Peoples Daily Newspaper, Saturday 22, June, 2013

Vol. 3 No. 46

SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

FEATURE When Hadith memorisers converged in Katsina

RAJAB 30 - SHA’ABAN 1, 1434 AH

COVER Bamanga: The cat with nine lives

Pg 40

INTERVIEW APC will take over southern Kaduna, says Coca cola

Pg 9,10,11

Man chases Gov. Yero out of his house

Pg 15

N150

NEWS Oil Theft: FG sets up c’ttees in 10 days Pg 2

Pg 16

NEWS FEATURE Zainab: Drugged, deceived and Pg 27 deprived

SPORTS

FOCUS

How Immigration Officer burned 12 year old maid with pressing iron Pg 8 in Ilorin

Arsenal fly to Madrid to finalise Higuain deal Pg 43

INTERNATIONAL

Mali: Nigeria takes most credit for Pg 39 ceasefire

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Peoples Daily WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

News

Bayero’s wise leadership stopped extremists in Kano —Jonathan

By Abubakar Ibrahim

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L-R : President Nutrition Society of Nigeria , Prof.Ngozi Nnam, Corporate Communication and Public Affairs Manager, Nestle Nig. Plc, Dr. Samuel Adeniken; Team Member Devcoms network, Bolaji Adepegba and President, Nigeria Association of Science Journalist, Onche Odeh at the workshop organized for Journalists on ‘Adding share value to Nutrition’ in Lagos, recently. Photo:Olawale Rotimi

resident Goodluck Jonathan yesterday praised the wise, competent and diligent leadership of the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, which, he said, prevented extremists and insurgents from establishing firm roots in the state.

Speaking at an audience with a delegation from Alhaji Ado Bayero led by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and Dan Majen Kano, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, in Abuja, President Jonathan said that the nation owed the Emir a huge gratitude for his efforts which have greatly helped to prevent Kano’s large population of youth from falling under the influence of extremists.

The President restated his condemnation of the recent

terror attack on Alhaji Ado Bayero which, he said, was most reprehensible.

“We thank God Almighty for sparing his life. We will continue to pray that God should grant him many more years of fruitful service to the people of Kano and Nigeria,” President Jonathan told members of the delegation who were at the Presidential Villa.

The Governor of the Central Bank who spoke on behalf of the delegation, which also included Prince Ahmed Ado Bayero, Mallam Abdulqadir Mustafa and Mallam Munir Sanusi, said that Alhaji Ado Bayero greatly appreciated President Jonathan’s interest, support, goodwill and representation at all the major events organized to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his ascension to the throne.

Oil Theft: FG sets up c’ttees in 10 days

US ranks Nigeria low in fight against human trafficking O

By Abubakar Ibrahim

By Abubakar Ibrahim

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he government of the United States of America has accused Nigeria of not doing enough to stamp out human trafficking in its territory “but is making significant efforts to do so”.

This was contained in a June 19, 2013 Department of State’s annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report released by U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry in a public event in Washington, D.C. A press release issued by the US Embassy, Abuja yesterday states thus: “In the 2013 TIP Report, Nigeria remained in Tier 2 status because the Government of Nigeria does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but is making significant efforts to do so. The Government of Nigeria slightly increased its efforts to protect trafficking victims during the year.

“The National Agency for the Prohibition ofTrafficking in Persons and Other Related

Matters (NAPTIP) received a slight increase in funding in 2012.

NAPTIP made improvements in its anti-TIP efforts over the last reporting period, including a modest increase in anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts and the provision of specialized antitrafficking training for its officials.

NAPTIP’s Public Enlightenment Unit continued to conduct national and local programming through radio and print media in all regions of the country to raise awareness about trafficking, including warning about fraudulent recruitment for jobs abroad”.

However, the TIP Report does not measure the efforts of NAPTIP as an agency, but rather the Government of Nigeria as whole.

“Despite the notable efforts of NAPTIP, the government has not yet satisfied all the minimum standards set forth in the 2000 Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended (TVPA) to justify an upgrade to Tier 1. For example, the government has yet to pass draft legislation that would restrict the ability of judges to offer fines in lieu of prison time during

sentencing, and the Nigerian Police Force continues to experience difficulty identifying trafficking victims. Additionally, the Ministry of Labour did not make any new efforts to address labour trafficking during the reporting period, despite the identification of a significant number of labour trafficking victims”.

The US urged the Nigerian government to, among other remedial measures, ensure that NAPTIP received sufficient funding so as to enable it to investigate and prosecute government officials suspected of trafficking-related corruption and complicity in trafficking offenses; and to train police and immigration officials to identify trafficking victims.

“The U.S. Congress, through its passage of the TVPA, requires the Secretary of State to submit an annual Report to Congress with the goal of stimulating action and creating global partnerships in the fight against modern-day slavery.

The U.S. Government follows the TVPA and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women

and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (commonly known as the “Palermo Protocol”).

Nigeria signed the Palermo Protocol in 2000. The TVPA and the Palermo Protocol recognize that the crime of human trafficking includes obtaining or maintaining victims’labor or services (including in the “sex industry”) through force, fraud, or coercion, whether overt or through psychological manipulation.

“Countries assessed as fully complying with the “minimum standards for the elimination of severe forms of trafficking” set forth in the TVPA are classified as Tier 1. Countries assessed as not fully complying with the minimum standards, but making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those minimum standards are classified as Tier 2. Countries assessed as neither complying with the minimum standards nor making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance are classified as Tier 3”, the statement concluded.

We recovered Cynthia’s properties in killer’s house, witness told court From Matthew Irinoye, Lagos

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policeman attached to the Area E Police command, Festac Town Police station, Mr. Joseph Edo, yesterday told a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja, that the Police recovered some properties of late Cynthia Osokogu, who was murdered at Cosmilla

Hotel, Festac in July last year at the residence of Ezike, the alleged killer.

The recovered properties were tendered by the prosecution and admitted as exhibits before the court.

The exhibits include two international passports belonging to late Cynthia, her drivers licence,

a vibrator, jewelries, a pair of shoe and two bags.

Other properties recovered that were tendered and admitted as exhibits include a laptop, two phones, sun glasses and chain alleged to belong to the suspected killer.

The witness said that two of the defenders alleged of master minding the crime traded allegations on who

actually strangled Cynthia to death while being interrogated at the station Edo, who is the Investigative Police Officer in charge of the matter stated this while testifying before Justice Olabisi Akinlade. Justice Akinlade adjourned the matter till July 5, 2013 for continuation of trial.

il and gas industry stakeholders on Thursday night met with President Goodluck Jonathan to discuss the worrying problem of oil theft that is pruning revenue that would have accrued to the federal government.

The minister of petroleum resources, Mrs Diezani AllisonMadueke told State House correspondents at the close of the meeting that the group that met with the president yesterday would, in the next ten days break into committees to work out framework for tackling the problem.

“We are continuing with what has been done but we are becoming much more aggressive. We met with a number of the multinationals, we have come up with various pointers which must be addressed in an indepth manner over the next ten days”, the Minister said: She said the stakeholders would confront the menace of oil theft from many fronts because it was a complex matter which mutates in different sectors of the economy.

The meeting which started at about 8.30 pm and ended at about11 pm. In attendance were Vice President Muhammad Namadi Sambo, Akwa Ibom state Governor, Godswill Akpabio; Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan; Bayelsa State Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson as well as Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison Madueke; Minister of State for Finance, Yerima Lawan Ngama and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke.

Others were executives of major oil companies, service chiefs, officials of the National Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) and Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) attended the meeting.

News

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 22 - SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

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Paternity crisis kills farmer, two kids in Delta

By Prince Edward, Asaba

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n age-long paternity struggle in Asaba, Delta State last Tuesday claimed the lives of a middle-aged farmer and his two children the same day, while his wife eloped with the husband’s land documents and N200,000 cash found in his cupboard.

The incident said to have been orchestrated with voodoo act, has left residents of Umudiake quarters wondering what would have been responsible for the farmer and his children’s sudden death.

Sources said that the mind blowing scandal started ten years ago when the farmer name (withheld) a native of Umudiake allegedly lost his manhood after having two children and confided in his childhood friend who was said to have assured him of his services to make love to his wife.

Peoples Daily Weekend gathered that while the farmer’s failed erection problem persisted, he was said to have opened up to his wife who had been at war with him over his inability to meet his conjugal responsibilities and appealed to her in confidence of his friend’s intention to co-habit with her on his behalf.

This, insider said, did not go down well with the woman who reminded the husband of their oath and traditional taboo in the land of Umudiake; a protest that lasted one week after which she was placated to sleep with his friend.

The case of the farmer turned sour when the relationship between his wife, a 39 year old native of Oko community near Asaba and his friend produced pregnancy.

The woman was said to have been hooked in the affair after a short period of her hesitation, leaving neighbours around to spread all manners of rumours until she delivered a baby boy.

Trouble started six months after her delivery when the husband’s friend insisted the baby be christened in his house; a request that was refused by the farmer and

his wife resulting to open clash wherein the man allegedly used fetish voodoo to eliminate the farmer and his two children.

This threat, according to a source said, culminated in the arrest of the lover man by the police at the “A” Division Asaba where the matter was resolved after he was granted bail.

There, the man had narrated how he got hooked to his friend’s wife, adding that the child belongs to him.

Tragedy struck on a Saturday when the farmer returned home after the day’s job and complained of rashes all over his body, including those of his two kids, exempting the disputed son.

On a Monday, the situation had worsened as the farmer and the children were rushed to a private clinic around Nnebisi road where they gave up the ghost.

Speaking to Peoples Daily, the police spokesman in the state, ASP Lucky Uyabeme confirmed that the late farmer’s friend has been re-arrested for further investigation while efforts were being made to arrest the fleeing wife.

Minister drums support for road sector reforms

By Miriam Humbe

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he Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen has said that, there is the urgent need, more than ever before in the history of Nigeria, for a comprehensive reform of the roads sector, a panacea for sustainable road infrastructure in the country.

He said this at a forum of Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria Public Lecture on Road Sector Reform for Sustainable Roads Development held yesterday in Abuja.

Corruption: LG legislature suspends Clerk, councilor in Benue From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

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he Okpokwu Legislative Council in Benue State has suspended the Clerk of the House, Mr. James Onoja and supervisory councilor Mr. Emmanuel Ameh for displaying act of irresponsibility, indiscipline and encouraging corruption.

Mr. Onoja is accused of conspiring with Mr. Ameh who is the Supervisory Councilor for Education, Youths and Sports and demanded N10, 000. 00 from councilors before paying them furniture allowance.

It was learnt that one of the councilors Mr. Joseph Idoko

R-L: Representative of the Minister of Agriculture , Mr Alabi Sunday, President, FAHIMTA Women and Youth Development Initiative, Mrs. Maryam Garba and the President Women in Agriculture, Ejim Lovelyn, during the Civil Society Organizations Meeting on Food Security organized by Actionaid Nigeria, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo; Justin Imo-Owo

adamantly refused to heed to their demand, an action which infuriated the supervisory councillor who engaged him in a fight.

The report of the ugly incident was subsequently relayed to the House who summoned the supervisory Councilor but he refused to appear on instruction by the Clerk of the house.

Angered by the deliberate refusal of the supervisory councilor to appear before the House, the Majority Leader at a sitting of the house moved for the suspension of the duo which was seconded by the Chief Whip and upheld by the whole House.

Onolememen disclosed that the degree of government’s commitment to the road sector was unquantifiable, and that the nation cannot overcome its infrastructure development challenges unless necessary reforms were made to reposition the road sector and bring it to a level commensurate with its peers in the developed and emerging nations of the world.

The minister also reiterated that the nation’s huge investment in road infrastructure has not been met with commensurate maintenance and assets preservation and as a result,

the national road network is characterized by pavement and structural failures due to inadequate programme routine, periodic maintenance or total neglect.

“For the nation to move forward and achieve the required sustainable economy commensurate with Vision 20:2020, it needs to increase the total road network from the current 200,000 km to about 300,000 km by 2020. The paved network will need to increase from the current 65,000 km to over 200,000 by the year 2020. This requires the construction or paving

of an average 14,000 km of road every year requiring an estimated N600bn per year”, he said.

The Minister admonished female engineers to also play a crucial role in the new development towards the provision of a sustainable road infrastructure.

Earlier in her opening remark, President of the association, Engr.

Olayinka Ayoyemei Abdul said that female engineers would in their capacity as friends, companions, mothers and colleagues, do their best towards supporting the ministry in carrying out its mandate.

Gunmen rob Catholic priest, cart away N4m in Delta

By Prince Edward, Asaba

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five man gang said to have been terrorizing Burutu town in Delta State, at gunpoint robbed a resident Priest of the Catholic Church at the town and allegedly carted away estimated the sum of N4millon.

Police spokesman in the state, ASP Lucky Uyamebe who confirmed that the police were on the trail of the gunmen, disclosed that the Priest was robbed on his way to his base in Burutu after conducting a church harvest on Sunday at Obotebe town near Burutu.

He said that the Priest (name withheld) ran into the robbers who ambushed him around the church where the harvest was conducted,

*Police arrest 16 suspected rapists *Iron bender electrocuted adding that the priest together with those who accompanied him on the trip, were re-directed to a remote creek where they robbed them of the cash, handsets and other personal belongings.

The robbers our source said, abandoned the priest and his entourage after robbing them before stopping over in Burutu where they allegedly killed unidentified persons before they drove off in an ash-coloured 504 saloon car without a plate number.

ASP Uyabeme assured that the police will do everything possible to bring the hoodlums to book,

adding that in the last two weeks, the police recorded no fewer than sixteen suspected rapists arrested across various institutions in the state.

Meanwhile an iron bender identified as Paul (surname withheld) has been electrocuted in Asaba.

The victim was said to have gone to a building site with a colleague to work behind Uzoigwe primary school, Asaba when the incident occurred.

He was said to have mistakenly used an iron rod to touch an electric high tension wire and immediately was knocked down to death.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 22

News

Amrosh plans Dynamite Fashion show in Ilorin

Whistle gifts attract children to polio immunisation From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

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he Sarkin Maska and District Head of Funtua, Alhaji Idris Sambo Idris has disclosed that whistle gifts attract children more to polio vaccination than any form of immunization plus items.

The district head made the disclosure while receiving immunization plus items donated to the immunization programme in Funtua Local Government by the Katsina Rotary Club.

He said “ this whistle gifts is more effective in attracting children for the immunization exercise. Because the moment you give it to one child and he starts blowing it, others would quickly come out of their houses”.

Similarly, Idris advised the immunization managers and its facilitators to cover areas neighbouring the local government, as according to him, “ if you conduct immunization in your area, you have to keep watch on your neighbours to guard against spill over”.

He therefore thanked Rotary for the donation of the immunization plus material which he added, would go along way in encouraging the exercise, calling on other NGO’s to borrow a leaf from the Rotary initiative.

Donating the items,leader of the Rotary team, Sarkin Nufawan Katsina, Alhaji Yunusa Ndanusa noted that the organisation started the polio Immunization from Mexico before it was taken over by other organizations.

Ndanusa added that the immunization plus materials worth N500,000 were distributed to three local governments where high non-compliance was recorded, disclosing that the local governments are Katsina, Kankara and Funtua.

Apart from the distribution of the immunization plus materials, the club has its representatives on the ground monitoring the conduct of the exercise in all the 34 local governments in the state.

From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

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R-L: Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Alh. Ahmadu Giade, Director General NDLEA, Mr Femi Ajayi and the Assistant Comptroller General, Nigeria Prison Service, Husaina Bala Kori, during the Media briefing to mark the 2013 International day against drugs Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking, on Thursday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Decay of reading, writing culture affects North —Sam Nda-Isaiah From Ahmed Idris Birnin Kebbi

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he Chairman of Leadership Group, Mr. Sam Nda Isaiah has expressed concern over the decay in the average reading culture of Nigerians which he said, has affected publishing and also pose challenges for marketing in the country.

Mr. Sam made the remarks while presenting a paper on Mainstream Publishing and the Challenges of Marketing at the 2nd edition of Northern Nigeria Writers Summit with the theme ‘’Multi Media and Northern Nigeria Literature’’held at the Presidential Banquet Hall in Birnin Kebbi recently He said, the writing culture of most Nigerians especially in the North is worsening and therefore called for a change of attitude,

adding that situation where most Nigerians, especially the youth, do not imbibe reading culture, does not augur well for the development of the country.

The Chairman cited South Africa which has over 50 million people as having massive bookshops. However, he said, in most of these bookshops, one could see the Whites who are only 5 million in the country patronizing the libraries, rather than the Blacks. ‘’ There is an adage which says if you want to hide something for a blackman , hide it in the book, I hope that adage is not specifically designed for Nigeria or the North’’, he said.

He called on Nigerians especially Northerners, past Head of States, politicians , doctors and the youths to start writing books

and imbibe the reading culture because the economy has no future if the youths have no future.

Mr. Nda-Isaiah said that to address the challenges of publishing and distribution, then reading and writing habits of Nigerians must equally change so that the marketing and business channels of publishing would be improved.

In his keynote address at the occasion, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Mathew Hassan Kukah, called on the Northern academia and governments to make deliberate attempts at projecting literature in the region. He also urged the North to change its conservative culture of intolerance of what freedom means saying that literature was driven by imagination and guarantee of freedom of expression.

Northern group berates Abati over comment on Ribadu From. Mohammad Ibrahim, Kaduna

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orthern group under the aegis of Arewa Progressives have joined other Nigerians to criticise the Special Adviser to the President Goodluck Jonathan on media and publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, over his comment against the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

It would be recalled that Abati replied a comment made by

— SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Malam Nuhu Ribadu that Nigeria is a sinking ship, drawing reactions across the country but many viewed Abati’s reaction as too personal and harsh.

The northern group also described the comment as an attack against credible politicians in the country with a plan to ridicule and blackmail them.

National Chairman of the group, Comrade Saleh Bin-Ahmed stated this while addressing newsmen in Kaduna. He described the comment as a character assassination did not start with Ribadu and

it may not end with him.

“The youth therefore find it expedient to call on the presidency and all those with hands in this undemocratic move to retrace their steps immediately.

“Decorum and fairness should be the rule in all spheres including politics. This is just part of the larger sinister moves by some elements within the presidency to blackmail credible politicians that they view as capable of dislodging the president come 2015. “ The former EFCC boss only exercised his right to free speech

as guaranteed by the constitution of the country and throughout Ribadu’s speech, he did not mention the name of Abati’s boss. It is pertinent to note that in Ribadu’s 325 words speech delivered at ABU, there was no where the names of Abati’s principal appeared or even close reference to him,” he said.

The northern youth further viewed Abati’s comment as an assault on freedom of speech and association, and extension of the government’s larger agenda to intimidate credible opposition and gag everybody to silence.

mrosh Communication Limited, is planning to hold Dynamite Fashion Show with 13 Fashion designers from Abuja,Lagos and Kwara States ready to display traditional and cultural attires.

The firm, which is organising the show for the first time in Ilorin, will kick off on Sunday, June 30,2013 with the display of traditional dress like Ankara, Ginni,Aso-Oke, and other varieties which could be turn to shirts and trousers, gowns and suits.

The Head of TCT and Human Capital Development of Amrosh ,Mr Abiola Hameed who disclosed this during the press briefing held at Royal Shekinnah Hotel, said there are many ways youth could dress morally without exposing their bodies.

“As civilisation continues to evolve globally, the idea of redefining cultures which is our ways of life, has continued to be at the top. No doubt, there has been a serious conflict between the need to adopt civilisation without loosing cultural values at the same time.

“In view of globalisation and civilisation, every society has strived to ensure their culture is sustained. It is therefore acceptable that anyone who loses his culture has lost his identity.”

Hameed noted that fashion was as old as life itself, stressing that history has shown that the greatest economies of modern world were pivoted on effective and comprehensive homegrown small and medium scale enterprises in the various aspects of the people’s lives.

He added that the show would metamorphose into a weekly show in collaboration with the Kwara State Ministries of Woman Affairs, Social Development, Culture and Tourism.

Hameed also said the fashion show would be competing with Paris Fashion Week, Milan Fashion Week, London Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week in United States when the show fully received total support and sponsored by people.

A representative of Ministry of Women Affairs, Mrs. S.G Adebayo who described the show as a good development, said the unnecessary headache most youth give their parents on indecent dressing, would be corrected.

Adebayo who lamented the modes of dressing of Nigerian youth today, urged stakeholders to partner with Amrosh communication in promoting local and traditional dress to save the society from social immorality.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23W, JUNE, 2013

Crime Cycle

pmlcrimecycle@gmail.com 08138559513 (SMS only)

Businesswoman faces N13.5m fraud

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Four persons arrested and paraded by Enforcement team of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), for allegedly engaging in bag snatching along the Abuja national mosque area, in the central business district of the FCT, recently. Photo: Stanley Onyekwere

0-year-old businesswoman, Bilikisu Akangbe, was docked at a Tinubu Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, for allegedly defrauding traders of N13.5 million.

Akangbe, a.k.a, “Iya Afeez”, who resides at Sangotedo in Eti-Osa council area, is facing a 24-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing and obtaining money by false pretences.

The prosecutor, Insp. Ignatius Okeke, told the court that the accused committed the offences, with others still at large, at Sangotedo, sometime between August 2012 and May this year.

According to him, Akangbe conspired with others to collect bags of rice and gallons of groundnut oil from some traders, under the pretext of supplying

some hotels the items.

“The traders gave her the items on the promise that she would pay up immediately the hotels defrayed the cost; and Akangbe did not supply any hotel the items, but instead, she sold the items and appropriated the money.

“The accused was later arrested in Ibadan, Oyo, by the police,’’ he said.

Okeke said the offences contravened Sections 278, 285, 313, 323 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The accused pleaded innocence of the offences and was granted bail in the sum of N2 million, with a surety in like sum.

The Magistrate, Mrs Y. R. Pinheiro, adjourned the case to June 25 for trial.(NAN)

Pantami Magistrates’ Court in Gombe State has sentenced a driver, Usman Abubakar, 22, to six months imprisonment for dangerous driving.

The convict was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to the offence and begged for leniency.

The Chief Magistrate, Alhaji Bello Sheriff, however, gave him an option of N3, 000 fine.

The Police prosecutor, Insp.

Idi Ibrahim, had told the court that Abubakar of Liji Quarters Area, Yamaltu/Deba Local Government committed the

offence on June 18, at about 8:00 a.m.

He said that the convict engaged in dangerous driving of a water truck with registration number XE 197 Gombe on Biu road.

He said the convict was arrested by the Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) for also driving without good pointer, fire extinguisher, defective rear light, head lamp and wiper.

According to him, the offences were contrary to sections 22, 54 and 57 of Road Traffic Regulation. (NAN)

Court remands school Driver jailed six months proprietor for raping for dangerous driving 11-year-old pupil A

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n Ado-Ekiti Chief Magistrates’ Court has remanded a school proprietor, Tunde Ibitoye, in custody for allegedly raping an 11-year-old girl.

The Police Prosecutor, Mr Samuel Onwuchekwe, told the court that the accused committed the offence on June 10 at Fayemi New Market, Agric-Olope Road, Ado-Ekiti.

He alleged that the accused on the said date had carnal

knowledge of the minor.

Onwuchekwe said that the offence contravened Sections 218 of the Criminal Code Cap C 16, Laws of Ekiti State.

The plea of the accused was not taken, while his Counsel, Mr Emmanuel Adedeji, prayed the court to grant bail to the accused on liberal terms.

The prosecutor, however, opposed the bail application of the defence counsel, saying

that the duplicate case file would be sent to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice.

Chief Magistrate Richard Adegoke ordered that the accused should be remanded in police custody.

He said that the duplicate case file should be sent to the office of the DPP for legal advice and adjourned the case to June 26 for further hearing. (NAN)

Homicide: Policeman testifies how victim died of cable wire wound

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nsp. Oboli Azuka, a witness in a murder trial, told a Gwagwalada High Court that the victim accused of witchcraft allegedly collapsed and died after being thrashed by three men with a cable wire.

The accused persons are: Paul Chindo, 38, Friday Vongchir, 42, and Luka Kure, 36, all of Masaka, Ado, FCT. They were arraigned on a two-count charge of joint act and culpable homicide.

At the resumed trial, Azuka told the court that he was informed that the victim, Selina Timothy, 38, was hit with a wood on the head.

He said that she was also thrashed with a cable wire,

which led to her death in October 2008.

Azuka told the court that he was informed of the incident by the victim’s neighbours.

He said during investigation it was discovered that the victim was accused of witchcraft and was alleged to have initiated four of Vongchir’s children.

“In my findings, I discovered that one Paul Ochede, in company of Vongchir, took the victim to a church in Mararaba, Nasarawa State, for prayers to cast out the spirit of witchcraft in her.

“On arriving the victim’s residence at Lugbe, Vongchir’s four children used a wood to hit her on the head.

“A cable wire was used to thrash her which made her to collapse and eventually led to her death.

“She was confirmed dead at the University Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, by a doctor,’’ he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), recalls that the accused persons were arraigned on Oct. 18, 2008, for allegedly killing Timothy, who was resident at Lugbe.

The accused persons had pleaded not guilty to the charges which the prosecution counsel, Mr Paul Ashiuweke, said contravened Sections 97 and 221 of the Penal Code.

(NAN)

Three men arraigned over burglary, theft

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hree men, Chidi Okeke, Chukwuma Onyebuchi, and Francis Awieh, were arraigned by the Police before an Apapa Chief Magistrates’ Court, in Lagos, for alleged theft.

All the three accused persons, allegedly broken into a shop and stole items worth N214,000, were brought before an Apapa Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos.

Okeke, 26, Onyebuchi, 20 and Awieh, 20, of Maza Maza Area of Lagos, are facing a three-count charge of conspiracy, burglary and stealing.

The prosecutor, Insp. Soji Ojaokomo, told the court that the accused conspired with others, still at large, to steal two 25 liters of diesel and a Blackberry cell phone.

Ojaokomo puts the value of the diesel at N10, 000, and the cell phone at N20, 000.

The prosecutor also said that

the accused stole N184, 000 cash from a safe, after they broke into the shop.

He said that the offences were committed on May 15 at 9.30 p.m., at Shop B2, Waterside Market, off Badagry dual carriageway, Lagos.

Ojaokomo said the accused were, however, apprehended by the vigilante group in the area, and handed over to the police.

He said the offences contravened the provisions of Sections 285, 304 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The men, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Oluyemisi Adelaja, granted each of them bail in the sum of N50, 000 with one surety each in like sum, before she adjourned the case to June 24 for further hearing.

(NAN)

Issues Who killed WAMCO’s industrious sales manager?

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 - SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

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From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

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he circumstance that led to the death of their son Lukman who was murdered in a gruesome manner on June 1, 2013 is still a mystery and big shock to the Rasaki family.

This is just as they have continued to wonder what offence Lukman may have committed to be killed in such a way.

The late Lukman was until his death Benue State Area Sales Manager for West Africa Milk Company, WAMCO PLC, a Lagosbased dairy foods company. He was posted to the State in 2011 from Osogbo Regional Area Office of the Company.

Late Lukman, 49, hailed from Iwo Town, Osun State. His parents are small scale farmers which accounted for his humble beginning in life.

He studied History from University of Ilorin where he bagged 2nd Class Upper . After his NYSC, he spiritedly sought to join the Nigerian Navy/Air force twice but was denied enlistment despite his adjudged excellent performance in the interviews because he had no senior officer in the Nigerian Army to recommend him to higher authorities. He also attempted joining the Nigeria Police but fate also denied him again because of lack of connection.

After feeling frustrated for being denied the profession he so much admired, Late Lukman came to Lagos in 2000 in search of a job. It was while he was roaming the street of Lagos from his Akute residence, Ogun State one day that he walked into the premises of WAMCO Office in Ogba, Lagos, requesting for employment. After persistent visits, he was offered the job as a casual labourer working with his WAEC school certificate.

The young Lukman was determined to succeed and conquer poverty and so he worked diligently to the admiration of fellow casual workers some of whom did not even know that he was a Degree holder. His dedication to duty caught the admiration of his supervisors and senior managers in the company.

After about two years as a casual labourer, the opportunity came for him to write the examination for the post of a Sales Representative in the Company. He passed the examination and the interview excellently. Hitherto, he had already registered and passed the Nigerian Institute of Marketing, NIMARK Examination during his days as a casual worker.

As a Sales Representatives in the South West States, Mr. Lukman consistently beat sales forecast and targets assigned

to his area. He impressed the Management with increasing sales returns each time and become a star among his peers.

He was noted for diligently executing marketing tasks and brought innovations into the sales force of the company. All these accounted for his speedy promotion to the post of Areas Sales Manager in a short period of time. Lukman was posted to Benue State Area Office in 2011 to turnaround the dwindling fortune of the Company in the area which he had skillfully improved significantly before his untimely death.

On May 30, two days before he was assassinated, he had told his family and friends that he would be coming to Ibadan to meet them as he does every month.

But on Friday, he called to tell his family that he had cancelled his trip and would be coming home a week later because of urgent official assignment he had to do that weekend. This he never lived to fulfill.

In the evening of Saturday, June 1, he was said to have told one of his neighbours he wanted to “go out and get something”.

He drove out but was never seen alive.

Curious about his whereabout for more than three days, his neighbours reported to the police who came and broke into his apartment and found the dead body with his hands and feet tied and a chemical suspected to be acid poured into his mouth.

Late Lukman was said to be a real gentleman, transparent and compassionate and loved by many. Little wonder then that the questions on the lips of people who knew with him have been, why and who killed this promising man?

Though from Muslim background, late Lukman converted to Christianity in the mid 80s and was a member of Redeemed Christian Church, Owode, Apata, Ibadan. He was buried on Saturday, June 8 in his residence, Owode, Apata, Ibadan.

His Parish Pastor, Mr. Jesutoye, described Late Lukman as a humble, gentleman, quiet and unassuming who could not hurt anyone.

He is survived by five children, siblings and aged parents.

His farther, Pa Ishola Rasaki, now in his 80s is yet to come to terms with the death of his first son whom he described as the apple of his eyes. He has continued to ask why somebody would or people cause him heavy heartache in his old age.

The widow, Mrs. Hannah Lukman, it was learnt, has remained pensive and unable to sleep since the sad incident.

The family has commended

Late Lukman, was allegedly fed with acid the Nigeria Police for their efforts so far in apprehending the suspected hired killers and hoped that justice will be done speedily.

“

On Tuesday June 18,2013, the Benue State Police command paraded four persons- Philip David, Owoicho Egwu, Ochai

Curious about his whereabout for more than three days, his neighbours reported to the police who came and broke into his apartment and found the dead body with his hands and feet tied and a chemical suspected to be acid poured into his mouth.

Obeh and Osugo Ezekiel who are suspected to have murdered Lukman. They also displayed the Toyota Camry car stolen by the bandits.

One of the suspects, Philip David denied that they murdered Lukman, maintaining that they only tied him and took away some of his belongings.

While Ochai Obeh who confessed to being a taxi driver in Abuja, said he was in the process of selling the car when he was picked by the police.

The police said the culprits will soon be charged to court after thorough investigation may have been concluded.

It is hoped that justice will prevail at the end and the murderers be made to pay for their crime.

News Feature

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 22 - SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

How Immigration Officer burned 12 year old maid with pressing iron in Ilorin From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

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or 12 years old Favour Emmanuel, life with her guardian was hell and worthy of anything but pains and sorry.

She was noticed by neighbours who alerted Ministry of Women Affairs which swung into action and rescued her from the torments she received daily.

Sources informed Peoples Daily Weekend that it was the cries and shouts of the poor girl that attracted close neighbours who prevailed on the Mr. and Mrs. Sunday Afolayan to show mercy without any fruitful outcome.

When it was certain that the couple did not repent from maltreating the poor girl daily, they approached the Ministry of Woman Affairs and the Kwara State Police Command who swung into action and rescued the child maid from further ill-treatment.

Both Kwara State police command and the Ministry of Women Affairs are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the case of an Immigration Officer, Mr. Yemi Sunday Afolayan, who allegedly inflicted several bodily injuries on a 12-year-old girl, Favour Emmanuel, with hot pressing iron after tying her up and beating her.

Narrating her ordeal, Favour said that Afolayan asked her to prepare rice but when the food was not ready on time, he first beat her mercilessly and later tied her up and used an electric pressing iron to inflict all the injuries on her body.

Corroborating the claims of the little girl, neighbours who spoke under condition of anonymity said that the manner in which the girl was treated is far from human but as they were not party to her engagement into the house, they cannot challenge the couple.

However, when a neighbour could no longer bear the gory manner of the couple towards the girl, a report about it was made to

the ministry of women affairs.

The Director of Child Development, Kwara State Ministry of Women Affairs, Mrs. Lucy Adeniyi, confirmed that the incident was reported to the Ministry by a neighbour of the couple adding that Favour sustained serious injuries on her neck and foot, adding that she was in a critical condition as her foot and some part of her neck were burnt and infected.

She said that the victim requires immediate medical attention and has been taken to the state Civil Service Hospital, Ilorin.

Reacting to the charges of child abuse, the Immigration Officer and father of five, Mr. Afolayan denied that Favour is their househelp but said the couple got her from her mother who hails from the Eastern part of the country.

“Favour has been with us and is not a househelp. We got Favour from her mother and she is from the Eastern part of the country.

She has been a naughty person and the truth is always the truth.

As I’m talking to you now, it is a very painful thing because I hate all this type of things. I regret ever setting my eye on Favour or even ever letting her step into my house.”

The suspect further explained: “She said when she was running out of the house, maybe she got it before she got here, may be on the street.

I told you I’m a father myself and I wouldn’t do that to any child.

I wanted to scold her where she was ironing and she ran out but I got burnt on my left thigh. I feel that was a mistake by her, maybe when she was running out but I didn’t burn her with iron.”

Investigations revealed that Favour’s guardian and wife of the immigration officer popularly known as Iya Beji, is a trader who sells frozen foods and grains along Basin Road.

Meanwhile, Favour Emmanuel it was learnt, is currently at the Children Reception Centre,

Gaa Akanbi, owned by the Kwara State Government.

The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Fabode Olufemi, who confirmed the incident said a warrant of arrest had been issued on the suspects.

Olufemi added that the police would do everything possible to bring the culprits to justice.

In her reaction, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Comfort Afolayan, said the Ministry reported the case at the anti-child trafficking department, A Division of the police which made arrest.

“The culprit was arrested. The child is on our custody where we are taking care of her and we will take her back to her family.The girl was taken to a child centre at Gaa Akanbi. As a mother, not even as the Commissioner for Women and Social Affair, the act is very horrible. As a mother who has gone through the process of child bearing, you cannot see that situation and keep quiet. Such a treatment is not acceptable. The Ministry will not relent on its efforts in protecting the rights of these children.

“We have been embarking on sensitization and enlightenment programme on child abuse and child labour, even after all these efforts, people are still involving in such practices. As a result of this experience which we have seen again, we will continue to persuade our people on the dangers of exposing our children who are the pillars of tomorrow for maltreatment.

“We are appealing to guardians, elders and even parents that they should see children as a gift from God and pillars of this nation. Any child that is maltreated will have malice in her. We appeal to our parents and guardians to treat our children the way they would want their children to be treated. The girl is from Anambra but the mother resides in Lagos.”..

“

Narrating her ordeal, Favour said that Afolayan asked her to prepare rice but when the food was not ready on time, he first beat her mercilessly and later tied her up and used an electric pressing iron to inflict all the injuries on her body.

Minister for Women Affairs, Haj. Zainab Maina

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 22 - SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Tukur: A cat with nine lives

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10 &11

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 22 - SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

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Bamanga: A cat with nine lives

By Lawrence Olaoye

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hat the National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur could retain his position after so much heat had been generated for his removal has become a lesson in the way the ruling party operates.

Although his election was not faulted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) report, Tukur has been in the eye of the storm these few days over his alleged high handedness in running the party.

The clamor for his removal as the Chairman of the party got to a feverish point recently when his leadership resolved to suspend the governors of Rivers and Sokoto states, Rotimi Amaechi and Aliyu Matagakarda Wamakko respectively for alleged anti party activities. The Sokoto state governor openly called for his removal on the ground of incompetence just as he alleged that Tukur was out to run the party aground. This position was adumbrated further by the Sokoto state governor who attributed the suspension of the governors to error of misjudgment of the part of the PDP helmsman.

A day to the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, where it was variously speculated that Tukur would be forced to resign, a group known as the PDP Stakeholders Forum in a petition forwarded to the party’s NEC had chronicled the National Chairman’s sins to include “breach of PDP constitution, ineligibility, incompetence, non-membership of the PDP and carrying out illegal party activities.”

The Forum in the petition signed by its Chairman, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, stated “ Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, at the point of his nomination for election as National Chairman was never a registered member of not less than 2 years since his expulsion from the party in 2001 , which expulsion has not been lifted by the PDP or set aside by a court of law.” According to him, this contravened the provisions of Article 17 (2)(g) of the PDP constitution 2009, now Section 49(4) of PDP constitution 2012 (as amended).

He added that the PDP National Chairman contravened the provision of Section 12(74) of the party’s constitution by refusing to summon the NEC meeting quarterly. He therefore urged the NEC at its meeting today to invoke Section 21(7) and 21(1) to either suspend, remove or expel Tukur.

The Forum in another petition addressed to the PDP NEC also alleged an illegal alteration of certain clauses in the party’s amended constitution just as he warned that the body should resist any attempt to run the party with interim committee. The Forum urged the NEC to immediately set machinery for a National Convention to elect new NWC officials, failure which it threatened to go to court for redress.

Political observers equally noted that the emergence of the National Chairman was dotted by controversy as his candidature was perceived as

Bamanga Tukur

an imposition on stakeholders from his North East zone. Tukur, who was generally perceived as having the backing of the authorities, was rejected by stakeholders at their Bauchi caucus meeting by voting in favour of Dr. Musa Babayo, the then Acting National Secretary of the party.

In spite of the zone’s opposition to his candidature, Tukur emerged as the unopposed PDP National Chairman after those who contested against him, including Babayo, had been asked to step down. Providence, surely accounted for his election as other officials who were returned unopposed were merely affirmed and not voted. The simple mistake of mere affirmation has finally swept the other officials away, paving the way for the Special Convention slated for July 20th in Abuja.

So many reasons have been adduced to Tukur’s survival of the removal plot but the most cogent was the fact that President Goodluck Jonathan, who had made up his mind for a second term, preferred to prosecute the election with the National Chairman, who is adjudged to be independent minded and unwavering at the face of intimidations expected from some governors on the platform of the party ahead of 2015 Presidential election.

It was reasoned that dropping Tukur who has been useful in the Jonathan’s return script would affect the game plan. Again, the party strategists posit that retaining other members of the NWC whose election has been tinted with irregularities according to INEC’s report, would cast a shadow of illegalities on any decision taken by the

body and this could throw a spanner into the works of Jonathan second term bid.

By and large, Tukur’s survival of the removal plot is attributable to the enigmatic stakeholders in the PDP who are largely unpredictable. But to an an unwary political watcher, the outward spirit of conviviality exhibited by the party men would mean that the war was over in the party. Close examination of the happenings in the party ahead of the NEC indicated that the bone of contention, which compelled the PDP leadership to convene the NEC meeting in the first place, is yet to be resolved.

But for the expected resignation of some of the sixteen members of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) which took place at the meeting and the vote of confidence passed on President Goodluck Jonathan, nothing particularly untoward happened at the meeting.

Considering the palpable tension that preceded the meeting, with several speculations making the rounds that Tukur had been mandated to resign his position, the peaceful manner in which the NWC meeting held could better be described as the anti-climax.

Although the leadership of the party admitted that there are crises in the ruling party requiring its urgent attention, the simplistic way these challenges are being dismissed as family affair is what is making people to be curious about how the party would manage to wriggle itself out of the crises without ruffling some feathers.

Tukur himself admitted there are challenges in the party when in his speech he admonished “In our efforts to achieve success, we must rededicate our genuine political beliefs, change our attitudes and identify our political needs. These good values cannot be realized without accepting the supremacy of the party constitution as key instrument that ensures progress, stability and internal discipline.

We must strengthen our democracy through determination not personalization, correction not manipulation, collectivism not individualism and sacrifice not disservice. If these pronouncements are substantial, then, the party should quickly take urgent steps to achieve higher levels at least by coming to terms with democratic norms and practices.”

Tukur lamented that stakeholders in the party have refused to fund it, raising the suspicion that some of the political office holders, this time governors on the platform of the party, may have resolved not to fund the party so that his leadership could fail. It is already in the public domain that the National Chairman has been single handedly financing the bulk of the party’s expenses since his inauguration.

With the assurances that the crisis of funding had been resolved, it remained to be seen whether the PDP

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 22 - SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

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PDP Chairman, Bamanga Tukur

Rivers state Governor , Rotimi Amaechi

Gov. Jonah D. Jang, Plateau state

Gov. Rabiu M. Kwankwaso of Kano state

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo

President Goodluck Jonathan

Bamanga: A cat with nine lives

governors, under the aegis of the PDP Governors Forum (PDPGF), chaired by the Akwa-Ibom state governor, Barrister Godswill Akpabio, would now begin to fund the party so that the NWC could run the secretariat smoothly.

However, with Tukur’s insistence on party supremacy and discipline, which was at the heart of several confrontations his leadership has been having with state governors,

there seems to be no end yet as he sounded unapologetic over his leadership’s resolve to suspend the Rivers state governor, Rotimi Amaechi and his Sokoto counterpart, Dr. Aliyu Matagakarda Wamakko.

Although Wamakko’s suspension had been lifted, Amaechi is still suffering under the weight of the sanction because he had gone to court to challenge the punishment meted out to him.

The National Chairman has left

nobody in doubt that he could not only bark but would bite. From his body language and his uncompromising posture so far, stakeholders in the party must learn to live by Tukur’s leadership and fall into line or face the consequences.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the PDPGF has indicated that the Forum may exploit the possibility of out of court settlement with the Rivers state governor.

With the assurance of reconciliation among the governors by the Chairman

of the PDPGF and the possibility of returning the party to the path of stability, there are indications that some of the aggrieved members of the party may once again rally round Tukur in his quest to run the party to success ahead of the 2015 general election. For now, the National Chairman has survived this putsch and he can now enjoy his peace, at least in the interim until the next crisis, because the PDP would always have them aplenty.

Page 12

Special Report

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

How Niger Republic restored power to Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Niger Recently, High grid lines supplying power to four states in Nigeria and the neighbouring Niger Republic collapsed thereby retarding socio-economic life for days in the affected areas.

Our correspondent AHMED IDRIS chronicles the nature of reaction by both Nigeria and Niger to the tragedy.

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arely two months after business activities in Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara States, as well as some parts of Niger state and Niger Republic were paralyzed as a result of the collapse of high tension towers in Mayahma Local government area of Kebbi state which caused power outage, electricity has been restored once again.

People’s Daily Weekend recalled that last month, three high tension towers collapsed as a result of heavy windstorm, thereby shutting down power supply to four states in Nigeria and neighbouring Niger Republic.

Narrating the incident to our correspondent while visiting the crash site, Engr. Ayodele who is responsible for evacuation of bulk power of 330,000 volts from Kainji power station, explained reasons for the power outage being experienced in some states and Niger republic. ‘’The power outage being experienced for days in the states and Niger Republic was caused as a result of a violent storm last month which affected three high tension towers along Maiyama that carries power from Kainji to Kebbi center.

The violent storm made the towers to collapse and even killed two

Niger Republic officials at work

people and destroyed a number of houses in the area”, he said, adding that the incident was “reported by the villagers to the man in charge of the service center’’. ‘’The villagers told one service center man at Maiyama that they saw three big things fell to the ground.

This has never happened in the last 46 years since light was brought to Birnin Kebbi in 1976 ‘’, the manager said.

Soon after he saw the problem, Engr. Ayodele said he reported the matter to Abuja and a team comprising the General Manger Maintenance and Field Services with some experts came to assess the problem and took all the data.

Reacting to the power shutdown in a press release issued by Alhaji Abubakar Dakingari, the chief press secretary, Governor Saidu Usman Dakingari said he visited the scene and had sent a government delegation led by the Commissioner for Water Resources Alhaji Abdulahi Magaji Bunza to the Federal Ministry of Power with a view to finding lasting solution and immediate restoration of power supply to the state.

In the statement, the Kebbi state government expressed sympathy over the suffering being faced by the people of Kebbi state, urging them to

be patient while efforts is under way to ensure the steady power in the state.

He explained that a federal team of experts has already inspected the damaged power tower adding that all necessary measures have been taken to curtail the hardship through provision of water.

He then appealed for the understanding, endurance and perseverance over the outage saying that heavy windstorm damaged three electric towers connecting hightension wires along Rafin Guzuma in Maiyama Local government area of the state.

However, after the delegation’s visit to the Federal Government, words reached newsmen in the state that the Minister of Power will be coming to see the level of damages done but throughout the completion and restoration of the temporary power by the Niger Republic Government, the Minister did not visit the place to assess the level of damage.

When Peoples Daily Weekend visited the scene three weeks after and spoke with some of the villagers said only the Niger Republic Government is working.“You can see their cars here and all the cables and the poles were brought by the Niger Republic. Infact,

they brought the idea of diverting light temporarily to the place pending when the Nigerian Government will complete their own side”.

Speaking to Niger Republic’s Executive Director, Generation and Transmission (NIGELEC) Mr. Mailele Djibril Amadoo, he expressed dismay over the incident saying that they have done their own part adding that they have to take a drastic measure to restore power to their country, ‘’ I don’t know what is happen to the your people’’ he said.

Reacting to the allegation on behalf of the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo , the Managing Director, Electricity and Distribution, Kaduna, Mallam Mohammed Idris says that it was not true. “We share the work, Niger people were at the upper side while the Nigerians were on the other side”.

The MD who also denied reports in some of the national dailies which accused the Nigerian Government of not showing concern about the recent power outage that affected Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, some parts of Niger state and Niger Republic.

“Projects is going on and it is a joint project between the two countries’’, he said. ‘’The Minister is not happy with the publication, that is why he sent us and we went round the place to see by ourselves that the Nigerian Government is more concerned than any other country. Hope you people have seen the truth of the matter’’, he said to newsmen.

Also speaking to Peoples Daily Weekend on the situation of thing, General Manager Transmission of the Power Holding company of Nigeria (PHCN) Abuja, Dr. Abubakar Atiku Tambuwal, said that following the additional collapse of another high tension towers yesterday, they are appealing to consumers of the affected states to give them another three more three days to restore power back to them.

He also expressed dismay over the collapse of one more tower, bringing it to four, adding that last month, only three towers were affected. Adding that they are almost through with the provision of temporary power pending the actualization of the one month contract agreement signed with the company handling the job.

“We need two or three more days

again, people should be patient with us as four towers are affected now ’’, he said. ‘’They have restored electricity back to Kebbi and Niger Republic by borrowing 132,000.00 volts via Kaduna, Zaria, Gusau, Funtua and Talata Mafara line in order to cushion the effect of hardship to people, even through load shedding, so that everybody can benefit with two, two hours service’’ he added.

He then assured farmers whose farmlands were affected by the incident, that the Federal Government will compensate them adding that their names have been given to the authorities through their village heads.

However, an of the elite in the village, Mallam Buhari Usman lamented that they were promised compensation but up till now nothing has been paid even when the temporary work has been finished adding that if not because the incident affected Niger Republic, the Nigeria government would not have been serious enough‘’. I’m telling you, you can see their poles [Niger Republic] and see the Nigerian type.

Theirs is more qualitative than ours’’ he said.

Minister of Power, Prof.

Chinedu Ositadinma Nebo

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 22 - SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

PAGE 13

Feature FCC: Prof. Abdulraheem’s second term tears Saraki, Emirate apart From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

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he conflict between the former Governor of Kwara State, Dr. Bukola Saraki, now a senator representing Kwara Central Senatorial district and former Vice-Chancellor of University of Ilorin, Prof. Shuiab Oba Abdulraheem has continued to divide the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on one hand and the Emirate in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital on the other.

The rift, according to sources emanated from allegations leveled against Prof Abdulraheem that he denied federal job slots to PDP members. He was also allegedly not romancing with PDP big wigs including Dr. Bukola Saraki especially for refusing to brief him on activities at the Federal Character Commission(FCC).

Peoples Daily Weekend gathered that while a caucus meeting was going on at the late Waziri of Ilorin, Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki’s great house popularly known as “IleArugbo” (House of the Aged) immediately after his death, Prof. Abdulraheem walked in and was insulted by Sarakis who called him by his name instead of due respect accorded elders according to African and Yoruba culture.

Despite the insult, sources informed our correspondent that the allegations were repeated before the Chairman of FCC by Dr. Saraki stressing that his action was reducing the fortunes of PDP members in Kwara State.

Prof. Abdulraheem, according to one of the kitchen caucus members of Sarakis, explained that all job slots at the FCC cannot be diverted to Ilorin alone because it would negate equal rights he and the Commission stand for. “ Before everybody eyes, Professor told Saraki that it was his late father that asked him to be coming to the great house. He also told him that all the allegations leveled against him were not true because eight slots of federal job were given to Alhaji Cook Olodo, Alhaji Bibire Ajape each and they were bigwigs of PDP in Kwara State. He also told Saraki that those who mortgaged Kwara State’s fortunes in the past are with him and have started doing the same for the future.

He warned Saraki at the meeting that he needs to be careful about those around him so that they would not mislead him. His response according sources, was not denied by these members. Rather, Olodo stood up to confront Prof that he could not be here to curse them and that the Sarakis should remove him from the Commission”, the source said.

It was further gathered that at the meeting, tension was high up to confrontation among the aggrieved members. Thereafter Prof. Abdulraheem walked out from the meeting.

Sources close to him informed our correspondent that Saraki directed Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed to write a letter to the Presidency recommending that if Kwara State would retain the FCC chairmanship slot, they would present another candidate, Sen. Ahmed Muhammed, from Kwara North senatorial district. The former Senator was nominated against Prof. Abdulraheem. A copy of the letter, it was gathered, was made available to a first class traditional ruler in the state.

It was learnt that Kwara State Governor,Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed’s letter to SGF, Sen. Pius Anyim notified him of two nominees for federal agencies appointment.

The letter dated 15th February, 2013, read thus: “my dear brother, I submit the underlisted names to you for consideration. 1-Senator Mohammed Ahmed as Chairman, Federal Character Commission(FCC). 2-Mansumoh T. Mamman for Director General, Nigeria Pension Commission(Pencom). Please find attached, the resume of those mentioned above attached for reference”.

The Governor’s letter submitted to Presidency however aggravated the tension.

As the conflict between the duo continued, tension among the people of Ilorin Emirate

Prof. Shuiab Oba Abdulraheem deepened. Few youth associations who see Prof. Abdulraheem as a leader, representing justice and equity, are planning to stage a peaceful protest against the plot to remove Prof Abdulraheem. However, when Prof Abdulraheem got wing of this, sources informed our correspondent that he appealed for calm and insisted that no protest should be held because he believes in God and the prayers people offer for him.

Peoples Daily Weekend gathered that Dr. Bukola Saraki, who see Prof Abdulraheem as a rebel is now waiting for him at the Senate which has power to confirm his second term in office as FCC Chairman.

Saraki, who is believed to have dealt with the former Minister of Environment, Hajia Alimot Tayo Alao, and Transport Minister Bio Ibrahim, by recalling and replacing them with his loyalists, may be bidding his time for the right moment against Prof. Abdulraheem.

Reacting to this development, the Kwara State Coordinator of PDP Patriotic Movement for United Nigeria Alhaji Alaka Moshood, in statement made available to our correspondent, stated thus: “Our attention has been drawn to a letter by a coalition of Concerned Youth Organisations in Kwara State, threatening mass protest against the opposition of the Senator Bukola Saraki led PDP to President Jonathan’s re-appointment of Professor Shuaib Oba Abdulraheem, OFR,Talba of Ilorin as Chairman of the Federal Character Commission. After consultation with various Stakeholders, we have come to the conclusion that the threat is a mere reflection of the frustrations among the people. “ We wish to re-assure the general public that the generality of the youth in Kwara State are peaceful and peace lovers. We therefore appeal for calm and restrain that no breach of peace is intended. But we also appeal to the National Headquarters of PDP and the Senate that any attempt to block the erudite Professor’s re-appointment is contrary to the wishes of our people.”

The Kwara State Chairman of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) Alh. Suleiman Buhari in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Ilorin said both parties have to settle their difference because if the Chairmanship slot of the FCC slip away from Kwara State, it would not be a good omen for the state.

Buhari who commended the former Vice-

Dr. Bukola Saraki Chancellor of University of Ilorin on his performance at the Institution urged the State Government not oppose his second term in office as the Chairman of the Commission.

The Kwara Patriot, a group of Professionals, businessmen and women, media practitioners and lecturers, in a statement signed by its President, Mr. Isiaka Zubair and Mr. Alapata Lukman, Secretary, recalled a report titled “ Senate Summons FCC Chief for Screening” in “The Nation” Newspaper of Thursday, June 13,2013 and said: “ We, the “Kwara Patriot” (a group of Professionals,business men and women, media practitioners and lecturers)who are trustees and beneficiaries of Prof Oba’s benevolence as far back as early 80s, have decided to put the record in its proper perspective. We want the sponsors of the story to note the fact that Prof Oba has maintained a deliberate silence since the announcement of his reappointment so as not to heat the polity in Ilorin Emirate and Kwara State at large; especially given the covert but concerted efforts of some individuals to thwart the reappointment.

“It is an apparent mischief on the side of the purveyors of the story to say that Prof Oba “was shocked” upon being called for screening. Every lettered Nigerian knows that legislative screening is a fundamental procedure that political appointees undergo, especially those appointed into Constitutional Commissions like the one Oba heads…Prof Oba that we know bears no malice against anyone.

In addition,the peddlers should be educated that Oba did not organise the palace prayer.

On the contrary;His Royal Highness , the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari CFR, felt honoured and elated that another illustrious son of his and a traditional title holder in his palace has been duly recognised by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and he personally took it upon himself to organise a thanks giving prayer as he has done for such other appointees.

Voicing its own position, the Ilorin Emirate Progressive Youth Assembly, in letter dated June 19, 2013 to the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, titled “Prof Oba Abu’s reappointment: Why Sen. Bukola Saraki should be called to order”, informed the Emir that since Presidency muted the idea of a second term for Prof. Abdulraheem, Sen. Saraki has been working against his reappointment.

In the letter signed by its National Coor-

dinator, Comr. Ibrahim Adifa and National Secretary ,Comr. Hassanat Gambari, and copied Justice Mustapha Akanbi(PCA),Justice Moddibo Alfa Belgore(CJN),Justice Saidu Kawu(JSC), maintained that Saraki’s and his political group should accept defeat instead of plotting against Prof. Abdulraheem’s second term.

“Your eminence, …Sen. Saraki, for reasons best known to him and which reasons clearly smack of arrogance, selfishness and insensitivity, has been at the forefront of the anti-Oba Abu’s reappointment vanguards!

“Our group is in possession of a letter purportedly written by the Kwara State Governemnt to the Presidency surreptitiously rejecting the re-nomination of Prof. Oba for another term in office,ostensibly at the prompting of Sen. Saraki”.

The group added; “ However sir, having been roundly defeated by a combination of Allah’s will and the goodwill of the people that trailed it, Sen.Saraki is now factually reported to be taking his reckless tactics to another level by mobilizing certain legislators representing Kwara State at the National Assembly to vehemently oppose the successful screening of Prof. Oba Abdulraheem on the floor of the Senate among other untoward tactics.”

The group said, “the sad events of the past, where prominent sons and daughters of Ilorin, like Gen. Tunde Idiagbon, Dr. Akanbi Oniyangi, Gen Abdulkareem Adisa, Governor Mohammed Lawal,all of blessed memory, were sacrificed for the poilitical sustenance of a single family, is still very fresh in our memory, and we are ready this time around, to aggressively resist any attempt to silence Prof. Oba or any other person for that matter, all in a bid to satisfy the bloated ego of a single individual or family, that has done more harm than good to the socio-political and economic advancement of the good people of Ilorin Emirate.”

“If however, the Senator fails, neglects or willfully disregard your fatherly intervention, we make bold to say that we are going to deploy all arsenals within our reach, as youths and public mobilisers, to set the ball of his recall in motion. The same measure will be applicable to all other renegade legislators who decided to toe the line of infamy that Saraki is presently alleged to be taking. We challenge them to dare us; we assure them that they will be thoroughly shocked about our level of preparedness”.

Politics

PAGE 14

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 22 - SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Ombatse: Al-makura must go back to the drawing board —El-Kabir Alhaji Mohammad El-Kabir is a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial aspirants in Nasarawa State come 2015.

In this interview with newsmen including our correspondent, Mohammad Ibrahim in Kaduna, he spoke on the recent killing of policemen by Ombatse militants in the state, an incident he described as mayhem on innocent lives.

What do you have to say with regards to the Ombatse killings in Nasarawa state recently?

When I looked at it critically, it looks politically motivated.

But, first and foremost, I have to condole with the family of the deceased who have lost their precious lives in the course of discharging their civic responsibilities as security agents of this country. May their souls rest in perfect peace. Secondly, I have to call on my people of Nasarawa state to embrace peace because peace is the bedrock of progress. We are in a democratic dispensation and there is no way you will have access to development without peace.

Democratic dividends cannot be given to you or found in our communities when there is no peace. So, as far as I am concerned, we the elites of Nasarawa State have to call for unity. On the other hand, the government of Nasarawa State should be condoled too. I also express my displeasure with what happened to the police because the whole thing is miraculous. Only God knows what really caused that crisis. Nobody can tell better but we are calling on the government of the day to go back to the drawing board.

The youths of the state entirely need to be carried along. There is abject poverty in that state as I speak to you. This is a state that is blessed with so many resources… so many things by Allah but the captains that steered the ships right from inceptions from Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim to date have not done well; except for the tremendous achievements of Abdullahi Adamu, which cannot be left out because as far as I am concerned he has tried. But there is no leader that does not make mistake. The governor of the state needs to go back to the drawing board. Poverty can aggravate anything, it can cause any problem and it can instigate problems. To tackle the problem of that state, we need to indus-

trialize it. We have solid minerals that are being put to use and it goes hand in hand with oil. I have advised the governor at different fora on the need to sit down with all stakeholders and think of how to move the state forward. If Eggon people think it is time for them, then let it not be time for crisis. Let it be time for political calculations.

We are one of the poorest states in this country. Nasarawa state doesn’t have revenue of ten million naira per month. We have nothing to show. Why is it that this time when our people are supposed to enjoy dividends of democracy, we found ourselves in mayhem and crisis? Crisis that have no roots, crisis that cannot be defined; Ombatse is a tribal dialect of Eggon. We are not Eggon or Mada but we ask, what does it means? They told us ‘it’s time’. What time and time for what?

Nigeria is in chaos, the insecurity we are facing today in this country is an issue that we must talk about.

Whoever is behind the chaos either in the country or in Nasarawa state God knows him and God will pay him back. One thing I know for sure is that the evil that men do, lives after him but let it be a time for change, transformation, progress, development and democratic dividends, not a time for chaos, crisis and terrorism. We are not known as terrorists. Our culture has been bastardized.Nigeria today is not the Nigeria you know and Nasarawa State is not the Nasarawa state you know.

We have never experienced any crisis from Eggon community.

We knew Eggons as law abiding citizens and loyal people. If you even employed the services of an Eggon man in an organization, he will always be loyal to everybody but all of a sudden Eggon happen to be in a position we cannot explain.

Reports have it that you the politicians made Ombatse what it is today because some of you visit

their shrines to get spiritual power so as to win election. Have you ever visited there too?

I am a member of Tijjaniya and as a true Muslim, I don’t believe in gods, I only believe in God. For those who associate themselves in homosexuality, cultism or any other social vices in society, it is best known to them. As far as we are concerned, from God we came to Him we shall all return. I cannot deny the fact that other people are visiting Ombatse shrine but I don’t go and I cannot be among them. Let me advice them that they should embrace God because He is the lasting solution to any problem. When you have God, you have no problem.

We understand the security operatives left for Alakyo immediately after the state Security Council meeting. You are now saying the Governor made a mistake for allowing that to happen?

That shouldn’t have been the solution. What they should have done was to invite the man in question. If he cannot come, they can use traditional rulers to invite him. It is not everything that you apply force. Whether the governor made a mistake or not, my humble advice to the state governor as at that time was to invite Baba Alakyo to the government house for a meeting through the traditional rulers. Like I told you earlier what we need is peace. We can never achieve any progress without peace. Look at the way our economy has been bastardized, look

“

It is not eve rything that you apply force.

Whether the governor made a mistake or not, my humble advice to the state governor as at that time was to invite Baba Alakyo to the government house for a meeting through the traditional rulers.

Alhaji Mohammad El-Kabir at the way the north is stranded and look at the way our people are suffering. We don’t deserve this because we are very rich in this country, most especially in the north.

How would you assess the state government now?

Frankly, anybody who says he is not trying can be said to be political but he made lots of mistakes because you don’t bite the finger that feeds you. That is the mistake Tanko has made, not because I am in the PDP, he shouldn’t have gone fighting the federal government. Tanko shouldn’t have gone around involving our state into the political crisis of this nation. Merger or no merger is a different issue for him.He should have concentrated his two year tenure to do more for the people that voted him into power. He needs to sit and find ways to develop the state instead of attending merger meetings.

What will be your advice to the governor over happenings in Nasarawa?

Let there be a reconciliation committee. Let him invite the elders of Eggon to the government house to ask them the genesis of this crisis.

Let him handpick some prominent citizens of the state to find a lasting solution to the problem. Whatever you want to do in government, you must go by the aspiration of the people. I will advice Governor Almakura

to apply dialogue and a methodology that can work on how to achieve everlasting peace in that state. ‘ Have you ever held any political office?

No, this is my first time of contesting. I am an Estate developer and a miner. That is why I talk much about mining.

If you are to be Nasarawa State Governor come 2015, what will you do differently?

This man has failed in industrialising the state, so my first priority would be industrialisation; the concept of any economy in the world is to industrialize your community.

The moment your people are productive, there won’t be these sorts of social vices. As far as I am concerned, these things happen when you are not productive. A governor must sit down and understand the problem associated with the state and everybody knows in this country that Nasarawa State is a state with solid minerals. Today, there is nothing that goes on demand than solid minerals. We have industrial minerals; quantitative minerals and qualitative minerals. If he lays emphasis on industrializing the state, there wouldn’t have been these problems. I am telling you with all vigour that if I am elected the state governor come 2015, I am going to lay emphasis also on agriculture.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 22 - SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Interview 2015: APC will take over Southern Kaduna -- Coca Cola Few weeks ago, members of the new mega-party, the All Progressive Congress (APC), stormed the Southern part of Kaduna State, including General Mohammadu Buhari and other top APC leaders in their effort to win over staunch supporters of PDP. In this interview with select journalists, the Congress for Progressive Change State Chairman, Alhaji Ahmadu Yaro Coca-Cola explained the motives behind the visit. Our correspondent Mohammad Ibrahim was there.

PAGE 15

misunderstanding among the inhabitants living in those areas.

But now experience has shown the people have understood the tricks.

What is your opinion on how Kaduna State is governed by Governor Yero?

I don’t even know how to describe it. If you and I agreed that the state governor is a good man, what about his political party?

Would they allow him to be good to the people? This is what we are saying, a political party with a very dangerous manifesto and with a good man joining them, will they allow him to be good?

The same will happen if a bad person joins a good party. The moment they see him going astray, he will be pulled over so as to put him on the right track.

I will advice you not to even ask me about the state governor or any CPC member. Just ask any PDP member directly about the

F

ew weeks ago, you were among the politicians from the opposition that went to southern part of Kaduna State. What were you trying to achieve with the visit?

The reason has to do with achieving victory. We sense victory and we went looking for victory in Zone 3. In the past, we tried to secure that victory but we didn’t get it. Last time, we failed to acquire victory because we didn’t have a strong aspirant because of the way and manner they usually give out their votes uniformly.

In 2011, I was still the chairman of the CPC, I did visit southern Kaduna to campaign for the party and went to so many places in the area where I was warmly welcome by the people. As far as I am concerned, we won elections in the area but something went wrong.

In some areas, elections were not held because they ganged up to ensure that their son and brother became the governor.

We all know that it was during that time we witnessed crisis in the state. That gave the party in power the reason to kill innocent people. This was a known fact that many lives were lost during the last crisis of 2011 presidential elections.This is what led to our failure in the elections, because the party in power used religion, tribe and other reasons to bring disunity among the people so as to win elections. It was a known fact that in Kaduna State, they didn’t win election until they used religion and tribe to create distrust among the people for their own political gains, particularly in southern part of the state.The interested part of it is that after the incident, they kept on contacting us even before the late (Governor Patrick Ibrahim) Yakowa died that they were tired of the way things are in the state.

So, luckily the issue of merger came up and we continued contacting each other where they

Alhaji Ahmadu Yaro Coca-Cola assured us that they are ready to leave that party they were known to be supporting. According to them, despite the fact that they always give their 100 percent support to PDP there is nothing to show in the area with regards to dividends of democracy.

There was no peace in the area, no peace with their neighbors in the area. Meaning where Muslims and Christians are known to be, we’re no longer together, where Hausa Fulani and Kadara are; they are no longer there again. This is strange to them because in the past, they lived in peace and harmony with one another. If what they told us was true, then from now on there will be no more political rigging in the state, which is what CPC is against. If we have unity and collaboration just as we are witnessing now in the new proposed APC, I am sure victory is ours, God willing.This is what we saw in Southern Kaduna and we told General Buhari on the light we saw in that part of the state. We know that we have been winning elections, it was just that they are rigged in

the area with the support of some of the people. But now that they have agreed to work with us, we decided to accept them since all we want is victory. Our aim is to save the entire people of Kaduna state, to also have free and fair elections so as to have a governor that will be just to all the people of the state irrespective of their religion or cultural background.

The system of government that will be run by us, is that of the people. The government that will protect public funds not the type of government being witnessed today where corruption has become order of the day. In Kaduna State today, if you are appointed just as an adviser before you know it, you would have accumulated ungodly funds, within a short period of time.

You said that some people are behind the division witnessed among the southern Kaduna and other tribes in the state. Who do you think is responsible for that?

It is the ruling party, any place they sense danger, they move to the place just to create

state government and he will explain better than me since he is part of it and knows what is happening today. Just listen around, there are many members of the party now that are willing to denounce their membership.There is the need for people to leave any other political party and join APC due to the situation the country has found itself, particularly, with regards to insecurity. Today no place is safe in this country.

Not even in your community, not in your state, not in your home and finally not even in the country in general. We just have to join hands and kill the mad dog.

Most Nigerians are worried that by the time the new party becomes a reality, there will still be issue with regards to appointment into positions, particularly at the state level. How do you react to this?

This is speculation from people. I’m not saying it is not an issue but it is not going to be an issue to us. I am telling you now that I’m the chairmanbut it is not my intention to remain in the po-

sition till eternity. My concern is my people. I spent two years as the state chairman of CPC. Let me give you an example, it was a known fact that in Kaduna state, we won elections from President, states, up to councillorship level.

But were rigged but we still escaped with some seats. We won two Senatorial seats but left with one. We won House of Representatives seats and we all know what happened and how one of the seats was robbed us. We saw how, during a by-election for one of the seats, policemen were used to snatch ballot boxes. We also saw how government officials participated in rigging that election. At the end of it all, we were left with Seven House of Representatives seats. At the state level, everybody heard when it was announced that we got 23 seats of the State House of Assembly but before day break they knew what they did and at the end, we were left with only 12 members.

Among the 12 seats one member died. So, they used all means to take the seat away from us. During the local government elections, we gathered that all over Nigeria, the ruling party met to agree that no opposition party should be allowed to win a single seat.

But in Kaduna state we broke that plan as we won election in the centre of the state. We also have about 40 councillors. This is enough for me to be proud of. My intention is not to be a party leader without achieving anything.

But I am happy to say that with this little success we recorded, I have achieved a lot as chairman.

If today I am no longer the party chairman, I must be addressed as the former chairman which to me is an achievement too. In Kaduna State we won gubernatorial election but was rigged. We won presidential elections. We won senators and Members of House of Representatives seats. We have State Member of the Assembly, a local government chairman and many councilors, all these under my leadership. What else do I need if not to keep thanking Allah for all these successes.

Most of the electorate are not happy with some of your members who they voted into power. What do you have to say in this regards?

This is democracy, when you do the right thing, you know.

If you do badly, you know. We are trying our best to put them on the right track. We will leave them with the people. Even if I am not the chairman, they must still come back to face the people.

We know there are those who are doing the right things and those that are not. But that is left for people to decide on the day when these same people will come back to seek for their support.

How do you see the 2015 elections?

With this merger of opposition parties by the grace of God, the APC will win the election both at the federal, state and local levels.

Peoples Daily WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

16

SPECIAL REPORT

Gov Yero is not welcome to my house —Angry father From Mohammad Ibrahim, Kaduna

T

here was a mild drama on Friday last week at Rigasa, a town in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State when the State Governor Muktar Ramalan Yero was denied entrance into a house in the area to immunize one of the houseowner’s daughters.

46 year old trader, Malam Mohammad Sani Usman Goronnamaye, personally denied the governor access not only to his children but to his house.

The incident occurred around 11:am that day in the presence of security personnel, commissioners, Advisers, other top government dignitaries, the press and hundreds of people who gathered to witnessed how the drama would unfold.

The drama lasted for an hour as the governor pleaded with the man to allow him into the house to administer the vaccine to the man’s five year old daughter, Farida but he adamantly refused.

The governor was at the Primary Health Care Center in the area to flag-off another round of polio immunization in the State. It was part of the programme’s agenda for him to enter some homes and immunize at least a child personally so as to convince parents that the vaccine is safe for their children.

It was also gathered that the government chose to flag-off the immunization exercise in the area because it was among the noncompliant areas in the state.

Most of the residents are totally against the vaccine hence the decision to kick off the vaccination exercise there with the hope that the presence of the governor would encourage the residents to bring out or allow their wards to be immunized.

Therefore, the two houses the governor was to enter, were deliberately selected because both were located opposite the Primary Health Care clinic.

The first house the governor visited was that of Malam Sani, a father of 12 who is known to be totally against the vaccine in the area.

So, when the governor approached the house with the intention of going inside to immunize the man’s daughter, he was denied entrance by the landlord.

Sani’s reason was that first, he was not informed that the governor was coming to his house as courtesy demanded. Secondly, he dislikes polio vaccine as a person, saying despite his dislikes for it, he cannot stop those interested in the vaccine to apply it on their children.

He said “ The governor no matter his position as far as I am concerned, cannot be compared to my close neighbour.” This is because, if any problem befalls me, before any of my blood brother comes to my aid, my neighbour will be the first to come.

“I owned this house 20 years ago.

Those who brought the governor to

my house, if they wanted to be just to me, they would have informed me before his arrival so that I will be ready. I am not a stranger to the staff of the clinic. They should have informed me of the governor’s visit even though I am against the vaccine. But none of them did that.

“I was not aware of his arrival. I was inside the house working on my rappers when I heard noise in front of my house. So, I came out to see what was happening and was wearing only shorts. When I came out, I surprisingly saw some commissioners and security men at my gate. Then I heard one of them saying they are going into my house.

“So, I asked, why my house? They said ‘to immunize my children’.

Then I said it will not be possible. I was thinking it was a joke but one of the soldiers attached to the governor made a statement that infuriated me because he said that most of the residents of Rigasa are foreigners.

That statement made me angry.

“So I told him that even if they are going to kill me I will not allow the governor to enter my house. I also told the soldier that if not for his uniform, I am sure if they ask him to make such a statement in my presence he cannot do that because I would teach him a lesson.

“I also said in the governor’s presence that even if President Jonathan is to come here, I will not allow them to immunize my child.

So, the governor held my hand but I told him that this is not his house and so, I will not allow him in. He pleaded with me to allow him but I refused,” he said Malan sani explained that the governor asked if he knew him? And he replied saying he did.

“I said yes, I know him as the state governor but I will still not allow him to immunize my child. I told the governor that I have nothing against him, personally but I will not allow him to immunize my child,” he said.

After about an hour, the security men threatened to use force against him and so, Malam Sani threw the girl at them to immunize her.

“I gave them the girl because they threatened to use force on me and that was what I precisely wanted them to say. They only immunized her by force not with my consent,” he said.

According to him, why can’t the government use the huge amount of funds spend on providing polio vaccine on providing malaria vaccines to people free of charge?

“If they are serious about helping us the poor, why didn’t they distribute free malaria vaccine which is another disease that kills Nigerians?,” he asked angrily Meanwhile, after the drama, Governor Yero proceeded to Sani’s neigbour’s house and without wasting time, the 90 year old Malam Sa’idu Jibril opened his door warmly to the governor.

According to the old man who said he has about 100 grandchildren, there was no reason to stop the governor access to his old house.

Malam Mohammad Sani Goronnamaye holding his daughter after he denied the governor access to her for immunization “I always allow health workers into my house to vaccinate my grand children. So, when I saw the governor in my house, I was so happy because I never expected that in my life time, the governor will come to my house,” he said.

Governor Yero who look very impressed with the old man’s acceptance of the vaccine, decided to renovate the old man’s dilapidated mud house.

“The governor looked at me and

“

said as long as he is still alive, he will build a three bedroom flat for me.

This really made me happy because I never expected it. As you can see, my house is really in bad shape,” he said.

On whether he only accepted the vaccination because he wanted a favour from the governor, the octogenarian said “never”.

“That is not true! Because even before the governor came to my house or to this area, I happened to

Curious about his whereabout for more than three days, his neighbours reported to the police who came and broke into his apartment and found the dead body with his hands and feet tied and a chemical suspected to be acid poured into his mouth.

be among the people that accepted the vaccine in the neighbourhood . I think he only promised to build the house for me out of goodwill,” he said.

Peoples Daily Weekend also gathered that already some officials have gone to the site to inspect the old man’s house.

“Honestly, before I used to be sick but since the governor promised to rebuild my house, I always feel strong day by day,” he said smiling.

The village Head, Malam Adamu Garba Raba frowned at Malam Sani’s attitude towards the governor. “ We are not happy with what he did to the state governor. This is because we that he respected also respect the governor. So, we expected him to respect the governor. Polio vaccine is not dangerous as they are made to believe,” he said.

He therefore, appealed to people to please change their attitude towards the vaccine because it is safe to use.

Malam Sani was later asked how he felt to see his neighbour’s house going to be renovated courtesy of the governor. He ironically said, “ let my house be turned to pigeon’s cage because I rejected the vaccine”.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Homes

17

Shower curtains add elegance to master bathrooms

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n decorating the master bathroom, you do not necessarily need to remodel it. Rather, you can change the appearance of a master bathroom by removing certain items and adding others. If you have not updated the accessories in your bathroom in years or you have had the same wall color, it’s time to update the bathroom. Shower curtains add elegance to your master bathrooms, a sure reason you must include them in the accessories while designing your bathroom.

Window treatments in a bathroom also make a big impact. Replacing your window curtains with new ones instantly updates the appearance in your master bathroom.

Consider changing the type of window treatment from what you currently have in the bathroom-for example, if you have curtains you may wish to install blinds or shades.

Painting the walls in a small bathroom a different color from what is currently on them makes a dramatic statement in the room. When selecting paint for small rooms, take into account that semi-gloss paint reflects light and creates the illusion of a large room as well

as light colors. Painting the walls, a bright bold color in the bathroom works well but dark colors create a dreary atmosphere.

If your master bathroom is not a half bath (meaning no shower or bathtub), replacing the shower curtain allows you to incorporate any decorating style you wish in the bathroom without spending a large amount of money. Hanging an elegant shower curtain creates an elegant appearance in the room compared to hanging a bold, bright shower curtain, which may create a fun upbeat appearance in the bathroom. Allow your shower curtain to act as a large decorating accessory.

Having too many accessories in a small room creates a cluttered appearance and feel to the room. Instead of creating clutter, remove it. Select a small variety of accessories you absolutely need in your bathroom such as a toothbrush holder, soap dispenser, framed artwork for the walls, a towel bar and a plant. Removing clutter and unnecessary items is the easiest way to change the appearance in any room and does not cost any money.

Shower Curtains and Bath Mats Like tubs and enclosures, shower curtains and bath mats are subject to mildew. Fortunately, they’re easy to clean. The following tips should help make this chore a breeze:

• Keep a new shower curtain looking fresh by using the old shower curtain as a liner. Hang the new curtain on the same hooks in front of the old curtain. The old curtain will take the beating from water and soap scum while the new one stays clean.

• To prevent shower curtains from wrinkling, put them in the washing machine with 1/2 cup of detergent and 1/2 cup of baking soda, along with two large bath towels. Add a cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle; hang the curtains up immediately after washing, and let them air-dry.

• When you clean a plastic shower curtain, keep it soft and flexible by adding a few drops of mineral oil to the rinse water. Maintain its softness by wiping it occasionally with a solution of warm water and mineral oil.

• Eliminate mildew by spraying newly washed shower curtains with a disinfectant.

• Clean a rubber or vinyl bath mat by tossing it into the washer with bath towels.

The terry cloth scrubs the mat, and everything comes out clean.

Onward to the most dreaded task of all: cleaning your toilet.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Relationship

18

Meeting your fiancé’s parents: Tips to win

their hearts (II)

By Abhishek Agarwal

I

nitiating such topics that he is not prepared to share with his parents could make the situation uncomfortable for all involved. Just stay by his lead and do not give any details about your plans for the future except if your fiancé brings up the issue.

The other key to surviving the first meeting with his parents is to realize that he is more important to them than you are. Your fiancé might complain persistently about his parents but then deep inside, he realizes that he cherishes them. He might leave their residence after that meeting irritable about the manner his mom asked plenty of meddlesome questions about the relationship but suppose you intervene and become critical of his mom he might swiftly become protective.

Even if you just agree with what he is saying, he could still be upset by your views.

Appreciate that your fiancé adores his parents and

might be troubled by them sometimes but that it is not good for you to become critical of them. Certainly, suppose they do or utter something entirely to upset you, it is maybe acceptable that he stands up for you and let them know that their opinions or actions about you are completely intolerable.

Avoiding contentious issues is also important to your survival of the initial meeting with your fiancés parents. Subjects that bring forth a very emotional answer are by no means nice idea when you are meeting somebody new for the very first time. Suppose you have opposite perspectives, then things could become very hot and awkward pretty fast. Even though you may feel the same way about that issue, it could lead to the subject monopolizing your dialogue and the four of you might not truly get an opportunity to talk about something else or truly get to know each other. Veering off emotionally charged topics when you are meeting

your fiancés parents will make the meeting peaceful and aid things to move efficiently.

Meeting your fiancés parent is a significant step in any relationship.

Wanting to let you meet his parents and let them realize that he deems his relationship with you to be very serious and that he expects that you all get along well. Whilst he is not of necessity looking for their endorsement of you, realizing that you could get along well with his parents could be a big step in his relationship with you. Most men are never confrontational in their relationships with women so if it is clear that you and his parents cannot get along, he might become worried of the relationship because he does not want to wind up spending a big deal of time bringing the three of you to learn how to get along. In the end, they have been part of his life for a very long time and they’ll remain to become a part and parcel of his lifetime, so disturbing these ties with you might be easy than doing the same with them.

End

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The other key to surviving the first meeting with his parents is to realize that he is more important to them than you are. Your fiancé might complain persistently about his parents but then deep inside, he realizes that he cherishes them.

If you have any relationship story you want to share with our readers, please send to the above address. Let’s share your love story.

Heart Matterz With A’isha Biola Raji

E-mail: rajia39ishabiola@yahoo.com Phone: 08082071393 (Text only)

Am I doing the right thing? – Tessy

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have been in an on and off relationship with my child’s father for about 3 years, since the beginning we had a strong attraction to each other.

While we lived together, we argued a lot, mainly because of my jealousy and the insecurity I feel around him. When we were not together, he would eventually end up seeing other women and would eventually tell me what he did whenever we got back together.

Last year, we moved together again and we were doing well until I found out while searching through his phone that he was flirting with coworkers. I screamed at him, until he was out the door. Although we struggle to get along, we managed to resolve the issue between us.

A week ago, he told me he had crush with one of his coworkers and I broke down. He told me he doesn’t want to be with anybody else or love another woman like me but he can’t see himself having relationship with only me, and just me for the rest of his life.

He is not ready to commit to our relationship but he doesn’t want me to leave and I’m also not ready to let him go. I made one last effort, I looked up open relationships and other people’s experiences and it seems that it helped a lot of people in their relationships especially in terms of jealousy and insecurity, and those are the two main issues with me.

The love is still the same, he hasn’t really changed in the way he treats me and the things he does for me, just the fact that he’s in relationship with other women. It makes me sick to my stomach that he has affection for another woman and he is giving her his time. This is all I think about whenever he is with me.

The more that I think about it, the more I feel with everything in me that I don’t want to be with anybody else, I love him and I want to settle with him for the rest of my life.

Am I being unrealistic? I am 22 years old, am I out of my mind for sticking around and tolerating him with other women?

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 - SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Beauty Tips

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Five ways to achieve superb look of an African woman Every woman needs to feel beautiful. However, working against your genetic features to try to fit the mold of mainstream beauty only leads to the masking of your natural beauty. Becoming a master at camouflaging the features that make you self-conscious and learning to highlight the luscious lips, tight ringlets and rich skin tone that most African women have will accentuate your natural, ethnic beauty.

1. Make the most of foundation African skin often consists of two or more tones. All skin is susceptible to hyperpigmentation; however, African skin is more vulnerable.

Hyperpigmentation is a result of trauma to the skin.

In this case, trauma is classified as acne, sun overexposure and burns caused by chemical peels and laser treatments. A simple and effective way to conceal these skin imperfections is to use two shades of foundation; using two shades of foundation will also allow for facial contouring.

Apply the lighter foundations to your cheek, forehead, under eye area and nose; apply the darker foundation to cheekbones, temples and chin. Next, take a foundation brush and blend the foundations until there is a seamless transition between colors.

2. Highlight lips African women often have plumper lips than their fair-skinned counterparts. For some odd reason, many African women seek beauty tricks that will minimize their luscious lips. Women throughout the country pay thousands of dollars to get plumper lips; if you’ve got them naturally, flaunt them.

Line your lips with a dark brown lip liner, applying heavily towards the inner lip. Using your ring finger, blend the lip liner almost halfway into your lip. Next, apply a caramel color lipstick on the area of your lip that remains bare. Finish off the look with a clear coat of lip gloss.

This lip application will make the most of your plump pout.

3. Silky hair Super curly hair is a trademark feature of African women. If you’ve inherited your mother’s tiny curls, there are two things you can do: Try your hardest to change your hair or love your curls and make the most of them.

Using chemicals (straight perms, Japanese straightening and relaxing) to force your hair to do something it wasn’t naturally intended to do will cause more harm than benefit in the long run. Instead, make your hair touchable and silky by applying shea butter and deep conditioners several times per week.

4. Makeup One of the main beauty-related

benefits to having dark skin is the ability to wear bold makeup. As a woman of color, you don’t need to be cautious of wearing bright and bold makeup because your skin tone is strong enough to carry the look.

Take full advantage of this by applying a deep pink blush onto the apples of your cheeks and sweeping the color upwards into your hairline.

Next, apply a deep red wine color to your lips and apply a bright red lip gloss just in the center.

Complete your look by sweeping a caramel shadow over the lid, placing a taupe color over the brow bone as a highlight and applying two

coats of your favorite mascara.

5. Contour Women of color often complain that their noses are too large. If you would like your nose to appear more petite, but aren’t willing to get plastic surgery, use makeup to contour yourself a smaller nose.

Apply a shade of concealer that is three to four shades lighter than your natural skin tone to the bridge of your nose. Then, take a dark concealer that is a tad bit darker than your skin tone and apply to the sides of your nose. Next, take a small, fluffy, eye shadow brush and blend out the harsh lines.

Highlight lips

Silky hair

Makeup

Contour

Peoples Daily WEEKEND SATURDAY 15 — SUNDAY 16, JUNE,

First 5 computer maintenace tips Starting from the power Supply 1. Make sure you got the right supply voltage all the time while you operate PC. Avoid connecting your pc on fluctuated voltages. You must use a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) for this purpose.

2. Choose a right kind of ups for your PC. If you have a PC with CRT monitor(15”,16”...19”) You need to buy a UPS with 600VA or more capacity, in order to maintain the continues power supply to PC. When you choose a low power UPS to drive a CRT, the problem is when the monitor turn on or reset, the CRT will draw a large current from the supply even for a little time causing the power supply to be reset - The pc will also be restarted. So choose the right option.

3. Never buy cheap rate UPS - Always buy a standard guaranteed one.

sockets where you connected your PC power cable have a good ground connection. If doesn’t have, contact an electrician to make sure the ground socket pins are earthed.

A bad ground connection may damage your computer processor as well as your peripherals connected to it. ( I think it is due to the fact that the microprocessor of the computer system is connected to the cabinet through grounding, when a voltage fluctuation occurs, it will also reach the processor). So make sure you grounded your PC well before operating.

5. Avoid loose contacts. Do you find your plugs pins get sparked during you switch on the power supply? Then turn off your computer immediately then reconnect to fix it or replace the sockets if required.

4. Grounding, The most important factor that determine the life of your computer.

Make sure your power supply

Mental Ideas How caffeine can cramp creativity

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onoré de Balzac is said to have consumed the equivalent of fifty cups of coffee a day at his peak. He did not drink coffee, though— he pulverized coffee beans into a fine dust and ingested the dry powder on an empty stomach.

He described the approach as “horrible, rather brutal,” to be tried only by men of “excessive vigor.” He documented the effects of the process in his 1839 essay “Traité des Excitants Modernes” (“Treatise on Modern Stimulants”): “Sparks shoot all the way up to the brain” while “ideas quick-march into motion like battalions of a grand army to its legendary fighting ground, and the battle rages.”

Balzac’s novels and plays endure, but modern science is challenging his view of caffeine causing ideas to “quick-march into motion.” While caffeine has numerous benefits, it appears that the drug may undermine creativity more than it stimulates

it.

When we drink a caffeinated beverage, the caffeine quickly crosses the blood-brain barrier—an interface of sorts between the brain and the body’s circulatory system, designed to protect the central nervous system from chemicals in the blood that might harm it—and proceeds to block the activity of a substance called adenosine. Normally, a central function of adenosine is to inhibit the release of various chemicals into the brain, lowering energy levels and promoting sleep, among other regulatory bodily functions.

When it’s blocked, we’re less likely to fall asleep on our desks or feel our focus drifting.

According to a recent review of some hundred studies, caffeine has a number of distinct benefits. Chief among them are that it boosts energy and decreases fatigue; enhances physical, cognitive, and motor performance; and aids short-term memory, problem solving, decision making, and concentration.

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With Emmanuel Eko junioremma419@gmail.com 08165618872

Learning

The words we heard Book Review as horrors sank in

By Kenneth Goldsmith One of his volumes, “Soliloquy” (2001), consists of every word he spoke for a week. Another, “The Weather” (2005), compiled a year’s worth of weather bulletins from 1010 WINS, the all-news radio station in New York. Yet another, “Day” (2003), is a faithful transcription of each sentence printed in The New York Times on Sept. 1, 2000.

Mr. Goldsmith, who refers to his writing as “mimetic and uncreative,” recently became the first poet laureate appointed by the Museum of Modern Art. There’s a good deal of Andy Warhol in his deadpan attack. His stuff has often been more rewarding to think about than to read.

His potent new book, “Seven American Deaths and Disasters,” takes its title from

a series of Warhol paintings.

It’s made up entirely of other people’s words, and in many senses it’s like everything he’s done. Yet it’s like nothing he’s done. It knocks the air from your lungs.

To make “Seven American Deaths and Disasters,” Mr. Goldsmith has combed through archival radio and television broadcasts of painful events over the past six decades: there are chapters about the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and John Lennon; the explosion aboard the space shuttle Challenger; the shootings at Columbine High School; the attacks at the World Trade Center; and the death of Michael Jackson — and he has transcribed the reports as they unfurled on the air, live and unmediated.

Sisterland

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he high-concept gimmick at the heart of Ms. Sittenfeld’s new novel, “Sisterland,” is the premise of twin sisters who have strange psychic powers that enable them to foresee the future. One twin tries to suppress her ESP; like Samantha, the nose-twitching witch in “Bewitched,” she just wants to live life as an ordinary suburban housewife. The other sister cultivates her unusual gifts and becomes a professional psychic; she gains national fame when she warns that a terrible earthquake is going to hit the St. Louis area and is interviewed on the “Today” show.

In both books Ms. Sittenfeld’s gifts for portraying the inner lives of her heroines manage to transcend the silliness and contrivance of her plots.

“Sisterland” may start out sounding like a sort of cloying Alice Hoffman novel, full of stage-managed whimsy, but it actually ends up being a lot closer, in terms of emotional chiaroscuro, to two classics about pairs of sisters, “The Old Wives’ Tale” by Arnold Bennett and “The Easter Parade” by Richard Yates.

The sisters in Ms. Sittenfeld’s novel are Daisy and Violet Shramm; their given names obviously echo those of the famous pair of Siamese twins Daisy and Violet Hilton. In her quest to be ordinary, Daisy has changed her name to Kate, and she narrates this story from some point in the future, looking back on events she describes with a mixture of nostalgia and regret. She has married a nice, smart, handsome professor named Jeremy, who teaches aquatic chemistry at Washington University; they have two toddlers, Rosie and Owen, on whom Kate dotes with nervous pride.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Health

Diabetes education as a tool in managing disease

-Care of the feet

Pharm. Isaac Yakubu Akogu www.diabetesguidenigeria.blogspot.com, 08176179496, diabetesconcepts@gmail.com

A Diabetes expert, Mr. Isaac Yakubu Akogu, is also Pharmacist with over 16 years experience with specialisation in Diabetes Education. Trained by The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Johannesburg, South Africa, he also acquired training in Tanzania, Uganda and Cameroon in 2011 to qualify as a Diabetes Conversation Map Expert Trainer saddled with responsibility of training doctors, pharmacists, nurses and other health care professionals on current dynamics in diabetes education. He holds a Postgraduate certificate in Diabetes Management from Dares Salaam, Tanzania and is currently the 2nd Vice President of Diabetes Association of Nigeria, North Central Zone. In his weekly column, Wellness, in Peoples Daily Weekend, he brings to you, the appropriate and current information on diabetes and other health matters.

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iabetes mellitus is increasing in prevalence globally at a rate which could best be described as an “Epidemic”. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) in 2011 published that over 377 million persons are living with Diabetes and a quarter of this figure are undiagnosed.

In my last discussion in this column, I dwell extensively on Dental Care in Diabetes management. Readers called and some wrote in to comment, observe and offer some suggestions, I like to thank you all for your candid support and interest in WELLNESS column, do keep a date every weekend on this column. Our area of discuss today is care of the feet.

The cost of Diabetes management vary in different Countries however, one thing is common, it is costly and in most cases like in Sub-Saharan Africa very costly and non availability of essentials like insulin, syringes, glucose meters, diabetic shoes among others.

Admissions for diabetic foot related complications to hospitals and clinics globally are the most common cause for hospitalization and a notable percentage of annual health care budgets in most Countries are used in treating diabetic foot diseases.

From WHO reports, Africa will face the second highest increase in prevalence of diabetes with expected 160% second to the increased prevalence expected in the Middle East. This means more feet will be at risk. The lifetime risk for foot ulcers in people living with diabetes is estimated to be as high as 25%. It is worthy of note that most foot ulcers are avoidable as most amputations done in the hospitals are preceded by ulceration, hence it is of paramount importance that diabetic foot care protocols are developed to prevent ulceration .

Diabetes can be different for everyone who has it and not everyone follows the same course of treatment but with time and care from members of your Diabetes care team, methods that work best for different individuals

are worked out, the overall goal is glucose control and prevention or delay of complications.

Risk factors for foot ulcers in persons living with diabetes include: - Long duration of diabetes and even newly diagnosed.

- Presence of peripheral neuropathy - Peripheral vascular disease - History of foot ulcers - Previous amputation It is important therefore that foot screening programs that identify feet at risk need to be taught to all health care Professionals involved in the management of people living with Diabetes.

Anybody living with diabetes needs to report any problem with the feet to the physician or Diabetes care team as soon as possible to prevent proliferation as there is no procrastination in this matter.

Small bruise ignorred led to a big challenge on the foot

Just a scratch on the toe finger, led to loss of limb

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Kiddies World 22

With Aunty A'isha rajia39ishabiola@yahoo.com 08082071393.

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS

Kano emirate

B E AD C

SHORT STORY

A squirrel on a cold night

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nce upon a time, on a cold night a squirrel found it difficult to bear the cold.

It was in search for a place that could protect it from the cold. It ran into the bush close to a hut that belonged to an old man who lived on the outskirts of the forest.

As soon as the squirrel started moving in the bush, the old man heard its sound. He came out and found the squirrel shivering with cold. He extended his hand and waved his fingers to come on to it.

The squirrel had a feeling that the old man was a good man. It slowly crawled onto his hand and the old man caressed it with his other hand and took it in side.

It was very warm inside the hut and the squirrel stopped shivering and soon fell asleep. It slept for more than three hours and woke up with the sound of the cupboard door opened by the old man. The old man noticed this and came near the squirrel with a hot cup of tomato soup and he fed the squirrel with it.

The squirrel became active and found the holes in the roof of the hut. The old man slept again.

The next day, the old man woke up and searched everywhere for the squirrel but he did not see it.

He thought that it had gone back to the forest. He became busy with his daily chores.

As he was about to rest for a nap after the lunch, he heard a noise on the top of the roof. He looked up and found that the holes on the roof were being filled with a lump of fiber. He went out to find out who was at work and saw the squirrel seriously filling

the holes one after the other first with the fiber and topping it with a big leaf accurately.

The squirrel on top of the roof completed its job and entered the hut to find out if it missed any hole. The old man thanked the squirrel and offered a cup of hot milk. The squirrel drank it merrily.

The old man asked, “How did you get the fiber and the leaves to fill all the holes at once?” “I came out in the morning when you were still sleeping, started collecting the fiber and leaves from the nearby creeper in small quantities and brought them to the rooftop. Once I felt I had

enough material to fill the holes I started doing the job that I know well,” the squirrel replied.

“Though you are a small animal, you have a big mind to think and great strength to do the job. I thank you for your kind help. You can live with me, if you want,” said the old man.

The squirrel agreed to it by waving its tail and the head in joy. Indeed the holes were well filled and the rainfall a couple of days later made it further firm and there was no leakage in the hut.

They lived together for a long time in the same hut.

HIS AND HERS’ CORNER Children fashionistas in hijab

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he Emir of Kano lives in a 15th-century palace within a walled 30-acre compound in the center of the city. As in Barth’s day, the compound’s high walls enclose the living quarters of the emir and his wives and children, as well as reception halls, courts, forests, and grazing lands.

The current emir, Alhaji Ado Bayero has been on the throne since 1963. He has spent 50 years on throne. He is the direct descendant of the emir who accommodated Barth in 1851. Like his ancestor, Ado Bayero is the most important man in Kano.

The first Emir of Kano was appointed by Usman dan Fodio, the Islamic scholar and revolutionary whose jihad in the first decade of the 19th-century against corrupt pagan rulers and heartless people transformed central Africa. Dan Fodio’s armies overran the region, and his crusade inspired jihads throughout greater Sudan.

He built his new capital at Sokoto, still a major city in northern Nigeria. He divided his kingdom into 30 emirates.

Most of the current emirs are direct descendants of Dan Fodio’s original appointees. Likewise, the current Sultan of Sokoto, who is the spiritual leader of Islamic northern Nigeria, is a direct descendant of Dan Fodio.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

B

Kiddies World E AD

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With Aunty A'isha rajia39ishabiola@yahoo.com 08082071393.

AFRICAN TALES

The Ape, the snake, and the lion (II)

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MODEL OF THE WEEK

Cheerful Amira Quadri

ACTIVITIES

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o ’Mvoo Laana gave Neeoka the little bag, and he filled it with chains of gold and silver, and told him to use them freely for his own benefit. Then they parted very cordially.

When the youth reached the city, the first man he met was he whom he had released from the trap, who invited him to go home with him, which he did, and the man’s wife made him supper.

As soon as he could get away unobserved, the man went to the sultan and said: “There is a stranger come to my house with a bag full of chains of silver and gold, which he says he got from a snake that lives in a well. But although he pretends to be a man, I know that he is a snake who has power to look like a man.”

When the sultan heard this he sent some soldiers who brought ’Mvoo Laana and his little bag before him. When they opened the little bag, the man who was released from the trap persuaded the people that some evil would come out of it, and affect the children of the sultan and the children of the vizir.

Then the people became excited, and tied the hands of ’Mvoo Laana behind him.

But the great snake had come out of the well and arrived at the town just about this time, and he went and lay at the feet of the man who had said all those bad things about ’Mvoo Laana, and when the people saw this they said to that man: “How is this? There is the great snake that lives in the well, and he stays by you.

Make your own slippers

Most of us have slippers to wear inside the house and a different pair for outside use. So why not make your very own slip-ons that make you feel as if you are walking on clouds?

What you need: The soles of any old pair of slippers A sheet of foam (1/2 inch thickness) Cotton or flannel cloth (one square metre) Ribbons Adhesive Scissors Cut the foam in the shape of the sole Double the cloth and trace out

the shape of the foam. Draw another boundary one centimetre away from the traced boundary. Cut the cloth from the outer boundary.

Run a stitch on the inner boundary, joining the two cloth pieces leaving an opening to insert the foam. Turn the cloth inside out and put the foam. Then, complete the stitch. You can back stitch either by hand or on the sewing machine.

Repeat the same procedure to make the strap. This time cut the foam into four identical, rectangular bands - two straps for each slipper.

Remember, you have to make two folds to get four equal-sized cloth covers for the straps.

Spread the adhesive on the

Tell him to go away.”

But Neeoka would not stir. So they untied the young man’s hands, and tried in every way to make amends for having suspected him of being a wizard.

Then the sultan asked him, “Why should this man invite you to his home and then speak ill of you?”

And ’Mvoo Laana related all that had happened to him, and how the ape, the snake, and the lion had cautioned him about the results of doing any kindness for a man.

And the sultan said: “Although men are often ungrateful, they are not always so; only the bad ones. As for this fellow, he deserves to be put in a sack and drowned in the sea. He was treated kindly, and returned evil for good.”

CREATIVITY complete sole. First stick one end of the strap and then the foam, which you have covered with the cloth.

Finally put some adhesive on the other edge of the strap and fix it underneath the foam.

Make a bow with the ribbon and stick it on the strap. You can also do some embroidery on it.

The slippers are ready to be worn but hey, don’t be in a hurry.

Let the adhesive dry for some time.

Using colours of choice name and shade the image below. You can trace it out using a small scissors. Paste it on your favourite book. Cheers!

Page 24

Peoples Daily WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Entertainment

Shakespeare back on stage with ‘The Comedy of Errors’ Theater Review Even flagrant liars who claim never to be bored by Shakespeare generally concede that The Comedy of Errors can be a chore. An early entry

in which thematic mainstays of the playwright’s work are given unnuanced treatment, its broad knockabout humor frequently wears thin. But in the hands of Daniel Sullivan,

the most consistent of the Public Theater’s regular Shakespeare in the Park directors, and a resourceful cast captained by the brilliantly matched clowns Jesse Tyler

Jenifa’ & ‘Osuofia’ at it Again! check out funny photos from the set of their new movie

Ferguson and Hamish Linklater – each doing doubleduty as they played two sets of twins – this accelerated update is an ideal summer night’s entertainment.

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locking in at a breezy 90 intermission-less minutes that include a jazzy swing-dancing pre-show and swift choreographed scene changes, the production is presented as a gangster comedy of mistaken identity, set in the late 1930s in upstate New York.

Sullivan literally unpacks a fun bag of tricks from the outset by having Syracuse merchant Egeon (Jonathan Hadary) pull props from a suitcase as he relates his sad tale to the Duke (Skipp Sudduth).

Playing the authority figure as

a Mob don in Al Capone-style pinstripes, Sudduth’s wise-guy delivery makes droll work of Shakespeare’s dialogue. Egeon has risked venturing to the hostile territory of Ephesus in search of his son Antipholus (Linklater), who took off seven years earlier with his servant Dromio (Ferguson) to track down his lost sibling.

To complicate matters, both Antipholus and Dromio were separated during a shipwreck as infants from identically named (and costumed) twin brothers.

They blow into Ephesus on an Adirondack Trailways

bus, and guess where their doppelgangers now reside?

Borrowing from Plautus’ Menaechmi, the play has been reworked countless times – musically as Rodgers & Hart’s The Boys From Syracuse and the hip-hop Bomb-itty of Errors; as a vaudevillian circus act by The Flying Karamazov Brothers in the 1980s; and as the 1988 Bette Midler-Lily Tomlin screen vehicle Big Business, among notable incarnations.

Finding fresh ways to play the hoary farce is a challenge, but the casting here is a major help.

Having four actors in the

Mo’Hits crisis destroyed my marriage plans – D’Banj

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he self acclaimed ‘Eja Nla (big fish)’ has disclosed that he was almost getting married until the 2012 crisis that crashed Mo’Hits Records destroyed his wedding plan.

The Sagamu, Ogun Stateborn entertainer revealed this to PM News in an interview.

D’Banj confessed that, “I would have been married if Mo’Hits had not broken up.

The crisis really affected me and I had to start so many things afresh. Just like my mentor 2Face Idibia, I will be married and have my own kids one day.”

D’Banj is reportedly 33 years old. Recall that on Monday, December 19, 2011, Nigeriafilms.com exclusively reported that the Kokomaster would marry in 2012 after his mother pressured him to get married last year.

This revelation is a confirmation of the story published in 2011 on D’Banj getting married in 2012, as source then told Nigeriafilms. com until the final split of Mo’Hit around April 2012.

Don’t be surprised that the rich too, sometime, want to live the way the poor live their lives.

Wande Coal to perform at D’Banj’s concert

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gainst all odds, former Mavin Records artiste, Wande Coal will perform at the DKM Concert organised

by D’Banj, Nigeriafilms.com has said.

The event, which will hold on June 23 in Lagos, will have the former Mo’Hits Records artiste give the audience a good feel of himself.

This was disclosed by Don Jazzy, who claimed he will miss the show for another function he would be involved in.

When asked by a fan if he would be at D’Banj’s concert, the Mavin Records boss said he won’t be but Wande Coal would perform at the event.

Wande Coal, after the crash of Mo’Hits, went with Don Jazzy. It was even reported at a time that Wande Coal bitterly

complained of being snubbed

by Mo’Hits because of D’Banj.

main roles often makes it hard to swallow that nobody onstage can spot the glaring differences between the visiting Syracusan Antipholus and Dromio – who know no one, yet everyone seems to know them – and their local Ephesus counterparts.

Handing two roles apiece to Ferguson and Linklater allows the actors to exercise formidable Shakespearean comedy chops that will be a revelation to audiences familiar only with their TV work on Modern Family and The New Adventures of Old Christine, respectively. The subtle distinctions they bring to their characterizations paradoxically assist in keeping tabs on who’s who while making the mix-ups credible for the play’s other figures.

Perhaps the defining traits of each actor here are Ferguson’s sense of mischief and Linklater’s restraint.

Both Dromios owe a debt to Stan Laurel, but the Syracuse transplant is a prancing jester while his Ephesus lookalike is a more self-dramatizing, putupon type, providing some sobering ballast to his married playboy master. Antipholus of Syracuse, by contrast, is single and more inclined toward introspection. The tightly synched chemistry between Ferguson’s daffy physical comedy skills and Linklater’s verbal dexterity makes them a marvelous team.

Abuja Agog for ‘Terry G book of ginjah’ concert

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t will be a celebration of good music and the ditching out of rib-cracking jokes when eccentric singer, Terry G holds his ‘Terry G book of ginjah’ concert in Abuja.

Nigeriafilms.com said that the event will take place on 5th July, 2013 in ThisDay Dome in the FCT at 6pm with a red carpet reception.

The singer’s Abuja fans will have a lot to savour at the concert as top stars are billed to thrill them with scintillating performances.

They are expected to get undiluted performances from music stars and top comedians.

With Tobias Lengman

The evolution of Kate Henshaw’s natural hair

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o l l y w o o d actress Kate H e n s h a w went ‘natural’ quite a while ago and she has been experimenting different styles with

Ethan Hawke, Laurie Metcalf join Lincoln center theater season lineup

Page 25

it. She was spotted earlier today at The Section on Business Law Conference at Eko Hotel rocking this another new hairstyle.

Photo credit: Instagram – funkejenifaakindele

Wizkid invited by policemen at Zone 2 Command

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Yvonne Nelson accuses friends of feeding bloggers stories about her

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opular Ghanian actress, Yvonne Nelson, has lashed out on her friends, accusing them of portraying her in bad light, information on Linda Ikeji’s blog has said.

This information is in the wake of fraudulent activities of bloggers in the country.

The actress said that most of the dating stories about her were from people she called her friends, adding that she never circulated any story about dating.

Recently, the entertainment industry has witnessed a lot of fraudulent activities by loggers who give false information about celebrities.

izkid and his manger Godwin Tom, were invited by men of the Nigeria Police Force - Zone 2 Command, Onikan, June 19th after students of the University of Lagos reported the music star to the police, information on Linda Ikeji’s blog has said.

The students claimed that Wizkid collected N500, 000 from them as full payment for a show that was supposed to hold at UNILAG Sports Centre on May 21st tagged ‘Concert of Life’.

They claimed Wizkid didn’t show up for the show and didn’t return their money so they went to the police.

Wizkid was at Zone 2 for a few hours with his team. He was bailed by his lawyer after he wrote a statement and was asked to report back to the station next week.

I reached out to Wizkid’s camp but they kept mum on the matter. But someone privy to the case said they believe an impostor collected the money and not Wizkid. Hopefully, Wizkid’s camp will eventually release a statement clearing the air.

Tiannah Styling CEO Toyin Lawani set to wed 21 year old lover

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1 year old T i a n n a h Styling CEO, Toyin Lawani, has concluded plans to marry her 21 year old lover, information on Linda Ikeji’s blog has said.

It added that the hard working and

generous designer and business woman recently got engaged to her 21 year old lover, adding that the couple have been dating quietly since the beginning of the year and will be walking down the aisle in a couple of months.

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Peoples Daily WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Hollywood/Bollywood

Emeli Sande and Ed Sheeran announced for Stephen Lawrence Unity concert

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meli Sande, Jessie J and Ed Sheeran will join a star-studded line-up for a memorial concert in memory of Stephen Lawrence.

The acts will perform at London’s O2 Arena on September 29 along with Labrinth, Plan B, Tinie Tempah, Rudimental, Rizzle Kicks and Jamie Cullum.

Stephen was murdered 20 years ago in a racially-motivated attack and the concert aims to champion youth empowerment.

His mother Doreen, founder of the Lawrence Charitable Trust, said: ‘I would like Stephen to be remembered as a young man who had a future.

‘He was well loved, and had he been given the chance to survive maybe he would have been the

one to bridge the gap between black and white because he didn’t distinguish between black or white. He saw people as people.’

She added: ‘Our aim is to build hope for the future. Justice for Stephen is about all of us, every one of us, in society having justice. I want young people to feel inspired, be confident and have hope in their own future.’

Proceeds from the concert will go towards the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust.

Hollywood treats me as a joke-James Deen.

Porn star turned mainstream actor James Deen, 27, insists his rocket scientist parents are proud.

As the first porn star to take the lead in a mainstream movie, you

might think James Deen would be embracing the bright lights of Hollywood.

Instead, he’s slugging it off with Hollywood for treating him as ‘a joke’ and a ‘cash cow’, describing fame as ‘fleeting and useless’, and listing the ‘crappy roles’ he wouldn’t touch with a barge pole.

‘I can say to Michael Bay (director of Transformers): “Your movie sucks and I have no interest in doing this movie.’ says Deen. ‘I can do things like that.

And if I never do a Hollywood movie again, who cares?’

Deen is in the running to play the highly coveted role of Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades Of Grey film. And his first big picture, The Canyons, sees him co-starring alongside Hollywood’s most notorious wild child, Lindsay Lohan, in a production directed by Taxi Driver writer Paul Schrader and penned by Bret Easton Ellis, the author of American Psycho.

But Deen is so wedded to the adult industry that he couldn’t resist skipping town to shoot a

Manisha Koirala: I am free from cancer

T

he Bollywood actor, who was treated for ovarian cancer in New York, made a cheerful appearance in the city Actor Manisha Koirala, who has successfully battled ovarian cancer, maintained a vibrant and cheerful demeanour as she stepped out for a public function in New York recently.

The 42-year-old was seen wearing trousers, a white shirt, a casual white coat and a red hat. Manisha covered her head with a tied-up stole, and then further concealed it with the bright red hat – and she not only looked elegant, she was also happier and healthier.

Even her face and her smile reflected a unique glow as she interacted with several women in a green, open space.

“I am free from cancer,” Manisha said at the event, thanking all those who wished her recovery during her tough time, according to Nepalese channel White Himal TV, which operates from New York.

Manisha, who carved her own niche in the Hindi film industry with films like Bombay, 1942: A Love Story and Dil Se, was initially admitted to Mumbai’s Jaslok Hospital on November 28 last year after which she flew down to the US for further treatment.

She is expected to return to India towards June end, her manager Subroto Ghosh said, adding: “She is now fine, all hale and hearty.”

The actor is missing the

Mumbai monsoons. She took to her Facebook page to share her thoughts, and posted: “Got to know (about) lovely rains in Mumbai. Can’t wait to be on my terrace!”

few porn scenes on his days off.

Indeed, far from being a step up the career ladder, away from the sleaze of adult movies, he insists ‘Hollywood is the most objectifying industry in the world’ (while comparing porn to Cirque du Soleil – ‘acrobatic performance in a safe environment’).

Leonardo DiCaprio’s bonkers ‘Wolf of wall street’ trailer has more midget

T

hree years after Shutter island, Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio have teamed up again. This time they’re bringing us the semibiographical film The Wolf of Wall Street. If the first trailer is any indication, this movie is going to be one hell of an overthe-top ride.

Based on the memoir by Jordan Belfort, The Wolf of Wall Street tells the true story of a wealthy New York stockbroker who becomes the subject of a securities fraud and money laundering investigation. The movie focuses on Belfort’s excessive lifestyle during the ‘80s and ‘90s, when he was “making more money than (he) knew what to do with.”

The trailer for The Wolf of Wall Street, fittingly set to Kanye West’s howl-filled new single “Black Skinhead,” shows the financier engaging in all levels of debauchery. It’s a fraternity party of epic proportions, complete with bikini-clad women, Jonah Hill eating a live goldfish, a marching band in their boxers, a few American Psycho-esque freakouts, and countless hundred dollar bills thrown everywhere.

From taping stacks of money to half-naked women to launching a dwarf at a life-sized target, there seems to be no limit to how these guys will spend their wealth.

This isn’t the first time that DiCaprio has played a white collar criminal (think back to Catch Me If You Can). But it may be the role that finally earns him that long-elusive Academy Award. The Wolf of Wall Street also stars Matthew McConaughey and Jonah Hill, who, after his critically acclaimed performance in Moneyball, seems to think

Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner Finally speak about the family’s new baby

W

e finally have word from new momma Kim Kardashian! The E! reality star emailed Ryan Seacrest in response to a congratulatory e-mail he sent her, exclaiming, “Can’t believe it! So crazy!”

Kardashian and her baby’s father Kanye West, whose album Yeezus dropped recently, welcomed their little 5-pound

girl into the world on June 15 just in time for Father’s Day — Mozel tov!

Kimmy K’s mother Kris Jenner spoke about her new grandchild at the Daytime Emmy Awards as well. In an interview with E! News, Kris, who was busy promoting her self-titled talk show, stopped on the Red Carpet to reveal: “We’re happy, everybody’s good

‘I mean, Hollywood actors are puppets, they’re props,’ says Deen. ‘It’s literally “dance, monkey, dance, make me smile”.

‘It’s still fun though. When it stops being fun is when I stop doing it. My primary motivation for doing most things is for smiles.’

The 27-year-old has more reason than most for an ear-toear grin, after grabbing the job of his dreams aged just 18-year-old.

and she’s beautiful.”

Even though the name of the already-famous baby is still hush-hush, we do know that this baby is receiving a whole lot of love! Queen Bey even took the time out to congratulate the new parents.

So, will Kanye sing tracks from Yeezus to his mini-me as a nightly lullaby?

that being “a serious actor” necessitates that he take on roles in films with money-related titles.

Miss Connecticut Crowned New Miss USA, but Utah Steals the Show

A

ll of Miss Connecticut’s (née Erin Brady) dreams came true when she was named 2013’s Miss USA during Sunday night’s pageant. Unfortunately for the 25-year-old, however, another contestant stole the spotlight — and the headlines.

While Brady donned her crown and thanked God for the invention of waterproof mascara, Miss Utah (Marissa Powell) was well on her way to becoming a viral Internet sensation. In a fail the likes of which we haven’t seen since Miss Teen South Carolina’s bumbling disaster of an answer in 2007 (“Like... such as... the Iraq...” — facepalm), Powell went down in flames while attempting to answer judge NeNe Leakes’ question about unequal pay in the workforce.

The question, as posed

by Leakes, was as follows: “A recent report shows that in 40 percent of American families with children, women are the primary earners, yet they continue to earn less than men.

News Feature

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 22 - SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

PAGE 27

Drugged, deceived and deprived

—Heart wrenching story of Zainab who was lured and defiled by a randy man From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

T

he story of 19 year Old Zainab Salmanu who lives in Saulawa quarters in Katsina metropolis of Katsina State is a clear case of man’s wickedness to a less privileged woman.

Zainab was by all standards from a poor background. Her parents are poor.Her father is a security guard in one of the offices in Katsina while her mother died before her first marriage and was not privileged to attend either western or Islamic school.

The life of Zainab Salmanu is full of deprivations, poverty and exploitation.

However,the beauty of Zainab attracted men to her, who feel that going by her lower status, she could be an easy prey for them to manipulate and exploit.

At the age of 15 when Zainab’s friends were attending junior secondary school, a suitor appeared and insisted on marrying her at that age. Her parents were so happy that at least, the burden of providing for her numerous needs as a girl would be shifted on another man’s shoulder. She was married off to her first husband and just after given birth to her first child, he sent her packing. As at the time Zainab returned home, her father’s economic woes had increased with him living with Zainab’s stepmother in a oneroom rented apartment and with no economic power to even feed her. This left Zainab once again vulnerable to the lust of wicked men.

Even though, Zainab has seen poverty and deprivation all her life, she decided to resist the temptation of being used as a sex toy by these immoral men.

When she severally refused their trick of wooing her to places they could abuse her, one of their neighbour, Alhaji Mu’awuya, whose trick to have her for his sexual pleasure failed, decided to use his last weapon which was a promise to marry her. From the time of the promise, Zainab became a little bit tolerant of him but not without caution.

Zainab told Peoples Daily Weekend “When he promised to marry me, I was a little bit cautious because he kept on inviting me to meet him in a place that I later discovered, is a hotel accommodation. And on this discovery, I refused to accept his invitation”.

But according to her, Mu’awuya did not give up as “he invited me to come to his house and meet his wife so that we can know each other before the marriage. He even used to dial a number and link me with a lady who he said is his wife. The lady

Zainab and her love-child even asked me when I will visit their house”.

Zainab disclosed that this was the trick the man continued to use to lure her to his house. According to Zainab, Mu’awuya’s persistence paid up when during the last year’s Sallah ceremony, she promised to visit his house. She said “during the visit, I met him sitting at the house premises on a mat with a bowl of meat and a bottle of soft drink. And when I enquired about his wife, he said she has gone to the neighbourhood and would soon be back to meet us”. After a while Zainab disclosed, “he invited me to take the meat and the bottle of drink, initially I refused but he used his sugarcoated mouth to convince me to take a little. After taking this drink the next thing I knew, I woke up to find myself naked in his sitting room”. She added “when I woke up and saw what happened, I started crying while he was laughing and gave me N500 to go home”.

Zainab stated “since then he avoided me because he knew the crime he committed. I later resolved to go back to my former husband. It was few days after returning to him that it was discovered I was pregnant. And as my husband could not take it he sent me packing”.

The estranged woman stated that “my father and I confronted Alhaji Mu’awuya over the issue but he started playing tricks and pretending not to have anything to do with it”. It was when the culprit refused to accept the reality on ground that Zainab’s father reported to the Magajin Garin Katsina.

Zainab said “ when we reported to Magajin Gari and he was called, we could not reach amicable resolution” but instead, according to her, “he dragged me to a Shari’a Court at Kofar Soro where he alleged I’m trying to defame and blackmail him”. At the court, she said,

“

the case was severally adjourned without Mu’awuya’s appearance.

Zainab said when there was no headway somebody linked them up with a lawyer who also linked her with a Katsina based NGO, Community Information Project, CIP, run by one Mr. Aron Jacobs.

At a press conference called by the NGO, its coordinator, Mr. Jacob vowed to pursue her case to the logical conclusion and to see that justice is done to the poor woman. The NGO wrote a petition to the state police commissioner against the randy man. He was promptly arrested,

Zainab told Peoples Daily Weekend “When he promised to marry me, I was a little bit cautious because he kept on inviting me to meet him in a place that I later discovered, is a hotel accommodation. And on this discovery, I refused to accept his invitation”.

interrogated and taken to court.

The case is still pending in the court.

However as this was going on about 40 days ago, Zainab gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. The boy was since been named Abubakar by his embattled father, where he sent N25,000 for Zainab to buy ram for the naming ceremony and other requirements. But even at that Zainab said “what I later heard was that N70,000 was given by the father but someone along the line slashed it”.

That is not all about Zainab’s worry as according to her, “one man, called Abubakar who has been an intermediary between me and the boy’s father has brought a letter to which he insisted I should sign even without knowing its content”.

With the way things are going, Zainab’s worry is who will continue to take care of her baby? What is the position of the court case instituted against the culprit for his crime? Who will now aid her to make sure the man who abused her, did not escape the hands of the law?

It seems a little answer to these questions have come her way, as the Community Information Project has vowed to follow-up the case to conclusion.

Page 28

Cuisine

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Wheat meal (Burabuskon alkama) Ingredients: Six tins of wheat [tsakin Alkama], onion, green pepper, salt and groundnut oil.

P r e p a r a t i o n method: Wash Tsaki, alkama and drain and allow it to absorb water in it. Get a steamer pot and put the tsakin alkama and put on fire then cook for 2030 minutes then remove from fire and pour it in a clean bowl. Add salt, chopped onions and sliced green pepper and add groundnut oil. Mix well and add some little water then take it back to the steamer pot again and cook for 20-30 minutes until soft. Serve with vegetable soup or meat stew or cabbage source.

Refreshing Coconut milk When it comes to extracting milk from a coconut, the common misconception is that all you need do to is pierce the black “eyes” on the top of the coconut and the milk comes flowing out. Actually, extracting milk from a coconut is a bit more work, but the results are worth it!

Here are easy step-bystep instructions, on how to make your own refreshing coconut milk and have a nutritious day.

Things you’ll need: One large sized coconut A medium bowl Cork-screw to pierce

the eyes Sharp implement for cracking the coconut Blender Cheesecloth Preparation: Pierce the three black eyes at the top of the coconut with a sharp instrument.

Drain the watery juice out of the eyes - this is not the coconut milk.

Tap around the middle of the coconut with a sharp instrument to crack it open Remove the white meat from inside the two halves of the coconut.

Test a small piece of the meat. If it tastes bad, don’t proceed any

further.

Chop up any pieces of coconut meat that are noticeably larger than others.

Place half the coconut meat in the blender with about 1 1/2 cups of hot water (Vary the amount of water to produce thicker or thinner milk).

Process for thirty seconds and repeat with the other half of the meat.

Place a few layers of cheesecloth over a bowl and strain the milk through the cloth.

Lift up the cheesecloth and squeeze the milk out.

Pour into a jug and refrigerate, and oooh, its ready to drink.

With Hajiya Ramatu Usman Dorayi

Page 29

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Womanhood

I am willing to forgo my educational pursuits for my children ...Continued week

from

last

I

got there, and tried the door, and truly it was unlocked. I went in, and said ‘guys come on lets go’. Chris said they are watching a Jesus movie, they have to finish. I turned to the children, and said why didn’t you get started on your reading Christine or you David? They both said daddy is using his computer.

I looked at the screen, he was on Facebook. I said, so after everything you heard today in the school, you still won’t allow these children to study, you are on Facebook He jumped up. Can’t you see that they are watching the suffering of Christ on the cross? What is all this school and book rubbish about? You that you went to school, what are you now?

Where is your life, are you not still useless, is your life not destroyed?

I had already started crying when I said, if my life is destroyed, it is because you destroyed it with all the evil that you have done to me; but I will not allow the lives of my children to be destroyed. I went to grab Christine’s jacket, and he grabbed me. I said “they are not going” he yelled.

He said who asked you to enter my house. He grabbed me and started to pull me towards the door. I said I’m not leaving without my kids.

He said when I finish with you, you will never see them again, that your big job that makes you a big woman, you will never work again, you will be on welfare, and the Edmonton school you want to go, you are not going. I said it’s a weekday, they are with me. He was still trying to throw me out physically.

I grabbed the front of his sweater to keep me from falling over. He grabbed my glasses off my face and tossed them out, then my bag and coat. He was still pulling me, and I was pushing against him, refusing to leave. As he pulled me nearly out the door, the picture frame that was on a small stool by the door fell and broke.

I pushed against him to avoid the broken glass. The children started to cry, I said run outside lets go. He said, remember what I told you, now go inside the room and lock the door. He took a stick, and started to hit me with it, spat on my face calling me a prostitute. I spat back on him, and he chopped me in the neck with the side of his

Amaka and her children

hand. I fell on the floor. He said I told you I would deal with you for hitting my face.

When he made to continue to hit me, I got up and ran towards his TV and held onto it for dear life. I said, ‘If you lay another hand on me, the TV is coming down with me”.

He said I’m calling the police; you will see what will happen. I never did manage to land even a single blow on him. I stayed by the front door, screaming all kinds of names at him. I called him a rapist and an abuser. I called him evil wicked, and all sort of thing. I gave that up when I didn’t see him anymore, and went to the door where the children were and started to talk to them through the door. I said David please give me the password to your phone, I need to call for help. I was still talking to them through the door

“

when two policemen came in. One of them said, I was hearing you yelling up the stairs. The other one went to talk to the children. The one talking to me, Officer Stark, said what is going on? I said, I would like to urinate first please, he refused. I said you can come to the bathroom, I have nothing to hide, but I need to urinate. He still refused, so I said ok, here is what happened.

I had just started to tell him what happened; when the other one came out and said don’t bother, the children corroborated his story. Stark said, you are under arrest, reading me rights. He handcuffed me. I was standing there in handcuffs, listening to them conferring as to what charges to lay. They came up with four. Stark asked, should I tack on breaking and entering as well, the

I went to court the next afternoon, I wasn’t allowed to speak. When I heard the judge say I couldn’t see my children, my life just left me, and I fell on the floor, struggling to breathe.

other said ehm no, it might look a bit much. How about something about the children, Stark asked, the other said I think what we have will do. I said, I was the one attacked, you are doing the wrong thing, you need to listen to me, but they would not. I left it at that, and refused to say another word to them, keeping silent through a lot of what they were asking me about understanding charges etc.

I went to court the next afternoon, I wasn’t allowed to speak. When I heard the judge say I couldn’t see my children, my life just left me, and I fell on the floor, struggling to breathe. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me again.

It had happened before when Chris had got Michael and Emmanuel, refugee claimants from his church to say that I had threatened him with a knife. On that occasion he had been trying to prevent me from going to work on my first day on the job. The prosecutor didn’t like the stories at that time, and the charges were stayed. I later asked one of the men why he had done that, he said that Chris said if he didn’t, that he would tell immigration to deport him, so he had to.

When Chris did find out that he had told me the truth, he exposed him to immigration, and Emmanuel got deported.

The duty counsel, who spoke in my defense, a woman

with straight dark brown hair, came to me on the floor, looked me in the eyes and said in a strong voice. “Get up Amaka, you are strong, compose yourself, and fight this. You are strong, you are okay you can fight this, get up!” Something in my heart heard her. I have been at peace since I heard her voice. It is as if she gave me new life, new strength. I am going to try again. I haven’t seen or touched or hugged my children since January 23rd, but I am not in pieces because of her. It is as if for the first time, someone saw me, and tried to help me.

I know that my children are not thriving while they are with him, and that they are basically camping. He treats Christine differently from her brother for the mere fact that she is a girl. They both constantly complain that “Daddy never listens”, and were both extremely excited at the prospect of moving to Edmonton. They are being forced to attend night-vigil prayers at his church every Friday night, and they return from this extremely exhausted. Chris has extreme fundamentalist Christian beliefs, and I am continually trying to correct some of those views that he has foisted on my kids.

There was one awful day when Christine came home in tears. She said that “Daddy made me do 100 frog-jumps”-frog jumps are squats…She had to hold both her ears and squat and get to her feet repeatedly for a hundred count. I asked why?

It turned out that Christine and her friend had been playing “Justin Bieber dating” and that “Justin Bieber” had had to kiss the “girlfriend”. I said did you try to explain this to your father, and she had replied, “But he never listens”. He had also done “deliverance” on her to cast out the demon of homosexuality. I called him, and warned him that if he ever did anything like that again, I would take both children away; and that he would never see them again until after they were eighteen and voluntarily sought him out. I am willing to finally forgo getting my education done, and defeating the purpose for my coming to Canada so many years ago in order to protect my children.

I know for a fact that he has been systematically indoctrinating my son, and I am not willing to allow this to continue for much longer.

Peoples Daily WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

30

Do you have old pictures for memories?

Send them to junioremma419@gmail.com

ARCHIVES

Eastern House of Assembly, Enugu, Nigeria (1960).

Nnamdi Azikiwe was the governor in the 1950s while Michael Okpara in the same capacity served as the governor in the early 1960s

Dr M. Okpara, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Solomon Lar, Jim, Melford Okilo, Aper Aku, Prof. Kenneth Dike in the early 50’s

First ILO African Regional Conference, Lagos, Nigeria, December 1960. From left to right: Mr. Johnson, Labour Minister of Nigeria, and Chairperson of the Conference, Dr. Azikiwe, Governor-General of Nigeria, Mr. Demby, Labour Minister of Sierra Leone, and David A. Morse, ILO Director-General.

Biology lesson at Queens College in Yaba, Lagos. 1959.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Leisure

31

STRANGE FACTS

CARTOON

About the human body The human body is an incredibly complex and intricate system and it still baffles researchers regularly despite thousands of years of medical knowledge. As a result, it shouldn’t be a surprise that even body parts we deal with everyday have unexpected facts and explanations behind them.

Here are some wacky facts about the human body: • The brain is more active at night than during the day.

Scientists don’t know yet why this is.

• The higher your IQ, the more you dream.

• Facial hair grows faster than any other hair on the body.

• The nail on the middle finger grows faster than the other fingernails.

• Fingernails grow nearly four times faster than toe nails.

• The lifespan of a human hair is 3 to 7 years on average.

• The acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve zinc.

It doesn’t destroy the stomach because because the stomach walls constantly renews itself.

• Women’s hearts beat faster than men’s.

• Women blink twice as many times as men do.

• Women are born better smellers than men and remain better smellers over life.

• Men burn fat faster than women by a rate of about 50 calories a day.

• Men get hiccups more often than women.

• A man has approximately 6.8 litres of blood in the body while women have approximately 5 litres.

• The largest cell in the body is the female egg and the smallest is the male sperm.

• During your lifetime, you will produce enough saliva to fill two swimming pools.

• Babies are always born with blue eyes. The melanin in their eyes needs time to be fully deposited or to be darkened by ultraviolet light to reveal the baby’s true eye color.

• Men have erections every hour to hour and a half during sleep. This is because the combination of blood circulation and testerone production can cause erections during sleep and are a necessary part of REM sleep.

• After eating too much, your hearing is less sharp.

Photo of the day

• If your saliva cannot dissolve or mix with food, you will not be able to taste that food (try tasting something after drying off your tongue) • Noise causes the pupils of your eyes to dilate. Even very small noises can do this.

• Everyone has a unique smell, unique finger print and unique tongue print.

• By age 60, most people will have lost half their taste buds.

WORD SEARCH Find the words which are listed at the right side of this page in the Word Search grid. The words can be forwards, QUOTES big tree attracts the (1593-1632) backwards, up, down, or diagonal. Circle each letter •A gale. separately and keep in mind that the letters in each words – Chinese (on pride) • If someone gives you advice, it is in his own • All that glitters is not interest. may be used in more than one words name.

Wisdom Faithful Strength Andurance Admin Soap

Totally Constraint Salute Mortgage Buch Revenue

gold.

– Latin Proverb

• Clean your finger before you point at my spots. – Ben Franklin (17061790) • Clothes don’t make the man.

– Unknown • Clouds that thunder, do not always rain.

–Armenian (on vanity and arrogance) • Empty vessels make the most sound.

– John Lydgate (c.1370-1451)

– Tunisian Proverb

It is better to enjoy the cool breeze of others waving your flag, than to suffer the sweat of doing it yourself.

– L.D. Seese (1992) thanks to J. Martin • It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.

– Chinese Proverb • No one can make us feel inferior without our consent. – unknown

• The cat would eat fish but would not get her feet wet.

• Every ass loves to hear – Chaucer (c.1343himself bray.

1400) – English (on vanity and arrogance) • The drum makes a great fuss because it is • His bark is worse than empty. – Trinidadian his bite. (on vanity and – George Herbert arrogance)

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

32

Compiled by Ekah Theodora

T

o d a y

Fashion

Choosing shoes & bags with fun

matching bags and shoes has become a difficult task, even as it is fashionable.

To ladies, bags a r e fashionable assets, and serve as personality introduction.

Therefore, for every occasion or outing they go, proper selection is made to match, which sometimes tell the mood of the occasion or event.

Hand bags and shoes are the fashion accessories which should be properly matched with your whole look and body shape and are necessary part of women’s fashion.

These accessories complete a girl’s look whether for a party or wedding or casual.

...and having lasting impression Women are always excited about the new stylish shoes and matching hand bags, and choose them according to their dressing style. Try stretching your comfort limit by going for shoes and hand bags in different nuances to create rear style impact.

When picking hand bags, it is important that you choose one that enhances y o u r b o d y s h a p e .

If you are slimmer and tall, a handbag that is small and extensive is likely to look amazing on you. If you are dressed in dark shaded clothing, dark hand bag can satisfy the requirement. On awesome tinted clothing, you can

use light coloured hand bags. Printed hand bags are in fashion these days.

Shoe wedges are the most fashionable and most versatile of women’s footwear.

However, it’s a fact won’t

that they look great with everyone or dazzle every outfit available. It has its ups and downs which have to know and use appropriately to create stunning looks or just get the that you want. We should note that pencil skirts don’t match with wedges.

Wedges are more comfortable than stilettoes and if you seem to need more at an event, sometimes just putting on a pair of a flowing dress and great accessories will do the trick. comfortable and elegant with shoe wedges is effortless most of

you look

height wedges, Looking the time.

There was a time when matching your hand bag was an unstylish thing to do. But for now, with every pair of shoes, a matching hand bag goes along. Note that the formal style bag also works with flat stylish sandals. A final tip to this new matching trend is to have fun with creativity and colour mixture.

Perfumes...lasting impression A

perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma objects, and living spaces “a pleasant scent.”

Perfumes have been known to exist in some of the earliest Modern perfumery began in the late 19th century with the or coumarin, which allowed for the composition of perfumes natural aromatics alone.

The composition of a perfume is of vital significance perfumer, who deals with principal scents like rose, like linalool and hydroxycitronellol; and fixatives resulting scent is explained in a musical metaphor fast evaporating small size molecules) like citrus and evaporating medium size molecules) like lavender of slowest evaporating largest size molecules) like a musical chord.The effect of perfumes on our brains effects are certainly enjoyed. Each scent, whether enter the nasal passages and eventually reach the has a vast amount of receptor neurons which These cilia trap the scent and send a message recognize the perfume. The ability to smell is important as some research has shown have a less happy life than those who and affect our mood. The ingredients your concentration and enhance your that are said to trigger this stimulating ingredients such as ginger, sandalwood therapists and aromacologists alike to neurons. The increased stimulation in many everyday tasks, from more and energy, balanced weight loss to an benefit to be gained from wearing perfume Certain scents have aldehydes which have perfume oils which have this effect include scents can act as a form of sedative, aiding anxiety and tension which in turn creates a famous of these perfumes include lavender used for this purpose for centuries and in a

compounds, fixatives and solvents used to give the human body, animals, food, human civilizations, either through ancient texts or from archaeological digs. commercial synthesis of aroma compounds such as vanillin with smells previously unattainable solely from and

is

l i k e o f

handled by an expert known as a jasmine, cola, etc; modifiers like esters; blenders resins, wood scents, and amber bases. The three ‘notes’, namely, top notes (consisting of ginger scents; middle notes (consisting of slow and rose scents; and base notes (consisting fixatives etc. All these notes work together like is not necessarily acknowledged though the natural or synthetic, emits molecules which olfactory epithelium. This part of the nose are each covered in hairs called cilia. to the brain which enables a person to immediately has a positive impact. This that people without a sense of smell can smell; scents trigger emotions used in perfume may improve mood. There is a long list of scents effect. Perfumes that contain and rose are claimed by aroma have a stimulating effect on brain aided by the use of perfume assists focused studying to extra stamina improved immune system.Another is that it can relax your mood. a calming effect on the brain. The eucalyptus and citronella. Other restful sleep, which helps reduce wealth of health benefits. The most and bergamot, which have been variety of countries worldwide.

Page 33

Magazine

Peoples Daily WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

The genesis of Zamfara massacre From Ibrahim Sidi Muh’d, Gusau

I

t all started in the full light of history on a black Tuesday this week that swallowed over sixty innocent lives in Kizara village of Tsafe local government area of Zamfara state.

Many people predicted the attack that was eventually launched by a dangerous group of cattle rustlers, but were surprised that they were not in the village this time around to grab cows as usual, rape women or to rob the inhabitants of money or any other valuable, but were blood thirsty terrorists with a specific mission of annihilating an entire innocent community.

The second in command of the dangerous group, who is also a child of the devastated community identified as ‘Nura Yellow’, was initially engaged by the Emir of Tsafe, Alhaji Habibu Aliyu ‘Yandoto, to rear over hundred cows for him. As it has been a popular tradition in the village, a young man must engage himself in either crop farming or cattle rearing as a source of living.

In that sense, Nura Yellow had accepted the agreement of service reached with the Emir, who strongly believed that he was dealing with a trusted employee.

Few days later, Nura Yellow, herded the cattle into the jungle in a scout for pasture. But shockingly one day, a team of vigilante men from his Kizara village, while on surveillance in the jungle towards Birnin Gwari,a border town of Kaduna state,they met and engaged a group of armed robbers in a serious fight to rescue some merchants under attack.

Yellow was identified among the robbery gang.

The unbelievable discovery of Yellow was subsequently reported to the late village head, Lawali Madawaki, and the village Chairman of the Vigilante group, Adamu Kandami respectively, who were in position to call the derailed son of the community to order, and preach to him to keep away from any of the social vices, and concentrate on his legitimate cattle bearing.

Nura Yellow, was reported to be remorseful to the happiness of the village elders who ‘expelled’ the devil that possessed their son out.

However, he was once again arrested by the Vigilante group of his village for the same nefarious business.

This time, the village head was said to have drawn a redline for him not to be seen or even heard involved in any armed robbery attack within or beyond the village community.

Few months later, Yellow repeated the same crime and was rearrested by another Vigilante group on surveillance from neighboring Danjibga village, and handed over to his colleagues at Kizara. The late village head decided this time around, to keep him with the police for reform.

The Emir of Tsafe, who initially engaged Nura Yellow in good faith,

A man flees with his family was accosted by the late village head to quickly sack him over bad conduct and employ another person to rear his cows.

After some days, Yellow resurfaced in the village with more trouble before one Alhaji Rabi’u employed him to look after his cattle, as he thought the employment would change Nura for good.

It was reliably gathered that, Yellow had threatened to deal with the late village head publicly before he departed last with cattle into the

jungle. His new employer had to promise a reward of five cows for the vigilante group, if they could recover his cows.

A serious war was reported to have been fought between the cattle rustlers and the vigilante groups of Kizara village wherein they succeeded in overpowering the gang and recovered the cows for Alhaji Rabi’u. Scores of armed bandits were reported to have been killed in the process.

Revelations have pointed out

that Yellow, who fully considered the late village head, the late village Imam, Malam Usman and the late vigilante group Chairman as prime enemies, had sent a letter indicating that he would invade the village on a revenge mission upon the painful loss his members tasted in the hands of the village warriors.

The letter was said to have been circulated in the village and all the security agencies operating in the state were alerted for intervention. A Unit of mobile Police was thereafter

deployed to prevent any reprisal and to give adequate security to the communities along the axis.

Unfortunately, last week Saturday, the troops were mobilized to Sokoto for a special assignment without any deployment of their replacements. The lacuna was then exploited by the gang which launched a war-like attack last Tuesday, leading to the death of over sixty innocent lives and properties valued at several thousands of naira burnt to ashes.

Gov. of Zamfara state, Alh. Abdul’aziz Yari Abubakar

BU$I#€SS PAGE 34

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 22 - SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Ndukwe harps on internet advantage to society

By Christopher Alu

T

he former EVC, NCC has called on Nigerians to cue into the internet swing in order to improve on good governance and day to day administration.

Speaking at the Plenary session of the Nigerian Internet Governance Forum Association in Abuja, Ndukwe said that access to internet can improved on our daily life social activities and can also create an utopian knowledge society as well as a tumultuous one depending on the application, he explained that the country stands a better chance to exploit the advantageous aspect of the internet world in order to develop their capacities and determined force in the marketplace.

According to him, the need for L-R: Borno State Commissioner of Finance, Alh. Yunus Mairami, representative of Borno State Accountant General, Mallam internet Governance is necessary Mohammed Abba , Gombe State Commissioner of Finance, Alh. Hassan Muhammadu and Kano State Accountant General, with a caution to avoid hurting its Dr. Danjuma Mahmoud, during the Month of June Federal Account Allocation Committee Meeting, recently in Abuja. freedom of usage to the society.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo Earlier executive director, Operations, DigitalSENSE Africa Media and Internet Governance crusaders in Nigeria, Mrs. Nkemdilim Nweke, said that the Internet Governance Forum (NIGF) is focus on how to expand internet connectivity to millions claimed to have acquired the void and thereby set suit NO an application challenging same who currently lack access to From Suleiman Idris, land for the construction of a ho- FHC/L/906/2010 FAAN VS before both parties were locked such without compromising the Lagos tel complex at the Murtala Mo- A.I.C. LTD, SUIT NO FHC/L/ in disputes that resulted in minor integrity and security of such.

She said that the forum is CS/1058/2010 A.I.C.LTD VS scuffle on the land in January.

Federal High Court in hammed Airport in Ikeja. to bring together stake holders Delivering judgment in three FAAN, AND SUIT NO FHC/L/ A source in FAAN told our Ikoyi, Lagos has strike in the sector to determine out a suit over a disputed separate suit over the case, CS/1239/2010 AIC LTD VS correspondent, in confidence, how broadband infrastructure presiding Judge, Honourable FAAN in that order. that the federal government has parcel of land besides the termiAIC Limited had filed two earmarked the said land for mas- could be extended to remote nal building of the international Justice Buba ruled that the Arand rural bitral tribunal, which had earsuits on the matter, following the sive infrastructural development communities wing of the Murtala Mohammed settlements in order to ensure lier awarded AIC Ltd the sum of award of the arbitration, seeking that will include the aerotropoAirport in Lagos. The Federal a positive and advantageous Airports Authority of Nigeria $48, 124, 000, miss-conducted first, an order to set aside the lis project, including an ultra- internet usage system for the itself and went outside its judecision contained in part of the modern hotel complex, a multi(FAAN) and AIC Ltd has been youth to harness and tape the locked in a protracted dispute risdiction in rendering the final final arbitration award and ask storey car park and other related huge potential of the sector. award between the parties on that the same be remitted back to projects, designed to expand fa-

Court strike out $48 million suit against FAAN, returns disputed land

A

over the land.

AIC Ltd, owned by former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Chief Harry Akande

June 1, 2010.

Justice Buba the final award

declared null and

the arbitrator for reconsideration and the arbitration be enforced.

Also, FAAN had equally filed

Why FG took custody of Kenya Airways aircraft From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

T

he Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), recently adduced reason for the continued delay of an aircraft belonging to Kenya airways said to have been prevented from flying out of the international wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos since it arrived the terminal on June 3rd this year.

According to the FAAN, the custodian of all airports in the country, the jet, a DC-9 marked 5Y-SAX violated security the security procedures of entering

the territorial airspace of Nigeria.

The aircraft, said to have arrived Nigeria about 6.36 p. m with 18 passengers including three deportees from the East African country on the said date was detected to have breached routine checks usually carried out on any aircraft by officials of the country’s foreign affairs and security personnel at the facility.

Spokesperson for aviation ministry and General Manager, Corporate Communications of FAAN Mr. Yakubu Dati said the aircraft has been detained by security agencies since June 3, 2013 under the directive of the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will be release once it satisfies routine security checks.

Dati, who doubles as Coordinating GM of the parastatals under the ministry told reporters that the plane operated

by Cavoc Airlines arrived Nigeria on June 3 with 15 crew members and the three Nigerians that were deported.

The deported Nigerians who were said to have been involved in various offences in the country were still in a detention facility at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the watchful eyes of security agencies.

cilities at the airport.

Mainstreet Bank bounces back as profits hit N24.1bn

By Abdulwahab Isa

M

ainstreet Bank witnessed major turnaround in 2012 as key performance indicators showed the beneficial impacts of recent initiatives on the overall outlook of the nationalized bank.

Audited report and accounts of Mainstreet Bank for the year ended December 31, 2012 showed that the bank turned around from its losing streak with the replacement of previous loss of N4.4 billion with a profit of N24.1 billion.

The report showed marked improvements in all key financial indices. The report indicated that the bank grew its gross earnings to N47.9 billion within the period under review.

Other intrinsic highlights of the

results showed a stable and steady performance with capital adequacy ratio and liquidity ratio of 92 per cent and 137.9 per cent respectively.

Return on assets stood at 7.0 per cent, return on equity was higher at 44.5 per cent while the bank’s nonperforming loan ratio was better than industry’s average target of 5.0 per cent at 3.29 per cent.

Commenting on the results, chairman, Mainstreet Bank, Mallam Falalu Bello described the report as a major breakthrough noting that the bank’s profit before tax grew by an unprecedented 397 per cent during the period under review.

According to him, the bank’s leadership and its corporate governance regime contributed greatly in the attainment of such remarkable feat.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 22 - SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

PAGE 35

BU$I#€SS

Market operators extol one year of Dangote’s NSE leadership From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

T

he one year-old presidency of Alhaji Aliko Dangote at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) came under focus on Friday, with market operators commending his leadership for successfully returning the exchange to a path of bountiful growth.

The operators who spoke to newsmen were particularly happy that the reign of Alhaji Dangote in the last one year has been able to restore investors’ confidence in the market.

Dangote, it would be recalled, was elected as the president of the NSE but his election became a subject of dispute at the courts.

He was however re-instated by an appellate court and resumed June 19, 2012.

His re-instatement was greeted by applause from stakeholders who believed his leadership of the exchange, at that time of market downturn and erosion of investors’ confidence, would herald the dawn of a new era.

Stakeholders noted that the market has made a rebound since Dangote came on board as reflected in the growth recorded under his leadership.

According to them, the NSE would not have fared better pointing out that the restoration of investors’ confidence occasioned by the market capitalization growth by 77 per cent, could only have been engendered by his business acumen, good leadership qualities and international contacts.

Exactly one year after, the

market capitalization of the NSE has soared by N5.202 trillion, while the NSE AllShare Index rose by 76 percent.

Specifically, the market capitalization rose from N6.712 trillion to N11.914 trillion by the close of trading last Monday. In the same vein, the ASI grew from 21,028.39 to close at 37,085.11.

Commenting on the market performance over the last one year, a leading stockbroker and Chief Executive Officer of Investment Centre Limited, Mr. Ifeanyi Odunwa, said the market has done exceedingly well in terms of restoration of investor confidence, quantum positive leap in market indices and return of local investors back to the market in the past one year under.

“The market that defiled various corrective policies put in place since the meltdown years suddenly started responding positively on a sustained basis since his return as the NSE President. Dangote personifies investment, hardwork, integrity, resilience, humility, the Nigerian can-do spirit, goodwill, transparency, trust and confidence which are necessary ingredients that positively drive a stock market.

“It is not a surprise that his experience, charisma and global contacts were brought to bear on the market coupled with the professionalism and hard work of the NSE management led

by Oscar Onyema that ensured the implementation of worldclass policies and best practices which finally turned the market around,” Odunwa said.

Maritime sector to boom as Nigeria domesticates int’l shipping convention From Olawuni Oladapo, Lagos

S

eafaring, as a career, is set for boom in the next few years as Nigeria has finally moved to comply with the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) new maritime standards and practices, as enshrined in the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006).

The MLC 2006 is the ILO’s bill of rights for ship workers (seafarers) and ship owners.

It provides comprehensive rights and protection at work for the world’s seafarers. It was established in 2006 as the fourth pillar of international maritime law. It is designed to be a global instrument for quality shipping.

Nigeria’s delegation, led

by Minister of labour and Productivity, Emeka Wogu, submitted the legal instrument From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos shareholders at its 25th annual six Tier-1 banks in Nigeria, major transactions in the oil and of ratification of the MLC to the general meeting in Lome, Togo altering the competitive gas, telecommunications and ILO in Geneva, Switzerland on ut of $1.75 billion revenue shows that Nigeria accounted landscape in the country. infrastructure sectors,” he added. Tuesday, making Nigeria the generated by Ecobank for $9.1 billion total assets of the With eleven of the twelve In the past six years, the leading 38th country to do so.

By this move, Nigeria Group in the financial year Group which stood at $20 billion integration work-streams pan-African banking group has 2012, Ecobank Nigeria accounted in the review year. completed in 2012, and grown its presence from twelve to has indicated its readiness to for huge $743 million revenue.

Ecobank Transnational the technology platform thirty-three countries, in addition domesticate the convention’s At that level, Ecobank Incorporated (ETI) plc, unified, Ecobank Group to international offices in Paris, specified standards and practices which will be enshrined in its Nigeria beat other fourteen the parent company of the chairman, Kolapo Lawson, London, Dubai, and Beijing.

Francophone/West African Ecobank Group, is a bank told shareholders that “the At the year-end 2012, the statutes. With this, Nigeria will countries like Benin, Burkina holding company listed group is now well placed Ecobank Group Total Equity be able to develop its maritime Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Cape Verde, on the Nigerian Stock to exploit operational and stood at $2.2 billion, with more sector for better efficiency, Wogu Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Exchange (NSE), Ghana cost synergies to deliver than 650,000 institutional and said. The minister said that as seafaring becomes an attractive Guinea Bissau, Ghana, Guinea, Stock Exchange, and BRVM significant growth from its individual shareholders.

Liberia, Sierra Leone, and (Abidjan) Stock Exchange.

Nigerian network.”

The Group’s profit after trade, unemployment will be Gambia.

The acquisition of then “The deal also gives tax was $286.7 million; net reduced and militancy in the The 2012 financials of the Oceanic Bank has propelled Ecobank Nigeria the scale, profile profit attributable to the parent Niger Delta will drop drastically.

The implementation of the Ecobank Group presented to Ecobank to become one of the and balance sheet to focus on company was $249.7 million.

MLC, according to him, will also enhance the country’s exports, especially oil, which is the mainstay of the economy.

Specifically, the convention sets out seafarers’ rights to decent conditions of work on a wide range of subjects which will be globally applicable, easily understandable, readily adaptable and widely enforced.

This set of rules will benefit young Nigerians who may want to choose seafaring as a profession and afford them employment opportunity in the international shipping business.

“There are over 4,000 Nigerians who are working currently on board international ships across the globe, who will benefit from the new law, as they will receive comparable wages, protection and safety”, says Calistus Obi, executive director, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

Obi, who represented the Director-General of NIMASA, Ziakede Patrick Akpobolokemi, said the submission of the instrument of ratification of the MLC is a culmination of the efforts of both the ministries of labour and productivity and L-R: Kano state Governor, Engr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, his deputy Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje listening to a goodwill transport, as well as the untiring address being delivered by the CBN Governor, MalamSanusiLamidoSanusi, at opening of the Mid-term retreat for efforts of the management team commissioners, advisers, senior and special assistants, permanent secretaries, heads of parastatals and directors in the state of NIMASA that for the past six years have been working on it. civil service at Abuja yesterday.

Ecobank Nigeria boosts Group’s revenue by $743m

O

Peoples Daily WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

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LETTERS & ONLINE COMMENTS Insecurity: The ordeals of a UNIMAID student “Home of peace” which is the slogan of Borno State is battling to maintain its title in the midst of insecurity where several lives have been killed and properties worth millions of naira destroyed. To some people, Borno state is the Afghanistan of Nigeria, but how true can this be? Here we take a journey through the ordeals of residents through the eyes of Moses Amasco, an orphan and student of the University of Maiduguri, Borno state.

Mohammed Yusuf formed a group based on Sharia ideology in 2001, known as “Jama’atu Ahlal-Sunnah Lidaawati wal-jihad in Arabic otherwise called or Boko Haram in Hausa and literally meaning “western education is prohibited”. This group became so violent in 2009 after the death of Malam Yusuf, the leader of the group.

From 2009 till date, several attacks on lives and properties have been claimed by this sect – coupled with deployment of security forces in Maiduguri. With all these, life has been so difficult not only to the citizens of Borno State but Amasco who in the midst of insecurity needs to carry out his academic responsibilities if he must achieve his dreams of becoming a graduate someday. Amasco found himself an orphan in between the devil and the deep sea of psychological and physical trauma.

The abduction of Dr. Abba Kagu, a senior lecturer at the University of Maiduguri’s Department of Geography and coordinator of General studies (GSTs) by unknown gunmen in February and later the killing of Malam Murtala Mohammed, a senior lecture with the Department of Mass Communication from the same university by unknown gunmen suspected to be the Boko Haram Sect in April, has led to several lecturers quitting their jobs

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and others seeking transfer just to run for dear life, leaving Amasco and other students with few lecturers handling many courses.

The University of Maiduguri which is located at Lere Local Government Area of Borno State has not experienced any physical attack from any sect, but will Amasco ever forget the rhythms of gunshots and bomb explosions which always bid him good night in one of the hostels (TITANIC BOYS), considered as the hostel for the poor with more than 20 students in a room of 12 as the case may be? According to Amasco, “insecurity is stealing my concentration from academic activities, how then can one achieve the best”!

While students were resuming for the second semester in February 2013, little did Abdulmumini Abubakar, a friend to Amasco knew he was bidding his parent his final goodbye. Abubakar who was a final year student of the Department of Adult Education was killed by the Joint Task Force after they opened fire on their cab suspected to carry Boko Haram

members. Abubakar was in coma for three months before he gave up the spirit. A part one student and friend to Amasco was also killed by stray bullet when he went home for the weekend, two days before the exams he longed to write, which became the dream he never experienced, the exams he never wrote. Mohammed Lawan from the English Department and John from the Civil Engineering have also become victims of this deadliest man’s creature,the AK47. From 2009 till date, the school notice boards and walls have experience more obituary posters than ever.

To Amasco, curfew has become like the sound of ABC, coupled with President Goodluck Jonathan declaration of state of emergency in Yobe, Adamawa and Borno State in May 2013. According to the President, “I commiserate with you for the injuries you or your love ones may have suffered and for the properties you may have lost…” which has also led to the deployment of more military personnel to Borno Sate. Many students and a senior colleague of Amasco from the same

department missed her final year exam due of the blockage of roads leading to all the local government areas of Borno State as well as ones leading to Yobe roads which were later re-opened.

Since business cannot thrive in unsecure environment, leading to abnormal rise in the price of goods not only in Maiduguri but also at the commercial area of the school campus, survival become of an uphill task.

According to Amasco, “I can’t believe I’m buying one single pepper for 10 naira”. That was an added toil to one who has been sustaining himself with the little garri he has, and sometimes take without sugar. With the pains of all this, if insecurity is a bug, Amasco would have been the first to crush it without mercy.

The final stroke that broke the camel’s back was when mobile telecommunication services was shut down few days into the state of emergency in Borno state. To Amasco, the mobile phone has become like a culture not only to him but to other students who see it as their best friend.

According to a friend of his, Margaret Samson, without mobile phone calls from loved ones, families, friends and relatives, the school environment looks as quiet and unlively as death because communication gives life to existence.

The only option to communicate to loved ones was the school café amidst bad network. Amasco will spend the whole night just to send messages to his sisters through social networking sites (Skype, Facebook etc.)

Even in the midst of all this ordeals, Amasco believes that just like the insurgents started, peace will reign again in Borno.

Moses is an intern from the Mass Communication Department, University of Maiduguri

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Opinion

By Adejoh Idoko Momoh

C

onsider these scenarios: 50,000 teachers cannot pass a basic test in elementary English; illiteracy rate of about 70%; only 10 out of 1.6 million candidates that sat for university entrance examinations scored a pass mark of 300 and above out of a possible 500. Add this to a situation where 10.6 million children are out of school - the highest school aged children out-of-school population in the entire world, then relate these to the fact that all these take place in a nation with a GDP growth rate higher than all other African nations except South Africa.

Thisconundrumisrepresentativeoftheinherent contradictions in Nigeria, where the government keeps brandishing largely useless growth figures in our faces, but where people are confronted daily by an increasingly divided citizenry, deteriorating security conditions, decaying infrastructure, rising unemployment, unprecedented corruption, impunity and falling standards of education.

Ordinarily, the scenario depicted above would be hilarious if it wasn’t so serious. Unfortunately, for 170 million Nigerians who normally should set the pace for the rest of Africa in human capital development and educational attainment terms, the reality on ground is that they are plagued with a largely dysfunctional system that encourages an ever growing population of young people who would constitute an uneducated, unemployable generation with little useful roles to play in society.

The Ministry of Education would be quick to come up with excuses: attribute its many failures to a lack of finance and complain that it is not allocated some 25% of Nigeria’s national budget

By Abdulmumini Mohammed

H

ajara Idris, a Shuwa from Gamboru Gala local government area of Maiduguri, Borno State was 12 years old when her mother migrated from the local government to Bama, another local government in the state. Two years later, when she was 14, her mother informed her she would be paying a routine visit, accompanied by her and an uncle, to a family member in a neighbouring town.

It was at the relation’s place that she had a rude awakening. Before she knew it, she had been held down by her own mother and her uncle while an old woman proceeded to work with what she remembered were “two blunt, rusty knives” on her private part. Idris recalled: “The old woman began to cut inch-by-inch something there which, though painful, I took for granted because then, I did not really understand the health implications of what was being done.” It was not actually whatever about the health implications of the circumcision exercise that had put Idris’ mind at peace.

As she was emerging into adolescence, her mother had begun drumming it into her consciousness, what she emphasised was “a matter of culture”, a certain rite that must be performed on her to celebrate her into

37

Time to panic as is recommended by the United Nations. Yet of its dismal 1% budgetary allocation in 2012, the ministry only expended 20% of its capital provisions as at September the same year. This simply points to the fact that the ministry itself has no vision to accommodate the resources they often put forward as needed.

This immediately brings questions to mind, can this ministry that cannot implement a 1% budgetary provision wholly be trusted with 25%? Can the government afford to fund this ministry as much as it deserves? Is it not a fact that a former Education Minister, Dr Oby Ezekwesili admitted the above, and included the ‘Adopt A School’ program as part of Corporate Social Responsibility? Sadly, no sooner than she left office was her ‘Crisis’ reforms document thrown out too. What place does alternative education have in our current education system?

How did our technical schools that served to train experts at skilled work loose relevance?

The truth is Nigeria’s education sector is in need of reforms and every Nigerian should take up this responsibility, demand an education revolution from our government. Peaceful protests like the Occupy Nigeria or the Project Cure rallies that have been beneficial for fuel subsidy as well as currency restructuring would do just as good for education.

The creation of specialist universities may prove to be more beneficial than universities that aim to offer all courses. Would it not be a more informed thought if the President considered strengthening

the capacities of existing universities as opposed to building new universities in every state?

Challenges abound with reforming our education system. Time for one; reforms would take a little more than 4 years focused on planning, training, implementing and some more training.

Take China as example, the country has had over 50 years of mandatory 9 year basic education and various laws guaranteeing access to education for minorities, women and the handicapped, yet the country has not totally attained universal basic education coverage. Nigeria has not even started.

Discouraging as this may be, it is not reason to delay the reform process that would benefit generations of Nigerians to come.

Yes, there is a Universal Basic Education Board and 35 other state versions called State Universal Basic Education Board but what are these SUBEBs doing? Take a state like Kaduna for instance with a school aged out of school percent population of 51.6%, the state SUBEB has a zero capital allocation for the years 2013 and 2014, while there is a recurrent expenditure of N116.5m and N128.2m respectively. In view of the above, you decide if this demonstrates political will to curb the education menace?

This lack of political will to train and develop the people we refer to as Nigeria’s future goes beyond formal education; we see it even in the field of technical education too. The 2013 National budget has a capital provision of N40 million set aside for

the National Business and Technical Education Board while its recurrent provision is N1.2billion, also there is a N300million capital provision for the National Board for Technical Education Secretariat while its recurrent expenditure is N1.3billion- about 300% above Capital Expenditure. With miserable capital provisions as detailed above most technical schools are shut down, the few that function do not have updated curriculums and therefore offer training that is of very little relevance to modern trends and realities.

For Nigerians who belong to the dwindling middle class and are rich enough to afford foreign education or training for their children and perhaps feel like the dearth of education infrastructure in Nigeria should not bother them, they are sadly mistaken. I conclude with the tale as narrated below, it is my hope that from it we all have a rethink.

A man wise beyond his years once said, ‘the children we do not train now would kill those we have trained.’ He then explained how a Harvard trained student came visiting his parents in Lagos for a week and how on a hot afternoon made worse by the failure of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (P.H.C.N) to provide electricity, he decided to take a walk. As he walked, he saw a miscreant steal a lady’s purse and sought to challenge the man.

The man simply pulled out a gun, shot this foreign educated student and rode off on his motorbike.

Adejoh Idoko Momoh, www.adejoh.blogspot.com

Can female circumcision ever be eradicated? womanhood. The rite, she told her, would announce her as coming of age. Besides, her mother was always harping that a young woman should not have a clitoris because it stinks and gets in the way of things.

That it would make her so sexually sensitive she would want to jump at every man she saw. “If that thing is not done on you, you won’t be able to stay a virgin until you get married,” she warned her. But as Idris grew older and began to read articles on women affairs, especially on the clitoris, in newspapers and magazines, a radical feeling started creeping into her. ”I felt like the Western culture was treating me like some complete freak of nature and almost putting the blame on women like me for what happened,” she said.

Later, following unsavoury developments about her fertility – or actually lack of it – she took to chastising her mother over her sad condition. “I have forgiven her now. But I will be contributing hard to the efforts to stop this practice in my generation. Today, I am barren because I have been suffering from infections ever since,” Idris explained. So can Idris and her fellow activists working against female genital mutilation (FMG), as circumcision

in girls is technically called, succeed in eradicating the practice? In 2010, Mrs. Linda J. E. Osarenren, Senior Programme Officer of the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (IAC), during her visit to Nigeria, took a critical look at the dangers and irrelevance of female circumcision.

She declared: “For those who might know little or nothing about FGM, I want to note that it refers to the cutting of parts or all of the external genitals, clitoris, labia, etc. What makes it even contentious is that there is no foreskin to cut like in male circumcision. In that of the female, there is almost no foreskin to cut, what they are cutting is a blood-rich nerve path healthy organ that has a function in reproduction.

Some do not just cut the clitoris, but go on to cut the inner and outer lips, compromising the elasticity of that part of the woman’s body. When it is healed (hoping it heals properly without infection) there is a scar, and during delivery, scars are inelastic, they don’t expand. The irony of it is that God has made that part of the woman’s body elastic, especially to aid delivery. Instead of expanding now, the area tears as a result of FGM. So, there is the labour pain as well

as the pain of tearing. This goes with bleeding that may or may not stop easily. After FGM, some children even bleed to death! Some contact infection immediately or later on, and sometimes, this infection ascends to the Fallopian Tube, leading to infertility.”

Osanreren explained that sometimes, for those whose clitoris were cut, when the sore heals, something bigger than the clitoris appears like a fibroid keloid. The effect is that with all these complications - physical, psychological, mental and psychosexual – a woman’s ability to have sexual satisfaction is compromised. “There are people who say there is no medical complication, but there is a problem psychologically and mentally which they may not know. This is why FGM is a violation of the reproductive health and rights of a woman,” she stated. The bottom line is that the FGM has nothing to do with whether a girl will be promiscuous or not because we have seen cases of girls who were circumcised, but yet were jumping from man to man. How do we then explain this? My hope is that with education, within a short time, FGM will die.

Abdulmumini Mohammed is of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Mass Communication, FUT, Minna

Jonathan, before My Thoughts we talk about 2015 With Ayodele Samuel 08074420617 (SMS only)

P

ermit me to repeat this thought published early this year, Our President is still very much busy with 2015 and we must remind him of his many promises before we talk about 2015.

Many Nigerians during the illness and evacuation days of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua rose to ensure Jonathan was given his right to be made Acting President, but today, he has taken away our rights to good governance as Nigerians.

We were fascinated about his ‘my brother and sister’ speeches and a couple of days the constitutional crisis got attention of every Nigerian, but I never believed in him. I was

wary of a fisherman’s son, who trekked long distance without shoes to school.

As a journalist, I knew Nigerians would be carried away by his pitiful campaign messages, promises which my friend, Dr. Doyin Okupe told me he fulfilled in 2012 though I took exception.

The fact remains; Jonathan’s government has continued to make many Nigerians cry.

Even at times, I feel like leaving the country and coming back in 2015 when perhaps Nigerians may have decided to kick him out of the Villa. Unpatriotic! You say.

Let’s face it! Nigeria is in a big mess; our country is drowning at the speed of light, yet

these prodigals in government are insensitive to our plights.

As a fresh graduate,I can beat my chest that our major problem as a country is UNEMPLOYMENT, because if solved, it’s a solution to other problems we face as a nation but this government, led by Jonathan is slow in creating the jobs but fast in looting our money.

Take for instance, the BRISIN project (The Basic Registry and Information System in Nigeria (BRISIN), a multi-billion naira project conceived to provide the fundamental infrastructure for information flow from grassroots to the national level) was to generate 10 million jobs in 10 years, but under the Jonathan administration, the project is suffering its worst neglect.

Our manufacturing sector, if working at maximum capacity, will create 20 million jobs, but today under Jonathan, more companies are folding up, investors are not coming, our youths remain unemployed.

With gainful employment, Boko Haram will run out of suicide bombers. You said it’s a lie! Remember, some kidnappers confessed

that if only they could earn N20,000 per month, the trade won’t be an option.

Corruption is on the increase. Imagine, no one is in jail on the subsidy scam till date. We keep reading about the pension scam too, yet culprits walk freely on the streets.

Our government continues to deceive us with unimaginable achievements and you wonder if you live in the same country Jonathan governs.

Our roads are death traps. Nigerians are dying daily on bad roads with contracts awarded to most of the powerful in the country. We import even tissue paper and toothpick in Nigeria. Oga Jonathan should please give 2015 some breaks to tackle these issues.

Nigeria can’t continue to be governed by this clueless leaders, we need original freshness. A breath of jobs creation, a revival of our dead textile industries, reopening of our manufacturing companies, a strong government against corruption, all these are still possible before we talk about 2015, Mr. President.

Page 38

Online comments

Peoples Daily WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Jonathan inaugurates national space council

Group says pictures; clips of Gov Suntai’s recuperation are fake

T

his is a wonderfully written article,and its about time we developed our own space programme. Kudos to you Halima, this is a wonerful write up Mustapha Abdullahi.

I

t is unfortunate that the present acting governor of Taraba State has been dragged into the mud of deceitfulness. He is now one of sons of Taraba who concoct lies for the pleasure of others to “please” innocent Tarabans.

Fulatan

Its about time the federal government developed our space programme. wonderful article Halima Mohammed keep up the good work.

Sadiq Obe

Wamakko suspension: Civil society groups berate PDP

Its a welcome development good for national security and other things mentioned above by the president. My question is, how effective will it be and will it really solve the problem?

Abdulrasheed

L

adies and gentlemen, I am the real Joe Mesele and I like to denounce this publication as not originating from me, wehave a case of gross impersonation here. Am making every possible effort to refute this nonsense pro position against the PDP and never in my interest.

Mesele Joe

NGF crisis: 20 govs shun Jang’s faction meeting

N

igeria has no focus but it is high time we embarked on a journey with a certain and specific destination.

Umar Adamu

Jonathan wants to continue but he couldn’t declare his intention because he is afraid of these governors who have since understood his body language hence they’re frustrating his ambition.

Sanusi A Yaradua

Arsenal look to spend £70m on Higuain, Gundogan, Bender Gombe kids will Nigerians getting school here, not poorer under Jonathan overseas –Dankwambo —W/Bank

W

hat of your own kids, where will they school?

Lilian Cent

Destination inspection: Group threatens to sue Okonjo-Iweala

2015: APC zones presidency to North

Then where is Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, the Prime Minister who is busy coordinating the entire Nigerian Economy? Does that mean the Global Economy would have suffered the same fate as Nigerian Economy if this woman was elected President of the World Bank?

She should advise her bro GEJ to stop Oil theft and State-sponsored terrorism in the North and see what Nigerian economy will be rated.

Dankasa

As JTF closes in on Boko Haram insurgents…

It cannot work that way.

Silas Onwe

B

Bc and the rest of the foreign media whse only desire is to see the dis integration of Nigeria has no word of commendation for the gallant Nigerian security forces before now they were all mouthing the abuse of

BBA: Three new faces join the party

I

need to test with you here. Which isn’t one thing I often do! I enjoy studying a summit that may make individuals think. However, thanks for permitting me to remark!

YSL Pumps

BBA is really interesting, I am enjoying every bit of it.

I like…….

E

xtreme Glow Beauty. Again, arms-laden Ukranian plane detained, released in Kano.

Latest news!

Yahaya Gambo

2013 Unity admissions

S

School

hame to the Federal Ministry of Education. Shame to anybody that is involved in such a decision in the name of inbalances. It is unheard of that a person with score 2 and that with score 126 and above can co-exist in one class.

Virgy Oji

It is hoped that this speculation is followed up with action.

Abu Josiah

Yuguda is finished

No, he is not finished, he’s only been a typical Nigerian politician.

Philex Akase

The Audacity of Pain: A review of Jumoke Verissimo’s ‘I Am Memory’

W

hat is wrong in making an independent review committee to recommend a six-month strategic handover period to avoid taking decisions that would affect commerce in the country? Some people are just mischief makers.

The minister should just ignore these people.

Mojeed civilians. Where is Al jazera?

Paul Preston

There is no doubt that this is an intelligent review from one who has distinguished himself as a Nigerian poet, editor and critic.Personally, I’ve read Jumoke Verissimo’s ‘I am Memory’ and I think Dr. Dami Ajayi has shared an honest opinion here.

Yes. Echezonachukwu Nduka

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 22 - SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

PAGE 39

International

Mali: Nigeria takes most credit for ceasefire, says Force Commander, AFISMA On Tuesday 18th June, warring factions in Mali - National movement for the liberation of Azawad (MNLA), HCA and the Malian government signed a ceasefire agreement for the restoration of peace and democracy in Mali. Nigeria is a co-mediator in the negotiations and Major General Shehu Usman Abdulkadir, Force Commander AFISMA who doubles as chairman of the ceasefire committee talks to Abdulkadir Isa on the designed plan of action.

W

hat has been the response of all parties to the ceasefire agreement signed on Tuesday?

So far the response has been tremendous. We have seen an encouraging move from the side of the people to restore peace and return to democracy. In fact as we speak, the first batch of troops is on its way to Kidal, and as you know, Kidal is the only area under the control of these forces. With Kidal out of their hands, Mali is prepared for elections.

Another meeting is scheduled for next week as furtherance of talks between parties involved.

The meeting is expected to help address issues that might accrue from the enforcement of the ceasefire agreement. There is optimism that allissues will be addressed.

The ceasefire agreement includes disarmament of the forces. When and how will this be conducted?

The armament is first among the main plan of action. They have all agreed to disarm and the troops on arrival will swing to action. We hope to clear the vicinity of any possibility of provocations which arms is part of. As soon as this is done, the next plan of action will roll-in. all these efforts are geared towards ensuring a level playing ground for elections schedule for July.

What is the situation in Kidal now?

Normalcy has since returned to the city. People are going about their normal activities. This is because all parties have shown the will to adhere strictly to the terms and conditions of the ceasefire.

Elections are set for July 27, what is the political climate like in Mali. Any electioneering activity on ground?

Yes. The populace is ready and they are busy mobilizing in most parts of the country with the exception of few areas like Kidal.

But we are optimistic that Kidal will join the train soon. As soon as sufficient troops hit the ground and disarmament takes effect, the atmosphere will be conducive for political activities.

Interestingly, most of the displaced Malians have returned home, this says a lot about the level of peace attained. As it stands now, there exists only one camp for internally displaced persons from Mali.

What is the official statement from Captain Sanogo who led the coup?

Officially I don’t have details of his stand, but I am optimistic that he will fall on the side of the

Major General Shehu Usman Abdulkadir agreement. So far no contrary action, statement or move from his camp. Most stakeholders have been brought to the table and they are all ready to forge ahead.

The Mali-Algeria border calls for concern as anti-state activities are on the rise there. Won’t this affect peace proceedings in Mali?

The Algerian government is doing a lot. It has put in place stiff structures to help curtail armed activities around the border. The Mali-Algeria border is at its tautest now and credit must be given to the Algerian governmentfor the role it is playing to help check immigration or trans-border trade in arms and weapons.

“

The same applies to Mauritania. The Mauritanian government has shown great commitment to restoring peace in the region.

These countries are making the programme easier for us.

There have been reports of the military being underfunded. How has this affected your operations?

It is unfortunate and disheartening that Nigeria media carry such reports. I want to tell you that these reports are not true.

We have enjoyed a hitch-free commitment from the side of government. The government of Nigeria deserves commendation on the effort so far. Aside being a

Interestingly, most of the displaced Malians have returned home, this says a lot about the level of peace attained.

As it stands now, there exists only one camp for internally displaced persons from Mali.

co-mediator in the negotiations, it has made available enough funds to ensure a breakthrough in this.

Let us not forget that Nigeria has been the biggest single financier in this campaign and the $5 million pledge made by President Jonathan at the African Union summit earlier in Addis Ababa confirms Nigeria’scommitment.

Nigerian troops enjoyed the best reception here in Mali basically because of the role the government has played. This credit we must give to the status quo.

Malian forces number 7000 in total, considering the land mass of the country; this number is insufficient to man the countries security requirement. What are you doing to bridge this?

For now there is training and retraining programme on ground under the auspices of the European forces. We believe that what the Malian forces need is knowledge on best practices. This training is going to continue until the whole forces go through the programme.

Over 6,000 forces are on ground with additional 500 policemen as well. This is quite sufficient particularly as a peace deal is now in place. Combined efforts of

both the Army and Police should check the requirements.

What are you putting in place to avoid future reoccurrence of military takeover?

We believe with democracy in place, all we want will be achieved.

The best way to avoid similar situationin future is enshrining a strong democratic base, with good structures to preserve it. There are long term plans outlined by the United Nation which is expected to see through a much more stable Mali before expatriates depart the country.

Part of the fear of Nigerians is that of weapons from Mali finding their way into Nigeria. Do you have a structure to check that?

Yes. Military facilities are on all border posts and suspected locations and I believe they are up to the task of clamping down on immigrant issues, arms trade and all illegal activities along the border. Finally I must say Nigeria as a country is well revered in Mali, they know the role we have played has brought them this far and they have reciprocated that gesture to us with all sincerity.

Nigerian owns most of the credit and the president is the driving force of this.

Feature PAGE 40

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 22 - SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

When Hadith memorisers converged in Katsina From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

A

bout 157 Hadith memorizers recently converged in Katsina state, for a 40 day camping session on memorization and competition on mastery of Hadith as narrated by the two famous Hadith collectors- Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim. The programme is designed for those who have memorized the Holy Qur’an with appreciable level of proficiency in Arabic Grammar.

The curriculum design according to the facilitators of the programme is to aid the accomplishment of memorization of the encyclopaedia of Hadith (Mausu’a Hadithiyya).

The programme was initiated by the Centre for Memorization of Hadith-West Africa by Sheikh Yahaya Bin Abdul’aziz Al- Yahaya which came to Nigeria through the efforts of Sheikh Umar Ahmad Zain and Sheikh Shu’aibu Abubakar Idris. The Centre has its headquarters located in Maiduguri and currently all the activities of the programme are conducted at its liaison office in Bauchi state due to the security situation in Maiduguri.

Speaking in an interview with Peoples Daily Weekend, the facilitator of the programme, Shaikh Shu’aibu Abubakar Idris, noted that the objectives of the centre include, to revitalize and modernize the teaching of Hadith in the West African Sun-Region, to create enabling environment for the learning and memorization of Hadith, to broaden the realm of Islamic scholarship and create platform for in-depth understanding of the authentic creed, to create appropriate platform for intellectual discourse in the field of Hadith in West African Sub-Region, to establish and operate a platform for the formal training of students of Hadith with affiliation for advancement of educational pursuit to degree level and to coordinate and conduct Da’awah activities for the propagation of Islam in accordance with the authentic creed.

The centre is currently running the following programmes- the forty day memorization, continuing Hadith Education programme, post memorization study circle, day programme on Hadith Memorization, Young Hadith Scholarship, Diploma Studies in Hadith.

However the modalities for the first stage of the memorization competition are for the participants to memorize the Hadith jointly agreed upon by the two Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim. At stage two participants shall memorise the Hadith individually reported by the two Imams. The sequence of memorization will then follow the classic order of arrangement of the book i.e the collections of Abu Dawud (stage 111), Tirmizi, Nisai, Ibn Maja, Muwatta, Sunan Da’rimi (Stage 1V) Musnad Imam Ahmad, (stage V), Sahihu Ibn Khuzaima

A cross section of participants at the Hadith camping session and Ibn Hibban (stage VI) and then Musdadraqul Hakim(stage VII) respectively.

In Nigeria the maiden edition of the programme was conducted in Bauchi in 2005 with twelve participants but only eight, including a national of Cote d’ivoire successfully graduated. The programme thereafter became an annual event and was accordingly hosted at Albayan Islamic School Jos, for two consecutive years i.e 2006 and 2008.

The support and collaboration of Al-Muntada which is now known as Al-Furqan Charitable Foundation, Kano played a great deal in the success of the programme as well as the one held in Zamfara State. The fourth edition of the programme was held in 2009 in Maiduguri and Gusau simultaneously.

At the conclusion of the 2009 programme conducted in Maiduguri , the West African coordinator of the programme in collaboration with the board of Al-Muneer International School Maiduguri and other key stakeholders who facilitated that particular edition resolved to institutionalize it as an avenue for training the Ummah in the field of Hadith.

The coordinator of the programme Shaikh Shu’aibu Idris Abubakar noted that of the Hadith memorizers attending the Katsina Camping, 126 were males while 31 were females. He added that the male participants were camped in boarding bases while the female participants come from their various homes to attend the camping

exercise. Sheikh Abubakar averred that the participants were fed by the organizers of the camping. He noted that 20 books of Hadith have been compiled where twelve of them are ready for memorization in the seven stages.

Sheikh Abubakar disclosed that since the commencement of the programme eight years ago this was the first time female participants were mobilized for the competition. According to the coordinator the Hadith memorization was being conducted annually in several African countries that include Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea Conakry

and Nigeria. He stated that during the last Qur’anic recitation competition, Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar 111 had called for the incorporation of the Hadith memorization competition into the national Qur’anic recitation competition.

At the closing ceremony of the Hadith memorization camping, the leader of the Jama’atu Izalatul Bid’ah Wa’ikamatus Sunna, Katsina State, Sheikh Yakubu Musa Hassan urged parents to encourage their children to go in search of Qur’anic and Hadith knowledge. He said ‘ if you don’t want your children to join social miscreants try to enrolled them into Qur’anic and Hadith stud-

ies. These types of religious engagement keep them away from drug abuse and joining the dreaded kauraye thugs’.

Similarly Shaikh Hassan urged wealthy individuals in the state to invest in Islamic religious ventures as according to him ‘ this is the only way you will continue to draw reward even after your death’.

Those who attended the closing ceremony include the coordinator of the centre, Shaikh Shu’aibu Idris Abubakar, Shaikh Yakubu Musa Hassan, Shaikh Sirajo Muhammad, Shaikh Khalid Ayuba and Izala leaders from within and across the country.

The Coordinator of the Hadith Memorisation Programme, Sheikh Shu’aibu Abubakar Idris

Page 41

Peoples Daily WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Sports Weekend FIFA U-20: Mali target Paraguay

for clean start

M

ali hope to kick-start their campaign in the FIFA U-20 Championship in a positive note its South American opponents Paraguay.

True, they were disappointing at the CAF level but will seek to redeem themselves from the poor showing in the 2011 edition in Colombia when they were eliminated from the first round.

The most disappointing part was the fact that they also failed to score a single goal in all three matches, while they conceded six, a statistic they will look to improve on.

Moussa Keita’s men will need a positive start against the South Americans if they are to emulate the class of 1999 which managed to finish the tournament in third place.

Mali ended up in fourth place at

the African U-20 Championship in March and Keita is hopeful that they will build on that performance to do well in Group D, which also includes Greece and tournament favourites Mexico.

Paraguay did not qualify for the 2011 World Cup in Colombia but made their return to the world stage after finishing in second place in the South American U-20

Championship.

Coach Victor Genes will rely on a young squad made up of homebased players and Barcelona youth team forward Arnaldo Sanabria.

Meanwhile, in-form Colombia will look to continue with their form when they face Australia in their FIFA U-20 World Cup clash at the Huseyin Avni Aker Stadium this afternoon.

Los Cafeteros were crowned champions in the South American U-20 Championship and recently reached the final at the Toulon Tournament and are the favourites

Brazil, Italy bid to avoid Spain trap

B

razil and Italy will be battling to avoid the daunting likelihood of a semifinal against world champions Spain when they meet in Salvador today to contest top spot in Confederations Cup Group A. Both sides secured places

in the last four with a game to spare, Brazil after a Neymar-inspired 2-0 defeat of Mexico, Italy following a nail-biting 4-3 success against Japan.

With Spain three points clear in Group B, Brazil’s superior goal difference means that Italy will probably

have to win at the Arena Fonte Nova if they are to avoid Vicente del Bosque’s side in the semifinals.

Italy had just two full days to prepare for the Japan fixture, and after an energy-sapping, end-to-end encounter in Recife, Prandelli said his principle concern was

Confederation Cup

allowing his players to recover.

Meanwhile, Japan and Mexico will play for pride, their chances of progressing to the next phase already over.

Their main concern though would be to avoid finishing their FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 campaigns in the bottom of Group A.

to progress from Group C which also includes hosts Turkey and newcomers El Salvador.

Australia coach Paul Okon on the other hand is hoping that his charges will start on a positive note, although he is unsure what to expect from the opponents.

Today’s matches Colombia vs Australia Mexico vs Greece Paraguay vs Mali Turkey vs El Salvador Sunday matches Chile vs Egypt England vs Iraq N/Zealandvs Uzbekistan Uruguay vs Croatia FIFA U-20 RESULTS France 3 Ghana 1 Cuba 1 Korea Rep. 2 Portugal Nigeria

Super Eagles test strength against World Champions La Roja

By Patrick Andrew

T

he Super Eagles on Thursday dominated the La Celeste of Uruguay but left the pitch without a point to justify their hard fighting spirit and delectable display.

But they left a statement that they are no fledglings.

That much will be tested this Sunday when they return to tackle the World and European champions La Furia Roja of Spain, who seem unassailable with two wins in two.

Spain largely dominated by Barcelona and Real Madrid players need at least a draw to be comfortable for a semifinal spot while Nigeria are in a- must-win situation after missing the chance to nudge forward in the match against Uruguay.

True, Spain fielded what some considered its second best yet thumped the Iron Warriors of Tahiti 10-0, a team the Eagles barely put six against after floundering away several scoring opportunities.

In Salvador, the Eagles stood tall with telling and crisping passes though were clay footed in front of goal.

That’s a known problem, one Head Coach Stephen Keshi must have by now thought of how to improvise to punish the usual sloppy defence line of their Spaniard.

No, that’s not undermining Gerard Pique and Sergio Ramos plus Jodi Alba who

did well to pocket Lius Suarez and Edinson Cavani. But then, the Eagles trio of Elderson Echiejile, Godfrey Obobona and Kenneth Omeruo did even better as they completely took out Suarez and Cavani.

It seems reasonable to assume that the battle will be won in the midfield. That Barca’s forte and it has been Spain’s because Iniesta, Xavi, Busquet, Alonso, Cescs Fabregas are in charge.

Godfrey Oboabona Super Eagles

But it would be foolhardy to assume that the Eagles will be eclipsed there because should Mikel Obi, Sunday Mba and John Ogu rekindle the same fighting spirit and gut that they showed against Uruguay,

Andre Iniesta La Roja

La Roja will have no little difficulty containing or not to talk of dominating Nigeria.

Besides, the Eagles having played Catalunya sometimes ago will not entirely be strange to Spain’s pattern, flair and artististic leather display. Yes, the Nigerians may operate at somewhat lower level, all the same they won’t be awed.

Vicente del Bosque’s squad will certainly come smoking to intimidate the Eagles as did Uruguay, but the Eagles will hardly cave in going by the vim and poise with which they rebluffed the South Americans.

The Eagles would be expected to up their offensive ante against them which is where Nnamdi Oduamadi and Brown Ideye still remains the best option under present circumstance and should Fegor Ogude be introduced then he must be cautioned against exercise care.

Keshi then must restrategise to counter every moves of Spain and should instruct the players to be wary of attempting to mimic their pattern of play, flair and rhythm.

The strikers must take their chances, rely on team work and show little of individual dexterity. Who says beating Spain is unattainable. The Eagles did it in 1998 in France, they can repeat same because in depth and zest this squad is better endowed than their

Page 42

Peoples Daily WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Sports

P

aulie Malignaggi has boasted that he would dominate and finiosh off Adrien broner within the distance in tonight’s WBA welterweight title defence in New York.

Broner, who is the WBC lightweight champion and a former super-featherweight champion, steps up two divisions to fight Malignaggi in Brooklyn, is undefeated.

But Malignaggi, who has fought twelve rounds seven times, but only once in the past three years, believes that undefeated status would come an end tonight.

“I’m going to dominate him, punish him and make him quit on his stool,” Malignaggi said ahead of the fight which many observers say would be keenly contested.

“He has never been through what the deal is. Deep water. He has never been twelve rounds.

He’s been ten rounds once, and he struggled.

“He’d better try real hard to get me out of there early and he’d better succeed because he’s going to end up in deep water.

Malignaggi promises Broner ‘hell’ in today’s WBA title fight I’m ready for that kind of fight,” Malignaggi said.

Broner explained that jumping two weight divisions higher will not diminish his punching power, noting that he would bring his renowned punching power that had taken out several opponents to bear in the fight.

But Malignaggi dismissed that stressing, “His power is overrated. I could have knocked out twenty garbage men or Laundromat workers too, but I chose to fight real opponents.”

Broner said he was prepared for whatever Malignaggi had even the legs and stamina to carry the fight to lengths he had never been before. Guy with some tricks up his sleeve, but we’re not here for a circus day. We’re here to fight,” he retorted.

Paulie Malignaggi lands a left on Chris Fernandez’s face during their bout at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods in 2009 in Mashantucket, Connecticut (WBA)

FIFA Confed Cup

Keshi thumbs up players, says Eagles weren’t graced

H

ead Coach Stephen Keshi has lauded the fighting spirited of his charges in their loss to the la Celeste of Uruguay.

The Eagles dominated the game but fell behind to a splendid finish by Diego Forlan who took advantage of fast one two combinations between Lius Suarez and Edinson Cavani to deliver a piledrive that Vincent Enyeama had no answer to.

“We gave the game our all but you know Uruguay has been together for six years and we are just rebuilding: Sooner than later we will catch up with the rest of the best teams in the world,’’ Keshi vowed.

He promised to work

hard to lift their spirit ahead of Sunday’s game against world champion Spain, which is bound to arouse global attention.

“I cannot question the loyalty and commitment of the players. They won my heart.

I am sure they have done the same to most people who appreciate good football. ``I am looking forward to our encounter with the world’s best team on Sunday,’’ he told journalists at a crowded postmatch news conference, in reference to Spain.

Later Keshi said his players were disappointed they could not take something out of the match they dominated.

Williams clinches 5000m gold same as Kenechukwu in javelin

K

efas Williams turned in a time of 14.52.30 to clinch the gold medal in the Men’s 5000m event same as Ezeofor Kenechukwu who grabbed the javelin gold at the All Nigeria Open Athletics Championships in Calabar.

Williams edged Ismail Sadjo’s who emerged in the second position with 14.53.00, while Awal Gochin came third with 14.53.70.

But the winning time fell short of the national record of 14:15:50 set

by Timothy Gunem, in 1993.

Kenechukwu of the Nigerian Prisons threw a distance of 68.03m, while Friday Osanyade of the Nigeria Police and Samuel Adams of Cross River made a distance of 67.44m and 67.12m respectively to

...Civil Defence duo win Half Marathon event

G

ideon Goyet and Deborah Pam, both of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), yesterday won gold medals in the men and women’s Half Marathon event at Calabar.

Goyet finished with a time of one hour six minutes in the men’s category, ahead of Item Isaiah of Cross River and Tokbe Gwet of Borno.

Item posted a time of one hour seven minutes while Gwet finished in one hour

eight minutes to settle for the silver and bronze medals respectively.

An elated Gowet later said that he was excited over the victory, adding that his performance was creditable as the time he clocked was his personal best. ``I’m so happy.

My finishing time was good and it is now my personal best in the half marathon. My dream is to represent the country someday,” he said.

Meanwhile, in the women’s half marathon event, Pam, 22, finished with a time of one hour 20 minutes, ahead of Nassarawa’s Elizabeth Nuhu and Vivian Ichul of the Nigerian Navy.

Nuhu won the silver with a time of one hour 22 minutes, while Ichul won the bronze with a time of one hour 23 minutes.

Reacting to her win, the victorious Pam said she was excited, adding that it was a reflection of her potential.

win the silver and bronze medals.

But just like Williams’ the throw was shy of the national record throw of 81.08m, that was set Pius Bazighe since 1999.

In swift reactions both gold medallists expressed their delights at achieving the feats and hope to improve in their performances subsequently.

“I feel good, I feel excited because I won gold medals in the 2009 and 2010 edition, but failed to win in 2011 and 2012. I brought

my coach’s technique to bear and it worked for me. My desire to silence my contenders also inspired me. ``What I’m hoping to achieve next in my career is to break the 5000m national record and I believe I can do it,” Williams said.

Similarly, Kenechukwu said, “I’m happy to have won today.

This is a competition I have been preparing for and was looking forward to winning it. ``The national record has not been broken since it was set.

Ogho-Oghene Egwero, regains his 100m record by clocking 10.18 sec (Williams)

Peoples Daily WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Iorfa confirms Okpotu’s Libyan move

L

obi Stars chairman Dominic Iorfa, has confirm that the club’s youngster, Anthony Okpotu, is set to complete a transfer to top Libyan side, Al-Ittihad Sports Club, Tripoli.

Okpotu, a junior international, has blossomed at the Makurdi based side since his promotion from the youth team, Lobi Stars Feeders, which campaigns in the amateur ranks and has trained with Nigeria’s Super Eagles.

“The transfer will be concluded by weekend so he can take his career to the next level. We’re proud of his development from the club’s nursery to a national team player,” Iorfa said to supersport.com.

Norwegian sides, SK Bran and Molde, tested him on the eve of the present Tippeligaen campaign, but the striker returned home without a contract.

Okpotu enters the club’s history books as the first player developed from the youth team to move abroad.

Chelsea deny Mikel Galatasaray link

C

helsea have denied that midfielder John Obi Mikel is set for a move to Galatasaray.

A report in Turkish newspaper Sabah suggests Nigeria international Mikel had talked up the move saying: “I have played at Chelsea for a long time and it’s now time for me to leave. I’m still only 26 and it’s great to receive an offer from a club [Galatasaray] playing Champions League football and doing well in the competition.

However, Chelsea have flatly denied that Mikel, who is

currently on international duty at the Confederations Cup in Brazil, has given an interview to the publication or said anything regarding his future at the club.

Reports have suggested that Mikel does not feature prominently in Jose Mourinho’s plans for the upcoming campaign.

The midfielder has played over 180 games for Chelsea in a sevenyear stint which has seen him win the Premier League, Champions League, Europa League and four FA Cups.

City scale down interest in Cavani

M

anchester City’s interest in Edinson Cavani has cooled, with Isco becoming their main transfer target, ESPN has learned.

The Spanish midfielder has to decide whether to join City or Real Madrid, both of whom have made offers to Malaga, and has said he could announce his choice

by Sunday. Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata has urged him to move to the Bernabeu.

Napoli want to be paid £53 million for striker Cavani, who scored 38 goals for them last season, and City could consider that too expensive.

The 2012 Premier League

Cavani

champions have already brought in Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho from Shakhtar Donetsk for £30 million and Spanish winger Jesus Navas from Malaga for £22 million.

And ESPN has been told that Isco, who played for new City manager Manuel Pellegrini at Malaga, is now their top priority rather than Cavani, who is also interesting Real Madrid and Chelsea.

Were City to sign both - in addition to Navas and Fernandinho - it would take their summer spending to around £130 million and, although their transfer kitty was boosted by the January sale of Mario Balotelli to AC Milan, that would still represent a major outlay.

Sports

Page 43

Arsenal fly to Madrid to finalise Higuain deal A

rsenal officials have flown out to Madrid to finalise the deal to bring Gonzalo Higuain to the Emirates Stadium, Goal can confirm.

Already, the Gunners have agreed personal terms with Higuain including 135,000 euros per week deal.

The Gunners delegation will hold top-level talks with their Real Madrid counterparts this weekend as the two clubs negotiate a fee for the Argentina international.

As reported on Thursday, Higuain has already agreed personal terms with Arsenal ahead of a move that is increasingly likely to be completed within the next 10 days.

Preliminary discussions have already taken place between Arsenal and Madrid on a fee for the 25-year-old, and the exact figure is expected to be settled in the Spanish capital over the weekend.

The Gunners are hopeful that an offer around the €23 million mark can close the deal, while los Blancos are holding out for around €30m.

It is understood that Arsene Wenger could make an appearance during the discussions at some point over the weekend.

Arsenal have agreed a contract with Higuain that will start with a salary of €116,000-a-week, which will bring him in line with the club’s top earners Theo Walcott and skipper Thomas Vermaelen but, contrary to reports, will not shatter the club’s wage bill.

Nevertheless, Higuain will pocket a bumper pay rise if he completes a move to the Gunners as he is believed to be earning a relatively modest €74,500-a-week at Santiago Bernabeu.

Higuain alerted buyers by publicly insisting that he will leave Madrid this summer following six years in the Spanish capital.

Juventus have also made the prolific

forward an offer but there are doubts about their willingness to pay a €23m-plus fee.

Wenger has made a concerted move for Higuain as he bids to break the €23m transfer barrier - comfortably breaking the club’s record - on two new players this summer. As revealed by Goal, Arsenal have also activated the €26m release clause in Marouane Fellaini’s Everton contract but have not yet been given the all clear to hold official talks with the player, who is currently on holiday.

Wenger has also shown strong interest in Wayne Rooney and Fiorentina’s Stevan Jovetic, but Higuain has been told he can leave by Madrid and the deal is viewed by Arsenal as easier to secure.

The Argentina star has a prolific scoring record at both club and international level and will be regarded as a statement signing if Arsenal can finalise the transfer.

Celtic sign Van Dijk from Groningen

Dijk

T

he 21-year-old centreback, who has made three appearances for Netherlands Under-21 side, has penned a four-year deal to become the SPL champions’ second summer signing Celtic have completed the signing of centre-back Virgil van Dijk from Eredivisie outfit Groningen for a fee which can rise up to €3 million.

The Netherlands Under-21 international, who turns 22 in July, has signed a four-year deal with the SPL champions to become the club’s second signing of the summer.

While no specific details of the initial fee were giving on the club’s website, Groningen will get 10 per cent of his next sale.

Van Dijk made 62 league appearances in three seasons at Groningen and will be competing with the likes of Efe Ambrose and Kelvin Wilson for a starting berth at Celtic Park.

Higuain

Federation Cup Round of 64 Results •Lobi stars 1-1 Crown. ( Lobi won 5-3 on penalties ) .Kaduna utd 1-0 Unicem Rovers .Nasarawa United 3-0 Adamawa Utd (W/O) •Julius Atete FC 3-1 Insurance •Gombe Utd 9-1 Bussdor FC •Enyimba FC 5-1 Police Machine •Dolphins 3-1 NAF FC

•Wikki Tourists 1-2 Plateau Utd •El Kanemi Warriors 1-0 Apa United •Arewa United 0-0 ABS FC( 6-7 ABS won on penalty kicks) •Kano Pillars 3-0 Global Academy •Akwa Starlets 2-2 Kwara United(PK 5-4) .Warri Wolves 1-0 Dynamite

Page 44

Peoples Daily WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Sports

Wimbledon Open Federer handed tough draw enroute 18 records quest

By Patrick Andrew with agency report

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oger Federer, the holder of a record 17 majors, can become the first man to win eight Wimbledon titles and go one better than Pete Sampras.

Interestingly, Djokovic, Murray, Federer and Nadal are competing together at a Grand Slam championship for the first time in 12 months.

Third seed Federer, who serves off his bid for a record eighth crown against Victor Hanescu on Centre Court on Monday, could potentially meet fifth seed Nadal in the quarter-finals.

Both came face to face in the 2006-2008 Wimbledon finals and last year, Federer equalled the Wimbledon titles record of Pete Sampras and William Renshaw when he lifted his seventh trophy at the All England Club. That was at the expense of the Brit who will seeking to break Britain’s 77 years wait for sip from the Wimbledon trophy.

Should Federer clinch the trophy -his eight- he would become the second oldest champion at Wimbledon in the Open era, just behind Arthur Ashe who was six days short of his 32nd birthday when he triumphed in 1975.

But age is not on his side.

He 32 years while Sampras won the last of his Wimbledon titles as a 28-year-old in 2000.

Sampras won 16 in all.

Federer, who is celebrating the 10th anniversary of his first Wimbledon title, isn’t without

Maria Sharapova

worries. “Ten years ago I went into Wimbledon with so much pressure, even though I had lost in the first round the year before,” he said.

“In terms of needing to prove my point that I was a legitimate Grand Slam contender, I had incredible pressure. Now, ten years later,

The defending Australian Open champion, Djokovic heads for Wimbledon overshadowed by talk of Murray’s and Federer’s bids for history and the ongoing condition checks on Nadal’s knee.

The 26-year-old hasn’t played a grass court warm-

world No 2 Victoria Azarenka are the leading candidates to throw a spanner in the works.

But Sharapova was circumspect to say the least on entering the French Open final having lost 12 consecutive matches to Williams.

Defeat in the quarterfinals

Novak-Djokovic

Roger Federer, men’s defending champion

I know Wimbledon, I know my way around and what I need to do to perform well.”

Also on same side of the draw is French Open eight times winner, Rafael Nadal, who won the 2008 and 2010 champion, and will be gunning for a third title in London.

Though still recuperating from his left knee injury and the strains of the grass courts, the Spaniard in spite of his ranking is a serious contender to the trophy.

Nadal had to skip the 2009 championships through injury while, 12 months ago, he was sent packing in a second round shocker by 100th-ranked Czech Lukas Rosol. It was one defeat that forced Nadal off the tour for seven months and he missed the Olympics as well as US and Australian Opens.

The 12-time major winner Nadal, who has seven titles since his return in February, wants to make up for all that miss.

Serena Williams women’s defending champion

up, opting to rest after his marathon five-set loss to Nadal in the French Open semifinals. Djokovic beat Nadal in the 2011 final for his only Wimbledon title.

Second seeded Andy Murray, who carries the hope of Britain on his shoulders and the first British runner-up since Bunny Austin in 1938, first plays Benjamin Becker with eyes on the trophy.

He could challenge sixth seed Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in the last eight finals, both of whom he had beaten last week en route to his third Aegon Championships crown.

In the women’s draw, top seed and defending champion Serena Williams will begin her quest for a 17th grand slam title against Luxembourg’s Mandy Minella.

Serene should arrive for her Wimbledon title defence full of confidence going by her form recent devastating form.

Her opponent in the final at Roland Garros, Maria Sharapova, and Belarussian

of the Australian Open in January is the only smudge on a near-perfect year in which Williams has returned to the pinnacle of the rankings and re-conquered Paris, where the title had eluded her since 2002.

Serena’s 31-match winning streak with a 75-4 win-loss record in the past 12 months

Rafael Nadal

must awe her opponents at the All England Club, where her huge serve and heavy hits skid through with a little extra fizz.

Petra Kvitova, 2011 Wimbledon champion, is not the first to suggest that Serena’s biggest opponent is frequently herself.

World No 5 Sara Errani, who was on the receiving end of one of Williams’s most emphatic maulings in the semifinals in Paris, losing 6-0 6-1, neatly summed up the sense of foreboding.

At 31, Williams is already the oldest woman to win a major since Martina Navratilova claimed a ninth Wimbledon singles title in 1990.

She needs two more to draw level with both Navratilova and Chris Evert who sit above her with 18 major titles on the all-time women’s list headed by Margaret Court with 24. She also needs one more grand slam to draw level with Roger Federer, often hailed as the greatest player to pick up a racket.

Older sister Venus, who won the last of her five Wimbledon titles in 2008, has pulled out this year with a back injury, and among the rest the title credentials are flimsy.

Sharapova has reached only one Wimbledon final since winning it as 17-yearold in 2004 while Azarenka has fallen at the semifinal stage in the last two years and has enjoyed grand-slam success only in Australia.

Even last year’s surprise finalist Agnieszka Radwanska will pose little or no little problem to Serena.

Interview

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 22 - SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

PAGE 45

Victims of sickle cell anemia in Bauchi lament neglect From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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eople suffering from sickle cell anemia in Bauchi state have lamented neglect from government and the authorities concerned over total neglect as a result of which many of them died prematurely.

To get sickle cell disease, a child has to inherit two sickle cell genes-one from each parent. When a child inherits the gene from just one parent, that child has sickle cell trait. Having this trait means that you do not have the disease but you are a carrier and could pass the gene on to your children.

As a result, life expectancy is shortened with the average life expectancy of persons with this condition estimated at 42 years in males and 48 years in females, but today, thanks to better management of the disease, patients can live into their 70s or beyond but this not the case in Bauchi state.

That is why the leader of the sickle cell group in Bauchi State came to the Nigeria Union of Journalist secretariat in Bauchi to explain their ordeals in the state.

Chairperson of the Sickle Cell Anemia group in Bauchi, Hajiya Hajara Sani disclosed this to newsmen yesterday in Bauchi.

Hajara Sani lamented that the disease was claiming lives at an alarming rate in the state such that about 88 sickle-cell anaemia sufferers in Bauchi State have died between January and June this year alone.

She said: “We don’t get help from the state government and there are more than 4,000 sufferers in Bauchi Local Government Area alone.

“We currently have 47 patients seeking medical attention and out of this 22 are experiencing crisis which require emergency”, she said, and attributed the high mortality figure to the inability of patients to receive timely blood transfusion, medication and proper nutrition as most family cannot afford it.

“If nothing is done, several suffers will die because this week alone, we have 22 admitted patients experiencing crisis. One particular week alone recorded four deaths,” Hajara Sani who has two children born with the disease, said.

“I am calling on Governor Isa Yuguda to assist us like other states use to assist sickle cell anemia sufferers, there is need for urgent attention from government and all stakeholders to address the trend.

“We need to have separate centers that would take care of those suffering from the ailment where we are sure of better treatment. Look at where we are kept”, she said.

Our correspondent visited the Primary Health Care centre at the State Low Cost Housing and saw many sickle cell anemia patients and their family waiting for succor. Many were seen on the bare floor as there were not enough beds to accommodate the large number of patients while two patients share a single bed.

A housewife, Halima Sani who is in the centre, said: “My two children have really suffered. “Rukaiya is two and Auwalu is 19. They suffer pains almost at the same time. I have been here for three days now. I spent N2950 on Rukaiya while Auwalu’s

Hajara Sani treatment has gulfed over N6,000 this week alone,” she said.

Halima, a nursing mother also lamented that she and her third child who is only nine months old, have to sleep on the floor while her two children share the bed.

“I’m appealing to the government to build the hospital we have in Nassarawa. This place is too small and mosquito won’t let us rest even in the day time,” she said.

Halima said, “I don’t like to be close if their crisis start… when the most common symptom of sickle cell disease want surface, there are periods of pain that happen when sickle cells get stuck in blood vessels and

A patient block the blood flow, these events usually cause pain in the hands, feet belly, back, or chest and that pain may last for hours or for days. I will never sleep well if the crisis start on any of my children” Speaking on the issue, the state commissioner for health, Dr Sani Mallami feigned ignorance of the figure of deaths given by Hajara Sani but said he has a surveillance committee that gives him monthly reports of deaths.

Dr. Mallami said that the state government gives free treatments to sickle cell patients and this is being carried out at the hospital in Tashan Babaye.

“Most of them prefer to visit the

Umar Yar’ Adua PHC Centre in Nassarawa which is inadequate to cater for them. We have asked them to go to the facility at Tashan Babaye where they are being treated”.

Also responding, the Executive Director, Primary Healthcare Agency in the state, Dr. Nisser Ali Umar, said although the PHC centre in the Federal low-cost estate is used by most of the sickle cell patients, the agency does not treat complex cases such as Sickle cell anaemia which is handled by secondary healthcare givers in hospital.

Dr. Umar said the centre was provided temporarily pending the completion of the 300 bed Specialist

Hospital because of the hand over of the Specialist Hospital Bauchi now converted to a teaching hospital.

He expressed surprise that complaints were coming from sickle cell patients and their relatives, blaming it on mischief makers.

“Some time ago, a staff attacked a woman who had brought a patient to the centre and as a result, the governor who received the news ordered for reposting of all the staff in the centre.

“We believe this staff who have since been reposted are the ones instigating some people to come out and say that sickle cell anemia patients are not being taken care of in Bauchi”

Feature

PAGE 46

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 22 - SUNDAY 23, JUNE, 2013

Katsina: Traders, Company’s battle over Gwangwan intensifies From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

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wangwan settlement lies between ‘Yar’adua Quarters, Nagogo Road and the New Katsina General Hospital road that cut across Saulawa Quarters in Katsina metropolis.

It is a popular place where the Katsina Rex Cinema is located, and where some traders in those days, attracted by huge sales at the Cinema theatre sell their wares. Another unique feature of Gwangwan? it is the place where people easily got metal workers to save the day when they lost their keys.

However, Peoples Daily Weekend findings revealed that the Cinema and the land where the traders occupied belong to a conglomerate of investment of the Western region states under their brand name, WEMA. It was also uncovered that WEMA investment acquired the land for the purpose of establishing a Cinema which was one of their investment focuses. The land where the Cinema was located was a swamp which was filled by the conglomerate before erecting the structure on it.

During the reign of Late President Umaru Musa ‘Yar’adua as governor of Katsina State a lot of road construction projects were initiated and one of the obstacles encountered during the construction was the need to demolish some structures to give way for the construction. The Gwangwan area, especially the piece of land owned by WEMA was affected and the company, not the traders squatting on the land was paid a compensation of N700, 000. However as events unfold, the WEMA investment resolved to sell the piece of land because it did not have any need for it, any longer.

In the late 2005 to early 2006, the ‘Yar’adua administration in the state got wind of WEMA’s intention to the sell the piece of land and got interested in acquiring it. The argument by late ‘Yar’adua then was that the land could be acquired by Katsina Local Government to establish a modern market that could compliment their meagre internally generated revenue. Peoples Daily Weekend reveals that a committee under the former Deputy Governor of the state, Alhaji Abdullahi Aminchi with membership that include the then Katsina Local Government Chairman, Alhaji Bala Saulawa and a member representing Katsina Local Government in the State House of Assembly, Alhaji Zubairu Gafai among others, was set-up to bargain with WEMA on the price tag of the land.

As the committee concluded

its assignment, it came up with a suggested price of N51 million for the land. The argument of the committee then was that the actual value of the Gwangwan land was N10 million but the balance of N41 million would be used to compensate traders residing on it. Peoples Daily Weekend reliably gathered that ‘Yar’adua objected to compensating the traders since the land was not theirs in the first place.

It was the controversies in the sale of the land that made some people to suggest that, traders occupying the land with the financial capability should buy the land. This too failed as the traders did not show any interest to do so.

Peoples Daily Weekend, similarly gathered that when all options failed an indigenous company called Messrs FATLUBSY VENTURES LIMITED bided for the land and successfully acquired it at the cost of N10 million.

As the company became the new owner of the Gwangwan land a letter from the Katsina State Ministry of Lands, Survey and Environment dated 17th September 2009 with reference NO KT/ 1849/173 signed by one Nuhu Abubakar Umar conveyed to FATLUBSY a notice of issue of certificate of occupancy NO KT 13, 937 on the said land.

The letter reads ‘I am directed to forward herewith the above certificate of occupancy duly executed and registered as NO KTR 67 at page 67 in volume 40 (certificates of occupancy) of the state’s lands registry office, Katsina’.

After the acquiring of the Certificate of Occupancy, FATLUBCY VENTURES LIMITED moved to take possession of the land by informing the traders that he is now the new owner.

A notice was given by the company to the traders in the said land to vacate it as it was ready to take possession of it. As the cold war between the duos lasted, the company took the option of going to court. The company through its lawyers then instituted legal action against one Alhaji Yahaya Mai Chemist and 19 others. As the case commenced, records of the courts showed that for about 18 times the traders were served notice which they all allegedly ignored.

As the hide and seek game continued, on the 15th July, 2012 the court presided by the Retired Chief Judge of the State, Justice Saddik A. Mahuta delivered his judgement against the traders. The judgement in relations to suit NO. KTH/68/ 2011 read, ‘having considered the application of the learned counsel to the plaintiff, the court is bound by the provision

A bull dozer moves into Gwangwan for demolition work

Gwangwan traders surround bull dozer of the Courts’ rule: cited and judgement is hereby entered in favour of the plaintiff against the Defendants as per the reliefs contained in the statement of claim of the Plaintiff parties are at liberty to file notice of appeal to the court of appeal if they are not satisfied with the judgement within 90 days from today’.

However the Peoples Daily Weekend gathered that, as the 90 days appeal period lapsed without appeal by the traders, the court set out to enforce the judgement by ejecting the traders from the disputed land.

As a heavy duty Caterpillar backed by about 20 policemen rolled out to enforce the order, resulting in protest by the traders even as some started throwing stones at its direction before the driver of the Caterpillar was whisked away by a traditional ti-

tle holder who told him that the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumini Kabir Usman wanted to see him.

When Peoples Daily Weekend visited the Higher Court to verify on the stand up, the Chief Registrar of Katsina Higher Court, Alhaji Mansur H. Zango noted that there was no any problem in enforcing the order.

He said we are living in a society where there is order, adding that there are rules that must be respected. ‘Even in our homes we have rules and regulations that must be respected’.

Similarly all efforts by Peoples Daily Weekend to hear the side of the traders failed as they argued that they were prevented from talking to the press on the issue. As the stand-up continues, the traders through, Alhaji Yahaya Mai Chemist and

19 others have filed an appeal before the High Court praying the court to set aside its judgement on the case between them and the company. They alleged in the notice of appeal that from the beginning of the case up to the time of judgement they were not aware of it. They alleged that it was because they were unaware of the case tht they did not go to the court or file their motion. They however said the Emir of Katsina intervened and the executors suspended the action.

As the drama unfolds the two parties would continue to jump from one Court to another in trying to see who gets hold of the famous Gwangwan market.

Would its new owner triumph or would the squatting traders survive the ejection. Only time will tell.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23 , JUNE, 2013

Page 47

From the Pulpit

Who are you listening to? (IV)

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lory be to God! I’m glad to welcome you to your favorite column. I believe God will speak to you again as I continue this series.

Be careful that you don’t surround yourself with people whose lives are not being guided by the Word of God in the Bible. “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers.

How can goodness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the Devil?

How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols?” (2 Cor 6:14-16 NLT) Beware who you take counsel from. Don’t take advice from sinners; don’t walk in the counsel of the ungodly. (Ps 1:1) Prov 12:5 says, “The plans of the godly are just; the advice of the wicked is treacherous.” (NLT) Verse 26 of that Scripture adds: “The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray.” (NLT) Rehoboam’s error of judgment Have you forgotten Rehobam?

He rejected the advice of the elders and chose to go with the advice of his fellow youths. He paid dearly for it.

The kingdom was divided during his time because of his foolishness. His father was the wisest man that ever lived but he demonstrated extreme foolishness that could have made his father shudder in his grave! “But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. And he said to them, “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?’ Then the young men who had grown up with him Matthew 5:12; 6:22,23; 1 Peter 4:13,14

M

Luke

any things we do not understand happen to us in life. Negative things that happen to us usually bring along with them sorrow, sadness, grief and loss of joy. Christ, in this message, teaches us not only how to approach life but also what we are to do when negative things happen to us. This is because He knows the constitution of man: that the manifestation of negative emotions – grief, sadness, sorrow, worry, anxiety, fear, anger, hatred, malice – will break down man’s system. But when positive emotions of joy, gladness and happiness are vent, they will build it up.

There is power in joyfulness.

It is a mental diet that helps our emotions and strengthens the mind. A negative, depressive attitude destroys while a joyful attitude renews life. Christ then prescribes that the right attitude during persecution is to “rejoice, and be exceeding glad ” because the purpose of the enemy is to, with the persecution, make us sink low and be so unhappy, dejected, discouraged,

spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to this people who have spoken to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’ — thus you shall say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist! And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!’” (1 Kings 12:8-11 NKJV) When he spoke to the people in line with the advice of his mates, the people rebelled against him. “Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying: ‘What share have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Now, see to your own house, O David!’ So Israel departed to their tents. But Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.” (Verses 18-17) The utterance of Rehoboam was a needless provocation of the people. A wise person would have handled the situation differently and sustained the loyalty of the people.

It is not just any advice you need but good advice. For Rehoboam, his problem was not lack of good advice but foolishness in following a wrong advice from fellows suffering from youthful exuberance. Be careful whose advice you follow!

Don’t listen to flatterers. They have ulterior motive for what they are saying. Don’t encourage flatterers in your life but even be mature in receiving sincere commendation – receive it with humility. Don’t be like Herod. “Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they sent a delegation to make peace with him because their cities were dependent upon Herod’s country

for food. The delegates won the support of Blastus, Herod’s personal assistant, and an appointment with Herod was granted. When the day arrived, Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to them. The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, ‘It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!’ Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died.” (Acts 12:2023 NLT) Your response to praise is a test of your character. “Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised.” (Prov 27:21NLT) Prov 26:28 says, “A lying tongue hates its victims, and flattering words cause ruin.” (NLT) God hates flattery because of the negative consequences it can have on the recipient. Flattery has the capacity to corrupt the person it is targeted at. “Those who doeth wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery” (Daniel 11:32 KJV) Consider anyone flattering you as your enemy; he will cause ruin for you. So be careful that you don’t begin to act strangely because of their flattery meant to boost your ego. David said, “My enemies cannot speak a truthful word. Their deepest desire is to destroy others. Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with flattery.” (Ps 5:9 NLT) Your enemies can’t be different from these enemies of David. Flattery is one of the subtle weapons of the enemy that will cause a person to begin to act strangely in arrogance. It will cause a person to be proud. Don’t develop a big head because of what people are saying to you or about you.

A flatterer has no credibility so

GREEN PASTURES By pastor t.o. banso

cedarministryintl@yahoo.com GSM: 08033113523 don’t believe him. Therefore you must know how to avoid such people or when impossible you should know how to deal with their flattery. Prov 6:24 says, “[For the commandment is a lamp] to keep thee from evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman” (KJV) My prayer for you is that the Lord will cut off every flattering lips that will change you to what God has not destined you to be. (Ps 12:3) Listen to God not the serpent Who are you listening to?

Eve listened to the serpent and ate the forbidden fruit thereby disobeying God. Adam listened to his wife, and because of just one fruit, they lost the garden. When God came to the garden after their disobedience and asked Adam, “Where are you?” Adam told God, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

(Gen 3:10 NKJV) God replied him: “Who told you that you were naked?” (Gen 3:11 NKJV) God was invariably telling Adam that he had listened to somebody else apart from Him – God wasn’t the source of that information. Have you been listening to God or to the serpent? Who told you…?

Paul warned the Corinthians listening to the fake apostles: “But I fear that somehow you will be led away from your pure and simple

devotion to Christ, just as Eve was deceived by the serpent. You seem to believe whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach about a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.” (2 Cor 11:3-4 NLT) Permit me to stop here today.

I’ll conclude this message next week.

Please act on what you’ve read today.

TAKE ACTION! If you are not born again, kindly say this prayer now: “0 Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and surrender my life to him today. I invite Jesus into my heart today.

By this prayer, I know I am saved.

Thank you Jesus for saving me and making me a child of God” I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations!

You will need to join a Bible believing, Bible teaching church in your area where you will be taught how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon.

May you grow into Christ in all things becoming all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. May the Lord be with you.

The power of a joyful wife (I) depressed, and consequently be sick. But Jesus wants us to be joyful and healthy. We are neither to sit down in discouragement and mourn nor beat a retreat because we suffer persecution; we are to “rejoice … and leap for joy”. In anything that happens, there is always a positive side to it.

Joy strengthens our minds. A strong mind builds a strong body; a peaceful mind builds a calm body.

Joy assists our faith, hope and love.

A person of negative disposition, a moody person is capable of spreading sorrow around him. Sorrow of heart depresses, and causes despair and disease (Nehemiah 2:2). If the heart is sorrowful, the countenance will be sad and it brings weakness to the body. It is the inner man that gives the body either strength or weakness. Sadness or depression is the negative effect of the mind on the body. It is an internal problem that is oozing out of sad people. The internal condition then depreciates, destroys and makes a person to have disease on the external body.

By pastor W.F Kumuyi But perpetual joy in our spirits and souls, as Christians, will keep us ahead of our persecutors and on top of our entire problem in the path of progress and in the enjoyment of good health, strength and power.

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THE STRENGTHENING POWER OF JOY Matthew 5:12; Nehemiah 8:10; Psalms 51:8; 28:7,8; 35:9,10; Genesis 45:26-28; Proverbs 25:25; Acts 16:19-26.

Rejoice because joy has a way of strengthening you. When you are joyful internally, it gives you strength. The discouragement,

depression and grief we suffer as a result of bad news we hear do not solve our problems. Rather, they compound them. They can cut short a bright prospect or make one to abandon a promising project.

As Christians, we are to sit down, pray, look at the promises of God concerning those problems. Then develop your strategy on how to solve the problems. Some don’t eat because of problem. Don’t sell off your heritage and the Lord will see you through. The persecution or problem of today will not continue forever; a bright day is coming. That

you have a problem that looks more than you can comprehend is no reason to be dejected. You have a God that is greater than the enemy.

The things that make you sad do not take responsibility for making you sad by allowing you to draw your own conclusion; you are actually responsible for your sadness.

Depression distorts mental faculty and hinders a free flow of thought.

When once there is problem, it becomes difficult for some people to think things through before taking decisions or drawing conclusions.

When you believe a lie, it brings depression to you, and like Jacob, you cannot believe truth when it eventually comes out. That is what grief, sadness and sorrow do to us.

The strength comes from the inside. Just as nursing mothers don’t generally fall sick because of joy, so it is with all men. So long as there is joy, the weakness will disappear.

Even if she had been sickly, as soon as she gives birth, because of joy, she becomes healthy and strong. Joy brings health.

BIG PUNCH “I am very sad that the presidency has started divide and rule on the north. Recently we noticed with dismay that some members of this organisation have gone to the President and assured him that he must contest for election in 2015.”

– ACF accuses Jonathan of dividing North

SATURDAY 22 — SUNDAY 23 , JUNE, 2013

Northern leaders must wake up

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ight from inception, northerners have been so lucky to have been at the helm of affairs of the country for the larger part of Nigeria’s history. Right from independence, the reigns of leadership had always remained with them. Even when it transferred to other regions, it had always returned back to them.

They have always held onto power for as long as it took and they have always been reluctant to hand over power to anyone else. It is on record that only once had they willingly relinquished power to other regions. The only other two instances had been through a coup d’état and also through a make-shift arrangement often seen by many as an indirect transfer of power between northerners through a buffer created to suite the prevailing circumstances of that time. It is on record that the power had remained with the north for 33 of Nigeria’s 52 years of existence.

It’s no secret that the urge to lead has always been an inbuilt attribute of the typical northerner. Right from precolonial days, the north had always had a well established political system of leadership which is perhaps why the urge for leadership has always been inherent in them. It is therefore not surprising that even when they succumb to transferring power to other regions of the country, they still continue to play key roles in the running of such administrations.

Take for instance President Goodluck Jonathan’s government; the north still retains the highest number of ministers on the cabinet apart from holding key positions such as Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Justice of the Federation, Chief of Defence Staff, Air force Chief, Police chief, National Security Adviser and a host of other critical positions of government. This goes a long way in solidifying the argument already construed that the northerner is obsessed with leadership which in itself is yet to be proven assertion. It is however so unfortunate that despite the long duration northerners had held on to power, the region had still remained the least developed in the country.

Successive administrations have not been able to bring development to the region. Compared to the leaders from other regions, one is tempted to say that the Nigerian leaders of northern extraction have failed to attract as much developmenttotheirregionasthoseofthe other regions despite the long duration they had been in power. Comparing northern states and those from other regions portrays an obvious disparity on infrastructural development, literacy level, unemployment rate, and what have you. Under normal circumstances, one will have expected to see passionate developmental strides all over the region if the typical Nigerian mindset is anything to go by. Why had this not been the case and why had the leaders failed in attracting the much needed development to the region despite the obvious lag it currently witnesses?

During the first republic and even after it, the north had been self-serving.

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The economy of the north had been largely dependent on agriculture which was the main stay of the region and indeed the country at large. The country’s income had largely been from agriculture and agro-allied sources which had contributed about 75% of the country’s exports. Stories are told of the famous groundnut pyramids in Kano which was perhaps one of the major export at that time. The north at that time was financially buoyant and self-sustaining.

Commercially, the north continued the economic activities the region was known for in the pre-colonial days and this also added to the strong financial position the north enjoyed at that time and gave it a leading role in the decision making processes of the country. It has always been an open secret that it was the north that single-handedly delayed granting Nigeria its independence till 1960inordertocompletecertainmassive regional requirements at that time which would never had been possible had the region been financially incapacitated like we are witnessing these days. It will therefore not be wrong to say that the north at that time was strong politically as a result of its financial stability.

However, with the discovery of oil in the 1970s and the gradual shift in government’s economic priorities, agriculture was neglected and this resulted in losing its role as the main source of government’s income.

Unfortunate for the north too, the government adopted the American system of governance which provided for a central control of the finances of the government and which unfortunately granted the control of resources to the federal government. Unlike the American system however, states received federal allocations from the central government’s account instead of the reverse and as such, with the central government’s neglect of agriculture came a decline in the financial stability of the north. With the exception of Kano state and a few others, very few of the northern states can now boast of an internally generated revenue base strong enough to cater for their expenditure and how many of them could even survive without the subvention like Lagos state did some times back?

The north no doubt has witnessed a great decline in its fortunes and every right thinking mind of northern extraction must come to terms with the present realities that the north has lost its former status. It no longer commands the respect it once had; no thanks to the crop of leaders the north now parade.

In the past, the north boasted of selfless leaders like Sir Tafawa Balewa, J.S. Tarka, Sir Ahmadu Bello and co who sacrificed all they had to keep the north united. These were leaders who occupied the highest offices available, had the opportunity to amass so much wealth yet died with little or no wealth but instead, worked for the betterment of their people. These were leaders who had foresight and most of their policies were geared towards developing the north and they did everything they could to ensure the north remained competitive with their counterparts. They utilized

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GUEST COLUMNIST With

By Abubakar Mamman Ngulde

NSGF Chairman, Gov. Babangida Aliyu of Niger state every available resource including the large population the north boasted of to generate income. This perhaps is the reason why the north continues to revere them long after they are gone.

In contrast, the present day crops of leaders have been nothing short of a disappointment. They have failed to live up to the expectations of the ordinary northerner on the street. While their counterparts from other parts continue to utilize the funds available to them no matter how little, they had continued to demand for more. They have not been able to come up with alternative sources of funding to complement the meagre federal allocation being handed over to them which is increasingly becoming insufficient to address the ever growing government responsibilities. Ironical however, their personal fortunes have continued to accumulate while those of the states they head have continued to deteriorate. While some states are worthy of commendation for the initiatives they are now taking to tackle this lingering problem, some continue to languish in poverty with yet no visible plan to end such sufferings. With the growing awareness of the populace in the act of governance however, it might sooner than later dawn on these leaders that the average northerner is getting enlightened by the day and his former ignorance which has always been the tool the leaders have been utilizing will no longer be there and he will soon be demanding for his rights like his counterparts are doing elsewhere.

When this thus happens, the northern leaders will have bigger problems to contend with than they could ever have previously imagined. The

onus now is left on them to as a matter of urgency, develop and implement ideas that would be geared towards making their states financially viable to address the growing unrest in these parts. If the civil unrest being witnessed in some parts of the northeast is anything to go by, the governments will in the nearest future need to spend so much on rehabilitating and educating the teaming population comprising of mostly youths and will have to face a lot of challenges doing so if they continue to depend only on the federal subvention.

Already, youths in places like Kano, Gombe and a few other states are beginning to show signs of this and it is likely to spread to other states faster than anyone imagines. Laudable however, the efforts made by Kano state government whom despite the seeming insecurity has been able to increase its internally generated revenue from 400-450million naira monthly to about 1.2 billion naira within a span of two years. This is a step in the right direction since a host of other statescouldboastofsamebutmoreneeds to be done however since numerous more opportunities still abound all over the north. The north is blessed with the most fertile and agriculturally suitable lands that can be found anywhere in Africa perhaps comparable to world agricultural super powers like Singapore, India and China. Harnessing this great potential could give the north back its lost glory. With the continuous demand for a reduction in food importation, the north could if handled properly turn back the hands of fortune and make other parts solely dependent on it for agricultural products and this would have no small impact on its earnings. In the United

States for instance, states like Texas whose income is totally dependent on agriculture still commands great respect from the country because of its strong financial base.

Another very important source of future earnings for the north could be the abundant solid minerals that could be found almost everywhere in the north.

Unfortunately, most of the mineral resources have continued to remain untapped despite the potentials. From the tin ore and columbite in Plateau State to the Lead in Zamfara state and limestone in Sokoto, the story had always remained the same. No government had made any serious attempt to explore these abundant resources in commercial quantity. With the present circumstances, governments must get serious with diversifying their sources of income especially now that the world is looking towards other sources of alternative energy and raw materials.

At this juncture, the northern leaders need to also take a bold step towards achieving the oil producing status the south-south states have always been boasting of. If only they can do that, they would have successfully spun the tides of fortune in their favour. It is on record that previously conducted explorations had indicated the presence of deposits of crude oil at several places within the northern territory. Bureaucracy and government’s internal democracy had no doubt been behind the lack of utilization of this major source of income and I believe the time to start doing that is now.

Moves should be made towards tapping this natural resource which could be the source of the much needed income the north had been yearning for.

There is no doubt that exploring and harnessing this great potential will provide the much needed employment and will attract development just like the way it is doing to other oil producing states. With the countries bordering the north already benefitting from the oil, it would be foolhardy for the north not to partake in it. It is therefore of paramount importance that the north begin to make heavy investments in this sector which will undoubtedly remain the most sought after sector of the Nigerian economy for many more years to come.

I will end this piece by asking the northern leaders to consider the demand by the southern states for resource control as a wakeup call. If every state in all regions could effectively utilize their God-given resource, there would not have been any basis for opposing the idea of resource control. If the northern states would wake up and explore the abundant resources it has, it would in the nearest future be more at an advantage with resource control than even the oil producing states. The leaders must therefore begin to look inwards for the much needed income the region urgently requires. Only then would meaningful development be achieved in the presence circumstances the world is in. Borrowing of funds for capital projects should be discouraged and instead, other sources of income should be adopted.

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