nigerian constitution that will give them roles in the administration of the country.

Alhaji Othman who stated this when the leadership of the Bauchi state chapter of the Nigerian Union Journalists(NUJ) paid homage to him in his palace in Dass said that he supports the voices calling for a special provision in the constitution of the country that would give traditional rulers a role to play.

The Dass Monarch said there are some experienced traditional rulers that could contribute towards the development of the nation

Army donates N1.2m to each family of slain soldiers From Edwin Olofu, Kano

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he Nigeria Army has made cash donations to the families of nine soldiers killed in Damaturu the Yobe state capital by insurgents.

The Commander, 3 Brigade, Nigerian Army Kano, Brigadier General Ilyasu Abba, who made the presentation of cash donations to wounded soldiers and relations of military personnel killed in a suicide bomb attack in Damaturu last month, charged soldiers to not be intimidated by the killing of their

colleagues.

It would be recalled that nine soldiers died, while seven others sustained injuries when a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle rigged with explosives into two military patrol vehicles at Shagari low cost housing in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, on August 5.

Gen Abba, who represented the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt Gen Azubuike Ihejirika and the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division Maj. Gen Wahab, at the headquarters of 241 Recce Battalion in Nguru, urged the next of kin of the

deceased soldiers to invest the money wisely in educating their dependants.

“I came here to convey the COAS’ and GOC’s condolences to those who have lost fathers, brothers, or uncles in the incident and to pray for quick recovery of the injured soldiers,” he said.

He told the beneficiaries that the Yobe State government contributed N1million each for the families of the dead and N500, 000 each for the injured, while the Army chief donated N200,000 each and N100,000

each to the two groups respectively.

Abba assured the families that military authorities would ensure prompt payment of compensations for their lost ones.

“The nation and especially the army will continue to remember those of you that lost their lives in trying to bring peace to Yobe State and we will continue to pray for them, as well as those of you who are wounded in the attack. Make sure the children of the deceased’s are educated; if you educate them, they will assist you,” Abba stated.

Minister inaugurates c’ttee on deforestation in FCT

By Stanley Onyekwere

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o tackle the menace of deforestation in the Federal Capital City (FCC) and the six Area Councils of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has established a 25-man committee.

Inaugurating the committee, Minister of State for FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, explained that the FCT was faced with various environmental problems such as excessive heat, erosion, bush burning, flood, and loss of soil fertility which has contributed to food insecurity.

Akinjide, who chairs the

committee, also disclosed that it was established to find a holistic approach to controlling the hazard in the FCT. According to a statement by the Special Assistant (Media & Publicity) to the Minister, Olayinka Akintunde recently, the minister’s attention was drawn to the increasing rate of deforestation in FCT demonstrated heaps of firewood, bags of charcoal along our major roads as well as timber exploitation from already overexploited forests. ”The effects of deforestation in FCT today cannot be overemphasized since it is witnessed

by all and sundry. It is evident in the increased FCT daily temperature in recent times; few years ago, the highest daily temperature was as low as 27oc but now is between 34oc – 37oc in some months of the year”, she said.

Akinjide charged the committee to identify the immediate and remote causes of deforestation in the FCT and proffer ways of enforcing the forest law, and recommend areas of inter-departmental collaborations with a view to curbing deforestation and its effects especially now that the World was facing the menace

of climate change/global warning with negative effects on the environment and man..

Members of the committee include, Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat in the FCT, Mrs. Olvadi Bema Madayi, Secretary of Area Council Service Secretariat, Alhaji Yahaya Ibrahim, Chairmen of Abuja Municipal Area Council, Micah Jiba; Bwari Area Council, Peter Yohanna; Kuje Area Council, Danladi Etsu Zhin; Gwagwalada Area Council, Zakari Angulu Dobi; Abaji Area Council,Yahaya Musa Muhammed and Kwali Area Council, Joseph Shazin.

especially in resolving lingering issues that can retard the progress of the country as well as upliftment of the living standard of the people.

Lagos judiciary begins new legal year today From Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

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he Lagos State judiciary will begin its 2012/2013 Legal Year which will kick off with a Church and Mosque service today at the Cathedral Church, Marina and the Central Mosque, Lagos respectively at 9am.

According to a statement signed by the Lagos High Court Chief Registrar, Ganiyu Safari, the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Ayotunde Philips, will thereafter proceed to the High Court to inspect a parade of guards by the Nigerian Police.

The statement further explained that on Tuesday, September 18, 2012, the CJ, alongside her management team and members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), visit the Kirikiri Medium and Maximum prisons, Apapa, to free some inmates of the prison who are qualified to be released under the relevant laws of the state.

A stakeholders’ summit on the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) and the Family Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2012 will be held on Wednesdsay September 19 at the City Hall, Lagos at 10 a.m.

Activities would be rounded off with a dinner at the City Hall, Lagos, on Friday September 22.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

PAGE 11

MONEY SENSE

Strategies for investing in agriculture High crop prices could be a boon to farmers and investors alike. Here are ways to buy into the world's growing demand for food.

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lay it safe: farming equipment The world's population is growing fast, but the amount of land to grow food is not. So, as simple supply and demand economics would dictate, food prices are rising.

According to the United Nations, grain prices have more than doubled since 2003, and some analysts expect them to continue rising for the foreseeable future.

That trend could be a boon to American farmers, and when

farmers feel rich, they often shop for new equipment.

Gary Bradshaw, a portfolio manager for the Hodges family of mutual funds, likes Titan Machinery TITN +1.92 percent, a distributor of tractors in the

Can I rent at a discounted rate? hough it may be a long shot, you can try to negotiate your rental rates with the landlord. It may be difficult to simply ask for a reduced rate (unless you know that other tenants in similar units are paying less). However, you might ask for a reduced rate if you agree to a longer lease term. Alternatively, you can ask the landlord to include certain expenses in your rent, such as parking or utilities.

Keep these questions in mind the next time you are out apartment hunting. They could end up saving you some serious money on your rental.

enjoy a smaller bill each month.

plugged into the wall even if they are not turned on.

“Set your computer to hibernate or sleep when not in use.

Great Plains. Titan's 2011 net income was $44 million, nearly double what it was in 2010.

For a more international bet on farming, Bradshaw also likes Deere DE +0.29 percent. The Moline, Ill., maker of giant green tractors and other big-ticket farm equipment grew its net income by 56 percent in four years, from $1.8 billion in 2007 to $2.8 billion last year.

Go for broke: a chicken run If the rest of the world is going to eat more food, it surely will eat more chicken, right? U.S. chickenpiece prices have risen anywhere from 2 percent (breasts) to more than 120 percent (wings) from a year ago.

But buying into poultry is a lot riskier than taking a flier on most other farm-related businesses.

Because prices have been so good, chicken firms could produce a lot more birds. "The danger is you drive prices lower," says Heather Jones, a managing director at BB&T Capital Markets.

Plus, higher crop prices pose a problem: Sanderson Farms, the nation's No. 3 chicken producer, says its feed costs (primarily corn and soybeans) were nearly 40 percent higher last year than in 2010.

Still, chicken producers have made their operations more efficient, and they've steadily increased exports to Asia and Europe. Bradshaw says he'd consider buying Pilgrim's Pride, another major chicken producer, if its stock price dipped.

(Source: The Wall Street Journal)

How to save your expenses in hiring an apartment (II) T

Learn how to save some energy While saving energy is good for the planet, don't forget that it's also good for your finances.

Energy costs can skyrocket when you don't take the steps to curb your energy consumption.

Use these handy tips to cut back on your energy spending and

At Home When it comes to your general energy use at home, it's the little things that make the biggest difference in your energy consumption costs. It might be as easy as pushing a different button on your washing machine or flipping off a light switch. Here are some of the best tips for saving on your typical day-to-day energy use: “Set the water level for your washing machine to match the amount of clothes inside. Use cold water to wash and rinse whenever possible.

“Always clean the lint filter after using the dryer. Dry heavy and light fabrics separately. If possible, use a clothes line to dry fabrics in warmer weather.

“Always turn off a light when leaving a room. Use energyefficient light bulbs whenever possible.

“Unplug electronics, appliances and chargers when not in use. These items still use a small amount of energy when

Heating And Cooling The costs to heat and cool your home typically account for the largest portion of an energy bill. Making adjustments in this area can be very inexpensive but can have a big payoff. If you live in an area with very hot or cold weather (or both), be sure to utilize some or all of these tips: “Open windows and use ceiling fans instead of air conditioning whenever possible.

“Close the blinds to block out excess heat from the sun.

“Regularly clean the air filters on your central air or individual air conditioning unit.

“Avoid using heatgenerating appliances (such as the dishwasher, oven or clothes dryer) during the warmest times of the day. This keeps your air conditioner from having to make up for the excess heat.

“Use caulk, weather

stripping and window coverings to keep your home from leaking heat or cool air.

“Utilize a thermostat to automatically shut off heating or cooling devices when a certain temperature is reached.

“Have your thermostat adjusted so that heating and cooling devices aren't working as hard when you are not home or asleep.

“If you rent, look for an apartment where the heat is included in the monthly rental fees. This eliminates the surprise of a high energy bill during certain times of the year.

What car mechanics don't want you to know

I

t's a waste of a precious resource - not to mention money - to take your car in every 3,000 miles or three months, experts say. On average, most cars don't need an oil change for 7,500 miles.

"The oil change itself is a loss leader," said Austin Davis, whose family has been in the carmaintenance business in Houston since 1937. He's the author of "What Your Car Mechanic Doesn't Want You to Know".

"Most repair shops will lose money or at best break even on a $25 to $28 oil change," he said.

"The whole idea is to get you to also buy an air filter, rotate your tires or buy something else while you're there."

Because car manufacturing has become so sophisticated and less reliant on human intervention - more computers and technology are producing and installing parts, for example - the car-repair business isn't as robust as it was 10 and even five years ago.

"The easiest way to make up for money that you're losing or to increase profits is to turn up the up-sell button on all your services," said Philip Reed, senior consumeradvice editor for Edmunds.com.

"Mechanics want you to get brake jobs earlier than you need them or change oil filters more frequently."

Sometimes, however, we are our worst enemies when it comes to explaining what is wrong with the car and giving away too much information. "Never reveal your budget," said Mr. Davis. "If there's steam pouring out of the hood of your Mercedes, don't tell the guy 'I hope this isn't going to cost me $2,000.'"He'll be thinking, 'How about $1,995,'" he said.

There are no hard-and-fast rules about maintaining cars because they're all different. But experts do agree on this rule of thumb: Use your car manual as your guide. It will tell you at what mileage mark the oil should be changed or the transmission fluids flushed and what intervals that maintenance should follow as well as a host of other upkeep tips.

(Source: MarketWatch)

(concluded)

Quote "We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations."

- Charles R. Swindoll: Pastor, author, educator

High crop prices could be a boon to farmers and investors alike. Here are ways to buy into the world's growing demand for food.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

PAGE 12

EDIT ORIAL EDITORIAL

Fashola's rejection of a chieftaincy title

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he Lagos state Governor, Babatunde Fashola, surprised many by doing the unthinkable among the political class in the country penultimate Saturday when he turned down an offer of a chieftaincy title from the Oniru of Iru land, Lagos, Oba Abiodun Oniru. In doing so, the governor said: “Kabiyesi and his chiefs can continue to lead us, let them deal with all those traditional and chieftaincy issues. At the appropriate time, we will come and join them, but for now, leave us in our suits, boots, overalls and helmets, because this agbada is not good for clearing refuse and tarring the roads.”

Fashola's action has, undoubtedly, set him apart from many fellow political leaders who seem to get a kick out of the numerous awards - some deservedly and many other not so that they receive from traditional rulers, institutions of higher learning and dodgy organisations whose motives for giving out such titles, many a times, are not very clear and sometimes are clearly motivated by monetary benefits.

Although Fashola did receive the award of excellence given to him by the Oniru, we commend him for having the courage to politely reject the chieftaincy title.

By so doing - and as he clearly stated - he has portrayed himself as a focused leader who is determined to achieve his goal of seeking political office, which is to positively touch the lives of the

people of Lagos state. It is this lack of focus and vision that has been the bane of development in the country.

If our leaders especially his fellow governors have this sort of focus and determination to pursue their goals perhaps we would not have been in this dire mess that we find ourselves in today in spite of the enormous resources we, as a nation, are blessed with.

We are constantly saddened by the

“

Fashola’s action has, undoubtedly, set him apart from many fellow political leaders who seem to get a kick out of the numerous awards - some deservedly and many other not so - that they receive from traditional rulers, institutions of higher learning and dodgy organisations attitude of many governors who seem to have made it part of their job schedule to amass awards and traditional titles. Some even spend huge sums of money that would have been put to better use to travel abroad for these awards and titles that do nothing to the people but fan the egos of the recipients. The huge sums that go into preparations for

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the bestowment of these titles should worry all of us. In a society lacking in basic amenities, where many children are out of school, where unemployment is still high among the youth, it is mindbugling why our political leaders would spend millions of naira on unnecessary ceremonies.

Because many of the political office holders who have become targets of the givers of these dubious awards are themselves vainglorious, they fail to see the link between the titles they are given while in office and the fact that it is mostly to secure one favour or two from them. Any right thinking person who is not consumed by vanity would prefer he be honoured after he is out of office. It is against this backdrop that we commend the example Governor Fashola has once again set and hope that others will emulate him.

There is also a lesson here for other traditional rulers. If indeed they find someone worthy of a title they should tarry awhile until after that person has left office. That way, society can reflect on his tenure and judge whether indeed he is deserving of the title or not. It is sad the way some of our traditional rulers have belittled their status by putting themselves at the behest of political leaders.

The way and manner in which they dish out titles which many see as a cash and carry affair may be partly responsible for their diminishing status in society.

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PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

By Christopher C. Eke

J

udging Nigeria’s checkered history, one would think that by now majority of its citizen would have become weary of corruption. Instead, corruption remains the most pervasively overused and a highly misunderstood word in our national lexicon. Everyone talks about corruption but most Nigerians are ambivalent about corruption, that is, most prefer to talk more about its evils than they possess enough will to actually end it. As annoying as corrupt acts are, when push turns into shove, majority Nigerians have lackadaisical attitude toward corruption.

In daily conversations at social grassroots, it’s not uncommon to hear parents express their desire on how their children need success both in the school and in the work place and how they should bring that success home to uplift the entire household, but these same parents show little regard on how their children achieve success. It doesn’t really matter much that most of these parents have not laid the proper foundation or forged better path for their children success. Showing off great wealth patronages and the collection or accumulation of material things are the typical benchmark for success in most Nigerian family units. Not that anything is wrong with such capitalist tendencies however, a culture which shows more disregard for ethical values is the sole reason Nigeria grapples with corruption.

Corruption remains a formidable opponent largely responsible for the overwhelming abject poverty and the general underdevelopment of the country; and is currently fought by several government band aid measures masquerading via anticorruption institutions with little success to show for millions spent to combat it. Perhaps, it’s not conjecture on my part to say that

By Ogbemudia Tosin OdeIdahosa

l

have always believed that state police (community police) will surely be the best for a country like Nigeria with different tribes and religion.

As young boy growing up in Nigeria way back 1986 in Benin City, l remembered vividly how Lawrence Anini and his gang of armed robbers terrorized then Bendel State. Mr. Casmir Akagbosu, was the commissioner of police when they started and it became a national problem, the Nigeria Police Force deployed Deputy Inspector General of Police, Chris Omeben who is from the state to co-ordinate the operations when Akagbosu was shot that night in the state capital another son of the soil Parry Osayande was redployed as commissioner of police to the state. Before December of that same year, Anini and his gang were condemned to the bad side of history.

The questions l will want the past Inspector general of police (IGP) and the current one to answer is, why did the Nigeria Police Force sent DIG Chris

PAGE 13

Corruption unmasked these anti-corruption institutions are usually inundated by formidable group of opportunists. The culprits are especially the scrupulous elites with wherewithal, often known within Nigeria as sacred cows, and are easily beyond reproach. Analogously, they can be described to ordinary Nigerians as evil citizens wearing veils of obscurity, mediocrity, and impunity; and they wield their enormous power, shrouded in secrecy, eager to bribe less privileged but corruptible folks with government powers to tacitly sanction corruption.

I have to believe that corruption is the main reason many Nigerians are domicile abroad; it’s why many graduates from universities across the nation roam the streets without jobs and some even have to survive by joining nefarious groups such as kidnappers, militants, terrorists and armed robbers; it’s why Nigerians never expect electricity power supply always, and have one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world, and so on and so forth. Getting something for nothing, especially when that something is not freely given, is corruption, no matter how one looks at it, that is just the deliberate attempt to divert resources meant for many to the exclusive use of one or a few, “privileged.”

Forget whatever you are told about the current campaign against corruption, it’s really going to be tough to bring corruption to a minimum In Nigeria because of the lure of quick bonanza and the chance to showcase a smugger collection of material things people consider means worthy of society’s accolades. With this type of attitude, and as long as both state sponsored corruption and other

corrupt acts are often condoned, subverted and subjected to frequent executive overrides, it will continue to be difficult to enact and enforce laws to reduce the evils of corruption. Corruption, not Boko Haram, not Kidnappers, not armed robbers, etc., has made Nigeria a failed state. Oh, what an asylum! News flash, but Inmates are actually running the asylum!

As part of this sick mentality, most Nigerians are reticent on their responsibility to fight corruption, and instead, will shift that responsibility to God by constantly invoking God’s wrath against all corrupt individuals.

Corruption is an 800 pound gorilla no one really wants to battle head-on, but Nigerians don’t mind tickling its rear-end.

With the numerous religions in Nigeria, God is constantly made the butt-end joke on corruption. I guess because of the way some folks act after each petition to God to end evil. It’s not unusual that the citizen who, in numerous prayer sessions, invokes the name of God the loudest is the same person who

can’t wait to easily abrogate and shift personal responsibility for his failures, including his duty to fight corruption.

Someone steals from the public till, goes and makes large donations into the church collection box and receives abundance of praise from the pastor with no questions asked as to how he made his money. He gives large contributions to family and friends or supports important causes with ill-gotten wealth, yet no one questions the means of the wealth; instead he gets national honours award with his social status elevated, especially if he, in addition, along the way invokes God’s name some more. Mind you, this individual can be saved as long as each time after an evil deed he accepts Jesus as his personal saviour. Isn’t it a fair proclamation that Nigeria is getting exactly what it deserves? Our attitude toward, or the actual understanding of God, doesn’t make much logical sense.

We can certainly make the God experience much less confusing.

The good news is integrity is not a leper. It’s an aspired attainment to always strive for

“

With the numerous religions in Nigeria, God is constantly made the butt-end joke on corruption. I guess because of the way some folks act after each petition to God to end evil. It’s not unusual that the citizen who, in numerous prayer sessions, invokes the name of God the loudest is the same person who can’t wait to easily abrogate and shift personal responsibility for his failures, including his duty to fight corruption

outward transparency in one’s thoughts, words and actions. It stands to reason that corruption has its roots, first, in family units, villages, tribes, schools, etc., before it ends up in national government, and should be controlled from that order. Some will argue otherwise, but let me remind my critics that your elected leader was once somebody’s child. Before he became the leader, he was supposed to have been civilized first by his parents, other family members, schools, etc. Why is it so difficult for most Nigerians to accept personal responsibility for how things are turning out in our country? Shouldn’t personal responsibility be to self-remindself, first, to always tell yourself the truth; second, to accept your self-evident truth; and third, to always find appropriate ways not to tell yourself more lies?

My critics may ask why do some of us Nigerians in the Diaspora paint a ‘doom gloom’ picture of Nigeria all the time? I believe the reason can be summed up in these three statements: first, Nigerians in the Diaspora love Nigeria equally much and are eager to see things improve, even slightly. The doom and gloom picture they paint is an attempt to call it the way one sees it. Second, Nigeria primarily can only be developed by Nigerians still in Nigeria, but with occasional help from patriotic citizens domiciled abroad whose main focus are to influence, motivate, encourage and uplift the minds of the masses to demand to be governed alright; and with them constantly speaking up for the voiceless among us, these citizens abroad hope to influence the government’s economic, social and political agenda. Finally, Nigerians abroad remit huge amounts of foreign exchange with trickle-down effect in the nation’s economy. That also makes us stakeholders.

Follow Christopher C. Eke on twitter @christopherceke

Why I’m for state police Omeben and Parry Osayande back home to Bendel State? Were there no other officers that would have been transferred to the state? l am so happy to read that General Ibrahim Babangida is in support of state police because all this happened during his era as president of Nigeria.

Hisbah personnel(sharia police), are in several northern states to enforce sharia laws among their people because they know more about their religion and people so it would be easy for them to carry out their assignment. lf they have hisbah officials to enforce sharia laws (religion matter), why are they now kicking against having state police who would perform diverse security functions than the hisbah officials?

The major arguement against state police is that the some state governments will use it to oppress their opponents. We are living witnesses to the fact

that with the present police system, police officers are instrument of oppression in the hands of the people in authority.

They use the police officers to intimidate their opponents and people who don’t agree with their policies.

The boko haram activities made the call for state police to be very strong. lf there is state

police, they can easily locate where those behind their deadly acts live because they know the enivronment better than an outsider.

State police will make the police officers to respond to distress calls with speed since they belong to the community, they don’t know who might be the person or people who needs

“

State police will make the police officers to respond to distress calls with speed since they belong to the community, they don’t know who might be the person or people who needs their assistance unlike the current situation where a police patrol team can possibly be people from other states

their assistance unlike the current situation where a police patrol team can possibly be people from other states.

Police officers can be call to order by their family members and friends when they are found wanting in their duties. lt will reduce drastically the collaboration between the police officers and criminals when a police personnel give guns to armed robbers for robbery operation for example, the officer don’t know whom the gang would rob with the arms.

Lt will improve the security of the country as each state police authority would ensure in their respective states crime is reduced to the barest minimum because you can never wipe out crime from any society. Like we see today, some states are far ahead of others when it comes to development as their leaders want to improve the lot of the people.

Ogbemudia Tosin OdeIdahosa wrote in from Cairo, Egypt

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PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

Lesson of attack on US consulate in Libya

By Pelumi Olatinpo

A

s I lay in bed Wednesday morning, eyes still a bit sluggish, I grabbed the Blackberry that lay next to me.

Half-consciously opening my inbox, I was floored and fully awoken by what stared back at me: The subject line of a daily brief from Foreign Policy Magazine read: “U.S. ambassador killed in Libya.” I was incredulous. For goodness sake, “why Libya?” I muttered repeatedly.

I have been following Libya’s nascent and often shaky accent to stability since Moamar Gaddafi’s deposition, I never for once found it a hotbed for antiAmerican sentiments. What happened? It was a moment of disappointment that became more disheartening once I immediately understood what realities this portends, whoever the perpetrators were.

As details continue to pour in, we now have an idea of the circumstances surrounding the death of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others in the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya. It is highly regrettable that a few Africans chose to be cowards, murderers, and hijackers of freedom. And as I feared, throughout the day and since then, this has been an impetus

for many, Africans and those are deeply unfortunate. They see why this can’t be so. outside the continent, to posit we are better off abdicating The world folded its arms condemn and claim validation our moral responsibilities to one when confronted with the against Western intervention in another in times of direness, such sadism of Adolf Hitler. And Libya this past year. as when Moammar Gaddafi and when it finally awoke its own Yevgeny Y. consciousness, Satanoskvy, 6 million Jews president of the were ghosts Institute of the blowing in the Middle East in wind and Peoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text Moscow, was millions more messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written quoted in the would have contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150 New York died had the words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and Times as saying Allied powers a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed A m e r i c a n not intervened. to: leaders should In Rwanda, we not expect “one saw the The Editor, word of callousness and sympathy” brutality of Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, from their indifference 35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja.

R u s s i a n and passivity.

Email: let ters@peoplesdaily-online.com counterparts.

In a period of SMS: 07037756364 The current 100 days, an R u s s i a n estimated President, Vladimir Putin, back his sons knocked on the gates of 500,000 lives were snuffed out then, was unrestrained in his Benghazi and swore to annihilate in wanton acts of genocide, with condemnation of NATO’s all the “rats [citizens]” within. at 800,000 souls lost by the time Had it not been for a NATO the conflict was over. Six years intervention in Libya.

And, even on Facebook, a intervention spearheaded by later, a penitent world body, the fellow African was quick to point France, how many body bags U.N., would go on to decry its out to me that “this (events like would have been enough to collect sin as a blatant ‘failure” of the the attack on the consulate) was the corpses of the many women Rwandan people. foreseen and foretold, after the and children of Benghazi?

And even in present times, For those who advocate the we continue to see the effect of forceful demise of Ghadaffi.” In his words, he does not “support neutrality of nation states with overt inaction in places like tyranny and dictatorship, but means and privilege to salvage Darfur and the Nuba there are deeper realities that humanity, when this humanity Mountains, where in Darfur for drove the motive” to oust the finds itself threatened by some of example, The Centre for former Libyan leader and save its own most vicious and vilest Research on the Epidemiology the millions of lives across Libya. attributes, need only look of Disasters estimates, with 95% All these entrenched opinions through our checkered history to confidence, of an excess number

WRITE TO US

of deaths between 178,258 and 461,520.

Subsequently, for all the conspiracy theorists who claim we are better off had Gaddafi been left to shake every child in Benghazi from limb to limb till there was no tissue left; do lend humanity a huge disservice.

As public opinion in Libya does show, this latest incident is grossly unrepresentative of the wills and aspirations of the Libyan people. Libyans thank the U.S. and other NATO states that assisted in their deliverance. It would be hogwash to think extremists, such as the cowards that surfaced on Tuesday night, will not use the freedoms provided by a democratic society to destabilize said freedoms.

If anything, we ought to join hands with brothers and sisters in this North African state to reaffirm our commitment to human dignity and freedom. The lesson here is not for us to back track, but to show ourselves resolute and unshakeable. It is clear, we inhabit different geographical locations with different time zones, but our indivisible humanity, our commitment to shared values and beliefs is what is ultimately under attack here. We must not allow fear or complacence to usurp these from us.

Pelumi Olatinpo blogs at www.RestlessChronicles.com

Atheism: What place for it in Nigeria?

By Leo Igwe

I

n Nigeria, atheism is a taboo.

It is abominable for anyone to proclaim openly that god does not exist. It is not safe and normal for people to admit being an atheist. Reactions range from sardonic incredulity, shock, anger and hatred. Atheism goes with huge costs -social and political consequences - which many people cannot afford.

Generally atheists are not accorded respect. They are not treated as human beings with equal rights and dignity. In fact, in Nigeria it is better and more socially acceptable to profess a belief in any god or any religion than to profess no religion and lack of belief in god. Many people will not welcome an atheist to their homes. The general misconception is that atheists are horrible human beings, the agents of the devil who lack common moral decencies. People are made to believe that atheists can corrupt their minds or ‘souls’, and lead them to hell fire and eternal damnation. The whole idea of atheism is scary to many Nigerians, because most believe all initiatives should be founded on god, no matter how absurd or vaguely conceived such an idea is.

Nigerians socialize and marry along religious and theistic lines. Belief in god plays a prominent role when marriages are contracted. Selfproclaimed atheists may find it

difficult to get marriage partners unless they are ready to convert, renounce atheism, or conceal their atheism. The dream of most young Nigerians is to marry in a church or mosque and have their marriages blessed by a clergy member, even though there are no indications that ‘blessed marriages’ succeed better than those contracted without such theistic theatrics.

In Nigeria, anyone who goes public with his or her atheism risks losing family support, care and solidarity. In 2003, a Muslim woman from the North who is acclaimed nationwide as liberal and progressive in her views visited a humanist stand where I was working during an event in Abuja. After a short discussion on what humanism was about, she said she would have nothing to do with any of her children if they renounced Islam. Most children are not ready to go against what is often perceived as the divine will of their parents.

They prefer to pretend, and to present themselves as religious and theistic. In Nigeria, family and community links are very important because the Nigerian state is not as developed as states in the western world. People rely on their families and community members for care and support.

Consequently, families often exert tyrannical control over the lives and choices of members.

For example, most people who are born in Christian families are brought up in a Christian way,

attend Christian schools and marry Christian partners.

Parents regard it as their duty to bring their children up in a theistic way. For a child to profess atheism is generally seen as parental, family and societal failure. Atheism goes with a stigma which most families abhor and do not want to associate with.

Furthermore, there is massive unemployment in Nigeria and atheists find it difficult getting jobs.

Very often, employers demand to know people’s religious affiliation during recruitment process. Many people are forced to profess a certain religion in order to secure a job.

Many atheists prefer not go open with their atheistic identity because they do not want to jeopardize their chances of getting a earning a living. Indeed, many atheists who do open up with their godless outlook risk being sacked, demoted, or remaining unemployed. Most businesses including state functions open with prayers which everybody is expected to say as a demonstration of goodwill. As an atheist, refusing to pray could easily be interpreted as a mark of ill will.

In the area of education atheists face many challenges. Schools in Nigeria were originally started and are still managed mainly by Christian and Islamic bodies.

Religious indoctrination is dominant in the school system, in a mixture of schooling and faith traditions.

Teaching and preaching, instruction and brainwashing go together;

classrooms and lecture halls are extensions of churches and mosques. Atheists in Nigeria have no choice but to receive faithbased ‘godly’ education or no education at all.

In politics, atheism is also a hindering factor. A few years ago, a Nigerian president said that nobody who opposed Islam could succeed politically in Northern Nigeria. In the same vein, I submit that no selfproclaimed atheist can succeed politically in contemporary Nigeria. Atheists stand little or no chance of being elected to an office. Nigerians vote and ‘politik’ along religious lines. Nigeria has never had an atheist president or governor and may not have in the foreseeable future. Political Islam is very strong in the North while political Christianity is strong in most parts of the south.

Religious affiliations play key role in the nomination, election and appointment of political candidates. Going public with one’s atheism is making oneself politically unelectable; it is like committing political suicide.

The situation is even worse in Muslim dominated communities in Northern Nigeria. Muslim majority states in this part of the country are implementing sharia law. Under sharia law, apostasy is a crime punishable by death. To be an atheist is more or less to be an apostate, an infidel or a criminal. There is really no space for atheists to operate.

Being an atheist is a matter of life and death. In Muslim shariaimplementing communities, there are two places an atheist can be - in the closet or in the grave. Proclaiming oneself an atheist is passing the death sentence on oneself, like handing oneself over to be executed.

I do maintain, however, that there are some positive signs out there; the situation of atheists in Nigeria is slowly improving. This development can only be attributed to three factors: 1) The advent of the internet which has provided an alternative ‘safe’ space for atheists to ‘come out’, to meet, organize and express themselves in a way that has never been the case before. 2) The destructive wave of religious extremism ravaging the country has caused many Nigerians to begin questioning religious and theistic claims and pretensions.

3) The growing visibility of the New Atheist movement - driven by the bestselling publications of Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris and late Christopher Hitchens - has emboldened many atheists to leave the closets.

Still, atheists in Nigeria have a long way to go before they can be treated with full dignity and respect. Improving the situation of atheists will not be an easy feat to achieve. It will require a lot of courage, sacrifice and struggle.

Leo Igwe is Executive Director, Nigerian Humanist Movement

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

By Idris Katip

W

e are told by scientists that about 75% of the earth’s surface is comprised of water. Likewise the human body. Those who believe in the creation theory will equally agree with the fact that all things emanated from water.

Water, water, water! Too much of it is a big trouble. Yet, dearth of it is great danger. So important is water that in certain climes like deserts, pious people converge at the countryside on behalf of their countrymen to appease their Creator for downpour.

The world has seen water destroy cities and towns—in Asia and American continents specifically, it has wreaked its disasters for the entire world to

PAGE 15

Water is life, it cures! see. All animals and plants survive on water. Without it there is absence of life. Without it all will perish. Those who engage in fasting appreciate the importance of water or any fluid substance when terminating their abstinence from eating and drinking for a stipulated period.

Let me acknowledge here that I am a living testimony of water therapy. It is indeed a miracle. About a year ago, (October 2011), I fell critically ill and was on hospital admission as I had terrible pains on my right lower ribs. After doctors’ diagnosis and taking of several bags of infusion, I was instructed

to be taking plenty of water and should not wait until too pressed before urinating.

This,

according to doctors would prevent food substance from settling down as stones in

“

All animals and plants survive on water.

Without it there is absence of life. Without it all will perish. Those who engage in fasting appreciate the importance of water or any fluid substance when terminating their abstinence from eating and drinking for a stipulated period

kidney. was told that every unnecessary substance would be duly flushed by the water therapy. And truly, it has been wonderful because before then, I was never a good water drinker.

As a consequence, I used to feel dry most of the time. But after being discharged from the hospital from the aforementioned treatment, I started drinking much water especially early in the morning.

At first, it was pretty difficult as I was never used to it in my life.

Now, I feel more energized; I stool much more easily and feel refreshed even In fact, the power of water is inestimable; it is so great.

Idris Katib, a public relations practitioner, lives in Abeokuta, Ogun state

Crisis in Sahel and future of Africa

By Chidi Odinkalu

C

ontemporary Africa confronts multiple challenges: mass impoverishment and food insecurity; identity-based violence and mass atrocities; destitute or failed institutions; compromised elections and authoritarianism.

Over the past 20 years many of these issues have boiled up now and again in two regions in particular: the Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes’ region, which have together defined recent international policy and perceptions of the continent as a whole.

Now a deadly escalation of these problems brews anew in the Sahel, the largely desert region that stretches from the Arab Maghreb in the north to Equatorial Africa, and from the Atlantic in the west to the Blue Nile in Sudan. It embraces Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad as well as territory in southern Algeria and Libya, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan.

The Sahel now presents what may be the continent’s most daunting challenge yet; how Africa and the international community respond now could define Africa’s future.

Much of the recent attention to the Sahel so far has focused on Mali, which was until the coup d’etat of March this year regarded as a model of democratic transition and consolidation in Africa. Mali has now been overtaken by unconstitutional rule and sectarian terror and faces the prospect that it could break up entirely. Some countries in and outside the region have even threatened to intervene unilaterally in Mali.

Mali may prove to be only the first country to be felled by the Sahel’s unique combination of challenges.

But what is happening is part of a wider regional pattern, and many other countries face serious risk.

In its broad outlines, the current pathology of the region is easy to summarize.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is active in the northern frontiers of the Sahel, in Algeria and Mauritania fed partly by memories of Algeria’s brutal annihilation of the Islamic Front in the aftermath of the annulled elections won by the Islamists in Algeria in the 1990s. To the south, in Mali, a violent rabble operates, including the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), described by South African journalist Simon Allison as “nationalists first and Islamists by convenience ”; Ansar al-Dine, which is more overtly proselytising in a fundamentalist sense; and the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJWA), among others, has instigated state fragmentation. West of Mali, Senegal’s episodic southern secessionist movement has recently roused itself.

To Mali’s south, Nigeria’s fragility is assailed by a combination of inter-ethnic, sectarian and governance crises.

On Nigeria’s northern borders around the Lake Chad, the Jama’atul Ahlus Sunna Lid Da’awatis Jihad (the Group of Al-Sunna For Preaching and Jihad), better known as Boko Haram, stakes murderous claim to parts of north-eastern Nigeria and undertakes operations across the territories of Cameroon and Chad as well.

Chad itself is host to many armed militias active in neighbouring countries, including Cameroon, Nigeria

and western Sudan, as well as having a renegade military with a history of unpredictable and shifting allegiance to anyone with enough resources to buy their skills and loyalties. On Chad’s eastern border and often also organised from around the Lake Chad or on the outskirts of Ndjamena, there is a horde of Sudanese militias in a perpetual state of rapid-fire atomization generating an alphabet soup of acronyms. Niger also harbours militias now asserting selfdetermination credentials and the combatants in Côte d’Ivoire’s recent civil war, in which Burkina Faso was actively implicated, are yet to be fully disarmed.

All this takes place in a context of weak governance and competition for money, hardware and ordnance between diverse militias and a desperately disorganized community of migrant fighters from the still-confused situation in Libya.

These territories are contiguous. Their borders are weak and porous. Across these borders there are multi-national communities joined by longstanding and historical bonds of ethnicity, faith, and commerce.

To add to a complex picture, there is the on-going involvement of international justice institutions, including the International Criminal Court (ICC) seeking accountability for recent mass atrocities in several countries in the region, including Chad, Côte d’Ivoire,

“

Libya, and western Sudan. The ICC is also currently weighing up the situation in northern Nigeria and has recently received a referral from Mali.

The international and regional response to all this has so far been disappointing. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has focused its attention to restoring appearances of constitutional government in Mali. It has also threatened military action against nihilist militias. A regional tri-lateral Force comprising contingents from Nigeria, Chad and Niger active for over 20 years in the Lake Chad Basin is poorly manned with limited footprint. It also suffers from mission creep, does not receive full co-operation from all the neighbourhood’s countries and is stretched beyond regional capabilities.

Somewhat ironically, former Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, in his lifetime a major threat to open society in the region, was the first to recognize the significance of the Sahel when he founded the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) in 1998, with headquarters in Libya. Now comprising 28 African States, CEN-SAD lost its way even before Gaddafi’s violent demise, leaving a vacuum of regional and international initiative.

Neither ECOWAS on the southern Sahelian rim nor the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA) in the north can impose their will on the situation. Yet, the African

The future of open and democratic societies in the Sahel is in jeopardy. It is critical that African governments and institutions take up full responsibility and a leading role alongside international partners; without that, any international effort will be stillborn

Union (AU) waits for regional actors to take the lead while the Arab League and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), to which some of the countries of the Sahel belong, can participate in a search for solutions but lack convening legitimacy.

Distracted by problems in Syria and elsewhere, the United Nations is ponderously slow, unwilling to plunge into the Sahel’s quicksand.

Nonetheless, the best routes out of the crisis in the Sahel lies in determined multilateral action. First, all sovereign and inter-governmental actors should affirm African and world unity in the face of the present challenges to regional peace and security in the Sahel.

Second, an international conference on the Sahel is urgently needed, convened under the joint auspices of the United Nations, ECOWAS, AU, and the UMA. Third, the AU and UN should jointly designate an international envoy on the Sahel with suitable stature and mandate to help prepare for this conference and advocate for its outcome.

Fourth, the five Permanent Members of the Security Council should support the search for a comprehensive plan for the Sahel with suitable diplomatic and strategic assets, eschewing the kind of parochial workaround that marred the intervention in Libya.

Fifth, while all these are deployed, all the countries involved and interested in the region must firmly eschew unilateral action.

The future of open and democratic societies in the Sahel is in jeopardy. It is critical that African governments and institutions take up full responsibility and a leading role alongside international partners; without that, any international effort will be stillborn.

Chidi Odinakalu is senior legal officer, Africa Programme of Open Society Justice Initiative, Abuja

PAGE 16

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

PCRC to strengthen vigilante group in Gwagwalada Police beef to ensure rural community join hands with the new Exco Others members of the

By Adeola Tukuru to improve on Security of committee include: Okereke as up security policing.

Williams said his policy as Gwagwalada and its environs. Welfare Officer, Prince Elijah he re-elected Chairman of The PCRC Gwagwalada has as Provost Marshall, around FCT Police Community re-elected chairman of the PCRC would centre on three eighty two regular members.

Abdulkadir, Auditor, Chidi

T

Relation Committee (PCRC) Gwagwalada chapter, Archbishop Chiwendu Nwoah Williams has assured that vigilante group in the area would be strengthened in order

cardinal objectives to include: vision, Mission and reconciliation.

He therefore, enjoined members of the committee to

Baba Ibrahim was elected Vice Chairman, comrade Oche Ogori as the secretary while Oki Josephine emerged as financial secretary.

Nwalwu, PRO, Abeku Samaila, treasurer, Benisla Amara, Organizing Secretary and Shotunde Hezekiah, Assistant Secretary.

A manicurist in action at Gudu mechanic village, in Abuja.

T

he police have urged the residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) not to panic over the heavy presence of security personnel at some strategic areas in Abuja.

The Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Mr Frank Mba, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the weekend that the presence of the police was for the safety of the citizenry.

"Security creates a sense of safety and re-assurance and not fear," he said.(NAN)

Motorcyclist, 25, arraigned for criminal breach of trust, theft

Photo: Joe Oroye

A

Pastor docked for allegedly raping 14-year-old girl in church

T

he General Overseer of Mountain Movers Fire M i n i s t r i e s International, Nyanya, Abuja, Basil Princewill was on Friday arraigned on twocount charges of rape before Justice Husseini Baba-Yusuf

of the FCT High Court.

Princewill, was accused of having carnal knowledge of 14-year-old and 15-year-old girls on different occasions in his church office without their consents.

He pleaded not guilty to

the charges.

The Police Prosecutor Mitchel Chukwuka urged the court to fix a date for the hearing in view of the plea by the accused.

Baba-Yusuf granted bail to the accused in the sum of

N500, 000 and one surety in like sum and order that the surety must be a civil servant resident within the FCT. He adjourned the case to October 14, 2012 for hearing. (NAN)

Beggars, hawkers, prostitutes warned to quit Abuja to avoid arrest

By Josephine Ella

B

eggars, hawkers and commercial sex workers operating in the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) have been warned to vacate the streets of Abuja to avoid been apprehended.

The Minister of State for the FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, who handed the warning at the weekend said that the Social Development Secretariat of the FCT and other relevant security agencies and organization have been directed to commence massive arrest and evacuation of those constituting nuisance to the city.

She lamented that the activities of beggars, hawkers and sex workers has continued to present the city in bad a light even as it is constituting security threat to the well being of the people of the territory.

Akinjide added that the amount of complaints from various quarters on the activities of these groups of

persons have reached alarming rate requiring immediate and responsive response to nip them in the bud.

Represented by the Secretary for Social Development Secretariat, Mrs. Blessing Onuh told newsmen during an inspection tour of the city that the influx of beggars, hawkers and all forms of miscreant into the city in recent months is very

disturbing.

According to her, the FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed and herself have been working tirelessly to rid the city of the activities of criminals and have promised the residents of the city to keep Abuja clean and safe in line with the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

"While Abuja is an all inclusive capital for all Nigerians, it is not a safe haven for beggars, hawkers, and commercial sex workers. With the current security situation in the country the FCT Administration cannot fold its arm and watch beggars and hawkers take over the streets of the FCT, particularly, as we don't know who they are and where they are coming from".

Abaji to partner NEMA to assist flood victims

By Adeola Tukuru

A

baji Area Council is to partner with the National Emergency Management Agency,(NEMA) towards assisting flood victims in Abattoir in Abaji.

The Chairman, Alhaji Yahaya Musa Mohammed made this known during a visit to the area over "natural disaster" expressed the council's readiness to partner with NEMA in order to support victims of the flood in

the area.

He attributed the problem to heavy down pour which has ravaged the whole community rendering people homeless.

Mohammed said that already, Minister of Federal Capital Territory, through the Secretary Social Development Secretariat has sent down disaster management officers to ascertain the level of damages in Abaji town for possible assistance.

He also warned against dumping of refuse inside drainages to avoid

blockages of water that can easily cause flood within the town, adding that building on sewages and water ways should be avoided.

He said as part of council effort to cushion the effect of this disaster, since inception, his administration has been in contacted with the Presidency, in particular Ecological Fund Department over the erosion trait in Abaji Area Council in which some areas has been given attention hoping to continue with the rest part of the affected areas.

25-year-old motorcyclist, Benjamin Olagbo, of Aso 'A' Pada, Nasarawa state, has appeared before a Karu Area Court, Mararaba in on a two-count charge of criminal breach of trust and theft.

The Police prosecutor, Mr Inuwa Magida, told the court that the complainant Yahaya Usman of Aso Mararaba reported the case at the Aso Police Station on September 11, 2012 that he entrusted his motorcycle valued at N150, 000 with the accused person on September 8, 2012 to be used for commercial purpose.

He said that the complainant instructed the accused to be parking it at his house after the day's work but the accused went and parked it in his own house without the complainant's consent.

The prosecutor added that the accused after the day's work went and told the complainant that the motorcycle had been stolen, an offence contrary to Sections 312 and 287 of the Penal Code.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge and asked for a date to prove his innocence.

The Judge, Mr Albert Maga, granted bail to the accused in the sum of N180, 000 with one surety in like sum.

He said that the surety must be a reasonable and responsible man residing within the court's jurisdiction.

Maga said that the surety must also have a landed property with proof of ownership and a national identity card.

He said that if the condition of the bail was not met, the accused should be remanded in prison and adjourned the case to October 4, 2012 (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

PAGE 17

What a man can do: A woman DJ entertaining guests in a public function, recently in Abuja.

A local trumpeter entertaining guests in a function, yesterday in Abuja.

An elderly man taking a nap in an open place, yesterday in Garki village, Abuja.

An itinerant tailor mending his customer's clothes, yesterday in Nyanya.

Waste taking over the major road, yesterday opposite Garki market, in Abuja.

Photos: Justin Imo-owo

BUSINESS

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

Email: amunuimam@yahoo.co.uk

PAGE 19

INSIDE

- Pg 20

Dangote Flour Mills posts N2.61bn profit

Mob: 08033644990

FIRS nets N3.4tr in 8-months, non-oil hits N1.18tr

By Abdulwahab Isa

E

ight months into the year, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has recorded an increase in the tax revenue collection with a realisation of N3.401 trillion in the kitty as at August out of N3.6 trillion provisional annual budget estimates for the year 2012.

Of this amount, Oil revenue accounted for N2.202 trillion, while Non-oil taxes recorded N1.187 trillion of the cumulative figures from January to August.

The total collection represents an increase in the tax revenue collection performance of N468.65 billion when compared to the total collection of N2.93 trillion for the same period in 2011.

The Service as it is, has less than N233, 57 billion to achieve the government provisional annual budgeted or targeted figure of N3.63 trillion, an average monthly collection of N302.95 billion set for the FIRS in the current fiscal year 2012.

The Acting Executive Chairman of FIRS, Alhaji Kabir

Mashi, had on assumption of office, early April, charged both management and staff of the Service to up the ante and ensure that the progressive history of tax revenue collection by FIRS over the years does not drop.

A look at the collection from oil sources shows that N2.2 trillion was realised from both Petroleum Profits Tax (PPT) and Gas Income (GI).

Similarly, non-oil sources yielded N568.85 billion collection from Companies Income Tax (CIT), Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Withholding and Stamp Duties within the period.

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Import and Non Import Value Added Tax (VAT) recorded N469.18 billion, Education Tax (EDT) accounted for N116.39, while National Information Technology Development Fund (NITDEF) yielded N8.81billion.

Personal Income Tax (PIT) and Pre-Operational Levy (POL) on the other hand yielded N36.356 billion.

A further breakdown of the collection performance trend shows that the Service has so far recorded the highest collection of N554.03 billion in June, followed

by N524.26 billion in July and N466.86 in the month of February.

The Service at this rate is very much poised to achieve its own internal provisional annual budget or target of N5.084

trillion which translates to a provisional monthly average collection of N423.72 billion, for which it had so far recorded a remarkable step towards its achievement.

This stride demonstrates the

Service’s resolve, not only to achieve the N5.085 trillion set internal target for the year, but to also increase the non oil taxes as evidenced in the collection so far.

Economy grows at 6.28 %, inflation eases down to 11.7 percent-NBS

T

he non-oil sector of the economy is the driving factor for the nation's growth for the second quarter of the year, a data by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on yesterday.

The economy grew to 6.28 percent in the second quarter this year, up slightly from 6.17 percent in the first quarter, just as GDP growth accelerated in the second quarter, up from 6.17 percent in the first quarter, which was the lowest quarterly rise in three years.

"The non-oil sector was driven by growth in activities recorded in the building and construction sector, while oil sector output decreased (compared with Q2 2011)," the NBS said in a report on Sunday.

Nigeria's economy is expected to expand at a slower rate this year, after rising 7.4 percent in 2011, due to disruptions to oil production and economic weakness in developed countries that buy its gasolinerich crude.

Consumer inflation eased to 11.7 percent year-on-year in August, down from 12.8 percent in July, largely due to a fall in food inflation which dropped to 9.9 percent in August from 12.1 percent the previous month, NBS said.

Average crude oil output from Africa's largest producer rose marginally to 2.38 million barrels per day (bpd) in the second quarter, from 2.35 million bpd in the first quarter.

This was down from 2.45 million

bpd in the second quarter last year.

Oil accounts for more than 80 percent of Nigerian government revenue and around 95 percent of its foreign exchange earnings.

Although Nigeria's economy has been one of the fastest growing in the world, poor fiscal management, corruption and poor infrastructure has wasted some of these gains.

The NBS relies on data from the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp to compile its oil statistics.

It said high interest rates and lower food prices had helped temper inflation.

"The relative moderation in the index is attributable to the relative slower rises in both the Food and 'core' indices partly as a result of aggressive monetary policy initiatives by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), base effects and a much lower rise in several food prices," the bureau said. (Reuters)

L-R: President, Abuja Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Dr. Solomon Nyagba, and Director-General, Mr. Joe Wenegieme, during pre-trade fair news conference, recently in Abuja.

Photo: NAN

Etisalat launches easywallet mobile money services

By Chris Alu

E

tisalat Nigeria has unveiled easywallet, a secure and user-friendly SIM Application for mobile money payments and transfers and the company said the service is in line with its focus of providing innovative products and services for its customers.

Easywallet, which is offered in partnership with leading Nigerian banks including First Bank, GTBank, Stanbic IBTC Bank and Zenith Bank is a more convenient and secure platform which allows Etisalat customers easy access to their preferred

mobile money scheme for conducting secure money transfers and payments.

With easywallet, Etisalat aims to bring mobile money closer to the customer and drive the CBN’s cash-less policy by growing the use of mobile payments and making it easy to use.

The launch of easywallet is a landmark in Nigeria and progress towards mobile money adoption, as it is the first fully secure Mobile Money SIM Application offered to customers with the easywallet application installed on their SIM cards.

This unique application

Management Tip of the Day

A

Ask for more before granting a favor

re you overwhelmed by requests? Next time someone wants you to help out, ask that they do a little bit of work first. Only the people who truly need your help will respond. Here’s how to react to three types of favors: Job favors: When people ask you to help them get an interview with your company,

gently ask them to write three paragraphs about why they’re the best person for the job, including how their prior experience lines up with their desired role.

Introduction favors: When someone asks to be introduced to a person in your network, ask for a summary of his request, so that you can

forward it to the person he wishes to meet.

Feedback favors: When someone asks for your feedback on an idea, ask her to explain exactly what she wants and provide more materials — business plans, slide decks, or any background information.

Source: Harvard Business Review

supports multiple languages English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba and works across all makes and models of phones, smartphones and even tablet devices.

Chief executive officer, Etisalat Nigeria, stated that the company’s strategy is to be a leader in providing its customer with cutting edge and secure channels for Mobile Financial Services.

This involves being a major enabler and innovator in the Nigerian Ecosystem and working with all key stakeholders to create a value proposition to meet the needs of the customers.

Explaining the features of easywallet, chief commercial officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Wael Ammar said, “Easywallet allows users an easy and secure way to perform financial services using their mobile phones from any part of the country. This service works on all Etisalat SIM cards and customers are only required to register with any of the schemes in order to start using easywallet. Customers are not charged from their airtime for any transactions from the mobile money SIM menu”.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

PAGE 20

COMPANY NEWS

Access Bank

A

ccess Bank Plc will slash its 87 percent stake in Zambian subsidiary to 49 percent, following Zambia’s increased recapitalization order for banks in the country and an instruction from Nigeria’s apex bank, CEO of the bank Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede revealed.

Zambia escalated the minimum capital requirement for foreign banks from a meagre $2.5 million to $100 million while local banks were required to raise a minimum of $20 million.

S/Africa’s Rand Merchant Bank

N

igeria has awarded South Africabased Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) a merchant banking licence permitting it to establish a corporate and investment company.

According to Sizwe Nxasana, CEO of FirstRand group, parent company of RMB, the bank would begin business in Nigeria by December either by acquiring a retail and commercial bank in the west African nation, or by launching a whole new firm.

Last year, it almost closed a deal for the acquisition of Nigeria’s Sterling Bank for an estimated $400 million but backed out because of the acquisition cost, which it felt was overpriced.

Banks’ credit

T

he aggregate banking system credit (net) to the domestic economy at end-July 2012 stood at N13.0 trillion, representing a drop of 1.6 per cent, when compare with 0.5 per cent increase recorded at the end of the preceding month.

The development reflected, largely, the 26.5 per cent fall in (net) claims on the Federal Government.

Banking system’s credit (net) to the Federal Government, on month-onmonth basis, fell by 26.5 per cent to negative N1.74 trillion, compared with the decline of 13.1 per cent at the end of the preceding month.

Interbank rates climb as NNPC, FX drain cash

N

igeria’s interbank lending rates climbed to an average of 16.33 percent on Friday, compared with 13.5 percent last week, on the back of cash withdrawals by the state oil firm and foreign exchange purchases.

The market opened with a negative balance of N42 billion ($266.08 million) on Friday, after the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) recalled a portion of its deposits with some lenders, and the central bank debited the accounts of banks for foreign

exchange purchased at a Wednesday auction.

The NNPC supplies the bulk of dollars traded on the interbank foreign exchange market and usually withdraws a portion of the naira proceeds to its account with the central bank to fund its obligations to the government. It sold about $450 million to some banks last week.

The secured Open Buy Back (OBB) rose to 15.75 percent, compared with 12 percent last week, 3.75 percentage points above the

central bank’s 12 percent benchmark rate, and 5.75 percentage points above the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) rate.

Overnight placement closed at 16.50 percent, from 14 percent last week, while call money rose to 16.75 percent, compared with 14.50 percent last week.

“We see rates falling by the middle of next week on the back of improve liquidity from budgetary allocations and open market operations (OMO) treasury bill maturities,” one

dealer said.

A total of N570 billion was shared between Nigeria’s three tiers of government — federal, state and local — on Friday and about half of the amount belonging to state and local governments is expected to flow through the banking system by Tuesday.

The CBN plans to sell 60 billion naira in 5- and 7-year bond next week and this is expected to reduce liquidity, although dealers said it would be unlikely drive rates any higher. (Reuters)

Foreign Exchange flows hits N534.4bn From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

T

he foreign exchange inflow and outflow through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the month of July 2012 recorded US$3.34 billion (N534.4 bn)and US$2.93 billion (N469 bn), respectively, resulting in a net inflow of US$0.41 billion, in contrast to the net outflow of US$1.4 billion recorded in June 2012.

The increase in inflow during the review period reflected a 57.3 per cent rise in the receipts from crude oil sales.

On the other hand, outflow fell by 36.3 and 23.5 per cent below the levels in the preceding month and the corresponding period of 2011, respectively.

The development relative to the preceding month was attributed to the 38.1 per cent reduction in WDAS utilization.

A breakdown of the total WDAS utilization, showed that WDAS sales accounted for the bulk (73.8 per cent) of the total, cash sales to Bureau-de-Change (BDC) operators (15.9 per cent).

At US$3.22 billion, oil sector receipts increased by 5.7 per cent above the level in the preceding month and accounted for 41.1 per cent of the total inflow. On a month–on–month basis, non-oil public sector inflow, at US$119.13 million, rose by 15.8 per cent and accounted for 1.5 per cent of the total inflow, while autonomous inflow, at US$4.49 billion, fell by 6.4 per cent, accounting for 57.3 per cent of the total.

At US$3.10 billion, aggregate foreign exchange outflow from the economy fell by 36.0 per cent below the level in the preceding month.

Thus, foreign exchange flows

Inflation rates from Aug, 2011 to Jul, 2012 Max = 12.9%, Min = 9.3% for period in display.

Current Inflation rate = 12.8% Source:CBN

through the economy resulted in a net inflow of US$4.7 billion in the month under review, compared with US$3.10 billion and US$5.76 billion in the preceding month and the

corresponding month of 2011, respectively.

The outcome reflected, largely, a decline in the wDAS utilization of foreign exchange during the month.

FCMB, FinBank concludes merger in October From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

F

irst City Monument Bank Plc (FCMB) has reassured its various stakeholders and those of FinBank that the two institutions which have been going through the process of integration will conclude the merger process in October, 2012.

Segun Odusanya, Deputy Managing Director/Executive Director of FCMB, who gave this reassurance in a chat with newsmen in Lagos over the weekend said the process is 95 percent completed.

“Our initial target was second quarter of the year, but we got delayed by issues around the Capital Market probe and the removal of the Securities and Exchange Commission Board.

Things are now back to normal, and most of the approvals have been obtained”, he stated.

The FCMB DMD also revealed that post merger, the bank which has been noted for its niche in corporate banking will be expanding its retail banking

Earnings Report for Banks Source:Pro-share Nigeria

focus to create a more robust and stable institution.

“We want to drive solutions across the various segments corporate, commercial, small enterprises and consumer segments - of the economy. We have been doing this organically in the last five years, and have seen steady growths in all these segments”.

According to Odusanya, the acquisition of Fin Bank is expected to give two/three years leap (especially in the area of branch network, liquidity, and balance sheet size) to FCMB. He revealed that with the acquisition, FCMB has doubled its branch network, doubled its customer base, improved the liquidity position of the bank, and all these create a very good platform to provide better customer-centric products and services in the consumer space.

“We are now better situated to provide our expertise to more commercial and small enterprises to grow their businesses with not just the banking products we offer, but also with our expertise in corporate and financial advisory. We want to help create more entrepreneurs in this country and the opportunity to do this is enormous” he stated.

He went further to state: “We are aggressively driving retail, but in doing this, we are not de-emphasising corporate.

We have made a lot of investments in people, products, systems and branches (from the acquisition) in both segments.

“We understand that both segments complement each other, and for us to continue to create endearing value a universal bank, we needed to provide services based on deep rooted insights across all the segments. We are currently having discussions with the central bank to further extend these services to the mass market”.

PAGE 21

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

Q1: Dangote Flour Mills posts N2.61bn profit

By Aminu Imam

D

angote Flour Mills has reported a gross profit of N2.61 billion for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012.

The foremost flour miller earned revenue of N13.80 billion in the same period.

The company, in a statement at the weekend said the

management would continue to work hard so as to deliver improved returns to shareholders in the 2012 financial year.

The company has significantly raised its capacity over the past decade in anticipation of soaring demand for bread flour and, more recently, semolina, pasta and noodles.

Dangote Flour Mills has

expanded its manufacturing capacities across the country. The investment is despite the global economic meltdown while direct export into Chad, Cameroon, Niger and the West Coast has kicked-off. The direct export goes on side by side with on-going indirect export of Dangote Flour products through the activities of middlemen and customers.

The company plans to control a major chunk of the 295 million population within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) market, stressing that it remains thoroughly Nigeria-centric dedicating 80 per cent of its capacity to domestic market, and the remaining for the region.

All-Share Index records +2.01% gains in week

T

he Nigerian stock market sustained positive trend for the fourth week in succession as the rally witnessed in the last three days of the week ensured the previous outlook was maintained while the key market indicator closed above 25,000 psychological lines as market YTD performance strengthen up further to currently stand at +22.22% Market resumed downtrend as trading activities on the Nigerian bourse closed pessimistic for the first session of the week as All-Share Index (ASI) moved down by -0.67% while market outlook remain negative on Tuesday as NSE ASI further went up by -0.42%.

Market closed northwards on Wednesday as the bulls re-surfaced in style with losses recorded in the last two trading sessions completely erased while NSE Index inches up by +1.10% amid renewed bargain hunting. Similar posture was also

recorded on Thursday as the bulls continue to exert their grip on the market while ASI firms up by +1.24% gains.

Consequently, trading activities on Friday closed positive as sentiments remained optimistic.

The key benchmark index inches up by +0.75% while market closed the week with aggregate gain of +2.01%.

Further analysis on acquiring banks since transaction date showed that the share price of Access Bank Plc has recorded +86.87% gains with FCMB recording 25.64% losses while Union Bank Plc leads the chart with +243.54% gains. However, Sterling Bank Plc recorded +7.88% gains while ETI closed negative with -2.31% loss recorded. See the tracking table below However, the All-Share Index in the week under review inches up by +2.01% to close at 25,337.18

as against an upbeat by +4.58% recorded last week to close at 24,838.70.

In the same vein, the market capitalization in the week appreciated by N158.68 billion (US$1.05 billion) to close at N8.06 trillion (US$53.75 billion) as against appreciation by N347.05 billion (US$2.13 billion) recorded last week to close at N7.90 trillion (US$ 52.69 billion).

The total volume traded in the week closed at 2.22 billion units

valued at N14.25 billion (US$94.98 million) compared with 3.46 billion units valued at N23.99 billion (US$159.90 million) exchanged in 21,533 deals last week.

The volume transaction in the week when compared with the previous week data moved down by -35.89% as against upbeat by +137.42% recorded last week.

Weekly value also went down by 40.60% as against positive position of +136.57% recorded last week.

month firmed to around 157158 to the dollar, a three-andhalf-month high, driven by buoyant oil prices and by foreign investors buying up Nigerian assets.

Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves jumped to a 29-month high of $41.16 billion by September 10.

“Yields on bonds have fallen in the last few weeks because of liquidity from foreign investors, making stocks more attractive,” Ogunwemimo said.

Bond yields, which were at 2-year high last month, have started to fall, shedding 300 basis points on the 10- and 20year notes, after JP Morgan said

it will add Nigerian debt to its emerging government bond index from October.

Analysts have put “buy” recommendations on most bluechip banks and consumer goods stocks since the start of the year with price targets double current prices, anticipating a recovery.

New trading rules coming into effect at the bourse in two weeks could drive the index further, brokers say.

Nigeria’s bourse last week said it will start securities lending, permit short selling on stocks and kick-off market making by September 18.

“The planned commencement of market making is a plus factor for a rally. Investors are taking positions in view of a market structure that will have significant impact to trading volumes,” one stockbroker told Reuters.

Fund managers switch portfolio to stocks as earnings soar

By Abdulwahab Isa with agency report

T

here are strong indications that fund managers are switching their portfolios from bonds in preference to stocks hoping that strong earnings and new rules on the bourse will drive them up 25 percent this year.

The renewed preference for stock has driven main market index, which has been hovering around a 59-week high hit last week, gaining 19 percent so far this year, after shedding 17 percent in 2011, Reuters report observed .

It has also outperformed its emerging market peers, which

gained on average just under 7 percent.

“Our target for (holdings of) stocks this year is around 60 percent and 40 percent in bonds,” Mayowa Ogunwemimo, head of Nigerian asset management firm, FSDH, which manages N50 billion, told Reuters. She had 40 percent in stocks last year.

Pension funds and asset managers are targeting an index level of 26,000 points by year-end on sub-Saharan Africa’s second biggest stock market, which opened at 20,672 points in January, as bond yields fall and the naira stabilises.

The Naira has over the last

Source:Pro-share Nigeria

INVESTORS NEWS BEAT

Flour Mills

S

hareholders of Flour Mills Nigeria Plc have applauded the investment strategy embarked upon by the company.

Speaking at the company’s 52nd annual general meeting in Lagos, the President, Nigerian Shareholders Solidarity Association, Chief Timothy Adesiyan, commended the company for its strategic investment plans that are aimed at increasing its holdings and growing its capital base.

On his own part, the National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders’ Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Mr. Sunny Nwosu, commended the company on its move geared towards rebranding the company and improving its profitability.

Oando

O

ando Plc has taken over Oando Energy Resources Incorporated, (OER) formerly known as Exile Resources Incorporated with the listing of the company’s shares on Toronto Stock Exchange, (TSX). in Canada.

Oando Group has now become the only company in Nigeria with three transborder listings – the Nigerian Stock Exchange(NSE) the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, (JSE) and the TSX. Top executives of Oando Plc as well as directors and management of Oando Energy Resources, led by Wale Tinubu and Omamofe Boyo, Group Chief Executive Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer, respectively, last Wednesday rang the bell to open trading to the TSX to mark the formal listing of the company.

T-Bill market records yield convergence

T

here was some form of “Yield Convergence” in the Treasury Bills space last week as yields on the sub91-day instruments moved north.

The market opened largely cautious with dealers staying on the sidelines ahead of the Central Bank’s primary auction sales.

In its liquidity management quest, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) offered over N300 billion worth of short dated Bills (sub-91days) in four consecutive Open Market Operations (OMO) auctions during the week.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

PAGE 22

Grab the Keys!

The next wave of fast, futuristic, and sexy Hybrid Electric sports cars Jaguar F-Type (coming 2013)

The SRT Viper The last-generation Viper was proof that Detroit could build a drool-worthy, world-beating supercar-albeit one with the interior of a used LeBaron and the driving dynamics of the Saturn V rocket.

Not surprisingly, a barely controllable über-car wasn't a priority during the bailout years, so Chrysler shut down the Viper program in 2009.

Design chief Ralph Gilles wasn't ready to see it die, so once the company settled its merger with Fiat, he asked his new Italian boss, Sergio Marchionne, about reviving the car. Marchionne didn't quite say yes, but, Gilles says,

"he gave me a wink."

What Gilles drew is now called the SRT Viper-the Dodge name is gone. It has the same wide stance, doublebubble roofline, and stupidpowerful V-10 engine as the original, but this is a whole new species of snake.

It's less suicidal this time around, thanks to the addition of stability control.

And the interior doesn't look like it came from a Goodwill store: Where once there were acres of plastic, you'll find soft leather and Kevlarimpregnated fiberglass racing seats from the same company that supplies Ferrari's thrones.

Price: $95,000 (N 15.2m)

M

eet the SUV that every Russian oligarch and Arab oil baron will be driving in three years. The Urus blends the meth-head intensity and origami design aesthetic of a more ground-bound Lambo with enough cabin space for two entitled progeny and the spoils of a daylong Prada shopping spree.

Price: $200,000* (N 13.6m )

Lamborghini Urus (coming 2015)

The Tesla Model S performance

T

esla's first car, the fast-butfrivolous Roadster, proved that battery power is not the exclusive province of the pious. Now, with the Model S, Tesla's informing the world that an all-electric sedan can outdrive-and outsex-the German luxury contingent.

The top-end performance model costs over ninety grand (before a $7,500 federal tax credit). But for that money, you get a paradigm-busting battery pack that lasts up to 300 miles on a single charge-as far as most Americans drive in a week. Or if you use those electrons for fun, you can hustle the Tesla S from zero to sixty faster than a Porsche 911 Carrera.

For those with thinner wallets, the S will be available in an entry-level model that's $35,000 cheaper with half the battery range, and a Goldilocks version that splits the difference.

Fortunately, all three variants wear that same sumptuous mesomorphic body and come kitted out with impress-your-friends details, like a giant touch screen embedded in the console and

I

magine it with the top chopped off and you’re looking at next year’s FType—a small, nimble convertible that’ll pack a supercharged V-6 and the old Jaguar XK-E’s sex appeal.

BMW i8 (coming 2014)

door handles that pop out of the body when the car senses you're close by.

That said, the highlight of owning the Model S is the whisper rush of silence you experience when you floor the, um, gas pedal and accelerate into the future.

Also, no engine means the Tesla has both a trunk in the back and a handy storage compartment-a.k.a. a frunkunder the front hood.

Price: $84,900 (N 13.6m )

T

he plug-in hybrid i8, Tom Cruise's ride in Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol, looks like a car from the future should look.

The Tesla Model S performance

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

PAGE 24

PAGE 25

Politicisation of Igede Agba (New yam festival)

By John Igoli

I

gede Agba is a ‘New yam festival’ celebrated by the Igede people of Benue state. It may be the same for the other Igede

Governor Gabriel Suswan

people elsewhere in Nigeria. Today our new yam festival is being celebrated without new yams!

Politics and politicians have taken over the

celebrations and it is now being done with promises and fanfare. To this class of celebrants it is a cheap opportunity to campaign and make free speeches.

They try to explain why the

dividends of democracy have not got to the people; blame others for their failure and how they have tried their best to make life better for the Igede man.

Unfortunately our farms have since been transferred from farmlands to ballot boxes and we no longer have yams to eat at Igede Agba. While it may take a farmer five years of farming to purchase a motorcycle, a rightly placed vote will earn you a motorcycle and an electric generator. Thereafter, the farmer embarks on a journey of round Igede in 30 days and watching home movies.

The political godfathers call their godchildren home and ask for statements of accounts but not stewardship. The children themselves are eager to prove that they are worthy of their positions and selections. They set the ball rolling by buying yams and sending to their patrons.

Their wives have made special attires for the celebration and their shopping and cooking budget will finance acres of cropped farmlands but it will all end in wasted foods and bottles of exotic and undrunk wines.

Closely following will be the political jobbers, the hopeful godchildren of the future who will want to write their CVs with the pomp of their celebration.

They are the greatest distraction to the farmers as these are the managers of the ballot box farms where votes are harvested.

Newly harvested yam tubers

The candidates for the fourth coming elections will not be left out as they take their “campaign” to the kingmakers or political selectors. Funds will be “raised” for the celebration and the people will repay once they get into office.

The other set of jubilant celebrants are the young and unemployed. There are no jobs at the local level so they are always

available for any celebration ranging from weddings, birthdays, thanksgivings etc. This to them will be the celebration of celebrations. For this group what they have achieved in the last one year is the purchase of a modern mobile phone handset. This set allows them to go online and remain there. All their farming is done online and certainly they may have to

“

To restore the vision of the celebration we have to go back to the land. We must get our young ones to stay home and farm rather than run to the cities to beg for a living. Many that go to the western parts of the country end up as farm hands but will not farm in their own home

download their new yams for the festival. To them there must be a website www.newyams.com/ download/asap.

Their products on Farmville and other online agricultural ventures will be invaluable at this time.

The final set of celebrants is the civil servants who have been farming in government offices and want to outdo each other. The aim is to prove that “my farm is bigger than yours”. Even though it is an unhealthy and unnecessary competition it is all the same very important to them for this is the only opportunity they have to prove their worth to the people.

The final destination for this steeplechase is a recommendation for political appointment or selection. The traders and self-employed will also be drawn in to this

celebration marathon and a period of recovery will have to follow.

To restore the vision of the celebration we have to go back to the land. We must get our young ones to stay home and farm rather than run to the cities to beg for a living. Many that go to the western parts of the country end up as farm hands but will not farm in their own home. This group will not be home for the celebration as they have just “arrived” the promised land and are still settling down to the reality of their situation. We must form farming societies and fund them adequately by paying suitable stipends and granting scholarship to our young farmers. It is also time to put serious thoughts on irrigation and dry season farming so as to have alternative food supply all year round.

Without farming taking its pride of place in our

communities, we will just be remembering new yam festival as we used to celebrate it.

The vision of a people may be directly proportional to their level of education but the Igede man has a vision faroutweighing any that our educated elites have reached. We need to develop new visions in light of the present day realities and we should be celebrating “New Vision festival”. Hopefully visions may be easier to harvest than new yams.

However as we celebrate this year’s festival let us remember Igede Agba is about peace, productivity and the peoples’ gratitude and joy for surviving the harsh conditions nature and man has put them through. It is time to get the poor farmers back into the celebration as the trade mark “New Yam” belongs to them.

(Nigeriavillagesquare)

Dr. Eugene Tarkende Aliegba, Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources

PAGE 26

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012 08028402920 sundayejike@yahoo.co.uk

Human rights record in Nigeria is very low, says Odia

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

A

s the founder and the national coordinator of an NGO that enforces human rights, what is your perception of human rights situation in Nigeria?

The human right situation in the country still has a long way to go.

The civil societies are doing their best, but the response from our counterpart in government has not been too good. The human right records, as far as the government is concerned is still very low. If you go to our prisons, you see people being detained without trial for many years. A good example is Clifford Orji, the cannibal human eater who was arrested 11 years ago and was taken to Kirikiri maximum prison.

He spent 11 years in prison and was only taken to court once. He died without trial and till today, we did not know what was responsible for him eating fellow human beings and we did not also know his sponsors. Clifford Orji’s case is just one case in a million. A lot of people are suffering the same thing in our prisons today. Studies have shown that majority of the inmates are persons awaiting trial. This is not good for our human rights records.

If you go to police stations today, the human rights violation there is very high. People are being detained for more than 24 hours as against the provisions of the constitution. There are also cases of police brutalising suspects and inmates to obtain information and confessional statement and admission from them as against the tenet of the rule of law. Generally, the human right record in Nigeria is very low. Again, you see people still living in squalor; we are talking about human rights, you cannot divorce it from things like poverty, housing and other basic necessity of life. Majority of Nigerians still live in squalor, even in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) here. As we speak now, FCT Administration has commenced the demolitions of 19 villages in Abuja.

There are millions of Nigerians in these villages, without any alternative accommodation for them. Human right record in Nigeria is at its lowest ebb. As if it

Barrister Peter Odia is not just a human right lawyer but the national coordinator of a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), Human Rightsand Accountability Initiatives (HURAIN), set up for the enforcement of human rights in Nigeria and the world over. The Abuja based lawyer had been in the fight against violations of human rights for about 20 years now. His NGO had rendered probono (free of charge) services to persons whose rights have been violated. In this interview with Peoples Daily Law, Odia looks at issues of violation of fundamental human rights in the country and other issues in the judiciary.

Barrister Peter Odia was not enough, people in the government are busy giving national awards to themselves.

What is your NGO doing to boost the morale of civil society groups in the fight against violation of human rights in the country?

On my part, I am doing my best for posterity. As an organisation, we have been trying in the area of making that people in governance are accountable to the people by calling them to order. As we speak now, we have so many cases that we have instituted in court against the government to make them accountable to the people. A good example was when the CBN

governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was making frivolous donations to all asundry as against the laws, aims and objectives of the CBN. When you look at the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Otteh was brought back there amidst allegation of corruption against her. We all shouted our voice dry. We wanted to know what transpired between them and the House of Representatives. For them to give us information was a problem, we have instituted legal proceedings against SEC. The case is still pending. We have so many cases of human right violations in courts as we speak now. People whose rights have been violated ran

those conferred with the rank.

The newly sworn-in silks are Prof. Yemi Akinseye-George (Academics), Prof. Daka Clement James Dakas (Academics), Mrs. Joy Okungbowa Adesina, Mrs. Connie-Jean Aremu, Mahmud Abubakar Magaji, Ogwu James Onoja, Garuba Usman Tetengi, Henry Oghogho, Selekeowei Larry and Abenny O. Mohammed.

Others are, Charles Nwanne Obishai, Luke Chukwudi Illogu, Francis Chuka Agbu, Paul C. Ananaba, Akinlaja Dayo Moses, Ahmed Raji, Adekunle Theophilus Oyesanya, Femi Falana, Rotimi Oluseyi Oguneso, Oluseye Samuel Opasanya, Aduroja Claudius Olumuyiwa, Aliyu Umar, Illo Katune Sanusi, Rotimi Jacobs and ndukwe A. Nnnawuchi.

Justice Muktar, who was

making her first public outing since becoming the first female CJN, urged the 25 newly swornin SANs to be guided by the understanding of their role as researcher of truth and justice.

She admonished the new silks to bear in mind that their actions must be in line with the principles of the rule of law, firmly anchored on the fundamental values of the society.

One of the recipients, Mr. Pual Ananaba (SAN) had praised the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) for placing merit above other considerations to allow him to get on the list without a godfather.

Ananaba said that he had cause to confirm that there was hope in the judiciary just as the CJN had said.

to us and we have instituted actions on their behalf on probono basis.

We also educate people on their rights and that they should come to the organisation for a free of charge legal representation should their rights are violated.

Regarding people detained without trial and police torturing of suspects to obtain information, the federal government had set up a committee against torture, headed by Dr. Samson Sani Ameh (SAN), what is your assessment of the committee?

People are being brutalised at the police station on a daily basis.

People are also been tortured in our prisons on daily basis. Recently, a journalist was brutalised by mortuary attendants in Lagos, what did the committee against torture do about all these. As far as am concerned, the committee exists only on paper. We have never heard of that committee in action. That committee, with due respect to them and the persons that set it up was just to create “job” for the boys.

Nigerians are not aware of the existence of the committee because its impact is not felt.

One government agency set up to handle human right issue in the country is the National Human Rights Commission, as a human right lawyer, how do you look at the activities of that commission in relation to human right violations in the country?

The National Human Rights Commission was set up in response to international best practice, because all countries all over the world have this kind of commission. But, when you come back here, they don’t have such sense of responsibilities like their counterpart in the civilised world.

What people heading the human right commission normally do is to toe the line of the government in power. They see themselves as appointee of government. Instead of been an independent body, they are there for the government.

They are supposed to be there for the people. Until the present chairman, all the chairmen of the human right commission and all those that headed the commission have always toed the line of government. They always side the government whenever there is a case of violation of human right.

With due respect to them, the Nation Human Rights Commission has not justified its existence since its inception. I stand to be corrected by anybody.

The federal government seems to be listening to civil society groups now than ever, what is your advice to civil society groups to effectively hold the human right commission and the government accountable for their actions?

It is unfortunate that the judiciary that is supposed to be the last hope of the common man has, to a very large extent derailed. The only group that is the last group of the common man today is the civil society, as far as Nigeria is concerned. The civil society groups must not relent in their effort in holding government accountable for their action. I know there are some persons in the human right community that have betrayed the people that they are supposed to stand for.

Whenever government dangles juicy appointment at them, they accept. I am not saying they should not accept appointments, but when they do, they must have that sense of responsibility, still know the constituency they are coming from, which is the human right community. The civil society groups are the last hope of the common man, they should not slumber, but keep up the good work they doing. The human right community still have so much to do, because rights are being violated on daily basis in the country.

Number of Nigeria’s SANs increases Court hears suit on Ibori’s

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

F

ollowing the last week swearing-in of 25 newly appointed Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mariam Aloma-Mukhtar, the number of members of the inner bar shut up.

The twenty three Legal Practitioners and two Academicians were admitted into the inner bar by the CJN in accordance with the provisions of the Legal Practitioners’ Act 2004 on the approval of the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC).

The body charged with the responsibility of appointing Senior Advocates of Nigeria, presided over by the immediate past CJN, Justice Dahiru Musdapher gave its approval of

alleged $15m bribe today

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

A

Federal High court, Abuja sitting before Justice Gabriel Kolawole will today commence hearing in the suit brought before it by the federal government over the ownership of the $15 million (about N2.5 billion) bribe purportedly received from former Governor of Delta state, Chief James Ibori by former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Malam Nuhu Ribadu to compromise the agency’s probe of allegations of financial crimes preferred against him while he held sway as the executive governor of Edo state.

The court had, in July given a 14day ultimatum to the rightful owner of the money to come forward and claim it or risked been forfeited to

the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) had filed the ex-parte application on behalf of the anti-graft agency, listing the Federal Government, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the EFCC as the plaintiffs, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as sole defendant.

The application for forfeiture was hinged on the grounds that EFCC officials received the $15million cash from an undisclosed agent of James Ibori in 2007 as bribe to compromise its investigation, that the anti-graft agency on 26th of April 2007 deposited the said cash into the strong room of the Central Bank of Nigeria and that James Ibori had since denied ever giving the said cash to the Commission or any of its officers.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

PAGE 27

Federal University Lafia commences academic activities today

UNICEF, FCE Yola to train 778 nomadic teachers on child- friendly education

By Maryam Garba Hassan

By Maryam Garba Hassan

T

W

Public Relations Officer of the College, Bashir Abdullahi, stated this.

According to the statement, evaluation specialist from the UNICEF headquarters New York, Dr. Kathleen Letshabo, who was at FCE Yola told the new Provost of the institution, Professor Abdul-Mumin Sa’ad, that the UNICEF project is aimed at mainstreaming Child Friendly Education into teachers training curriculum in 10

countries around the world.

The statement further explains that, Letshabo said, “We want education to be child centered, inclusive and we want the inclusiveness of every child including children with disabilities and ethnic minorities of any kind”.

be safe and protected in their schools in line with the mandate of UNICEF on children.

“We want a democratic participation of children in their affairs, they should have a voice.

There should also be community involvement so that parents would know what the school is doing as well as understand the young persons the schools are trying to train’.

Sa’ad however, expressed optimism with the project which he said has positive impact on the knowledge, skill and the overall quality of teachers as it is going to have similar effect on the ultimate target.

“We hope that at the end of your visit, it will be the beginning of another project not only the IRI but other projects we think UNICEF can intervene.”

Speaking, the Director of Consultancy Services of FCE Yola, Hajiya Fatima Wakili disclosed that no fewer than 778 nomadic teachers from 114 nomadic schools in the state were trained on new teaching methodology which centered on the child.

Hajiya Fatima said “The Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) programme was started in April 2010 but implementing in January 2011 and have trained 778 nomadic teachers covering 114 nomadic schools in the state.”

The Deputy Provost of the college however called for a greater collaboration between the Institution and UNICEF in the area of Early Child Education Programme currently being offered in the college.

he newly established Federal University, Lafia, Nasarawa state will commence academic activities today, September 17.

A statement signed by the University’s Registrar and Secretary to the Council, Dr Idris Jibrin, said that students who had been screened and cleared for registration were expected to report to the university on that date while their matriculation would take place on the 20th of September.

The statement added that the maiden matriculation ceremony would take place at the university’s temporary site at Akunza, in Lafia Local government Area of the state and that lectures and other academic activities would commence after the matriculation.

The university assured the students that efforts had been made to ensure that appropriate personnel, structures and facilities were put in place for the eventual take-off of academic activities.

According to the statement, Minister of Education Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed-Rufai’, Governor Tanko Al-makura, Professor. Julius Okojie, Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission (NUC) among the dignitaries expected at the occasion.

It would be recalled that the University of Lafia is one the nine new universities recently established by the present administration last year to enable Nigerians have wider access to higher education, especially in the states without federal universities.

ith a view to achieving a Child Friendly Education in Nigeria, the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the Federal College of Education, Yola, has said it will train no fewer than 778 nomadic teachers in Adamawa state on Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) Programme.

A statement signed by the

ESUT sacks 8 staff members for alleged academic fraud

Plateau teachers’ strike: Parents threaten to take to the streets

T

he Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) on Friday sacked eight of its staff members for alleged acts of fraud.

According to the institution’s Director of Public Relations, Mr. Osita Ugwuoti, six of the affected staff members were allegedly responsible for the illegal admission of more than 500 students recently expelled from the school.

Ugwuoti said in a statement in Enugu on Friday that one of the staff members was a senior lecturer and that they belonged to the various departments of the institution.

“One of the eight staff was discovered to be engaged in double employment at ESUT and the Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Enugu, and earned salaries from both institutions,’’ he said.

The director said that another one was sacked for mutilating students’ results, sale of degree results and other related malpractice.

Ugwuoti said the resolution to sack the officers was taken at the 126th regular meeting of the governing council of the university.

(NAN)

She explained that another principle of Child Friendly Education is safety and protection therefore, we want our children to

R-L: Vice- Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Professor Abdullahi Mustapha, chatting with Professor John Edward Philips of College of Humanities, Hirosaki University, Japan, during the latter's visit to the Vice Chancellor, recently in Zaria.

P

arents of primary school pupils in Plateau state on Friday in Jos threatened to take to the streets in protest if the five months old teachers’ strike is not called off.

Mr. Sylvester Yakubu, Parent Teachers’ Association (PTA) Chairman in the state, said parents would be forced to

take that action to force both sides to resolve their disagreement so that pupils would resume classes.

“It is sad that the primary teachers in Plateau have been on strike for the past five months and up to now there is nothing concrete as to when the strike will be called off.

“If nothing is done soon, we would

be forced to go to the streets to press home our grievances’.

He explained that the problem was between the state government and the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) but pointed out that “it is our children that are paying the price”.

The PTA chairman said that the PTA had been going from one office to the other to bring the aggrieved

Strike: NUT accuses Lagos Govt of insensitive to teachers’ welfare

T

he Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in Lagos State accused the state government of been insensitive to the welfare of teachers in the state.

The Chairman of the Union, Mr. Kayode Idowu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview in Lagos that the nonchalant attitude of the government necessitated the planned strike.

Idowu had on Thursday announced that teachers in the state would embark on indefinite strike on Sept. 21, if the state government failed to implement the 27.5 percent increase in their salaries in line with the new Teachers Salary Scale.

He noted that the government failed to take advantage of the long

vacation to address the union’s complaints.

He expressed sadness that the new academic session would be disrupted by the strike.

“Government does not value the education of our children. If they do, they would have used the holiday period to reach an agreement with us.

“Teachers are trying their best to ensure that the children receive the best education but government is not supportive.

“Government is not treating teachers with respect. It is sad that we have to go on strike and wait for so long before what is due to us is given to us.

“There is no going back on the planned strike on Sept. 21 over the non implementation of the 27.5 per

cent Teachers Salary Structure (TSS) allowance because government is not considerate.

“We have been on this issue since 2008, so nobody can say teachers are not considerate because we have given the government enough time but they are toying with our welfare,’’ he said.

According to him, the state government has only paid nine percent out of the 27.5 percent.

He said that the union had held several meetings with the government without concrete agreement on when the full implementation would commence.

Idowu urged parents and other stakeholders to appeal to the government to yield to the teachers demand to avert the proposed strike.

(NAN)

parties to dialogue in a bid to put an end to the lingering strike so that their children could go back to school.

“We have been making efforts to speak with the people concerned; we want to see how we can come in as parents to help resolve the issues, but nobody is ready to listen to us.

“We went to the Education Commissioner on Thursday and he directed us to see the Universal Basic Education Board Chairperson, who said she doesn’t know precisely where the problem is,” he said.

He pointed out that the future of the children is “on the brink of collapse” particularly those in the primary schools.

“Schools are resuming next month and nobody knows the fate of those in primary six since they cannot write the common entrance examinations because of the strike.

“As parents, we will not fold our hands and continue to wait until the two warring parties decide to call a truce while the future of our children is in jeopardy,” he said.

Chairperson of SUBEB Lyop Mang, who spoke to NAN on the matter, claimed that the government was “on top of the situation”.

“All necessary measures are being put in place to end the strike.

Negotiations are on-going and I am sure by next week schools will be opened,” she said. (NAN)

PAGE 28

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

Challenges of Nigeria’s education system

By Victor Adeoti

O

ne of the challenges facing Nigeria’s education system is inadequate qualified manpower. This could explain the much talked-about falling standards of education.

It also goes to support the agelong adage, that “ no education system can rise above the quality of teachers.”

Experts blame the low rating of teachers in the Nigerian society to the development.

Unlike other academic disciples that are highly competitive, there are scanty applications into faculties of education and colleges of education.

Prof. Peter Okebukola, former Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), restated the challenge of qualified teachers and reasons responsible for that, at a lecture he delivered at Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) IjebuOde,Ogun, recently.

According to him, most graduate teachers are not professionals and are inadequately exposed to teaching practice while many of them cannot communicate effectively in English.

Okebukola also said that the low rating of the teaching profession manifested in the scanty applications for admission into education faculties and college of education.

He said that the pervasive notion is that only “academic dregs make up the bulk of teachers, both in-service and practising”.

“In 2011, of the more than 1,300,000 applications for university admissions, less than five per cent applied for courses in education.

“Worse still, only few applications were received for the colleges of education. These data point to the lack of interest of candidates for a career in the teaching profession.

The former NUC Secretary, however, said that the “notion is highly contestable, given the high calibre, commitment and industry of a good number of teachers.”

He said the search for greener pastures compelled many highly qualified teacher trainers to migrate in the early 80s, leaving behind a large number of inexperienced lecturers in the universities and colleges of education.

Okebukola also identified the lack of motivation as one of the reasons for poor performance of teachers.

“The extrinsic motivation in terms of salaries and reward structure is pitifully low in spite of the attempt at parity with other workers in the public service.”

He stressed that an agenda for reformatting teacher education in Nigeria should go beyond improving teacher pre-service and in-service delivery system, to improving the working conditions and welfare of teachers The TASUED Vice-

Our Future: How well does Nigeria's education system prepare them for tomorrow's leadership and challenges?

Chancellor, Prof. Segun Awonusi, decried the neglect of teacher education which he described as the bedrock of all educational attainment.

He said that all areas of human endeavour required teacher education.

“It is obvious that no nation can rise above the level and competence of its manpower.

When teacher education is not well managed, the tendency is for the educational system to be adversely affected.”

He observed that what was introduced as a short-term crash programme for teachers had become permanent, resulting in producing teachers not competent in core subjects Prof Kayode Oyesiku of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun said many faculties of education and colleges of education are using outdated curriculum.

Oyesiku , a Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, said many teachers are teaching students with methods they learnt at least 15 years ago.

He said the nation has many specialised universities of agriculture, science and technology, but that the “building block of learning and knowledge, which is education, is conspicuously sidelined.”

He attributed it to the poor image often ascribed to teacher education in the country.

Oyesiku suggested that every teacher should be encouraged to go for retraining in his or her subject area once in three years.

“My suggestion to this problem is that once in every

Education Minister, Prof Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i three years, every teacher in primary and secondary school must go for retraining in a particular subject he or she is handling.

“This should be made mandatory through the respective state ministries of education. “This retraining should be packaged in such a way that it will be certificated, which will help to put the teachers on their toes“.

Oyesiku also said that any

teacher aspiring to become a principal or headmaster must go for training in institutional administration and certified fit for the position.

Prof. Duro Ajeyalemi of University of Lagos identified the problems of the education system as inadequate basic infrastructure, over-crowded classrooms, inadequate learning and teaching materials and teacher incompetency, among others.

Ajeyalemi stated this at a twoday national workshop on “Counting Crisis of Secondary School Education in Nigeria: Confronting Old and New Challenges,” held recently in Abuja.

He said of all the listed factors, the “teacher factor had been identified as the most crucial.

“The majority of trainees are of low calibre in terms of entry qualification or interest; teacher training is often the last resort after failing to get into more lucrative and job-satisfying occupations.

“No wonder it has become almost impossible to convince good students to choose a teaching career.“ He stressed that for any teacher at any level to be able to contribute to national development, he or she must be empowered to provide information, communication and technology (ICT)-based training for students.

The don said the pedagogical courses must make the studentteacher carry out and master all the students’ activities recommended in the curriculum for each subject.

In addition, Ajeyalemi said there was the need for in-service programmes for teachers, stressing that the importance of in-service programme could not be over emphasised.

Education experts have spoken. Teacher education should be given the desired attention in order to check the falling standard of education in the country.

Source: NAN

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

PAGE 29

Towards efficient nursing service in private, public hospitals in FCT Nurses are very central in the medical profession.

Their role in the mental and physical healing of patients cannot be over-emphasised. However, investigations have revealed that many nurses in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and across the country often fall short of this standard. In view of this, the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria has made it mandatory for practicing nurses to undergo frequent training in order to inculcate in them new practices to keep abreast with the modern nursing practices. Our correspondent, Josephine Ella, who covered a fiveday training workshop organised for nurses and midwives in the FCT reports.

O

n August, 26th-31 st, 2012 all roads led to the FCT Nursing School at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital in Gwagwalada.

It was the ninth session of the Mandatory Professional Development Programme for Nurses and Midwives in the FCT, organised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria in collaboration with the Health and Human Services Secretariat of the FCT. No fewer than 110 nurses and midwives from both FCT hospitals, government agencies, parastatals and private health facilities in Abuja participated actively in the workshop which lasted for five days, after which participants were subjected to post test to qualify them for the renewal for their license for practicing.

Speaking to journalists on the underlining objective of the workshop, the North Central Coordinator of Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Mr. Salau Yahaya said the poor handling of patients by nurses had been giving the council course for worry.

Hence, the training was to among others, ensure professional handling of patients by nurses.

“We have found that the problem we have is not that the nurses are not performing but the therapeutic relationship between patients and nurses is a bit poor so we want to improve that, so that the objective now will be that when they go back to their respective hospitals, they will be more sensitised,” he said.

Continuing, the coordinator emphasised that:”We want to change the orientation of nurses towards patient care. We want them to be agent of change; we want the ideal nursing care to be given to our patients after this workshop”.

“The human relationship between patients and nurses will better off, so that patients can have ability to express themselves without being bullied by anybody wherever they find themselves,” he assured.

As precondition for the renewal of their licenses,

participant nurses were in the course of the workshop subjected to a pre-test and post-test which determined their certification.

Throwing more light on this, Yahaya explained that: “Unlike other workshops, we have a three credit load programme, where we give them a pre-test and post-test which they must pass before they are certificated. If they do not pass, they need to come back again to rewrite and pass the test before they can be certified”.

On her part, the Director, FCT Nursing Services Department of the Health and Human Services Health Secretariat, Mrs Stella Eleanya said that the secretariat under the administration of Dr. Demola Onakomaiya was collaborating with the council as it is committed towards ensuring quality service delivery by all nurses in FCT hospitals as well as private hospitals.

Eleanya, who disclosed that the training for FCT nurses which commenced last year was largely instrumental to tremendous financial and material supports from the health secretary, said so far trained 700 nurses in the

Nurses at work territory have been trained.

Corroborating Salau’s statement on the goal of the training, she said: “We want to make sure that every client is given an optimum care that is of the accepted practice of global international standard in the services we render so that they can recover faster”.

Asked how often a nurse is required to undergo the training, she explained that “every three years they must renew their license, or else you will be regarded as quack nurse and before they can get a new licence they have to go

Secretary, FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat, Dr. Demola Onakomaiya.

through the mandatory training.

You have three months grace to renew if your license expires”, he told them.

Hence, nurses who failed to renew their licenses as required are liable to be penalised by the council, the director said.

She added that the secretariat would ensure that all nurses participate in the programme as at when due for renewal of their licenses towards achieving the overall objective of the programme.

On the baseline on the ninth session just concluded the NorthCentral zonal coordinator of the council had earlier explained that the training was based on medical surgical nursing, where you talk of surgical treatment and so on.

“For the first model, we have about 13 topics, the second one also has 13 topics which we are expected to cover between Monday through Friday,” he had explained.

Among the series of lectures presented by resource persons, were those on diabetes mellitus, taken by the coordinator himself, who explained that the ailment was a situation where there is excess glucose in the blood and this is caused by a problem with the pancreases that secrets the insulin. The insulin is not there so in this case it is being process but not in enough quantity.

“In children, it could be related to heredity where some of these organs are destroyed but in adulthood, you find out that those that are affected are mostly those that are obessed.

“What we have done is that we have given the nurses lecture on

the modern classification, to give them an idea of what is the cause of the disease so that they can address it immediately. And we have given them the cure, that diet alone can cure it especially the one of the adult which exercise can also compliment it,” he said.

According to Salau, where these fails then drugs are now applied to help the patient correct it.

He said that the nurses were lectured on the vital position they occupy in the prevention of this disease because prevention is better and cheaper to handle, giving them a round up on how they can prevent this.

“In the dietary aspect, we have told them how they can prepare the meals for patients, using scientific methods. We also told them the kind of drugs to be used in the different types of the disease and how to use the insulin injection to take care of patients.

For the participant nurses, it was an exciting, as according to many of them; it was an opportunity to upgrade their knowledge in the profession for better services to patients.

A nurse from Kubwa General Hospital, Mr Olise Paul Nnamdi, told our correspondent in an interview that, the training refreshed his memory, adding, “At least at the end we will be in a better position to take better care of our patients,” he had said.

A female nurse from Wuse General Hospital, Okpara Lebechi said she had learnt a lot, especially in nursing care plan, saying, “we have to learn how to take good care of our patients because their lives is in our hands”.

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PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

How to manage morning sickness and nausea during pregnancy I

n the first half of pregnancy, feeling sick or nauseated is quite common, as is vomiting.

The degree of nausea and vomiting differs from woman to woman.

You may just feel a little sick in the morning and throw up once, or may suffer from constant nausea and frequent vomiting throughout the day.

For most women, the nausea stops after the first three months of pregnancy. For a few, however, it is still a problem after four or five months.

Nausea is actually a good sign that your pregnancy hormone levels are high enough to allow your baby to develop and grow.

But if you don’t feel sick, don’t worry, as you may just be one of the lucky ones. As many as eight out of 10 women feel nausea in pregnancy, with or without vomiting.

Now that you’re pregnant, your body is producing the hormone human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) in large quantities. Once your placenta takes over maintaining and nourishing your baby, hCG levels drop and your nausea should ease.

Your sickness is likely to subside once you are between 12 weeks and 14 weeks.

But other hormones may also play a part in causing your sickness, including oestrogen and thyroxine (Asakukra et al 2000).

This is probably why some women’s symptoms last well beyond their first trimester.

If you’re tired, hungry, stressed or anxious, your nausea may be worse. And if you are expecting twins or triplets, you may vomit more often because you have higher levels of pregnancy hormones.

If you are vomiting several times a day and unable to eat and drink without vomiting, call your doctor or midwife immediately.

Severe vomiting and sickness, hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), may lead to dehydration, which may require treatment in hospital.

How to avoid nausea In the morning: • Take your time getting out of bed.

• If you tend to feel really sick in the morning, eat a little as soon as you wake up and before getting out of bed.

• Ask your partner to bring the food to you, or prepare a snack the night before and leave it beside your bed.

In the day time: • Eat little and often, every two or three hours - even if you’re not hungry.

• Drink a lot of liquid, preferably 10 to 12 glasses of water, fruit juice or herbal tea each day.

• Avoid food containing a lot of fat or spices.

• Avoid alcohol and caffeine.

• Feel irritable and hot tempered However, if you are taking homeopathic remedies, the strong mint aroma may stop them from being effective.

Try sipping peppermint or spearmint tea.

Sugar-free peppermint sweets or chewing gum may also help. Peppermint or spearmint essential oil will not suit everyone, as the strong smell could make you feel sicker.

Herbal remedies Herbal remedies worth trying include lemon balm tea, slippery elm lozenges, or small amounts of chamomile tea. The effects can be quite short-lived, so you may need to experiment and perhaps rotate the remedies to get the best effects.

• Eat dry crackers, toasted bread or rusks.

• Ginger tea or ginger tablets can help reduce nausea.

• Rest several times a day. Lie down with a pillow under your head and legs.

• Move slowly and avoid sudden movements.

• After eating, sit down so that gravity helps to keep the food in your stomach.

• Avoid smells that make you feel sick or throw up.

• Don’t brush your teeth immediately after eating because this can cause vomiting.

• Get some fresh air and exercise by going for a little walk every day.

• Avoid smoking. Not only is it harmful for you and your child, it also diminishes your appetite.

At night: • Before going to bed, it may help to eat a snack such as bread, milk, cereal or a sandwich.

• If you wake up during the night, eating a small snack may stop you feeling sick in the

morning.

• Sleep with the windows open to get some fresh air, if possible.

When to consult doctor • If none of the remedies mentioned above seem to work.

• If you vomit more than three or four times a day.

• If you lose weight.

• If your vomit contains blood or looks like ground coffee.

• If you lose more liquid than you can keep down.

• If you are dehydrated • If you are worried about your condition, or believe that something serious is the matter.

The doctor will examine you for signs of dehydration. A simple urine test (ketone test) is often helpful in deciding the degree of dehydration.

Anti-sickness tablets can be prescribed. Your doctor will be careful to ensure you are prescribed medication that does not harm your baby.

Natural remedies Ginger

Ginger is often claimed to be effective against pregnancy sickness (Smith 2010, Borrelli et al 2005). However ginger may make your symptoms worse or cause you to have heartburn (Tiran 2011).

Ginger is a common remedy in Chinese medicine. It’s based on the system of yin and yang and other opposing factors, including heat and cold. Ginger is a hot (yang) remedy and will make your sickness worse if you are already too hot. Ginger will suit you if you: • Wrap yourself up in layers of clothing and blankets • Feel miserable, introspective and disinterested in your surroundings • Feel and look cold • Need hot drinks Try not to rely on ginger biscuits, as these contain a lot of sugar and not enough ginger to be effective.

Try making a tea from grated root ginger. Steep two teaspoons in boiled water, leave it to cool, and sip it throughout the day.

Don’t take more than 3g of raw ginger (about three teaspoons) a day. Ginger capsules are an option if you don’t like the tea.

Ginger works in the same way as prescribed medicines and may have an adverse effect on your blood-clotting mechanism. If you take it for more than three weeks, ask your doctor to check your blood clotting. If you are taking prescribed anti-coagulant drugs, aspirin or other similar medicines, you should not take ginger.

Peppermint Peppermint is a suitable cold (yin) alternative if you: • Feel constantly hot and want to remove layers of clothing • Want cool drinks • Look hot and bothered and red-faced

Acupressure when you press an acupuncture point (pericardium point six) on your wrist, it will relieve your nausea (Lee and Frazier 2011). You can buy wristbands which help you to apply this pressure.

Make sure that the button in the band is placed on the acupuncture point. To locate this: • Use one hand on the inside of your opposite wrist, measuring up three finger widths from the crease between your hand and arm.

• At the point where your third finger is, lift the pressure off until you are just touching the skin and feel lightly for a slight dip. Press into this dip quite deeply and it will feel bruised.

• Place the button on the wristbands at this precise tender point on both wrists.

Put the bands on first thing in the morning before you get out of bed.

When you experience a wave of nausea, press on the button on each wrist about 20 to 30 times at one second intervals. If you forget your wristbands, you can simply press on these two points, or ask someone to do it for you on both wrists at the same time.

Other ideas Movement, such as car motion, makes your sickness worse, try listening to music which contains underlying, frequent pulsations. This will recondition the balancing mechanism in your inner ear.

Wear headphones to allow the music and pulsations to rebound against your ear (Tiran 2005).

Eating vitamin B6-rich foods, such as avocados and chicken, may relieve your symptoms. A vitamin B supplement may also reduce your nausea if you can swallow the pills, but they probably won’t prevent you from vomiting. Always talk to your midwife before taking supplements in pregnancy (Jewell and Young 2003) Sourced from: www.babycenter.co.uk, www.netdoctor.co.uk

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

ANALYSIS

By Irfan Ahmad

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rawing on intellectual and political history of different regions of the world, in a two-part series, Irfan Ahmad discusses the fallacy of and politics behind the current consensus on what constitutes terrorism. He shows how the dominant definition of terrorism as act of violence by nonstate actors to induce political change is conceptually flawed and demonstrates how terror has historically been important to most ruling elites and states across time.

Based on diverse examples from India, the US, Israel, Indonesia and elsewhere, to this end, the author also shows how the watertight distinction between state and non-state actors is fragile and unsustainable.

As we approach twelfth year of the West-led war on terror (WOT), it is time to ask: what terrorism is. The more we watch and read about terrorism the less we understand it.

The mediatised discourses on terrorism often mystify the phenomenon and politics of terrorism. This article critiques the dominant consensus on terrorism and WOT to pose some unpalatable questions essential for a fair debate. I make three arguments.

First, the near consensus that terrorism is an act of violence by nonstate actors to enact political change through fear is not only dubious and historically untenable it is also unethical as it unqualifyingly legitimises the state violence/ terrorism which is responsible for killing far more number of people than those killed by terrorists.

Second, I argue that we begin writing about the terror of counterterrorists. It is my contention that counter-terrorists too practice terror.

In fact, their terror is deadlier because of their assumed legitimacy, gigantic infrastructure, lethal weapons and sheer reach state terror has. To this end, I discuss "symbolic terror" of the term "new terrorism". In defining contemporary terrorism as distinctly religious, Islamic (often implicit than explicit), the so-called security experts and terrorism scholars perpetuate symbolic terror against Islam.

Third, dismissing the doxa that terrorism emanates from a flawed personality or an allegedly violent religion, Islam - the 21st century discussion on terrorism is ultimately about Islam - I argue that violence terrorists resort to, in key ways, simply reflects the terror-ridden, national, global polity we inhabit. An antidote to terrorism is not, as counter-terrorism pundits preach, tightening of "homeland security" and unethical aggrandisement of "national interests" but shaping a humane world with human(e) interests.

Let me clarify my use of the term counter-terrorism. US Foreign Policy uses it as "practices, tactics, techniques and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed". To this, I add terrorism scholars and security experts associated with counter-terrorism.

There is no universal consensual definition of terrorism. In 1984, Alex Schmid discussed over 100 definitions only to say 20 years later, in 2005, that the quest for an "adequate" definition of terrorism continues. Not to speak of definitions by academics and security experts, differences, ambiguities, even tensions, exist in definitions given by various departments of the same state. Consider the definitions by the Department of State, Department of Defence and FBI of the USA. "The term terrorism means premeditated, politically motivated

PAGE 31

How the war on terror is a war of terror (I)

In 'Great Betrayal', Kavita Narawane - a partisan of the right-wing RSS - dubbed the Constitutional clause which Indira Gandhi used to declare emergency as "totalitarian" [GALLO/GETTY] violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience." Patterns of Global Terrorism 2003, p. xii, US Department of State "[T]he unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population‌ in furtherance of political or social objectives." Terrorism 2002-2005, p. iv, FBI, US Department of Justice "The unlawful use of violence or threat of violence to instil fear and coerce governments or societies.

Terrorism is often motivated by religious, political, or other ideological beliefs and committed in the pursuit of goals that are usually political." - Department of Defence Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, (Amended in 2012), p. 317 While violence for political goals is common to all definitions, they markedly differ from one another in other respects. In the first, terrorists are "subnational groups or clandestine agents", the second and third definition don't specify who they are - subnational, clandestine or other categories of people. In the first definition, terrorists' target is non-combatants, in the second it also includes property. In the first, terrorists' aim is to "influence an audience"; in the second, it is to advance political or social objectives. Focusing on terrorists' motivation, the third definition highlights, as does the second one, how terrorists aim to

generate fear to coerce the government, civilian population and societies.

Clearly, keywords in these definitions like "ideological beliefs", "religious", "subnational", "violence", even "societies", can be amply twisted to include as much as exclude, subject to convenience, what counts as terrorism which, according to India's The Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002, includes any "intent to threaten the unity, integrity, security or sovereignty of India or to strike terror in the people". In mainstream definitions, the term "political" is used to distinguish terrorism from crime by an "abnormal" person - shootings by an individual for "personal" reason.

However, defining "political" this way is problematic because in another definition of politics everything is political or, as the feminist credo held: "the personal is political".

There is one deep commonality in all three definitions - actor of terrorism is never the state or government. This is a major departure from earlier definition; in 1978, Edward Mickolus, a CIA official/scholar, included state terror under terrorism as follows: "state terrorism includes terrorist actionsconducted by a national government within the borders of its own country" (p. 128). He mentioned the USSR as an example.

The Regan administration accused the USSR of backing terrorism and intellectuals like Indian-born British writer Salman Rushdie who had desired declaration of Pakistan as a

“

terrorist state. It is understandable why a given state would not call its own actions terrorist, but why do academics and security/ terrorism experts delete state from the ambit of their definitions?

Unmindful of Nietzsche's observation that "only that which has no history can be defined", Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert, thus unproblematically states that terrorism is "perpetrated by subnational or non-state groups" (Inside Terrorism, 2006, p., 40).

Similarly, James Lutz and Brenda Lutz write that terrorism is "violent or threatens violence" and it "involves a non-state actor or actors" (Global Terrorism, 2008, p. 6).

Why the expulsion of state in such definitions from the ambit of terrorism despite the fact that over the 20th century, compared to 500,000 killed by terrorists, various states in course of wars killed 34 million people and an additional 170 million beyond the legal contours of warfare (David Wright-Neville, Dictionary of Terrorism, 2010, p. x)?

Might it be that such definitional tropes, in addition to converging with the definitions supplied by powerful states, tend to sanitise the massive violence they perpetrate? Might it also be that these definitions allow, for instance, the non-state actors such as the stateless Palestinians to be conveniently dubbed "terrorist" when they resist their continued violent occupation by Israel and at the same time not allow raising

Terror has been integral to ruling elites for ages.

Chanakya (b.280BC), adviser to the famous Indian ruler Chandragupta, suggested many clandestine methods to subdue enemies through terror.

sufficient questions about how they were rendered stateless?

Definitions such as Hoffman's and Lutzs' are selective; they lift "useful" things from the history of terrorism to shape the present. As I will show, history of terrorism is also the history of terror by ruling elites and states. By state terrorism, contra Hoffman and Lutzs, I don't just mean support of terrorism by a given state. I contend that state enacts terror within its border as well as without and that terror is constitutive of most states. My larger point is that the neat line hurriedly drawn between state and non-state actors is fragile for states can find effective, plausible ways to work as non-state entities just as nonstate-actors can/do become stateactors. John Perkin's Confession of an Economic Hitman illustrates how state and non-state actors work intimately so as to publicly appear distant.

Instead of dealing with the act of terror itself, dominant definitions focus on its actors to dub them terrorists if they are non-state. The shift from the act and nature of terror to those of their actors has huge implication. For example, Hoffman insists on differentiating one set of actors (non-state) from another (state), thereby legitimising the latter. He rejects similarities between them for it "plays into the hands of terrorists and their apologists who would argue that there is no difference between the 'low-tech' terrorist pipe-bomb placed in the rubbish bin at a crowded market... and the 'hightech' precision-guided ordnance dropped by air force fighter-bombers from a height of twenty thousand feet or more that achieves the same wanton‌ effects on the crowded marketplace far below" (Hoffman, p. 25). Indeed, following Roger Woddis, what is the difference?

Throwing a bomb is bad/ Dropping a bomb is good; Terror, no need to add/ Depends on who's wearing the hood.

Terror has been integral to ruling elites for ages. Chanakya (b.280BC), adviser to the famous Indian ruler Chandragupta, suggested many clandestine methods to subdue enemies through terror. In Arthshastra, Chanakya (also called Kautilya), outlined natural needs of the state to emphasise ends, not means. For Chanakya, who Max Weber likened to Machiavelli, what mattered was not ethics, but survival and expansion of the kingdom by conquest. Chanakya approved covert war for "a single assassination can achieve, with weapons, fire or poison, more than a fully mobilised army".

He discussed not only how to assassinate enemy kings and their officials, but also how to terrorise civilians. To this end, he suggested use of spies, women, intrigue, rumour, propaganda and so on. To ensure victory, Chanakya suggested that "agents costumed as demon-serpents and flesh-eating tigers should terrorise civilians to lure the enemy king outside the city walls to perform rites of appeasement, whereupon he should be ambushed and killed" (Randall Law, Terrorism: A History, 2009, pp. 13-14).

Source: Al-jazera

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

PAGE 32

Egypt security HQ in Sinai hit by militants

Ethiopia ruling coalition approves Hailemariam Desalegn as PM

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thiopia's ruling coalition on Saturday approved Hailemariam Desalegn's appointment as prime minister to replace Meles Zenawi, who died last month, the government's spokesman said.

He will be sworn in early next month when parliament reconvenes, Bereket Simon told a news conference in the capital Addis Ababa.

Hailemariam, who took over in an acting capacity after Meles' death, also becomes head of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the ruling coalition of parties.

The 47-year-old former university dean rose quickly through the ranks when he turned to politics, serving as president of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region in the southwest of the country from 2001 to 2006 before being named as an advisor to Meles.

His selection as Meles' deputy in 2010 was a major surprise, partly due to his relatively young age. He was widely seen as the late leader's protege and in recent years replaced Meles as chair of a number of parliamentary committees.

After taking power in 1991 from Mengistu Haile Mariam's military junta, guerrilla fighter Meles became one of the central political figures on the continent and drove domestic economic growth into double figures.

An astute economist, Meles advocated a blend of heavy state spending and foreign private investment, focusing lately on energy and infrastructure projects.

However Ethiopia remains one of the world's biggest recipients of aid, and average incomes are roughly a third of those elsewhere in subSaharan Africa.

Many Ethiopians complain that while Meles forged closer business ties with global powerhouses such as China, that did not translate into more jobs for Ethiopians and about three-quarters of the population still live on less than $2 a day.

Hailemeriam Desalegn replaces Zenawi who died in august

RPG's hit and destroyed property around the HQ

S

uspected Islamist militants have attacked an Egyptian security HQ in Sinai, firing crude rockets and bullets from a nearby building.

The attack in al-Arish set off battles between militants and security forces in surrounding streets, officials said.

Three policemen were reported

hurt in other unrelated clashes nearby.

The violence comes amid a security crackdown in the area launched after 16 Egyptian soldiers were killed at a border post in early August.

The militants operating in Sinai are usually described as Islamists, but there's no clear idea exactly who

they are.

Security experts say they are a combination of Egyptian and foreign Islamist militants, who take advantage of the lack of law and order in Sinai.

They appear to work with the local Bedouin, who have their own set of grievances against the Egyptian government, as well as

engaging in smuggling across the border with Gaza and with Israel, our correspondent says.

In the attack on the North Sinai security headquarters, militants "positioned themselves on the roofs of buildings opposite" and launched the rocket propelled grenades, news agency AFP quoted a security official as saying.

"It seems they set off an explosive device at the security headquarters first before using the RPGs," the official was quoted as saying.

In an unrelated incident in the town of Sheikh Zuwaid, nearer the border with the Gaza Strip, three policemen were hurt in clashes between militants and security forces.

There is no immediate evidence the latest clashes are connected with the controversy over a film that has outraged Muslims.

But our correspondent says the violence is fresh evidence that the area is still quite lawless, despite the Egyptian military build-up.

Since 1982, when Israeli troops withdrew, the Sinai peninsula has remained under a special security regime mandated by the peace treaty the two countries signed in 1979, which restricts Egypt's freedom of military action.

Zimbabwe PM marries woman under polygamy custom

Z

imbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, whose wedding plans appeared to have been thwarted when a court ruled he was already wed to a former flame, pressed ahead with his marriage on Saturday under a custom that permits polygamy.

The scandal - which had also seen another woman challenge his wedding plans - has gripped the nation and handed his rival, President Robert Mugabe, political ammunition as he seeks to extend his three-decade rule in an election expected within a year.

Tsvangirai could not be married in a legally recognised ceremony because of the

embarrassing ruling. In an apparent bid to save face, he instead held a ceremony under Zimbabwe's "customary marriage" practice.

The 60-year-old and Elizabeth Macheka, 35, exchanged rings and promised to love each other. But there was no signing of a marriage certificate or vows of monogamy.

A magistrate said on Friday that Tsvangirai's former flame Locardia Karimatsenga had proved she was his wife under the customary marriage practice. A man can have several customary marriages, but if he has wed under the practice is precluded from holding a legal marriage ceremony.

L

Lonmin refuses Marikana miner's demand, vows new approach in talks

onmin, due to resume talks on Monday with strikers at its Marikana platinum mine in South Africa who rejected a pay rise offer last week, insisted it could not meet the workers' demands but promised a new approach in labour relations.

Acting Chief Executive Simon Scott said the deaths at the mine of protesters,

34 of whom had were shot dead by police on August 16, had been a 'wakeup call' for the company and it was committed to ending the five-week

Morgan Tsvangirai with new wife Elizabeth Macheka

labour unrest in which a total of 45 people had been killed.

In an opinion piece published in the Sunday Times newspaper, Scott said

President Goodluck Jonathan (middle), President Alassan Ouatarra of Cote d'Ivoire (right), and President Boni Yayi of Benin Republic at, after official meeting, last Friday at the State House, in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

Lonmin would improve discussions with strikers although it could not afford to meet their higher wage demands.

"For Lonmin, the starting point is to acknowledge that our company must go through a process of selfreflection," Scott said.

"What I can promise is that we are committed to playing our part. We have had our wake-up call, as has the rest of South Africa."

"Clearly, one of the issues we need to reflect on is how we find balance between protecting the business, and the jobs dependent upon it, on the one hand and how we respond with sensitivity to the complex situations that Lonmin is at the centre of," Scott said.

On Friday workers at the mine dismissed the company's offer as way below the 12,500 rand a month sought by members of the militant Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), which is challenging the influence of the more established National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

Asia and Middle East

F

our American soldiers and an Afghan police officer have been killed in southern Afghanistan following an attack suspected to involve members of the Afghan police, NATO's military mission in that country says.

The latest "insider" attack took place on Sunday morning, the International Security

PAGE 33

Foreign troops killed in southern Afghanistan Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.

The attack took place in the Mizan district of Zabul province, and was carried out by several Afghan men dressed in police

uniforms, the deputy governor's office told Al Jazeera.

At least five Afghan policemen reportedly fled the base after the attack, which took place at the district

Five Afghan policemen reportedly fled the base following the attack in Zabul province [GALLO/GETTY]

headquarters, Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith reported from Kabul. It was unclear if the police officer who was killed was one of the attackers, Smith said.

Jamie Graybeal, an ISAF spokesperson, said that early reports indicated that at least two foreign soldiers had also been injured in the attack.

ISAF said that the attack was "under investigation".

The four soldiers who were killed and two who were

wounded were understood to be members of the US special forces, Smith reported.

At least 51 foreign military personnel have been killed in insider attacks, where men dressed as members of the Afghan security forces have attacked foreign forces, in Afghanistan this year.

Two British soldiers died in a similar attack on Saturday in the southern province of Helmand.

Pakistan roadside blast kills 14

A

t least 14 people have died in a roadside bomb attack in northwestern Pakistan near the Afghanistan border, police officials say.

Sunday's blast hit a vehicle believed to be carrying members of a peace jirga, and injured at least four people.

Ejaz Abid, a senior police officer, said the blast struck a passenger van in the Jandol area of the Lower Dir district.

Among the dead were three women and three children, the police said.

Abid said the bomb was planted on the dirt road connecting border villages with the town of Munda and the Bajaur tribal region.

It was detonated when the van loaded with passengers was near Jandol around 7.00am local time (02:00 GMT), he said.

The injured passengers were rushed to a hospital, where some were in serious condition.

Lower Dir district has seen several bomb and gun attacks, sometimes launched from across the border, by local anti-state fighters.

People in the area have been supporting government forces against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

A spokesman for the TTP said the attack was launched in revenge after villagers formed a pro-government militia. He said such attacks would continue.

Japan urges China to stop attacks

C

Offficals look for valuables from blast site.

hina must take steps to prevent violence against Japanese citizens, Japanese Prime Minster Yoshihiko Noda has said.

Anti-Japanese protests spread to cities across China on Saturday in an escalating row over disputed islands in the East China Sea. On Sunday, hundreds of protesters faced off against riot police at the Japanese embassy in Beijing.

Japanese businesses have also been targeted by protesters.

"We want [China] to oversee the situation so that at least Japanese citizens and businesses in China will not be in danger,"

Israel says U.S. must be firm on stopping Iran nuclear threat

A

Japanese-made cars were targeted by protesters in Xi'an, one eyewitness said

Mr Noda told Japanese TV, according to the AFP news agency.

"We will continue to take a resolute attitude. But we will also remain calm. Japan will ask the Chinese side to do the same," Kyodo news agency reported him as saying.

Protests were reported in dozens of Chinese cities on Sunday. The previous day's disturbances had seen Japanese businesses and even Japanese-made cars attacked.

One eyewitness in the city of Xi'an described to the BBC how his camera was snatched from him and damaged because it was a Japanese brand.

senior Israeli official said on Sunday the United States should not wait for Iran to decide on building a nuclear weapon before it considers military action against the Islamic Republic "When is the point at which it should be stopped? Just when the bomb is assembled on the tip of the missile and is ready for launch?" Dan Meridor, deputy Israeli prime minister with responsibility for nuclear and intelligence affairs, said in a radio interview.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who sees a mortal threat to Israel from Tehran, has

hinted he could resort to war unless Washington and other world powers give Iran an ultimatum on curbing its uranium enrichment programme.

U.S. President Barack Obama has rebuffed Netanyahu's lobbying, opening a rift between the allies although they agree that Iran has yet to take the final steps of purifying uranium to military grade and assembling a warhead.

Tehran denies seeking the bomb, saying its nuclear projects are for peaceful energy and medical purposes. Diplomatic talks between it and world powers have so-far proved fruitless.

PAGE 34

Europe and Americas US orders staff out of Sudan and Tunisia

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he United States has ordered non-essential diplomatic staff and their families to leave Sudan and Tunisia.

In a statement, the state department also urged US citizens in Tunisia to make their way out of the country.

The US embassies in the Tunisian and Sudanese capitals have both been attacked in the wave of anti-US protests in the Muslim world over an anti-Islam film made in the US. Earlier, Sudan refused to allow the US to send Marines to protect its embassy.

Sudanese officials said the country's security forces were capable of providing protection to the embassy.

Three people were killed when the US embassy was attacked in Khartoum on Friday. The German and UK missions were also singled out by protesters.

The state department said the Sudanese government had "taken some steps to limit the activities of terrorist groups", but that elements remained and had threatened to attack Western interests, the BBC's Paul Adams in Washington reports.

Americans were also warned against all travel to Tunisia, after two people lost their lives during attacks on the embassy in Tunis and a neighbouring American school.

"US citizens remaining in Tunisia should use extreme caution and avoid demonstrations," it said.

The Canadian government announced on Sunday it was closing its embassies in Sudan, Libya and Egypt for the day as a precautionary measure.

Several other people have been killed across the Middle East and north Africa since the protests over the film erupted on Tuesday. The US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three other US officials died when the consulate building in Benghazi was attacked and set on fire.

We need to reflect the true identity of Muslims, how peaceful they are, and talk to the Western media about the true heart of the Muslims, that they condemn violence" The US and Canadian announcements came as Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula called for fresh attacks against Western embassies.

"What has happened is a great event, and these efforts should come together in one goal, which is to expel the embassies of America from the lands of the Muslims," the group said in a statement, according to the Associated Press.

Earlier on Saturday, Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil said in an interview with BBC Arabic that the US must do all it can to stop people insulting Islam.

Mr Qandil said it was "unacceptable to insult our Prophet" but also not right for peaceful protests to turn violent.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

Spain and Portugal march against austerity

T

ens of thousands of people have rallied in Spain and Portugal in protest at spending cuts and tax rises in the debt-hit countries.

In Madrid, public sector workers from all over Spain blocked the capital's Plaza de Colon square and nearby roads.

Protests were held in Lisbon and across Portugal, with one person reportedly attempting to set himself on fire.

The Spanish and Portuguese governments say the austerity measures will lead to economic recovery.

Many of the protesters including teachers, nurses and firefighters - were ferried to Madrid in buses by trade unions and other workers' rights groups who organised the rally.

The crowds chanted antigovernment slogans, blew whistles and waved banners that read "Enough!" and "They are sinking the country!"

"There is no area of my work which has not been affected by the cuts," a 52-year-old doctor from Valencia, who only named himself as Jorge, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

"It's a drastic reduction in the quality of service for patients, it's terrible," he said, adding that his own salary had shrunk by about 30% because of the austerity measures.

Thousands of protesters demonstrate on the streets of Madrid But the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy insists that the cuts are necessary to save the eurozone's fourth largest economy.

"These sacrifices are absolutely unavoidable if we are to correct the difficult economic climate we are experiencing," Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said.

"We are laying the foundations for a recovery," he added.

In July, the government announced a 65bn-euro (ÂŁ60bn; $80bn) package of public sector

wage cuts and tax rises - part of a deal with eurozone leaders to help rescue Spain's troubled banks.

Madrid has also accepted a loan of up to 100bn euro loan for the country's banks and is set to announce a further series of economic reforms by the end of September.

In Portugal, big rallies were mostly incident-free in Lisbon and Porto but, in the capital, tomatoes were thrown at offices belonging to the IMF and there were reports

of scuffles between protesters and police.

In the northern town of Aveiro, one demonstrator was taken to hospital after trying to set himself alight in protest against government policies, reports say.

Portugal's RTP television quoted firefighters as saying his life was not in danger.

Portugal has already cut public sector wages and raised taxes to reduce its budget deficit and deal with its economic crisis.

Venezuela rejects US drug-report accusations

V

The US report cites Venezuela as a major conduit for cocaine coming from neighbouring Colombia [Reuters]

enezuela has rejected a US report that criticised the South American country of failing to meet its obligations in fighting the drug trade.

President Barack Obama's annual drugs memorandum that was published on Friday said Venezuela remains "one of the preferred trafficking routes out of South America", thanks to its "porous western border with Colombia", a top cocaine producer.

The US also mentioned Venezuela's "weak judicial system, inconsistent international counternarcotics co-operation and generally permissive and

corrupt environment."

President Hugo Chavez's government dismissed the accusations in a statement on Saturday..

"As the biggest drug consumer on the planet, the United States lacks the moral authority to judge the policies of other countries," Venezuela's foreign ministry said.

The statement also accused the US of "permanent aggressiveness against independent governments such as Venezuela's in order to impose, through intimidation, its policy of international domination and abuse".

Hillsborough: Families seek new inquest verdicts

F

amilies of those killed in the Hillsborough disaster have announced they are to seek new inquests.

Relatives of the 96 who died have formally met with legal representatives at Anfield for the first time since an independent report was published.

Trevor Hicks, from the Hillsborough Families Support Group, said there was also pressure for criminal charges.

The report found police tried to blame fans for the crush on 15 April 1989.

High-profile lawyers for the campaign, Michael Mansfield QC and Lord Falconer, appeared at the

Families display deceased jersey's at Liverpool FC's Anfield stadium in protest

meeting via an internet videolink.

It was announced on Saturday a complaint against a senior officer involved in the disaster, Sir Norman Bettison, was to be investigated.

The complaint involving the West Yorkshire Chief Constable was being referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

Sir Norman, who was with South Yorkshire Police at the time of the disaster, said he welcomed the step.

Ninety-five fans were crushed to death and hundreds more injured on the overcrowded terraces of the Hillsborough stadium, which was hosting an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

PAGE 35

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2012

Groups race against time to get Florida voters registered V

oting-rights groups that virtually stopped registering voters in Florida for a year as they challenged the state's new restrictions on elections now are scrambling to get people there registered for the November 6 election.

The effort in Florida - a large, politically divided state that is crucial in the nationwide race between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney - comes two weeks after a federal judge rejected strict limits on voter-registration drives that have led to a big drop in Floridians signing up to vote.

The Florida law was so limiting that groups such as Rock the Vote and the League of Women Voters, which have helped to register millions of voters in the last two presidential elections, essentially halted their registration drives in the state.

Now, with the restrictions lifted and Florida's October 9 deadline for registering to vote in the November election looming, such groups are fanning out across the state to find new voters.

Massive voter drives across the country in 2008 helped put millions of people aged 18 to 29 on voting rolls.

That age group - which makes up roughly one-quarter of the U.S. electorate - voted 2-to-1 for Democratic President Barack Obama then, helping to propel him to victory over Republican John McCain.

This year, campaigns and civic groups have faced challenges in signing up voters because of laws passed largely by Republicans who took control of legislatures in 20 states after the 2010 elections.

Besides limits on voter registration, the laws also have included requirements that voters produce a photo ID and limits on earlyvoting periods aimed at helping working-class people cast ballots if they can't get to the polls on Election Day. Dozens of legal battles are being waged over such voting laws in courts, and judges have tossed out a few including registration limits in Florida and a photo ID requirement for voters

in Wisconsin, another state that could be key in deciding the race for the White House.

Republicans say the laws are aimed at preventing voter fraud; Democrats and other critics say they are designed to reduce voter turnout among groups that typically back Democrats.

"Over the past two years we've seen this wave of tremendously creative and tremendously destructive laws ... that make it harder for people to vote," Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University law school, said on MSNBC. "The scariest was the effort to stop voter registration," said Waldman, whose group represented the League of Women Voters and Rock the Vote in a lawsuit against the law in Florida, which had nearly 11.5 million registered voters at the end of July.

Heather Smith, president of Rock the Vote, said the nonpartisan group's efforts have been complicated by the legal wrangling over Florida's voting laws.

"It's more than just the numbers" of voters, she said. "It's the volunteers.

Having put our volunteer programs on hold means we weren't able to engage and train and build these teams."

Rock the Vote and the League of Women Voters stopped registration drives in Florida last year when they went to court to challenge the state law.

The law required the groups to turn in voter registration forms within 48 hours after applicants completed them - a tough deadline to meet for groups involved in large registration efforts. Groups missing the deadline faced fines of $1,000 a day.

Two weeks ago, a federal judge issued an injunction preventing the state from enforcing the law. But because the law was in place for about a year, its impact was stark, especially among Democrats.

The Florida Times Union has said 11,365 people registered as Democratic voters in the 13 months that ended at the end of August, compared with an average of

Women voters groups leading the enlightenment campaign 209,425 for the same periods before the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections.

Meanwhile, 128,039 Republicans have registered in the state over the past 13 months, up from an average of 103,555 in the same period in 2004 and 2008, the newspaper said.

Though they do not make their numbers public in terms of party differences, Rock the Vote and the League of Women Voters register people who vote mainly for Democrats or independents.

Democrats tend to focus much more heavily than Republicans on recruiting new voters, and groups such as the League of Women Voters and Rock the Vote aim at low-income and minority citizens who may not know how to register or young people who have never voted.

Republicans, on the other hand, traditionally rely on their supporters to register on their own. Party activists work mostly on getting registered Republicans to show up at the polls.

Elisabeth MacNamara, president of the League of Women Voters, said 30 local chapters are registering voters in Florida, trying to make up for lost time.

"They are targeting under-served

communities," she said. "They're working at bus stops, community colleges, baseball games, naturalization ceremonies and other events."

"Democratic registration is way down," said election law specialist Rick Hasen. "You might count the court victory as a win for Democrats.

In fact, it should be seen as ... perhaps a loss."

MacNamara said her group, formed 92 years ago by women who fought for the right to vote, faces challenges in other states.

"We are concerned that because of the flurry of new laws, some of which have passed, some of which have (been overturned) ... that voters may be confused," MacNamara said.

In Pennsylvania, Rock the Vote is helping people register to vote and get the type of photo IDs a new law requires voters to show at the polls.

Under the law, which was passed by the state's Republican-controlled legislature and is being challenged in court, students can vote if they have a photo ID from their university but the ID must have an expiration date.

More than 80 percent of the colleges in Pennsylvania don't issue ID cards with expiration dates, so Rock the Vote has organized an effort to get

expiration dates on student IDs. "It's a total shame," Rock the Vote's Smith said of the new law, which requires voters to show a state driver's license, government employee ID or non-driver ID issued by the state.

In Pennsylvania, Obama has led Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, in opinion polls. But the state's voter ID law could hurt Obama.

A state estimate this year indicated that more than 758,000 Pennsylvania voters did not have the type of ID required by the law, and that many were lower-income, young or minority voters who tend to vote for Democrats.

Republican Mike Turzai, majority leader of Pennsylvania's state House, seemed to dispel the idea that the voter ID law was not rooted by politics when he said in June that it "is going to allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania."

Smith said that voter registration rates have been down this year nationwide, but that the pace has picked up.

"The last few weeks people have started to pay attention" to the election, said Smith, whose group registered a record 2.25 million young voters nationally in 2008 and has a lower target this year, 1.5 million. "We have a lot of ground to make up."

"Political gridlock threatens to plunge us back into recession, but instead of seeking bipartisan solutions, President Obama is passively allowing us to go over a fiscal cliff," Romney said in his weekly podcast.

The White House said in releasing a breakdown of the cuts on Friday that it was congressional Republicans who are standinginthewayofadealbecausethey refuse to accept a more balanced approach.

The White House and Congress, Democrats and Republicans, including Romney's vice presidential running mate, Paul Ryan, agreed on the automatic cuts under an August 2011 deal.

Romney, who has vowed to build up the U.S. military if elected on November 6, has singled out for criticism the $54 billion in defense cuts that would kick in

at year's end. He says this is no time to shrink the Pentagon's budget.

"What kind of commander-in-chief forces Americans to choose between massive tax hikes that will undermine the economy and massive cuts to our military that will undermine national security?" said Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul.

Romney is ending a rough week during which he fell behind Obama in the polls and came under criticism from Democrats and some Republicans for making a campaign issue of the deaths of four Americans killed by Muslim protesters at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.

The candidate took the day off on the campaigntrailonSaturday.Hespent part of the afternoon watching one of his grandson'ssoccergames.Romneytravels to Colorado and California on Sunday.

Romney hits Obama on looming “fiscal cliff�

R

Governor Mitt Romney (R) is joined by Sen. Rob Portman hands out birthday cake on his campaign plane on their way to Bedford, Sunday

epublican presidential candidate Mitt Romney accused President Barack Obama on Saturday of standing by while a looming budgetary calamity unfolds in Washington as he sought to regain his footing after a tough week on the campaign trail.

Romney leaped into the debate over the "fiscal cliff," the potential for an endof-the-year uproar when some $109 billion in across-the-board spending cuts kick in unless Obama and Congress reach a deficit-reduction deal to avert them. Bush-era tax cuts also expire at year's end.

The Washington debate mirrors the campaign battle between Obama and Romney. Democrats want to make up the shortfall by increasing taxes on wealthy Americans while Republicans favor spending cuts.

PAGE 36

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

Women who regularly take paracetamol are ‘more likely to lose their hearing’ R egular use of household painkillers including ibuprofen and paracetamol can lead to an increased risk of hearing loss in women, according to a study.

The more often a woman takes either medication, the higher her risk of hearing loss, researchers said.

Scientists from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, examined data from 62,261 women aged between 31 to 48 years.

Their study spanned 14 years, from 1995 to 2009. By its end, 10,012 women - almost

one in six - had self-reported hearing loss.

The researchers concluded that women who used ibuprofen two or three days a week showed a 13 per cent increase in hearing loss.

This increased to a 21 per cent increase in risk among women who took the drug four to five days a week, and rised further still to 24 per cent for those who took it six or seven days a week.

The scientists also found that women who used paracetamol shows an 11 per cent risk of hearing loss compared with

“

This increased to a 21 per cent increase in risk among women who took the drug four to five days a week, and rised further still to 24 per cent for those who took it six or seven days a week

I

t might tear at your heart strings and induce unbearable feelings of guilt.

But parents should not automatically rush to the cotside when their baby is screaming rather than sleeping soundly.

Allowing infants to cry for a short time rather than immediately comforting them does no harm, say scientists.

In fact, both babies and parents will end up sleeping longer – and be far less stressed.

Researchers said that, rather than always going to comfort babies, mothers and fathers should follow certain techniques that teach them to settle themselves.

These include ‘controlled

Study: Regular use of household painkillers including ibuprofen and paracetamol can lead to an increased risk of hearing loss in women.

those who took it once a week.

This rose to 21 per cent for women taking the medicine four to five days a week.

Lead researcher Dr Sharon Curhan said: ‘Possible mechanisms might be that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may reduce blood flow to the cochlea - the hearing organ and impair its function. ‘ A c e t a m i n o p h e n [paracetamol] may deplete factors that protect the cochlea from damage.’

She added: ‘If individuals find a need to take these types of medications regularly, they should consult with their health care professional to discuss the risks and benefits and to explore other possible alternatives.’

There was no association between aspirin use and hearing loss, the researchers noted.

According to the World Health Organisation, adultonset hearing loss is the sixth most common disease burden in high-income countries.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Letting babies cry rather than rushing to comfort them is secret to longer sleep crying’, where the parent waits a certain length of time before soothing the child.

Initially, it may be every two minutes on the first night, increasing to five minutes for the second, ten for the third and so on, until the baby learns to settle itself.

Another method the researchers found was effective was ‘camping out’, where the parent sits in the child’s room while they ‘teach’ themselves to fall back to sleep.

Although it sounds a little cold-hearted, the team from the University of Melbourne found that, eventually, both parents and babies end up sleeping longer.

This means parents are less stressed and, in particular, reduces the

Tears: Leaving a baby to cry for a short time rather than rushing to comfort them does the child no harm, research found

mother’s chance of suffering post-natal depression.

The researchers said leaving babies to cry for a short time does no long-term damage to their mental health or behaviour.

This is despite other evidence that babies left to cry become stressed.

Importantly, however, the research only involved babies who were at least seven months old, as some experts believe very young infants should not be left to cry.

Lead author Dr Anna Price said: ‘For parents who are looking for help, techniques like controlled comforting and camping out work and are safe to use, so families and health

professionals can really feel comfortable using them.’

But she made it clear parents should not simply shut the bedroom door and let babies cry through the night, only checking on them the next morning.

‘It’s very distressing to parents. It’s hard to do. We don’t recommend it,’ she added.The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, followed 326 Australian children from the ages of seven months to six years old.

Just over half their parents had been taught the sleep techniques of controlled crying and camping out.

When the children were six, the researchers carried out a

number of tests to look at their behaviour, their sleeping patterns and relationship with their parents.

Those who had been left to cry were less likely to have behavioural problems, with some 12 per cent having issues compared with 16 per cent of those who had been comforted.

And, in a study published in 2010, the researchers also compared post-natal depression rates among mothers when their children were two.

It showed that those who left their babies to cry were 40 per cent less likely to have the condition and both parents were less stressed overall.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

PAGE 37

The Role of Social Media in Modern Day Politics (I)

By Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, CFR, Speaker of the House of Representatives, National Assembly of Nigeria. Being Paper Presented at the 58th CPA Conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka INTRODUCTION

T

he 21 st century is said to be the Information Age. This is so because of the phenomenal development and advances mankind has recorded in the field of technology in general, but particularly in the field of Information and Communication Technology, (ICT). Today, it is possible to generate, process and relay huge body of information in a split second.

Similarly, technological advances have further made it possible to move bulk goods and transport people around the world by faster means and at relatively cheaper costs. Indeed, if any one factor can be said to be responsible for the evolution of the much talked about and much more real transformation of the world into a global village, no doubt information and communication technology is that factor.

Indeed, contemporary globalization thrives on the back of ICT. ICT has so much transformative powers that its impacts are manifest in almost all spheres of social reality. From tourism and trade, economy and energy, defence and environment, to people and events, ICT plays very crucial roles. However, it can be safely said that it is in the field of politics that the transformative roles of ICT is manifested more than anywhere else. ICT does to modern day politics what air transportation does to tourism.

This paper seeks to examine the role of ICT in general and social media in particular in modern day politics. To meet its objective the paper focuses on the following questions; Ø What is responsible for the phenomenal growth in the availability and spread of ICT? Ø What is/are the role(s) of ICT in contemporary politics? Ø What are the challenges and prospects of the growing connect between social media and politics?

THE NATURE OF MODERN POLITICS Since the beginning of the current phase of neo-liberal globalization, there has been an

Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal upsurge of reforms of governance framework in most countries.

This has been particularly so in countries that were hitherto under authoritarian forms of government.

Regardless of where it began from, most, if not all, political transition progammes led to the institutionalization of liberal democratic systems of governance.

By this development, it was expected that contemporary politics, at domestic and international levels would be guided by the ideals of liberty, competition and choice.

In the political sphere, it was, as it still is, expected that political governance and processes would rest on and be guided by such ideals as constitutionalism, rule of law; separation of powers; free, fair and credible regular periodic elections, and other necessary indexes of good governance. This implied also the engendering of an environment that guarantees equality of voice and space, the guarantee of personal safety and security, fundamental human rights, etc.

This framework for governance is expected to be complemented and supported by a free market economy, an independent judiciary, deep and vibrant civil society, the tolerance of credible and responsible opposition, a multiparty system, etc. All of these are to find expression in a participatory, transparent and accountable setting. Having just emerged from authoritarian and other forms of non-democratic modes of governance, there were

a number of structural and social inhibitions on the path to the effective exercise of such democratic ideals and values.

It is against the background of such rigidities and inhibitions that the roles of social media is to be appreciated because it help to lubricate the wheels of the system, narrow distances, enable group-think, etc. In subsequent sections, we discuss how social media interacts with liberal democratic forms of governance to engender, deepen and help consolidate democracy. But first, what is social media?

THE SOCIALISATION OF THE MEDIA In essential terms, social media refers to the increasing interface between technology and social interactions. It is about the growing use of technology in communication

and other forms of interactions between two or an infinite number of individuals. Social media technologies such as internet, global system for mobile telephone (GSM) provide the platform for interaction.

Social media differs from traditional media (i.e.

Newspaper, Television, Film, etc) in the sense that social media is relatively less expensive, more readily accessible and gives individuals and groups opportunity to receive, relay and or publish information. An added distinguishing feature of social media is its instantaneity.

Unlike traditional media that normally takes more time to make and relay information, social media gets to millions of interested parties in an instant.

As it came to be known, social media operates in organized networks requiring membership. Examples of such networks can be found on such websites as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Bebo, etc. Indeed, a major power of social media is its capacity to reach large numbers.

If we limit social media to such restricted conceptions, we leave out some of the critical roles it plays in political processes. Thus, there is need to consider the relationship between social and traditional media. Due to growing and credible challenges from social media, traditional media, such as magazines, and other periodicals now publish online, thereby reaching wider audience in real time as well. But the most remarkable responses of traditional media to the challenges posed by social media lies in its innovative use of what is now referred to as citizen journalism, by which people tell their own experiences and stories by themselves, unedited and as they feel it. Thus, as they say in the media parlance, the “microphone is turned to the world”. Taken together, social media and the revolutionary responses of traditional media to the exigencies of time has combined to truly socialize the media to the point that is redefining the space of political participation from the national

“

It is important to state at this point that the role of social media in modern day politics depends, to a very large extent, on the availability of the technological infrastructures, such as computers, mobile telephone, and other such devices

to international. Today, political and other relevant developments in almost any part of the world are instantaneously relayed to, and affect developments in other parts of the world. Consider for instance the impacts of the image of famine stricken infants and women in the horn of Africa, beamed live to a global audience, and the responses it elicited. Also worthy of mention here is the near totalizing power of the social media for popular mobilization, as in the Jasmine Revolution (The Arab Spring), or the trans-nationalization of political activism as manifested in the “anti globalization” protests. However, it is in the process of domestic politics that the roles of social media can be properly contextualized to be appreciated better.

It is important to state at this point that the role of social media in modern day politics depends, to a very large extent, on the availability of the technological infrastructures, such as computers, mobile telephone, and other such devices. Thus, owing to the inequitable distribution of the infrastructure of social media (digital divide), the roles which social media plays in contemporary politics differ between and even within regions of the world. Thus some of the roles which social media plays in Sub-Saharan Africa, for instance may not be considered as novel in advanced Western countries where the required infrastructures for the exercise of the full potential of social media are widely available and have been there long before now.

According to the International institution for the regulation of telecommunication, the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Telecommunication Union, (ITU) in 1993, there were available 3.66 telephones per every 100 persons in Algeria.

Botswana had 2.68, Egypt 3.66, Nigeria 0.32, etc. By 2003 however, teledensity in these countries had improved thus: Algeria 6,93, Botswana 29.71, Egypt 12.73 Nigeria 2.55. This observable increases in telephone availability has been attributed to wide spread liberalization of the telecomm market in Africa, privatization of national economies, influx of foreign direct investment and the growth of national economies in the continent.

However, remarkable as these increases may be, the continent still lags behind the advanced countries. In the US for instance, as at 1997 teledensity was 31, 36 in Europe and 7 in Asia. The picture is much more so in terms of internet availability.

To be contiuned

PAGE 38

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

Tukur begs PDP defectors to return

By Lawrence Olaoye

T

he National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has appealed to old members of the party who defected to the opposition to return to the fold.

This is coming on the heels of his celebration oif his 77 th birthday today in Abuja.

Tukur said the National Working Committee (NWC) of PDP would make special arrangement for members willing to rejoin the party to feel

comfortable on their return, promising to engage them in the ongoing reform within the party with special roles to be assigned to them.

He said, “For us as to be one, indivisible and indissoluble political party ruling Nigeria since 1999, it may be necessary for me to beg our members who are aggrieved and hence left the party into different strange camps to come back home. It is time to re-build Nigeria and all hands are needed to do so.

“The umbrella is big enough to accommodate all of us. So our

members who left us should please come back into the party so we can resolve our differences and begin to move on as one people for one Nation Nigeria” Tukur said he accepted the onerous challenge of leading the ruling party not to acquire fame or fortune, but to give back to Nigeria much of what the country had offered him all along to become who he is today.

The Tafidan Adamawa reiterated that the PDP would soon set machinery in motion to engage its founding fathers, elders and stakeholders in rebuilding the

party through his 12-point agenda of Reconciliation, Reformation and Re-building based on equity and justice, such that PDP would continue to remain in the saddle with spread to all parts of the federation.

Tukur allayed fear of Nigerians on the security challenges facing Nigeria at the moment, stressing that the PDP has always been in league with Federal Government and security agencies in their efforts to mitigate the problem and return Nigeria to the path of peace.

He said the PDP under his leadership had resolved to focus attention on Energy, Environment Sustainability/ food security and Education, while it would use Diplomacy and Dialogue as tools for guaranteeing National Defence.

According to him, the PDP has started repairing its umbrella to accommodate more Nigerians willing to be members, noting that the ruling party had set machinery in motion to reconcile members, most especially in states facing the problem of factionalisation.

Nasarawa PDP to suspend irreconcilable members From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

F

Members of Ibom Future Leaders Forum celebrating the judicial victory of Akwa Ibom state Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, on Friday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo.

Yuguda administration has not guaranteed security of lives and property, says ACN From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

B

auchi state chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has declared that the Isa Yuguda led administration is not doing enough to guarantee security of lives and property in the state.

A statement signed by its state chairman and secretary, Chindo Abdu and Musa Garba Burra respectively and made available to newsmen in Bauchi at the weekend stated that Yuguda’s administration was bedeviled by alarming corruption in public and private sectors, endemic poverty and unemployment, pension arrears and gratuities to retiring workers piling into billions of naira, and debt.

The statement read “After convincingly wining, he planned for his defection to his former party the PDP. In doing that he made many promises that his defection to PDP will the opportunity to achieve, but today apart from the rhetoric in the media, nothing concrete was achieved”

“And in spite of the rhetoric by the government and party officials to bring to an end the ugly trend, nothing concrete is seen to be achieved as names of some sacred cows or their spouses, sons, daughters or family members have continued to be quoted as behind these heinous acts”, the statement said.

The Bauchi ACN chieftains similarly alleged that powers and functions of local government administration have been taken over by the state, as they only pay salary and wait for the state government to execute for them whatever developmental programme they may plan.

They also described Yuguda’s five years in the saddle as a waste, misgovernance, deceit, intimidation, high handedness, and fraud.

The opposition disclosed that the ACN has agreed to merge with other political parties of like minds by in order to form a formidable opposition that will come victorious by the 2015 general elections.

The ACN stakeholders noted

with satisfaction the zeal and enthusiasm of its members to live and remain in the party against all odds and uphold the principles and ideals of the party for fairness, justice, liberty and respect of human right and dignity as core values to usher in a credible election and government in Bauchi state and Nigeria.

The statement said, ACN rose from its meeting in Bauchi with the observation that the first parameter to measure any government in power is the guarantee for the protection of lives and properties of citizens which, it argued, the PDP has failed in this regard.

The statement concluded that ACN government n resumption of the mantle of governance in 2015 would ensure fairness, freedom, liberty, justice, equity, respect for human dignity as well as strive hard to address developmental challenges brought about by what it termed excessive greed, selfish, and lack of sincerity on the part of the PDP leadership in the state.

ollowing dogged efforts to reconcile all aggrieved party members in Nassarawa state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has threatened to suspend any of its aggrieved members that refuses to be reconciled.

Senator Walid Jubril, PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) Secretary handed down the threat in a speech he delivered before the expanded exco meeting of the party which held yesterday at the PDP secretariat in Lafia, the Nasarawa state capital.

The BoT scribe was emphatic when he stated that any member, no matter his position, who fails to heed to calls for reconciliation, will be out rightly suspended, adding that a 3-man committee has been constituted by the national secretariat of the party with a mandate to reconciling aggrieved members of the party

across the states .

On his part, state chairman of the party, Chief Yunana Iliya, announced the formation of a stakeholders forum that “will open room for wider participation and involvement in party administration” at the state level.

While giving the reason for establishing the forum, which shall run from wards, LG, senatorial districts, and the state, as a fallout of the recommendation of the reconciliation committee earlier set up by the party, Iliya challenged party chairmen at the council level to set up similar forums in their domain.

The party chairman expressed hope that by the new harmony and brotherhood being exhibited by members, during the just concluded reconciliatory committee assignments, it is clear that “we shall build a party that is desirable to the yearnings and aspiration of the people.”

Lawmaker urges Nigerians to trust their leaders

S

en. Sani Sale (CPCKaduna Central) has urged Nigerians to always trust their leaders in order to guarantee genuine national growth and development.

He made the call on Saturday in Zaria, Kaduna State while monitoring the by-election for the Zaria constituency seat in the state House of Assembly. ``By now, Nigerians should trust their leaders because they are there to protect and safeguard their interests. ``They should remember that good leaders always make sure that only the right thing is done for the benefit of their own people. `So, for the first time, let us give the leaders that sense of trust especially in this election. I believe both government and security agencies have done the right thing," he said The senator called on CPC members to conduct themselves properly as the Zaria constituency was one of the

party's stronghold and it would continue to win there.

Rep. Abbas Tajudeen, (CPCZaria), while speaking on the election, told newsmen that about 88 ballot papers went missing at the Lemu 1 poling unit.

“At Lemu 1, we learnt that there is a difference between registered voters and number of ballot papers available in the polling unit.

“INEC should explain where the 88 ballot papers went to.

Another thing is that the officials did not wait for the time slated for the election to begin. They just started without any explanation," he said.

When contacted by NAN, the INEC Electoral Officer for Zaria Local Government, Alhaji Hassan Lamido, said he distributed the materials supplied to him ``religiously''.

He said there was no ward given election materials less than the number of its electorate.

“I have successfully done my job,'' he said.(NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

PAGE 39

Cracks in PDP as governors boycott Tukur’s 77th birthday

By Lawrence Olaoye

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here are indications that all may not be well between the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and the 23 state governors on the platform of the party as most of them were conspicuously absent at his 77th birthday and book-launch held in Abuja at the weekend.

Before the boycott of the party chairman’s birthday, there have been speculations that some of the governors were not happy with the leadership of the party and as such have withheld their subventions to the party, therefore incapacitating the National Working Committee (NWC).

It was equally gathered that some of the political office holders on the platform of the party have yet to pay their annual subventions into the coffers of the party therefore making its leadership to lack funds to run the activities of the party and carry out its financial obligations.

Only three of the PDP governors including those of Abia, Bauchi and Kaduna were present with governors of Plateau and Katsina being represented by their deputies at the Transcorp Hilton, venue of the birth/book-lunch in Abuja.

Although Governor Theodore Orji of Abia state who spoke on behalf of the PDP governors apologized on their behalf for the absence, there are speculations that the remaining governors

were in Abuja but deliberately boycotted the occasion.

Meanwhile, accolades and encomiums poured in for the PDP chairman from various speakers at the weekend.

President Goodluck Jonathan said Tukur is an example of vision to upcoming generations of Nigerians.

He called on writers in the country to document the life history and achievements of outstanding Nigerians for the benefit of young and unborn children.

The President, who severally referred to Tukur as “our father” reminded Nigerians that the PDP chairman did not suddenly become wealthy overnight but had to toil day and night to get to the zenith of his business empire.

He commended the role Tukur has been playing in promoting African unity through the African Business Roundtable and emphasized that he has promoted business in Africa more than any other individual.

“We need to write and read more stories of successful Nigerians to serve as inspiration to younger Nigerians”.

While presenting the book titled “The Global Villager,” former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana described Tukur as “a tremendous man of courage” who took a lot of risk during the military era to join former vice president Alex Ekwueme, Chief Solomon Lar and others to form the G34 which eventually metamorphosed into the Peoples Democratic Party.

National Honors Award lacks merit, CNPP From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

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he Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) Benue has criticized the conferment of national today honours on some Nigerians for lacking in merit.

According to the Conference, the merit awards to be conferred on the awardees by President Goodluck Jonathan were ill-timed and not in tune with international standards.

CNPP Benue Chairman, Engr.

Baba Agan, in an interview with journalists at the weekend noted that the award defies international norms where inputs are supposed to be made by Nigerians especially in the areas where the nominees hail from.

Agan said the award came at time when the country is faced with the challenge of flooding that has killed thousands of people and ravaged thousands of communities including farmlands.

“Just imagine the magnitude of devastation caused by flood across the nation. Many people have died, there is famine as a result of the destruction caused to their farmlands yet the President did not deem it fit to put off the ceremony and addresses these issues.

“Look at the number of persons to be conferred with national awards; they are just too many; sometimes I begin to wonder whether some people are not using to buy these honors”, Agan lamented.

He said Nigeria should outgrow the stage where mediocrity is celebrated at the altar of merit. He added that where criticisms against the nomination of any individual become overwhelming, such a person should be honourably disqualified.

Kebbi state Governor, Alhaji Saidu Dakingari, collecting balot materials for the local government election, on Saturday at Abubakar Kigo Central Primary School, in Dakingari, Kebbi state. Photo: NAN

Sack of DESOPADEC Board by House of Assembly in order – Delta govt

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he Delta government says Wednesday's sacking of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) by the House of Assembly is in order.

The government said that the Assembly acted within its powers.

The Commissioner for Information, Mr Chike Ogeah, made the clarification against the backdrop of protest in Warri on Thursday over the dissolution of the agency's board.

The protesters, mainly women, accused the House of Assembly of usurping the powers of the Executive arm of government, saying it is only the state governor who appointed the board that has the powers to sack it.

Similarly, a member of the dissolved board, Chief Michael Diden, was reported to have said

that he would not abide by the action of the lawmakers, insisting that only the state governor had the right to sack the board.

He was said to have claimed that since he was not appointed by the Assembly, it lacked the powers to dissolve the board and sack the members.

Diden said that he would continue to report for duty in his office at DESOPADEC headquarters in Warri, until Gov. Emmanuel Uduaghan resolved the issue.

Ogeah told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the weekend that the matter was a test of the nation's nascent democracy, especially as it pertained to the doctrine of separation of powers. ``The question is that in taking the action, has the Legislature exceeded its powers and consequently acted 'ultra vires' or

has it indeed, acted within its powers. This, to my mind, must be the agitation of Deltans. ``But I know that the executive and the legislature in the state have no problems as both arms have always respected each other, particularly in the discharge of functions.''

NAN recalls that the Assembly dissolved the commission's board over alleged poor performance.

The House accused the board of having nothing to show for the huge annual appropriation of about N35billion to it.

In a unanimous resolution, the legislators said that the impact of the interventionist agency had not been felt in the oil-producing communities in the state "for whom it was set up".

The dissolved board was constituted in August 2011. (NAN)

PDP sympathizes with victims of Ekiti cholera outbreak, slams Fayemi From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

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he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), South-West, has expressed its sympathy to victims of cholera outbreak now ravaging some parts of the state, describing the outbreak as "avoidable and evidence of failure of the Kayode Fayemi-led Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) government in the State."

The party, which said it was painful that Ekiti people no longer get pipe-borne water to drink, added that it was worrisome that the same Ekiti state that did not have a single case of cholera in 2010 that the entire South-West States recorded high cases of the epidemic is now being ravaged by cholera.

In a release issued yesterday by the PDP Zonal Publicity Secretary, Hon. Kayode Babade, the party said the reported case of cholera outbreak in Ikere-Ekiti, Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti state was the second in Ekiti State this year, declaring "a responsible government would have taken steps to prevent its reoccurrence instead of waiting for people to be killed before rushing to intervene."

"In July, two persons reportedly died from cholera outbreak in Igbara-Odo, Ekiti South/West Local Government area of Ekiti state. And now, there is another outbreak of cholera in Ikere-Ekiti, a town less than 30km from Igbara-Odo. "This to us is unacceptable especially in a state where the ACN government claimed it committed N3.2 billion to provision of pipe borne water this year alone.

"Funny enough, before the ACN paid its ways into power in Ekiti, there was a certain Cleric then, who was always criticising the state government about provision of water, and no doubt, such criticism spurred the government into pursuing relentlessly, adequate provision of pipe-borne water in the state.

"It was evident that lack of pipe borne water was almost becoming a thing of the past before the PDP left government in 2010 via the Salamic judgment and Ekiti state was already on the verge of selling water to neigbouring states.

"However, it appears that the Cleric had left Ekiti because if he was still talking on the issue of water provision in the state at one tenth of how he was talking when PDP was in government in Ekiti, the situation would not have degenerated to this level that cholera is now ravaging the State.

"While we sympathise with victims of this new cholera outbreak, we wish to urge the ACN government in Ekiti State to stop paying lips service to provision of basic amenities, especially water for the people and begin a process of salvaging the government from total failure that it has obviously become," PDP said.

PAGE 40

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

Plateau bye-election: Dungs, Pam, Giwa emerge DPP, ACN, APGA's candidates From Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

F

ormer Delta state Military Administrator, Col John Dungs (rtd), former Plateau state's Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Yusufu Pam and Amb. Chris Giwa yesterday emerged flag-bearers of the Action Congress of Nigerian (ACN), Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) and All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) respectively for Plateau Northern Senatorial District bye-elections.

The trio emerged at the parties

congresses where delegates from the five local government areas of the state that make-up the senatorial district converged at their respective party secretariats and affirmed the candidature of Pam, Dungs and Giwa as they were unopposed.

Shortly after their emergence, the candidates in their respective acceptance speeches pledged to pursue the path of peace and true reconciliation if given the mandate to represent the district in the National Assembly.

They however blamed the

persistence bloodbath in the state on the government of the day for its inability to be just and fair to all manners of people regretting that the state was known to be the most peaceful state in the country but that the story is now different and that everything possible should be done by all and sundry to ensure that peace is restore to the state.

Pam, the ACN flag-bearer, disclosed that one of the primary indicators of development is justice and promised to uphold the principles for which the party stands for; stressing that he decided to

contest the election having participated actively in the peace process in the state, particularly as the chief law officer of the state during the most trying period of the emergency rule declared by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo.

According to him, it was because of the representative government put in place in Jos North that ensured that there was peace in the area from 2004 until the present administration decided to conduct the November 27, Local Government election despite all advice to the contrary that sparked off the mayhem on November 28, which, he said, had continued unabated till date.

He pledged to replicate that formula to ensure the return of permanent peace in the restive zone and the state at large. Pam explained that "During the emergency period, we organised the Plateau Peace Conference, with representatives of all the ethnic nationalities in the state and at the end we produced what we called 'Plateau Resolves' and I still believe

that the document holds the key to peace not only in the zone, but in the entire state because we applied the formula to Jos North and for four years there was peace in the area".

According to him, "The motto of our great parties is Peace, Justice and Progress and I promise to make them the cardinal points of my service to the people of Plateau North".

The former chief law officer of the state regretted that the crises in the state and the zone had persisted because wrong principles were often applied in bringing peace to the troubled state suggesting that "Instead of peace enforcement, we should start to think of peace building because without confidence building, even if a soldier is attached to every house, there will still be that mutual suspicion. I and some friend have sent a bill to the state House of Assembly for a Peace and Reconciliation Commission and I hope that the House will fasten the process of passing the bill into law so that together with me as the initiator and by the grace of God, a Senator, we will restore peace to our state".

PDP wins Zaria Assembly by-election

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L-R: Governors Rotimi Amechi of Rivers state, Iheodore Orji of Abia state, Deputy Governor of Adamawa, Barrister Bala Nggilari, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom and Isa Yuguda of Bauchi state, during a meeting between the PDP's governors and President Goodluck Jonathan, on Saturday night, at the State House in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

Anambra North insists on producing governor in 2014

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he people of Anambra North Senatorial Zone have insisted that the area would produce the next governor at the governorship election of the state scheduled for 2014.

Rising from a meeting in Awka, the group which meets under the umbrella of "Olu Na Dagbe," said that part of the decision was based on an agreement reached with Gov. Peter Obi in 2010.

Addressing newsmen shortly after the meeting, Chief Chris Eluemunoh, the President-General of Nkwelle-Ezunaka community in Oyi Local Government Area, said that the stewardship of the people under governors from other zones was long enough.

Eluemunoh said that besides the agreement, "the zone as at today has become the goose that lays golden eggs for Anambra as oil is now coming from the area.

"We discussed with Gov. Peter Obi in 2010 when he was seeking re-election, and we told him that we are going to hold him responsible if anything goes wrong, and he made a promise to sponsor a candidate from the North, if need be.

"Anambra has produced three governors from the central, two from the south and none from the north, yet we have all that it takes to produce governor.

"You must not also forget that the newly inaugurated Orient

Petroleum Resources Ltd., which produces crude oil, is in Anambra North, and now people from the central and south will come to dominate, we will not allow it.''

Eluemunoh noted that the discovery of oil in the senatorial district would boost the chances of the area clinching the governorship position.

"Machinery has been set in motion to ensure that nobody from the zone contest or accepts deputy governorship position, and there would be strict sanction for that.

"We do not care from what party the next governor comes from, so long as he is from Anambra North, " Eluemunoh said. (NAN)

CNPP tasks Gov. Akpabio on industrialisation

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he Chairman, Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) in Akwa Ibom, Mr Linus Udofia, has tasked Gov. Godswill Akpabio to focus on industrialising the state with his final court victory.

Udofia made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) while congratulating the governor on his Federal High Court victory in Uyo on Saturday.

``The CNPP pleads with all those who were involved in the litigation to team up with the governor to industrialise the state as he had promised to fulfill his campaign promises. ``The governor during his electioneering campaign assured the people that he was in a hurry to industrialise the state and that he will build one industry per local government," he said.

The chairman said that for

that to happen, there should be peace and cooperation among indigenes of the state.

He said the state was in dire need of industrialisation to create employment for the teeming youths, adding that such would help to curb the security challenges facing the nation.

He appealed to the governor to forgive all those that took him to court having won the victory.

(NAN)

lhaji Shehu Malami NuhuBabajo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has won Saturday's by-election into Kaduna State House of Assembly for Zaria constituency.

Announcing the result on Sunday, the Returning Officer, Dr Dauda Ishaya of the Agric Department, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, declared that Nuhu-Babajo scored 13, 659 votes to defeat four other candidates.

He said: "Shehu Malami NuhuBabajo of PDP has emerged winner, having satisfied all the conditions and recquirement of the law and scored the highest number of votes.

"He is hereby returned as elected member to represent Zaria state constituency at the Kaduna

State House of assembly."

Others Ishaya said, were Kasimu Iliyasu of CPC who came second with 9,031 votes and Muhammad Inuwa-Umar of PRP who got 999 votes to place third.

He said Nasiru Shehu of the ANPP scored 504 votes, and Shu'aibu Abubakar of ACN got 150 votes.

NAN reports that the byelection took place in six wards of Zaria Local Government Area namely, Kwarbai A, Kwarbai B, Kaura, Anguwan-Juma, Anguwan-Fatika and Limanachi.

The by-election was conducted following the death of Alhaji Mustapha Bawa of CPC who died in July, having represented the constituency since 2007. (NAN)

ACF Chairman urges revitilisation of railway system

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he Chairman, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Kano chapter, Alhaji Sabo Nanono, on Saturday called for the revitalisation of the railway system to enhance the distribution of fertilisers across the country.

Nanono, who is also a large-scale farmer and retired banker, gave the suggestion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano. ``The major component of fertiliser cost now is the transportation cost; If the railway system is revamped, the cost of the commodity will definitely come down," he said.

According to him, the revitalisation of the railway system will not only reduce the cost of transporting the commodity but also ensure effective distribution of the commodity in the country.

``If there is effective railway system where you can transport fertiliser at cheaper cost, the cost of the commodity will reduce by between 20 per cent and 25 per cent."

Nanono also urged the Federal Government to accord the agricultural sector top priority to enhance food production and socioeconomic development of the country.

He said no amount of money spent on the sector could be too much in view of its importance in the economic development and security of any nation. ``We have to really take agriculture as a national security item because the best way to secure ourselves is to feed ourselves. ``If you cannot feed yourself, you are vulnerable either to internal commotion or external aggression.''

(NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

PAGE 41

Jonathan to award paralympic gold medalists MON today, gives others cash

By Patrick Andrew

S

ix 2012 London Paralympic Games gold medalists will today be decorated with the Member of the Order of the Niger (MON)-an award that will be conveyed on them in appreciation of their illustrious representation of the country at the Games.

The six powerlifters had earlier on Saturday being hosted along with their colleagues and members of the Falconets to a State Reception where President Goodluck Jonathan made pronouncements to that effect.

The six athletes had won gold medals at the Games where Nigeria placed 22nd overall among 164 participating countries, and finished third behind Tunisia and South Africa among African countries.

The feat erased the gloom brought upon the nation when Team Nigeria contingent to the London Summer Olympics- ablebodied athletes- failed to win any medal in spite of the Federal Government’s huge investment and the great expectation that they had gingered in the public prior to the Games.

But the Paralympians made up

of a team of 29 athletes and 19 officials, achieved the feat to the delight of President Jonathan, who vowed that Nigeria will never again participate in any competition and returned empty handed.

Today, the six gold medallists that will be decorated include Yakubu Adesokan, who set a new world record in the men’s -48 kg, along with Grace Anozie, Ivory Nwokorie, Loveline Obiji, Joy Onaolapo and Esther Oyema.

Jonathan also announced a cash reward of N5million for each gold medallist, while the five silver medallists were rewarded with N3m each and N2.5m for the two bronze medallists respectively.

Other members of the Paralympic team who did not win any medal at the Games, which was held from Aug. 29 to Sept. 9, were also rewarded with N500,000 each.

Further, the president announced a reward of N1m to each of the 23 members of the Falconets, while their officials are to receive N1.2 million each.

The Falconets had finished fourth at the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup finals held in Japan from Aug. 18 to Sept. 8 in Japan.

Jonathan who noted that no amount of money or award would be enough to reward the two groups of Nigerian sports figures said the reception was a modest recognition of their achievements.

“This is a modest recognition, which is just a token in our appreciation of your efforts. It is not the value of the money, but the recognition of your achievement, which is much more than any reward,’’ he said.

The president praised the athletes, saying they gave hope to the Nigerian youths and those that are physically challenged.

“You represented our country to the best of your abilities. You competed among the very best in the world and still kept your heads.

You made us proud, and I commend your exceptional courage.

“The Paralympians have also demonstrated to their fellow countrymen and women that being physically challenged is no barrier.

“It is also a great achievement on the part of the Falconets to come fourth in the world. It is not easy.

You all helped to put smiles on our faces, and helped to remind the world that Nigeria is still a force in sports,’’ he said.

President Jonathan shaking hands with some Paralympians

CAF CHAMPIOMS LEAGUE

Chelsea shock Mazembe

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erekum Chelsea of Ghana defeated TP Mazembe 1-0 at the Accra Sports Stadium yesterday, but crashed out of the championship. A Jordan Opoku 81st minute mark sublime finish handed victory to the Blues.

Chelsea dominated possession in the opening minutes of the clash with Solomon Asante and Joseph Ato-Bissah all coming close.

As the half wore on, the Congolese crept into the game with Given Singuluma, Zambia’s

Rainford Kalaba and Deo Kanda competing to gag the midfield space.

A Jordan Opoku 20th minute mark through pass found AtoBissah but the former Atletico Madrid man was stopped in his tracks by the opposition defence.

Given Singuluma had space inside the Chelsea box and managed to squeeze a shot through Kwaku Andoh and Ahmed Adams but Collins Addo had no difficulties in dealing with

his effort.

Meanwhile, Malian club Djoliba became the first qualifiers for the 2012 CAF Confederation Cup semi-finals after a dramatic 2-1 triumph Saturday away to Moroccan outfit Wydad Casablanca.

Aboubacar Bangoura snatched a finalminute winning goal as Djoliba repeated the victorious scoreline of Bamako two weeks ago and took an unassailable seven-point Group B lead.

.... Says Nigeria will never again under-perform at international sporting events

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resident Godluck Jonathan has decried the dismal performance of Team Nigeria at the 2012 London Olympic Games and expressed the Federal Government’s determination to forestall a repeat of such failure by effecting total overhaul of the sports sector.

Jonathan, who hosted paralympic athletes and the Falconets to a state dinner on Saturday, said his director for a sports submit is intended to draw the roadmap for revamping the sector and ensure Nigeria performs optimally in subsequent international engagements.

“Our performance at the London Olympic Games was a huge disappointment. Therefore, we must revamp the sports sector, so as to make sure that there is no recurrence of what we had recently.

“We must increase our medals haul, we must learn from our mistakes, we must restore our glory days, and we must prepare our youths from the early age.

“Each state must start taking sports more seriously, and we must upgrade our facilities and prepare well ahead for competitions and send our athletes out to hone their skills in order to be able to compete well,’’ he said.

The President who said the Paralympic athletes brought smile to the faces of Nigerians who were worried about the poor outing of the able-bodied athletes said their performances restored hopes.

“They have wiped away our tears. Our hopes have been rekindled. The message they have sent is that we need a greater passion in what we do.

“Their performance confirms that every citizen is important, and that is why this reception will send a clear message that all Nigerians are important,’’ he said.

Jonathan said his administration, in view of the importance it attaches to sports, would be taking hard measures in restoring Nigeria to its rightful place in world sports.

“We need to now look to the future, because we used to be well known for our great performances in boxing, athletics, football, and weightlifting.

“From Hogan Bassey in boxing to our Dream Team of the Atlanta 1996 Olympics, and from our athletics teams at the Sydney Games of 2000 to the outstanding performers at Beijing in 2008, we have made our marks.

“And sports, as a unifying tool and vehicle of development which is also a tool of power, therefore needs the attention of all of us as I am determined to ensure we use it to transform our country.

“This is why I have directed that a National Sports Retreat be convened very soon, for all the issues involved to be discussed for us to see how we can do better,’’ he said.

The president said the retreat would involve all the state governments, the private sector, current and retired athletes, as well as other sports stakeholders.

“At the end of the day, we will come up with policies and actions that will make our outing at the Rio Olympics in 2016 better than what we had recently in London and then set the stage forever for outstanding performances by our athletes,’’ he said.

Jonathan who recalled that Nigerian Paralympic athletes had always performed better than their Nigerian Olympic counterparts said there was no reason for such disparity.

“The Paralympic and Olympic athletes are all from the same genetic pool, and there is no reason why they (the Olympians) cannot win like the Paralympians.

“One thing that we should also ponder about is the fact that many Nigerians are even winning medals for other countries.

“So, we believe that if the right environment is created, all our athletes will be winning. This is what we intend doing with the retreat, because no Nigerian team should ever again underperform,’’ he said.

The president said his administration, in its determination to ensure success, was ready to give good incentives to the private sector to be part of the project.

“We will also give the private sector some incentives to ensure all of us go along on the same page, while the states would also be encouraged to play their own role.

“One can imagine how it will be if every state of the federation picks one sport or athlete to develop to the level of winning a medal each for the country. We will certainly be somewhere,’’ he said.

PAGE 42

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

Bruised Martinez survives Chavez scare, wins WBC title

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ergio Martinez was inches away from being knocked out by Julio Ceasr Chavez, but he survived a torrid final round to claim the WBC middleweight title in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

A series of left hands early in the final round of a memorable bout knocked the Argentinian down and had

Sergio Martinez with WBC title

him badly hurt, but the challenger returned fire and hung on to reach the final bell in a fight that, until the knockdown, he had been dominating.

Martinez won on points over twelve rounds – 117-110 and 118-109 on the other two cards – at a packed Thomas & Mack Centre.

Ringside officials told Associated Press that Chavez landed 37 power punches in the final round while Martinez connected with just eight.

But Martinez landed 390 of 908 punches compared to 178 of 322 for Chavez during the bout.

Asked if he would give Chavez a rematch, Martinez said: “Of course, I’m ready to start training again. Julio fought a great fight. He showed he had heart right until the end.”

Until the final round, the 37-year-old Martinez, whose record now stands at 50-2-2, with 28 knockouts, was far too fast and skilful for Chavez, who dropped to 46-11; 32.

He bloodied his opponents’ nose and closed his left eye with southpaw right jabs and straight left hands, and progressively weakened him with lefts to the body.

For his part, Chavez seemed intent on attempting to pin the smaller Martinez in a corner or against the ropes and dig to the body with hooks and uppercuts.

But each time it appeared he might be starting to

Jamaicans will continue to rule sprints for long time, Blake boasts

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mericans need to get used to Jamaica’s men dominating the global sprinting scene because it will not change soon, Jamaican double Olympic silver medallist Yohan Blake said on Friday.

US men, who once ruled the sprints, have been overwhelmed by Jamaican speedsters at Olympic and world championships since triple world record holder Usain Bolt’s stunning show at the 2008 Beijing Games and the trend will continue, said the 22-year-old world 100 metres champion.

“I would say until the day that we all leave the earth,” the world’s second fastest runner at the 100 and 200 distances told a Kingston news conference.

Yohane Blake

“Because with the calibre of athletes we have right now and given everything the athletes are doing and the JAAA (Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association) and the government.

“Taking everything into consideration and doing what is necessary for the younger generation coming up with the wonderful talent at the (boys and girls high school) championships and keeping the athletes back in Jamaica, with different training camps and all of that.”

He said Jamaica’s dominance has frustrated the Americans.

“We don’t really have a relationship,” Blake said.

“We say ‘hi’ and ‘bye’, because they hated us, they totally hated us because of

our exploits and because we can run and we can have fun and because of our dominance.”

The small Caribbean island won the men’s and women’s 100 and 200 metres at the Beijing Games, with Bolt dashing to world records in both sprints, and the 4x100 metres relay.

Bolt claimed gold in the 100 and 200 again at the London Olympics with Blake taking silver in both before the two helped Jamaica to another world record in the 4x100.

Warren Weir added a bronze in the 200 for a Jamaican sweep, and ShellyAnn Fraser-Pryce defended her 100 title as the islanders won eight of the 12 individual sprint medals awarded in London.

Blake, who joined American Tyson Gay as the world’s second fastest 100 sprinter with his run of 9.69 seconds this year, said he expected to go even faster in 2013.

“It’s going to be really hard for anybody who comes up against me, because I’ll be stronger and I’ll be much fitter and much faster,” he said.

Agent Cubie Seegobin said Blake would continue to run sparingly on the European circuit but the Jamaican sprinter seemed open to more races against anyone, including Bolt whom he raced only at the Jamaican trials and the Olympics in 2012.

“You don’t want the clash to get spoilt,” Blake said of Bolt, “but for me, I would run with anybody any day.

That’s the kind of person I am.

I don’t back down from nothing... I always want to give the people what they want.”

turn the momentum in his favour, Martinez would respond, repeatedly succeeding in spinning away or returning fire.

“I was 20 seconds away from knocking him out,” Chavez said. “I started way too late. Going into the fight, I thought I was going to be able to do all night what I did in that final round.

“I hurt him like no one else before. A rematch is justified.”

Born in Argentina but fighting out of California, the veteran outclassed a game Chavez, the “Son of the Legend”, spoiling the Mexican Independence Day celebrations for many.

South African Stan Christodoulou was the judge who made Martinez a 117-110 winner. The other judges were David Moretti and Adelaide Byrd and Tony Weeks was the referee.

On the undercard, Roman Martinez won the vacant WBO super-featherweight title by beating Miguel Beltran Jr on points. One judge made Beltran an 116111winner but the others scored it 114-113 for Martinez, a former champion.

In a middleweight bout, Matthew Macklin improved to 29-4; 20 when he stopped former champion Joachim Alcine (33-3-1; 19) in the first round.

Former Cuban Olympic Games star Guillermo Rigondeaux improved to 11-0; 8 when he beat Robert Marroquin (22-2; 15) to remain the WBA superbantamweight champion. The scores were 118-108 on each card.

Marroquin was knocked down in the fifth and twelfth round.

Kipsang, Dibaba win Great North Run W

Wilson Kipsang

Tirunesh Dibaba

ilson Kipsang defeated fellow Kenyan Micah Kogo in a sprint finish to win the Great North Run in north-east England yesterday.

Kipsang, this year’s London Marathon winner and the 2012 Olympic Games bronze medallist over the distance outsprinted Kogo in the final 20 metres to win in a time of 59 minutes and six seconds in the half marathon.

Ethiopia’s Imana Merga finished third.

In the women’s race, his compatriot Tirunesh Dibaba powered to victory on her half marathon debut.

The three-time Olympic champion and four-time world champion, who became the first athlete to retain the Olympic 10 000 metres title in London, defeated 2011 world marathon champion Edna Kiplagat and 2012 Olympic Games marathon champion Tiki Gelana for victory in a time of 67 minutes 35 seconds.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

PAGE 43

Bundesliga unveils another Japanese pearl, Kiyotake

T

he Bundesliga may have lost midfielder Shinji Kagawa following his move from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United, but German fans can delight in a new Japanese star in Hiroshi Kiyotake.

The 22-year-old midfielder was the man of the match in Nuremberg’s 3-2 victory at Borussia Moenchengladbach Saturday, and woke up Sunday to some appreciative headlines in the German media.

“A win from the Far East,”

Der Tagesspiegel wrote, while Frankfurter Allgemeine said, “A Japanese leads Nuremberg to victory.”

Kiyotake, in only his third Bundesliga appearance since joining Nuremberg in July, set up Nuremberg’s opening two goals from Timm Klose and Timmy Simons - the first with a freekick, the second from a corner.

After Moenchengladbach pulled back to level at 2-2 he then struck the 55th-minute winner in one of the best goals of the weekend,

Kiyotake is at 1 metre 72 centimetres tall the same size as Kagawa, he has come to Germany from the same club, Cerezo Osaka, plays in the same attacking midfield role and has the same adviser and interpreter.

Kiyotake, who made his debut for the Japanese national team in August last year and played for Japan at the 2012 summer Olympics in London, hopes there will be more to come after a promising league start for Nuremberg, who have seven points from three games.

“I am pleased that I was

able to decide the game with my first goal,” he said through his interpreter. “We

are by no means at our limit yet, and that goes for me, too.”

Hiroshi Kiyotake

Defoe brace earns Juve post Chelsea warning Villa-Boas first Spurs win signal, back on top with

Utrecht have two sent off but beat PSV

A

U

trecht made light of having two players sent off yesterday to inflict a shock 1-0 defeat on PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch league.

The home side had Anouar Kali sent off after 69 minutes but grabbed the lead three minutes later when Dave Bulthuis scored following a corner.

Utrecht were reduced to nine men when Alexander Gerndt was dismissed with 10 minutes but PSV could not capitalise.

On a bad day for the Eindhoven side, midfielder Mark van Bommel picked up a fifth successive yellow card and will be suspended for next week’s clash against Feyenoord.

United States international Jozy Altidore’s hat-trick inspired AZ Alkmaar to a 4-0 home win over Roda JC Kerkrade.

Altidore opened the scoring after 13 minutes with a fierce finish and sealed the win five minutes before the interval with his second after he had set up Kevin Falkenburg to double the lead.

The 22-year-old completed his hat-trick after the break, taking his tally for the season to seven.

Twente Enschede, 6-2 winners over Willem II Tilburg on Saturday, are top with 15 points after five matches, two ahead of Vitesse Arnhem, who registered their fourth straight win by beating Groningen 3-0.

Vitesse were reduced to 10 men after 30 minutes when Jan-Arie van der Heijden was sent off but in the second half Japan international Mike Havenaar headed home the opening goal before Tomas Kalas and Wilfred Bony added two more in the final minutes.

beating two players before driving the ball into the corner of the net.

“Kiyo showed in this game why we made so much effort to get him,” Nuremberg coach Dieter Hecking said.

“We couldn’t expect that he would immediately make such an impact but we shouldn’t get carried away.”

Bild am Sonntag weekly said Nuremberg had now discovered “the next Kagawa” with 1-millioneuro signing Kiyotake - and in fact there are many similarities between the two players.

Jermain Defoe

ndre Villas-Boas secured his first Premier League victory as Tottenham Hotspur manager when his side beat Reading 3-1 yesterday with two goals from England striker Jermain Defoe.

Without a win in their first three games of the season, Tottenham took the lead after 18 minutes when Gylfi Sigurdssdon and Aaron Lennon combined to set up Defoe for a cool finish.

Gareth Bale made it 2-0 after 71 minutes with a scuffed shot from Kyle Walker’s cutback and Defoe continued his hot streak with a superb solo goal, running from inside his own half to clip a shot across Reading keeper Alex McCarthy.

Reading scored a consolation in the 90th minute when Hal Robson-Kanu hooked the ball in at the far post.

Villas-Boas, who failed to complete a season at Chelsea after being sacked in March, had come under pressure after replacing Harry Redknapp at Tottenham but victory lifted his side to 10th in the table with five points.

Promoted Reading are still searching for their first win of the season.

Angry Mourinho wanted to substitute seven players against Sevilla

J

ose Mourinho slammed his Real Madrid side after their 1-0 loss at Sevilla condemned them to their worst La Liga start in a decade, claiming he wanted to replace seven players at half-time, even as their rivals Barcelona opened eight points gap.

Piotr Trochowski’s second-minute goal gave Sevilla victory as Real’s haul of just four points from four games represented the Spanish giants’ most damaging opening since the 2001/02 season.

Real are also eight points behind rivals Barcelona who won 4-1 at Getafe to retain their 100 per cent record. “I changed only two players at half-time, I wanted to change seven of them,” said Mourinho.

“What worries me more than the eight-point difference between us and Barça is that I don’t have a team at the moment.”

Cristiano Ronaldo was the centre of attention in the build-up to the game after he had claimed he was unhappy in the Spanish capital. But Mourinho insisted that the turmoil surrounding the Portuguese

star was not a factor in Saturday’s defeat, his team’s second of the season.

“I don’t think it has affected us. We played a similar game at Getafe and against Granada,” said the manager. “It is more to do with a lack of concentration as a team. I think football is not the top priority for some

Jose Mourinho

in their heads at the moment, but I am the coach and so that is my fault.”

Real face another test of their resilience on Tuesday when English champions Manchester City visit the Bernabeu in their opening UEFA Champions League fixture of the season.

away win

T

wo late goals from Mirko Vucinic and Kwadwo Asamoah sent Serie A champions Juventus back to the top of the table thanks to a 3-1 win away to Genoa yesterday.

The win must be a morale booster to the Old Ladies some three days before meeting Chelsea in the Champions League.

They showed poise and determination to remain unbeaten in 42 matches.

A double strike from Brazilian midfielder Hernanes and a second half effort from Miroslva Klose was enough to send Lazio top on goals difference thanks to a 3-1 away victory away to Chievo in the day’s early match.

Genoa seemed intent on capitalising in a dominant first half which they ended one goal up thanks to a 17th minute strike from Ciro Immobile.

But a double Juve substitution just before the hour mark breathed life back into the visitors’ hopes, with Vucinic coming on for Alessandro Matri and Asamoah replacing Paolo De Ceglie. Genoa seemed ready to grab a second goal with Marco Borriello slamming his header against the bar just before the hour mark. Gianluigi Buffon then did well to save Andrea Bertolacci’s strike.

But Juventus pulled level moments later when midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini shaped a great shot past French keeper Sebastien Frey from 25 metres.

The match then turned in the 76th minute when Juve were awarded a penalty after Bertolacci fouled Asamoah in the box. Frey dived the right way, but could not stop Vucinic’s shot from the spot.

Asamoah virtually put the match beyond reach for Genoa when he pounced to slam the ball past Frey after Vucinic’s pass came off Genoa’s Swedish defender Andreas Granqvist.

RESULTS Reading 1 Tottenham 3 Siena 2 Udinese 2

PAGE 44

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

18th NSF: Handball association promises to excel at festival T

oyin Aluko, the Technical Director of the Lagos State Handball Association (LSHA) has restated the association’s determination to do the state proud at the 8th National Sports Festival (NSF) by winning the gold medal.

Aluko said this over the weekend in Lagos at the closing ceremonies of the week long Lagos State Senior Club Handball Championship at Yaba College of Technology, Lagos.

“We want to host a very

fine festival and at the same time we want to win to compensate government’s huge spending on sports.

“Part of what we require to realise our dream is to keep our athletes in good shape by exposing them to regular competitions. We will do our best to get the gold medal, I assure you,” she said.

Further, he cautioned coaches against insulting referees stressing that serious coaches would rather concentrate on coaching their teams than rain insults of

officials. ”Coaches are not supposed to insult the referees but concentrate on their job and lay a good example for players, “ she said.

It would be recalled that not less than two red cards and several yellow cards were given to coaches who insulted referees in the game.

Adamu Danjuma, a former head coach of the association, said the competition had enhanced the performance profile of the athletes who would represent the state at the

festival.

“Allowing the state athletes to compete with professionals in the state has really positioned the athletes very well in their bid to clinch the gold medal at the NSF,’’ he said. .Danjuma decried the dearth of accomplished handball clubs in the state and urged coaches to work hard on the defence line of the state’s squad.

Meanwhile, Anthony Idolor expressed satisfaction at the performance of his players and promised to deliver gold medals for the

state at the NSF. Eko All Stars emerged winners of both the male and female categories with seven and four points respectively.

The runners up in the two categories were the Police Machine Handball Club and Combat Queens, while J.J Boys, comprising athletes who would represent the state at the festival, came third.

The winners in both categories were given trophies and cash of N40, 000, N35, 000 and N25, 000 respectively.

NVBF seeks more FIVB support for schools programme, referees courses

T

he Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF) says the 33 rd FIVB World Congress in the U.S would help enhance its efforts at technical and grass roots development of volleyball in Nigeria.

The federation’s Secretary-General, Adisa Beyioku, told the News

Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja that the congress would be an opportunity for Nigeria to further enhance the game’s development.

The congress is scheduled for Anaheim in California, the U.S from Sept. 18 to Sept. 22, with the NVBF President, Habu

Nigerian volleyball players in action

Gumel, and Beyioku expected to represent Nigeria.

However, Beyioku said the congress would be more than just an event where the international body would elect its new governing board.

“It is a fact that the congress of FIVB, the

International Volleyball Federation, will elect a new governing board in California later this week.

This board is to be in office for the next four years.

“But Nigeria’s attendance of the congress goes beyond the ordinary, or being part of the elections, as we have a target of ensuring we get the FIVB to make some approvals for us.

“It is indeed an opportunity to discuss with our international body vital issues which concerns the development of volleyball in Nigeria, and get more international support for the federation,’’ he said.

The NVBF SecretaryGeneral said the federation would in particular be seeking more support from the FIVB for its grass roots project tagged “Volleyball at Schools’’.

“This project is a programme designed to take the sport to the grass roots in Nigeria and enhance its development through the schools.

“The FIVB has provided initial support for us through the provision of 2,500 balls which we gave out to some schools.

“But we now want more balls, as well as nets and other equipment that will help to enhance the programme.

“Not only that, we will be looking forward to any other form of assistance we can get from the FIVB or any other body or group, in terms of technical assistance,’’ he said.

Beyioku said the NVBF would also be seeking at the FIVB congress an approval for it to host two courses for

referees next year.

“We are hoping to have one in April for indoor volleyball referees, and the second one in August for beach volleyball, and we are only awaiting the international federation’s endorsement of the dates,’’ he said.

The NVBF official said the referees courses would help to enhance the development of the game not only in Nigeria but the African continent as a whole.

“We want more of our indigenous referees to be FIVB-certified. In the past, our referees have faced the limitation of having to travel abroad to attend courses that will help them get certified.

“The financial burden of this has been enormous, thus preventing many of them from attaining the status that would have not only helped them develop but also help develop our game.

“Now, if we host the courses as we intend to now, many of our referees will attend since the courses will be FIVBsanctioned because they will approve all we will do there and also send resource persons.

“We will also have referees from outside Nigeria coming here for the courses, because such courses are rare and not easy to come by in this part of the world.

“In fact, we will have referees coming from other continents too, and this will not only help the federation but our referees and our game,’’ he said.

Gumel and Beyioku are scheduled to leave for the congress early this week.

Friends of Rugby League only tourney alive, says Williams

N

tiense Williams, the Secretary, Friends of Rugby League, has said that the competition was the only visible development in the sport where rugby could be played annually, from May to December.

Williams said over the weekend in Lagos that this was the sixth edition of the competition which was sponsored by Kelechi Mbagwu, chairman of the friends of rugby league.

“You can not help but agree with me that as long as rugby is concerned in Nigeria, this is the only competition that holds yearly.

“We have been playing this game yearly which is being sponsored by the chairman of the association so that the game would not fade out as a sport in this country.

The second phase of the ongoing competition, which started on Sept. 1 and would end in December, had six Rugby Football Club (RFC) teams featuring in it.

The teams include Police RFC, Cowrie RFC, Young Lions RFC, Gosar RFC, Ilorin RFC and Lagos RFC where Police beat Lagos RFC 15-0, Cowrie beat Gosar RFC 733, and Ilorin beat Young Lions RFC 22-0.

The match is played fortnightly, was played at the National Stadium’s main bowl.

Joseph Ofoha, Coach of Cowrie RFC that is currently the strongest team in the country, attributed their success to hard work and dedication to training.

“We thank God for giving us the strength and skill in which we have developed through years of consistent training and I also appreciate the chairman of the association for organising such an event.

“Without such competitions, rugby would have virtually been forgotten in the hearts of both of fans and spectators.”

Bolaji Abdullahi, Sports Minister

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

PAGE 45

pictorial

a/ Roberto Mancini has paid a glowing tribute to Carlos Tevez as the first anniversary of the pair's bust-up in last season's Champions League draws ever closer. b/ Liverpool legend Ian Rush is adamant that Brendan Rodgers will be a success at Anfield if he is given time.

<a>

c/ Carl Froch believes Ricky Hatton is wrong to come out of retirement and restart his boxing career with a fight in November.

<d>

d/ Thousands of fans turn out on the streets of Dunblane to cheer on US Open champion and Olympic gold medallist Andy Murray.

<b>

e/ Dimitri Mascarenhas warns England it will be difficult to defend their World Twenty20 title in Sri Lanka.

<e>

f/ London Welsh secure their first ever Premiership points and victory with a hard-fought display against Exeter Chiefs.

<c>

g/ Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud insists he is "keeping the faith" in his abilities as the wait for more goals at the club.

<f>

<g>

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

PAGE 47

FACTS * Fortune cookies were actually invented in America, in 1918, by Charles Jung. * A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue. * Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying. * The pitches that Babe Ruth hit for his last-ever homerun and that Joe DiMaggio hit for his first-ever homerun where thrown by the same man. * Bats always turn left when exiting a cave. * The praying mantis is the only insect that can turn its head. * In Tokyo, they sell toupees for dogs. * There are over 52.6 million dogs in the U.S. * Dogs and cats consume almost $7 billion worth of pet food a year.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

ACROSS 7 Blameworthy (6) 8 Workers on stone (6) 9 Help criminally (4) 10 (Of that) name (3) 11 Canines (4) 12 Finishing (6) 14 Tooth-related (6) 16 Niffy (6) 19 Carry, send (6) 21 Pleasure tour (4) 23 Galley slave’s device (3) 24 Bequeathed (4) 25 West African republic (6) 26 Hostility (6)

* Baby robins eat 14 feet of earthworms every day. * The Pentagon has twice as many restrooms as necessary.

When it was built, segregation was still in place in Virginia, so separate restrooms for blacks and whites were required by law. * In England, in the 1880's, "Pants" was considered a dirty word.

DOWN

* Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin.

1 Sikh’s wrap-around hat (6) 2 Of a battery, having run down (4) 3 Putting into a classification (6) 4 Preserved, cured (6) 5 Second-hand (4) 6 Puzzling person or thing (6) 13 Under the weather (3) 15 Holy sister (3) 17 Merchant’s margin (4,2) 18 __ of the Guard, Beefeater (6) 19 Stoppered (6) 20 Degenerate (6) 22 Cone-bearing tree (4) 24 Mobile light (4)

* In 2003, there were 86 days of below-freezing weather in Hell, Michigan. * It is believed that Shakespeare was 46 around the time that the King James Version of the Bible was written. In Psalms 46, the 46th word from the first word is "shake" and the 46th word from the last word is "spear".

Yesterday’s answer

Source: Weird facts

JOKE A man is talking to God The man: "God, how long is a million years?"

God: "To me, it's about a minute."

The man: "God, how much is a million dollars?"

God: "To me it's a penny."

The man: "God, may I have a penny?"

God: "Wait a minute."

Quick CrossWord (28)

Burden of motherhood! A woman riding bicycle with three children.

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

QUO TABLE Q UO TE UOT QUO UOTE These institutional restrictions have the odious odour of covenants in restraint of trade

. . . putting the people first

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

SPORTS LA TEST LATEST

CAF Champions league semi-finals

It’s Sunshine versus Ahly

N

igeria’s Sunshine Stars will clash with six times champions Al Ahly of Egypt in the semi-finals of the elite clubs’ competition. The Stars will host Ahly in the first leg of the fiesta in Nigeria on October 6.

Sunshine qualified for the semi-finals without playing their last group game following the expulsion of Etoile du Sahel who were to be their opponents over crowd trouble during one of their matches with neighouring team.

Ahly drew 1-1 with Zamalek yesterday to finish top of their group and avoid a semifinal meeting with defending champions Esperance of Tunisia.

Winger Mohamed Barakat came off the bench to equalise for Al Ahly in the 64th minute of the Cairo derby against Zamalek, who led from a 43rd minute Mohamed Ibrahim goal.

The 1-1 draw means Ahly finished one point ahead of TP Mazembe Englebert of the Democratic Republic of Congo, who lost 1-0 at Berekum Chelsea of Ghana also yesterday in the Group B standings.

Had Ahli lost yesterday they would have had to play Esperance, reviving a longstanding tempestuous rivalry.

Mazembe instead now play the holders in the other semifinal with the first leg in Lubumbashi and the return in Tunis on October 20.

The final four clubs had already been decided earlier this month but the pairings were still up for grabs in this weekend’s final set of group games.

On Friday, Esperance failed in a bid to break Ahli’s record of 19 successive unbeaten matches in the Champions League after they lost 1-0 at bottom-placed ASO Chlef of Algeria in their last Group A encounter.

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– Okechukwu Emmanuel Wali (SAN), NBA President on constitutional ban on retired justices from private practice

Islam and the West (1) Though the lion and the antelope live in the same forest, the antelope still has time to grow up – Ghanaian Proverb major casualty of the fury in Muslim nations over a movie made in the United States which insulted the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) was the U.S Ambassador to Libya and three other US citizens. They died during a siege in Benghazi, a city which has been the frontline and symbol of the Libyan people's uprising against their late leader, Muammar Ghaddafi.

That uprising involved the very active, and some may say, even decisive involvement of the US and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The events in the last few days in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and many other Muslim countries has refocused attention on the difficult relations between the West and Islam. I have decided to start this two-part series on Islam and the West with a comment I made for our Radio and Television station which was broadcast on 25th September, 2011, almost one year ago. It was titled, "PostGhaddafi Libya: A Difficult Road to Many Destinations": The National Transitional Council which provided the political leadership for the insurgency which ousted and killed Muammar Gaddafi last week led the celebration for Liberation Day on Sunday, 23rd of October. The world watched hundreds of thousands of Libyans formalize a victory in Benghazi, the city which provided the bulwark of the resistance against Gaddafi virtually for his entire reign, but particularly since the insurgency built up and took on much of the traditional cultural and political fault lines of the Libyan nation. It is difficult not to share some of the relief of the Libya people that the 9-month old insurgency has come to an end. Nonetheless, even as they celebrate, it is not difficult to see that the road ahead for them will be fraught with many challenges, some of them with the potential to rob them of the benefits of removing Gaddafi.

This is a time for deep reflection, and friends of the Libyan and African people should have the courage to give them honest and practical advise as they commence the difficult task of national reconstruction and reconciliation.

The image of the dead and beaten up body of Gaddafi being dragged by a crowd made up of supposedly civilised Libyan Muslims will remain indelible in the mind of a global

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FIFTEEN MINUTES with Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed drbabaahmed@yahoo.com

US Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens audience. It will dent the joy and accomplishment of the celebrations even in Benghazi.

It will particularly leave a negative image in the minds of other Muslims who believe that a dead body, anyone's dead body, deserves to be treated with some dignity. When Americans threw the dead body of Osama Bin Laden into the ocean for fish to feed on, they at least claimed that they gave him his rites as a Muslim, and did not humiliate and violate his dead body and gloat over their actions on television.

When the US captured Saddam Hussein, they tried and hanged him, instead of killing and desecrating his dead body. Now, even NATO nations who provided the fire power and the intelligence which led to the ouster, capture and eventual killing of Gaddafi are joining the chorus of demands for enquiry into how or why he was killed after his capture. Nothing will come out of this hypocrisy.

The savagery which was shown on global television by some Libyans has exposed the soft underbelly of the revolution. Gaddafi's 42years in power, much of it spent in brutal suppression of opposition must have robbed many Libyans of their basic humanity. The nine months of bitter and brutal campaign to oust him had further affected every Libyan very badly. Both sides adopted the most inhuman

methods in the conflict, and in the end, the struggle to remove Gaddafi had stripped Libyans of their civilisation and humanity to their bare bones. Those who fought these bitter battles against each other, including those who dragged a dead body through the sand, are going to continue to live within Libyan communities. They will also keep their arms and ammunitions. And some of their memories and bitterness. And they will count graves, and injuries and bullet holes. And others will ask how all these will be justified by the outcomes of the revolution.

There will be many who will be counted among the defeated.

They will continue to live in Libya, but may have to pay a price for siding with, or defending Gaddafi. They too will have their reasons and justification for their choices.

And they will have their arms and ammunitions; and their grievances and bitterness. They too will ask how the revolution will be better than Gaddafi's rule. There are yet many who will wake up to a new Libya which has been thrown wide open to NATO countries. They will ask how the new Libya will or should relate with Europe and the US. They will ask deep and searching questions over the cost of reconstruction; which nations among the NATO coalition will get the biggest contracts for rebuilding what NATO bombers destroyed; and what type of constitution and political system Europe and the US will now insist is adopted

by Libyans. Those among them who may retain some pride in being an independent people that, although at great price, stood up to the US and Europe under Gaddafi in the past, may resent the possibility that their faith and culture will suffer to the degree of NATO influence in their lives. They too will have their arms and ammunitions; and their memories and their sympathisers.

There are tribal leaders, religious leaders and leaders of factions who will each jostle for a place in the sun in the new Libya. Many will test the

powers and the resolve of the NTC, and its NATO backers.

They will quarrel and bicker on the type of constitution to adopt; on how victors and vanquished should be treated; how Arab and Islamic they want the new Libya to be; and how to deal with the many legacies and liabilities of Gaddafi's 42 year rule. They will have to fight over, and learn how to elect new leaders; how hundreds of thousands of young people can be disarmed and demobilized; and how trust can be rebuilt among and across communities. And they will have their arms and ammunition; and their memories and bitterness over the course of the last 9 months.

The Libyan people have come through one of the worst crisis any people can go through.

The killing of Gaddafi and the bestial treatment of his body may have given a small number of Libyan people some satisfaction. But now the real work of reconciliation and rehabilitation has to begin.

There is no easy way forward.

Every challenge they will meet has the potential of opening up new theatres of conflict. They need a strong and broad-based leadership which should disarm citizens and begin the process of reconciling the people. They need NATO to lower its profile, and retreat sufficiently to allow some semblance of Libyan influence in deciding a Libyan future. They need to reintegrate with Africa and the Arab world in a manner that acquires support for them to reduce the influence of NATO, as they embark on the difficult road to a new life. They need to look at the abuses and excesses on both sides of the conflict, and commence the process of addressing the requirements of guaranteeing basic human rights, particularly for the thousands of black people who have been imprisoned on sundry and questionable suspicions. The journey of the Libyan people will be difficult because there will be arguments over routes and destinations. It will be tragic if a post-Gaddafi Libya continues to suffer because its people and leaders fail to appreciate the fact that the reverse side of Gaddafi is the emergence of a democratic system that gives every citizen a fair chance to make concrete choices over how he lives, and who governs him. It will not be easy to build that system; but failure to build it will mean an unending conflict and real potentials for prolonged civil war. This is the one destination Libyans should avoid at all cost.

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