Peoples Daily Online

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

Vol. 9 No. 92

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

. . . putting the people first

No subsidy payment to crooks, Okonjo-Iweala warns mum’s abductors >> PAGE 3

Bandits kill Zamfara ex-commissioner >> PAGE 3

Safar 4, 1434 AH

N150

FG declares Christmas, New Year holidays >> PAGE 5

YAKOWA, AZAZI

Govs, Reps doubt Jonathan’s probe . . . to hire independent investigator Navy recovers flight comm. equipment

By Lawrence Olaoye, Joy Baba, Abuja & Agaju Madugba, Kaduna

I

n what seems like a vote of no confidence on the probe ordered by President Goodluck Jonathan into last Saturday’s helicopter crash that claimed the lives of late Kaduna state governor, Patrick Yakowa and former National Security Adviser, Andrew Azazi, the Nigeria Governor’s Forum (NGF) yesterday resolved to engage an independent investigator in order to unravel the circumstances surrounding the fatal crash.

Similarly, the House of Representatives has declared that it will institute investigations into the remote and immediate causes of the crash.

First Lady weeps in Kaduna

Speaker, House of Representatives, Honourable Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, signing the condolence register during his visit to the family of former Kaduna state Governor, Mr. Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, yesterday in Kaduna.

Contd on Page 2

PD INDEX

17th Dec., 2012

CBN RATES $ £ EURO CFA RIYAL

BUYING 154.76 249.02 201.11 0.2894 41.24

SELLING 155.76 250.63 202.41 0.3094 41.53

PARALLEL RATES EURO £ RIYAL $

BUYING 207 255 42 157

SELLING 209 256 44 158

Abuja hospital records first kidney transplant

By A’isha Biola Raji

A

major medical breakthrough has been recorded in the nation’s capital, Abuja, as a team of Nigerian doctors have successfully carried out a kidney transplant

operation on a 20-year-old patient, Gabriel Onogu.

The landmark operation took place last Friday at Viewpoint Hospital in Gwarimpa Estate, Abuja by a team of surgeons led by Mr. Elijah Maina and his partner, Prof. Hakeem. Three more patients

are on the list for transplant which the hospital believes will also be successful.

Maina, a consultant, traumavascular and general surgeon, had worked in the UK before he came back to Nigeria.

He initially worked with the

State House Clinic and National Hospital, Abuja but is now working with various hospitals in Abuja.

Viewpoint Medical Director, Dr. Hauwa’u Bello Gambari described the successful operation as a remarkable feat and major Contd on Page 2

PAGE 2

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

CONTENTS

Govs, Reps doubt Jonathan’s probe

News

Contd from Page 1 This is even as the Navy yesterday said it has recovered important documents needed to verify the pilot’s communication with the central tower before the crash which also killed four others: Dauda Tsoho and Warrant Officer Mohammed Kamal and the pilots, Commander Muritala Mohammed Daba and Lt. Adeyemi O. Sowole, while they were returning from the burial of the father of an aide to the President, Chief Oronto Douglas.

Rising from an emergency meeting in Abuja following the demise of their colleague, the NGF, the umbrella body of the 36 state governors in the country, however expressed support for the directives of the President for a thorough investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the helicopter crash and called for transparency and openness in the process.

However, the state chief executives resolved, in spite of the President’s probe, to engage independent investigators to give them first-hand information on the probe to be instituted by the government.

According to a communiqué signed by the chairman of the NGF, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state, “the Forum further resolved to engage a consultant to participate in the investigation process or serve as an observer”.

The 36 governors condoled with President Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo, who was late Yakowa’s immediate boss when he was governor of Kaduna state, and the government and people of Kaduna and Bayelsa states. The Governors forum also expressed its condolence to the families of Yakowa, Azazi, their aides and the two pilots that died in the ill-fated helicopter flight.

On its own part, the House of Representatives yesterday declared that it would institute investigations into the remote and immediate causes of the crash.

The decision was contained in a statement by the Chairman of the House committee on Aviation, Rep. Nkiruka Onyejiocha (PDP-

2-10

Editorial

12

Op.Ed

13

Letters

14

Opinion

15

Metro

16-18

Business

19-22

S/Exchange

23

S/Report

24-25

Defence

26

Agriculture

28

MDAs recurrent budget expenditure as conduit pipe for govt officials, Page 4

Int’l

31-35

Politics

37-40

Sports

41-46

Leisure

47

Columnist

48

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

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Abia), and made available to the newsmen in Abuja yesterday.

According to the lawmaker, the committee would strengthen its oversight function of the aviation sector to ensure air safety in the country.

“We will leave no stone unturned toward ensuring air safety in Nigeria by strengthening our oversight function of the relevant regulatory agencies in the aviation sector,” she said.

According to her, the committee will liaise with the military authorities to ensure that proper and due diligence check was conducted regularly on military aircraft in the country.

She condoled with the families of those who lost their lives in the crash, especially the government and people of Kaduna state.

Meanwhile, the Navy yesterday said it has recovered all the important documents needed to verify the pilots communication with the tower.

The Naval Chief of Training and Operations, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogbor stated this in Abuja while addressing journalist on the crash. He said it is hoped that the documents would still be in good condition after staying long in the smoke before recovery.

Stating that the helicopter was in good condition contrary to speculations that it was faulty, Ogbor said the Navy has already set up an accident investigation board to unravel the remote and immediate causes of the unfortunate incident adding that the Navy will not want to pre-empt the findings of the investigations.

Members of the board constituted, he said, includes aircraft investigation specialist, the manufacturers of the aircraft, Agusta Westland and other aviation regulatory agencies as provided for by extant regulations.

Dispelling speculations that the ill-fated aircraft was unfit, Ogbor said the aircrafts belonging to the Navy are safe and fit otherwise the Captain in Command will not embark on any mission. He noted that an engineer is always on ground who must check after every mission to ensure the aircraft was fit to return to the

the air.

Ogbor said all the Nigerian Navy’s aircraft are manufactured specifically by Agusta Westland and built according to specification of NN noting that the helicopter NN 07 was procured in 2004 not refurbished as being speculated.

According to Ogbor, “The Nigerian Navy Helicopters, including the NN07 that crashed are properly maintained and serviced regularly in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications. In line with this, the Nigerian navy conducts routine maintenance of its helicopters in conjunction with the aircraft manufacturer, Agusta Westland.

“In order to ensure serviceability of helicopters, a certified technical support Engineer from Agusta Westland is retained in Nigeria by NN at a huge cost to support maintenance efforts.

The engineer in collaboration with the Nigerian Navy engineers certifies the air worthiness of the helicopters before any deployment”.

He further said that the last scheduled routine maintenance for NN07 was concluded on 19th November, 2012 and cleared for operations the following day adding that the aircraft had more than 80 flight hours before the next scheduled routine maintenance.

The operation chief noted that the Nigerian navy in fulfilment of it statutory mandate, has its helicopters employed in multi-role military operations as force multipliers, such as surveillance, logistic support to ships at sea, search and rescue and medical evacuations.

Apart from these roles, the helicopters are also deployed in aid to civil authority in peace time and VIP movement and humanitarian /disaster relief operations, he added.

First Lady, Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan, could not control her emotions yesterday as she broke down and wept uncontrollably for about three minutes when she visited Amina, widow of late Kaduna state Governor, Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, at the Kaduna Government House.

Yakowa was killed last Saturday, along with former National Security Adviser, Gen. Andrew Aziza, and four others, in a Navy helicopter crash in Bayelsa state.

Since then, visitors have continued to troop into Kaduna to condole with the Yakowa family and the new Governor, Allhaji Muktar Ramalan Yero, who was sworn into office on Sunday afternoon.

Some of yesterday’s sympathizers included a 10-man delegation from the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) led by its Chairman, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state; Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, as well as the wife of Benue state Governor, Yemisi Suswam, among several others.

In tears, the First Lady described the late Yakowa as a hard-working man. “I am sorry that am crying. I cry because I am a woman and I know what she (Yakowa’s wife) is passing through.

“We came here to console her, with the good people of Kaduna state. Yakowa was a peaceful man, a man who was everything, a strong, hardworking man.

“My sister and friend, we seat in sorrow. I want you to know that you are the mother and father of your children now and we will continue to hold you in prayers.

“It is only God that can comfort because man cannot comfort you. May the Almighty God comfort you. It is quite unfortunate because this is the time we need Yakowa most in our lives but God has called him,” she declared.

Patience Jonathan later wrote in the condolence register that “we are also gladdened that you (Yakowa) were a true patriot who was devoted to the welfare of your people without regard for the divides and differences. Our prayers is that God, Almighty will receive you into His peace and grant your sweet repose.”

Abuja hospital records first kidney transplant Contd from Page 1 breakthrough and expressed optimism over the three remaining patients.

Giving insight into the transplant, Gambari said the lucky patient is doing well and even started “making” urine on the operating table. She said Onogu has been out of school because he was on dialysis. The young man’s condition has been a huge burden on his family since his father is late.

“He should be getting dialysis three times a week but because his father is late, his mother is an unemployed widow and his brother Stephen Onogu, the donor,

is also an unemployed graduate.

They couldn’t even pay for the dialysis and for this reason, he was having his dialysis once in a week which wasn’t good for him,” said Dr. Gambari.

She said getting a donor is not a problem but at the same time not easy since the organ has to be compatible with the patient “One cannot just request for another’s kidney. Even when there is a donor, the kidney has to be screened for compatibility. Drugs have to be given that will prevent rejection for life. Chances of succeeding are higher if the compatibility supersedes”, she explained.

She said the hospital will embark on the next surgery by January next year and called on people suffering from the ailment to come out and solicit for help. She also stressed that the operation can be done in any government hospital, depending on the government’s commitment.

“Whoever has the disease should not cover it up and die in silence, they should come out and for those that have the means, they should support them even by paying for their dialysis,” she stated.

Gambari said the other patients on the line will have their transplant after they get

the right donor and after necessary tests have been done The lucky patient, Gabriel Onogu, told our reporter that he is happy over his treatment and was proud to be the first to benefit in the first transplant in the hospital.

“I thank the kidney foundation and my brother who donated his kidney for me. Also I thank the doctors that performed the operation. Due to my health, I couldn’t pursue my admission further since I had to be on dialysis every week, but by the grace of God, I should be back in school next year”, he said.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

PAGE 3

PSC pegs OND as minimum qualification for recruits

By Lambert Tyem

T

R-L: Executive Secretary, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Dr. Barclays Ayakoroma, Chief Operation Officer, Beeta Universal Arts Foundation (BUAF), Bikiya GrahamDouglas and Mr. Sokepiri Graham-Douglas during the public presentation of stage play 'Castles in the Air', yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

he Police Service Commission (PSC) yesterday said holders of secondary school certificate would no longer be accepted into the Nigeria Police Force as constables, stating that the minimum entry requirement is now National Diploma (ND).

The commission also said third class degree holders cannot be accepted as cadet officers, in line with the reform of the entrance qualification into the force.

PSC commissioner and chairman, Public Affairs Committee of the commission, Ms. Comfort Obi who stated this at a news conference in Abuja, explained that the commission has reformed the recruitment process into the force.

According to her, the PSC has over the years formulated policies aimed at the efficiency and

discipline of the police force, adding that background checks are now carried out on applicants to distinguish bad eggs and discourage people of shady character from joining the police.

Obi stated that polygraph tests are also carried out on applicants to determine drug users, alcoholics and liars who could tarnish the image of the force.

According to her, "the mechanism put in place by the commission is in line with police regulations to ensure that bad eggs don't find their way into the force.

"We are focusing on the recruitment process and have refined the minimum entry requirements".

The PSC commissioner in charge of Strategy, Dr. Otive Igbuzor, explained that written examinations have been introduced for applicants, stressing that promotions in the force were by merit and competence.

No subsidy payment to Bandits kill Zamfara crooks, Okonjo-Iweala ex-commissioner warns mum’s abductors P M From Salisu Zakari Maradun, Gusau

By Abdulwahab Isa

inister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has expressed gratitude to Nigerians for showing love, prayers and moral support during the kidnap of her mother, Prof.

Kamene Okonjo.

She also passed a strong worded message to the abductors thus: “The episode will not change the Federal Government’s position on the payment of fuel subsidy… only oil marketers whose transactions have been verified by AigImokhuede’s committee would be paid and that position remains unchanged”.

The minister restated government’s position on fuel subsidy payments yesterday in Abuja during a press briefing specially convened to express

gratitude to Nigerians for identifying with the Okonjo family while the incident lasted.

Relieving the five-day trauma of her 82-year-old mother who was without food and water to drink, the minister claimed that the captors told her she was being persecuted because her daughter has refused to pay oil subsidy and is blocking Sure-P payments.

The minister vehemently denied ever blocking payments in respect of the two transactions. On oil subsidy, she said marketers with genuine transactions having undergone verification and certified

by Aig-Imokhuede’s committee, got paid instantly. However, she added payment will not be made to marketers whose transactions incurred problems. She clarified that payment for Subsidy Reinvestment Funds -SURE-P was not routed

through her ministry.

She thanked President Goodluck Jonathan, government functionaries, various security agencies and Delta state government for their support and commitment leading to rescue of her mother.

“We can’t forget so many Nigerians who have gone through similar experiences. As terrible as the experience was, the love and sympathy of Nigerians was overwhelming in navigating the difficult ordeal. Prayers were oragnised in churches and mosques by Nigerians” she said.

Prof. Okonjo was abducted in her husband’s palace when hoodlums stormed the palace and whisked her in to a waiting car.

She was subsequently released on Friday, December 14.

Financial report tears BATA apart From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

T

he crisis rocking the board of the embattled Footwear and Accessories Manufacturing and Distribution (FAMAD) Plc, formerly BATA, took a twist yesterday when the vice chairman of the company, Mr. Chima Kelechi Emenyonu, disassociated himself from the audited accounts of the company for the 2002 to 2006 financial year.

Emenyonu, addressing a press conference in Lagos, raised the alarm that the annual report to be presented to the shareholders of the company tomorrow was falsified and consequently queried by the external auditors, Akintola Williams Deloitte.

He alleged that certain information was not reflected in

the accounts and he had cause to raise an audit alarm to the auditors over vital information, which were hidden from the board.

Consequently, he said, petitions against the entire management for fraudulent activities have been sent to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).

He alleged that many accounts opened in the name of the company are being used for transactions that have no direct relationship with the company.

“Due to the deliberate desire of the chairman, Mrs. Olutoyin Olusola Olakurin to withhold critical information that will assist the auditors to perform their duties creditably, I, Sir Emenyonu Chima, here inform the public and particularly our numerous shareholders that I dissociate my person from the entire account

statement of the company as presented,” he said.

He alleged that the chairman, a former head of the Education Trust Fund (ETF), took up 40 percent of the holdings of the tottering footwear maker relinquished by the technical partners of BATA Overseas Limited, which she now uses as leverage over minority shareholders.

The results are billed to be presented at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) billed for tomorrow (Wednesday, December 19, 2012) in Lagos after it was suspended by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2008 and delisted by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for failing to meet its listing requirements which included inability to submit its financial reports to the exchange.

rominent personalities are currently trooping into Bakura, the headquarters of Bakura local government area of Zamfara state, to condole with the families and friends of the former commissioner in the Zamfara state Ministry of Agriculture, Alhaji Ibrahim Sani Bakura, who died yesterday following an attack on him by a group of unknown persons, suspected to be armed robbers.

Sani died in Gusau, the state capital, at about 7:15pm on the fateful day.

The tragedy happened when the deceased commissioner was on

his way to a nearby mosque to say his Isha’i prayer few hours after he came back from his hometown for a weekend as he used to do.

Immediately after the prayer, he went to where his car was parked; suddenly a shot him him on the head, and he instantly fell down lifelessly.

Born in 1963, the commissioner who served under the previous administration of Mamuda Shinkafi, was a one-time permanent secretary in the government of Alhaji Ahmed Sani, who also was believed to have brought him to the limelight.

Police Public Relation Officer of the state police command, DSP Hassan Talba, was not available to comment on the incident.

FIRS lifts education sector with N183.9 billion

By Maryam Garba Hassan

T

he Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has collected and remitted N183.9 billion tax revenue due to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TetFund) from January to November.

This was contained in a statement issued by Emmanuel Obeta, Director, Communications and Liaison Department of FIRS, at the weekend in Abuja.

The statement stated that there was a two percent increment from Education Tax of N55.9 billion accrual as compared to the total collection of N128 billion remitted to TetFund last year adding that oil tax revenue amounted to N2.978 trillion while non-oil revenue was N1.669 trillion.

According to the statement, with this amount, the FIRS has not only surpass the N3.6 trillion provisional annual budget estimates for the year but the total annual collection of N4.628 trillion for the year ended 2011.

“The collection represents an increased revenue collection performance of about N17, 070 billion when compared to the total collection for 2011. A breakdown of the collection from January to November shows that N3.473 billion was realised in January, N1.751 billion in February, N2.638 billion in March, N7.817 billion in April and N2.325 billion in May. “The service recorded the highest collection of N57.196 billion in August, N42.481 billion in September, N23.973 billion in July, N22.717 billion in October, N18.180 billion in June and the month of November accounted for the lowest figure of N1.353 billion,’’ it said.

It further explained that since 1994 when TetFund was established, FIRS has remitted more than N591 billion to the Fund and that the huge efforts and contribution to reposition the educational sector was the reason behind the TetFund award of excellence recently in Lagos.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

MDAs recurrent budget expenditure as conduit pipe for govt officials

By Aminu Imam

L

ast October, President Goodluck Jonathan laid before the joint session of the National Assembly, the 2013 budget proposal. The budget has the long-winded title of “Fiscal Consolidation with Inclusive Growth”.

Presented lot good time to the National Assembly to discuss and pass it before the end of the year, the budget also contain a number of fiscal policy measures aimed at promoting active industrial and agricultural policies for the country.

Of concern however is that the budget is very bloated in favor of recurrent expenditure. Recurrent expenditures can be simplified to mean those expenses that “recur” yearly such as salaries, while capital expenditure are those for new or ongoing projects such as building refineries and roads.

What is even more worrisome is that on an annual basis, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government have now resorted to disguising recurrent expenditure as capital expenditures in the bid to jack-up their budgetary allocations.

An independent review of the 2012 budget by icirnigeria.org and a coalition of civil society groups revealed that MDAs, the Presidency and the National Assembly pad their budgets to provide hundreds of billions in slush funds for corrupt public officials.

A forensic look at the appropriation by the National Assembly for MDAs and other arms of government show that virtually all of them use nebulous and dubious sub-heads such as drugs and medical supplies, welfare packages, refreshments and meals, foodstuff and catering and fumigation and cleaning among others, to lay the ground for pilfering of public funds.

The review, which also exposes waste and mismanagement in the allocation of the country’s resources, points out how hundreds of millions of Naira is illegally appropriated for the welfare, security and feeding of senior public officials who already enjoy outlandish allowances and privileges of office.

In a pattern that shows a deliberate and coordinated effort to pad their budgets, several ministries provided votes that are questionable, ridiculous or alien to appropriation processes, while in others the votes are so unclear that it would be impossible to monitor them.

In some cases funds are fraudulently allocated twice under separate votes for a parastatal and the parent ministry. In other instances of officially sanctioned corruption, funds are allocated for the same projects for several years.

Senate President David Mark All the budget fraud, according to the report, is perpetrated and sustained by collusion between budget officials in the MDAs, officials of the budget office and its parent ministry of finance as well as the two arms of the National Assembly which appropriate funding for running the government.

It was revealed there were incredible requests for computers, software, printers and photocopying machines across all MDAs even as previous budgets also showed same massive demand.

Overall, no less than N6billion was provided for purchase of computers and software acquisition in the 2012 budget besides the N4.58 billion provided for the same purpose in 2011 and with the same MDAs having huge allocations in both years.

For instance, Ministry of Works had recurring demand for computer and software with the provision of N1.8 billion and N95.7 million for each in 2011 and 2012 budgets respectively, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also provided N200.8 million and N207.8 million for acquisition of computer and software in 2011 and 2012 budgets.

This is besides the N3.68 billion also allocated for office stationeries and computer consumables budgeted under recurrent expenditures in the 2012 budget.

With this ploy by the MDAs to concentrate spending on administrative capital, instead of developmental capital it is little wonder many Nigerians are

D-G, Budget Officce, Bright Okogwu pointing accusing fingers at the failure of their annual budgets to meet the development needs of the country and the inherent fraud and corruption in the fiscal space.

For how can we have development when the recurrent expenditure eats up so much of an annual budget?

While many Nigerians go hungry, government officials have close toN2 billion in this

year’s budget for food and other culinary pleasures. The President and the Vice-President alone take nearly N693.5 million of this vote, with the President’s office getting nearly N430 million for food and drinks, and his deputy taking over N264million.

In terms of budget transparency, the National Assembly is guiltier than any other arm of government. The last

Head of Service of the Federation, Alhaji Isa Bello Sali

assembly removed the appropriation for the federal legislature from public scrutiny and put it in first line charge so that its funding comes directly from the federation account.

Thus, the budget of the National Assembly only spells out the bulk of its expenditure without giving details of overheads, current or recurrent expenditure or minute details of what money is appropriated for.

That makes the National Assembly unaccountable to any institution.

The grassroots should begin to ask serious questions and demand for real answers from the politicians. These would not only ensure that the people decide what their needs are and thus what is appropriated for capital projects but also enable them monitor implementation of the budget.

Of key interest, in the final analysis, should be the implementation of the budget. If cost of governance at all tiers of government is to be reduced, it can be achieved not only by merging the MDAs, but also by cutting down on unproductive overseas trips, overseas training and reducing the number of aides, perquisites and other trappings of power that elected and unelected leaders enjoy.

We should not rely on reducing cost of governance by only throwing more Nigerians on the streets, but by ensuring that everybody also make their bits of sacrifice, especially those in government.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

PAGE 5

FG to procure more aircraft for emergencies – NEMA boss

FG declares Christmas, New Year holidays

From Illya Garba, Minna

he Federal Government has declared Tuesday, December 25 and Wednesday, December 26 as public holidays to commemorate the Christmas and Boxing Day celebrations.

Similarly, Tuesday, January 1, 2013 has been declared as public holiday to mark the New Year celebrations.

Making the declaration on behalf of the government, Minister of Interior, Comrade Aba Moro, in a statement issued yesterday by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mrs. Daniel Nwaobia, enjoined all Nigerians irrespective of their religious beliefs to imbibe and emulate the spirit of the season.

The statement also urged Nigerians to show love, to one another and resolve to continue to promote the unity of the country in its progressive march towards nationhood.

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

T

T

he Federal Government is to procure more helicopters to enhance the operations of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) which entails quick response to rescue operations and distribution of relief materials.

The Director-General of NEMA, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Sidi, disclosed this in an interactive session with newsmen shortly after the opening ceremony of a one-day workshop on the role of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), community based organisation (CBOs) and the private sector in disaster management yesterday.

The DG told participants at Gidan-Matasa, venue of the workshop, that plans are underway by the Federal Government to procure more helicopters to add to the ones already in its fleet to enhance disaster management which is assuming more complicated dimensions.

With more aircraft added to its fleet, the NEMA boss said emergency teams on rescue operations could easily get to remote areas inaccessible by road in good time to reduce the impact of disasters.

Represented by the NEMA Assistant zonal Director Northcentral, Mr. Salihu Lugard Bijimi, the DG explained that some of their personnel are also presently undergoing intensive training with the view to deploying them to disaster prone areas after the completion of their training.

The workshop with the theme: Role of Non-Governmental Organisations, Community Based Organisations and the Private Sector in Disaster Management, was timely as it is designed to point out that all hands must be on deck in cases of emergencies.

While calling on Nigerians to be conscious to check avoidable disasters, the DG said “It is in view of key three issues such as; magnitude, inadequate funds and as well, distance that calls for the need to have the NGOs, CBOs and the private sector playing key roles in preserving lives and property because without the people, they would not be in existence in the first place”.

R-L: First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, condoling Mrs. Amina Yakowa, wife of late Kaduna state Governor, during the first lady's condolence visit to the family yesterday in Kaduna.

Photo: Joe Oroye

Six die, 16 injured in Katsina auto crash From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

S

ix persons were reported dead and 16 others injured in an auto accident that occurred over the weekend at Hawa Biyu village, along Malumfashi-Kafur road in Katsina state.

Our correspondent gathered that the accident which occurred

at around 7:30 pm involved a Toyota bus and a commercial Golf car. The car was coming from Zaria while the bus was coming from Malumfashi.

According to eyewitnesses, the two passenger vehicles had a head-on collision and all went up in flames, the six people died on the spot while the 16 persons received various degrees of injury.

The dead were deposited at the Malumfashi General Hospital while the injured were admitted at the hospital for treatment.

The Katsina police command spokesman, ASP Aminu Sadiq, confirmed the incident, adding that some of the relatives of the dead and the injured were contacted while search was on for those whose relatives were not identified.

FG determined to tackle out-of-school children syndrome, says Wike

By Maryam Garba Hassan

M

inister of State for Education, Barr.

Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, has declared that the Federal Government would ensure that less privileged out-of-school children in the North and South are enrolled in schools.

A statement issued yesterday in Abuja by the Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister, Simeon

Nwakaudu, said he made the disclosure in Ibadan at the weekend during the closing ceremony of the capacity building workshop for scaling up girl-child enrolment through Mothers’ Associations organised by the Ministry of Education in conjunction with the Millennium Development Goals.

Wike stressed that the Federal Government has adopted different strategies to ensure success of the project and challenged South-West

mothers to join mothers in different parts of the North to encourage girls and boys to enroll and remain in school despite the social constraints they face.

According to the statement, the minister who was represented by the Deputy Director Gender Education in the Ministry, Mrs. Adeola Fola Ola, restated government’s commitment to gender equality by ensuring equal access of quality education to all.

Kwara gov congratulates Buhari at 70 From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

G

overnor of Kwara state, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed has described former Head of State and presidential flag bearer of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), General Muhammadu Buhari, as a gallant military officer and gentleman per excellence who has remained fervently committed to the entrenchment of democratic values in the country.

Governor Ahmed made this assertion in a congratulatory message to General Buhari who turned 70 years yesterday.

The Governor noted that since 1999 when the present democratic dispensation began, Buhari has remained one of the strident voices whose views on democratic and other national issues could not be overlooked.

He prayed Almighty Allah to grant General Buhari good health and more wisdom as he enters the septuagenarian club.

Insecurity: Senator advocates reconciliatory fund

By Richard Ihediwa and Ikechukwu Okaforadi

S

enator Gyang Pwajok, representing Plateau North, has called for the establishment of a Reconciliatory, Reconstruction and Stabilisation Fund as the only way to end the crisis ravaging various parts of the country.

Pwajok who stated this while fielding questions from journalists at the Senate yesterday, said government

should de-emphasise the use of force as a means to restore peace, saying such is rather aggravating the problems in Plateau state and other crisis ridden areas across the country.

He said instead of the huge funds used to maintain the forces deployed to the area, government should consider using the money for reconciliatory and reconstruction efforts adding that such would yield the expected result which has eluded the nation with the use of force.

He argued that the use of brute force by the military and other security agencies to fight the violence in the state has done more harm than good, adding that the crisis has become vicious as perpetrators turn victims and victims turn perpetrators.

“I do not think the use of brute force the try to restore peace and order is solving the problem we have in Plateau state and other parts of the country where we have crisis. I think government should rather think of

establishing a Reconciliatory, Reconstruction and Stabilisation Fund that will oversee reconciliation among the aggrieved people.

“We need reconciliations and reconstruction to help the people come together again. If we spend the money we are spending to maintain the forces for reconciliation and reconstruction of families, I think we will achieve more”, he said.

Giving insight into the major cause of misunderstanding among

the people in Plateau state, the lawmaker said most of the crisis emanated from quest by some unqualified persons for access to traditional institutions.

The lawmaker emphasised that both indigenes and nonindigenes have equal rights to political aspirations as guaranteed by the constitution, regretting that many people believe that because they have stayed in a place for many years, they are entitled to traditional positions as the indigenes.

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PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

NIGERIA MOURNS YAKOWA, AZAZI

Yakowa's death is colossal loss to PDP- chieftain From Ahmed Kaigama Bauchi

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hieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bauchi state, Alhaji Bashir Bukar Rimin Zayam, has commiserated with the people of Kaduna state over then the death of the Governor of the state, Mr. Patrick Yakowa as a colossal loss to the party.

Zayam who is also the assistant publicity secretary of PDP in Bauchi state, advised the newly sworn-in governor to be fair and just and carry everybody along in order to sustain the development projects and legacy's left behind by his predecessor.

According to him, "Nigerians should learn a lesson of politics without bitterness and not to make politics a do-or-die affair…"

The secretary condoled President Goodluck Jonathan, national leadership of the party and the Bauchi state governor, Malam Isa Yuguda over the incident and wished them the fortitude to bear the loss.

Chopper crash: Group wants unified supervision for civilian, military aircraft From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

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ollowing recent helicopter crashes in Nigeria, many of which belong to the military, a non-governmental organisation, Civil Society Aviation Coalition, has called on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to put in place a legal framework aimed at ensuring that all aircraft and helicopters in use in Nigeria, be they military or civilian are directly supervise and monitored by the Ministry of Aviation.

The group which has bias for safety in the aviation industry, said the Federal Ministry of Aviation is in a better position to monitor and

ensure that all planes and helicopters, whether civilian or military, flying within the nation's airspace are monitored by qualified and professionally competent officials in the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

Also a statement by the Executive Secretary, Emmanuel Onwubiko and the national publicity secretary, Miss.

Maimuna Al-Hassan, said: "We are as deeply shocked as are millions of patriots, with the very unfortunate accident involving the Navy Augusta helicopter which crashed in the creeks of Nembe-Okoroba Area of Bayelsa state killing Mr. Patrick Yakowa and the immediate

past National Security Adviser".

The coalition noted that if such a legal framework was put in place, it would enable Nigeria maintain common National Aviation safety standards in compliance with global best practices and thereby save the country from the embarrassment of incessant helicopter crashes.

"Sad as we are with this unfortunate development, we also want to use this mourning period to urge President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Assembly to consider ways and means of introducing a workable legal framework to make it compulsory that all aircraft including military

Clerics shocked

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...It has created vacuum in leadership Suswam

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

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overnor Gabriel Suswam of Benue state has lamented the tragic deaths of the then Kaduna state governor, Ibrahim Yakowa and former National Security Adviser (NSA), retired General Andrew Azazi in a helicopter crash in Bayelsa state last Saturday as a national loss.

In a condolence statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Cletus Akwaya yesterday, Suswam described the duo as very patient, resourceful persons who were committed to the cause of building a virile nation, adding that their death has created a big vacuum in the leadership strata of the country.

The governor recalled how on several occasions he worked with the late Yakowa in both the Northern Governors' Forum and Nigerian Governors' Forum as well as with General Azazi on several national assignments, noting that they showed great zeal in service to their fatherland.

He maintained that the death of Yakowa and Azazi should make Nigerians work together for the progress of the country.

"On behalf of the government and the good people of Benue state, I join all Nigerians particularly, our dear President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo, the government and people of Kaduna and Bayelsa states and indeed the families of the deceased in mourning the death of these great leaders", Suswam condoled.

helicopters are monitored to ensure the highest standards of maintenance and safety to fly within Nigerian airspace".

It said: "Under the current dispensation, military and police helicopters operations are not monitored or supervised by the Federal Ministry of Aviation and so it is impossible to expect officials of the ministry to determine the safety status of any of these military helicopters."

The group recalled that only last year, the then Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Operations, Mr. John Haruna, was killed in a police helicopter crash in Jos, Plateau state.

Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, signing the condolence register during his visit to the family of former Kaduna State Governor, Mr Patrick Yakowa, yesterday in Kaduna.

It was ‘Black Saturday’ - Yuguda From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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overnor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi state has expressed shock over the death of Kaduna state governor, late Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa in a helicopter crash last Saturday alongside former Chief of Defence Staff and immediate past National Security Adviser, Andrew O. Azazi, describing their demise as a great loss to the country.

A press release issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Ishola Michael Adeyemi made available to news men in Bauchi, declared that, "last Saturday was indeed a black Saturday when we lost a rare

gem who did everything possible to see that his state was peaceful in spite of the security challenges facing this part of the country, he will be greatly missed by his people."

The release further described late Yakowa as a man of the people who ensured that justice was done to all manner of people without considering race, tribe, religion and or religious differences. "He was one Nigerian who is worthy of emulation, he died for peace and unity of not only Kaduna state but the country at large, his wealth of experience will be missed by all", it said.

While condoling the immediate family, the President

of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Vice President, Arc Mohammed Namadi Sambo as well as the government and people of Kaduna state over the loss, Yuguda urged them to take it as an act of God because according to him, "every mortal must taste death but the mystery is where, when and how".

The statement also described the late General Azazi as a gentleman soldier who paid the supreme sacrifice to ensure Nigeria remained one entity adding that his career in the military was a fine one which all young officers must strive to attain.

lerics in Lagos yesterday described the deaths of the governor of Kaduna state, Mr. Patrick Yakowa and former National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Owoye Azazi (rtd) in a helicopter crash as "shocking".

A Nigeria Navy helicopter crashed last Saturday at Okoroba village in Ogbia local government area of Bayelsa state, killing Yakowa, Azazi and four others on board.

Speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Monsignor Gabriel Osu, Director of Communication, Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, described their death as shocking, unfortunate and devastating.

"It's a clarion call for us all that we are on a pilgrimage...

As far as human judgement can go, they have done their best and they have gone back to the Lord, may the Lord save us from unprepared death", Osu noted.

Alhaji Sherif Yussuf, National President, NASRULLAHI-FATIH Society of Nigeria (NASFAT), called on the Federal Government to investigate the cause of the crash and always ensure that all aircraft in the country are airworthy.

"The level of air disasters in the country is becoming worrisome and all fingers are pointing toward inefficiency.

"It is sad; we commiserate with the people of Kaduna and Bayelsa states for the loss. It is also calling on every one of us to be upright in whatever we are doing," Yussuf said.

Imam Shuaib Abdullahi, Executive Director, Zakat and Fadaqat Foundation, said the death of Yakowa and Azazi was a great loss to the country.

"Their death was shocking.

We have witnessed series of high profile deaths in the last few months," Abdullahi stated.

(NAN)

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PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

Al-makura’s aide disburses N1m to widows, youths in Nasarawa From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

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R-L: Pastor, Christ Care Ministry, Phillip Abah; Founder, Unique Kingdom Outreach Worldwide, Mrs Bernadette Aipoh; Assistant Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Commission, Mr. Augustine Aipoh; and Chief Pat Aleghieuno, during the 4th anniversary of Unique Kingdom Worldwide Outreach, on Sunday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Lokoja university gulps N3.5bn, matriculates 443 students From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

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inister of Education, Prof.

Rukayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i, has said the Federal Government has so far released the sum of N3.5 billion for the take off of the temporary and main campuses of the Federal University, Lokoja.

She stated this yesterday at the matriculation of 443 students of the university, From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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auchi state animal health workers have issued a seven-day ultimatum of the state government to pay the reintroduced Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) or face legal action.

A letter titled “Re: Payment of CONHESS to 237 Members of Staff of the Animal Health Sector of The State Civil Service” which was sent to the Bauchi State Head of Service, Mr. Abdon Dala Gin, and signed by one Barrister Ahmed Accanny (counsel to the

describing the occasion as remarkable and historic.

The minister also added that the Bill legalising the nine recently established universities has been signed into law while an approval has also been given for the physical masterplan of the FUL. She equally disclosed that 2391 students in eight of the nine newly established universities have so far matriculated; pointing out

that no meaningful development can be achieved without education.

Prof.

Abdulmumuni Hassan Rafindadi, Vice Chancellor FUL, said the institution will strive towards zero tolerance for examination malpractice as well as acts related to cultism or any other social vices, adding that such will not be tolerated by the institution.

Kogi state governor, Capt.

Bauchi animal health workers issue strike ultimatum over CONHESS workers), alleged that “the National Salaries Incomes and wages Commission through their letter no. SWC/S/04/ S.129/90 of 24 January 2011 wrote to the Minister of Agriculture clarified that animal health workers are entitled to CONHESS and this is sequel to circular number SWC/ S/04/S-410/220.

The letter said Governor Isa

Yuguda had approved 80% payment of CONHESS and government had implemented the approval but “Our client has been excluded without any reason. “How can you give some workers and deny others? We consider this as a clear victimisation against our clients who commit no wrong against the government”, the letter stated.

Vet council donates N32m equipment to seven universities

By Mohammed Kandi

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n a bid to ensure sanity and to graduate competent veterinarians from Nigerian universities, the Veterinary Council of Nigeria has provided some equipment for seven institutions across the country.

Registrar of the council, Mr. Markus Avong, who disclosed this in Abuja, said the effort was to enhance the Agricultural Transformation Agenda in the live stock sector as well as ensure

Idris Wada, who was represented by his deputy, Yomi Awoniyi, said the ongoing restructuring of education in the state has been occasioned by years of neglect.

Wada urged the new university to complement the rich human capital of the state as the state government intends to use the new institution as a research centre for the transformation and development.

that Nigeria becomes a key player among committee of nations with high reputation veterinary medicine.

Avong also assured that the council was ready to assist in the provision of highly technical tools which hitherto were deficient in most institutions so as to boost the training of veterinary practitioners in the country.

The beneficiaries, he mentioned, include the Amadu Bello University; Zaria; University of Ibadan; University

of Nigeria; Nsukka, University of Maiduguri, Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto; University of Agriculture, Makurdi and Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.

Responding on behalf of the deans of veterinary faculties in of the universities that benefited from the donations, the chairperson, Committee of Deans of Veterinary Faculties and Colleges in Nigerian Universities, Prof. Morenike Dupeolu, appreciated the gesture and urged the council to ensure

The workers through their counsel demanded for the payment of arrears on the separate approved 40% and 80% and “our client wants to be captured with effect from next salary payment to reflect 80%.

If government failed to meet our demand within seven days, we shall proceed to the National Industrial Court, Jos for redress”, the letter warned. the sustainability of the effort.

Dupeolu said through this support, the quality and standard of veterinary medicine would be improved in the country.

The equipment donated include masking tapes, body tapes, biochemistry analyser, Ken cage (3), hydraulic surgical table, surgical lamp, blood glucose analyser, Hos harness and vaginal speculum.

Others are diagnostic kit, suture material, OB wires, infusion pack (7), electrical stimulator, mouth gap for horse, hoof cleaner, drenching gun, nose rings, orthopaedic set, tall docker, rectal probe, calf snare (1), pig catcher and large animal burdizzo.

ajiya Hajarat Danyaro, Special Adviser on Interparty Relations to Governor Umaru Tanko Almakura of Nasarawa state, has disbursed N1 million to 100 people comprising widows, orphans, youths and the physically challenged, drawn from the seven wards of Nasarawa local government areas of the state.

Disbursing the funds in a ceremony that held recently in Nasarawa town, Hajiya Danyaro, stated that the exercise marks the commencement of her pet project tagged “Widows, Orphans and Youth Empowerment Scheme” (WOYES), which she said is aimed at giving back to the less privileged in the society.

While urging the beneficiaries to reciprocate her gesture by judiciously using the money to engage in worthwhile economic ventures, she observed that the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) administration in the state has been faithful on its promise to the people, as demonstrated by Governor Umaru Tanko Almakura’s stride in transforming the state.

She disclosed that she got the money disbursed to the less privileged from savings she made out of her salary, tasking members of her constituency to “challenge ourselves as a people with progressive ideas, in expanding the horizons of our vision and the realisation of our collective dreams”.

Kwara govt rehabilitates 600 classrooms From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

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wara state government has rehabilitated about 400 classrooms at the basic and senior secondary school levels this year.

The state governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, stated this in Ilorin yesterday at the inauguration of a new private sector-driven group of schools, the Adrin Schools.

He disclosed that another set of 200 would soon be rehabilitated in a bid to ensure a vibrant education system with appropriate infrastructure for it to be beneficial to pupils and students.

The governor, who commended the initiator of the schools for embracing the state government’s policy of a virile basic education culture, said his administration would not hesitate to close down any school found to be violating the statutory standards for the education sector in the state.

Ahmed explained that government’s policy on education was informed by the realisation that “a child’s basic educational development is directly correlated to the foundation laid at the basic level”.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

PAGE 9

Parents to Yuguda: Save our son’s life

Residents rejoice over Niger road project

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

From Ililyasu Garba, Minna

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arents of a 12-year-boy, Ayuba Halilu whose manhood was slashed, have appeal to Governor Isa Yuguda to intervene and save the life of the little boy.

It would be recalled that some seven months ago, Master Halilu’s manhood was severed by their neighbor at Mararraban Liman Katagum village in Bauchi Local Government area.

Father of the boy, Mallam Halilu Liman who spoke to newsmen at the secretariat of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Bauchi on the condition of his son, said he was appealing to Governor Isa Yuguda to help the boy who is presently in serious pains and “hardly spends up to seven days without being ill”. He recalled Governor Yuguda’s

pledge to take full responsibility for his treatment when he visited the boy. “we are grateful to his gesture as it helped a lot to bring the boy to his present condition”.

According to him, government kept silent for five months after the family was invited by the permanent secretary of the State ministry of health to choose between changing the boy to a girl or to retain his maleness without manhood. “We choose to help the boy to remain male without manhood but since then, we did not hear anything from the officials of the state ministry of health”.

The embattled father distributed copies of the report on further treatment of his son in India from the University Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri which recommended the surgical options.

When contacted, the State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Sani Malami said that: “if the parents of the boy choose the option of gender reassignment, they want the boy to become a female, then they should come to the ministry and inform me. I will take all the necessary action because the best option for the boy is to turn him to a female and we have asked religious scholars who cautioned us against turning the boy to a female from male and reiterated the commitment of the ministry to assist the boy as pledged by the Bauchi state Governor, Mallam Isa Yuguda” Meanwhile the state government has pledged to pay two million Naira to anybody who will give useful information that will lead to the arrest of the culprit that slashed little Ayuba’s manhood

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esidents of Gauraka township have commended the Niger state government over the ongoing 12km road project in Tafa Local government describing it as there first ever road project.

A statement signed by the Head of Media and publicity of the Niima Association of Nigeria (NAN), Malam Jibrin Gauraka, said the road project was a timely intervention, stating that it would help in gingering the economy of the local government.

Assistant Organizing Secretary of the PDP in Niger State, Yau Ahmad Gauraka, said it was part of the reform agenda of the state governor, given the proximity of Tafa local government to the Federal Capital Territory.

He thanked Commissioner of Justice, Barr. Abdul Bawa and Hon Mukhtar Ahmad for ensuring that the road project materialized.

Councillor of the Zuma East in Tafa Local Government AbdulMalik Abubakar commended the PDP-led government of the state, adding that contractors should expedite action since the contract was awarded few years back.

Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) of the local government Mr. Joseph Ediale said: “This is the first time we are witnessing such development in this place.

However, we are concerned about the quality of the work.

We think that government can do more by helping in other sectors like in the provision of water and electricity to Gauraka. The CPC can do more if given opportunity.”

NGO calls for integrated family planning service

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L-R: Yobe state Governor, Malam Ibrahim Gaidam, and former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, praying for the repose of the late daughter of the former head of state Hajiya Zulaihatu, during the governor's condolence visit to Buhari’s residence, at the weekend in Kaduna.

Group decries illegal land deals in Benue From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

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civil society organization, Benue Community Watch Initiative, BEWACI, has called on the state government to investigate the activities of land speculators who are in the habit of selling lands to unsuspecting individuals, as their act can spark off crisis in Makurdi, the state capital.

BEWACI President , Comrade Jossy Otanwa who gave this advice while speaking with newsmen at the weekend, frowned at the attitude of auxilliary chiefs and acclaimed land owners in Idye settlement along Zone 4, Police Headquarters, Makurdi, urging government to check their fraudulent activities.

The organization also called

on the Ministry of Land and Survey to restrain the ”Inhabitants” of the area who are busy selling designated streets including the space reserved for the construction of major drainage channels in the Idye River Basin spanning from Wurukum to the House of Assembly Quarters to unsuspecting members of the public.

Comrade Otanwa wondered how some people in the area have become land merchants overnight and have laid claim to large chunk of land without evidences of tax payments on land spanning many kilometers. He expressed fears that if swift action was not taken, completion of the major drainages in the state capital would become a mirage.

He called on government to take over undeveloped lands within the city that have no official tax clearance or else, his group would go to court against individuals whose names would soon be made public for depriving Benue people of vital revenue.

According to Otanwa, BEWACI has sent its members to all land crisis-prone areas within the capital city to identify illegal land speculators for prosecution.

Also commenting on the ugly development, the Chairman Benue State House of Assembly Committee on Land, Hon. Iaana Jato expressed outrage over the nefarious attitude of illegal land speculators despite several warnings by government.

irector, Partnership for Transforming Health Systems (PATHS 2), an NGO, Dr. Amina Dorayi has called for the integration of family planning with other health services at the community level.

Dorayi said in Abuja yesterday that PATHS 2 had contributed to strengthening health delivery service, including family planning.

She said that “if a woman comes for family planning and needs other health services, such as pap smear for cervical cancer or even breast screening, she should be able to access such services.

Dorayi explained that PATHS 2 was making efforts

to ensure that services were integrated, for complete access to health care services.

“We are strengthening human resources, building their capacity, training them and making sure that they provide quality services and we are also working with the community itself.

“Because without robust community engagement and civil society mobilisation, this family planning we are talking about will not work.

“People have misconceptions, so if the community is well aware and understands the dynamics of family planning, it will be appreciated,” she said.

(NAN)

Minister advocates polio-free Kebbi From Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi

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inister of State for Health, Alhaji Mohammed Ali Pate has called on the people of Jega local government area of Kebbi State to support the effort of the government in eradicating polio in the area.

He made this call yesterday at Jega local government area while flagging-off the immunization plus day, adding that Jega council has recorded more cases of polio in the state.

“Any body found rejecting the vaccination will be arrested most especially the civil servants’’, he said.

Pate who expressed dismay

over the high rate of polio in Jega local government area of Kebbi state, admonished the people to join hands and support the effort of the state government and traditional rulers to eradicate polio free by 2013.

“They use to have problems when some people reject it, the medicine is free and you are saved”,he said.

Speaking earlier, the state deputy governor, Alhaji Ibrahim K. Aliyu said that government would continue to give the necessary support to ensure that the state was polio, adding that rejecters of the vaccination, would be arrested.

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PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

Group lauds Jonathan over Ajaokuta steel plant Clark urges From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

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non-governmental organisation based in Kogi State, the Righteous On-Lookers Association, has said that the appointment of a sole administrator for the Ajaokuta Steel Project, has further demonstrated the commitment of President Goodluck Jonathan to complete the project.

In a statement signed by the patron of the association, Ahmed Adoke and made available to journalists in Lokoja yesterday,

noted that the federal government has acted in line with the wishes of Nigerians who have been praying for a viable alternative to crude oil.

He said in order to realize the goal of the steel project, the federal government should award contracts for infrastructure and mines development required for the commissioning and operation of the steel plant.

Adoke also stressed that with the positive technical audit report on the steel plant, the government should urgently call for expression of interest from world class steel

plant contractors.

According to him, such contractors must include the original erectors of the plant, to fast-track early rehabilitation, completion and commissioning of the steel plant to avoid deterioration and cost.

He added that with the expiration of the 18 months operation of the steel plant during the performance guarantee test as contained in the global contract with the TPE of Russia, government should embark on any viable option involving public private partnership, (PPP).

According Adoke, some completed units of the plant could be rehabilitated and put into commercial use within two to five months as spelt out by the audit report.

While allaying the fears of the government on the pending arbitration against the company, he said: "The injunction from Arbitration panel is that the plant should not be given to a third party to operate before the determination of the case and not that the FGN who owns the steel plant should not operate or complete the steel plant".

Executive Director/ Chief Executive Officer, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Ado Muhammad (right) immunising a child during the flag-off of December 2012 sub-National Immunisation Plus days, recently at Mai'adua local government area of Katsina state.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Niger state to build Square for demonstrators From Iliya Garba, Minna

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overnor Muazu Babangida Aliyu of Niger state has promised to construct a Freedom Square in Minna, the state capital, in the model of Cairo’s Tahrir Square in Egypt where people who are dissatisfied with government policies can ventilate their anger on any matter, before the end of his administration.

Aliyu made the pledge shortly after receiving the award of "Apostle of Peace and Bridge Builder" from

the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria for his exemplary character and positive disposition to all and sundry since his assumption of office in 2007.

He said the proposed square would be built in Minna where people would converge and express their democratic rights of free speech and assembly even on himself (Aliyu) as a leader , instead of venting such anger on innocent citizens.

According to him, people hide behind religion or any issue to express anger wrongly by

attacking and destroying others and their hard-earned properties, adding that “at the Freedom Square, people will be allowed to enter and ventilate their anger and frustration and not on the people but the political class . No one should destroy anyone else in the name of religion whatever is the cause of frustration or anger."

Earlier in his address, the state CAN chairman, Rev. Musa Dada said the award to the governor would serve as a motivation for what the association described as “improved working relationship”

with it since 2007.

He said after working with the incumbent regime for three years, the CAN in the state was convinced that he deserved to be honoured, noting that in order to avoid any political insinuation, the body decided not to confer the award in collaboration with any political group.

Three other persons also honoured in conjunction with Governor Aliyu, included Dr. Peter Olabanji Olukowi, the chief medical director of Standard Clinic, Minna. Others are Barr.

Abraham Yisa, leader of the Christian Pilgrim delegation of the 2012 pilgrimage to Israel and a posthumus award for the late Ambassador James Tsado Kolo.

Orubebe’s probe over corruption

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

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enowned Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark has asked antigraft agencies to investigate the Minister of the Niger Delta affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, of allegations of corruption and abuse of office.

It would be recalled that the Anti-Corruption Network had, in a complaint dated November 19, 2012 and signed by its Executive Secretary, Dino Melaye, accused Orubebe of accepting gratification of a palatial mansion on the property allocated to him in Abuja, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), contrary to Section 12 of the Act. The petitioners pointed out that a search report from the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS) clearly shows that the land upon which the edifice was erected indeed belongs to the minister.

They said they would not hesitate to go to court to compel the ICPC to prosecution the menace and abuse of office in order to preserve the sanctity of laws for a better nation.

Orubebe had denied ownership of the mansion.

Addressing newsmen over the weekend, Clark, a former Information Minister said, “Nobody is above the law and as such the law should be allowed to take its course.

“Orubebe should be investigated. It is not true that the Presidency and Chief Edwin Clark are protecting him from being investigated by the anti-graft agency”, he added and urged Nigerians to commend the anticorruption fight of the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Clark pointed out that for Jonathan to allow the prosecution of the sons of the former and present chairmen of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was a clear manifestation of his quest to eradicate corruption from the society.

Clark who was early this month conferred with a honorary fellowship of the Auchi Polytechnic, called on the Federal Government to make education compulsory in the country and to invest more in the educational sector of the country.

He also appealed to the

Bill Gates, DFID invest $25.2m in cassava research in Africa From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

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he Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom (DFID) are investing $25.2 million to improve the staple crop’s productivity and build human and technical capacity for plant breeding in sub-Saharan Africa.

The five-year project is hosted

by Cornell University with five partner-institutions: the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI) in Uganda, National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) in Nigeria, International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Nigeria, Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) for Plant Research in New York, and US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in

California.

“Next Generation Cassava will give breeders in Africa access to the most advanced plant breeding technologies to deliver improved varieties to farmers more rapidly,” said Peter Kulakow, cassava breeder and geneticist with IITA, one of the project’s three Africa-based partner institutes.

This project would ensure that cassava genetic research is on a par

with other top food crops such as wheat, rice, maize and potato.

“Partners on the Next Generation Cassava Breeding project will use a state-of-the-art plant breeding approach known as genomic selection to improve cassava productivity for the 21st century,” said Ronnie Coffman, Cornell professor of plant breeding and genetics, director of International Programs, and the principal investigator on the

multi-partner grant.

“Increased support for strengthening the research capacity in Africa and harnessing novel technologies are critical to improving overall agricultural productivity and food security for poor people,” said Yona Baguma, project coordinator for NaCRRI who aims to unlock the potential of cassava in Africa and mobilize a whole new generation of cassava growers.

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PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

How to manage multiple roles at work P

eople take on extra roles for a variety of reasons. They might need to make more money. Perhaps they want more fulfillments in their lives. Maybe they want to start a new business, or go back to school. They also might find themselves pushed into this lifestyle as companies strive for a more flexible workforce, or downsize to cut costs.

There's little doubt that doing multiple jobs, or being in multiple roles, can be challenging. In this article, we'll explore the benefits and disadvantages of doing more than one job, and we'll discuss how to cope with the challenges.

Examples of multiple jobs Managing two careers or roles doesn't have to mean working a day shift and a night shift - at least, not anymore. Here are a few scenarios: Working part time An accountant has two parttime accounting jobs with two small firms, neither of which has enough work to offer a full-time position.

Donating time A marketing executive works four days a week for a large advertising firm, but works unpaid on Fridays for her favorite nonprofit to help with their fundraising Benefits of doing multiple jobs *Firstly, and most obviously, you have the opportunity to increase your income. *If you have two separate jobs (like consulting, or multiple part-

time jobs), then your income could be more secure than with just one job. If one company goes out of business, for example, you will still have income from other work. *Working two jobs or managing two roles can be refreshing. You get to see new people, and cope with different responsibilities. This means that you'll be less likely to get bored, or overly irritated the little problems go along with everyday work in any workplace. *It's a great way of starting your own business. You can keep income coming in at the same time that you get your business up and running. *You might discover that your company loves the fact that you're in multiple roles. And they might be more than happy to offer a flexible schedule to help you accomplish your goals.

Making the most of the advantages First, you might find that one of your roles will improve the other, either through skills learned, through networking, or just through a break from the routine. Managing multiple responsibilities like this can actually help you do both jobs better. So, keep your eyes open for this possibility.

Another advantage is that your clients in one role could easily become your clients in your other role. You might work in IT for a large company, and then get hired to do a related job in the other organization.

Coping with challenges *Try to choose a second job that really interests you. The more passionate you are about what you are doing, the easier your schedule will be. *If you're balancing multiple roles, it might be helpful to schedule your day in segments.

This allows you to put 100% of your attention into each role for a specific amount of time. And scheduling your time this way can make you more productive. *Switching from one role or job to the next can be difficult, especially when the thought processes and tasks are very different. For instance, you may

work in an engineering support role for part of the day and then have to dress up and meet with potential sales clients in the afternoon. These transitions can be easier if you take a break in between in a "neutral" zone, like a coffee shop, for half an hour.

Tips for working more than one job *Before you take a second job or begin freelancing during your spare time, make sure that it's within your contractual terms with your main employer, and that your boss is happy with it. It may not be allowed, even if it's volunteer work. Also, you will need to be clear about intellectual

property and confidentiality considerations before you start. *If you're thinking about getting another job in addition to the one you have, then consider setting up a "trial period" first.

Consider working for free, or for a reduced rate, to get some experience - and see if you really like it, and if it fits your lifestyle. *Ensure that you still make time for yourself and your family, especially if you have to move physically between workplaces during the work day. You may end up having to leave for one office early and get back from the other office late in order to do the job. Doing this can easily lead to burnout.

Tips for time management and balancing a busy workload

T

ime management is a highly important matter for most professionals as demands are placed upon any hard-working person with responsibility ;demands that strain one's diary and one's character. If you are sometimes too busy, if you have deadlines that are impossible to meet, if you are disorganized and just can't seem to find the time to sort out your inbox, then time management can help you.

How to manage your time Start by recording how you spend your time currently. Simply use a planner or diary to note down your activities throughout the day in order to monitor where your time is going. At the end of the week, set aside some time to review your schedule. Now, how much time was wasted? This is where you need to be strict. Consciously cutting out unproductive conversations, numerous tea/ coffee breaks, or any of the other little time wasters in your schedule takes some will power but it is worth it. Of course, you still need human

Quote The leader who exercises power with honor will work from the inside out, starting with himself. — Blaine Lee

contact and a cup of tea every now and again, but being aware of how much time you are spending on those things will help you to control your activities.

Appointments: Unnecessary appointments may also have wasted your time. How many regular meetings do you have with colleagues? Again, you should be strict here, but how many of those were actually necessary or productive?

Controlling your appointments is a vital step in time management.

Colleagues: Well-meaning colleagues can be a further source of wasted time. In the spirit of friendship, you should want to help your colleagues if there is a problem that needs your attention. If the task is not something directly related to your position, then perhaps refer them to someone who would be in a better position to help. Water cooler gossip is another source of time wastage.

Pointless, or even friendly, conversations can easily fill your schedule if you don't employ strict time management.

Workload: Take another look at your schedule. How much time is spent on work that someone else could/should be doing? Menial tasks, such as photocopying, stamping letters, or filing work, are often duties of clerical or secretarial staff. Even if you have been doing these tasks for years, training or requesting that someone else takes

on this duty (where appropriate) will save you much time in the long run (although you may have to spend some time to monitor and teach someone how to do it at first).

Managers: It's unfortunate that sometimes one's superiors contribute to wasted time. Within the proper bounds of respect and good humour, helping your manager to see how they are unnecessarily taking up your time can help to ease the strain on your schedule. Poorly defined tasks and unclear communication is a key source of time wastage. If your manager doesn't define duties clearly then you will end up going back to them with questions. Try to get clarity from the start.

Being prepared: Being well prepared for essential meetings and appointments will help you to save time. How many times have you attended meetings without a

clear idea of what it is about, or without having read the necessary documentation beforehand? It's probably a safe bet that those very same meetings were unproductive (which probably led to a follow up meeting). If, on the other hand, you take the time to prepare for each scheduled appointment then it will be a success. Decisions can be made and actions assigned only if you have clear thoughts on the issue and are aware of what's going on.

Deadlines: Of all the things that are knocking your balance, deadlines are probably having the biggest effect. And it is probably the most difficult thing for you to change. Organising your projects in terms of priority and not just the closeness of the deadline will help you to keep a balance.

What if the deadline is just downright impossible, though? In that case, you should reason with your superiors to get the deadline extended. Failing that, forcefully requesting more resources to achieve the task will make the deadline more practical. You could also consider getting the Deliverable altered so as to be more achievable, even if the due date doesn't change. Your only remaining weapon is just to make it clear from the start that the deadline is impossible, although as a dedicated worker you will of course put your all into it.

Communications: Being

organized in terms of communications is also vital.

Paperwork can easily get out of hand. A simple and effective system is necessary here. You only need two folders for paperwork - the 'to do' folder, and the 'to file' folder.

Anything else can be thrown away. Taking immediate action when you receive paperwork is vital to being organized. Sort your paperwork into the appropriate folder and schedule time to deal with the folders regularly.

Emails can be equally cumbersome. Studies have shown that keeping email programs open is actually disruptive to efficiency.

Rather, you should check emails regularly (five or six times a day) and deal with the incoming emails appropriately. Having separate folders in your inbox for different types of emails will keep you organized.

Telephone calls can easily waste your time. Rather than waiting on hold, it is wise to find out an appropriate time to call someone, or even request that they call you. You could even schedule a specific time to call someone to avoid the problems of missed calls.

You should also make sure that secretarial staffs are aware of how to deal with calls.

Source: http://www.jobs. ac.uk/careers-advice/managingyour-career/-for-timemanagement-and-balancing-abusy-workload

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

PAGE 12

EDIT ORIAL EDITORIAL

T

Alarming rate of money laundering escapades

he upsurge in money laundering cases across the nation in recent times is worrisome. And that is putting it mildly. From the trickle of the last couple of years, this financial crime has become a floodgate in recent months, so much so that hardly does a week pass without one money launderer or the other being arrested at the country's international airports, usually with eye-popping amounts of hard currency.

The typical cash trafficker would carefully conceal his slush fund even as he declares a small amount, apparently to outwit security agents at the airports.

Eluding detection, he would fly to their destination (usually an Asian or European country) where the illgotten fund would be laundered.

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde, underscored the alarming extent of the sleaze. No less than N15.5 billion stolen cash was intercepted at the nation's airports between January and early this month alone, he disclosed.

Lamorde made this disclosure at the 2012 International AntiCorruption Day. The princely amount, he said, represented physical cash - as opposed to legitimate cash transfers - meant to be squirrelled from Nigeria and

laundered abroad. About N14 billion was intercepted at some airports between January and August and another $9 million was found on couriers between September and December.

At a time when corruption and other sundry financial and economic

“

What is the source of the staggering amounts of cash being taken out of the country by suspected money launderers?

Proceeds of corruption?

Drug money? Or money gleaned from criminal indulgence such as armed robbery, kidnapping and the like? crimes keep ballooning out of control, the revelation by the EFCC chief is as startling as it is thoughtprovoking. If, for instance, a single individual stashed a whopping $7 million in a briefcase and attempted to fly out of this country - as disclosed by Lamorde - it goes

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without saying that some other unscrupulous individuals might have evaded detection and ferried their loot abroad.

No less worrisome is the fact that aside from airports, cash couriers may have been using other avenues such as seaports and the nation's notoriously porous borders, for their nefarious activities, with the security agents not all that alert to their antics. And as evident in the now infamous James Ibori money laundering saga, some cash couriers devise sundry tough-todetect channels to funnel their loot abroad.

All these raise pertinent questions: What is the source of the staggering amounts of cash being taken out of the country by suspected money launderers?

Proceeds of corruption? Drug money? Or money gleaned from criminal indulgence such as armed robbery, kidnapping and the like?

The EFCC and other security agencies have done well vis-à-vis the cash couriers nabbed so far. But they should not stop there. Rather, they should dig into the heart of the matter with a view to gathering vital intelligence which would help checkmate the audacious cash couriers. Furthermore, all those arrested with stolen funds should be promptly and diligently prosecuted in order to serve as deterrent to others.

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PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

By Ross Alabo-George

I

t was just a few minutes to 13.00hours and the service of songs was in session when our chartered Caverton helicopter landed in ancient breezy coastal community of Okoroba, hometown of Mr. Oronto Douglas, a senior aide to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. I had flown with my Uncle, Engr. Mayne David-West, Principal Consultant of Pearl Consultants, and George Kerley, Coordinator of The Jonathan Project and an unrepentant crusader of the president. We proceeded directly to the venue of the Service of Songs. It was a ten minutes walk from the school field where the helicopter had landed, and it offered an opportunity to see the sprawling ancient community and the new developments taking place. The people were very happy. They were seeing new faces – ministers; governors; commissioners; corporate executives and citizens they only read about and saw in the news walk on the new rigid pavements of their community.

I think above all, they wowed at the Nollywood stars who dazzled the natives to disbelief. Ramsey Noah, Rita Dominic, Segun Arinze et al, then the big masquerade – Kanu Nwankwo was right there. I said to myself, the children of Okoroba town would be inspired by the time the body of Pa Douglas is finally laid to rest.

In this flourish and fanfare, he sat quiet, listening to the incisive message delivered by the Reverend

By Japheth J. Omojuwa

N

igeria is an interesting country in every sense of the word. A friend told me of a friend of his with seven cars parked in his Abuja house and some other luxury machines in his village starting a sentence with “we the masses…” Of course, I used to think that I was part of the foot of the Nigerian pyramid until January 2012 when I was faced with the folly of my illusion. I had lived in my usual way, in a distorted reality all along.

To put things in context, I attended a relatively expensive private school, though not too expensive, I was a student at King’s College and my dad collects rent from at least 300 people and he had enough to spare at least two buildings for poor people evacuated by the government to live in free of charge.

I was born into wealth but I appreciate the opportunities I had at tasting the bitterness of poverty. I felt what the poor feel and my works at making life better for everyone I can help is born out of that experience. I grew up with all my essential needs met.

My dad had more than enough to host public Christmas parties and enough to spare for another car every now and then. Through this experience though, I never for once thought I was different from other poor Nigerians. This must be because my dad kept us grounded in that reality. That totally changed for me during the Occupy Nigeria movement. I had left the Gani Fawehinmi Park at the Ojota end of Lagos in a clean, air conditioned Toyota car with my friends Olumide Gbadebo and Tolu Obamuroh for the Alagbado studios of Africa Independent Television AIT. Tolu was driving on this day. We were going to express the views of other poor Nigerians – or so we thought – but the truth stared at us at least four times on this day and each time with the ugliness of danger, fear and for me regret.

PAGE 13

General Azazi’s final hour Ayo Oritsejafor. He seemed consumed by the pastor’s deep rhetoric about how ephemeral life was, and how wealth and money were necessary vanity but how a life well spent is eternal in value. Still, I interrupted his intense engrossment. He was excited to see me. We exchanged pleasantries and he asked that I stay around for a chat after the pastor’s message. I did. The General was a towering man.

Dressed in a grey striped French suite and black shoes, I watched him walk in his usual calculated steps as he left the tent to the other tent where the reception for visitors was to be held.

He looked fresh, like he had rested well after his surprising removal as National Security Adviser. His warmth was charming and his humility ever evident. He was led to a roundtable on the first row and he took his seat by his friend Engr.

Mayne David-West whom he hadn’t seen in months. They chatted warmly while they poured themselves a little champagne. He was served soup and he ate light. In about forty-five minutes he was done. Just about then, he receives a signal that the ill-fated helicopter was on its way. He walked around to the other tables, shook hands and made his way out. He was headed for the helicopter, but he was obviously not in a hurry. He strolled with Governor Patrick Yakowa, a governor whose humility endeared me to him.

Governor Yakowa spoke softly, greeted warmly and smiled like he knew it was a final moment to be enjoyed. We walked ahead of the Governor and the General, and in a few minutes we were all at the Okoroba Primary School field. There were a few chartered helicopters arriving and taking off. The choppy drone of rotor blades slicing through the air ruffled us a bit. The primary school was sufficiently solicitous of intervention. The classroom had neither doors nor windows, in fact it looked abandoned. While we stood inside I asked why a primary school in Mr. Douglas’s home would be this wrecked. I called a young man, and in intense curiosity I began to question him. My findings were that a new primary school was being developed and new community library built and well equipped. I was satisfied, I would have been disappointed.

General Azazi watched these happen. Now it was time to take him on. I had not seen him since his removal as NSA. He was a deep man, and I was eager to hear him say something. I knew him to be blunt in a very smart way. He would not say a thing if he had not thought it through intensely. I probed into his period as NSA and asked what his take was on the Jonathan presidency. He had lost no love for the President. He said “Ross, the president is very intelligent and smarter than most people know”.

He talked about the Boko Haram

issue with plenty caution, but was optimistic that the president would check them.

Now, we were joined by the IYC president, Mr. Miabiye Kuromiema, and I surprised the General when I fired: “Sir, it is about time the president threw Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke under the bus”. I maintained that the Jonathan presidency was haemorrhaging severely because of her continued stay as minister. I expected him to say something, his face expressionless, he remained quiet.

George Kerley, a known defender of the honourable minister, quipped with a straight face: “Ross, you are right. It is time the president is told the truth… He is taking too much bullets for some of these ministers”.

The General shook his head, not in approval or disapproval; he was just enjoying the chat.

He brought up a few issues and we all talked with surplus warmth.

We hadn’t pressed him enough when the Navy helicopter appeared within sight in the sky. He offered us the two spare seats in the helicopter, but we declined as our chopper was at that moment already landing. He pulled George Kerley aside for a two-aside. They talked for about two minutes, and he joined Governor Yakowa again, as they strolled on the rigid pavement into the boisterous windy path of the chopper. The pilots dismounted the chopper to greet their VIP passengers; they looked

smart in their military uniform. It was the governor’s and the general’s final handshake.

Mr. Darego Williams, a seasoned pilot turned business man was joining our chopper back to Port Harcourt. He cringed at the manner the chopper had taken off and didn’t stop starring at the effects of the rotor blades. I noticed he was a little uncomfortable, but then he had been off the cockpit for over two decades, so he contained thoughts.

Less than ten minutes later, we were ready to go. The captain welcomed us on board and soon after we were in the air. We had just done about 10 nautical miles when the pilot suddenly did a 180 degree turn.

Mr. Williams was curious and called on the captain. The captain apologized to all on board and announced to us that a helicopter had just ‘gone down’. He actually meant ‘crashed’. We were the first search party.

Less than a minute ahead, smoke plumed from the thick swampy forest. It was a clear sign of danger.

We did about four low fly passes to capture the coordinates of incident site. Our helicopter had ingested the smoke and smell of burning metals, wires and flesh. We could see the helicopter and the appendage bearing the ‘NAVY’ inscription had severed from the main bodyThe moment was intense, we doubted the very facts we knew. We all believed some miracle could have happened; the worst case was not an option. It just could not be true.

Ross Alabo-George can be reached on facebook

Before the sweeping sword of anger Angry young men were collecting tolls on the road. This is a common sight even during days the nation is not on a total lock down. On my way from the Abuja airport recently, just before the military check point, just after you turn into the Umaru Yar’Adua way, on the right side of the road, I saw young men and women collecting tolls on a dusty road. That hurt me because that’d send a striking message to a new visitor to this country. The difference on this day was the anger on the faces of these Sagamu express road toll collectors. We were asked to “kill the AC! Wind down! Wind down!” and don’t even think about making a dash off because you are certain to hit one of them and while that’d put you in police trouble you’d not need to go through the legal wahala because these boys had more than enough anger in them that day to kill anyone and enough left to burn the car and whatever. I was totally pissed off. So I spoke out of anger. I told them we were running late for an appearance on AIT on our way from the Ojota Park end of Occupy Nigeria.

“Efi yin le, a wa o ko yen je o” (forget that story, we are not interested). I told them we were one and the same and we were in the same struggle but that apparently got them a lot angrier. “Eyin te wa ninu AC en wa oko ayokele eni ba kan na ni wa. Etu imi pa. En ya were!” (You are in a posh car with AC and you are claiming we are one? Tell another lie. You are mad!”)

To cut the long story short, Olumide waded in with a calmer voice. She told them the long and short of who were and they were interested in listening to her. Olumide wears contacts and that really got them to shut up and just get enraptured in her looks. They even made comments like “Oju Olongbo” (cat eyes) but it was in a calm way. I

am not good at recalling bad experiences but I recall I felt closest to danger on this day. That happened a lot more times on our way but by this time I was so angry and when I get to this point within me, I lock my mouth.

It is most deadly at this stage, apart from the dangers of talking to these mobs.

At the Ojota end of the movement, we – rich and poor, old and young, touts and gentlemen, the famous and the practically inconsequential etc – were all united and there was peace. There was no single incident. It never looked like we were from different levels of the Nigerian pyramid of deprivation. The journey to AIT offered a stark reality.

It was on this day I realised that whenever the revolution of the poor rises – if it ever does – even I will be seen as one of “them” and the them here includes those the poor feel are responsible for their poverty. When I was making this point, someone said he earned his money legally without stealing from government and I told the person that when the sword of anger sweeps the city for whom to devour, it would have no time to ask you how you became rich. Your only passport to death would be that you are rich.

I have made these points to send a message to Nigeria’s rich. Charity is good. My dad for all his human imperfections taught me the art of charity. Charity will not save us from

the anger of the poor. If we do not do all within our powers to make this country work for the benefit of the majority, the rich and privileged minority will not live in peace. We hear tales of kidnapped popular and influential figures in the news, we are not privy to the news when it affects the less famous or influential but that really is the order of the day.

They may not read newspapers or pay attention to the numbers in the news but they cannot be unconvinced that their poverty is not because some have chosen to have more than is due them from the national treasury. The ministry of petroleum needs $41m (6.2b) for the PIB awareness campaign, the President needs $15m (N2.2b)to build a Club House or what do you call a Banquet Hall in a deep sense?

The principal members of the national assembly are waiting to move into their $7m (N1b) – per person – houses. Last year the Federal Government claimed it had over 71 thousand ghosts in its employ costing the nation $186m (N28b) but no one has told us why this money has not been accounted for after the revelation. Are we still paying these ghosts or we simply diverted the money elsewhere? $31b (N5 trillion) has disappeared under the watch of this administration even as it claims it is on top of the fight against corruption. The Swiss government

“

If the transformation of the land does not transform the lives of the common man, those who tell lies of transformation should keep their tears within their eyes when the street comes looking to unleash bloody justice. A word is enough for the wise

has told us it returned $700m to Nigeria but the Nigerian government still plays deaf and dumb. Mothers and children are getting killed every day in the NorthEast, their sin, they live in the same land where terrorists have made their abode. Trillions of naira upon trillions to provide security yet what we have is more deaths, more kidnappings and more insecurity in every sense of the word. The President of Nigeria himself does not feel safe.

The flood displaced millions of people after killing some others, Gen. Owoeye Azazi who failed woefully after supervising the expenditure of trillions as National Security Adviser heads the Committee on Flood victims. As a people, we trudge on, looking to get the chance to have our chance at the national cake. The richest amongst us are not safe here so they make homes in far lands.

What is the point of a home where peace is not seen let alone recognized?

We are the 7th most terrorized country in the world and yet we think there is no revolution yet. The revolution has started, it has only not started in the way that you imagined it would start. In the coming months and years, the fear of living in Nigeria would be more than the fear of being in a plane the pilot just announced an impending crash-landing. We can change this impending reality but first we must all as one people agree that if Nigeria does not work for all us, it is not working. If the transformation of the land does not transform the lives of the common man, those who tell lies of transformation should keep their tears within their eyes when the street comes looking to unleash bloody justice. A word is enough for the wise JaphethJ.Omojuwaisthecurator of Omojuwa.com and Editor AfricanLiberty.org

PAGE 14

By Ugochukwu Oguwanyi

T

here is a well wind blowing across the United States and Europe that should do us much good. That is if we avail ourselves the opportunities it brings to our threshold. This wind interestingly provides us an antidote to our tight grip on crude oil. It has to do with the unexpected spike in the demand for coconut fruits in the West that has so far outstripped global supply. Coconut water is now one of the fastest growing beverages in the United States and United Kingdom. This is not unconnected to its great taste, nutritional value and natural hydration qualities. There are currently 250 companies that have a beverage with coconut water content.

Reports reveal that in the US, coconut water in the drinks category is already worth over $350million while in the UK, it is projected to be worth £100million by 2014. New Nutrition Business, in a 2012 report, disclosed that the number of coconut water beverage launched in Europe quintupled from seven to 36 brands between 2009 and 2011.

Back home in Nigeria, the demand for coconut has surpassed the production capacity for decades.

While national consumption is on the increase, the production of coconut appears to be limited to the south-west with the local demand being hinged on its oil and nuts. With growing population and coconuts mostly consumed in the northern part of the country, Nigeria has resorted to importing the fruit from neighbouring countries such as

By Remi Oyeyemi

W

hen former President Olusegun Obasanjo resigned as the Chairman of PDP’s Board of Trustees, the event was considered by analysts as the end of a political era. Some also suggested that it might also signal the sunset on a career that started glowingly but ended with rigmarole. But Obasanjo, being who he is, is yet to conclude what seems to be a Solomonic tragedy of a trajectory. Just few days ago, the West African Civil Society had urged the ECOWAS President to save its credibility by ostracizing Obasanjo from monitoring elections. The group insisted that past leaders “with unenviable records and undemocratic antecedents cannot be honoured with the task of supervising a democratic process.”

This suggests that Obasanjo has a permanent defect of character which no circumstance could repair or improve. Thus, once again, there is the necessity to reflect on his role in the Nigeria’s political firmament and juxtapose his place in history.

Though, the final chapter in Obasanjo’s salacious story is yet to be written, he seemed to be headed in “Petaineous” direction in History books. Marshall Henry Pillippe Petain was the French military hero who ended up being a villain in French History. General Obasanjo’s story seems sauntering in same direction.

Adored and loved by the French peoples, Petain was a hero who had saved France’s dignity at the Battle of Verdun in World War One. He restored pride to an army on the verge of defeat and turned a potential disaster for France into what some saw as a victory – at least, it was argued, Verdun did not fall to the Germans.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

Tapping from the tree of life Benin, Togo and Ghana. At present, derivatives have become a highly doesn’t need another inducement to the Nigerian market absorbs over 50 sought-after commodity in the jolt her from the extreme reliance on per cent of coconuts got from Ghana. international market and it can be oil. The high demand for coconut is One cannot but ponder on this craze produced in Nigeria, there is only but enough for government to be that is steadily wearing on the world. one option available to Nigeria- she distracted from crude oil by venturing In some cultures, the coconut tree is should as a necessity and urgency into a new vista that will be greatly widely referred to as the tree of life. They begin strategizing on means to rewarding to the country. In see it as having an overwhelming adequately reap from this God’s gift to countries like Indonesia, the Philippines and versatility where Brazil, known each element of the as the world’s tree is useful in some l a r g e s t facet; be it the oil Peoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text producers of extracted from it coconut, their acting as natural skin messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written governments and hair moisturisers contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150 sensed an or the fruit being a words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and economic great source of a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed opening in potassium higher to: coconut and than that of banana. have since acted Various claimed The Editor, swiftly. They benefits attend the Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, had initiated coconut water which 35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja. and are now includes a high Email: let ters@peoplesdaily-online.com implementing potassium that helps policies that prevent strokes, SMS: 07037756364 w o u l d heart attack, encourage and hydration and hangovers. It is also acclaimed to help humanity. We can’t continue singing boost local production of the produce.

We can take a cue from them on prevent cancers and heart diseases and about our desire to diversify from a aids slimming, help raises metabolism, mono-economy and not make the this- after all Malaysia is today the boosts immune system and reduces most of opportunities like this when world’s largest producer of palm trees heartburn. The benefits are non-stop. they present themselves. Many like as a result of the lessons they took from The foregoing provides a background the former education minister, Oby us in the 70s. Nature has made it into why coconut fruits are Ezekwesili, have wished that our oil incumbent on us to grow coconuts by increasingly becoming the favourite reserve dried up so that the country granting us the land type and overseas. Athletes and fitness fanatics can become interested in other sectors. climatic condition that support its are copiously downing coconut water I don’t see that as the stimuli we really production. We should then not disappoint nature by not taking to for its high potassium and mineral need. content that promises fast, natural With this stupendous desire for the plough. Since coconut grows well hydration. coconut- which can be comfortably in some parts of the country like the Granted that coconut with its produced in Nigeria- government south-west and other parts of the

south, the federal government should make it a strategic crop, requiring that incentives will be splashed on farmers who go into coconut farming. It would be good for government to institute a board that will deal directly with these farmers by buying the fruits from them for onward export. This will reduce poverty and avoid the exploitation of the farmers by greedy middle-men.

It has been established that it’s not for fancy that people of the West are steadily gulping coconut water, we as a people should not fail to do same given its benefits. Here, there still abound superstitions surrounding coconut water that have removed our people from adequately benefiting from this tree of life. One of such superstitious belief is the myth that drinking coconut water causes running stomach. I guess if this was to be factual, nutritionists and athletes who favour it as a healthy alternative to glucose based sports and energy drinks wouldn’t have been so favourably disposed to it. The growing global demand for coconut fruits should get enterprising Nigerians thinking about how to come up with ways of better packaging and presenting any of its derivatives. We have the human and natural resources to make this happen hence we should. Tapping into the tree of life in these ways will do us and our nation a world of good. Let us then kill the delay by getting at it.

Ugochukwu Oguwanyi is on facebook.com

1976, Obasanjo became Head of the Federal Military Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, February 14, 1976 September 30, 1979 and presided over the transition to civil democratic rule beginning October 1, 1979.

Obasanjo’s role in letting Ibrahim Babangida off the hook in the escape of Major B.S. Dimka who led the assassination of General Mohammed remains the first blot on his image as he began a descent into dissent. His infamous statement in the days leading to the Presidential elections of the 2nd republic – “the best man did not have to win” – remains a most curious and weirdest advice a “statesman” could give his countrymen.

In 1979, he manipulating the rules in the middle of the game, removing a clause, in the middle of the night, from the constitution that prescribed Electoral College to determine a winner, if none of the candidates meet the constitutional requirement in the first ballot was seen by many as a subversion of the Constitution. His indulgence of twelve-two-third abracadabra Mathematics of Richard Akinjide and removal of the Chief Judge of the Federation, Justice Teslim Elias to make way for Justice Fatai Williams in the Supreme Court to carry out a predetermined outcome of the case was another blemish Historians lay at Obasanjo’s feet.

Though, he was internationally applauded for at least, handing over to somebody.

Obasanjo was the first ruler in Nigerian history to borrow money when Nigeria did not need it from the IMF. He devalued our currency and destroyed the Nigerian Tertiary Education by taking over the

University of Ife, University of Nigeria, University of Benin, and Ahmadu Bello University, to satisfy the demands of IMF and introduced tuition fees. The resistance to his anti– people policy was known in the Nigerian lexicon of infamy as “Ali Must Go” crisis.

He promulgated the Land Use Decree No. 6 of1978 and forcibly stole the land from the peoples of Nigeria.

This decision was the root of the Bakolori massacre of peasant farmers in the early 1980s in Sokoto.

Obasanjo destroyed Nigeria’s secularism. He personally put Sharia in the 1979 Constitution without consultation and against the wish of the Constitution Drafting Committee.

Like Petain was recalled in1940, Obasanjo was also “recalled” in 1999 to become president. Many were assassinated under his watch. Chief Bola Ige, his friend and Attorney General, was the most prominent one. He ordered the massacre of innocent citizens in Zaki Biam and Odi.In April 2004, Obasanjo doled out Nigerian land and people in Bakassi to a foreign country. Finally he organised the worst elections in Nigerian history in 2003 and worsen this in 2007.

Obasanjo was a hero, who gradually and consistently vitiated the goodwill and love of his own people. Today, he is virulently detested by the majority and seen across the board as a pathological egomaniac with little or no etiquette.

In my estimation, his reputation is presently “petaineous.” But will Obasanjo end up petaineously as in Marshall Petain? Time will tell.

Remi Oyeyemi was Assistant National Secretary of NUJ (1992-3)

WRITE TO US

Is Obasanjo Nigeria’s Marshall Petain?

Petain’s reputation among soldiers was that of “a man who cared about the well-being of his men.” In April 1917 when the French army mutinied, Petain was appointed commander-in-chief of the French army to bring forth “healing” rather than “punishment.” He immediately restored morale. In the Summer of 1918, he pushed back the Germans at the Second Battle of the Marne and drove the Germans from France. For his service, he was made Marshal of France on December 8, 1918, in the City of Metz and was invited to attend the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919.

Petain furthered his reputation by commanding the force that defeated Abd-el-Krim in Morocco between 1925 and 1926. In 1929, he was appointed Inspector-General of the Army and served as Minister for War between February and November 1934.He retired from the army in 1931 and became the first French ambassador to Franco’s Spain in March 1939. He was recalled to France and appointed Prime Minister on June 16th 1940 - just as France appeared to be on the verge of another military collapse against Nazi Germany. On June 22nd, Petain, to the disappointment of his countrymen, concluded an armistice with the Germans.

The armistice, ratified on July 10, effectively ceded control of the northern and western parts of France to Germany. Petain became “head of state” for the remaining part of France which was governed from Vichy. Petain’s government became a paternalistic Catholic state. His new regime quickly ousted republican administrators, passed anti-Semitic laws, and imprisoned

refugees. As a collaborator of Nazi Germany, Petain’s France was compelled to aid the Axis Powers in their campaigns.

General Charles André de Gaulle, a former Aide de Camp to General Petain, had argued against an armistice with the Nazis. The collaborationist Vichy government charged de Gaulle with treason and condemned him to death. Unbowed, de Gaulle formed a government-inexile force, known as the Free French movement to fight the Nazis.

Petain’s armistice and events following it split the French nation. His efforts were seen as treacherous to France. Most French came to loathe him for selling out to Nazi Germany.

In September 1944, following the Allied landings in Normandy, Petain and the Vichy government escaped with Nazis to Germany to serve as a government-in-exile. On April 26, 1945, Petain re-entered France and was taken into custody by De Gaulle’s provisional government. He was tried for treason, found guilty and sentenced to death. This was commuted to life imprisonment by De Gaulle. Petain died on July 23, 1951.

Obasanjo, also a military hero like Petain, became a household name when he was appointed the GOC Third Marine Commando Division during the Nigerian Civil War (1967- 1970).

He led the Division to end the war and accepted surrender of Biafran forces from their leader, General Phillip Effiong, in January 1970. He was appointed Commander, Nigerian Army Engineering Corps and later Federal Commissioner for Works (1970 -1975). He became Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, 19751976 after the coup of July 1975.When Murtala Mohammed was assassinated on February 13,

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

O

nce upon a time, Nigeria was Africa’s beacon of hope. The typical African country looked up to Nigeria for leadership.

That was then. These days Nigeria is scarcely reckoned with on the continent, let alone beyond. Instead, Nigeria has become a laughing stock across the world, with Ghana and South Africa in the lead.

Consider electricity. For more than a decade now, Ghana has been basking in the glow of steady electricity supply so much so that a legion of companies have moved from “Naija” to Ghana for obvious reasons.

Ghana’s record in terms of conducting free and fair elections is no less impressive. For as long as anyone can remember, this neigbouring country has been conducting elections that are universally hailed as free and fair.

This feat was repeated a fortnight ago with the holding of that country’s virtually flawless presidential poll.

Conversely, Nigeria’s electricity situation continues to deteriorate alarmingly so much that even Aso Rock budgets billions of naira for power generator sets annually. In other words, our power plight has degenerated to the extent that even the seat of power cannot enjoy a steady electricity supply for a few hours!

The same rot pervades our electoral landscape. Witness, for example, the hollow ritual staged in Adamawa State recently in the name of local government elections.

Adamawa, mind you, is not only controlled by the ruling behemoth, P D P, but is in fact the home state of the party’s chairman, Bamanga

By Ogunyemi Bukola

O

ne of the factors that encouraged my failed attempt at studying Medicine at the University is my passionate dislike for mathematics.

I literarily can’t stand numbers and the magic that comes with mathematical procedures. But President Goodluck Jonathan in his infinite capacity for the miraculous sent me back to school for extra classes in Basic Arithmetic on Tuesday 11th December when I read a report that the President had made a request to the National Assembly for a Supplementary amount of N161 billion as fuel subsidy payment for the remaining three weeks in this year as, according to him, the original N881 billion budgeted for that purpose for the whole of the year had been exhausted.

Now, there is no reason to suspect our dear President of falsehood, but the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had on October 21 said the N888 billion allocated for subsidy payments in the 2012 budget should be enough to pay petroleum product importers and that government might not need supplementary appropriation for subsidy payments in 2012. So I thought maybe Mr. President had been misled, yet again, by his retinue of ineffective, over-paid aides into submitting a supplementary budget request for the wrong purpose, or maybe there was a typographic error on the request paper and Mr. Jonathan meant to ask for N16.1 billion, or N1.61 billion. Anyway, I brought out my calculator to crunch some numbers to see where lays the error.

Just so you know how big N161 billion is, at least, in budgetary terms, consider how it compares to

PAGE 15

Again, Ghana shows Nigeria the way Tukur. Yet see what happened there.

Internal democracy was trampled upon by Governor Nyako and co, to the extent that even Tukur cried blue murder. Needless to say, the main electoral contest was nothing more than a hollow ritual. PDP “won” over 99.9 percent of the votes.

Not even the mad man of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, indulges in such shamelessness.

In short, Ghana has supplanted Nigeria as Africa’s beacon of hope. Be it in electricity, education, economy or elections, Ghana has left Nigeria far behind. While Ghana gallops ahead, Nigeria lags behind. What a shame!

Demolition as dividend of democracy Dividend of democracy. This catch-all phrase is perennially present in every speech by the typical Nigerian political office holder. Their mission, they would intone, is to “spoil” us with the dividends of democracy. But, alas, demolition still reigns supreme as one of the most famous “dividends” of our democracy. Demolition of poor people’s properties, that is. They would brand it “illegal structure” and, within a twinkle, demolish it with gusto. Not even court orders would make them to bridle their vengeful quest for demolition.

From Lagos through Port

spectacularly in countless areas. A chore as basic as provision of water for the citizenry has continued to overwhelm those in the corridors of power. Forget about healthcare, electricity, education and the like; government’s incompetence in these areas stinks.

It is astonishing that in the midst of unprecedented poverty hallmarked by homelessness, hunger and unemployment, the major preoccupation of the F C T officials is demolition. The earlier this executive reckless is asonde@yahoo.com checkmated, the better 0803-2159-249 (SMS only, pls) for long-suffering Nigerians. as intense as the Federal Capital city.

Mohammed Itodo: ’Prophet’ Since the era of the then FCT minister, Nasir el-Rufai, demolition honoured at home A prophet is honoured of “illegal structures” has become synonymous with world class everywhere except his hometown, governance.

Little wonder, so say the Scriptures. Once in a while, successive FCT Ministers have been however, there comes an exception striving gallantly to outshine one to that rule. And a prophet would be honored in his home town. another in this peculiar art.

Such was the case recently The other day, the incumbent FCT chief executive, Bala when the Och’ Idoma (king of the Mohammed, announced with gusto Idomas) honoured a few sons of the that a number of estates located in soil. The event, held at the different parts of the territory would Och’Idoma’s palace in Oturkpo, soon be demolished. Government Benue state, was as colourful as it would provide alternative was enlightening.

Among those honoured that day accommodation for victims of the impending dislocation (sorry for their uncommon contributions demolition). “Affordable” houses to the progress and development of would be built for the victims, he Idomaland was Chief (Dr) Mohammed Silvanus Itqdo, chief boasted.

Hear, hear, hear! This is the executive of Boundary Plaza Hotel, Mararaba, near Abuja. same government that has failed Harcourt to Kaduna, the story is the same: demolition, demolition, everywhere. Demolition without conscience. Demolition without the milk of human kindness. Demolition at all costs.

Nowhere is the demolition frenzy

SONDE’S DIAR Y DIARY

By Sonde Abbah

Incidentally, President Goodluck Jonathan had bestowed the prestigious Member of the Order of Niger (MON) honour on Dr. Itodo not long ago. Coming at a time when Itedo was still savouring his national honour, the royal blessing bestowed on him by the Och’ Idoma speaks volume. The “prophet” is being honoured at long last in his home town.

As pointed out in his citation, Itodo has earned critical acclaims on account of the series of contributions he has made to the development and progress of the land of his birth. These include the construction of a police post, a church, block of classrooms and a palace (for the king of Otukpa) among others.

Indeed at Otukpa, headquarters of Ogbadibo L G A of Benue state, Itodo’s reputation as a tireless philanthropist is legendary. Aside from the legion of community projects he has constructed, particularly in Agbaha - Otukpa, the flats he built for some widows and scholarships awarded indigent students, among others, bear eloquent testimony to his heart of gold.

Benue state, nay Nigeria, would obviously be a better place when more compatriots who are as public - spirited as Itodo begin to champion the common cause, by giving back to the society. The outpouring of appreciation from all over his home town and beyond, the MON awarded him by president Jonathan, and the recent honour by Och’ Idoma, are undoubtedly well deserved by Chief (Dr) Mohammed Itodo.

The Jonathanmetricks of fuel subsidy some selected allocations in the 2013 budget presented by President Goodluck Jonathan to the National Assembly: The N161 billion for 3 weeks fuel subsidy is: almost twice the total allocation for Agriculture in 2013 (N81 billion times 2 = N162 billion); more than twice the total allocation for Power in 2013 (N74 billion times 2 = N148 billion); more than thrice the total allocation for Water Resources in 2013 (N47 billion times 3 = N141 billion); more than twice the capital allocation for Education in 2013 (N60 billion times 2 = N120 billion); almost thrice the capital allocation for Health in 2013 (N55 billion times 3 = N165 billion); more than the capital allocation for Works in 2013 (N151 billion); more than twice the total allocation for Niger Delta in 2013 (N63 billion times 2 = N126 billion).

The N161 billion for 3 weeks fuel subsidy is more than twice the Statutory Transfer for Universal Basic Education in 2013 (N72 billion times 2 = 144 billion); more than twice the Statutory Transfer for Niger-Delta Development Commission in 2013 (N57 billion times 2 = N114 billion), more than the statutory transfer for the National Assembly in 2013 (N150 billion). Indeed, the N161 billion for 3 weeks fuel subsidy is more than the sum total of the 2013 total allocation for Science and Technology (N31 billion), Mines and Steel (N13 billion), Environment (N21 billion), Lands and Housing (N24 billion); Aviation (N53 billion) (sum total = N141 billion).

Now that we know just how big the additional N161 billion Mr. President is asking for is, please follow me diligently as we go through the

arithmetic of year 2012 fuel subsidy payments. Please note that some of the figures used here are approximates.

First, let us go through the basics.

There are 52 weeks in year 2012, out of which we have spent 49 weeks, with 3 weeks left. So far, we have spent N881 billion on fuel subsidy for 49 weeks, which translates into about N18 billion per week, N2.6 billion per day, N107 million per hour, N1.8 million per minute.

According to Mr. President, we need an additional N161 billion to pay for fuel subsidy for the remaining 3 weeks in the year, which translates into about N53.7 billion per week, N7.7 billion per day, N319 million per hour, N5.3 million per minute.

How much is fuel subsidy? On January 1st 2012 when the government of Goodluck Jonathan decided to completely remove subsidy on fuel, one litre of PMS sold for N141. After the OccupyNigeria nationwide protests and help from Labour Unions, government agreed to a partial subsidy regime, with PMS to sell for N97 per litre. This means that actual subsidy on one litre of PMS is N44 (N141 minus N97).

How much fuel can we subsidize with N881 billion? How many litres of fuel can we subsidize with N881 billion at the rate of N44 subsidy per litre? N881 billion divided by N44 = 20 billion litres. So the federal government has used N881 billion to, benevolently, subsidize 20 billion litres of fuel between January and now, which puts consumption at 20 billion litres in 49 weeks, 408 million litres per week, N58 million litres per day, 2.5 million litres per hour.

How much fuel can we subsidize with N161 billion? How many litres of fuel can we subsidize with N161

billion at the rate of N44 subsidy per litre? N161 billion divided by N44 = 3.7 billion litres. So the federal government is going to use N161 billion to, benevolently, subsidize 3.7 billion litres of fuel between now and the end of the year, which puts projected consumption at 3.7 billion litres in 3 weeks, 1.2 billion litres per week, 174 million litres per day, 7.3 million litres per hour. So government estimates that Nigerians are going to consume three times more fuel in the next three weeks than they did at any point during the past 49 weeks.

How much is fuel subsidy for the entire year? If the National Assembly approves the N161 billion fuel subsidy supplementary budget request by President Goodluck Jonathan, the total amount spent on fuel subsidy in year 2012 would be amount spent on fuel subsidy for 49 weeks (N881 billion) plus amount to be spent on fuel subsidy for 3 weeks (N161 billion) = N1.042 trillion. N1.042 trillion spent on fuel subsidy in 52 weeks translates into about N20 billion per week, N2.85 billion per day, N119 million per hour, N2 million per minute.

How much fuel can we subsidize with N1.042 trillion? How many litres of fuel can we subsidize with N1.042 trillion at the rate of N44 subsidy per litre? N1.042 trillion divided by N44 = 23.7 billion litres.

So the federal government is going to use N1.042 trillion to, benevolently, subsidize 23.7 billion litres of fuel for the whole of year 2012, which puts consumption at 23.7 billion litres in 52 weeks, 455 million litres per week, 65 million litres per day, 2.7 million litres per hour.

How much fuel do Nigerians actually consume per day? The answer to this question depends on the source you consult. According to Mr. Enoch Kenawa, the Secretary of the Oil Marketers Association, it is 35 million litres per day; according to Mr. Reginald Stanley, the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Nigeria imports 59 million litres of fuel per day, but Nigerians only consume 35 million litres, while the remaining 24 million litres are unaccounted for; while the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation puts national daily consumption figures at between 30 and 33 million litres.

So we can safely assume Nigerians consume 35 million litres of fuel per day, which translates into about 245 million litres per week and about 13 billion litres for the entire year.

Subsidy figures based on national daily consumption. If Nigerians consume 35 million litres of fuel per day, and government pays a subsidy of N44 on each litre, subsidy payment per day will be 35 million litres times N44 = N1.54 billion per day, per week: 35 million litres times will be N44 times 7 = N10.8 billion, and for 3 weeks, 35 million litres times N44 times 7 times 3 = N32.3 billion; payment for 49 weeks: 35 million litres times N44 times 7 times 49 = N528 billion; payment for a year: 35 million litres times N44 times 365 = N562 billion.

Note that the combined daily fuel productions of Nigeria’s four refineries, which are not subsidized, were ignored in this calculation to avoid complications. Also note that fuel was not subsidized for the first 3 weeks of year 2012.

Follow Ogunyemi Bukola @zebbook

PAGE 18

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

MDGs Corps member to build N1m library for Tasha community

By Etuka Sunday

A

Corps member serving under the platform of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) MAC group, Mr. Sintim Kingsley has concluded plans to build a library for Tasha community worth not less than

NGO calls for support for widows, other less privileged

N1.5m.

The library which would form part of his personal project and service to the nation is to encourage reading habit among students in order to promote standard performance and reduce mass failure in WAEC and NECO examinations.

Addressing newsmen at the weekend Mr. Sintim kingsley, a Batch A corps member said the community library is a way of creating learning environment for children at the primary and secondary school levels which according to him would help in addressing foundational issues.

He said the library would be

equipped with modern technologies and reading gadgets, like projector, video clips and the likes which would help the students to learn in pictorial form.

He thanked the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) especially the Minister of State for FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide for the building materials donated to facilitate the project.

According to him, he has received several donations from people through the committee he set up and called “friends of the library”.

Kingsley said he has no money but he was able to use his brain to map out the project and people lend their support in making the dream come through.

He said the friends of the library would be further used to ensure sustainability and continuity of the project in Tasha community, adding that any project without sustainability is not a good project therefore may not stand the test of time.

He promised to judiciously use the resources pulled together for the project for the mental development of the school children in the community.

By Josephine Ella Ejeh

T

he Coordinator of an Abuja based non profit charity organisation, Community Partners for the Vulnerable and Excluded, Venessa Chenbap has appealed to well meaning Nigerians to assist the less privileged ones in the society.

Chenbap, a contemporary afro centric gospel artiste made the call Sunday night during the launch of her 18 track album titled ‘Experience VOU’ (Voice of Understanding) at Alexis hotel and Conference Centre in jabi, Abuja.

A widow and mother of two, VOU as she is popularly known on stage told our reporter that the demise of her husband and her ordeal with widowhood inspired her to champion the cause of the less privileged.

“Widowhood inspired me to think of ways of making myself useful to the vulnerable in our society, starting from widows like myself with kids to train, but rather less fortunate with no sustainable means of livelihood,” she said.

Asked why she chose music, the Masters Degree holder in Architecture, now turn musician said music is powerful that could be used to pass across a message, hence she resorted to gospel music because of her love for God. She revealed that 70 per cent of the proceed from the sale of the CDs, would be used to assist the vulnerable in the FCT and other parts of the country.

“As part of my widow’s mite, I have decided to engage my passion for music as a means for sensitising the society to act on behalf of the less privileged amongst us. I believe by doing this, we can have a better society where everyone has a modicum access to the provisions that enable people live a reasonable good life”, VOU said.

She said her organisation was committed to working with grassroots organisations that are closest to the people in order to coordinate and empower them to empower the vulnerable and excluded.

An overloaded truck with passengers, along Zuba-Abuja-Kaduna road.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

NGO advocates for integrated family planning

T

he Director, Partnership for Transforming Health Systems (PATHS 2), Dr Amina Dorayi, has called for the integration of family planning with other health services at the community level.

Dorayi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja yesterday that PATHS 2 had contributed to strengthening health delivery service, including family planning.

She said: “If a woman comes for family planning and needs other health services, such as pap smear for cervical cancer or even breast

screening, she should be able to access such services. If left without accessing other services, it is called missed opportunity’’.

Dorayi explained that PATHS 2 was making efforts to ensure that services were integrated, for complete access to health care services.

“We are strengthening human resources, building their capacity, training them and making sure that they provide quality services and we are also working with the community itself.

“Because without robust community engagement and civil society mobilisation, this

family planning we are talking about will not work. People have misconceptions, so if the community is well aware and understands the dynamics of family planning, it will be appreciated,” she said.

She said that the overall goal with partners, states and local governments, was to improve health care delivery, especially maternal health and the MDGs. “MDGs are related to family planning. So in order for us to do that government needs the support of other organisations, no one organisation can do it alone,’’ the director of the nongovernmental organisation added(NGO). (NAN)

AEPB to introduce environment clubs in FCT schools

T

he Abuja Environmental Protection Board plans to introduce environment clubs in schools in the Federal Capital Territory(FCT), an official has announced.

Mr Uche Agbanusi, the Deputy Director of Environmental Health and Safety at the board told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the idea was to inculcate in the children the habit of good sanitation and hygiene.

“We have started something now, and that is to establish environment clubs in our various schools. The cardinal focus is to enlighten the school authorities on the need for them to live in a healthy and clean environment, which will also include provision of toilet facilities.

“They will in turn inculcate in the children the culture of good hygiene and cleanliness and even when they get back to their various homes it will still be with them,’’ he said.

Agbanusi regretted that public institutions, including schools, had inadequate toilet facilities.

“In 2005, there was a study

by AEPB’s planning, research and statistics department on the existing toilet facilities in public places in the FCT. “I tell you the outcome was quite revealing and alarming too,’’ he said, explaining that toilet facilities were lacking in most of the places, including schools.

“It is worrisome that in some schools you have about six to 12 toilet facilities, may be six for boys while the others are for girls. It is not in line with the provisions of the WHO on the number of people that should use one toilet,’’ he said.

“I will tell you that even now, most of our compliance monitoring teams noted that no one added even one toilet facility to the existing ones.These are the problems we have; some of the facilities are condemned to packing stores, where damaged chairs, stools and other school facilities are packed.

“It is unfortunate that people are not taking the provision of toilets in our public institutions seriously, especially in schools where students are to learn, be educated, be informed and be enlightened,’’ he said. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

PAGE 17

INSIDE FCT COURTS

Man, 22, arraigned for allegedly selling fake MTN SIM packs

T

he Police have arraigned one Victor Eze, 22, of Karimo Village, Abuja before an Abuja Senior Magistrates’ Court for allegedly selling fake MTN SIM packs.

The Prosecutor, Emmanuel Adiku, told the court that one Ekhoneh James and Promise Bala, both of Katampe Estate, reported the accused at the Maitama Police Station on December 6, 2012.

Adiku said that Eze convinced the two complainants to buy seven MTN SIM packs, valued at N290,000 on November 26, 2012.

The prosecutor said that the accused deceived the complainants by telling them that the SIM contained unlimited air time.

He said that “after using the SIM cards for three days, the complainants discovered that they could not check the account balance of the lines again.

“They also could not recharge them. The MTN SIM numbers a r e 0 8 0 3 5 1 6 9 2 3 0 , 0 8 0 3 5 1 7 2 6 4 6 , 08035176243, 08035173508, 0 8 0 3 5 1 6 9 8 4 4 , 0 7 0 6 7 7 0 6 6 6 4 a n d 08035169504,” Adiku told the court.

He said that the offence of cheating, which the accused was charged with, was contrary to Section 322 of the Penal Code.

However, the accused pleaded not guilty, saying ”someone else gave me the lines to help him to sell’’.

The Senior Magistrate, Mr Celestine Obinna, granted bail to the accused in the sum of N150,000 and a surety in like sum, who must be resident within the jurisdiction of the court.

He added that the surety must be a responsible citizen with a means of livelihood and should affix his passport on the bail bond.

Obinna adjourned the case to December 17, 2012 for further hearing. (NAN)

Young boys entertaining guests at a function, recently in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Court sentences man to two weeks imprisonment for possessing stolen items

A

n Abuja Magistrates Court has sentenced one Mustapha Nasiru, 20, of Mabushi village, Abuja to two weeks in prison for being in possession of stolen brocade materials.

The Magistrate, Mr Hauwa Aliyu, sentenced Nasiru after he pleaded guilty to the charges.

She, however, gave him an option to pay N2,000 fine.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Mr Abdulahi Alhassan, told the

court that policemen on patrol around Mabushi village, arrested and took the convict to the police station after they suspected him to be carrying stolen brocade materials.

Alhassan said that during

investigation Nasiru could not give satisfactory answers to how he got the materials.

He said that the offence contravened the provision of Section 319 A of the Penal Code.

(NAN)

Labourer arraigned for alleged theft of handbag

A

labourer, Danjuma Obadiah, 25, of Karmo village has been arraigned before an Abuja Magistrates Court for allegedly stealing a handbag.

Police Prosecutor, Sergeant Philip Appolos, told the court that one Mrs Joy Otowo of Gwarimpa Estate reported the matter at the Life Camp Police Station, Abuja on November 29, 2012.

“The complainant was driving along Airport road when she was attacked by Obadiah and two others.

When she

approached a speed breaker, the accused and two others now at large, ran out from the bush and snatched her hand bag.

“The handbag contained gold jewelries, international passport, N150,000 and other valuables’’.

The prosecutor said the accused was apprehended with an empty handbag on Life Camp road, Abuja, by policemen on patrol.

He added that the accused was charged with committing joint act, extortion and theft.

The prosecutor said the

accused should not be granted bail, saying that theft and extortion had been rampant in the FCT. He said that bail might prevent the apprehension of the co-accused persons and that he might commit similar crime again.

Appolos requested for a date to commence hearing the matter.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him.

The Defence Counsel, Mr

Chuks Nwankwo, applied for bail for the accused, reminding the court that the accused had been in police custody for 13 days.

Magistrate, Mr Bolaji Lateef, granted him bail in the sum of N50,000 and one surety in like sum.

Lateef said the surety must reside within the jurisdiction of the court with traceable workplace and home addresses.

He adjourned the case to December21, 2012 for further hearing. (NAN)

Woman seeks divorce over husband’s refusal to eat her food

A

woman, Rukayyat Mohammed, 31, has urged a Lugbe Area Court, Abuja, to dissolve her 16- yearsold marriage to Aliyu Mohammed over his refusal to eat her food.

Rukayyat, a tailor, who now resides with her family at Garki village in Abuja, told the court that she was seeking divorce because she was fed up with the marriage which is blessed with a child.

The plaintiff alleged that her 50- years- old husband was fond

of molesting her at the slightest provocation and added that he had failed to take care of her basic needs, including feeding and clothing.

“Out of all the problems I have with my husband, the one that pains me most is his refusal to eat the food I cook for him, that is why I want a divorce.

“One day, the evening meal I prepared for the family was delayed and was only ready by 8 pm because of some challenges I had with the grinding engine.

“He then insulted and

assaulted me for late cooking and refused to eat the food and also instructed everybody in the house not to eat it.

“The next day I refused to cook food for the family, so he got angry, beat me up and asked me to pack my belongings out of his house,’’ she alleged.

She said that she was fed up with the marriage and that she would “never return’’, claiming that she never loved her husband in the first place and that she was forced by her parents to marry him.

However, her husband, Mohammed denied the allegations and explained that he had been taking good care of his wife.

According to him, he is still in love with her and urged her to return to her matrimonial home.

“I do not know what her problem is, we have lived together as husband and wife peacefully for 16 years without any problem.

“I even went to her parents’ house where she now lives and apologised to her and the family for any wrong doing and urged

her to return, but she refused to reason with me’’.

The Judge, Mr. Haruna Masanawa, who noted Rukayyat’s insistence on divorce, said the issues raised did not warrant a divorce, more so that her husband said that he still loved her.

Masanawa adjourned the case to December 17, 2013 for judgment and advised the Mohammed to win back his wife’s love by enticing her with precious gifts before the adjourned date.

(NAN).

PAGE 18

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

Council confiscates sub-standard medical equipment in Karu

T

he Consumer Protection Council (CPC) said it has confiscated sub-standard medical equipment hidden in a residential area in Karu in the Federal Capital territory( FCT).

Director-General of CPC, Mrs Ify Umenyi, told newsmen at the weekend in Abuja that the council seized products are BD Soloshot syringes which were

packed in 310 cartons.

“On inspection and analysis of the syringes, we discovered that they did not meet the required labelling standards and were kept without the proper storage necessary for sensitive medical equipment’’, she said.

The CPC boss said the products were exposed to sun, rain, dust and other participles.

She said that the sterility of the products which are used largely at the Primary Health Care level for immunisation were in doubt and must not be used.

“Although both young and old can be affected, children are most vulnerable because they receive immunisation frequently,’’ the director said.

She said that the owner of the

product had been apprehended and was cooperating with the council in its investigations, adding that efforts were being made to ascertain the source of the products and avoid its circulation.

Umenyi urged consumers to be vigilant in making purchases and always report the circulation of suspicious products to the council. (NAN)

FCT residents commend NNPC for selling kerosene at N50 per litre

Author charges parents on sex education

By Usman Shuaibu

P

arents in the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) and Nigerian in general have been advised to discuss the issues of puberty and sexuality, personal care and hygiene with their children as they are growing.

An author of a book entitled ‘Teenage sexuality’ gave the advice at the book launch in Abuja.

Our reporter, who covered the event, reports that the colourful occasion attracted the parents of the author as well as government functionaries.

Speaking at the occasion, the author of the book, Vitalis Anyadike, said that he wrote the book to enlighten the public on sex education.

Emphasizing the need for this, he said: “There is need for teachers guidance counselor and social workers to devote more time to educate their boys and girls when the developmental changes occur in their body at puberty”.

The author appealed to the Federal Ministry of Information and media to give adequate publicity to the book through electronic, print media for the overall benefit of the growing ones.

On his part, the chairman of the occasion, urged the general public to emulate the good gesture of the author by writing books that would be of benefit to the society.

Igbo chief demands for good road in Pegi community

By Usman Shuaibu

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Abuja residents queue for kerosene at the NNPC Mega Station at Central Business District, Abuja.

S

ome residents of the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) have commended the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Mega Station on the Olusegun Obasanjo Way in Abuja for selling kerosene at N50 per litre.

A cross-section of the residents, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the weekend, also lauded the government for making the product available at the station.

“I am happy to buy kerosene at N50 per litre; I used to buy it at N200 per litre at the black market. The price (N200) is too much and most Nigerians cannot afford it,’’ Mr Samuel Ako, one of the residents, said.

Ako, who described kerosene as an important and cheap source of cooking fuel, urged the government to ensure its availability at all times.

He also urged the NNPC to ensure that the citizens had unfettered access to kerosene, irrespective of where they lived.

Also speaking, Mrs Mary Musa, a housewife, commended the NNPC for making kerosene available, particularly before the Christmas period.

“I thank the management of NNPC mega station for the efforts made to ensure that the people are able to get kerosene at this critical period of the year.

“I am also pleased to note that kerosene is being sold at the approved price of N50 per litre.

Although the stress in buying kerosene at the station is much; I will bear it because it is not easy to buy it at the black market price of N200 per litre,’’ Musa told NAN. Mrs Maria Jimoh, who also commended the NNPC for making kerosene available and selling it at the approved price,

however, criticised black market operators for selling it at exorbitant prices.

“Black marketers selling kerosene should look for something else to do, instead of hoarding the product and making innocent Nigerians suffer unnecessarily,’’ she said.

The Manager of NNPC Mega Station, Mr Steve Yohanna, promised that the station would always sell kerosene at N50 per litre.

Yohanna told NAN that NNPC management had devised a means of easing the suffering of the people who thronged the station daily to buy kerosene.

“We have a card that we issue to our customers; the card indicates the day and date during which they should come and buy kerosene to avoid unnecessary rush,’’ he said.

Yohanna said that Mondays

Photo: NAN had been earmarked for the staff of the NNPC, Tuesdays for personnel of the army and civil defence, while Wednesdays were for civil servants and other members of the public.

He also said that the police personnel could buy kerosene on Thursdays, while officials of the FRSC, the Vehicle Inspection Office, the State Security Service (SSS) and others would be attended to on Fridays.

Yohanna said that Saturdays had been designated for officials of the Immigrations Service, the Prisons Service, the Customs Service, the Fire Service and workers of private sector organisations.

He said that the security officers at the station had been mandated to ensure that customers followed the schedule strictly to avoid confusion and long queues. (NAN)

he Chairman of Igbo Community Assembly in charge of the four area councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Ezugwu Hiarry, has called on the Chairman of Kuje Area Council, Hon. Danladi Etsu Zhin to construct a road from Kuje to Pegi vallige to boost socio-economic activities in the area.

Hiarry, who made the call in an interview with newsmen during the Igbo end of the year party in Pegi, accused the Kuje Chairman of failing to provide the needed basic amenities in Pegi.

He alleged that since the chairman of the area council assumed office, he had done nothing to improve the lives of the residents in the area.

He called on the chairman and the FCT administration to join hands to develop Pegi village, he settlement inhabited by people who were relocated as a result of demolition that took place during the former minister of the FCT, Mallam Nasir Ahmed el-Rufai.

The chairman appealed to Igbos residing in Pegi community to continue to live in peace with the indigenes of the area.

BUSINESS

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

Email: aminuimam@yahoo.co.uk

PAGE 19

INSIDE

- Pg 20

NPDC announces boost in crude oil production

Mob: 08033644990

AMCON plans sale of nationalised banks in 2014

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he Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has concluded arrangements to sell the three banks it acquired last year to preferred local and foreign investors.

The Managing Director, AMCON, Mustafa Chike-Obi, told newsmen at a press conference in Lagos at the weekend that the banks would be sold during the second quarter of 2014, adding that it was the appropriate time chosen by the company to sell the banks.

He enumerated the banks to be sold as Mainstreet , Keystone and Enterprise banks.

According to Chike-Obi, AMCON recorded N2.37 trillion loss in the current financial year because of the N5.6 trillion it invested in the three banks to secure depositors’ fund and other public investment in them.

The fund injection into the banks that were ailing at the time of their acquisition was to enable them compete favourably with other healthy banks in the country.

The AMCON boss said the shortlisted financial advisers that would administer the sale of the banks will soon be announced.

The former three bridge banks were created by the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) to take over the assets of the former Afribank, Bank PHB and Spring Bank, which licences were revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), for not being able to meet the September 31st deadline for recapitalisation Chike-Obi said the speculations making rounds that the corporation will sell the three nationalised banks later this year was false.

He said that the corporation was only planning to announce to the public the 11 shortlisted financial advisors, out of the received 44 Expressions of Interest received from different advisers.

He, however, hinted that the process of evaluating the state of the three banks have begun, pointing out that all was set to receive the first report on the methodology and optimum value of the three nationalised banks in February next year.

Reacting to the group’s loss in this year’s financial result, the AMCON helmsman said it was due to the company’s move tosecure that depositors fund were safe in the three banks.

He said that the corporation was healthier in terms of liquidity, as it has N10 billion in statutory equity and N400 billion in sinking fund.

L-R: National President, Miners Association, Sani Shehu, MD, NEXIM Bank, Mr. Roberts Orya, Treasurer, Chief B.E. Ezekwere, Miners Association, Abuja, Jacob S. Okunade, and ED, Corporate Services, NEXIM Bank, Bashir Wali during a courtesy visit to NEXIM Bank last week in Abuja.

FIRS realises N4.65tr revenue in 11 months

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he Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), announced the collection of N4.645 trillion taxes from January to November.

These disclosures were contained in a report released at the weekend by the tax agency, signed by it’s Director of Communications and Liaison, Emmanuel Obeta, in Abuja.

This figure surpasses this year’s target set for the tax agency by the Federal Government, as well as beating the 2011 yearly collection.

Besides, N183.9 billion education tax revenue was remitted to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TetFund) from January to November 2012.

The amount, which represents two per cent accrual from the Education Tax (EDT) deductable from companies’ profits operating in the country, shows an increase collection of N55.9 billion when compared with the total collection of N128 billion in 2011.

Out of the N4.645 trillion collections for the period under consideration, Obeta said Oil tax revenue accounted for

N2.978 trillion, while non-oil realisation stood at N1.669 trillion.

He gave more insight into the collections: “With this amount, the FIRS did not only surpass the N3.6 trillion provisional annual budget estimates for the year, but the total annual collection of N4.628 trillion for the year ended 2011.

“The collection represents an increase revenue collection performance of about N17, 070 billion when compared to the total collection for 2011. It also represents an increase in the Service tax revenue

collection performance of about N485.43 billion when compared with the total realisation of N4.160 trillion for the same period in 2011. “ Equally, the N183.9 billion so far remitted to the TetFund represents a considerable increase in the Service tax revenue collection and remittance when viewed against the N128 billion total remittance in 2011.

“A breakdown of the collection from January to November shows that N3.473 billion was realised in January, N1.751 billion in February, N2.638 billion in

Inflation rises to four month high of 12.3% on food costs

N

igeria’s headline inflation quickened to 12.3 percent year-onyear in November, from 11.7 percent in October and the highest since July, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said yesterday..

Consumer inflation rose to its highest in four months in November as the impact of the country’s worst flooding in 50 years pushed up the cost of food,

the NBS data showed. Food inflation, the biggest contributor to the consumer index, rose to 11.6 percent year-on-year in November, from 11.1 percent in October.

“Higher food prices continue to reflect the impact of recent floods on the production of farm produce, (and the) resulting difficulty of moving food products to markets across the country,”

Management Tip of the Day Subtract from your sales pitch

W

hen preparing a sales pitch, you may be inclined to continually add elements to entice the customer. This can result in a cluttered, unfocused pitch, and prospective buyers may feel overwhelmed by choices.

Don’t give your audience a choose-your-own

March, N7.817 billion in April and N2.325 billion in May. “The Service recorded the highest collection of N57.196 billion in August, N42.481 billion in September, N23.973 billion in July, N22.717 billion in October, N18.180 billion in June and the month of November accounted for the lowest figure of N1.353 billion.”

FIRS has a statutory responsibility to assess, collect and account for revenue tax and has since 1994, when tetFund was established, remitted more than N591 billion to the Fund.

adventure. Instead, focus on the one thing you believe they will gain. So instead of adding more ideas, try subtracting.

Take out three (or more) pitch points until you are down to one core idea. Remove anything that may feel peripheral.

Structure your

presentation around that one point and continue to return to it throughout. You don’t want to attract customers with a long list of disparate options. Seduce them with a single, compelling idea.

Source: Harvard Business Review

the NBS said in a report.

Nigeria’s worst flooding in at least half a decade between July and mid-October killed 363 people and displaced 2.1 million, the national emergency agency said.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile agriculture items, jumped to 13.6 percent year-on-year in November, from 12.4 percent in October.

The central bank closely watches the core index when making interest rate decisions.

“Increases in the core index was as a result of ... higher housing, electricity, gas (prices) ... in particular rent prices, increased liquid fuel prices such as kerosene ... air transportation costs, and clothing prices,” the NBS said.

Nigeria’s central bank kept interest rates on hold at 12 percent last month for the seventh time in a row, resisting calls to reduce lending costs because of concerns over inflation. (Reuters)

PEOPLES DAILY,TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

PAGE 20

COMPANY NEWS MTN

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igeria’s leading Information and Communications Technology (ICT) company, MTN, has lamented criminal damage to its fibre optic cable network in at least seven different locations across the country, leading the company’s officials to suspect a coordinated attack.

MTN Corporate Services Executive, Mr. Wale Goodluck, in a statement in Lagos, said the company’s engineers were currently battling to restore service quality to acceptable levels following the massive attack on the company’s extensive fibre network.

According to him, the fibre network was violated in seven locations namely, between Port Harcourt and Eket, Kano and Zaria, Abuja and Akwanga, Asaba and Owerri, Ahoada and Port Harcourt, Benin and Owo and finally, between Ikeji and Owo.

ASO Savings and Loans

FG to restructure Ministry of Power in 2013

T

he Minister of State for Power, Hajiya Zainab Kuchi has said that the Federal Ministry of Power would be restructured in 2013 to deal with the inevitable challenges facing the sector.

Kuchi, who made this known at the 4th Quarterly Power Summit in Lagos on Friday, said that the restructuring was to place the ministry in a more defined direction.

She said that the country’s power generation would improve significantly as most of the independent power projects would be commissioned in 2013.

The minister said that the power sector would be more private-sector driven in 2013.

“In this regards, I will continue to seek the cooperation of our development partners, whther international or local, in ensuring sustainability of supply along the electricity value chain.

“We should be seen as working together harmoniously in order to attain a common goal of making electricity available to consumers on sustainable basis.

“The summit has indeed been able to bring about appreciable

improvement in the country’s power supply and l am happy to sincerely associate myself with the noble ideals of the summit,” she said.

Kuchi said that sustainable power supply was not only part of the President Goodluck Jonathans’ transformation agenda, but also central to the transformation process.

According to her, this can be achieved through hard-work, commitment, dedication and cooperation of all the key players within the value chain.

Kuchi said that the ministry had signed the contract for the Zungeru Power Project which would generate additional 700 mega watts on completion to the national grid.

Mrs Dere Awosika, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, said that the summit was expected to draw the sector closer to its goals.

Awosika said that the ministry had successfully concluded the PHCN- labour debacle and that the country had attained a power generation of

NPDC announces boost in crude oil production

By Muhammad Nasir

...ramps up gas supply by 65mmscfd

n keeping with its target to grow its production to 250,000 barrels per day by 2015, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (the Exploration and Production subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company) has commenced aggressive drilling on some of its Oil Mining Leases leading to increased production.

The latest of NPDC’s

production strides is the successful drilling of Okono 6 and 7 oil wells in its OML 119 which are currently yielding 12,000 barrels per day.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by Mr. Fidel Pepple, the Acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC. Mr. Pepple quoted the Managing Director of NPDC, Mr.

I

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igeria’s front-line primary mortgage institution, ASO Savings and Loans Plc, through its subsidiary, ASO Investment and Development Company (AIDC),is partnering the Cross River state government to commission 200 units blocks of two and three bedroom flats in Akpabuyo Local Government, Calabar, in the first phase of its Housing Development Project Partnership.

The commissioning ceremony was performed by the minister of lands, housing and urban development, AmaPepple. The minister expressed her gratitude to the governor of the state LiyelImoke, who was represented at the occasion by the acting governor, EfiokCobham, and the private developer, AIDC for cueing into the 2020 Vision of the Federal Government to provide affordable housing for all Nigerians.

Pepple also commended the developer for putting appropriate infrastructure in place before commissioning the project.

NCC okays new guidelines on disconnection of indebted telecoms operators

Vodacom Nigeria

By Chris Alu

odacom Business Nigeria, provider of pan-African corporate total communication solutions and telecommunications, with customers in 43 sub-Saharan markets, has unveiled its Enterprise Voice Solution for Nigerian businesses.

This Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking service supports cost effective routing with high call quality as well as improved levels of service on local and international calls for enterprises in Nigeria.

he Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Thursday said that it had approved the new “Guidelines on Procedure for Granting of Approval to Disconnect Telecommunication Operators”.

Dr Eugene Juwah, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of NCC, disclosed this in Lagos during the “Regulatory Forum on the High Incidence of Interconnection Indebtedness in the Nigerian Telecommunications Industry”.

V

L-R: Minister of State for FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, Managing Director, Federal Morgage Bank of Nigeria, Mr Bola Ogunsola, DFID team leader, Mr Paul Weijers, and Lead Finance and Private Sector World Bank, Mr Micheal Wong. During the stakeholders forum on housing for the urban poor, recently in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

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550 mega watts.

Awosika said that the summit was to discuss issues, progress and challenges in the sector with a view to formulating strategies and designs to mitigate them.

She said that some of the notable challenges in the sector were human weaknesses and failure as well as poor planning and implementation.

The theme of the summit was “Strategies towards Consolidating Sustainable Power Supply in a Privatised Industry.

(NAN)

Juwah said that the new document was necessary since the existing one was approved in 2004 and was due for review, to facilitate debt payment among interconnect partners.

He said that it had been observed that some operators took advantage of the provisions of the old guidelines to deliberately refuse to promptly discharge their financial obligations to their interconnect partners.

The NCC chief noted that this was possible because of the processes that had to be followed before the Commission could authorise the disconnection of an

operator.

He said that several operators had also noted that Interconnect Exchanges had also become a major part of the problem. ‘’They now owe other operators interconnection charges, thus compounding the problem they were meant to alleviate. ‘’The problem has continued to escalate and the current cumulative debt profile in the industry is worrisome; if the continued high interconnection indebtedness is left unchecked, it will impact negatively on the industry,’’ Juwah said.

Victor Briggs, as explaining that Okono 6 and 7 wells are significant not just because they represent the company’s independent efforts at growing production but also because of the prolific nature of the wells which are producing at an average of 6,000 barrels per day as against the older wells which are producing at an average of 3,000 barrels per day.

“From 2010 till date our production rose from 65,000 to 130,000 barrels per day, a bulk of the increase consists of assets handed over to us upon divestment by some of our JV partners; but we realise that for us to meet the target of 250,000 barrels per day by 2015 we need to build on this by exploring further afield and drilling more wells. Okono 6 and 7 wells represent our success story in this direction,” Briggs was quoted to have said.

He said NPDC plans to drill more wells as from next year and would deploy two more rigs in addition to the two it currently has on site, adding that the target is to drill 40 wells in the next five years as part of its growth projection.

He said the company has also made tremendous progress in the area of gas supply in keeping with the directive of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani AlisonMadueke, to step up gas production and supply to meet the national power generation aspiration.

“We have commenced gas production from our Oredo Gas Plant since November and we currently produce 65mmscf per day. By the end of the first quarter of next year when we shall complete the second phase of this project, we will have additional 100mmscf per day and 4,000 metric tons of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG),” Mr. Briggs said.

He explained that the Oredo Gas Plant, with gas feedstock from NPDC’s OML 111 was originally designed to supply gas to the Ihovbor Power Plant in Edo State and that since the power plant is not ready the gas is being supplied to the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) for onward transmission into the national gas grid for power generation.

PAGE 21

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

2012's Top 8 smartphones with best overall performance Following global IT trends, smartphones that run on Google's Android OS has toppled Apple's iOS for the first time. Just two years ago, Apple had a stranglehold on the market with a share of 39 per cent compared to Android's 6 per cent.

This development indicates the rapid changes in the smartphone market. As 2012 ends, here is a list of the 8 most powerful smartphones in terms of speed, capacity, resolution and graphics.

2.

Samsung Galaxy S3

I

t was released in May 2012 and is the latest flagship of the Samsung Galaxy S line up for 2012. Even if the technology was way back in Q2 of the year, this smartphone has outlasted many other smartphones even the models released in Q4.

Screen Size 4.8 inches Display Type Super AMOLED Display Resolution 720x1280 Operating System Android JellyBean 4.1.2 CPU 1.4 GHz quad-core, Exynos chipset RAM 1GB GPU Mali-400MP Browser related Adobe FlashIt is still number 2 because of its balanced combination of hardware and software, quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, Adobe Flash support, large screen, and constant Android update.

1.

Google Nexus 4

T

he latest smartphone unit from the Nexus line-up of Google which was released in November and co-created with LG, this Nexus smartphone has the latest technology from both companies.

Screen Size 4.7 inches Display Type True HD IPS Plus Display Resolution 768x1280 Operating System Android 4.2.1 JellyBean CPU 1.5GHz quad-core, Qualcomm chipset RAM 2 GB Graphics Adreno 320 Browser Related HTML5 The powerful combination of processor and RAM deliver speed with almost 5 inches of screen, decent graphics unit and running on the latest Android version make this phone stand out when it comes to overall performance.

4.

LG Optimus G

eleased in November and one of the flagship smartphone device of LG. Optimus G offers great speed and performance compare with its ancestor models.

Screen Size 4.7 inches Display Type True HD-IPS Display Resolution 768x1280 Operating System Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich

CPU 1.5GHz quad-core, Qualcomm chipset RAM 2GB Graphics Adreno 320 Browser Related Adobe FlashThis model features great screen size, better display resolution, good RAM, and latest quad-core processor, but the downside is the version of Android. JellyBean update is still on its way to be obtained by users and the difference from ICS is very significant in most Android smartphones.

8. Sony Xperia TX This model was released in August and is an improvement of Xperia T smartphone from Sony. The Xperia TX has better touch support of up to 10 fingers and features BRAVIA engine as well.

Screen Size 4.55 inches Display Type TFT with BRAVIA engine Display Resolution 720x1280 Operating System Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich CPU 1.5GHz dual-core, Qualcomm chipset

RAM 1GB Graphics Adreno 225 Browser Related HTML5Although BRAVIA is engineered for display, the engine focuses on movies and videos. The screen response is more of the hardware directly reacting from the user's touch.

One minus point for this model is the Android version which basically is Ice Cream Sandwich.

It is not the low specification, just the right mix between the latest hardware and software.

Xperia units are known for great video playback and display power saving capability.

R

3.

HTC One X

R

5. Apple iPhone 5 This model was released in September and the latest model unit of iPhone today. This version runs the latest generation of iOS 6 and has dualcore processor and 1GB of RAM. Screen Size 4.0 inches Display Type Retina, LEDbacklit IPS TFT Display Resolution 640x1136 Operating System iOS 6 CPU 1.2GHz dual-core, Apple A6

RAM 1GB Graphics PowerVR SGX Browser Related Safari BrowserAlthough the graphics itself makes games run impressively and the Retina display resolves pixelation issues, its processor, RAM, and screen size matter to those users who want to view movies and play games in a larger scale without the TV. Since it is iOS, only games from Apple App Store are allowed to be played in iPhones unless its Jailbroken.

7. Motorola RAZR MAXX HD

CPU 1.5GHz dual-core RAM 1GB Graphics Browser Related Adobe FlashSince overall performance is measured in speed and graphics is tackled here, RAZR MAXX HD is in the 7th position..

It can perform engaging games, tasky applications, and display HD movies, but the RAZR MAXX HD's design provides balance between durability and stability inside and out.

This is the latest model of the RAZR family from Motorola which defines thin, lightweight, and powerful smartphone units.

Screen Size 4.7 inches Display Type Super AMOLED Display Resolution 720x1280 Operating System Android 4.1.1 JellyBean

eleased in October, this is the latest model for the HTC One line-up of smartphones. It is made from premium materials and has the latest UI version of HTC Sense.

Screen Size 4.7 inches Display Type Super LCD 2 Display Resolution 720x1280 Operating System Android 4.1.1 JellyBean CPU 1.7 GHz quad-core, Nvidia chipset RAM 1GB Graphics ULP GeForce Browser Related Adobe FlashThis unit easily could have been in second place but there certain aspects which put this in number 3. There is the arguable CPU and GPU chipsets, RAM vs processor ratio, Android version, and display type. Nevertheless, the difference between S3 and One X is very little.

6. Nokia Lumia 920 his was released as well in September and can be called a breakthrough smartphone model from Nokia which runs Windows 8. Many reviewers see the Lumia 920 as the most innovative smartphone.

Screen Size 4.5 inches Display Type IPS TFT Display Resolution 768x1280 Operating System Windows Phone 8 CPU 1.5GHz dual-core, Qualcomm RAM 1GB Graphics Adreno 225 Browser Related HTML5, Internet Explorer 10The combination of processor, RAM, graphics, and screen display are very well balanced, avoiding lags and hang ups in most cases.

Maybe its difference from other smartphones is not having a quad-core or a better GPU, and Windows Phone 8 is still new in smartphone devices. However, certain things like synching it to desktop, having Microsoft application exclusivity are upside for the Lumia 920.

(Source: ibtimes.com)

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PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

PAGE 22

Report of the Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force, Nov 2012 (X) Equity Crude Oil Sales

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he impact of these issues on Nigeria's revenues accruable from the industry is highlighted by the following: o Various companies have argued that Nigeria is uniquely expensive due to the security problems, equipment sabotage, local content requirements, and industry delays which arguably add to costs. This makes it more difficult for the authorities to evenly compare costs in Nigeria with those in other countries to assess reasonableness. It also means companies can more easily inflate costs. o There is an inherent conflict in NNPC's role as both a participant in the industry and a cost regulator (via NAPIMS). o Capacity constraints impair both the NAPIMS cost regulator and FIRS tax assessor functions. o The current bureaucratic cost regulation processes at NAPIMS and the overlapping responsibilities of the agencies delay investment decisions in the industry above industry averages. o Control of training programme for NNPC, NAPIM and DPR staff by the contractor/ IOC generates conflict of interest as there is potential for perception of compromise in regulation in exchange for expensive overseas training programmes.

Several short-term steps can be taken to reduce these risks and capture Nigeria's fair share of the revenues, while long term reform and capacity development will improve this situation in the long term.

4.4.2.8.

National

entitlement in a JV Based on production and lifting data by operator, obtained from NNPC, we performed an analysis to establish whether the government is receiving crude oil entitlement in accordance with the provisions of the various joint operating agreements as modified by the alternative funding and modified carry agreements. See Table 14 for detailed analysis.

On enquiry from NNPC, the reasons for the differences are mainly due to the fact that the lifting data provided for some of the operators (particularly Chevron and Mobil), have not been segregated by agreement type.

In the absence of accurate information on entitlements and lifting per contract type, the Task Force could not arrive at an accurate conclusion as to whether the government is receiving their contractual entitlements or not, in the joint venture agreements.

4.4.2.9.

Carrying parties in the carrying agreements recover in excess of 10% of the capital cost through investment tax allowances RCE is the quantity of carry oil/gas determined in US dollar equivalent and corresponding to the unrecovered residual carry capital expenditure. In other words, it represents the outstanding principal and interest due from NNPC in the carry agreements.

We observed two (2) distinct methods of calculating RCE from the contracts reviewed. The earlier contracts calculated RCE as Carry tax expenditure less carry tax relief less carry oil recovered, divided by the guaranteed notional margin.

The later contracts calculated RCE as cumulative capital cost amortized and expensed to date less cumulative tax relief less carry oil/gas, divided by the incremental notional margin.

CTE = the cumulative amount of capital allowances, including any investment tax allowances.

This implies that in determining the reimbursable capital in the earlier contracts (EA/EJA Field Development (Shell) and Amenam/Kpono Field (OMLs 99 and 70-Elf)), the carrying parties are recovering 10% in excess of the capital cost, representing the investment tax allowance. In the case of the Elf agreement, the amount of the investment allowance on the total capital cost of US$697 million, will be in the range of US$69.7 million, recovered in excess of capital cost carried.

Total capital costs include intangible and tangible capital expenditure.

4.4.2.10.

Shared oil allocation Shared oil means the quantity of oil production available after allocating the participating interest share of oil production to the operator and allocating carry oil to the operator. Royalty and tax is deducted from the shared oil allocated to the operator, leaving it with the actual fiscal margin for each shared oil barrel allocated to it, as compensation for the cost of the carry. We observed that the percentage of share oil allocated to the carrying party ranges from 6.5% to 50%. In addition, based on the defined financial models and the stage of the project, incremental notional margin ranges from $6 to $14 per barrel.

Summary review of the basis of shared oil allocations for the various carry agreements

PEOSPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

Report as at Monday, December 17, 2012

PAGE 23

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

PAGE 24

Karim: Where 10 people die weekly of waterborne diseases

than 195,844(2006 census) Christians and Muslims who co-exist peacefully.

Water-borne disease affect the young and the old in Karim because of their nomadic life; they tend to move from place to place in search of greener pastures for their immediate family, leaving behind available water source .

Major sources of water include rivers, ponds, and open wells which the inhabitants use for their domestic activities and every other water related activity.

Available boreholes are a privately owned well operated

by Rabi Water that sells water especially to water vendors(mai-ruwa) and one at the emirs palace are the only source of water to the people Most Government sunk boreholes and the recently sunk ones under the Millennium Development Goals MDGs are no longer functioning due to what

In Karim, the headquarter of Karim Lamido council area of Taraba state, 5 to 10 persons are diagnosed with water related diseases and 2 to 5 die weekly, Ayodele Samuel writes

M

y encounter on the road to Karim in Taraba state was not a palatable experience. The village had just been ravaged by the deadly floods that swept across the country; the roads are bad, fear of transportation on water coupled with visible angry flooded villagers. At last, I landed on ‘Snake Island’.

Karim is the headquarter of KarimLamido local government area of Taraba state..

It takes about seven hours by road from Jalingo the state capital, due to bad roads

Hospital water tank-unused

and the vastness of the land, but I took less than 3hours taking waterways using local boat from River Lau, to River Benue to Jen and motorcycle to Karim town.

Thou the people of Karim Lamido are still battling the effects of flood that ravaged the rustic community, Typhoid and other water related diseases remains another nightmare.

Karim village known among visitors mostly Corps Members (a Nigeria government youth scheme for fresh graduates) as Snake Inland due to heavy presence

of reptiles.

The town is surrounded by water and thick bushes, making snakes a common sight , about four different tribes (Karim jo , Jenjo, Bachama, Bambur) made up of the undeveloped Agrarian land with people majorly dealing in rice farming and fishing as source of livelihood.

Faced with lack of safe water despite surrounded by River Benue and Lau River, lack of toilets, the people of Karim despite their many problems, has its own uniqueness of peace and harmony among its more

PAGE 25

Manual borehole dry residents describe as “poor execution of the projects.”

A resident, Alhaji Abdullahi Umar, said that sources of clean water were all blocked and most government boreholes were dry. “We find it very difficult to get clean water for drinking and domestic use because most public wells have no water at this time of the year; so we drink from the ponds,” he said.

However, little or no assistance is available in the area of public health. The community makes do with is an unequipped primary healthcare centre.

Villagers fetchin water

A water pond in Karim Jo Villiage where people drink from

According to the Principal Community Health Officer (PCHO), Dr. Isa Nayin, typhoid and other gastrointestinal diseases like dysentery and diarrhoea are prevalent in the locality. He said that these diseases are commonly reported from remote areas which include Karim- Mondi, Ruwan Fulani, Kwanchi and Mutum Daya, all about two-hours motorcycle ride from the headquarter..

Holes for drinking water

Citing the F’ diseases (faeces, flies, food,finger) as a major vector, Dr. Isa believed those diseases occur because there is no reliable source of water in the locality.

He estimated that 5 to 10 persons are daily diagnosed with water related medical cases in the hospital, while 2 to 5 died weekly “because the people still believe in traditional medicines; they usually don’t like visiting the hospital because of cost and

distance.”

Another problem facing the community is ‘colour change in water’, especially in the rural areas where different activities take place in the village ponds or rivers: pigs are allowed to play in the drinking ponds thereby causing a dramatic change in the colour of water from crystalline to red.

While a health worker Bumanda Andrew express fear considering the

increasing casualties of water related diseases appealed to both local and state Government authorities to come to the aid of the community residents.

“Government needs to complement the effort of the United Nations at providing social amenities to the less privileged, people here needs help on water and many other social problems” Commenting on the water problem, Government official, the vice- chairman of Karim Lamido Local Government, Alhaji Ahmad Umar Karim admitted that Government is aware of the people’s plight but assures that efforts are made to reduce their hardship.

“The government has done their best in terms of provision of portable water, citing example of a tap water pipe which were laid by the present Government across the local Government headquarters but which were suddenly vandalized by hoodlums without anybody reporting to the relevant authorities.”

He said the people should complement Government efforts by protecting Government properties sited in their domain The people of Karim are still hopeless for safe water, basic healthcare among other social amenities, where will respite come their way?

This story is contributed

by Ayodele Samuel, and published under the pro poor WASH stories project implemented by the Water and Sanitation Media Network Nigeria, with the support of West Africa WASH Media Network, WaterAid, and Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

PAGE 26

Counter terrorism centre graduates 130 cadets Stories by Joy Baba

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o combat fundamentalist activities which are characterized by acts of terrorism, insurgency, ethnoreligious inspired violence and a growing rank of criminal elements among others, the Nigerian Army leading other security agencies has considered it necessary to give adequate exposure and training on counter terrorism not only to its serving personnel but also to the cadets in the Nigerian Defence Academy.

The Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency Centre, Jaji recently graduated a total number of 130 cadets of 60 regular Combatant, Army and Air force Combined, after a rigorous and intensive 11 weeks of training programme on basic counter terrorism course.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, the Acting Commander Infantry Corps, Maj Gen Kenneth Osuji, said the Army would continue to place special emphasis on Asymmetric warfare in all its training institutions in light of the current national security challenges which according to him was not only peculiar to Nigeria but had since been perceived as a

global phenomenon.

He urged the graduating Cadets to count themselves privilege to have joined the ranks of the special forces in the Army and Air force respectively, having completed the course with special perseverance and commitment.

The Commander who expressed satisfaction with their over all performance on the course, urged them to put into good use, the requisite skills acquired during the course, adding that security and counter insurgency training were needed to urgently address the nation’s security challenges and to enhance the overall operational efficiency of the national security agencies.

“I have no doubt on my mind that you will do us proud in the field. Do not rest on your oars but continue to strive hard in your future Endeavour,” he said.

Earlier in his speech, the Director Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency Centre, Brig Gen. Tijani Golau said he was highly fulfilled with great sense of accomplishment to disclose that the training of the graduants was effectively and successively carried out.

Some of the graduants of the Counter terrorism centre on parade during their graduation ceremony According to him, out of 130 cadets of 60 regular combatant who registered for the course, no one dropped, they all successfully graduated

without any casualty during their rigorous training.

He further enjoined the graduants to be well focused as they were about to cross the

Rubicon reminded them that the race to the top was rough and tough and only the very best and resilient would get there.

COAS urges officers to be more dedicated to army ethics

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he Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Azubuike Ihejirika has urged officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army to continue to rededicate themselves to ethics and values of the Nigerian Army especially under current political dispensation, adding that their loyalty to the President must not be in doubt.

The Army chief who was represented by the Commandant, Nigerian Army Peace Keeping Centre Maj. Gen. Samuel Zaruwa, stated this during the graduation

ceremony of Warrant Officers Course 21/12 at the Warrant Officers Academy, Jaji Kaduna.

According to him, the Warrant Officers Academy was established to rejuvenate the Warrant Officers’ Cadre of the Nigerian Army, which was observed to be lagging behind in professional standards, stressing that since its establishment, the institution has successfully bridged the once existing gap between officers and senior non commissioned officers.

“My expectation is that you

are now better able to contribute to the good administration of your respective units. You must rededicate yourself to duty and your loyalty must never be in doubt.” he also said.

According to Ihejirika “The Academy has so far been able to achieve its founding mandate through focused training that prepares senior non commissioned officers to confront contemporary challenges of our noble profession.”

He further stressed that

intellectual and professional skills the graduants acquired during the course would no doubt propel them to the position of bridging the knowledge gap between the warrant officers and officers drawing inference from ex students performance in their various units and formations.

The COAS enjoined the senior non commissioned officers to be innovative as the Army strives to combat the current security challenges confronting the nation.

Ihejirika noted that he was quite satisfied with the current training curriculum of Warrant Officers Academy, commended the visionary leadership of the Commandant and the efforts of the entire staff of the institution.

Earlier, the Commandants, Brig-Gen Enang Ukagu

disclosed that out of 50 senior non commissioned officers drawn from all Arms and services of the Nigerian Army who registered for the course, all successfully graduated without any casualty throughout their training period.

His words: “The training of the course graduating today was based on a new curriculum which the Academy reviewed to give due emphasis to the contemporary challenges of internal security, asymmetric warfare and peace support operations, in line with the COAS vision.”

Ukagu expressed sincere appreciation to the Chief of Army Staff for his passion and interest in the Academy, pledging to continue to work harder to ensure the growth of the institution.

Obada commiserates with families of crashed victims

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L-R: Naval chief of Training and Operations, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogbor and Director of Information Navy, Commodore Kabir Aliyu addressing journalist on the crashed NIgeria Navy Agusta Helicopter, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Joy Baba

he Minister of State for Defence, Erelu (Dr) Olusola Agbeja Obada has on behalf of the military and civilian staff of the Ministry expressed deep sympathy and regret over the unfortunate air crash involving the Nigerian Navy helicopter on Saturday 15 December, 2012.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Director Press and Public Relations of the ministry, Shehu Maikai The statement further said

the ministry and all other defence sectors will leave no stone unturned to ascertain the cause of the unfortunate incident and assured Nigerians of the continued commitment and dedication of the Ministry of Defence towards service of the nation.

The minister in the statement also prayed that God Almighty give the bereaved families the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss and their souls rest in perfect peace.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

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AFCSC Commandant seeks collaboration from community Stories by Joy Baba

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he Commandant Armed Forces and Command Staff College Jaji, Air Vice Marshal Eko Effiom Osim has called on the District Head of Jaji community and his subjects to assist the College to check illegal infiltration of aliens in their midst to help improve security in the College and the Community at large urging them to be more vigilant, proactive and to report suspicious persons promptly.

Osim stated this when he played host to the District Head of Jaji and 9 of his Village Heads within the Jaji community recently at the College Headquarters in Jaji.

The commandant also said he will give support to any activity that is aimed at reducing poverty in the community and further said him and members of his team will soon commence a Comprehensive Youth Economic Empowerment Programme that would help reduce youth unemployment in the barracks and Jaji community as a whole.

He assured them of his commitment to improving their welfare within available

resources adding that his doors are widely open for consultations.

In his response, the District

Head of Jaji and Mallamawan Zazzau, Alhaji Danjuma Mustapha Adamu used the occasion to welcome the new

Commandant who just assumed office and further commiserated with the entire college over the recent bomb blast.

Alhaji Adamu reiterated the cordial relationship that existed between his Community and the College over the years and expressed optimism that the new Commandant will build on the modest efforts of his predecessors.

He pledged his total support and cooperation to enable the new Commandant succeed in his tour of duty.

NIBATT34 gets AU/UN medal in Darfur

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L-R: Commandant Armed Forces Command Staff College, Jaji, Air Vice Marshal Eko Effion welcoming the District Head of Jaji, Alhaji Mustapha Danjuma Adamu to the college

he Nigerian battalion 34 (NIBATT) were recently presented with African union- United Nation Hybrid Operation in Darfur medal ElDaein base camp eastern Darfur state.

The parade was composed of 11x96 officers and soldiers drawn from all the companies of the battalion, and was commanded by Maj Samson Olaseigbe who is also the Operation officer of the Battalion.

At the presentation of the medal, the Force Commander, represented by the sector south and Nigerian Contingent commander, Brig Gen Sanusi Muazu commended the Commanding Officer of the NIBATT34 Lt Col RS Ngida and his troops for their commitment in carrying out their task .

Medal presentation was decentralise and all the

Nigerian Battalions were tasked to conduct it at their various locations thereby making it the first time it was conducted outside the Nigerian contingent Head Quarter at Nyala.

Dignitaries from other towns and El- Daein town graced the occasion, which include march pass, presentation of medals, cultural display by various ethnic group from Nigeria and dinner.

The Nigerian cultural troops also entertained their guest with various display, among which are the Hausa /Fulani, Tiv, Yoruba,Igbo, Akwa Ibom and Zuru cultural display.

Among the dignitaries that grace the occasion are the Wali of eastern Darfur state (Governor).

The Nazzir (Emir) of El- Daein, commissioner of police EL Daein, General Officer Commanding 20 Division Sudanese Army, Leader, Nigerian community in El Daein among others.

DEPOWA pledges support to NAF on security matters

A

s a humanitarian organisation which remains committed to the cause of fostering friendship, unity and cordial relationship amongst military and police officers by empowering and developing not only their wives, but other women and Children in the larger society, the Defence and Police Officers’ Wives Association (DEPOWA), has pledged its unalloyed loyalty and continuous support to the Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim and the entire members of Nigerian Armed Forces (NAF)in their quests to

attain lasting peace and security in the country.

Speaking in Abuja while on a courtesy visit to the CDS recently, President of DEPOWA Hajia Aminat Dupe Ibrahim who led members of the association to Defence Headquarters, congratulated Admiral Ibrahim on his recent appointment as the 14th Chief of Defence Staff, and his subsequent promotion to the rank of Admiral in the Nigerian Navy.

A c c o r d i n g to DEPOWA president, Officers’ Wives have enormous responsibilities of keeping the

spirit of their beloved husbands alive for them to be alert and ready to combat crime, restore and sustain peace in Nigeria and across the globe.

“Sir, we have come today to formally congratulate you on your appointment as the Chief of Defence Staff of the Nigerian Armed Forces and your subsequence promotion to the rank of Admiral in the Nigerian Navy. We have also come to formally inform you that, we are proud to be associated with your administration, as well as efforts of all members of the Nigerian

L-R: Mrs Dupe Ibrahim, President, Defence and Police Officers Wives Association (DEPOWA), presenting gift to Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Ibrahim when DEPOWA visted him recently in Abuja.

Armed Forces to maintain peace in our dear country.” Dupe said.

She also used the occasion to sonorously appreciate continuous supports of DHQ towards the smooth running activities of DEPOWA since its existence.

“We are indeed grateful for your continued supports to DEPOWA however, we still need your assistance to enable us tackle some of our immediate needs. We shall therefore forward our requests to the Office of the CDS for your assistance in due course.”

She advocated; and prayed that Almighty Allah continue to direct and grant the CDS wisdom to handle the challenges at hand and sail the Ship of Nigerian Armed forces to the safe Harbour.

“To our dear Husbands and Leaders in the Nigerian Armed Forces, Defence Stakeholders as well as leadership in the civil sectors and government parastatals, we want to assure you all that, we will remain your loving wives who are committed to taking care of the home front while you attend to n a t i o n a l issues.” DEPOWA President added.

In his responce, the CDS, assured members of DEPOWA of continuous supports from his office and all other forces. According to him, the Association stands for a greater course than one can

imagine and urged all members of the great Association to contribute their quotas towards the development of Nigerian Armed Forces in their various capacities.

“We hold the duty to build this Institution. The development of this magnificent Institution which defends our great nation is a responsibility of every member.

I can see some professors and members of professional bodies among you. Make use of your ranks and flairs as mothers to everybody; bring them up with the leashing humility as you are mindful of the power beyond the manhood. Do things as if you wouldn’t see the next day. Thus, the business of governance will be made easier.” CDS poetically buttressed.

The CDS called on members of DEPOWA to keep encouraging one another by seeing beauty in every activity of the association.

Ibrahim further said the present administration in Nigerian Armed Forces is not only free from confusion of any kind; but, strictly based on discipline and transparence. “Let me assure all members of DEPOWA, there is no confusion here. Seek clarification and clear your doubt if there is any. This administration is based on discipline and transparence. Be bold and upright enough as a bonafide member and shun side talks. Every 2-3 side talk is amount to indiscipline and disgruntled.” He added.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

PAGE 28

By Mohammed Kandi

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here are indications that the Gross Enhancement Support scheme (GES) has gained wider acceptance by farmers and Agro-dealers, who are the main target of the programme in parts of the South-South and South-East region of the country though with some challenges.

The GES is a recent policy introduced by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development, mainly to provide subsidy to small-scale farmers in Nigeria via what it called the e-wallet system.

This allows farmers to receive agricultural inputs including fertilizers and free seeds unswervingly without the involvement of middle men.

Through the e-wallet system, farmers had received information on how to get their inputs at the nearest redemption centres via mobile telephones after their registration and subsequent enlistment as beneficiaries of the programme.

In the meantime, both the agrodealers and farmers have expressed mix reactions over the programme saying, thought many of them have craved for such schemes; there is the need for it to be properly streamlined in a way that beneficiaries could pay less money but get more inputs for farming.

However, one of the major constraints experienced by farmers and the agro-dealers in this region was lack of access to funds to enable farmers increase their productivity as well as hectarege of their farmlands.

On their part, most agro-dealers could not meet their target of providing inputs to farmers as none of them could secure loans from the banks. They complained of banks reneging on their initial promise to grant credit facilities to support the Agricultural Transformation Agenda. This led to the creation of certain stringent conditions that could not be met within the stipulated period.

Also, the farmers shared similar grievances about the timing of input deliveries. They grumbled that the inputs arrived various redemption centres at the time when most farmers had already planted their crops for the season.

Largely, there is the need for organizers to correct the inefficiencies resulting from lateness in the arrival of inputs considering the rotation of agricultural seasons in the affected areas.

There were also issues of inadequacies in inputs made available to the farmers. In some quarters, farmers who cultivate on farmlands that are above three hectares insist that the two bags of subsidised NPK and Urea were grossly inadequate to be their targets.

Furthermore, some farmers highlighted on the need to step up awareness campaigns on the programme as well as the communication methods being use to reach out to the rural farmers.

Although most farmers applauded the text message approach where farmer received directly via their mobile sets where and how to obtain their inputs, they questioned the method which had failed deliver in the event of bad network or power outage.

On the whole, the poor farmers

Mix reactions trial the ‘GES’ in South-South, South-East as banks renege on lending agreements

Farmers from Owerri, IMo state expressed satisfaction with the scheme and appealed to governments at all levels to support them with enough funds so as to boost its effort to achieving self sufficiency in food production as well as the desire to elevate the country as one of the food secured nations in the world.

It would be recalled that following flag-off of the GES in a few states earlier in the year, the programme promised to lift 20 million poor farmers from subsistence farming into self-sufficiency within a period of four years.

At different fora, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina had assured that the private sector driven scheme aimed at achieving more yields per hectare as well as the desire to ensure available, accessible and affordable maize and rice seeds and fertiliser (Urea and NPK) to farmers at 50 per cent subsidy through Agro-dealers.

He said the balance of 50 per cent will be paid by the Federal Government and state governments at 25 per cent each. He said the Federal Government was able to raise N30 billion from banks to fund the supply of seeds and fertilisers to farmers with support from the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

His words: “We were able to raise the sum of N30 billion from our banks for our seed companies and fertiliser companies to supply farm inputs to farmers. “We were able to also reduce the interest rates that (of) the companies who were accessing this bank loans from 15 per cent to seven

per cent, which means that the banking system is beginning to really support the Agricultural Transformation Agenda. As you know, the most important thing when you are providing support is whether you know the farmers.

“So, it is very important for us to know the farmers that are going to be getting this; obviously, we cannot reach all farmers in one year, so we decided to start with five million farmers this year,” Adesina explained.

Speaking further he said; “in furtherance of the GES agreement, the states in the Northern part of the country will receive 14,000 tonnes of fertilisers each, while the states in the

Southern parts will get 12,000 tonnes of same. Redemption centres have been created by states because it is important so that our farmers don’t walk long distances in search of seeds and fertilisers”.

Meanwhile, despite assurances by the minister that government would guarantee 70 percent of the credit facility on behalf of registered farmers on which basis he asked banks to go ahead and lend money to the agro-dealers, the story is not exactly straight-jacket in some parts of the South-South and South-East region.

Besides, there was peculiarity in limitations associated with the lipsmacking scheme of the agricultural sector though most farmers described it as “the best ever” in Nigeria in recent times.

Agric Minister, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina

Imo State A traditional Ruler in Orlu Local Government Area in Imo state, Chief Habibu Okorie said under the new system of fertilizer distribution, more youths in his domain are now paying attention to the agricultural sector and beseeched for the sustenance of the programme.

He told the

media team during the GES post assessment tour in the state that, the system has been transparent and focused. “It is the first of its kind in the recent years that farmers are benefiting from government’s programme and I want the programme to be strengthened and sustained”, he said.

In a related development, President of Agro-Input Dealers Association in Imo state, Tony Abarah, praised the scheme but described the inability of the agrodealers to access finance from the commercial banks as “unfortunate”.

Abarah disparaged a situation where the agro-dealers were owed six weeks after they had completed the supply of the commodity in the state.

In his remarks, Imo state Director in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Clement Iwunze, informed that about 49, 009 farmers registered but said only 9,000 got the farm input.

He therefore called for timely release of funds and provision of operational vehicles to ensure effective service delivery of fertilizers and improved seeds to the state.

Also speaking, a cassava farmer, Mr. Iheanacho Boniface, said at the inception of the scheme, lots of farmers turned out enmasse but became discouraged because of the absence of improved seeds which is meant to supplement the subsidy of inputs for free. Boniface also decried lateness in the arrival of the inputs to farmers but admitted that the text message system was effective in the state.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

PAGE 29

A group of farmers in Ebonyi state Cross River A group of selected agro-dealers described the failure by the commercial banks to provide credit facility to the agro-dealers selected for procurement and distribution of fertiliser and improve seeds to registered farmers across the country as “frustrating”.

They condemned the state of affairs especially, when the commercial banks seemed to have backed out of the programme even when they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding [MoU] with the Federal Government. Some the agro-dealers interviewed bemoaned their inability to obtain loans and portrayed the situation which has impacted negatively on the procurement and distribution of the farm inputs as “potential failure”.

The agro-dealers pointed out that the procedure for accessing the loan was very cumbersome, saying the banks have also reneged on their promise to grant those loans at single digit interest rate.

In his speech, Managing Director, Jebatec Global Limited and an agro-dealer, Bassey Akiba, lamented that commercial banks have completely failed to honour the agreement with the Federal Government, stressing that due to paucity of funds, he was not able to meet the demands of the farmers in the supply of fertilisers.

As part of the challenges encountered in the implementation of the GES, he identified the late arrival of the consignment of fertilizers to the state as well as low awareness of the scheme by the farmers.

Also speaking, the Vice Chairman of Commercial Agricultural Development Association, Ojikpong Bisong, commended the Federal government’s bold initiative, adding that many farmers who were hitherto left out in the distribution of fertilisers, have benefited in buying bags of Urea fertiliser for N2,550 and NPK for N3,250.

Shedding more light on failure of banks to provide credit facility to

farmers and agro-dealers for the GES, Regional Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture in Southsouth, Mr. Martin Odey, said the initial MoU signed by the banks was not honoured saying “this disrupted the take off of the shceme in the region”.

He said the banks’ asking for deposit from the agro-dealer as part of condition to grant the loans was not part of the agreement.

Odey however expressed optimism that the challenges faced in the first phase of the distribution of inputs to farmers would serve as a pointer for the government to handle the next phase diligently and devoid of complexities.

Abia State President, South-East AgroInput Association, Abia Branch, Ikechukwu Alakweonye and owner of AIK Chemical Company appealed to the Federal Government to further subsidise the scheme to enable the poor farmers obtain the inputs.

Alakweonye, who lauded the programme saying it has brought smiles on faces of many small-scale farmers in the state, however, advised the Federal Government to increase the quantity of inputs for the farmers.

He said the challenges faced by

both agro-dealers and farmers in the state include lateness in the arrival of input and lack of fund.

“It is true that the farmers prefer the current system of distribution than the old method where politicians often divert fertilizers and other benefit due to farmers to their personal use. With this new system, there is hope for the country’s teeming youth population who are interested in agriculture,” he stated.

The agro-dealer also called on the Federal Government to decentralize the system and allow the feriliser companies to sale the produce so as to break monopoly.

He bemoaned the harsh system being imposed by the banks as part of their condition to provide credit facility to farmers, saying “some banks said we must deposit 10-25 per cent of the total amount intended for borrowing before we can access the loans.”

Ebonyi State On their own part, farmers in Ebonyi state have advised that there is the need for government to provide reliable market for their farm produce. They also requested that their harvests should be immediately mopped-up to enable farmers generate more money for

Agro-dealers in Port Harcourt, Rivers state

themselves.

This system, according to one of the farmers, Rev. Sunday Nebor was the practice in civilized worlds and said farming was the primary occupation of majority of indigenes of the state. He called on the organizers of the Gross Enhancement Support programme (GES) to provide financial and logistic support for their farmers, as well as include as part of the inputs for farmers herbicide, pesticide and possibly modern storage facilities.

In his remarks, the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resource, Romanus Nwasum described the GES as “bridge towards food security”, and informed that the state had registered 80, 000 farmers for the scheme but could only redeem inputs to 11, 000 farmers.

He applauded the e-wallet system but said it was not reliable as farmers might not have access to electricity to charge their mobile phones for months. Nwasum also noted that the scheme was successful and urged the government to ensure prompt payment of its share of the money to the agro-dealers.

Nwasum said there was the need to rely more on the farmer if the government is ready to revolutionise agriculture in Nigeria.

Rivers State In Rivers, farmers lamented over insufficient number of redemption centres considering the population farmers in the state but commended the government for timely provision of the inputs to their farmers.

Dr. David Eighamhanrio, a fish farmer and Secretary of the state All Farmers Association of Nigeria, hinted that a total of 110, 000 farmers were registered, 54, 000 were captured but only 6, 915 got the inputs. He craved for more enlightenment campaigns but blamed low turnout of farmers to illiteracy. “Government should introduce more methods of advertisement and create awareness for the farmers. This can be done through jingles on radio and television both in English language as well as in local dialects”, he said.

However, Samuel Israel, a rice farmer whose farm was greatly affected by the recent floods but could not benefit from the scheme said it was due to lack of awareness on the part of organisers of the programme.

According to him, “I felt very bad that I didn’t benefit from the subsidy and I’m not the only person that couldn’t benefit even though we applied. But we learnt it was attributed to the fact that we might have fill-in wrong data into the forms provided for us.”

Eighamhanrio maintained that finance was the major challenge faced by most farmers in the state and appealed to both state and federal governments to assist them not only with finance but other farm equipment that would facilitate bumper production in the state.

However, both the agrio-dealers and farmer urged the government to increase the quantity of fertilisers procured, noting that farmers should be given more bags of fertiliser at lesser charges. They further suggested that, the product should be branded in 50kg and 25kg so as to make the subsidy affordable to the farmers.

They said there should be stipulated period for the distribution of the inputs to enable the farmer plan ahead of planting seasons.

Some agro-dealers also appealed to the government to organize training programmes for their members who double as extension worker that have eluded the rural farmers in a long time.

According to some of them, early payment should be carried out by the government to avoid more interest being accumulated on their supposed profit. They also demanded to be included in various committees that have been constituted oversee their matters

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

PAGE 30

By Okeoghene Oghenekaro

B

y most accounts, the mores and ethos of advanced countries promote the voluntary donation of blood by the citizens to save the lives of those who are in dire need of blood.

However, observers note that the situation in Nigeria is somewhat different, as many people are averse to and often refrain from voluntary blood donations.

The observers attribute the phenomenon to several factors, which include the lack of proper awareness on the importance and benefits of blood donation.

Other factors include the fear of losing blood and the perceptible belief that blood donations could spell doom for the donors by affecting their health, while others abstain on health grounds For others, it is the phobia of being pricked by a needle to extract blood that puts them off, while some abhor blood donation because of religious considerations.

For instance, a 35-year-old woman, Mrs Tayo Oni, stresses that she cannot afford to donate blood because she is still bearing children.

“Besides, as a nursing mother, I don’t think I can satisfy the requisite conditions for donating blood,’’ she says.

Similarly, Salisu Mohammed, a 29-year-old civil servant, insists that there is no reason whatsoever for him to donate blood to someone who is not his relation or close friend.

People have various reasons for abstaining from blood donations but a question still remains: what are the prerequisites for voluntary blood donors?

The National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) insists that any healthy person could donate blood.

The service also states that blood donors’ age must be from 18 years to 65 years, weighing above 50 kilogramme and with a normal blood (haemoglobin) level.

It prescribes further that averagely, men can donate every three months while women can donate every four months, subject to passing the required medical tests.

However, judging from the number of volunteers recorded by NBTS, this year, it could be right to say there has been a slight increase in the number of volunteers when compared to last year’s statistics.

The NBTS says it has recorded 41,773 donors from October 2011 to September 2012 with more male donors than female donors.

Comparing this figure with its last projected year which was from October 2010 to September 2011 with 37,211 donors, this shows an improvement.

From these figures, there is a 12. 3 per cent increase in blood donation which, according to Dr Omo Izedonmwen, the Consultant Monitoring and Evaluation officer, is very significant.

Izedonmwen, however, says that owing to the spate of bombings especially in the northern part of the country, the service has experienced a 40 per cent drop in blood collection.

Encouraging voluntary blood donation in Nigeria

Health Minister, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu (right), in a handshake with Mr. Nathan John, a blood donor Another reason for poor attitude to blood donation is the restriction placed by the American funding agencies to stop incentives given to free donors.

“When a blood drive is organised, people may turn back when they realise there is no incentive such as wristband, face caps, T-shirts,’’ he observes.

Mrs Helen Goyo, the Head, Donor Care Branch, NBTS, however, believes there is an improvement in blood donation because of the level of awareness created by the media.

“NBTS is happy to say that the increased awareness created through the media has brought about an increase in blood donation, but we plead for more media attention.’’

She notes that some benefits accruing to a free donor include a free medical checkup as mandated

by World Health Organisation (WHO), and testing for Transfusion Transmitted Infection such as HIV, Hepatitis and Syphilis.

“When the donor comes, we do a mini-medical checkup, the blood

pressure, haemoglobin level and the weight.

“Donors have everything to gain when they donate blood because lives are saved daily and donors live healthy, safer lives.

“If we look at the bigger picture and not attach monetary benefits to blood donation we can live with the satisfaction that you have helped to save a life today,’’ she remarks.

Mr Nathan John, 30, the highest blood donor in the country, having donated blood 32 times in eight years, says that its advantage makes him to be extra careful with

his life-style.

“As a donor, I know that blood is one of the easiest substances to transfer disease to another person; so as a donor, I try to live positively and make myself available at every point and every time blood is needed.

“Blood donation is free and you do not have any side effects after donation, you only stand a chance of getting your body treated,’’ he says..

The highest female donor, Miss Sarah Egbaloghemen, who has donated blood 15 times, explains that she became a donor because of

“

As a donor, I know that blood is one of the easiest substances to transfer disease to another person; so as a donor, I try to live positively and make myself available at every point and every time blood is needed. Blood donation is free and you do not have any side effects after donation, you only stand a chance of getting your body treated

the experience she had while growing up.

“Growing up, I lived 45 minutes away from school which was on the expressway and I used to see a lot of accidents and many of these people died because they could not get blood.

“As a result, I was moved to donate blood knowing that these victims needed blood to stay alive.

I get a lot of personal satisfaction knowing that my blood helps to save lives.

“I benefit medically from being a blood donor, and according to my doctor, my system has become used to losing and replenishing blood,’’ she says.

Stakeholders in health sector, however, say that although available statistics show there has been a significant increase of voluntary donors, more can be done by creating awareness campaigns on voluntary blood donation.

This is due to the fact that the health benefits are abundant, with no side effects as being perceived, apart from making you a selfdisciplined, rejuvenated entity.

Source: NAN

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

PAGE 31

ANALYSIS

By Belen Fernandez

I

n the aftermath of last week's school shooting in Connecticut in which 20year-old Adam Lanza killed 27 people, including 20 children, the Associated Press quoted Afghan President Hamid Karzai's extension of condolences to the US: "Such incidents should not happen anywhere in the world", Karzai said, adding that Afghanistan frequently witnesses such tragedies and can sympathise with those affected.

Of course, the list of tragedies witnessed by Afghanistan also includes items such as the US airstrike that killed 18 civilians in June. This occurred on the heels of the New York Times report on the US "kill list" and Obama's role in authorising civilian collateral damage abroad.

Given the utter lack of human empathy exhibited by the US in its dealings with the world, it should perhaps come as no surprise when the lack of empathy is replicated on a smaller scale at home by school assassins and the like. It goes without saying, however, that the president's tears are reserved for the non-military slaughter of domestic civilians.

As for Obama's pledge to do whatever he can to "prevent... more tragedies like this", it would seem that true prevention efforts would require the comprehensive rewiring of American society.

In the widely circulated postConnecticut piece "I Am Adam Lanza's Mother", Liza Long describes her appeal to a social worker for advice on how to deal with her teenage son Michael's mental illness, which she reports is occasionally manifested in life-threatening violence. The answer, quite simply, is "to get Michael charged with a crime".

Long has received deserved criticism from anthropologist Sarah Kendzior for violating her troubled child's privacy by "embark[ing] on a media tour promoting him as a future mass murderer". However, many of her points are valid: I don't believe my son belongs in jail... But it seems like the United States is using prison as the solution of choice for mentally ill people. According to Human Rights Watch, the number of mentally ill inmates in US prisons quadrupled from 2000 to 2006.

In 2006, Human Rights Watch also determined that the rate of reported mental health disorders was five times greater among the prison population.

Long cites American society's "stigma on mental illness and its broken healthcare system" - in which "state-run treatment centres and hospitals [are] shuttered" - as decisive factors in the drive for imprisonment.

She also mentions that Michael has been "on a slew of antipsychotic and mood-altering pharmaceuticals", a nod to an industry known for reaping vast

Some of the 26 children killed at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut

The Connecticut massacre and America's estrangement from reality profits from the rampant overprescription of drugs to treat mental and behavioural disorders. These medications in turn lend themselves to a variety of complications, ranging from addiction to depression to sudden death to the conversion of hyperactive children into automatons.

As for the practice of overimprisonment as a source of capital, it is useful to review attorney John W Whitehead'sanalysis earlier this year: In an age when freedom is fast becoming the exception rather than the rule, imprisoning Americans in private

prisons run by megacorporations has turned into a cash cow for big business... Today, as states attempt to save money by outsourcing prisons to private corporations, the flawed yet retributive American "system of justice" is being replaced by an even more flawed and insidious form of mass punishment based upon profit and expediency.

Clearly, a neoliberal US system that values profit o v e r h u m a n w e l l b e i n g a nd thereby alienates people from society is hardly a way to foster mental stability and social cohesion, and underscores the

“

extent to which mental disorders can be symptomatic of greater societal ills.

Without speculating about the details of Lanza's mental condition or motivations, it is nonetheless helpful to draw attention to the context in which such events occur.

For one thing, the American fixation with individual achievement and self-made success is an isolating phenomenon that produces pressures often not so evident in societies that attach more value to familial and communal units.

To be sure, the government's tendency to promote procorporate policies to the detriment of the majority of the

That is the view that in Africa, economic growth and democracy will go together. Their synonymity is a comfortable belief. But in Africa, as in other emerging markets like China, Russia and even Turkey, it may not be true.

population further exacerbates individual isolation.

Television programmes and video games glorifying violence may also play a role in chipping away at compassion and rendering abstract the reality of human suffering - a reality already under attack thanks to the state's policies of blissful bellicosity, remote control killing and dehumanisation of "the Other", all of which negate its own humanity.

As for the ease of procuring weapons in the Land of the Free that facilitates the domestic orgy of violence, theWashington Post has offered a chart depicting UN figures for gun-related murders in 32 developed nations, accompanied by the following summary: The United States has by far the highest per capita rate of all developed countries.

According to data compiled by the United Nations, the United States has four times as many gun-related homicides per capita as do Turkey and Switzerland, which are tied for third. The US gun murder rate is about 20 times the average for all other countries on this chart. That means that Americans are 20 times as likely to be killed by a gun than is someone from another developed country.

In the end, however, gun control is merely one of many issues requiring attention in a country that should itself be diagnosed as mentally ill.

Source: Al jazeera

PAGE 32

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

Angry crowd hurls stones at Tunisian leaders South Africa foils 'bomb plot' ANC

A

ngry protesters have hurled rocks at the Tunisian president and parliamentary speaker in Sidi Bouzid, the cradle of the revolution that

erupted in the north African country two years ago.

The incident began after a speech

by President Moncef Marzouki in the central Tunisian town, where

celebrations are taking place on Monday to mark the anniversary of the revolution.

Mustapha Ben Jaafar, the parliamentary speaker, was about to

A

plot to bomb the national conference of South Africa's governing African National Congress has been foiled, a police spokesman has said.

Four white suspected rightwing extremists have been arrested, he said.

President Jacob Zuma and other top officials are at the heavily-guarded conference in Mangaung, where the ANC is due to start electing its leaders.

The ANC has been in power in South Africa since the end of white minority rule in 1994.

Its leader will be overwhelming favourite to win elections due in 2014.

Police spokesman Phuti Setati told Reuters news agency the four suspects were arrested for planning to plant a bomb in a marquee at the conference, which is being held at the University of the Free State in Mangaung.

South Africa's City Press newspaper reports that the arrests took during police raids in three of South Africa's nine provinces - Free State, Northern Cape and Limpopo.

The Federal Freedom Party (FFP), which campaigns for the self-determination of South Africa's white Afrikaner minority, confirmed that two of those arrested were its members.

"We were not involved and do not associate ourselves with their actions," FFP national secretary Francois Cloete told Reuters.

Milton Nkosi reports from the conference that there is a strong security presence, with police and sniffer dogs checking all cars entering the campus.

In July, a South African court convicted former academic Mike du Toit of treason.

The court ruled that Du Toit, the leader of the Boeremag (Afrikaner power) group, was behind a spate of bombings in 2002 and had also plotted to assassinate South Africa's first black president, Nelson Mandela.

Police spokesman Phuti Setati

Protesters say they are unhappy with the pace of change since the revolution in the country.

L

ibya has ordered the closure of its borders with four of its neighbours and has declared the desert south of its territory a closed military zone in the face of mounting unrest, state media has reported.

The National Assembly on Sunday ordered the "temporary closure of the land borders with Chad, Niger, Sudan and Algeria pending new regulations" on the circulation of people and goods, said a decree carried by the official LANA news agency.

"The provinces of Ghadames, Ghat, Obari, Al-Shati, Sebha,

address the crowd when the violence began.

Security forces swiftly evacuated the two men to the regional government headquarters, the AFP news agency reported.

The protesters invaded the square where the head of state had been addressing the crowd, shouting "the people want the fall of the government".

The police held back, after violent clashes over the past few months, which have often followed attempts to disperse protesters angry over the government's failure to improve living conditions in the poor region.

Clashes and strikes have multiplied across Tunisia in the runup to the second anniversary of the start of Tunisia's revolution.

When the president took to the podium on Monday, many in the crowd of around 5,000 started shouting "Get out! Get out!" - one of the rallying cries of the revolution that toppled the regime of former dictator Zine El Abedine Ben Ali. Marzouki promised economic progress within six months to the people of Sidi Bouzid, where poverty and unemployment were key factors behind the uprising that began there on December 17, 2010, after Muhammad Bouazizi a street vendor set himself on fire in protest at police harassment.

Libya seals its southern border Murzuq and Kufra are considered as closed military zones to be ruled under emergency law," the decree stipulated.

Southern members of the National Assembly had been boycotting sessions since early this month in protest at the lawlessness plaguing the region.

Almost 200 prisoners escaped from a jail in Sebha on December 4 with the apparent collusion of warders in what deputies described as the "final straw" in ending their patience with the

authorities' security policy.

An assembly member who represents the city of Sebha, much the largest in the south, said the border closure was a "temporary measure" that would last only "until security has been restored".

She said there had been an "increase in the flow of illegal immigrants in the expectation of eventual international military action in Mali" against al-Qaeda-linked rebels, who have seized much of the north of

that country.

She said the move was also in response to an "upsurge in violence and drug trafficking, and the presence of armed groups that act with complete impunity".

Ali Zeidan, the Libyan prime minister, returned on Friday from a regional tour that took him to all four neighbouring countries, promising to reach agreement with them on securing the borders against "terrorists".

or persecute them but there should be no promotion of homosexuality.

"We cannot accept promotion of homosexuality as if it is a good thing."

Ministers have warned MPs that passing the bill would have implications for foreign relations.

It has been condemned by Western donors, who have suggested that aid could be cut if it is passed.

Speaker of parliament Rebecca Kadaga recently said the bill would be passed as a "Christmas gift" to its advocates.

However, parliament has adjourned until January without voting on it.

Even if MPs do approve the bill, Mr Museveni would have to sign it before it takes effect.

Some African opponents of homosexuality have said it was introduced to the continent by European colonisers.

However, Mr Museveni said he knew of traditional kings and chiefs who practised homosexuality, but that they did it in secret and did not

promote it.

He said he had told the US ambassador to Kampala that all forms of sex were kept private in Africa, unlike in Western societies.

"I told him that I have been married to my wife for 39 years, but I have never kissed her in public and in my house before the children," the New Vision newspaper quoted him as saying at the same church ceremony.

"If I did it, I would lose elections and you know I am not about to accept that idea of losing elections."

Last month, MP Medard Segona told the BBC that the provision for the death penalty had been dropped.

In its original form, those convicted of "aggravated homosexuality", defined as when one of the participants is a minor, HIV-positive, disabled or a "serial offender", faced the death penalty.

Don't kill gay people, says Museveni

U

ganda's president has said gay people should not be killed or persecuted, as MPs continue to consider a controversial Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

In his first public comments on the bill for some time, President Yoweri Museveni also said that homosexuality should not be promoted.

The original version of the bill stipulated the death penalty for some homosexual acts but this has reportedly been dropped.

Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda.

The BBC's Catherine Byaruhanga says the government has always stressed that the bill was introduced by an individual MP and was not official policy.

In his latest comments at the swearing in of a new head of the Anglican Church of Uganda, the president was careful to neither condemn the bill nor openly support it, our correspondent says.

The president said: "If there are some homosexuals, we shall not kill

President Yoweri Museveni

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

Asia and Middle East

A

t least 16 people have been killed and dozens more wounded after an explosion in Pakistan's Khyber tribal area, officials say.

The explosion took place in the Jamrud district on Monday morning, and wounded more than

PAGE 33

Several killed in Pakistani tribal area blast 50 people, said Azam Wazir, a local administration official.

Wazir said that an explosivesladen vehicle had been parked outside the office of the Khyber's

political agent, the area's top civilian administrator.

Five Afghan women and three children were among the dead, he said.

Officials at the local hospital told Al Jazeera that the death toll was expected to rise, as several of the casualties were in critical condition.

Pools of blood and charred pieces

Syrian vice president says neither side can win war

Japan's Abe sees difficult road ahead

T

he leader of Japan's conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections, has said that the road ahead for the country will be difficult, as he tries to revive a sputtering economy and bolster national security amid deteriorating relations with China.

Shinzo Abe was speaking on Monday after his party won 294 seats in the 480-seat lower house of parliament in a nationwide election, according to unofficial results.

The LDP led Japan through most of the post-World War II era, but was voted out in 2009 following an economic slowdown.

With the elections over, a vote among the members of parliament to install the new prime minister is expected as soon as December 25. Abe, who was prime minister from 2006-2007, is almost certain of winning that vote because the LDP now holds the majority in the lower house.

"We won more seats than even we expected," Abe, 58, said on Monday. "We have a very heavy responsibility."

S

The bomb-laden vehicle exploded close to the office of a top administration official and near a local market.

Bomb attacks in northern Iraq kill 12

A

t least 12 people have been killed by a series of bomb blasts in northern Iraq, police and medics say.

A truck bombing left seven people dead in a village near the city of Mosul inhabited by families from the Shabak ethno-religious minority group.

Two car bombs also exploded in a Shia district of Tuz Khurmatu, a town 70km south of Kirkuk, killing five people.

It is the second consecutive day in which ethnically-mixed, disputed areas in the north have been targeted.

At least nine people were killed and dozens wounded on Sunday, when blasts struck three Shia Muslim targets in the city of Kirkuk and an office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in the town of Jalula, to the south-east.

Kirkuk and Jalula are in the oilrich territories claimed by both the Arab-led central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government.

They have been a potential flashpoint since the last US troops left the country a year ago.

Although sectarian violence has decreased in Iraq since the height of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007, attacks are still common.

of human flesh littered the roadside, along with at least 20 burnt vehicles, said an AFP reporter. Clothes, school books, children's shoes and burqas lay everywhere.

Driver Taj Muhammad, 40, said he was entering Jamrud when he heard the explosion and saw a ball of fire.

Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa

Shinzo Abe

yrian Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa said that neither the forces of President Bashar al-Assad nor rebels seeking to overthrow him can win the war which is now being fought on the outskirts of Assad's powerbase in Damascus.

Sharaa, a Sunni Muslim in a power structure dominated by Assad's Alawite minority, has rarely been seen since the Syrian revolt erupted in March 2011 and is not part of the president's inner circle directing the fight against Sunni rebels.

But he is the most prominent figure to say in public that Assad will not win. He was speaking to the pro-Assad al-Akhbar paper in an interview from Damascus which is now hemmed in by rebel fighters to the south.

Assad's forces have used jets and artillery to try to dislodge the fighters from around Damascus but the violence has crept into the heart of the capital and rebels announced on Sunday a new offensive in the central province of Hama.

Sharaa said the situation in Syria, where more than 40,000 people have been killed, was deteriorating and a "historic settlement" was needed to end the conflict, involving regional powers and the U.N. Security Council and the formation of a national unity government "with broad powers".

"With every passing day the political and military solutions are becoming more distant. We should be in a position defending the existence of Syria. We are not in a battle for an individual or a regime," Sharaa was quoted as saying.

"The opposition cannot decisively settle the battle and what the security forces and army units are doing will not achieve a decisive settlement," he told the paper, adding that the insurgents fighting to topple Syria's leadership could plunge it into "anarchy and an unending spiral of violence".

Sources close to the Syrian government say Sharaa had pushed for dialogue with the opposition and objected to the military response to an uprising that began peacefully.

In Damascus, residents said on Monday the army had told people to evacuate the Palestinian district of Yarmouk, suggesting an all-out military offensive on the southern district was imminent.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

PAGE 34

Europe and Americas Russian opposition leaders eye spring for renewed push

R

ussia's opposition leaders say they will press ahead with a campaign of public rallies against President Vladimir Putin despite a modest turnout at one weekend protest in Moscow.

About 2,000 people turned out on Saturday for a rally which did not have approval from city authorities and demanded an end to Putin's 13year rule before riot police detained four opposition leaders.

"Mass action every two to three months is necessary," Sergei Udaltsov, a protest leader with a strong following among leftist opposition members, was quoted as saying by Interfax.

"I think that next time - towards the spring - very powerful preparation for action is needed."

Udaltsov was one of the four detained, alongside anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny and protest leaders Ilya Yashin and Ksenia Sobchak.

The rally took place in front of the headquarters of the Federal Security Service, known in Soviet times as the KGB, in sub zero temperatures despite the fear of arrest.

Protests began in December 2011 after Putin's United Russia party won a parliamentary election marred by allegations of vote-rigging. At their peak last winter the rallies attracted up to 100,000 people, witnesses said.

Attendance has dwindled since Putin began a six-year third term as president in May and started what the opposition says is a clampdown on dissent.

"We are witnessing certain boredom, as people have hoped for a quick result," Yashin was quoted by Interfax as saying. "It is not a sprint, it is a marathon."

Navalny, under investigation for suspected fraud and money laundering, said that a lot of people turned out for Saturday's rally given the frigid weather and opposition by authorities.

"It was frosty, it was an unauthorized action - which practically guarantees arrests... but a lot of people came," Navalny was reported by Interfax as saying.

Navalny has dismissed the accusations against him as "utter nonsense".

Sergei Udaltsov

Obama says US failing to keep children safe U

S President Barack Obama has addressed the Connecticut town devastated by the massacre of 26 people, including 20 young schoolchildren, lauding residents' courage and saying that the US was not doing enough to protect its children.

"We bear a responsibility for every child ... This is our first task, caring for our children.

It's our first job. If we don't get that right, we don't get anything right," Obama told a packed auditorium at Newtown High School at the end of a sombre multi-faith service.

"Surely we can do better than this," he said.

The emotional prayer vigil capped a day when worshippers sought solace in churches to mourn the victims of Friday's slaughter at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, where a gunman used a military-style assault rifle to kill six adults and 20 first-graders before committing suicide.

A more detailed picture of Adam Lanza's stunning attack emerged on Sunday. Police said he was armed with hundreds of bullets in high-capacity magazines of about 30 rounds each for the Bushmaster AR-15 rifle and two handguns he carried into the school, and had a fourth weapon, a shotgun, in his car outside.

All the dead children were

Obama either six or seven years old, feeding more emotion into a revived debate about whether stricter gun laws could prevent future mass shootings in the United States "Can we say we're truly doing enough to give all the children of this country the chance they deserve to live out their lives in happiness and with purpose?" the president asked, as many in the audience wept.

"If we're honest with ourselves, the answer is no."

Obama pointed out that this was his fourth memorial service for a mass shooting since coming to office in 2009. He also pointed out the number of killings happening on a regular basis in towns and cities across the US. "In the coming days, I'll use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens, from law enforcement to mental health

professionals to parents and educators in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this."

Several Democratic lawmakers called for a new push for US gun restrictions on Sunday, including a ban on military-style assault weapons.

The US president closed his remarks by slowly reading the first names of each of the 26 victims, as several people broke down in tears, their sobs heard throughout the hall.

Kharkiv. The heads were missing.

Ukraine's interior minister and general prosecutor flew to Kharkiv on Sunday.

Police said the murders might be connected to the judge's work, or to his extensive collection of antiques.

Mr Trofimov, 58, was well known for collecting rare coins, World War II medals and china statuettes.

Some antiques were reportedly missing.

The other victims were Mr Trofimov's wife Irina, 59, their son Sergei, 30, and his girlfriend

Marina Zoueva, 29.

The case recalls the murder of Georgy Gongadze, an investigative journalist, in 2000, says the BBC's David Stern in Ukraine.

Mr Gongadze, an active critic of the government, disappeared and his headless body was found in a forest outside Kiev.

Puzzle over Ukrainian beheadings

P

olice in Ukraine are investigating the unexplained beheading of a judge and his family.

The headless bodies of Judge Vladimir Trofimov and his wife, as well as their son and his girlfriend, were found at their home in the eastern city of

Greek MP attacked by Golden Dawn

G

reek left-wing MP Dimitris Stratoulis has said he was attacked in Athens by three men claiming to be supporters from the farright party Golden Dawn.

Mr Stratoulis, from the the radical-left party Syriza, said he was leaving a football match at the Olympic stadium when he was approached by the men.

He says they threatened to kill him and hit him on the head several times, before being chased off by passers by.

A spokesman for Golden Dawn denied the party's involvement.

The spokesman told leftwing rivals to "stop [mis]using the name of Golden Dawn", and

accused Syriza of promoting violence on street protests.

Mr Stratoulis had said the men identified themselves as members of the Golden Dawn party before the attack, in which he suffered only suffered light injuries.

Syriza called for swift prosecution of the men, warning that "tolerance of the fascist Golden Dawn party will lead to a loss of life".

Mark Lowen, says Golden Dawn party members are frequently accused of violent attacks on immigrants, political opponents and homosexuals; and the party leader has been shown making Nazi salutes at party rallies.

Golden Dawn supporters

deny they are neo-Nazis.

The party has recently seen a rise in its popularity and won

Dimitris Stratoulis

18 seats in parliament in the recent election on a wave of public anger against austerity.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

PAGE 35

Chinese 'survival pods' to help maker, Liu Qiyuan, ride out Mayan apocalypse

Farmer Liu Qiyuan looks out from inside one of seven survival pods that he has also dubbed "Noah's Ark," in a yard at his home in the village of Qiantun.

G

oodness gracious, great balls of fire survival! Liu Qiyuan, a farmer in Qiantun, China, was worried enough about the possibility of the coming Mayan apocalypse that he decided to take matters into his own hands.Unlike some of his countrymen, though, Liu shunned the run-of-the-mill Noah's Ark

copycats in favor of 21st century innovation.

The result? A set of seven "emergency pods" constructed to survive a potential apocalypse.

(Despite their innovations, Liu has nicknamed them "Noah's Ark," according to the Daily Mail).

Each pod is a self-contained sphere built of waterproof fiberglass

and steel. When submerged in water, they automatically float upright -and in the event the 14 possible occupants get jostled around too much, there are seat belts.

Passengers also have access to a store of food, oxygen and water supplies.

"The pod won't have any problems even if there are 3,000foot high waves -- it's like a ping pong

Man accused of stealing driveway

F

orget about highway robbery -- one Florida woman says thieves stole

Anthony Jones is accused of stealing paving bricks from a driveway in Florida.

her driveway.

Rachel McCarty, 40 told investigators she arrived at her Reddick home after work at about 6 p.m. Tuesday and felt a strange "bump," according to Ocala.com.

"I noticed there was definitely something missing in my peripheral vision," she told WPTV. The 200 paving bricks that had previously been used to make her driveway were gone.

"I thought it was very bold, and brazen and bothersome," the alliterationlovingwoman told CF News 13.

One of McCarty's neighbors said she saw two men digging up the driveway, but didn't think they were committing a crime.

"She just figured it was somebody who worked for us and was picking it up," McCarty said.

On Thursday night, the neighbor called deputies, saying that the two men had returned and were taking more bricks.

Anthony Jones, 49, was arrested in connection with the Thursday incident, but police have not confirmed his involvement with the first incident, according to WFTV. "People will steal anything," McCarty told the station.

Nathan Grindal kicked out of darts tournament for looking like Jesus

L

ooking like Jesus turned out to be a cross to bear for Nathan Grindal, whose resemblance to the King of Kings caused him to be kicked out of a darts tournament in Somerset, Great Britain.

Grindal, 33, who has long hair and a full beard he started growing four months ago, was sitting in the crowd at the tournament when some nearby spectators began to chant, "Jesus! Jesus!" during the final match between Phil Taylor and Kim Huybrechts, ABC News reported.

Others joined in the chant, until most of the 4,500 people in the arena were chanting the Almighty's name.

It got so raucous that security staff decided to remove Grindal, fearing his presence was upsetting

the concentration of the players, as well as hurting the enjoyment of the viewers at home, ThisIsSomerset.co.uk reported.

As might be expected, the experience left Grindal, a laborer by trade, quite cross.

"It was distressing. I was emotionally distraught," he said,

Nathan Grindal

according to the Global Dispatch.

"The crowd were bullying me and picking on me. It would have been OK if security hadn't made a fuss getting me out. In his post-match interview, Phil Taylor said something like, 'If I ever see Jesus again, I'll crucify him myself.' Now that's just hurtful."

ball, it's skin may be thin but it can withstand a lot of pressure," Liu told AFP. He added, "I worked for many years without saving much money ... invested most of my money in the pods, because it's worth it, it's about saving lives." Each pod cost an estimated $48,000, reports RT, leaving Liu in quite a bit of debt.

Then again, if it's the end of the world, that'll be the last of his worries.

According to a survey conducted

by Ipsos-Reuters, 20 percent of the Chinese population believes the Mayan calendar accurately predicts the end of the world in December 2012. That's the highest percentage for any country in the world, followed by Turkey at 13 percent.

Rain drop of 12-ton boulder into Nathan Grindal's home

W

hoever said it never rains in southern California must have rocks in their heads.

And, because of a recent rainstorm in the area, Ja'Nielle Gendelman, 69, has a 12-ton boulder smack dab in the middle of her home.

The giant rock rolled onto her house in Poway, Calif., on Thursday and, in the process, wiped out her garage and crushed gas and electric lines, according to KSWB-TV. Heavy rains had apparently dislodged the boulder from a nearby hill. It rolled several hundred feet before crashing in Gendelman's home, according to the Associated Press.

"I opened the back kitchen door and I saw that the patio had fallen down and I turned to the right and I saw trees and the back fencing," Gendelman, who has lived in the house for five years, told KGTV-TV. When she opened her garage door, she was stunned to see the 5foot boulder on the concrete, and a gaping hole in the side of the garage that faces the hillside, the station reported.

The rolling boulder also split open a propane gas line and knocked over garden chemicals, including malathion and a can of gasoline. The mixture prompted fire officials to shut off the propane tank and call for a hazardous materials crew, UTSanDiego.com reported.

This boulder, estimated at 12 tons, rolled into the home of Ja'Nielle Gendelman.

PAGE 36

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

Expert says stress, anxiety can lead to irritable bowel syndrome

D

r Ogechi Ndukwe, an Umuahia-based medical practitioner, has said that people with emotional problems such as stress and anxiety stand the risk of suffering from irritable bowel syndrome.

Ndukwe told the News

L

onely people are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s in later life, say researchers.

Their study revealed a significant link between feelings of solitariness – rather than having no friends – and the risk of having the degenerative brain disease.

Earlier studies have suggested social isolation or lack of personal contact carries an increased risk of dementia and mental decline.

Researchers running the Amsterdam Study of the Elderly tracked the long term health and wellbeing of more than 2,000 patients without signs of dementia.

Among those who lived alone, almost one in ten developed dementia after three years compared with one in 20 of those

Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia that recent findings showed that irritable bowel syndrome was a disorder in bowel habits, which was common among people with emotional problems.

“The brain and the intestine

are connected through the nervous system making it possible for both to exchange signals.

“And these signals affect the function and reaction of the bowel,” he said.

Ndukwe said that the nerves

were more active when an individual was stressed, thereby causing the intestines to be more sensitive and contract more.

He added that the effects of this health condition such as abdominal pains, constipation or diarrhoea; can be embarrassing

who lived with others.

Among those who had never married, similar proportions developed dementia as remained free from the condition, possibly because their lifestyles meant they were not the type to feel lonely.

When it came to those who said they felt lonely, more than twice as many developed dementia – 13.4 per cent compared with 5.7 per cent.

It is possible that feeling lonely

is actually a signal of mental decline that in turn affects social skills, says the study published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

But feelings of loneliness may also be the mark of ‘vulnerable’ personality or an expression of a ‘frailty factor’ that puts certain people at higher risk of dementia, it says.

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, affecting over 800,000 Britons,

with about 500 cases diagnosed feelings of loneliness to a slightly every day. higher risk of the condition,’ he The Amsterdam study said: said.

‘These results suggest that feelings ‘While such a finding could of loneliness independently have important consequences for contribute to the risk of dementia society, it is hard to determine in later life. cause and effect at this stage ‘Interestingly, the fact that feelings of loneliness could be a ‘feeling lonely’ rather than ‘being consequence of the early stages of alone’ was associated with dementia rather than a dementia onset suggests that it is contributing factor.’

Source: Dailymail.co.uk not the objective situation, but, rather, the perceived absence of social attachments that increases the risk of cognitive decline.’

Jessica Smith, of the Alzheimer’s Society, said strong evidence suggested the best way to reduce the risks was to exercise, eat well and avoid smoking.

‘As Christmas approaches, many of us are looking forward to full houses and festive parties,’ she said.’However, for others it can be a time that can really heighten loneliness.’

Dr Simon Ridley of Alzheimer’s Research UK, the nation’s leading dementia research charity, said the findings could have i m p o r t a n t consequences for society.

‘Age still remains the biggest risk Older people who feel alone are much more factor for dementia, at risk of the degenerative brain disease but this study links (posed by model)

and the syndrome has no definitive treatment.

Ndukwe, however, said that palliative measures, such as stress management, regular exercise and eating good diet, could help to prevent or ease the health condition. (NAN)

Feeling lonely could double the risk of Alzheimer

One theory is that feeling lonely is actually a signal of mental decline that in turn affects social skills, say the researchers

Gynaecologist warns on dangers of teenage pregnancy

A

gynaecologist with the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Dr Joshua Zaman, has warned that teenage pregnancy could cause untimely death among young people if not properly handled.

Zaman gave the warning while reviewing a book entitled “Teenage Sexuality’’ at the launch of the book in Abuja.

“Teenagers below 15 years of age are more likely to die during pregnancy and child delivery than those that are within the 20years-old bracket.

“Mortality rate and early child death could occur as a result of

child bearing by such teenagers,’’ he said.

He said that teenagers who indulged in pre-marital sex were at risk of dropping out of school as a result of pregnancy.

According to him, young people between the ages of 14 and 17 are vulnerable to teenage pregnancy globally.

He cautioned that early death resulting from teenage pregnancy did not only occur among young teenagers who married early but was also common among those who were not married.

“Hence the need for the book entitled “Teenage

Sexuality’’— a Reproductive Health Education for Adolescents

by Africare Development Focus International,’’ he said.

Africare Development Focus International is an NGO that sensitises teenagers and youth on peer pressure, moral guidance, HIV and AIDS and diseases associated with sex.

Zaman identified unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and AIDS among others, as constituting some of the major challenges being faced by young people.

He, however, said that studies had shown that HIV infected youth faced a lot of stigma.

Zaman identified poverty to be the sole cause of most teenage pregnancies, adding that pregnant teenagers were subjected to a lot of torture, abuse and risk of HIV infection among others.

He advised parents to sensitise their children against early sex and to keep them away from indulging in pre-marital affairs.

Zaman observed that 20 to 42 per cent of males and females got sexually active from age 15 and that 80 to 58 per cent at age 20 respectively.

“Hence the need for parents, school management and guardians to acquire relevant

knowledge on teenage sexuality, to be able to teach teenagers sexual education.

“This will help to prevent the circumstances associated with irresponsible sexual behaviour,’’ he stressed.

He reiterated that the book was written based on the burning desire of the author to assist young people to guard against the dangers of premarital sex.

NAN reports that the book, written by the founder of Africare Development Focus International, Mr Vitalis Anyadike, has nine chapters.

(NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

PAGE 37

Ogun 2015: Averting the dangers ahead FEATURE

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hough the nation's governorship election scheduled to hold in 2015 seems reasonably far to the unwary, the political situation in Ogun state has continued to tense up leaving watchers, and analysts alike, with serious suspense as to what may likely happen even as the day of reckoning approaches.

There have been series of events unfolding in the state political environment that are raising the fears that the 2015 election may be volatile. Barely two years into the Fourth Republic, politicians in the Gateway state have begun to perfect plans aimed at either retaining the Oke-Mosan seat of power or capturing same from the incumbent.

Events similar to the build up to any governorship election in the statehave begun to unfold with snippets of alleged political intimidation, harassment and assassinations jamming the news waves on regular basis.

The clamour for power shift in the state, though a bit calmed with persuasion and political settlements ahead of the 2011 governorship election that brought in the administration of Senator Ibikunle Amosun as the governor, has gathered momentum as there are indications that the people of Ogun West Senatorial District have resolved, more than ever, to clinch the governorship slot of the state by 2015. Agitation for power shift attained its crescendo when the Yewa people in the Ogun West Senatorial district insisted in 2011 that it was their turn to produce the governor. Though the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) then presented Chief Tunji Olurin as its candidate from the zone as it governorship candidate, another hurriedly formed party, presented Gboyega Isiaka, former Gbenga Daniel's lackey, also from the same zone, who contested on the platform of the Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN) was also presented as its candidate.

The lack of unity which resulted in the balkanization of the expected block votes from the region, analysts observed, robbed the Yewa people of the exalted position thereby making the incumbent governor, who ran on the platform of the ravaging Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the ultimate beneficiary. There are however indications that the zone may have learnt its lessons by ensuring that they align their differences ahead of 2015 with a view to speaking with a common voice.

Already, a member of the House of Representatives representing Egbado South/Ipokia Federal Constituency, Abidun Isiaq Akinlade, who was at the forefront of the struggle for the actualization of an Ogun governor of Yewa extraction, has recently in Lagos hotel declared his intention to run against the

As the 2015 governorship election draws nearer, there are incidences in Ogun state, one of the hotbeds of South-West politics, indicating that the contest for the position would be combustive and volatile. In this piece, Lawrence Olaoye takes a dispassionate look at happenings in the state and counsels that security agents should take more than a passing interest in the political development of the state.

Inspector General of Police Mohammed Abubakar incumbent should he decide to have another shot at the office by 2015. Although there are indications that many more contestants from the Yewa zone may indicate interest in the state's number one position as the election date draws nearer. Akinlade who is not alien to the contest, it was learnt, has become the greatest worry to Amosun's government which sees him as the most potent challenger in the race to the Ogun Government House in 2015.

To this extent, there have been bitter rivalries between the governor and the Abuja lawmaker who had left nobody in doubt about his intention to contest the governorship election in 2015.

But, there are fears that the political rivalries between the duo may deteriorate even further as there are instances where they had had cause to demonstrate their hostilities to the consternation of the people.

Recently, both politicians squared up in Ilaro during the Oronna Day when the lawmaker snubbed the governor even as observers alleged that Amosun did exactly the same thing to Akinlade some time ago during the inauguration n of the community's newly crowned traditional ruler, the Olu of Ilaro. The seeming

confrontation nearly degenerated into a fracas but for the timely intervention of the elders of the community. Before now, some of the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate representing the state in Abuja had earlier snubbed the governor's call for a meeting at the nation's capital.

As tension builds up ahead of the 2015 general election, there are fears from certain quarters that blood may be spilled on the account of settling political scores among the political gladiators.

Already, there are concerns that such unfortunate scenarios which allegedly led to the assassination of Chief Dele Arojo (Yewa) and Dipo Dina (Ijebu) in the past may replicated if care is not adequately taken. The recent kidnap of the wife of a member of the Ogun state House of Assembly, Hon. Samson Onademuren's wife has also been linked to the political turbulence which promises to follow the general elections in 2015. This is moreso when the lawmaker is suspected to be in the camp perceived as not loyal to the governor.

Already, there are insinuations that Amosun have begun to employ state apparatus to

Ogun Governor, Ibikunle Amosun intimidate perceived political opponents in the state, especially those with his ACN but in different camp. Certain figures in the state have accused the governor of divisiveness by favouring only those who decamped with him to the ruling party from the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). To this extent, they alleged that the governor only patronizes people in his political camp and engages in sectional development.

It was equally alleged that the demolition of the boys quarters belonging to a member of the state House of Assembly, Adijat Adeleye, purportedly for being loyal to the camp outside that of the governor, signaled the beginning of political hostility between the incumbent and those perceived to be against him in the ACN. Again, the demolition of his predecessor father's church in Shagamu ostensibly on the excuse that such land was not appropriately acquired from the government was interpreted as a vendetta against Gbenga Daniel.

Several other demolitions carried out in the state on the ground of public good were also given political colouration.

With the avalanche of criticisms against Amosun and political alignments and realignments in the

state, coupled with determination of the Yewa people to stand their ground to produce the next governor of the state, Amosun may find his re-election bid into the Oke Mosan Government House a Herculean task. This is further adumbrated with the suspicion in political circles that majority of the members of the state Assembly are not in support of the governor.

Analysts are unanimous that the ACN may as well lose the state in 2015 should it insist on fielding the incumbent, who is an Owu man instead of another contestant from Yewa land. Adewale Akinniran, a political analyst based in Abeokuta ,warned "The leadership of the ACN must wade into the looming crisis in the state and ask the governors to take things easy if they indeed would want to retain the Government House. They must find a way of reconciling these budding factions and harmonize them ahead of 2015. They must be able to prevail on Amosun to resist the temptation of re-contesting the governorship position in order to pacify the people of Ogun West Senatorial District that have been crying of marginalization in the leadership of the state." Whether the party would heed this salient counsel is another kettle of fish entirely.

PAGE 38

Omala tasks Wada on development From Sam Egwu, lokoja

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gainst the backdrop of epileptic power supply, ,poor health care delivery system and dilapidated secondary schools in their communities , the Ife Development Association (IDA) of Omala Local government Area of Kogi state has tasked governor Idris Wada to urgently come to their aid in order to save the people from untold hardship.

In a communiquĂŠ issued at the end of the delegate meeting held over the weekend and signed by David Haruna , Ademu Ibrahim and Steve Usman, National Presidents of Abejukolo, Udaba Omala and Olaedihi Development Associations respectively, the delegates noted that the area which had produced the former Governor Alhaji Ibrahim Idris lacked basic necessities that could make life meaningful.

They averred that the only general Hospital at Abejukolo serving the entire local government area lacked basic amenities forcing doctors and other health professionals to seek re deployment. According to the release the four Ife community, secondary schools across the districts are in dire need of government attention even as they lamented that Bagaji community secondary school cannot guarantee conducive environment for teaching and learning.

"Come to think of it, in the 21st century a general Hospital that is serving over 100,000 inhabitants does not have a serviceable power generating plant . For over three years electricity supply has been epileptic. Essential equipment for diagnoses and treatment were run down," they lamented.

"Our secondary schools lacked qualified teachers and the laboratory for the study of sciences are non existent. Is it not the killing of the aspiration of the future generations?" The release further disclosed that the purported impeachment of the president of Ife Development Association, Mr.Gabriel Ibrahim, by some members of the executive was null and void as it does not follow due process as it is enshrined in the constitution of the association.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

Benue PDP rejects Gen. Onoja ‌says he is a political prostitute S

By Richard Ihediwa

takeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State have risen in strong opposition to the attempt by a defeated Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) senatorial candidate for Benue South in the 2011 election Gen. Lawrence Onoja to return to its fold.

In the petition to the National Chairman of the PDP, Dr. Bamanga Tukur, the stakeholders accused Onoja of forging the signature of the party's ward chairman in Idekpa, Ohimini local government area of the State purportedly expressing his

intention to rejoin the PDP. According to the petitioners " it is regrettable that the person of Gen. Onoja fraudulently forged the signature of the ward chairman of Idekpa in a letter he purportedly wrote to your office expressing his intention to rejoin our noble party ".

In the petition signed by 13 of them including House of Representatives member Hon. Ezekiel Adaji, his predecessor Chief Agbo Ogah, PDP chairman in Ohimini, Chief Nicholas Ochojila, former party chairmen in the state, Chiefs

Michael Iduma and Sule Audu as well as Col. Idu Enonche (rtd) among others said Onoja would be a bad omen if allowed to rejoin the party.

They stated that Gen. Onoja's political history is a manifestation of instability and lack of commitment to party supremacy and discipline which cannot be accepted in the PDP. They added, "The records have shown that since the year 2003, he has been in and out of the PDP many times. He defected from PDP to UNPP in 2003, In the 2007 general elections, he

became a member of the ACN. Very recently, in the November 24, 2012 local government elections in Benue state, Onoja led the opposition party ACN to campaign against the PDP in all the 10 wards in Ohimini local government area.

"We are therefore convinced that the attempt by Onoja to return to our fold is not in the progressive interest of our party but a guise to tear us apart".

They urged the national secretariat of the party to reject Onoja because he would be a political liability to the PDP. Akwa Ibom state Governor, Obong Godswill Akpabio (middle), displaying his award of Lifetime Africa Achievement Prize 2012 for Sustainable Development in Africa bestowed on him by the Millennium Excellence Foundation, on Saturday in Nairobi, Kenya. With him are Kenyan VicePresident, Mr. Stephen Kolonzo Musyoka (right), and Founder, Millennium Excellence Foundation, Ambassador Ashim Morton (left).

Offa LG Chairman dissolves cabinet From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

T

he Chairman of Offa Local Government Council , Prince Saheed Popoola, has dissolved his five-member cabinet.

Popoola, in a statement he signed personally said the exercise was routine and thanked the former cabinet members for their hard work and service to the Offa community and wished them well in their

future endeavour.

The dissolved cabinet comprised Secretary to the Local Government and four supervisory councillors in charge of Works, Health, Education and Agric.

Popoola, the only council chairman elected on the platform of ACN, was due to swear in a new cabinet this week.

Meanwhile Rafiu Ajakaye, Media Aide to Kwara ACN Governorship Candidate in the

2011 poll, Mohammed Dele Belgore (SAN), denied the report in some dailies of alleged rift between the party's National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, and Belgore.

Ajakaye said "The party remains very much intact.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed and MDB SAN talk every day on how to move the party forward. But we leave people, as is typical in politics, to speculate all they want.

We are not ruling out the possibility of some persons in the ruling PDP sponsoring negative reports for reasons we all know.

They can go as far as spreading rumour of non-existent fracas to cause disaffection. But the party remains in tact and the leadership forever cordial. There is no cause for alarm and we urge party faithful to ignore such report. Party re-engineering is going on and the party, we are sure, will emerge stronger."

Only merger will solve nigeria's political problems, Says Onu

By Umar Mohammed-Puma

T

he National Chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, has disclosed that the merger talks between opposition political parties is at a critical stage now, and will definitely solve Nigeria's political problems when concluded.

Onu made the remark while answering questions from journalists at Kaduna, when he lead a delegation of ANPP leaders who paid a condolence visit to General Muhammadu Buhari [rtd] over the death of his daughter. ''The merger talks are ongoing right now. By the grace of God the merger

will be successful. We want to give Nigeria effective political competition in the political arena. We believe that competition, which is good in the social and economic arena, is also good in the political arena,'' Dr Onu said. ''We are convinced that when we have this in the country we will be better off. Many of the problems that have confronted the nation over the years shall be solved. We are hopeful that once we come together and form government, everything will be solved for the good of everybody. I believe nobody is happy about what is happening in the nation today, insecurity, unemployment, poverty. These are serious problems

that should not be there. We are sure that as a party we will solve these problems for the good of the nation.''

Dr Onu led a high-powered delegation to visit General Buhari, including former Executive Governor of Kano State, Mallam [Dr] Ibrahim Shekarau, former BOT Chairman, Gambo Magaji, National Secretary, Alhaji Tijani Musa Tumsah, National Women Leader, Hajiya Ramatu Tijani, National Financial Secretary, Hajiya Fatima Mohammed, and Deputy Chairman, ANPP BOT, Rear Admiral Amosun [rtd].

The delegation which arrived General Buhari's Kaduna offices at

1;07pm were ushered into the dining room where Buhari received them in a brief ceremony, before they went into a closed door meeting with the General in his inner office, which lasted for about fifteen minutes.

Dr Onu, speaking on behalf of the ANPP leaders at the reception, said, ''When we heard about the death our eyes were filled with tears. It is not easy for a father to bury a daughter. The ANPP deemed it very important to come and condole with you. The Almighty who created her will receive her soul and grant you and your family the strength to bear the pain.''

Buhari, while responding, said, ''I welcome you all, my former colleagues

in the ANPP. I see familiar faces around, because I used to be there. I thank you for coming to be with us at this moment of loss. Ramatu was a beloved member of this family. I also lost her brother through sickle cell when he was just a year and two months old. ''Unlike his late brother, Ramatu grew up, and has three children, the last of them, which was delivered of her through a caesarian session is two weeks and one day old today. The baby is doing very well. I go to see them everyday before coming to my office. I thank you very much for coming; I am happy that you could make it. May God make it possible for all of us to go back to your various destinations in peace.''

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

PAGE 39

We won't hold Yaba LCDA re-run until...'' --LASIEC

PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, signing the condolence register, during his visit to the family of Former Kaduna State Governor, Mr. Patrick Yakowa, yesterday in Kaduna.

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he Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), said that re-run elections for the Yaba Local Council Development Area (LCDA) would not hold until the appeal on it was resolved.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), recalls that the Lagos State Local Council Election Tribunal led by Justice Ade Owobiyi on Nov. 23, ordered LASIEC to hold a re-run election in the LCDA. It ordered that the re-run should hold in the Yaba LCDA within 90 days of its ruling.

Meanwhile, some stakeholders in the state had continued to insist that LASIEC should not delay in holding the poll.

The LASIEC Chairman, retired Justice Abdulfatai Adeyinka, told journalists that the commission would commence plans for the re-run election after the Court of Appeal had dispensed with the case.

Adeyinka made the statement at the commission's ``Civic Populace Stakeholders' Forum'' on Monday in Lagos.

“No doubt some people have been urging the commission not to delay with the re-run, but due process must be followed,'' he said.

Earlier, the LASIEC chief said it was part of the commission's efforts to educate the electorate on the importance of local government elections.

“Organising elections in which participation and turnout is low is a frustrating experience for election managers.

“Low turnout at elections denies the populace the opportunity to exercise their civic rights.

“I call on you the media to encourage the people to make it a duty to participate in elections and to maintain law and order,'' he said.

Adeyinka said that apathy was the reason for the low turnout at elections.

According to him, it is the responsibility of the civic populace at the forum to find out why the electorate in their domains refused to come out to vote.

He said that the forum was the fourth in the series of six stakeholders' fora organised

by LASIEC. “We have met with our political stakeholders, the media, security and now religious leaders, traditional rulers and traders and market women,'' the LASIEC chief said.

Adeyinka said that the role of the civic populace in any democracy was of utmost importance because they were the closest to the grassroots.

“The civic populace interacts with the electorate on day- to-day basis. They also provide spiritual, moral, and sometimes commercial assistance to the people. (NAN)

Katsina budgets N114.5bn for 2013

G

ov. Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State on Monday presented a budget of N114.5 billion to the state House of Assembly for 2013 fiscal year.

Shema said the budget tagged ``Budget of Responsibility'', would ensure the provision of more dividends of democracy to the people of the state.

He said that N31.8 billion

representing 28 per cent was earmarked for recurrent expenditure, while N80.1 billion, representing 73 per cent was set aside for capital expenditure.

He said that the total expected revenue was N114.5 billion, while the total budget for the year was N112.7 billion, with a surplus of N1.8 billion.

The breakdown revealed

that N74.5 billion would come from Federal Government Statutory Allocation, while internally-generated revenue was projected at N14.5 billion.

Shema said that capital receipts was estimated at N3.5 billion with an opening balance of N22 billion.

He told the lawmakers that the state recorded 73 per cent budget implementation in the

outgoing financial year.

The Speaker of the house, Alhaji Umar Gwajo-gwajo, assured of speedy passage of the budget for the development of the state.

Gwajo-gwajo pledged that the legislature would continue to join hands with the executive arm to provide more dividends of democracy to people of the state. (NAN)

ANPP backs INEC on conduct of elections in one day T

By Umar Muhammad Puma

he All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) has described the statement by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Attahiru Jega that elections in the country after 2015 should be held same day because staggered elections were costly, as a well come development.

"We are encouraged by this welcome development, though we wonder why we should wait till 2015 to start reaping the benefits of this historic electoral policy. In any case, this is a pointer that our vision of free and fair elections are about

to become a reality. With free and fair elections, the problems faced by our great nation shall be solved and we will begin to excel".

In a statement issued by its National publicity secretaryEmma Eneukwu, said, "It is on record that our great party, under the leadership of Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, was the first voice to call for all elections to be held in one day. We have maintained that this will save cost and guarantee better participation. For instance, some people that may only want to vote for a particular presidential candidate during the presidential election alone, will now be made to join in voting for the legislative

members because the whole voting holds on the same day.

"As we can testify, when massive number of citizens turn out to vote it will be very difficult to rig or manipulate the process. Moreover, it will also erase the problem of bandwagon effect that always dogs the electoral process, and threatens the stability of the polity "We wish to use this opportunity to call on the National Assembly to also consider our other suggestion on how to achieve free and fair elections. We want a situation where after elections all matters concerning the electoral litigation and court cases would have been solved and concluded

before swearing-in. We envisage that this will stop all the bad-blood, and unnecessary advantage endowed on the incumbent as they are predisposed to use the resources and powers of government to executive their electoral litigation, thereby provoking strife in the political space," he added.

Eneukwu further said the aim is to lead the nation away from politics of personality to issues-based and ideas-driven politics as is obtained in many developed democracies that the nation envies. "As a party, we believe that Nigeria has all it takes to become the giant we are destined to be," he said.

Committee urges mainister to expedite action on take-off of commission

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he Technical and Implementation Committee on Hydro Electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC) called on the Minister of Power to expedite action on the smooth take-off of the commission.

Mr Daniel Shashiri, who led the committee members on a visit to the Minister of State for Power, Hajiya Zainab Kuchi, said that they were in her office

to finalise actions on the quick and smooth take-off of the HYPPADEC. ``As we are all aware with the recent passage of the HYPPADEC bill and subsequent assent by President Goodluck Jonathan, the task now is to ensure the immediate take-off of the commission,'' he said.

Shashiri explained that the committee would want to see the smooth take-off of the commission in accordance with

the law establishing it.

He said that the visit was also to acquaint the minister with the basic mandate and areas that needed attention.

He also said that the management of the HYPPADEC and ministry's role for the commission were among areas that the Federal Government needed to look at..

Earlier, Kuchi said that the ministry was ready to assist the committee so long as its

demand were in line with the law establishing HYPPADEC. Kuchi promised the committee that the N200 million provided for HYPPADEC in the 2012 budget would be well utilised.

She said the Federal Government would implement the recommendations made by the Presidential Committee which visited Niger, Kwara, Kebbi, Kogi, Plateau and Benue.

(NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

PAGE 40

2015: Jonathan plans to increase fuel price-TMG

By Umar Muhammad Puma

W

orried by the persistent fuel scarcity across the country and the selling of the product above stipulated price, the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) has said there is a palpable fear in the country over the government plans to increase price of petroleum product in the country before 2015.

The chairman of the Transition Monitoring Group, Comrade Ibrahim Zakirullahi said this at a press conference in Abuja on the state of the nation, that if this is carried out, it will throw the country into yet

another round of crisis which may spell doom for the 2015 general election.

"It seems to us most flagrant that whatever we approach new election in the country, the government usually finds excuses of hiking prices of petroleum product to the line the pocket of politicians for a do or die contest".

He stressed that section 4 of the price control act, law of the federation of Nigeria, has prohibited deregulation in the oil industry, adding that the present deregulation bid of the PDP led Federal Government, negates its posture on the rule of law.

"It is unfortunate that Nigeria in spite of her rich endowment of human and natural resources, is still grappling with essential issues of economic survival, human right, federalism and the route to post feudal development".

He attributed the upsurge in corruption cases at the inability of the PDP led government to muster courage in order to fight corruption, which led to the recent ranking of the country by the Transparency International as the 35th most corrupt nation in the world. This he said coincided with the number of endless probe panel of fuel subsidy, pension, House probe on security and

exchange, privatization exercise of the federal government. "Corruption has become an institution in Nigeria and it is highly instructive".

"It is imperative to note that government should be more concerned with issues of poverty alleviation and citizens empowerment rather than bothered with trivial matters like proposed multibillion naira budget for completion of Vice President lodge and another Presidential banquet hall, even when these facilities already exist".

Commenting on the issue of insecurity, Zakirullahi, called for a holistic national strategy to combat the menace in Nigeria,

L-R: Gombe state Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, Ogun state Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosu, and Niger state Governor, Dr. Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu, during the emergency meeting of Nigeria Governors' Forum on the dearth of Kaduna state Governor, Mr Patrick Yakowa, yesterday at Rivers state Lodge, in Abuja.

T

Retired civil servant wants Nigeria to adopt 1960 constitution

D

T

he Bayelsa Executive Council will hold a special valedictory session in honour of late Gov. Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State on Dec. 18.

Yakowa died in Saturday's helicopter crash in Bayelsa.

This is contained in a statement signed by the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Markson Fefegha, in Yenagoa on Monday.

Fefegha said the session would hold on Dec. 18 at the Government House, Yenagoa. ``The State Government will, thereafter, send a delegation of top government functionaries to accompany the casket of the governor to Kaduna where it will be formally handed over to Kaduna State,'' he said.

The commissioner said that an enlarged Bayelsa Government delegation, to be led by Gov. Seriake Dickson, is expected to visit Kaduna on Dec. 19.

He said the delegation will participate in the funeral activities scheduled to take place on Dec. 20.

(NAN)

Constitution review will satisfy the yearnings of Nigerians, says ANPP Scribe

Photo: Mahmud Isa

r Augustine Ikenga- Metu, a retired Deputy Director in the Ministry of Housing, has called for the adoption of the 1960 independence constitution to ensure true federalism in the country.

Ikenga-Metu made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja. ``Personally, I feel we should revisit the independence federal Republic of Nigeria Constitution of 1960. We have options of which constitution to adopt. One is a true federal constitution, two, the one we are practicing now, a unitary, military federal republic of Nigeria constitution. ``A third is a confederation which was proposed sometime before. Confederation was the agreement reached in Abori in 1966, that is what they call Aboriaccord. That the country should be a confederation, that is each constituent part should be completely independent of the centre, they should simply have common services, it was rejected.''

Ikenga-Metu said both the 1966

Bayelsa holds valedictory session for Yakowa on Dec. 18

and 1999 constitution were "defective documents that have contributed to the underdevelopment of the country". ``Calling conferences and all that to amend a defective constitution that is the constitution we are using since 1966, up till date which in practice, is unitary but in name is federal. ``So, we are spending money to review a constitution that we know is not suitable for Nigeria for use by

Nigerians. If we rule out what we call a confederation, unitary form of government, what we have is a federal constitution and that already is a document we have and we don't need to go anywhere to look for it. It is in our archives, it is our constitution.''

He said that the three regions represented in independence constitution could be extended to six geo political zones as in witnessed in the country presently.

This, he maintained, would

tackle the issue of minority, which he said, had led to the "creation of 36 unviable states" in the country. ``Instead of four regions, we can have six zones as in the 1999 constitution, as approved at the constitution amendment during the Abacha era. ``The only amendment we can do to the 1966 constitution is to increase the number of regions or zones to accommodate the minorities." (NAN)

Cleric advises NASS to translate constitution the country a sense of belonging, while to local languages copies of the constitution should be

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ev. Yinka Adedokun of Holy Ghost Harvest Church, Ilorin, has urged the National Assembly Constitution Review Committees to ensure that the new constitution is translated into three Nigerian major languages.

Adedokun told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin on Monday that its translation into local languages would promote national unity.

He said, ``It is expedient for us as a country to realise that there is a need to have our constitution translated into our local languages. “The constitution review committees should ensure that the new constitution for the country is translated into three major languages of Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo in order to foster national unity and cohesion. “The translation into local languages will also give the people of

made available to people as it is done in advance countries.''

Adedokun also urged the political leaders in the country to live up to their promises and display exemplary leadership that would restore people's confidence in government.

He said that assumption of political office was ordained by God, adding that the deeds of the leaders should be aimed at elevating God and bringing succour to the people.

(NAN)

he National Secretary of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Alhaji Tijanni Tumsa, says constitution review will give Nigerians the opportunity to contribute their ideas for the overall interest of the nation.

Tumsa, who made the remarks in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday, said the exercise usually happened in the history of every nation.

He said there was no way a country could be undergoing a constitutional amendment without requiring the inputs of its citizens.

He said it was a very good exercise and hoped that it would be done as prescribed by the same constitution.

Similarly, Tumsa said the party had constituted a seven-man committee chaired by Alhaji Ibrahim Shekarau, to hold discussions with other opposition parties to facilitate merger with other parties. ``CPC and ACN are very good political parties to merge with and the process has already commenced; we are hoping that it will come to reality very soon. ``We are also into discussions with other opposition political parties with the aim of forming a formidable force to wrest power from the ruling party," he said On the state of the economy, he urged the Federal Government to embark on aggressive economic policies that had direct bearing on the life of the people.

He also urged the Federal Government to tackle poverty and corruption headlong in order to alleviate the suffering of the masses. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2012

PAGE 41

Keshi invites 17 pros for AFCON camp today

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Joel Obi

Obi out, Apam in

he Chief of the Super Eagles Stephen Keshi is expected to announce 17 foreignbased professionals for AFCON training camp in Faro, Portugal today.

Peoples Daily Sports leant that there will be a few notable omissions on the list, while several other players could well be placed on standby to cover for injury and other unforeseen circumstances.

“The invitation letters have been sent out to the players and their clubs, but they have also been told to keep it quiet until the list is made public probably by Friday,” a top official disclosed.

“There will be a few shocks; otherwise it will be the usual suspects on the list with some players probably placed on standby.”

Holland-based defender Kenneth Omeruo is already one of the surprise call-ups as he has

Ikechukwu Uche

Keshi wants 10 NPL stars for AFCON

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hief Coach of the Super Eagles Stephen Keshi has said he would be fulfilled if at least 10 players from the NPL make the final cut to next year’s AFCON in South Africa.

Keshi began training with 22 players from the domestic league yesterday in Abuja and he expressed his hope to have as many of these players in the final 23-man squad for the Nations Cup if they prove to be better than their Europe-based counterparts in training camp.

“It will be my delight if 10 players prove good enough to make the championship roster and I will be happy if at all times four of such player’s start every game but you have to prove it on the pitch that you are ready for the challenge,” he told the players before yesterday morning training began.

There were fears that the two players who have been part of the national team setup from the home front since Stephen Keshi took over about a year ago may not be fit in time for the AFCON.

Eagle’s camp bubbles as Ogude’s wife put to bed Injury worry

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agles coach Stephen Keshi will take a chance on injury-hit Onyekachi Apam for the AFCON but not Inter Milan midfielder Joel Obi. The Rennes defender Apam is being considered to plug the leaky central defence and even though he was not involved in the qualifying series for the Nations Cup and his fitness has been in doubt lately, Keshi is ready to take a chance on him.

Apam has bounced back from a long-term knee injury which sidelined him for over 18 months.

However, Italy-based defensive midfielder Obi is not so lucky and so will miss out on his first AFCON. Obi first suffered a muscle problem in March and recently staged a comeback, but the injury relapsed forcing to him out again.

He has now returned to training with the hope of playing again before the year runs out.

Obi made a superb Eagles debut against Sierra Leone in February 2011 in Lagos under then coach Samson Siasia.

A lot was expected of him thereafter, but injuries have since limited his international appearances.

A total of 17 Europe-based pros are expected to report to the team’s training camp in Faro, Portugal, ahead of the Nations Cup. Keshi plans to take about 15 players from the Nigeria Premier League to Portugal.

The team will fly out to Accra, Ghana, on December 27 from where they will connect their flight to Portugal.

yet to be capped at full international level and was not involved in the qualifying tournament for the 2013 AFCON. He has played at central defence for both the U17 and U20 teams but could well be considered for the problematic right fullback position which is

where he plays for his Dutch club ADO Den Haag.

Spain-based striker Ikechukwu Uche, skipper Joseph Yobo, Ahmed Musa and Nosa Igiebor are among those called up for the AFCON. The Eagles, drawn from players from the domestic league and Norway-based Fegor Ogude, began training Monday morning in Abuja.

The 24-man squad will train once a day for the time being and they are due to depart for Portugal on December 27.

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Fengor Ogude

he Super Eagles midfielder, Fengor Ogude, gave the team what looked like a return to camp baby last Friday when his wife put to bed a bouncing baby girl.

The power playing Norway based midfielder was overwhelmed with joy when he put a phone call across to team Scribe, Dayo Enebi Achor to inform him of the good news. “Achor immediately christened the girl AFCON 2013 camp baby.

Baby and mother are said to be in very good condition and the player was expected to have linked him with the home based stars by the evening of yesterday in Abuja, as he was given permission to settle some private matter by Head Coach Stephen Keshi.

Reuben, Idris boost Eagles fitness Stories by Albert Akota

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fter over three months of layoff from the national team’s camp as a result of injuries, Kano Pillars duo of

Gabriel Reuben

Gabriel Reuben and Papa Idris, were the cynosure of all eyes as the Super Eagles opened camp for the African Cup of Nations in Abuja, with its first training session.

There were fears that the two players who have been part of the national team setup from the home front since Stephen Keshi took over about a year ago may not be fit on time for the Afcon 2013 championship, but they came out sparkling in training yesterday morning at the Practice Pitch of the Abuja National Stadium.

Team doctor Ibrahim Gyaran, who later spoke on the state of health of the two players passed them fit for hostilities in the runup to the championship. ”The only fear I have is that since they have not played competitive football for sometimes they will still experience some mind jitters.

“But that is only a thing of the mind and the team psychologist, Dr Robinson Okosun and the coaching crew are already

working on that aspect”, he declared.

As at yesterday morning training session, 22 players trained with only Akwa United’s Bassey E, and Fengor Ogude of Velaranga of Norway, who is expected to join the team were not at the early morning training session.

The players were grilled on fitness, tactics and general conditioning for a championship of the magnitude of the Nations Cup. Head Coach, Stephen Keshi again assured the players that if they prove worthy of a place in the team and better than their European based counterpart they will be picked for the championship. “It will be my delight if 10 players prove good enough to make the championship roster and I will be happy if at all times four of such players start every game but you have to prove it on the pitch that you are ready for the challenge”, he told the players before training commenced.

Togo FA, as Adebayor limps

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mmanuel Adebayor’s participation at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations has been put to further doubt after picking up an injury over the weekend.

The 28-year-old Togolese came off after 17 minutes in Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-0 win over Swansea on Sunday after twisting his ankle.

The ex Arsenal striker was immediately taken to the dressing room where further assessment of his injury was made.

He however needs further tests to determine the severity of his injury which could rule him out of the Nations Cup to be staged early next year in South Africa.

Adebayor has already announced his unavailability to the Togo national team for the competition over a bonus feud.

He is however expected to reverse this decision as the West African state prepares a highly powered delegation to persuade his return.

It will be a big blow for the Hawks if Adebayor is indeed ruled out of the Nations Cup as he has proved to be an indispensable component of the team.

Emmanuel Adebayor

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PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2012

FCT SWAN congratulates NFF on Super Sand Eagles victory

Yobe set to complete multi-purpose sports hall, says commissioner

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he Yobe Commissioner for Sports, Alhaji Yusuf Yahaya said yesterday that the state government would complete the abandoned Damaturu multipurpose indoor sports hall initiated by the National Sports Commission.

The commissioner said in Damaturu that the government and the commission had completed the handing over process.

“Yobe government is determined to complete the structure and put it to use for the benefit of sports development and atheletes in the state, “ he said.

Yahaya said the government was also constructing a sports centre in Geidam to promote sporting activities at the grass roots.

“Government has expended the sum of N59 million on the first phase of the project which includes fencing, sitting segment, football pitch, offices and toilets.

“Similarly, the ministry has renovated the VIP lodge, constructed additional shades and toilets at the Damaturu Stadium.

“There are plans to construct additional two sports centres in the other two zones of the state to exploit the potentiality in the rural areas,” the commissioner said.

He said the provision of more sporting facilities across the state would promote professional sports among youths in the state.

“Government is making efforts to assist the youth to realize their potential to compete at local, national and international levels.

“Yobe has rich and untapped potential. Government is providing these facilities to assist the youth to realise these potential,” Yahya said.

Yobe state governor, Ibrahim Gaidam

Kayode Adeniye, FCT SWAN chairman

he Sports Writers Association of Nigeria; (SWAN) FCT chapter has congratulated the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on the success of the Super Sand Eagles victory at the just concluded Copa Lagos Beach Soccer.

The Sand Eagles edged Portugal’s Seleccao das Quinas 8-7 on extra time after the three periods ended 7-7.

The Nigerians won all three of their games at the four-team invitational tournament in Lagos. Last year the Super Sand Eagles defeated Brazil to emerge the inaugural winners of the Copa Lagos.

SWAN also noted that the improvement in the National Team’s qualification for various international tournaments in 2012 would go a long way in developing the country football.

The Falconets’ participation in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Japan, U-17 girls, Flamingos’ participated in the FIFA U-17 Women’ World Cup in Azerbaijan and, Super Falcons’ also took part at the 8th African Women Championship, while the Super Eagles have also booked a place in next year’s AFCON 2013 in South Africa FCT SWAN also implored Aminu Maigari led NFF board to do everything possible to ensure Beach Soccer League is established in the country.

Director urges ex-players to help young talents

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he Chairman of the Nigeria Table Tennis Umpire Association, John Peters has called on former national players to assist budding talents in the sport to achieve their dreams of becoming professionals.

Peters said in Lagos that ex-players should be able to give back to the society that had made them.

“I am calling on players that have benefited from table tennis to make a positive impact on the sport that has made them by sponsoring programmes.

“The development of the ping-pong game should not be left to the government alone but rather, it should be a collective responsibility of past players with the national body,’’ he said.

Peters, who is also the Technical Director, Lagos State Table Tennis Association, said that the National Sports

NFF set for beach soccer league

Commission (NSC) could not carry the responsibility of sports development alone.

He said that U.S.-based former Lagos State player, Toyin Okenla-Ojeaga, sponsoring the maiden edition of InterSchools Table Tennis Tournament, tagged “Toyin OkenlaOjeaga U-17 Table Tennis Championships’’ was commendable. According to him, the competition for students in the state will be organised from Jan. 21 to Jan. 26, 2013 at the Mobolaji Johnson Sports Centre, Yaba.

Peter said the former national player, who played in the 1980s was passionate about the development of players from the grassroots in Lagos state.

“This is something that we have been clamouring for and I am using this opportunity to say that we will give her the support to achieve a memorable event,’’ he said.

All of Nigeria’s beach soccer players, who have featured in Fifa, Caf and invitational tournaments, have been drawn from 11-a-side football in the absence of a beach soccer league.

Nigeria’s Supersand Eagles have won the CAF Beach Soccer Championship twice in 2007 and 2009, and have reached the last eight of the Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup twice in 2007 and 2011.

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he Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is planning to kick-start a beach soccer league next year, supersport.comcan report.

The NFF Director of Technical, Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme, revealed after the Super sand Eagles defeated their Portuguese counterparts 8-7 at the Copa Lagos Beach Soccer Worldwide to retain their title on Sunday.

He disclosed that the football federation is working to conclude the logistics to ensure that the beach soccer league finally starts in 2013.

Ikpeme, who expressed excitement with Supersand Eagles’ win, added that the league will start “at the earliest in the second or third quarter of next year.”

“I’m happy with the performance of the team. There are plans by the football federation to start a beach soccer league. It has been in the plan for sometime but the logistics are being tied up.

“But I cannot assure you that the league will start early next year, I mean in the first quarter of next year. However, the beach soccer league should commence at the earliest in the second or third quarter of next year,” revealed Ikpeme.

Emmanuel Ikpeme

U-13 coaches commend NFF for grassroots development

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oaches at the ongoing National U-13 championship yesterday commended Aminu Maigari, the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for his support for grass roots football development.

This is contained in a statement signed by Bunmi Haruna, Media Officer of the U13 national team, in Abuja.

According to the statement, El-shaffee Mohammed, the Niger State U-13 head coach, said that the NFA board was on the right path towards football development at the grass roots.

“This is a great developmental programme for our football because it develops football from

the grass roots.

“I want to tell you that Niger State has already embraced this competition.

“We currently have a product that is already playing in the national U-17 team and it is through the organization of the national U-13 championship,” he said.

Usman Ilerika, the FCT coach, also praised the NFF board for its consistency in grass roots football development and advised the board to expose the players to international tournaments.

“I think it is commendable that since 2008, the NFF has consistently turned to the grass roots which have favoured

children in primary and secondary schools. ”These children can in future do this country proud, but I think the NFF should give the boys more international exposure”.

The chief coach of Ekiti State U-13 team, Tope Akinbade, added that he hoped to have some of his players picked for the national U-13 camp this year.

“Let me be factual with you, the Aminu Maigari led NFF board are doing their best in terms of youth sports development and you can see the results.

“The female U-20 team played good football at the World Cup, and the current Golden Eaglets

team that just qualified for the 2013 U-17 Championship is the youngest ever for the competition.

“For us in Ekiti State, our target is to have the highest number of players in the U-13 camp this year,” Akinbade added.

Teams were to be divided into two groups A & B. Only eight teams, Sokoto, Edo, Kaduna, Imo, FCT, Ogun, Niger and Ekiti state out of the 12 invited teams showed up.

The aim of the competition is to select the best 25 players that will be invited to the National U13 Team.

Results of matches played so far at the Championship, at the

FIFA Goal Project of the Abuja National Stadium are as follows: Sokoto lost 0-7 to Edo, Kaduna defeated Imo 3-0.

FCT defeated Ogun 3-1, while Niger and Ekiti played out a 1-1 draw.

Aminu Maigari

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2012

PAGE 43

Cycling gets extra sport funds

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ycling, triathlon and netball have been given increased grassroots funding, but tennis, cricket and rugby have seen their money cut.

Sport England has also given tennis, as well as swimming and basketball, just one-year guaranteed finance with the rest dependent on results.

The body will give £493m to grassroots sports between 2013-17, up £54.7m.

Out of 46 sports, 32 have seen rises in funding, with 11 receiving less money and three getting the same amount.

Big winners were cycling, triathlon and netball,

whose funds will increase by more than 30% after they impressed with future plans.

The Lawn Tennis Association’s four-year plan for increasing the numbers of people playing the sport was described as “not strong enough” and £10.3m of its £17.4m total has been put on hold.

Sport England chief executive Jennie Price said: “Tennis has not performed well in terms of participation.

Swimming and basketball will have funding withheld as well, while Sport England assesses whether new participation plans are working.

McIlroy finishes 2012 as world’s number one

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orthern Irishman Rory McIlroy has ended 2012 as world number one after topping the European and United States money lists.

The US PGA winner finished the year in the top four along with Luke Donald and Justin Rose, with Tiger Woods rising to third from 23rd at the start of 2012.

The big faller was Lee Westwood who slipped to seventh from second in the last 12 months.

Mcllroy, 23, was voted PGA Tour Player of the Year by fellow players on the US Tour.

He was the youngest player to win the award since Tiger Woods in 1998, topped the money lists in Europe and the US and was also part of the victorious European Ryder Cup team.

McIlroy won four events in the States during 2012 as well as the World Tour Championship in Dubai.

Woods moved up the rankings without winning a major, but his three tournament victories pushed him past Jack Nicklaus on the all-time PGA Tour wins list.

The other Americans in the top 10 are Bubba Watson (eighth), Jason Dufner (ninth) and Brandt Snedeker (10th) Charl Schwartzel and Sergio Garcia end the year 14th and 16th in the world respectively after wins in South Africa and Malaysia respectively.

Rory McIlroy

Bolt wins BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year

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printer Usain Bolt has been named the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year after winning triple Olympic gold for the second successive Games.

The 26-year-old Jamaican starred at the London 2012 Games as he claimed 100m, 200m and 4x100m titles.

Bolt became the only man to have retained both individual sprint golds and helped his team become the first to run under 37 seconds in the

Usain Bolt

relay.

His sixth Games gold made him the most decorated Olympic sprinter of all-time.

Bolt triumphed despite hamstring and back problems that had placed his participation in doubt.

Following the relay victory on the final day of action in the Olympic Stadium, he traded celebrations with Britain’s 5,000m and 10,000m gold medallist Mo Farah.

Double Olympic champion Farah did Bolt’s ‘lightning’ celebration while Bolt mimicked Farah’s ‘Mobot’.

Peterson set to cancel Emmitt Smith’s NFL record

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innesota Vikings r u n n i n g back Adrian Peterson is on the verge of breaking one of the NFL’s most durable records.

He needs 294 yards from two remaining games to surpass the 2,105 singleseason mark achieved by Eric Dickerson for the then Los Angeles Rams in 1984.

Peterson, 27, suffered a potentially career-ending knee injury a year ago but has returned to the type of form that led to him being voted to the Pro Bowl in each of his first four seasons.

This season, Peterson - at 6ft 1in, 15st 7lb - is

averaging a career-high 6.3 yards per carry.

Today’s NFL is dominated by the passing game, which makes the fact that Peterson is challenging Dickerson’s 28-year-old record even more remarkable.

Since joining the Vikings as the seventh overall pick in the 2007 draft, he has surpassed the 1,000-yard benchmark in each of his first four campaigns. He was only denied a fifth last season when he suffered a severe knee ligaments injury.

Peterson’s first target will be to pick up 188 yards from the Vikings’ two remaining regular season

games to become only the seventh player ever to

have run for 2,000 yards in a single season.

Alastair Cook

India triumph equal to Ashes win – Cook

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ngland captain Alastair Cook says he thinks the first series win in India in 27 years is “on a par with the Ashes.

Centuries from Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell secured a draw in the fourth Test in Nagpur and a 2-1 win in the series.

England’s success was all the more impressive given their terrible start to the series.

A nine-wicket thrashing in the opening Test led to gloomy forecasts of a 4-0 series whitewash.

He added: “We didn’t handle the Ahmedabad wicket well but the others

were all very different and we adapted well. The bowlers have been brilliant and our batters have contributed big runs.

James Anderson, who was awarded the man of the match award after taking 4-81 in India’s first innings, was described as the difference between the two sides by India captain Mahendra Dhoni.

The 30-year-old fast bowler took 12 wickets in the series and played a key part in England’s success, alongside the spinners who normally prosper on the sub-continent.

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PUBLIC NOTICE

GOD’S DIVINE FIRE MINISTRY INT’L THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED MINISTRY HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR THE REGISTRATION UNDER PART “C” OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1) APOSTLE FRANK NWACHOKOR -PRESIDENT 2) OPUH CELESTINE -GENERAL SECRETARY 3) MRS. AGATHA KURUS -TREASURER 4) MR. FRANK CHUKWUMA -MEMBER AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1) TO WORSHIP GOD THROUGH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO THE HOLY SCRIPTURE 2) TO TAKE THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST TO ALL WHO HAVE NEITHER HEARD OF IT NOR RECEIVE JESUS AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR 3)TO BRING PEOPLE OUT OF BONDAGE BY WORSHIP IN FAITH ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, P. M. B 420 MAITAMA ABUJA WITHIN TWENTY EIGHT (28) DAY FROM R DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION.

Adrian Peterson

SIGNED: ATOI C. ESQ P. EGWUATU & CO DENNIS OSADEBE WAY ASABA

PAGE 44

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2012

CWC: Benitez regrets Chelsea’s missed chances

Katongo wins 2012 BBC African Footballer of the Year

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hristopher Katongo has won the 2012 BBC African Footballer of the Year award.

The 30-year-old Zambia captain beat off competition from Demba Ba, Didier Drogba, Younes Belhanda and Yaya Toure to become the first winner from southern Africa in the history of the award.

Katongo, who is also a soldier in his home country, was inspirational as he led Zambia to their first Africa Cup of Nations title in February.

He scored three goals en route to the final of the tournament in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon and then struck a successful

penalty in an 8-7 shoot-out victory over favourites Ivory Coast to lift the trophy in Libreville.

It was an emotional moment for Zambia, who had suffered a tragic air disaster 19 years previously, when a plane carrying most of the national team crashed when only 500m offshore from Libreville, killing all 25 passengers and five crew.

Seven months after leading Zambia to glory Katongo was again his country’s talisman, this time in a 2013 Nations Cup qualifying tie when he scored the only goal of the game in his side’s final-round first leg match against Uganda.

C Christopher Katongo

FIFA bans Bin Hammam for life

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Bin Hammam

ootball governing body Fifa has given a new life ban to former presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam. The decision came in response to his decision to quit all football posts.

The 63-year-old challenged Sepp Blatter in Fifa’s 2011 presidential election but withdrew to fight bribery allegationshe was later cleared of.

The Qatari’s new suspension is not related to those allegations, but “conflicts of interest” while president of the Asian Football Confederation.

Bin Hammam’s problems began when a report by Fifa executive committee member Chuck Blazer accused him andformer Fifa Vice-President Jack Warner of trying to secure votes by jointly organising a special meeting of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) in which the organisation’s members were offered sums of cash for “development projects”.

He was subsequently banned from “any kind of football-related activity” by Fifa but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) annulled the decision in July due to insufficient evidence.

A new investigation into his financial dealings, dating back to his time in charge of Asian football, was then launched by Fifa’s ethics committee. This led to a 90-day ban which CAS refused to cancel in October.

Ba sends out Arsenal signal

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ewcastle striker Demba Ba has issued a come-and-get-me plea to Arsenal, amid speculation that the north London club are set to take advantage of a release clause in the player’s contract.

Ba, 27, had a clause put into his contract when he signed for the club in the summer of 2011 that allows him to leave St James’ Park for just £7.5 million.

Newcastle are determined to keep hold of their in-form striker, who has hit 11 goals this season, however, they have yet to tie him down to a new deal.

The contract situation has led to a whole host of clubs being linked with the player ever since he arrived in the north-east, including the Gunners, who are looking to bolster their frontline in January.

While Ba admits there is so far no truth behind the rumours that he will move to the Emirates Stadium, the Senegal international has hinted that he would be more than open to such a deal.

FA bans Fellaini for 3 matches

E Demba Ba

We want to select our match Commissioners, FA chairman tells Football authority

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Alhaji Musa Saeed Talle

helsea manager Rafael Benitez believes his side’s poor finishing cost them the Club World Cup as they were beaten 1-0 by Brazilian side Corinthians in Japan.

Fernando Torres missed three chances, including one from close range in the last five minutes, while Gary Cahill was also denied when well placed.

“They had one clear chance and they scored and we didn’t take our chances. That was the difference,” said Benitez.

Only one English team has ever won the Club World Cup. Manchester United beat Ecuadorian side LDU Quito 1-0 in the 2008 final.

Benitez, who became the first boss to lead a side in three Club World Cup finals after winning with Inter Milan in 2010 and losing as Liverpool manager in the 2005 final, added: “We knew it would be a tough game against a good team.

Frank Lampard, the Chelsea captain for the game as he returned to the starting line-up for the first time in almost two months after a calf injury, believes his side must quickly focus on domestic football.

Thirteen points behind Premier League leaders Manchester United, they now face a hectic period of six games in 18 days, beginning with a League Cup quarter-final against Leeds United tomorrow.

he FCT Football Association (FA) Chairman Alhaji Musa Saeed Talle, has said that the era where the football authority in country select match Commissioners on them is gone.

Talle, who made the remarks at the opening of the 2012 /13 FCT FA match commissioner’s pre-season seminar yesterday in Abuja, said the territory will henceforth select it match commissioners.

The chairman further said that the list of match commissioners for the 2012/13

football season will be shortlisted by the FA at the end of the seminar and table it to the football authority before the commencement of the season. ”It is no longer a business as usually where at the beginning of every football season you would see a list of match commissioners of which the FA knows nothing about.

“We want to have the list of our match commissioners and monitor it closely at every point in time for the betterment of Nigeria football,’” he said.

verton midfielder Marouane Fellaini has been banned for three matches by the Football Association for headbutting Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross.

The incident occurred in the 59th minute of Saturday’s 1-1 Premier League draw at the Britannia Stadium.

Everton have decided not to appeal against the charge, meaning Fellaini will miss the Premier League games against West Ham, Wigan and Chelsea.

Referee Mark Halsey confirmed he saw two further incidents in the 71st and 91st minutes, also involving Fellaini and Shawcross, neither of which he deemed to be violent conduct.

Everton manager David Moyes publicly criticised his player’s behaviour.

And Fellaini, 25, said: “I apologise completely to Ryan Shawcross, my team-mates and to our fans at the game. I lost my temper and it was unprofessional.”

Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers Association, gave credit to Fellaini and Moyes.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2012

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PICTORIAL

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\1/ Italian striker Mario Balotelli will face Manchester City at a Premier League tribunal in London tomorrow. \2/ The Edinburgh-Glasgow doubleheader will be key in determining Six Nations selection, says former Scotland star Gavin Hastings. \3/ Gerard Houllier has said that New York Red Bulls striker Thierry Henry will move to Arsenal for a third time during the January transfer window. \4/ Jamaica sprinter Usain Bolt is named the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year after winning triple Olympic gold. \5/ Amir Khan admits he would "love" a rematch with Danny Garcia and the American says it will happen "if the money is right".

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Winners of UEFA EURO 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa and EURO 2012, Spain are one of the finest national squads of all time.

La Roja coach Vicente Del Bosque needs no introduction, and the Salamancaborn supremo and his Selección are determined not to rest on their laurels, with their next major priorities wrapping up qualification for Brazil 2014 and success at the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 a title they would love to add to their trophy cabinet.

After the draw for next year’s Festival of Champions, which took place in Sao Paulo on 1 December, the former Real Madrid strategist and candidate for the FIFA Coach of the Year 2012 award spoke exclusively to FIFA.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2012

Spanish coach vows to sweep trophies ahead of 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil

V

icente, where does next year’s FIFA Confederations Cup currently stand in your list of priorities?

Well, we deal with short-term objectives. That being the case, our focus is qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, which we’d like to wrap up as soon as we can.

Coming up soon in March we’ve got two games against Finland and France that are extremely important for our future prospects and then the Confederations Cup will come in the medium term.

Having finished third at South Africa 2009, we want to prepare well in order to go into the competition in the best possible shape and have a good campaign.

Many coaches take advantage of this tournament to try and find a settled squad and spend an extended period of time with their players. Given Spain has had a settled core for a while now, what can the competition bring to La Roja?

Yes, it’s true that we have quite a stable squad. But new players are appearing all the time, to the point where I’d say we’ve got great competition for places enormously so in some positions.

It’s going to make our decision-making process very hard, because there are a number of players who’ve been performing excellently for their clubs for a long time now. But new lads are appearing on the scene and we’ve got to bring them through, bit by bit.

We’re going to find ourselves in a real situation, though I’d not go so far as saying an uncomfortable one - as us national coaches are used to it. What we will be doing is selecting those players we think give us the best chance of winning the competition.

Spain was knocked out in the semi-finals by USA at South Africa 2009. Do you think that painful experience helped La Selección win the FIFA World Cup on year later?

No doubt about it. Particularly in terms of getting to know the surroundings: where we were going, to which hotels and getting used to the training pitches and the climate. It was fantastic for us, an enriching experience.

What are you expecting from host nation Brazil, a country with a rich footballing tradition?

We’re going to the country which has the most feeling and passion for football. And we’re carrying a great deal of responsibility, as we certainly don’t see the Confederations Cup as a minor competition.

On the contrary, it’s a tournament that features the champions of several different competitions and we’re going to treat it with the importance it deserves.

From our own experience, we know that every international, whether it be competitive or a friendly, carries with it a lot of responsibility. In fact we don’t see any game as a friendly. They’re all international matches and that’s how we see them.

New players are appearing all the time, to the point where I’d say

Vicente Del Bosque

we’ve got great competition for places enormously so in some positions.

Turning to Spain’s phenomenal recent success, do you think perceptions have changed since victory at South Africa 2010?

There might just be too much praise coming our way, which always happens with the team that is crowned champions.

In our case, rather than just being about one specific event like the World Cup, the praise comes from having won three major tournaments in a row.

That increases our players’ profile, but it also puts more pressure on you with every passing day.

You can even make people get used to winning, make it look all too easy. And the Spanish fans might be really fond of us but if we fail, which can happen because this is sport and there are some other very good teams, they’ll feel a bit let down. We’ve got to fight against that.

Is this national squad setting an example for others to follow?

There isn’t just one way of playing if you want to be successful, but yes it’s true that our players have certain characteristics that really shape the way our side plays football. And we mustn’t try to go against that style.

In this case, I think it [the style] has gained greater admiration because it’s been accompanied by results. But, at nearly every world or European tournament, it seems that we all try to look for certain trends. Watching closely how the champions play is to be expected.

It’s wouldn’t be stretching the truth to say that people are trying to be like us in certain ways, which is nice.

If the Netherlands’ Arjen Robben, for example, had put the Final in South Africa 2010 beyond Spain’sreach, do you think La Roja’s style would still be getting so much coverage?

I’m aware that we’ve had plenty of good fortune. In the penalty shoot-out against Portugal, in the semi-finals of the EURO (2012), Bruno Alves’s shot hit the bar and went over while Cesc Fabregas’s effort hit the post and went in.

We know what football’s like, but the important thing is not to doubt what we’re doing. When we lost our first game at the World Cup against Switzerland we could have been overcome with doubt, but we didn’t let it affect us.

In fact against Honduras we played the same XI, except for Fernando Torres replacing David Silva and Andres Iniesta missing out through injury. The rest were all the same guys.

Staying on the subject of style: do you think you’d be able to get a team playing this way without these particular players?

To how great an extent do you shape your tactical planning around the players at your disposal?

Let’s see. I have my own footballing taste, which has a lot in common with what we’re doing here with the national side. I like my teams to keep possession.

Back when I was at Real Madrid, and I had very good players there too, I used to like the team to take the initiative in games, to defend high up the pitch, to pin teams back in their half, to play with depth and also find a balance between short and long passing.

But at the same time I try to achieve that level of balance tactically too. Without a team becoming disorganised, I like every player to have enough freedom for his talent to shine through.

Now everybody knows how crucial possession is to Spain’s playing style, is there a Plan B in place should the opposition cope with that?

Over and above the coach, who happens to be me in this case, we’ve got players who, while they’re out on pitch, are able to evaluate what they need to do against the opposition at any given moment. Depending on if our opponents are sitting really deep, if they’re pressuring us higher up the field, etc.

I’d say that they spend ten or 15 minutes almost studying the game.

It’s not an analysis that we do from the dugout, the lads on the pitch are able to see what’s happening. if the opposing defence is playing a very high line, if they need to get behind their marker or drop deeper to play a one-two, whether we need more width or if they need to go it alone. They’re very intelligent and it’s really good they’re able to solve problems themselves.

In that context, who would you say was your right-hand man out on the pitch?

I wouldn’t single out just one player for that role. We’ve got a few players who have the leadership we need in every circumstance.

There are more impetuous players and others who are more cool and analytical. In midfield areas we’ve got two or three players who are tactically perfect.

They know how to protect the full-backs, make themselves available for the ball and whether to go short or long with their next pass.

They’ve got so much footbaling intelligence. We can’t say that “this guy’s unique” or “if he doesn’t play we’ll struggle”, as it’s not true.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

PAGE 47

Quick CrossWord (92)

Say what?

ACROSS 1 Peerless example (7) 5 The sound of __, Julie Andrews film (5) 8 Deep-sea diving equipment (5) 9 Lumps (7) 10 Prevails upon (7) 11 Journeyed on foot (5) 12 Ptarmigan, for example (6) 14 Fabric used in upholstery (6) 18 Intimidated (5) 20 Mythical winged horse (7) 22 Giddiness (7) 23 Big (5) 24 Keeps going (5) 25 Tight embrace (4,3)

SUDOKU Getting Started Each sudoku puzzle is a 9 by 9 grid of horizontal and vertical rows, evenly separated into 9 squares with 9 spaces each.

Instead of word clues, each puzzle’s solution is determined by the pattern of the numbers already filled in you. You solve the puzzle by filling in the missing digits so that, when completed, each row and each square will have all the number from 1 to 9; each number will appear in exactly nine spaces within each puzzle.

Yesterday’s answer

DOWN 1 Assignment abroad (7) 2 Eighteen holes in golf (5) 3 Looks momentarily (7) 4 Practitioner of nakedness (6) 5 Surface dressing for plants (5) 6 Swimmer’s breathing tube (7) 7 In a box (5) 13 Advancing (7) 15 Emblems of royalty (7) 16 Savings (4,3) 17 Self-assurance (6) 18 Polite (5) 19 Water droplets from a tap (5) 21 __ Brightman, singer (5)

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Yesterday’s solution

Two brothers in rural Myanmar sit on the back of a buffalo owned by their family.

They ride on the back of the buffaloes when taking them out into the fields for work

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QUO TABLE Q UO TE UOT QUO UOTE The vision of Sir Patrick Yakowa (late Kaduna state governor) was to secure, unite and develop Kaduna state. I sincerely desire to build on the good foundation my boss has laid.

. . . putting the people first

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

SPORTS LA TEST LATEST

Balotelli takes Manchester City to tribunal

I

talian striker Mario Balotelli will face Manchester City at a Premier League tribunal in London tomorrow.

Balotelli is fighting City's decision to fine him two weeks' wages for his poor disciplinary record last season.

The 22-year-old missed 11 games domestically and in Europe last season because of suspensions.

Balotelli appealed against the decision but an independent panel of City's board upheld the penalty. The case will now be heard by a three-man panel.

The striker is expected to appear in person, along with his Italian lawyer and a representative from the Professional Footballers' Association, while City will bring their legal team.

A two-week fine is the maximum penalty stipulated in standard player contracts and, although City refused to comment on the case, they are privately confident of winning.

It is unusual for internal disputes between clubs and their players to go to a Premier League tribunal.

City began the disciplinary process after Balotelli was sent off against Arsenal in April 2012.

Balotelli was taken off early in the second half of City's 3-2 defeat by Manchester United on 9 December, and then left out of their squad altogether for the 31 win at Newcastle on Saturday.

After the match, City manager Roberto Mancini said: "At this moment, Mario is not in good form and for this reason he is at home. It is only for this reason. To get back into the team he needs to work in training and when he plays, he needs to play well.

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— New Governor Mukhtar R|amalam Yero

The people’s General at 70 P

rovidence, that intangible concept of extraordinary omnipresence, is invariably the ultimate intruder in human affairs. Moving stealthily with the practiced skill of a stalker, it habitually sneaks into the life of man and reconstructs it, giving it a new meaning for good or for ill. For General Muhammadu Buhari, it would have been out of the question to imagine that his eldest child, Zulaiha, would not be present as he marked the beginning of a momentous journey into the autumn of his life. But that, precisely, was what unquestionable providence had decreed.

Just a couple of weeks to clocking that majestic age of 70, Buhari lost his esteemed daughter to the grim reaper in a most harrowing fashion, thus bringing to a spontaneous end the hopes of a daughter who, in all likelihood, must have looked forward to a befitting ceremony and conceived a grand plan in honour of a worthy father. And for the father, it was a most devastating moment as it represented a brutal deflation of the expectations of having her eldest child be part of the joy of such a rare, crowning instance of glory. But a devoted Muslim that he is, the dogged infantry General has put the unfortunate incident down as an act of God - once again an inevitable admission of total submission to the inexplicable feat of providential effectuation. His choice, going by his spiritual inclination, could not have been different.

Yet, in spite of this incredible personal tragedy, Buhari has every reason to celebrate and move on. To attain the milestone of three scores and ten in a country whose average lifespan for men is 47 odd years, in spite of its status as one of the world's top ten crude oil exporters, is a remarkable achievement. On this special occasion, one can't but salute him and join his relatives, friends and associates, supporters and well-wishers in thanking the Almighty God for keeping him alive to see this moment.

A distinguished Nigerian who commanded several army units before, during and after the civil war and also served as state governor, federal commissioner and chairman of NNPC, the country's oil corporation, as well as Head of State, this detribalised, un-bigoted yet misunderstood son of Daura, Katsina state, surely has a date with history. Having

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GUEST COLUMNIST Godwin Onyeacholem gonyeacholem@gmail.com

General Muhammadu Buhari initially singled out himself as a leader with a largely commendable performance in a recurrent cycle of leaders without vision with which Nigeria is seemingly saddled, "mai gaskiya" (custodian of truth or rectitude), as he is widely known by his throng of supporters across the North, now feels compelled, and justifiably so, to continue from where he stopped.

In contrast to the political philosophy of "do-or-die" espoused

by President Olusegun Obasanjo at the winding up of his second term, Buhari is an advocate of the politics of making the votes count

and service to the people. Since his inexcusable ouster on August 27, 1985, after just twenty months in office, the ship of state has continued to sink deeper and deeper in the morass of absolute bad governance. Not even General Sani Abacha's regime could stop the simmering heat of discontent that had built up over the years. And before one could spell anarchy, providence, in its unsurpassed ubiquity, showed its perplexing hands and shunted the goggled one to pave the way for democracy.

After sitting on the sidelines to observe a first four years that

hardly changed anything, Buhari, out of a gut feeling driven more by patriotism, selflessness and belief in acting for the good of others than any self-seeking consideration, threw his hat into the democratic ring, hoping to enlist the people's mandate in pursuit of the high-minded objective of arresting what was apparently becoming an endless drift. Three times (twice under ANPP and once under CPC which he formed) he has attempted to secure the presidency, three times he has been deliberately denied by the ruling party's manipulative machinery, which regrettably includes a combination of the electoral umpire, security agencies and the judiciary.

But this General still holds his head high. He has firmly refused to be defeated. Discussions are already in top gear on how to rev up the engine of his campaign for the 2015 elections. Never before has the momentum for change been so high, absorbing and definite.

The level of disillusionment is now at its peak.

At this critical juncture in his life, the acclaimed people's General must make the last pitch for the presidency.

More than any other time in her history, Nigeria needs a leader to halt this relentless march to the brink. For the man called Buhari, whom both the conservative and progressive flanks of the South - and even in the North - also describe as "Mr. Integrity" for his honesty, directness and zero tolerance for corruption, the process of renewal has to begin in 2015 or never.

Many happy returns, General.

May you live long enough for this country to eventually imbibe the value of your distinct style of leadership.

“

After sitting on the sidelines to observe a first four years that hardly changed anything, Buhari, out of a gut feeling driven more by patriotism, selflessness and belief in acting for the good of others than any self-seeking consideration, threw his hat into the democratic ring, hoping to enlist the people's mandate in pursuit of the high-minded objective of arresting what was apparently becoming an endless drift. Three times (twice under ANPP and once under CPC which he formed) he has attempted to secure the presidency, three times he has been deliberately denied by the ruling party's manipulative machinery, which regrettably includes a combination of the electoral umpire, security agencies and the judiciary

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