Peoples Daily Newspaper, Saturday, August 25, 2012

www.peoplesdaily-online.com www.peoplesdaily-online.com

VOL. 1 NO. 104 SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

. . . putting the people first

SHAWWAL 7 - 8, 1433 AH

COVER:

As Abuja subsidy strike ends ... FG/NUPENG deception continues >>Pages 9 & 10

I N S I D E

Modern technology cannot change Shariah —Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi >>Page 8

Tragedy:

Three found dead in Jigawa emir’s son’s house >>Page 5

N150

Attempt to rob Bureau de change operator fails >> Page 6

SPECIAL REPORT

Rape: Women’s nightmare

>> Pages 2 & 3

CPC kicks against naira restructuring >> Page 5

Alh. (Dr) Sayyyadi Abubakar Mahmoud (CON)

WWW.PEOPLESDAILY-ONLINE.COM

Man docked for stealing Shema’s Cows >> Page 11

PAGE 2

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Special Report

Rape: Women’s nightmare

By Augustine Aminu and Ezeh Fred

M

e n t i o n i n g the word ‘Rape’ brings back to some people the memory of the inhuman experience encountered trying to overcome the stigmatization and psychological trauma they went through as victims (especially teenagers) of sexual assault and rape. Many homes and parents have been subjected to shame, depression, mockery and discrimination upon the knowledge of the public especially close friends, neighbours and other acquaintances whenever a family member of theirs is raped.

According to a recent report in USA, rape occurs every two minutes; In India, every 54 minutes, and in Pakistan, every three hours. The tragedy is that 80% are perpetrated by fathers, brothers, relatives or friends. Six out of ten occur in the home or in the home of a relative or friend. The story of an Austrian father, who raped his daughter for 24 years, and had seven children through her, is still fresh in our minds.

This devilish act has also trickled down to Nigeria with cases of teenage girls being raped everyday in our society.

Today, rape has become an epidemic in Nigeria. Across the six-geopolitical zones, there is no day that will pass without a story of how older men rape teenagers or minors in the newspapers.

Despite concerted attempts at curbing the menace by both Government and nongovernmental organizations (NGO) at different levels, who have advocated for various laws aimed at protecting the rights of women in Nigeria, the problem still persists.

A typical example is of how school children from Enugu travelling to Lagos for holiday and were raped on the way by their male guardian, in connivance with the driver.

The question is "What sexual satisfaction can a man of forty years (40) and above derive from sexually assaulting and raping a teenager that should be of his daughter’s age?

Another pathetic tale of this act is the story of Blessing (not real name), a 13 -year-old girl, who allegedly got raped by one Raymond Alarachi Onyenze, inside an uncompleted building, in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Blessing, a student of a popular private school situated Lugbe, lives with her parents in a village called Sauka ka

huta behind Federal Housing Lugbe, both in Abuja.

While narrating her story to our reporter, her eyes were full of tears and the mother was also there in tears, said: “Uncle Raymond called me into the uncompleted building and covered my mouth and said I should not shout that I should cooperate with him but I didn’t know what that meant until he started fumbling with my body. It was then I started struggling to run way but he was too powerful and pinned me to the ground with his weight.”

Explaining further, the tearful mother of the victim, who pleaded to remain anonymous, said the incident happened at about 11pm. Her words, “The man is our neighbor, and my husband’s friend. That Saturday, he came to my shop where I sell provision; he even bought a small bottle of Seaman’s hot drink.

“After drinking, I asked him to help me put on the light in my small poultry house, and he asked my daughter to come and hold the torchlight for him. He left and I also went outside.

“He later came back to the window and called my daughter to bring him cigarettes. When the girl took them to him, he pulled her into an uncompleted building, covered her mouth with his boxers and raped her.”

According to her, when the

girl emerged later in tears and with blood dripping everywhere, she alerted neighbours who called the police.

The alleged rapist, Onyenze, hails from Umuahia, in Abia state, was arrested on Saturday night at Sauka kaHuta Village where he allegedly committed the crime.

A resident of Federal Housing, Lugbe at the police station there who gave his name as Ubong Emmanuel, while condemning the act said ‘rape is inexcusable’, as he views rapists as persons who are mentally messed up.

“Admiring and tolerating rape is inexcusable. They think it is for dominance. And men who rape women tend to have no control over other aspects of their life and relationships.

Rape gives the man "power".

He has the power to hurt and kill women after wards sexually by forcing them into an act they do not want to do”, he expressed.

He continued: “It doesn't have anything to do with sex, because in 90% of rapes, the woman knows the man. It could be your neighbours, tenant, a relative; these days even fathers have not spared their daughters.

What surprises me most is that many rapists happen to be married and have an active sex life with their spouse. It has nothing to do with sex.”

A source at the Federal

housing police station who pleaded anonymity said for the month of August alone, they have recorded more than 18 reports of statutory rape and child abuse complaints. “That is just the number of children and families who are brave enough to report the case,” he said.

Recently too, the apprehension of a 45-year old bricklayer, Elijah Olusesi who allegedly have been having sex with his 14-year old daughter (name withheld) since she was seven, in Ogun State.

He was allegedly caught by members of O’odua People’s Congress (OPC) who had laid ambush for him at Adeosun Street, Adiyan, a remote community in Ifo Local Government, Ogun State.

His wife, Shade, had fled to Adiyan when the man started sleeping with the little girl.

According to reports, Elijah evaded arrest for 15 days before his eventual arrest in the midnight recently. Elijah and his family were subsequently banished from the community after he allegedly confessed to engaging in the despicable act with his daughter.

Other reliable information’s gathered by Poeples Daily weekend revealed that the man was exposed when the sexually assaulted girl ran out of their home naked in the middle of the night and was held by the security men guarding the community. And upon interrogation by the

security men, she said, “I ran out when my father wanted to kill me with sex.

She reportedly told the guards: “He has been having sexual intercourse with me since I was seven years old and my mother knew about it. My mother and I ran away from him to come and hide here but we don’t know how he was able to trace us down here.”

Elijah Olusesi The girl’s mother, Shade said that she stopped him from sleeping with her immediately she discovered he was having carnal knowledge of their daughter, adding that she had to run away with the girl from their former home to Adiyan in Ogun State. She told the community that she did not know how her husband was able

Contd on Page 3

“

Government and non-governmental organizations (NGO) at different levels, who have advocated for various laws aimed at protecting the rights of women in Nigeria, the problem still persists.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 3

Special Report ...Women’s nightmare Contd. from Page 2 to trace them down to the remote village.

The story of a 25-year-old man, Abdulrasaq Adeniyi, who allegedly raped a nine-year-old girl (name withheld) in Lagos, is another worrisome story that is not different from all the other ones.

Adeniyi, who works within the area where the girl’s school is situated in Phase 2 Estate, Lagos Island, allegedly lured her to his home at 31, Anikotamo Street, Lagos Island after school hours on January 25 and forcibly had carnal knowledge of her.

The girl’s mother, Munirat, said she looked everywhere for her daughter when she did not return from school after 4pm.

She said, “It’s unusual for my daughter not to get back from school before 4pm. I tried looking for her when I couldn’t see her traces but she was still nowhere to be found.”

“She later came home herself around 8pm. When I asked her about her whereabouts, she told me Adeniyi lured her to his house after close of school and raped her.”

Among the reasons for such sexual abuses, one Mr. Segun Ogunmola said, are insecurity of children, popularity of mobile phones with internet facilities among the youth, access to pornography, increasing substance abuse and lack of sex education.

According to him, several more rapes could be taking place across the states of the federation, which are never brought to light by the victims or their families.

Experts have however pointed out that this wicked act against women in the increase among teenagers within the age of 9 to 16 who are by virtue of their tender age, in exposure, and sexual ignorance are unaware of tricks used by these devils in form of men in defiling them which they allegedly do for various reasons like spiritual cleansing, some for ritual purposes, while others for carnality and other selfish reasons best known to them.

A woman who gave her name as mama Ify said ‘What is annoying is that, those found guilty of such offences are always given an option to pay fine. For me, the damage they have caused, they should be hanged so that others will not engage in such act.”

A medical expert domiciled in Abuja, Dr Chris in his opinion described rape as forcing someone to do anything sexually against wish ( can be male of female) including touching, intercourse, or even verbal

CJN Aloma Mukhtar

threat to that.

According to him, it depends on the people; some do not want to talk about it. Most of the time, the rapist is someone known to the girl, such cases are more in villages or satellite towns; and people in towns do not always come forward with complaints.

Sadly, as a result of the bad perception attached to these acts thereof, parents prefers to keep mute, disclosing it to close and trusted friends and family members only to avert stigmatization, shame and discrimination against the victims. Most times, comments are declined to avoid bringing the matter to the notice of the public thereby denying the victim the opportunity to seek legal redress and compensation, allowing the culprits to go scot free to commit more of their crime.

Apart from the social stigma surrounding the issues of rape and sexual abuse of children,

Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Zainab Maina

he said another reason people are unwilling to report such incidents is because of the lengthy legal process of seeking proper prosecution of perpetrators of this heinous act.

Dr. Chris further said, “Effects of rape on a child can result in both short and long term harm to their body. As a result of the violent force applied in rape, some are exposed to vesicovaginal fistula (V V F) which is an abnormal fistulous tract extending between the bladder and the vagina that allows involuntary discharge of urine into vaginal vault. Then, Psychological, emotional, physical, and social effects set in, including depression.

Also studies identify other possible effects on the victims to include post -traumatic era ushers in stress disorder, anxiety, eating disorder (loss of appetite), and poor self esteem.

Another medical investigation reveals that the

“

Sadly, as a result of the bad perception attached to these acts thereof, parents prefers to keep mute, disclosing it to close and trusted friends and family members only to avert stigmatization, shame and discrimination against the victims.

risk of lasting psychological trauma is higher. This has been described as one of the most extreme form of childhood trauma which often does a serious and long term harm on the victim.

According to evangelist Abel Ogwu Augustine, “indecent dressing, teenagers now feel if they don’t dress indecently they appear local forgetting that, what we call indecent is indecent, you are addressed the way you dress.

“When you are dressed exposing your body, it won’t be an offence if you are harassed sexually because men are moved by sight, indecent dressing attract indecent spirit.” He also advised parents to keep watch over their children.

For many, this wicked act is not just ordinary as so many people are given such conditions to meet up one request or the other in their quest to gain material things of this world. Many of our respondents said something need to be done fast to curtail this menace.

Nigeria, a country known for injecting moral and religious values on its citizens must rise in total condemnation of this satanic act. The Holy books of the two major religions in Nigeria discourage sex before marriage not even to talk of having it with a girl minor who is not mentally matured to defend what is against her wish.

Various nongovernmental

organizations(NGOs) have sprang up in the past with a view to tackling the menace but due to the fact that, people are not willing to report cases for fear of victimization thereby making the battle difficult to control.

In fact, a case of rape is not easily substantiated as a result of inability to prove it by some lawyers. Whenever it happens either to your friend or other acquaintances, the best thing to do is to find a safe place and put call across to the relevant authorities for actions. Don't rain blames on the victim for what happened, rather you should show her support and love. Also ensure you share the experience with a parent or a trusted adult. This isn’t betraying your friends trust but for you to give her the necessary support and treatment that she needed.

Additionally, some risky behaviour should be avoided.

For example, if you must attend a party, ensure you do not wear sexually provocative dress, stay close to your friends and avoid going to the private room alone. Finally watch what you drink. It may be non alcoholic but drug can be added to it to make rape easy.

Remember, these rapists never consider the option of using condom for disease control and also preventing an unwanted pregnancy, rather they penetrate "skin to skin" thereby transfusing an unscreened blood into the system of the innocent child.

PAGE 4

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

News

Bauchi swears-in 15 new magistrates From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

T

h e Bauchi state chief judge, Justice Ibrahim Muhammad Zango, has sworn-in 15 magistrates with a call on them to always decide their cases without sentiments.

Justice Zango while performing the ceremony at the state High Court Complex, Bauchi, said the new magistrates came in at the right time when the state needs an effective judiciary to ensure speedy dispensation of justice.

He reminded the new Magistrates that with the oath

The Speaker Nigeria's House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, receiving a commemorative plaque from the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Cemil Çiçek, during his visit to the official residence of the Turkish Speaker in Cankaya, Ankaya, yesterday. Left of the pix is Nigeria's Ambassador to Turkey, HE Ahmed Abdulhamid Mallamadori.

Mixed reactions trail introduction of N5000 note

S

ome experts have expressed mixed reactions to plans by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to introduce N5, 000 note in 2013.

They expressed their views in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday.

An economist, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, said that the introduction of the note would not cause inflation as some expert had said.

He, however, said that there was no longer any need to redenominate the naira in view of the cash-less policy of the apex bank.

“The fact is that the plan was conceptualised about four years ago before the introduction of the cashless policy.

“Now, with the cashless policy, we don’t need the high

denomination notes as everybody is going cashless,” he added.

Dr. Samuel Nzekwe, immediate past president, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), said that the introduction of high denomination would make it possible to carry large sums around.

Nzekwe said that one of the reasons the local currency was depreciating was as a result of the inactive manufacturing sector, stressing that the nation was still an import-oriented country.

Mr. Olumide Adegoke, General Manager, Standard Alliance Insurance, said that the note could encourage corruption as it would be easy to carry huge sums within the system. He advised the CBN to be looking at ways of checking inflation.

Dr. Godwin Inedia, a former

FG okays $300m for Zungeru plant counterpart funding

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

T

h e Federal Government has approved $300 million as counterpart funding for the construction of Zungeru hydro power plant in Niger state.

This was disclosed on Thursday by President Goodluck Jonathan at the launch of Sustainable Energy For All: Towards Full Access to Energy held at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.

According to Jonathan who was represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo, the project will be financed by China EXIM Bank in collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank. It is

expected to inject about 700 megawatts of electricity into the national grid on completion.

The construction work on Mambila hydro power plant is billed to commence by the first quarter of 2013. He spoke further, “I would also like to share with you the fact that all other alternative power generation sources are being exploited.

“We have also reached an advanced stage in the construction of Zungeru power plant which would add 700 megawatts. Already the Federal Government had earmarked $300million as its counterpart funding and the China EXIM Bank has approved funding for this project with the partnership of the Islamic Development Bank.

lecturer in Economics at the Ambrose Alli University, said the proposed introduction of N5, 000 could lead to hyper inflation.

Inedia said that in developed countries such as Britain and the US, the governments restrict the circulation of prime currencies in the system.

“The economy is not matured enough to start thinking of using N5, 000 note, I don’t see the rationale behind it,” he said.

Mr. Wole Olowu, General Manager, True Bond Micro Finance Bank Ltd., said that it could have adverse effects on the economy since Nigeria still relied heavily on imports.

NAN recalls that the CBN on Thursday said that it would introduce N5, 000 note and coin existing N5, N10 and N20 notes in 2013. (NAN)

Commissioner warns contractors over default in schools' rehabilitation project From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

T

he Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Tokunbo Fayokun, on Thursday, threatened that any contractor who defaults in the execution of the government's schools rehabilitation project will be blacklisted.

Disclosing this in Ibadan at a stakeholders meeting held with contractors handling the rehabilitation of various public schools, the commissioner disclosed that a monitoring task force has been set up to visit and inspect the state of on-going works in all the schools.

The commissioner directed the contractors to complete their projects before the 10th of September in readiness for the schools resumption which has already been fixed for September 17. She warned against re-selling of the contracts.

they have taken, they were expected to be faithful to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

While warning that the state’s Judicial Service Commission would not tolerate acts inimical to the tenets that sustain the process of justice delivery, the Chief Judge promised to reward honesty and sincerity.

He used the occasion call on the state government to award contract for the construction of the proposed magistrate court complex to enable Magistrates to be housed in a decent place.

Government set to tackle sickle cell From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

T

h e Federal Government has announced plans to scale up sickle cell centres in all the six geo-political centres of the country.

Disclosing this during at a book presentation by Dabma Sickle Cell Foundation, the Minister of Health, Prof.

Onyebuchi Chukwu, said the scale up was part of the strategies to holistically tackle the burden of the disorder in Nigeria.

Chukwu who was represented by the Desk Officer for Sickle Cell Disorder, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Alayo Shopekun, explained that the centres would be dedicated to the management, control and prevention of SCDs in the country.

The minister who lamented the plight of people living with SCD, noted that the disorder has been associated with poverty, maternal mortality, newborn and child mortality and HIV and AIDS particularly in those with history of frequent blood transfusion.

Poor funding affecting police performance —IG

T

h e Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, has said that inadequate funding was hampering the effective performance of the force.

“The Nigerian police should be well funded, trained and equipped to enable it effectively constitute the first line of defence in matters of internal security”, Abubakar stated in Jos on Friday.

Abubakar spoke in a lecture at the on-going defence and security studies seminar for Course 34

participants of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, near Jos. In a paper titled: “Resource diversification and utilisation in the Nigerian police force for the maintenance of order and public security in the 21st century’’, he also blamed the bad eggs in the force on “bad family upbringing”.

“Most parents contribute to the problem of corruption by not giving their children the proper moral upbringing.

“This situation is not even

limited to the police force; it is everywhere including the military where there is high level of discipline and professionalism”.

Abubakar said the police force had the primary role of arrest, intelligence, detention and prosecution, but explained that full efficacy in such statutory functions was only possible with adequate funding.

He also lamented the poor state of police vehicles and structures, saying that the situation had often slowed down the force.

(NAN)

FCT minister loses driver

By Josephine Ella

T

h e Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed has commiserated with the family of late Alhaji Shehu Ibrahim over the untimely death of their breadwinner,

Alhaji Shehu Ibrahim a.k.a (Jegejege), on Wednesday, August 22, 2012.

Until his demise, Ibrahim was the driver to the pilot car of the FCT minister.

A statement issued in Abuja by the Chief Press Secretary to the minister, Muhammad Hazat

Sule, quoted him to have described the death of Ibrahim as sad and painful.

The minister noted that the late Ibrahim died in active service to his fatherland, and prayed Allah to grant his soul Al-Jannah Fir-dausi and the family the fortitude to bear the loss.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 5

News Three found dead in Jigawa emir's son's house From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

T

hree people believed to be friends were found dead in their room yesterday in Ringim town of Jigawa state.

Report from the state indicated that the corpses were discovered in the morning around 9:00 am in the house of the Emir of Ringim's son, Mahmoud Sayyadi (Mazaje) by one Magaji Tambura who is a bricklayer working in the house.

Speaking to Peoples Daily Weekend over the incident, the

eye witness, Tambura stated that, "at around 7:30 am I and my friend Auwalu went to Mazaje's residence where we are working as bricklayers to complete the remaining work we started some days ago but on reaching the house, we found the door locked."

Tamburasaid it was unusual for the house to remain under lock and key from inside.

According to him, “we knocked at the door for more than two hours but no responses came from within until after a while

when a little girl opened the door for us from inside and we entered."

"I went straight to the room of the deceased people where we also keep some of our working materials, but on entering the room I saw all three bodies lying motionless."

He said, "I wondered why people would be sleeping up till that time and I made up my mind to wake them up only to discover that they were all dead."

According to Tambari, "the three dead bodies laid in the room,

holding their stomachs with their two hands while some foams were dropping from their mouths."

He continued: "I therefore quickly asked the little girl to rush into the inner house to inform Mazaje who is the owner of the residence.

On getting the information, Mazaje rushed to the police and reported the matter to them after which the corpses were taken to the hospital for medical report and confirmation."

Checks revealed that the deceased bodies were Ali Tajo,

Mustapha Murtala and Nasiru Shehu whom were all in their twenties.

The corpses have since been taken to their relatives after the medical reports for burial.

When contacted, the state command Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Abdu Jinjiri declined to comment on the matter.

ASP Jinjiri explained that no details had been received from the Ringim Divisional Police Officer (DPO) as at press time.

FG sets up investigative panel on PHCN pension funds

By Udenna Orji

M

i n i s t e r of Power, Prof Barth Nnaji has set up a panel to investigate pension matters in the power sector.

This is coming on the heels of the alleged missing of hundreds of billions of naira said to have been contributed by workers of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

The missing fund is one of the reasons the workers and the Federal Government have been at daggers drawn over the privatization of the power utility and severance benefits for the workers.

Just last week, the minister had called on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to help government trace the contributions which PHCN workers are alleged to have been making as part of their terminal benefits.

The NLC had threatened to go on strike if all the severance packages of PHCN workers, including their alleged 25 per cent contribution now missing, are not paid. But Prof Nnaji had regretted that the NLC “ issued a 7-day ultimatum for government to pay PHCN workers their alleged 25 percent contribution to their Superannuation Scheme as

terminal benefits as well as withdraw security from PHCN installations, failing which organized labour would embark on a nation-wide strike”.

He said “the Ministry of Power expresses the readiness of the Government to promptly pay the 25 per cent contributions as soon as all parties are able to establish the whereabouts of the funds so far contributed by workers of the PHCN. For the umpteenth time, let it be stated that the Government has no problem with PHCN workers getting the money they have contributed under their Superannuation Scheme.

The PHCN Superannuation Scheme is managed by the PHCN management and the leadership of the three Unions in the sector who are the trustees”. The minister added that: “In other words, the management of PHCN and the leadership of the workers union have hitherto supervised the deductions and managed their disbursements While announcing the setting up of the panel to unravel the mystery surrounding the missing pension funds, the Special Assistant (Media) to the Power Minister, Mr. Ogbuagu Anikwe in a statement yesterday named chairman of the committee to be former Auditor General of the Federation, Mr Joseph Ajiboye

4 arrested over N832m oil subsidy scam From Matthew Aramude, Lagos

D

e t e c t i v e s attached to Special Fraud Unit (SFU) have arrested four persons allegedly diverting 7,000 metric tonnes of petrol valued at about N832million.

The suspects identified as Ngozi Ofodum of Menol Oil & Gas Ltd, Cynthia Gboneme, Frank Gboneme, Kechukwu Gboneme of Faiceck Petroleum Ltd. and Ladi Utieyone of Oversea Marine Ltd, allegedly diverted the said sum meant for subsidy.

A statement issued by the Commissioner of Police, Mr.

Tunde Ogunsakin, stated that the arrest was sequel to a petition

by United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) alleging fraud against the suspects.

He said following the petition, a team of detectives were detailed to investigate a scam involving Oil Subsidy racketeers who were alleged to have diverted about 7,000MT of PMS valued at N832million.

CP Ogunsakin said that the suspects used forged documents which they allegedly submitted to Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) Abuja, for subsidy payment.

Mr. and Mrs. Gideon Sopuruchi on their wedding day

CPC kicks against naira restructuring

By Stanley Onyekwere

T

he Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) has kicked against the planned restructuring of the Nigerian currency by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to pave way for introduction of 5,000 Naira note and conversion of N5, N10, and N20 notes to coins.

CPC in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Engr. Rotimi Fashakin argued that the introduction of higher denomination would be antithetical to the muchtrumpeted cashless economy championed by the CBN governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

The party therefore warned that the introduction of N5000 currency note would further exacerbate the “corruptive tendencies in the polity.”

The statement read in part: “In fact, the era of ‘Ghana-mustgo bags’ dwindled with the introduction of the N500 and N1000 notes in the past. It became easier to carry millions of naira in moderately-sized brief cases and, inexorably, increasing the incidences of high-profile bribery scandals in the polity.”

“The CBN governor anchored his argument for a higher denomination on the need to complement the cashless economy policy, as it would drastically reduce the volume of currency in circulation. He opined that some countries, notably Japan, Singapore and Germany with higher denominations of currencies recorded 2.8, 1.1 and 0.7 inflation rates respectively in 2010.”

The party said although it agreed with the CBN that printing of notes is more expensive than minting coins, “it is difficult to believe that the solution lies in converting the N5, N10 and N20 notes to coins as the cultural values of the Nigerian people do not favour the use of coins.”

“With an economy that is very susceptible to fragile macroeconomic distortions, the tendency is often for the price of goods and services to be at par with the currency notes in circulation; what will invariably happen is the spiraling inflation that may cause further macroeconomic distortions and unwittingly, bringing about political upheavals,” the statement said.

It continued: “As plausible as this may sound, the question is: what efforts have been made in the past to mobilize these segments of the state on the usage of coins and what has been the success rate?

And with the huge mobilization against the pasting of naira notes on persons at ceremonies, have we succeeded in stamping out this vice? Is it possible to extirpate deep seated cultural practices with hurriedly implemented policies as against allowing structured evolvement vis-àvis modern realities?

“As the enunciators of the nation’s monetary policy, we are not unaware of the patriotic zeal of the CBN leadership in churning out this latest policy. However, we believe there is the sore need to consider different shades of opinion before making the final draft. In so doing, the matters of state shall not suffer insufficient perspicacity.”

It would be recalled that the Apex Bank had on Thursday announced plans to introduce 5,000 naira note from the beginning of 2013. In addition, N5, N10, and N20 would be converted to coins.

PAGE 6

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

News Attempt to rob Bureau de Change operator foiled at Lagos airport From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

L

u c k ran out of two men when riders on bicycles and police officers from the Ajao Estate Police Station along the Murtala Mohammed Airport road in Lagos yesterday took risk of their lives and arrested two middle-aged men who had attempted to rob the Bureau de Change operators at the Hajj and Cargo terminal of the airport of $13, 900 (about N2.2m).

The men had approached the operators with the intention

to convert their dollar notes into naira in a Honda Accord car with Lagos registration number GZA 38 APP. Narrating the incident to reporters, the chairman of Bureau de Change operators at the Hajj and Cargo unit, Alhaji Abubakar Usman, said having collected the equivalent of the dollar amount from his colleagues, rather than release the money; the bandits sped off with their car and shot sporadically into the air to scare away people.

But some people around

displayed bravery despite the shootings, chasing the robbers with bicycles on the busy road before the robbers started spraying the money along the road.

Luck however ran out on the robbers when they met a gridlock at the Ajao Estate junction, which made the pursuers to catch up with them.

“I received a call from my colleagues this morning (Thursday), that two men came to our office to change $13, 900 into naira. When they brought the money equivalent of the

dollars to them, rather than releasing the dollars, they brought out their guns and started shooting sporadically and people scampered for safety.

“However, some bicycle riders started pursuing them with the help of the police. They then started spreading the money to people on the road, but people did not relent in their efforts to pursue them. By the time they got to Ajao Estate junction, they were caught by the people and they took them to the police station”, the chairman narrated.

4 dead in Jigawa flood, STDA to recruit 300 youths, women to clean, over 1500 hectres of green satellite towns farm produce lost

By Josephine Ella From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

N

o t less than four persons were killed in a flood disaster which affected about 1500 hectares of farmlands in Dangoli Kiyawa local government of Jigawa state on Wednesday.

This is against the background that Jigawa was among the states predicted to suffer from severe flooding this year by the Nigeria Metrological Agency, (NIMET).

According to a farmer, Hakilu Idi Dangoli in Dangoli Village where most of the crops were washed away, the flood was caused by a heavy downpour that lasted several hours making the Kafingana River in Birninkudu to overflow its banks leading to the death of the four persons.

He said the corpse of an unidentified woman with a baby on her back was seen floating on the flood waters in Dangoli.

He said he lost everything including cash and food crops adding that a lot of Houses were

washed away by the flood.

Dangoli attributed the severity of the flood to the fact that the contractors who handled the road were economical with the drainage system.

He said if they had constructed a befitting bridge across the road for free flow of water, the effect on their farms and the road would have been minimal.

He therefore called on the State Government to ensure that a bridge is constructed in place of the culvert to allow for free flow of water whenever there is heavy downpour.

Peoples Daily checks revealed that the flood also damaged the newly constructed KiyawaBirninkudu road that is yet to be commissioned.

The acting chairman of Kiyawa local government council, Basiru Muhammed Maje, said the local government has set up a committee to assess the level of damage and loss, and to identify the victims for relief.

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h r e e hundred youths and women across the six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are to be engaged by the Satellite Towns Development Agency (STDA) and the Ministerial Committee on Clean and Green Greater Abuja Initiative for the cleaning and greening of the satellite towns.

The Minister of State for the FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, disclosed this in Abuja yesterday while inaugurating a Ministerial Committee on Clean and Green Greater Abuja Initiative.

Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide

She mandated the committee to build effective and sustainable enforcement strategies in the cleaning and greening of the satellite towns.

She also directed the committee members to recommend appropriate and sustainable waste management strategies for the satellite towns.

“The FCTA is going to assist the six Area Councils in the area of capacity and funding to clean-up the satellite towns.

The administration will help out in cleaning up the satellite towns and regional road corridors, while the area councils are expected to clean up the villages, including the minor settlements,” the minister disclosed.

Speaking on the engagement of the 300 youths and women, Akinjide assured that their employment would be transparent.

“The Ministerial Committee will work out the details on the engagement of the engaging 50 youths and women in each of the six area councils. Let me however state here that the engagement of the youths and women won’t be based on party lines. We want people that are ready to work,” she said.

IGP M. D. Abubakar

FDI crucial to economic growth – Aregbesola From Inumidun Ojelade, Osogbo

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overnor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun state, on Thursday, acknowledged that foreign direct investment (FDI) is a crucial component of the development requirements for a struggling economy like Nigeria’s.

Aregbesola gave this indication while delivering an address at the Nigerian Diaspora Trade and Investment Summit hosted in Osogbo at the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding.

The governor, who was represented by the state Deputy Governor, Otunba Titi Laoye-Tomori, held that for many developing nations, remittances from their folks abroad, especially in Europe and America, have been an important source of financial succour.

He stressed that this mission shows that Nigerians, both home and abroad, are a good people, adding that the nation is lucky for being populated by a brilliant, creative, dynamic and restless people who would brave all odds to achieve great things in life.

Sanitation: Ministry solicits police assistance

Kogi: Court slates Monday to hear suit over Olamaboro constituency seat

h e Kano state Ministry for Environment has solicited the assistance of the police during the forthcoming monthly environmental sanitation exercise.

The Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Alhaji Mohammed Badawi, made the appeal on Friday during a meeting with the Interim Management Officers (IMOs) and Divisional Police Officers

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from the eight metropolitan local governments in Kano.

According to reports the meeting was convened to map out strategies toward ensuring the success of the exercise on Saturday.

Badawi noted that the police had a great role to play in ensuring that people complied with the movement restriction order during the exercise.

“I want to use this occasion to call on the police to assist us

by arresting any person who violates the restriction order for prosecution”.

He said that the present administration is committed toward ensuring a clean and healthy environment, hence its decision to reintroduce the monthly sanitation exercise in the state.

He therefore, charged all stakeholders to work harder to ensure the success of the exercise. (NAN)

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin Federal High Court in Abuja will on Monday hear an application brought before it by Hon. Damian Abdul Adejoh seeking to stop the execution of a judgment secured by Hon. Gabriel Yunisa Olofu which allegedly ousted him from Kogi State House of Assembly without following the law.

Hon. Adejoh and Hon. Olofu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi state are

battling over the Olamaboro state constituency seat.

The court sitting before Justice Gladys Olotu, adjourned the matter till Monday, August 27, 2012 after hearing counsel, to Adejoh and Olofu, Mr. Emmanuel Haruna and Mr. Philip Abalaka respectively on whether or not to proceed in the matter yesterday.

Other defendants/ respondents in the matter are PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 7

Kada News

Kaduna gets new police commissioner Stories by Agaju Madugba, Kaduna

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new Commissioner of Police, Olufemi Adenaike, has resumed duties at the Kaduna Police Command with a pledge to rid the area of criminals.

Adenaike who was deployed from Federal Operations in Abuja replaces the former Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Jinjiri Abubakar, who was promoted recently as AIG in charge of Zone 10, Sokoto.

Speaking at his maiden media briefing on Thursday, he said: “I am not here to joke and with my men, we will make Kaduna more

peaceful than I met it.

“I have heard a lot about Kaduna state and one of the few things that I heard is that Kaduna is a peaceful state, all the big men staying here want to live in peace.

“So my first step is to make sure that we live in peace, to make sure that the people are fully protected and they live in peace.

“If Kaduna state is not peaceful, I expected that as I drove into the state to assume office, I would have heard a lot of shooting and people would be running helter-skelter.

“But I came in, I had a rest, I woke in the morning and no crime was reported in Kaduna

throughout the very day I arrived.

“I came from Federal Operations where I monitored all activities that take place in the country on hourly basis, and I report to IGP who in turn reports to the President.

“And, I want to tell you that Kaduna state does not fall among the states that we consider being problem-laden.

“Once in a while there are one or two things but not as some other people will view it.

“Bombs are not thrown every day, people are not being killed every day, and people don’t run around every day.

“So, we do not expect to see a

crime-free society here, there must be one or two problems, but that is not to say Kaduna state is a crises-laden area. It is not.

“I want to promise you that I am going to take issue of insecurity very seriously. I have just spoken with my men and the main thing I told them is that the police are the lead agency in internal security.

“We are going to work with everybody, the soldiers, Air Force, all uniformed services. We are going to meet them one on one and ask for their cooperation.

“But since we are the lead agency, we are going to make sure that peace and security is maintained in Kaduna state.”

Traffic jam in Kaduna

Aruwa shelves gubernatorial ambition

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fter two failed attempts to be governor of Kaduna state, Senator Muktar Mohammed Aruwa formally of the All Nigeria Peoples’ Party (ANPP) has finally dumped the ambition saying that age is no longer on his side.

“You see, the governorship thing is a function of age and I look at myself overshooting the age for which one should be a governor,” Aruwa said in an interview in Kaduna.

Aruwa who represented Kaduna Central Senatorial area between 2003 and 2009, under the ANPP in the Senate, noted however that it was the electorate that always compelled him to join the

governorship race.

As he put it, “I never had the ambition; I am always drafted into the contest. So, it is not Aruwa sitting here and then I ask you to go and campaign or market my interest to contest the governorship election. I have never done it.

“The two times I contested, it was due to agitations from the electorate and I accepted their pleas but it was not Aruwa’s decision.

“If they come again, I have reached an age where I can tell them to look for somebody younger.

“At 64 years, what else am I looking for in that rigorous and terribly demanding office? I want to be a jolly

old man who will advise if they care to listen; otherwise, governorship has never been Aruwa’s application.”

He said he was not in a hurry to make a formal declaration for the next political party he intends to join.

According to him, “we are still consulting. I have the choice and the right to leave the ANPP. “Who did I consult before I joined them? Nobody. I consulted myself and I decided. Now, I have also decided and in the course of my decision, I am consulting with the people I know and whoever wants to go with me is welcome.

“It is not by force and there is no reason why I should give explanation why I am leaving.”

NRC re-launches 117coaches and wagons in Kaduna

Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar

K

aduna gets new police c o m m i s s i o n e r Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), has rolled out 117 refurbished coaches and wagons.

Speaking at the re-launch of the coaches at a ceremony in Kaduna on Thursday, the NRC Director of Operations, Mr. Niyi Ali, explained that the wagons were refurbished in the corporation’s workshops in Zaria, Minna and Lagos, for operations on the Minna-Kaduna lines.

According to him, “basically, the whole idea is to improve our customer experience, reduce congestion and as well showcase what we are doing in terms of internal direct labour within the workshops.

“Over the next few weeks, we will replace those coaches with refurbished ones, and the important thing is that we do it without impact on the service, you won’t even know, it would just be replaced over time.”

Niyi said the NRC had entered into a partnership with the Kaduna state government, on rail transportation and hinted that similar programmes would be extended to other state governments.

In his remarks, the NRC zonal manager, Northwest, Alhaji Mohamed Abubakar, appealed to the users to make a good use of the coaches and wagons and looked forward to the launching of similar wagons in Kano, Kauran Namoda and Nguru lines.

Peaceful co-existence: Evangelist re-locates to Nigeria from USA *Attends Muslim Friday prayers

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orried by the state of insecurity in parts of the country, a Nigerian Evangelist based in the United States of America (USA), Chuks Joseph Oshionwu, says he is back in the country, temporarily, to combat activities of terrorist groups, through special prayers.

Using his Amazing Grace

Unlimited Church in Kaduna as a launch pad, Oshionwu, during an encounter with our correspondent, said has a special anointing in the USA in order to accomplish the mission.

Oshionwu noted that he was inspired by activities of renown gospel preachers including, Justin Mier, King Joseph, Benny Hills, Swagger, among others.

PAGE 8

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Interview

Modern technology cannot change Islamic Sharia From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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hat is your observation of the just concluded Ramadan period?

Alhamdulillah, we had a successfully fasting this time around, we started together and completed it together without any arguments between the Muslim Umma unlike previous years. In fact, it was a huge success and our prayer is God should continue to guide us to continue this way without engaging ourselves in all sorts of disparities before we start fasting. So when citing of moon is announced, people should accept in good faith and start fasting and when it is also announced for completion of fasting, people should accept.

The just concluded Ramadan is a good omen for Muslim Umma entirely.

Month of Ramadan is between the month of Shabban and Shawwal and it is observed for either 29 days or 30 days. It is recommended that, if you see the moon, start fasting and if you see it at the end, break your fast. If you cannot see it due to some reason or reasons, complete 30 days of fasting.

Ramadan is a very special time for Muslims, but the feelings and lessons we experience should stay with us throughout the year. In the Qur'an, Muslims are commanded to fast so that they may "learn self-restraint." This restraint and devotion is especially felt during Ramadan, but we all must strive to make the feelings and attitudes stay with us during our normal lives.

That is the true goal and test of Ramadan.

In the month of Ramadan, Muslims all over the world abstain from food, drink, and other physical needs during the daylight hours. As a time to purify the soul, refocus attention on God, and practice self-sacrifice, Ramadan is much more than just not eating and drinking.

Muslims are called upon to use the month to re-evaluate their lives in light of Islamic guidance. We are to make peace with those who have wronged us, strengthen ties with family and friends, and do away with bad habits essentially to clean up our lives, our thoughts, and our feelings and it means not only be refraining from food and drink, but from evil acts, thoughts and words.

Specifically in the month of Ramadan every part of the body must be restrained. The tongue must be restrained from backbiting and gossip. The eyes

Though Ramadan has come and gone, Sheik Dahiru Usman Bauchi, a renowned Islamic Scholar in this interview with Ahmed Kaigama, traced the significance of the Holy month, commended the efforts of government for feeding the needy during fasting, he also objects to the device for moon citing.

Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi must restrain themselves from looking at unlawful things. The hand must not touch or take anything that does not belong to it; the ears must refrain from listening to idle talk or obscene words. The feet must refrain from going to sinful places. In such a way, every part of the body observes the fast.

Fasting is not merely physical, but is rather the total commitment of the person's body and soul to the spirit of the fast.

Ramadan is a time to practice self-restraint; a time to cleanse the body and soul from impurities and re-focus one's self to the worship of God. What is the significance of the month of Ramadan?

Through fasting, a Muslim experiences hunger and thirst, and sympathizes with those in the world who have little to eat every day.

Fasting increases devotion, Muslims feel closer to their Creator, and recognize that

everything we have in this life is a blessing from Him. Through increased charity; Muslims develop feelings of generosity and good-will toward others.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) once said, "A man's wealth is never diminished by charity."

Muslim practices good manners, good speech, and good habits; Muslims have a chance to establish healthier lifestyle habits particularly with regards to diet and smoking and also Muslims strengthen the bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood in their own communities and throughout the world.

Muslims are encouraged to read the entire Quran. Some Muslims perform the recitation of the entire Quran by means of special prayers, called tarawih these voluntary prayers are held in the mosques every night of the month.

What is your take on the issue of using a machine for

moon sighting?

I want to inform you that modern technology cannot change Islamic Sharia. God has place on all Muslims (Kosruh sallat) shortening of prayers when travelling. In those days when people travelled on leg carrying heavy loads on them, God has shortened prayers and allowed us not to fast while on transit, with even the technology; vehicles, airplane yet we still observe (Kosruh) while travelling. Some people abstain from fasting while traveling so you can see with the technology; it does not stop Muslims from observing what was spelt out for them.

Another instance in Islam is iddah which is the period a woman must observe after the death of her spouse or after a divorce during which she may not marry another man. The period, three months after a divorce and four months and ten days after the death of a

spouse, is calculated on the number of menses that a woman has. Iddah was intended to ensure that the male parent of any offspring produced after the cessation of a nikkah would be known so Doctors can't change it. So are we going to depend on any device or machine to sight the moon?

What do you think about the government involvement in the last Ramadan?

I want to commend government of the country for feeding people during this Ramadan period, they have done what is expected of them, I will commend them for the sympathy they have on the needy by providing them with food in this blessed month of Ramadan especially during fast breaking. May God almighty bless them.

If you feed one person during breaking of fast, only God knows the reward, therefore we will continue praying for those in government that fed the poor during the Ramadan period.

This is a good gesture; I urged them to continue in that direction, may Almighty Allah reward them.

Charity is very important in Islam, and even more so during Ramadan. In Islam, all good deeds are more handsomely rewarded than in any other month of the year.

It is in Ramadan period you see people giving more food to the poor and the homeless and even prepare large public areas for the poor to come and break their fast. It is said that if a person helps a fasting person to break his fast, he receives a reward for that fast without diminishing the reward that the fasting person will get for his fast.

What advice do you have to the general public?

You see it is only in this part of the country (North) that we have religious crisis because a fellow Muslims called his fellow Muslim non believer. We have no regards for others, why on earth will you call your fellow Muslim pagan (Musirikin) when you know, he mentions name of God and says Laillah illalahu Muhamadan Rasullulah. Once a Muslim says this, he already has the Iman of being a Muslim but some people will still call such person mushrikin, did you see them fighting in other parts of the country? No! Because everybody is facing his business, therefore we should have respect and regards for each other's religion, so let's engage in prayers and respect one another and let us hold our mouth against immoral act and utterances.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 9

Cover

Avoidable crisis

As Abuja fuel subsidy strike ends ...

FG/NUPENG deception continues

By Abdulwahab Isa, Muhammad Nasir

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l t h o u g h the strike by oil marketers has been called off, or suspended? It would seem that it is not yet over until it is over because as far as Nigerians are concerned the fuel subsidy claims saga is part of deceptive tendencies that have been the bane of our oil wealth over the years. And government’s resolve earlier, to punish oil workers while assuring that “payment of marketers whose claims have been verified will continue to go on in a consistent and structured way which protects the best interests of the country,” was only a smokescreen.

Similarly, NUPENG’s action has been seen in some quarters to suggest that it was being used to sabotage efforts of the federal government and civil society groups in ensuring transparency and accountability in the oil sector. Or else how does one explain

the position of an official of NUPENG, Bennet Korie, who is also the National Chairman Oil and Gas Supply branch who, while speaking in a programme monitored in Abuja, at the heat of the fuel scarcity which crippled the Capital Territory, said “who says there is no fuel in Abuja”?

“There is fuel”.

On why the strike was concentrated in Abuja alone, he said, “We restricted the scarcity to Abuja because it is the seat of power, people in Abuja are enjoying---their children live overseas. However, Korie agreed that the worst thing that could happen to Nigerians is to cause them hardship during festivities.

Long queue was still noticed in many filling stations in Abuja and its environments Friday, despite the fact that the strike had been called off, and fuel sold at exorbitant rates while black marketers continued to make brisk business.

Our correspondents across the country in the reports filed said there was fuel in various states across the country and the

strike action in Abuja did not in any way affect the sale of the commodity.In a country of 167 million people with an embarrassingly high poverty level and infrastructural deficit, N16 billion is a lot of money.

This is what the Federal Government claims had been fraudulently paid to 25 oil marketers in the subsidy regime.

The government, through the federal ministry of finance relying on the report of Presidential Committee on fuel subsidy verification headed by Access Bank Managing Director, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede held that some oil firms fleeced government of funds running to billions of naira for products that were not supplied. These firms, in the committee’s recommendation to government must be prosecuted, and made to refund the stolen funds.

Their infractions have to do with claiming payments for consignments brought in by ships which investigations revealed were either nonexistent or were somewhere else in the world.

The four indicted oil marketers in an updated list released on Wednesday, brings to

25, the number of oil marketers recommended for prosecution. oil marketers however fought back using the coercive platform of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).

The Major oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA) and Jetties and Petroleum Tank Farms Owners of Nigeria (JEPTFON) had in a joint public advertorial warned the Federal Government and the general public of an impending fuel supply crisis within seven days due to what the association claimed was the failure on the part of federal ministry of finance to reimburse its member companies their legitimate subsidy claims since January 2012.

The association said it had an outstanding subsidy claim of N200 billion while it was paying a monthly interest charge of N3.7

See page 10

PAGE 10

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Cover How FG, NUPENG put Abuja residents through untold hardship Contd from page 9 billion on the bank facility at a minimum of 22 percent interest and therefore, vehemently opposed selective payment being used by the ministry of finance.

For more than a week, residents of Abuja and its environs were subjected to a harrowing experience due to acute fuel scarcity occasioned by the knotty and unresolved fuel subsidy payment crisis.

However, a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the Minister of Finance, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu on Media bluntly refuted the claim of no payment for imported fuel by the associations.

He held that government had been meeting its obligations to oil marketers in respect of all legitimate claims.

The statement read in part: “Between April and May 2012, Batches D/12 and E/12 involving 14 oil marketers with a claim of N17 billion were fully settled through the issuance of Sovereign Debt Notes and other relevant documentation.

In addition, since the directive by the Coordinating Minister to the DMO to continue payments of all verified claims, N25.6 billion worth of claims have been fully settled with the issuance of Sovereign Debt Notes.

In all, between April and August this year, in respect of 2012 PMS claims, Sovereign Debt Notes amounting to N42.666 billion have been issued to 31 oil marketers”.

However, it said marketers with infractions were recommended for further investigation by the Aig-Imoukhuede Presidential Committee, and they were yet to be paid.

It stated that payments or sanctions to this category of marketers will be determined by the outcome of investigations.

The threat to embark on a nationwide strike according to finance ministry was orchestrated by marketers indicted by the AigImoukhuede Committee which investigated fuel subsidy payments.

However, speaking to Peoples Daily Weekend in defence of its union’s action to embark on strike, NUPENG National President, Comrade Igwe Achese denied that the strike action was instigated by indicted marketers.

Rather, he told our reporters that the plight of his members that were being owed their dues for five months provoked the industrial action.

Comrade Achese said NUPENG, was indeed in support of any action that would lead to the prosecution of subsidy scammers.

“Government has all it takes it, like I rightly said, we would not as a union condone fraudulent activities. Any marketers that are found wanting should be prosecuted. And I mentioned it clearly, if you recall in 2010, it was the union that raised this issue of subsidy scam that is ongoing on in PPPRA. Today we are happy that the issue is on ground, whether we like it or not, at least we have been able to see one or two evidence to show that there is something wrong. We said, look our members who are working in this environment must be paid their dues. They have worked four, five months no salaries, and these are issues we are talking about,” he said In this game of intrigues, suspense and drama, accusations and counter- accusations, innocent Nigerians are always at the receiving end. What motorists and commuters in Abuja went through during the period is better imagined.

Ahmed Shuaib, a journalist narrated his harrowing experience to Peoples Daily Weekend. His car, according to him depended on black market operators throughout the period.

He procured 10 liters of fuel for N2, 500. He also lamented that the last fuel he bought damaged his car’s fuel pump.

President Goodluck Jonathan

Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Alison-Madueke

NUPENG President, Achese Igwe

Shuab’s experience was a mere tip of the iceberg as transport fares in all routes doubled thus, causing frustration for Abuja residents.

Peoples Daily Weekend visited Total filling station at Central Area on Thursday, just few motorists were seen on the queue, eating and drinking while waiting for fuel, while Total filling Stations At Area 3 was empty as well as Mobile filling Station at Utako.

Malam Ibrahim, a civil servant urged President Goodluck Jonathan to do something about the situation before it becomes worse, lamenting the hardship that residents went through.

Isa Adamu, a black marketer at Area 1, said he normally go as far as Suleja to buy the products and sells 10 liters for N3000 and 20liters for N7000 respectively.

A young lady of secondary school age at Garki Area 10 that hawks petrol could not hide her feelings.

She told Peoples Daily Weekened that she got into the business because it was lucrative and the petty business she was doing before was nothing compared to what she made from fuel.

Mr. Felix, a cab driver said, the fuel scarcity has worsened his situation, adding that what he used to make for a day before the scarcity was N15,000 but now, he hardly made up to N5000.

“The government should please listen to the voice of the masses, we are really suffering,” he noted.

Malama Amina, a resident in Area II, noted that food stuff increased since the scarcity

commenced “we are really suffering, the little we have, is not even enough to cater for our family.”

The consumables are not left out either.

When our reporter visited the shopping complex at Area II and Area I, traders complained of poor patronage due to the prevailing transport situation.

Madam Mercy sells plantain, but she told Peoples Daily Weekend that: “I normally spend N20, 000 to buy ten tubers of plantain but it has now increased to N40, 000 because of hike in fuel price. A bunch of plantain that sells for N1000 or N2000 is now sold for N3000 or N4500.

A commercial driver told Peoples Daily Weekened that he went as far as Kaduna to get his car fuelled on Monday and Tuesday but on Wednesday, when he tried to do same he noticed that the scarcity was gradually creeping to Kaduna.

While announcing the suspension of the strike on Thursday night, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Emeka Wogu, said that the union called off the strike after a meeting it held with the Federal Government, the Nigeria Labour Congress and other “stakeholders” in the sector.

Wogu said”the government and the union agreed to work together toward finding a lasting solution to all issues in dispute.”

He explained that the meeting agreed to meet in two weeks to review the status of the implementation of all agreements reached with the unions.

The minister said that the government and the union also agreed that all those indicted in the fuel subsidy scam would submit to the ongoing verification.

“The meeting confirmed that the Federal Government has been paying all verified claims and will continue to pay all claims so verified,” the minister added.

“The depot owners and oil marketers have also agreed to keep their facilities open and pay the salaries of their workers.

“In view of the above understanding, the ongoing strike by NUPENG is hereby called off,” the minister announced.

The Acting NLC President, Promise Adewusi said the decision to suspend the strike was collective.

“We have negotiated and agreed in good faith based on the confidence we have seen during this discussion, so the strike is hereby called off,” he added.

“We believe that two weeks is enough to iron out all other pending issues and we will be having other consultations, meetings and reviews within the period,” Mr. Adewusi said.

The meeting, chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, agreed on a continuous engagement between the government and the unions.

The labour minister also explained that two sub-committees were set up to look into issues concerning unfair labour practice in the Shell Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC) and Penalty Clauses in the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) rules.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 11

News Extra

Culture, tourism pivotal for peace, harmony - minister

By Miriam Humbe

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he Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke, has called on Nigerians to begin to fashion out modalities for deepening our

collaboration in the task of building bridges between the different ethno-religious groups if the objective of leveraging for peace and unity is to be achieved.

The minister made this call while addressing participants of the 8 th National Council on

Communities laud Shettima‘s rural transformation From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri

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ommunities comprising Miringa, Garubula, Gunda in Biu local government area and Marama, Sakwa, Kidang in Hawul local government area of Borno state have commended Governor Kashim Shettima for his people-oriented policies and programmes which have direct bearing on the lives of rural populace.

The communities made the commendation when Governor Shettima paid an inspection visit to assess progress of work at GGSS Miringa, MiringaGarubula-Gunda Road, GSS Marama and Marama General Hospitals yesterday.

At Miringa, Governor Shettima inspected the ongoing renovation of classroom blocks, hostel and staff quarters where he commended one of the contractors, Kopchi Construction Companies and

warned other contractors that if they fail to meet with the time frame of the contract, their contracts will be revoked and re-awarded to Kopchi Construction Company.

He promised to provide the school with a bus to ease their transportation problems and that the state deputy governor, Alhaji Zannah Mustapha has also pledge to drill five boreholes in the school to address water scarcity.

While at Miringa- GarubulaGunda Road, the governor commended the level of work and assured the people of the area that the project will be completed very soon to enable them convey their farm produce to the market.

While appreciating the effort of the governor, The District Head of Garubula, Adamu Birma Dawi, said “since inception of democracy we have never felt the presence of government but when you assumed the mantle of leadership, we have benefited from the dividends of democracy…”

Tourism, Culture and National Orientation in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital.

He said there should be reorientation and inculcation of sound moral values in youths.

“We must begin to re-orient them towards embracing

peace and working for the unity of Nigeria rather than offering themselves to be used as cannon fodders in the mindless killing of innocent Nigerians”.

The Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mrs. Ibukun Odusote while addressing the

gathering, said as key players in the tourism, culture and national orientation sector, there was the need for shared commitment to transform the sector and reposition it for a key role in dealing with the emerging challenges of our time

20th anniversary: NBC unveils new broadcasting code

By Stanley Onyekwere

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n a bid to address emerging trends in the world, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), has released a revised edition of the Broadcasting Code, aimed at sanitising the broadcast industry in Nigeria, for attainment of quality broadcasts through effective regulation.

The new Broadcasting Code, which is the 6th edition, was unveiled yesterday by Sokoto state governor, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko, as part of the events organised to mark the NBC’s 20th anniversary, in Abuja.

Unveiling the new code, Wamakko hailed the commission’s decision to review the existing code in response to the current trends in the industry and the commitment towards improving broadcast quality, saying that it helps in projecting the positive image of the nation especially to the international community.

Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko In his remark, Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, said the new code will checkmate undue-influence by owners of media organisations on their contents as it will empower journalists to practice the profession within d acceptable norms of society.

“The code offers us the opportunity to regulate and operate journalism as a profession within its best

acceptable practice that ensures that contents of the industry reflect our peculiarities as a nation”, he stressed.

“I sieze this moment to call on media practitioners to support the effort of the NBC towards redeeming of the nation’s battered image abroad by taking advantage of this code”, he said.

Earlier, the director General of the NBC, Engr. Yomi Bolarinwa, who reinstated the commission’s commitment to meeting the aspirations of the Nigerian people for quality broadcasts, said it was why the NBC in conjunction with other stakeholders periodically review the code, so that it can respond to the emerging trends in the world.

“In the recent review of the Broadcast Code, provisions have been made to capture emerging trends in the industry, such as digitalisation, internet broadcasting, hyping and others”, he explained.

Man docked for allegedly NCP approves seven stealing Gov Shema’s cows, ram bidders for power plants privatisation

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheeem

S

even companies have been approved by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) to participate in the final financial bids for the privatisation of five power plants in the country.

The council has set September 25, 2012 as the date for the opening of the bids in order to give representatives of the selected firms enough time to make travel arrangements to come to the country.

The approval was given yesterday at a meeting of the NCP, which was chaired by Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, at the State House.

A member of the council, Atedo Peterside who briefed State House correspondents after the meeting, announced the names of the power plants and bidders who achieved the 750 pass mark out of a possible of 1000 score.

For Ughelli Power Plant, he listed Pheonix Electricity,

Transcorp Consortium and Ampiron Power Distribution Ltd which would proceed to the financial opening bid.

Under Sapele Power Plant, CMEC Consortium and GPN Nestoil Power Services Ltd met the requirement while for Geregu Power Plant, Ampiron was selected.

Kainji Power Plant has Mainstream Energy Solution while for Shiroro Power Plant, North-South Power Company Ltd made the mark.

Mrs Diezani Allison-Madueke

From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

A

middle aged man, Malam Aminu Sama’ila has appeared before the chief magistrate court, Dutsin-ma, in Katsina state for allegedly stealing two cows and one ram belonging to Katsina state governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Shehu Shema.

The prosecutor, Corporal Gyang David, told the court

that the matter was reported to the police by one Garba George and Nura Umar.

He added that the culprit, Aminu Sama’ila who was a cattle rearer at the governor’s farm had at two different times stole two cows and one ram valued at N70, 000.

According to the prosecutor the receiver of the stolen cows and ram, one Jamilu Halilu has also been arrested.

However, while responding to

the charges, the accused, Aminu Sama’ila denied the allegation, saying that he only slauthered them when he noticed they are dying and sold to Jamilu Halilu.

The presiding judge, Chief Magistrate, Nuruddeen Abdulmumini Jikamshi has adjourned the case to the 28th of August, 2012 and granted the accused bail at the sum of N50,000 with a surety in like sum who must also be a resident of Dutsin-ma town.

Lagos NUJ flays Jonathan over comments on media From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

T

he Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lagos state council, yesterday faulted President Goodluck Jonathan’s comments on the assessment of his administration by the media.

Jonathan had on Wednesday in Abuja during the signing of Performance Contract Agreement with his cabinet, said government would no longer rely on the performance assessment of its activities by the media, describing media as being biased and highly politicised.

According to the President, “Before, the media used to be

the voice of the ordinary people, but now, the media is the voice of those who own the media houses and those, who own the media houses, have private jets and those who have private jets are not ordinary people”.

Lagos State Council of the NUJ in its reaction described such statement as very unpresidential and unbecoming of a leader, who needs the inputs of the media to succeed.

In a press statement issued in Ikeja and signed by the chairman of the council, Comrade Deji Elumoye and the secretary, Comrade Sylva Okereke, the council noted that it was very unfortunate that

the President would castigate the media, which brought him to limelight and has consistently been setting agenda for his administration to succeed, wondering why the President should be railroaded into making such uncomplimentary remarks about the media.

“We expect the President to have the same impression of the media as the former President of America, Thomas Jefferson, who when even vilified by the media said, “If I had to choose between government without media and media without government, I would rather choose the latter.

PAGE 12

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Man in the News

Between Oritsejafor, national security and double standards

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

P

astor Ayodele Joseph Oritsejafor, preacher, author and founding Senior Pastor of Word of Life Bible Church, Warri, Delta state, is a prominent Nigerian.

He is the President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN).

In July 2010, Oritsejafor was elected as the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). In doing so, he became the first Pentecostal leader to hold the prestigious position. He is a successful Nigerian by all standards; a role model.

His profile is credible and admirable. We are however struggling to say the same of his recent utterances on national issues as well as the Federal Government's seeming silent endorsement of his divisive and unpatriotic comments on the country's security challenges.

Since the dawn of the present administration, he has proved himself to be largely controversial figure. He doesn't hide his deep-seated animosity against Muslims, the north and northerners. He doesn't miss any opportunity to lash out at northern leaders for being who they are and for daring to disagree with President Goodluck Jonathan on any national issue.

Anytime he mounts the podium to comment on the country's security challenges, he doesn't limit his venom to the members and sponsors of the Boko Haram sect, he lambasts just everybody in the north. He says so much on why he believes government should just storm northern cities and clamp everybody into jail. Since he believes the insurgents are killing only Christians, he thinks all Muslims and northerners are guilty as charged.

Pastor Oritsejafor who spoke with newsmen in Akure after an extra-ordinary meeting of the National Executive Council of CAN during the week on the issue of Boko Haram and the option of dialogue, said: "The Boko Haram people are a bunch of cowards, who go to churches to shoot people that are not armed. If they think they are strong, they should go to places where the people they are going to attack are also armed.

Speaking in a characteristic aggressive way: "They should go and face people that are armed, not unarmed people.

They are a bunch of cowards, who kill innocent people that are not armed."

He argued that top security chiefs are religious fanatics, who he said aid and abet youths

to kill innocent people under the guise of religion.

He alleged that some security chiefs leaked security information to the Islamic sect hence the difficulty in tracking and curtailing its activities. "I do not understand what they would be talking about. What are they going to discuss? It is puzzling. I see a total religious fundamentalism in the whole episode. If there should be a dialogue, there should be a basis.

"If you are talking of dialogue and the same set of people are killing innocent souls, so what is the basis? To me, there is no basis for dialogue."

The security chiefs, according to him, "are more loyal to their Islamic religion than the corporate existence of Nigeria."

Rather than dialogue, he said the Federal Government should rather beam its searchlights on some political and religious leaders who according to him failed to condemn the activities of the sect.

Just when one will start wondering why this man has not been invited by the State Security Service (SSS), he fired another salvo: "They are purely Islamic fundamentalists who are enjoying robust supports from some powerful, influential and wealthy leaders. Discussing with such people would be merely a waste of time."

Now, the CAN president seems to know so much even though we don't know his sources. And yet, the SSS is yet to pick him up; could it be because he is a friend of people in high places?

This is because Pastor Tunde Bakare and Nasir el Rufai have been harassed recently by the SSS for making statements that this writer consider mild compared to that of Oritsejafor.

We also recall that he once told Christians to take up arms and defend themselves anytime they felt Muslims were going to kill them.

Recently, bombs exploded in Churches in Zaria and Kaduna metropolis, killing innocent worshippers and some people claiming to be Christians went wild, launched attacks on equally innocent Muslims and hell was let loose.

Oritsejafor is not a stranger to reckless comments. During the post presidential election violence of 2011, he openly demanded the arrest of Gen Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) who he claimed was directly responsible for the soul of the innocent people that were killed in the crisis.

Buhari had attracted outrage from his critics when he told his

Pastor Ayodele Joseph Oritsejafor supporters to resist any attempt to manipulate the Presidential election results. And when some miscreants went to town to cause mayhem after the polls, the CPC Presidential candidate was blamed by Oritsejafor and company and recommended for arrest. May we now also blame Oritsejafor directly or indirectly for the bloodletting that occurred in Kaduna state recently?

Talking about double standards, we also recall that former president, Olusegun Obasanjo once said if governance continues to be this poor in Nigeria, the people will have no choice than to launch revolution someday but when Buhari made a similar comment, the mob action organised by government apologists and ethnic jingoists was spontaneous.

Aside the fact that Oritsejafor's predecessors didn't achieve notoriety in the area of making controversial comments, there are well respected Nigerian pastors like Ola Makinde, Olubunnmi Okogie, Mathew Hassan Kukah, John Onayekan etc who only open their mouth to call for peace and unity in this country. These people have over the decades earned the respect of not only Christians but also Muslims, pagans and atheists in this country on account of their principled and patriotic stand on national issues. Rather than stoke more fire at a time of any calamity,they appeal for calm

and insist that peace and national unity are more important than vengeance which they say is against The Bible.

They argue (and this writer share their thoughts) that any violent attack on any church in this country is a tragedy to the whole nation.

But Oritsejafor who is supposed to provide leadership to Christians, based on reason and not emotions, insists that it is a battle between all Christians and all Muslims.

Oritsejafor just like Asari Dokubo and Edwin Clark harbours this age-long grudges against other parts of the country especially the north and the former is only using the CAN presidential platform to execute this 'racism'. Their beef is simply that the west has ruled for 11 years and the north 39 years and despite the

fact that the Niger Delta 'lays the golden egg,' no Niger Deltan had been allowed to go near Aso Rock prior to 2007.

A little digression please.

This writer was not told by his parents nor did he read in any history book that a Niger Deltan presidential hopeful was once disqualified by the national electoral body on account of his origin. Talking about the dark era of the military when dog-eat-dog was the order of the day, why didn't soldiers from that region plot coups and take over the reins of power if they were this ambitious? Of course military interegnum is an unfortunate thing every third world country faced in the past.

Nigeria is not an exception and we can't continue to allude to that. We have to move on.

During the fuel subsidy protests in January when Lagos and Kano led other parts of the country in saying no to an act of wickedness, Niger Delta advocates came out and accused the west of ganging up with the north to bring down the government of their kinsman.

"The two regions have governed the country for too long and they should allow us to do anything we want, afterral na we get the oyel."

They forget that it was the travails of MKO and the way westerners battled military rule in this country using the media and every weapon at their disposal that made the north concede power to them for 8 years.

President Goodluck Jonathan won in the west and recorded millions of votes in the north, cleared the south south and south east. That makes him the President of Nigeria but it doesn't mean that people who voted for him cannot rise against him if his policies -like the insensitivity of jerking up fuel price from N65 to N141 without any sensible reasonbegin to suffocate them.

He can't be seen as the President of Niger Delta now just like the security challenge we are going through is a national tragedy. He is our President.

“

Oritsejafor is not a stranger to reckless comments. During the post presidential election violence of 2011, he openly demanded the arrest of Gen Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) who he claimed was directly responsible for the soul of the innocent people that were killed in the crisis.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 13

Interview

Katsina will reclaim cotton production, says Funtua Alhaji Musa Adamu Funtua is the Katsina State Commissioner for Agriculture. In this Interview with Lawal Sa'idu Funtua, he speaks on Songhai farming, why Katsina state is leading in cotton production as well as other agricultural matters in the state. Excerpts

H

ow has the state government contributed to the development of agriculture in Katsina?

Majority of our people are agriculturalists, and we have the land and resources, therefore what we need now is technical resources. We also thank God that agriculture is one of the priorities of the Shehu-led administration and government is considering it as a way of alleviating poverty among the people. So when we talk about agricultural development in Katsina state generally, we can say we are touching the lives of the common man because all we are doing centeres on improving the lives of the common man agriculturally. So government is up and doing as far as improving agriculture in Katsina state is concerned.

Which area of agriculture is the Shema-led government particularly paying attention to?

Majority of our people are participating in the general agriculture, some of them for their own consumption and some others do it for commercial purposes. So when we take it generally, the policy of Governor Shema on agriculture was basically on modern agriculture. Recently government set aside 3,375 hectares of land in some local governments for the Songhai programme in the state. And a committee has been set up to select at least 15 farmers from each of the selected local governments as beneficiaries of the gesture. Additionally, the government has sold a number of tractors to farmers at 50% subsidy, and payment is to be made in 4 years. The beneficiaries would pay 10% initial deposit. Government has budgeted 1 billion this year for agricultural activities in the state.

Can you shed more light on the recent Songhai farming agreement sealed between government and a Songhai firm?

The agreement is all about technology in the area of agriculture. You know the world is now practicing mechanized farming and technology in everything is now being borrowed worldwide. So the coming of Songhai farming to Katsina is simply because of the modern day technology, there are countries that have gone far in terms of producing modern seedlings, modern irrigation activities and so on. So we decided to invite the experts and engage them in agricultural activities in the state so that we can improve the

method of farming in the state.

Presently, government has set up committees in the 3 senatorial zones of Daura, Katsina and Funtua. In Daura, we are going to utilize the Sabke dam, in Funtua, Mairuwa irrigation project and in Katsina zone, we are going to utilize the Zobe dam as our pilot schemes aimed at equiping our farmers with modern farming technology particularly our farmers in the rural areas so that the local farmers can improve their farming skills.

Also, we have set aside 15, 000 hectares across the state for the project.

How much is the state government investing in the Songhai farming project?

It is based on what we need, but the state government has the intension to spend over 1 billion naira for the pilot scheme, to boost agricultural activities in Katsina state.

Katsina is known for cotton farming, what is government doing to improve its production?

Recently the Federal Government committee for the transformation agenda of agricultural sector visited Katsina State in respect of cotton production. The committee, which is serving as a driving force for cotton production in the country has rated Katsina high in cotton production. Members of the committee who went round the state particularly cotton cultivation areas across the state, said based on the presentation of West African Cotton Company (WACOT), Katsina is producing more than 2/3 of the entire cotton that is being used in the country. Out of about 34 local government areas of the state, 23 local governments are cotton producers.

Cotton business being a cash flow business needs government support and that is why the Shema-led administration

is paying attention to it. Government is doing its best in providing fertilizers and other facilities to cotton farmers in the state in an effort to boost cotton production in the state, and people are willing to invest more in cotton farming.

Some of our farmers are securing loans from the banks to cultivate cotton in Katsina state. Recently Katsina state government had stood as grantor to secure a N1bn loan from the Central Bank for its farmers. The loan when it materializes will boost farming activities in the state.

How has federal government contributed in cotton production in the state?

The state government is partnering with the federal government on how to improve cotton production and processing in Katsina state. Last month, an FG committee on cotton production visited Katsina state with intent to improve the production of cotton in the state.

Government this year procured 40, 000 metric tons of assorted fertilizers at the cost of N4bn. And Shema, recently launched the sales of the commodity in

“

Presently government has set up committees in the 3 senatorial zones of Daura, Katsina and Funtua. In Daura we are going to utilize the Sabke dam, in Funtua Mairuwa irrigation project, and in Katsina zone

Alhaji Musa Adamu Funtua

Danja local government area of the state.

Farmers are buying the commodity at the cost of N1, 700 per bag. So government is doing all these to ease farmers' work and at the same time improve their yields. With the criteria put in place for the sales of the commodity, fertilizer will definitely get to the targeted farmers.

How is government helping farmers in Danja and Malumfashi local governments to improve tomato production?

When you access the policy of the Songhai farming, in the package, there is what we call small processing industries, where people will benefit from; these entire packages contain small scale industries where we are going to assist this kind of farmers.

Katsina farmers are committed to farm work and willing to invest in it. On the other hand, market in Nigeria is dimensional, that is why the present administration of Katsina state introduced the Songhai package which government has decided to implement stage by stage. The first stage is to acquire enough land, secondly the water and the third is the new seedlings and the mechanization but right now we have about three stages on ground.

From inception to date, we have succeeded in establishing 27 irrigation sites. Presently, government has provided one modern generating set worth over N27m to each of the three zones for the purpose of boosting irrigation farming, because we have realized that the capacity of the smaller ones that we have are not serving the community adequately.

PAGE 14

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Interview Civil society allows corruption to thrive in Nigeria —ex NIPSS Director Alhaji Adamu Mohammed was born 62 years ago at Barikin Abdullahi, formerly under Lafia Division, Nasarawa state. He started his education at the native authority primary school in Wamba before transferring to the Native Authority primary school in Birnin Kebbi, from where he proceeded to GSS Gusau where he completed his secondary education. He was at the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria for his first degree in Political Science, before returning to the University of Jos for a second degree in Law and Diplomacy. He worked briefly with the then Plateau state civil service before transferring his service to the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Kuru, where he rose to the rank of the director of administration. He later transferred to the federal civil service where he retired at the directorate level. Alhaji Adamu, a prince of the Nzonja royal family of Nunku, in Akwanga LGA, interacted with our Nasarawa state correspondent, Ali Abare Abubakar, over the role of the civil society in checking corruption and other issues. Excerpt: people are concerned and as far as the administrative machinery in the state is concerned. Nunku people are quite a minority and

Alhaji Adamu Mohammed

R

e c e n t l y , a court in Lafia reversed the decision of the Federal Court of Appeal in Jos, which recognised the Nunku people as the rightful rulers of Mada land and instead declared the Mada people as rulers. What is your take on that?

The case was withdrawn from the Supreme Court by the Mada people themselves, after they had seen that they made no case. And therefore, the judgement at that time, as was being effected at the Supreme Court was going to go against their appeal. So they quickly withdrew the case and then came back and drew up a document which they purported to be a Memorandum of Understanding, (MoU) which the Nzonja royal family did not know about. Because the so called representative is not even a Nzonja royal family member, he is a Nunku man.

Secondly, he had not lived in Nasarawa state for the past 50 years before his demise.

So he was virtually not even living in the state and therefore within the legal jurisdiction that could give him competence to represent the Nunku people.

All these things were not considered by the judge and therefore, he came with an erroneous judgement which will seem actually for the benefit of his own judicial integrity. We need to challenge this, so as to put the record straight and then bring him back probably, to consider in later cases that may come up before him of this nature, to be a little bit careful in arriving at a judgement that could destroy traditional institutions, not only in Mada area but probably in Nasarawa state.

Are you then saying that the judgement was but a miscarriage of justice?

We considered that justice was done, not miscarriage. Justice was done but I think with a tinge of prejudice, which has always permeated the issue of the chieftaincy institutions in Nasarawa state. The Nunku people are considered a minority and therefore inconsequential, as far as Mada

probably they do not have large number of educated elites who are influential enough to actually push forward their case among the political authorities in the state.

Thirdly, the Nunku people are considered sometimes malleable, that their chiefdom was not established as a result of conquest, but was as result of mutual consent, unlike other chieftaincy institutions in Nigeria, where war became the basis upon which they came to exist. Ours was through consent, through dialogue. But when actually politics had permeated the selection method through the administration of former governor of the old Plateau state, Chief Solomon Lar as they were looking for every avenue to win elections, and therefore pushed the agenda of maybe, ethnic jingoism through their ethnic reengineering and the concept of emancipation.

Can you expatiate on that?

By that, I mean, it is a loaded word in terms of politics but every reasonable person knows that what emancipation is all about, especially in the middle belt. That the Nunku people did not establish their chieftaincy institution through conquest,that it was not through religious reformism, like in the case of the Jihad. It was not through some dominance which yields the instrumentality of war or violence. So in that regard, the Mada people always considered that they were part and parcel of the reengineering concept of emancipation of Lar and this idea is still being carried to the extent that sometime Mada people consider that Nunku people are Hausas and therefore should not be dominant in the area. But there is no Mada man who can tell you how he came about the word or ethnic definition "Mada". Only Nunku people could do that, up till today.

There is no Mada man who can tell you which of their rulers demarcated the jurisdiction of their ethnic group but the Nunku people. The Nunku people are the ones that negotiated with the Keffi people, Rindre or Eggon, to demarcate the jurisdictional border of the Mada ethnic group.

What then do you make of the history of the Mada people in terms of their autonomy?

It is even false for the elites writing about the history of the Mada people, to say that they were people who ruled themselves, without Nunku people. The Nunku people have established this kingdom since the 1800s, even before the jihad and they are the ones referred to as Mada. But it was only during the conference held for all the people in the area by the administration of former governor Aliyu Akwe Doma that Nunku people were acknowledged to be Mada. Otherwise, it remains for any dissenting voice to trace the origins of the Nunku people in terms of culture, tribe, ethnicity and source of origin.

Now, looking at the present democratic dispensation, it seems that the traditional institution is fast losing its relevance. However, of recent, there was agitation for constitutional roles for traditional rulers. What is your take on this?

This is a dicey topic. It is true, in a democracy and it is going to take some time because the political elites, will not like to have in their wings, people who would want to clip their power structure. They will not accept to share power with anybody. And giving the traditional rulers constitutional roles, to some extent, will have a double edged implication. The traditional rulers would be thoroughly compromised politically but they will have an administrative responsibility which will go a long way, probably help in even stabilising the political system. In bringing about an efficient traditional method of providing security checks and ameliorating probably the gap that has now existed between the administrative structure of selfish, conflict resolution and the political mechanism for resolving conflict issues and of course, strategic security. Probably if the traditional rulers had a role, you could have a situation whereby the incident of abnormal violent situations being attributed to religion and extremism would have been checked by them. But now, the administrative and political mechanisms have made it impossible to assess their failures. Then we would like to look at the alternatives. Would the alternatives be found by drawing in the traditional institutions into the fray?

One would have to consider what role traditional institutions played prior to colonial government, during colonial administration and after colonial administration, before one can now arrive at a kind of assessment that would correctly fit the modern democratic set up that we

have. As former director of administration at NIPSS, Kuru, what in your opinion is responsible for the country's inability to implement several policies geared towards our collective development?

Nigerian development, political development, has always been along the western liberal democracy. We have tendered to provide a sovereign perspective to our politics, without considering how to marry the civil society with the political situation or political modern development. So the civil society in Nigeria has always been lagging and the civil society in this context, is supposed to provide the mechanism by which actually values are set and a kind of cultural orientation is evolved, so as to be able to provide the basis upon which we can now marry morality with constitutional administration.

What is the role of the military here?

The military truncated this development after the first republic and in an attempt to popularize themselves in office, which made the resources of the state to belong only to the political elites. And to that extent, the civil society is just an observer, not a participant and therefore not part of the check and balances of the moral fibre of the society. And so there isn't morality in the way and manner government is being ran. Whereas western democracy, western liberal democracy, in this context, developed with the moral fibre of the society and provided the actual cultural orientation that was required for political and administrative purposes. Whereas our own is just political development, the civil society is lagging behind. And to that extent, the civil society, has even been now, extricated from the state.

How do you mean?

As a citizen, you don't pay tax and who ever steals the state government, or the state money, it is not your money. So in that respect, whoever destroys the street lamp post, it is not your business. It is government business. Whoever destroys a pipeline carrying water supply for distribution to the town, is not your business. Now the civil society is not part and parcel of the moral orientation that politics should have ingested into both the officials that run the state and the political administration. If there is corruption today, it is because the civil society allows it, because the civil society has decided that it has no business with what is going on.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY JULY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 15

Tourism

Gidan Dan Hausa: We have 800 year old manuscripts, says Executive Director

I

n the first place why is the bureau called Gidan Dan Hausa?

Gidan Dan Hausa is one of the places where you could say western education started in northern Nigeria.

Hanns Vischer was the education officer that the British army posted to Kano during the colonial days. Before him, there was a Mr. Miller. Miller could not deliver because he had a missionary approach. Vischer was smarter and combined Islamic education with the western education as an education officer in the province. It was here that we had the first school which taught English language in northern Nigeria. It was here also that most of the young princes from northern Nigeria came to be taught English. Mr. Hanns vischer even studied the culture of the people of Kano and was able to speak Hausa Language. He mingled freely with the people and got confidence of the emirate council of Kano to the extent he was given the traditional title of Dan Hausa, meaning the son of Hausa. He got married here in this house and his first and second child were born here.

How does the Gidan Dan Hausa showcase culture of the people of Kano?

Also known as the History and Culture Bureau, the Gidan Dan Hausa is an offshoot of the Kano State Arts Council. It was realised then, that the Arts council was limited to the area of arts only so an edict was formed in May 1987 and the bureau came to be. This means that by the end of this year we are going to celebrate our silver jubilee. In the new dispensation it is not only arts we are looking at but also the history of the people of Kano. Therefore there is a new focus in the area of history, research documentation, preservation and archives. The bureau by and large became custodian of the history and culture of the people of Kano.

How many departments does the Bureau have?

It is divided into three main departments, namely administration, arts department, research and documentation. Under research and documentation, we have the archive, reference library for researchers who are interested in making research on Kano in any area of the way of living of the people of Kano.

We also tried to establish a state museum. The one we have in Kano belongs to the national commission for museums and monuments, which is Gidan

Africa has a rich tradition of arts and crafts which find expression in a variety of woodcarvings, brass and leather art works as the case may be. In Kano, Nigeria, the ‘Gidan Dan Hausa’, otherwise known as the History and Culture Bureau, showcases history of the ancient city of Kano. It’s Executive Director, Malam Ali Bature in this interview with Augustine Aminu, speaks about the ‘treasures’ of the historic monument.

Malam Ali Bature

Makama. We also have what we call Kano state Hall of Fame, which houses all those sons of Kano state that made contribution to the development of Kano in all aspects of life, weather political, commercial, economical and otherwise. In the area of art and culture, we are looking at preservation of all the indigenous performing arts in form of music, dance and traditional sports or preservation of craft that we have in Kano.

How do you preserve culture of the people?

One of the areas we try to preserve our culture is through ensuring that practitioners at the grassroots are encouraged to form craft groups, establishment of performing artist group but people can play their own music. We also document and preserve those types of performing arts materials that we have at the grassroots. The bureau also drafted the censorship law.

Kano is the only state in Nigeria that has such censorship board which was established to address some issues arising from Kannywood activities, that is the Hausa film industry and the likes. We are happy that the

film industry in Kano has grown due to the encouragement we have given to those young men.

We are aware that the industry accommodates thousands of youths thereby getting them off the streets. So it is an avenue for providing employment and for poverty alleviation. But due

Front view of Gidan Dan Hausa

to what you can call lack of professional training, many of them were producing films that did not reflect our culture and tradition.

History as a subject has been relegated to the background generally how has this affected

documentation?

One of the subcommittees we established was the education and education curriculum. We realised that the inability of children to know their history, know what their father did for the development of a place and learn from mistakes of the past, and to have a sense of belonging and pride for their own country constituted the problems arising from lack of history. We can even say some children do not know how their states and even Nigeria came to be or the contributions their region or tribe has made to the development of the nation called Nigeria. All these have affected the level of patriotism.

Now we want to ensure that as part of the educational curriculum in Kano state, that history will be taught right from the primary school, from class four up to the senior secondary school.

If this is the case can we then say that various cultures are under threat?

Yes! They are under threat especially if we are not going to provide other alternatives for our children. Like in Kano for example, in Hausa films most of the singers use the keyboard and high-tech equipments now while they and downplay local instruments. In fact most of our Contd on Page 16

PAGE 16

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY JULY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Tourism

“Our cultures are under threat�

Contd from Page 16

artists cannot play Kalangu that is our local guitar and even our type of flute. We are soon going to organise the Kano State Festival of Arts and Culture so there is the need to look at all these. There is a syllabus now being drawn that people are going to compete in indigenous music and singing while we also try to promote the learning of these instruments. We also encourage schools to engage in creative arts and we want people to know how to read and write music the aim is for us to be able to document our musical lyrics. We are suggesting to the state government to give out trophies and prizes in recognition of those young artists who have excelled in music.

What are the challenges of the bureau?

The main challenge actually is finance. Culture does not attract much investment.

You have to find ways and means to invest in culture. The steps we are taking to achieve this include enhancing our cultural facilities and here, we are encouraging the private sector to come to our aid because we have shown them the potentials that culture has in making money weather in the area of fine arts or traditional sports, music and dance as well as films. We are partnering in some areas of musical promotion, films and theatre.

So we are putting up cultural facilities because it is very important to do so. Kano is one of the biggest states in Nigeria in terms of population but if you know the number of cinemas that we have in the state you will understand that we are lagging behind. But if we have those facilities we could attract

many investors.

Now that the state government is investing in the sector what will be your main area of concentration?

We have the Didan Dan Hausa. This monument is over 250 years and is going under renovation and restoration. It is going to be one of the many museums in the state. The one we are going to have would be like an educational museum since we have a lot of excursions from not only schools in Kano but schools like Queens College Lagos and other federal government colleges which come all the way from other states. What we project for Kano is to have our State museum that is Kano State historical museum. Right now we have gone into an agreement with ABU archeological department, because we cannot have museums without archeological findings. What we try to do with ABU is to have archeological survey for the whole of Kano state. When we have such survey then we can have expeditions and excavations and dig out those artifacts which are going to furnish the museums. A museum is part of cultural facilities that I spoke about. It is not only the theaters and cinemas. Here at the History and Cultural Bureau we have an archive of hand written manuscripts that are 700, 800 years old. We had to train our staff on the restoration and preservation of these manuscripts because some of the manuscripts by mere touching them will tear into pieces. We have materials since the 17th and 18th centuries. All those court cases, the emirs were the chief judge of the emirate then so all the court cases especially the important cases that were

Inside the hall of fame at the Gidan Dan Hausa museum

Side view of Gidan Dan Hausa theatre

handled by the emirs were recovered. We have all the white papers that were written about Kano state issues, the sittings of the House of Assembly in those days, we have also on the First and Second republic.

But we need to have many more. We are tracing all of them with a view to securing and preserving them for our state.

With this development will Kano be able to compete favourably with its counterparts in other countries?

Having worked in the cultural sector for two decades I will say we have a very long way to go. But we are very keen in seeing that our standard in Kano meets international

standard actually. However we are not just going to sit down and expect that to happen we are working towards getting the best of standards.

Towards this end we are going into a lot of partnership and people are recognising our efforts. We have people coming here all the way from Canada, USA, France and Germany to study our culture. They are coming not just to study our books and eat our types of food but also to learn Hausa. We have foreign students coming here to learn how to speak Hausa language and it is a pride for Nigeria that this is happening.

That shows you that we are trying hard to work on all aspects of our culture.

Malam Ali Bature

Do you have statistics to show monuments in your archive?

We know some of them but not all. That is what has prompted us to work with ABU. It is the only way we can ensure statistics of historical sites, monuments, locations where we had wars in those days and so on. A lot of people died and were buried, some cities existed, people migrated due to wars and left a lot of things behind. We are trying to dig out these things with a view to preserving them as part of our culture but we need to do it scientifically. Not only mere history or have historians telling us stories what we want is to have evidence to show what we have.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Weekend

PAGE 17

Cocktail

Ankara glamorous trends

Relationship: Signs he's thinking about dumping you >>> Page 18 >>> Page 32

I am still single, says Musty >>> Page 24

Ten foods all women should eat >>> Page 29

Priyanka-Abhishek in ‘Dostana’ director’s next? >>> Page 24 >>> Page 24

Zaaki Azzay reacts to wife battery allegation, 'my wife stormed my house with

>>> Page 26

Quench your ‘thirst’ with cucumber

>>> Page 28

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 18

Relationship

Signs he's thinking about dumping you 1. Critical conditions The Everly Brothers nailed it - 'starting to criticise little things' you do is the most common sign your man has lost that lovin' feeling. When you find yourself berated for everything, from the way you chew your food through to your choice of career, take notice. This behaviour has been identified by psychologists as, 'building a case against the partner you want to leave', and is often a way of removing guilt (for example, if your man has found someone else).

Block his exit: Instead of apologising, bite back with a sassy, funny reply. 'Forgive me, O Great One,' and go about your life as you like. This show of selfconfidence will re-ignite his respect for you.

2. The 'eye-narrow' Ex FBI-interrogator Joe Navarro has written many books on body language, and has identified that when we look at something that arouses uncomfortable feelings in us like guilt, or displeasure, or upset - we unconsciously narrow our eyes. Next time your partner greets you, look at his eyes: if he seems to squint, pay attention. But if he greets you with raised eyebrows and dilated pupils, chill - they're universal signs he's seen something he likes.

Block his exit: Disarm him by asking if there's anything he'd like to talk about. Squinting eyes are a sign of repressed feelings encourage him to open up.

3. His feet face the door Again according to Navarro, our feet are the most honest part of our bodies. From childhood, we've been taught to 'put on a happy face' about things, but we don't consciously control our feet. When you're with your man, see where his feet are facing because that's a sign of where he wants to go. If they're towards you - awesome!

But if they're pointing out of the door, be prepared for the rest of him to follow.

Block his exit: If your man's toes want space, give it to them.

Back away for a week and keep yourself busy with your own fun life. A little distance might be all

Ever wonder if your man is secretly hoping to end your relationship? Here are some clues you're about to lose him and how to get things back on the right track

it takes to get him walking back your way.

4. He starts breaking dates When a man cancels plans with you, pay attention. Barring emergencies - his mum's ill, he's in hospital or his favourite team are playing at home - his number one place to be should be by your side. If he begins to avoid opportunities to get together, it's a sign he'd rather be somewhere else.

Block his exit: Never nag him if he cancels a plan, because then he'll feel more justified for doing it. Instead, express sadness and then go about your life. Avoid clingy texts. If he cancels two dates in succession, pull back for a week.

5. He changes his pattern If your man doesn't text you for a day, it's no big deal. But if he has always texted you every day then suddenly stops, sit up.

Any violent change in pattern could signal something's changed in his heart, too. Do take into account what else is going on in his world (women often forget this) - is his work hectic, his home-life disrupted?

If so, relax. But if there seems to be no reason, pay attention.

Block his exit: Keep your interactions with him light and fun. Don't initiate! If he's weighing up whether or not he wants to be your man, give him space to do it. Don't trust your

instincts to bridge the gap.

6. He avoids intimacy He stays up later than you do, doesn't sleep over, or offers his cheek to be kissed rather than his mouth. Oops. When a man's sex drive diminishes, it's a signal his feelings are flaccid.

Another sign: when he cuddles you, he pats you on the back.

This is a body-language giveaway that always means, 'I want this hug to end now.'

Block his exit: Never, ever nag. Pretend you haven't

“

If he begins to avoid opportunities to get together, it's a sign he'd rather be somewhere else.

noticed the lack of passion, and just watch him for other signals listed here. If he has two or more of them, realise he's drifting away. Sit him down for the Talk.

7. His friends seem uncomfortable around you When his friends go from welcoming to distant, it means they feel uncomfortable usually because your man has told them he's unhappy with you. They won't speak out, but they'll back away from you out of mixed loyalties and a terror you'll ask them why your man seems so miserable lately.

Block his exit: Realise anything you say to his friends will get reported back to him, so don't interrogate them about your bloke. Instead, try to relax and have fun like normal. Even if it doesn't stop him leaving, it will ensure his friends all beg him to take you back.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 19

Beauty Tips

10 foods all women should eat

Woman eating tomato

Butternut squash Butternut squash - like many other yellow/orange fruit and vegetables - is packed with carotenoids such as alphacarotene and beta-carotene.

While carotenes should be included in everybody's diet for optimum health, they may prove essential to women's health as a high-carotenoid diet has been linked to lowered risks of both breast and ovarian cancer.

Tomatoes Another vibrant carotenoid beneficial for women's health is lycopene, a pigment found in tomatoes.

Studies have suggested that lycopene may be effective in preventing breast cancer. Furthermore, there has been considerable evidence to suggest that the powerful antioxidant can help reduce risk of heart disease - the leading cause of death in women in the US, Australia, England and Wales.

Spinach Cranberries

Salmon

Walnuts

Flax Seeds Flax seeds are a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids and have been linked to reduced risk of breast cancer and heart disease.

The seeds' anti-inflammatory properties are also good for preventing arthritis, while their digestive benefits can help prevent irritable bowel syndrome; two painful conditions which are more prevalent in women than men.

Salmon Salmon has a multitude of positive health benefits for women. Not only is it rich in iron - which is integral to the diets of premenopausal women - but it is packed with omega-3 fatty acids, known for their moodenhancing effects. Studies have suggested that omega-3 can help beat depression (something that affects twice as many women as men) and prevent mood swings, while salmon can also boost babies' intelligence when eaten during pregnancy.

Cranberries Various studies have suggested strong links between consuming cranberries and reduced risks of breast cancer and heart disease. However, the most notorious benefit of cranberries is their ability to prevent and cure urinary tract infections such as cystitis, which is eight times more likely to occur in women than men. One study suggests that drinking two glasses of cranberry juice a day can prevent the symptoms of

common UTIs in women.

Spinach Spinach is rich in many different vitamins and minerals, but one thing that makes it great for women is its high content of magnesium. Research has shown that magnesium may be beneficial in reducing many of the physical symptoms of PMS which plague women, including reduction of swelling, breast tenderness, bloating and weight gain.

Figs Figs are a great health food, containing many vital minerals and vitamins as well as contributing to your daily portions of fruit and veg. Two minerals found in figs that are particularly beneficial to women's health are iron, which is often deficient in menstruating women, and calcium, which is important for post-menopausal women, who are more prone to osteoporosis.

Milk Milk is a great source of calcium, which is extremely beneficial to women's health, particularly when combined with vitamin D (found in some varieties of milk and many fortified milk products).

Consumption of the combined nutrients is not only good for warding off osteoporosis, but a study has suggested that a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D could ease, or even prevent symptoms of PMS. Oats Oats are literally packed with health-boosting nutrients, many of which have great impacts on female health. Oats are not only great for heart health, digestion and blood pressure levels (with hypertension affecting many women over 50), but they contain vitamin B6, which can help prevent PMS and mood swings, and folic acid, which is important for women to consume before and during pregnancy to prevent birth defects in babies.

Walnuts While all nuts are great for our health, walnuts have many great individual benefits for women. A study has recently found that walnuts, which are packed with omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and phytosterols, may help to reduce women's risk of developing breast cancer, while their high omega-3 content may also help bone health, arthritis pain and depression. Walnuts also contain many nutrients essential for female health, such as calcium, magnesium and folic acid.

PAGE 20

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Learning Book Review

By Augustine Aminu

A Swamp Full of Dollars

T

he largest U.S. trading partner in subSaharan Africa, petroleum-rich Nigeria exports half its daily oil production to the United States. Like many African nations with natural resources coveted by the world’s superpowers, the country has been shaped by foreign investment and intervention, conflicts among hundreds of ethnic and religious groups, and greed. Polio has boomed along with petroleum, small villages face off with giant oil companies, and scooter drivers run their own ministates. The oil-rich Niger Delta region at the heart of it all is a trouble spot as hot as the local pepper soup.

Blending vivid reportage, history, and investigative journalism, in A Swamp Full of Dollars journalist Michael Peel tells the story of this

extraordinary country, which grows ever more wild and lawless by the day as its refined petroleum pumps through our cities. Through a host of colorful characters—from the Area Boy gangsters of Lagos to a corrupt state governor who

stashed money in his London penthouse, from the militants in their swamp forest hideouts to oil company executives—Peel makes the connection between Western energy consumption and the breakdown of the Nigerian state, where the corruption of the haves is matched only by the determination and ingenuity of the have-nots.

What has happened to Nigeria is a stark warning to the United States and other economic powers as they grow increasingly frantic in their search for new oil sources: unbridled plunder eventually rebounds on those who have done the taking.

A Swamp Full of Dollars— shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award—shows that if the Arab world is the precarious eastern battle line in an intensifying world war for crude, then Nigeria has become the tumultuous western front.

'Things Fall Apart' Named One of the 50 Most Influential Books of the last 50 Years

“

T

hings Fall Apart” A classic novel by Nigerian, Chinua Achebe has been named one of the 50 most influential books of the last 50 Years. The selection is made by a group called “Super Scholar.

“Things Fall Apart” was published in 1958 and translated to more than sixty languages as one of the 50 most influential books among books by other world acclaimed writers.

Other novels that made it to the list include Toni Morrison’s ‘Beloved’, Salman Rushdie’s ‘Satanic Verses’, Joseph Heller’s ‘Catch-222 , and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’.

The amazing TV camera that can tell athletes' speed and even their heart rate - in sparkling HD

The men’s Olympic BMX final: An amazing new light-weight HD camera could give viewers an athletes’ eye view of events like this

W

ith just a few more metres to the finish line, the BMX rider clears the last jump and takes the final curve, the rest of the competition close at his heels.

At such moments, you do not want to just watch, you would really love to put yourself in the same shoes as the athlete.

How does he push the pace on the final stretch?

How fast is his pulse racing?

What does he feel like?

Viewers will soon be able to obtain this information in real time, directly with the images.

The INCA intelligent camera, engineered by Fraunhofer researchers in Erlangen, makes completely new fields of application and perspectives possible.

INCA not only renders images in HD broadcasting quality, it is also equipped with a diversity of sensors that provide data on GPS position, acceleration, temperature and air pressure.

In addition, the camera can be seamlessly connected to external systems via Bluetooth or a wireless local area network.

That means a chest harness could be used to track heart rate, or face recognition software could open up completely new perspectives.

This way, viewers may be able to catch even a small glimpse into the emotional life of the athletes. In addition, the camera can also be combined with object recognition and voice detection systems.

Despite its tiny size (2x2x8cm), the miniature camera is powerful enough to handle professional film

and TV productions, thanks to its high performance capacity and minimal power consumption.

It is best suited to extreme situations, because INCA resists sand and dust, withstands cold and debris, and can be readily installed as a helmet camera.

As well as athletic and event broadcasts, other potential areas of application include nature documentaries, expeditions and adventures, where such additional data can provide invaluable information.

The camera analyses data and by doing so, enables the user to experience and record more about his or her environment while filming.

Since the camera system is based on the Android operating system, by means of a smartphone app it can be easily and flexibly adapted to the requirements of the respective subject matter.

INCA possesses enough computer power to execute complex algorithms as well.

As a result, it can correct objective errors and compress HD videos in real

time.

During its development, these issues posed major challenges to the scientists.

‘The core issue was figuring out how to house such a massive range of functionality within the tightest space,’ explained group manager Wolfgang Thieme of Fraunhofer IIS. ‘The OMAP processor (Open Multimedia Applications Platform) makes all of this possible. As the heart of the camera, this is comparable to a CPU that you find in any ordinary PC. ‘The difference is that additional function blocks for various tasks have been integrated into the OMAP. Without these blocks, the system would neither record HD video images nor process and issue them in real time.

‘The most difficult task was programming these blocks and using them for data processing.’

The INCA smart camera is not yet on the market; however, anyone who is interested can already try it out at the IBC trade show in Amsterdam from September 7 - 11, 2012.

High powered: The INCA has enough computer power to execute complex algorithms to correct objective errors and compress HD videos in real time

PAGE 21

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 18 — SUNDAY 19, AUGUST, 2012

Healthy Living

Children born to older women have a better start in life, claims study ·Nine-month-old had 9.5% risk of having accident if mother was 20 and 6.1% risk if mother was 40 ·Children also more likely to have vital immunisation if mother was older

Children born to older mothers appear to have a healthier start in life as they are less likely to be admitted to hospital and more likely to have vital immunisation jabs, say researchers.

The study also found children with older mothers experienced faster language development and suffered fewer social and emotional difficulties before the age of five.

Researchers from University College Londonanalysed data from more than 78,000 children born in England between 2000 and 2002. The mothers were between 13 and 57 years of age.

In developed countries, there has been a strong trend towards later childbearing. In England and Wales, the number of births to women 40 and over trebled from 1989 to 2009 to almost 27,000.

Although there has been substantial research on young mothers and childhood development, there is little evidence of any effects of older

The authors said older mothers tend to be more educated, have higher incomes and be married

Can’t sleep? You could have inherited the insomnia gene

T

housands of otherwise healthy people put up with a level of sleep deprivation that would drive the rest of us insane.

But they are not the usual candidates for insomnia, such as shift workers or those with severe mental illness.

Instead, they belong to a newly identified group of people born without the ‘comfort’ genes needed for easy sleep.

This means they are immune to the feeling of warmth and relaxation which sends an average person off to sleep within 15 minutes. Their genes are designed instead to maintain a state of mental alertness.

This makes normal, prolonged sleep impossible so they sleep fitfully, in only short bursts.

Even then, their lack of ‘comfort’ genes may mean they struggle to get comfortable, fussing about the bedding or finding their sleeping position.

There are other so-called insomnia genes — some cause repeated periods of wakefulness in the small hours of the night or at the slightest disturbance, or drive an affected person to leap out of bed raring to start the day at 4am, but leave them exhausted by 4pm.

Until recently, insomnia was considered a purely psychological complaint triggered by stress, grief, or sleep disruption as a result of shift

work or jet lag.

But doctors are now unravelling the genetic explanation of why at least onethird of us have intermittent or constant sleep problems.

Even so, it’s already thought there could be six or more different types of insomnia linked to genes.

This means it will be possible to develop drugs to block the effect of the chemical signals they produce.

Insomnia genes originate from our early human ancestry, explains Eus van Someren, head of sleep research at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience and one of the global experts leading the drive to identify the genes.

One or two members of a tribe who could be relied on to stay

There is continued concern about lack of treatment for insomniacs.

There are also growing worries about the increasing and long-term use of sleeping pills

awake would be selected to guard the sleeping community from attack.

Professor van Someren says unexplained sleeplessness seldom affects children, but seems to arise during adulthood, for reasons that are not understood.

Some studies have shown that 40 per cent of the population is affected by the age of 60 — the problem often runs in families, making a genetic link very persuasive.

Several large-scale projects have begun in Europe and the U.S. to track affected people and search for genes they have in common.

One of them has been set up by Professor van Someren. He has assembled a database of 10,000 insomniacs who complete regular online questionnaires about their sleep patterns. The researchers then group them into genetic subtypes according to the way insomnia affects them. Those with the strongest ‘type’ profiles will then undergo detailed blood or saliva tests to identify the genes they have in common.

‘We are hoping to extend this project to England to get a really large population sample,’ ‘If you reduce the amount of time you spend trying to get to sleep, you’re far more likely to sleep better when you do.’

Sources: dailymail.co.uk

mothers.

So the team looked at outcomes including child weight, accidents, hospital admissions and language development.

Rates were adjusted for several factors, including child’s sex, age, birth weight, father’s age, family income and social class.

Results showed that both the risk of accidents and hospital admissions decreased with increasing maternal age.

The risk of a nine-month-old child with a 20-year-old mother having an accident was 9.5 per cent. This fell to 6.1% for a mother of 40 and the decline continued for three and fiveyear-olds. Similarly, at nine months, the risk of a child with a 20 year old mother being hospitalised was 16 % which fell to 10.7% for a mother of 40.

Babies were also 98.1% likely to have had their immunisations if their mother was 40 compared to 94.6% if their mother was half that age.

The authors say that older mothers tend to be more educated, have higher incomes and be married - all factors which are associated with greater child well-being.

They concluded that the ‘findings are noteworthy given the continuing increase in average age at maternity’.

Forget that long workout chaps: Men who exercise for half an hour a day lose more weight than those who train for twice that time

R

esolving to exercise and shift a few extra pounds can leave most of us feeling like we’re in for a long, hard slog before we get to enjoy any weight loss.

But a study suggests we should take heart, because reaping the benefits may require shorter bursts of effort than we think. It found that healthy, moderately overweight men who exercised for half an hour a day lost more weight than those who worked out for twice as long.

Those who ran, cycled or rowed for 30 minutes a day lost 8lb on average, over three months.

By contrast, the men who sweated it out for an hour daily shed just 6lb – too little for the amount of work put in, the American Journal of Physiology reports.

The University of Copenhagen researchers are not sure why the men who exercised longer did not lose more weight.

It may be that they ended up eating more, or those assigned to the 30-minute sessions may have had more energy to remain active for the rest of the day.

Researcher Mads Rosenkilde now wants to study the benefits

Men who ran, cycled or rowed for 30 minutes a day lost 8lb on average, over three months of combining exercise with our daily commute.

He said: ‘An interesting scenario is to study exercise as a form of transport.

‘Training is fantastic for your physical and mental health. The problem is that it takes time.

‘If we can get people to exercise along the way to work for example, we will have won half the battle.’

The Department of Health recommends adults do an hour and a quarter of weekly vigorous exercise – such as running or playing football – or two and a half hours of more gentle exercise, such as brisk walking.

Twice-weekly sessions of muscle-strengthening exercises are also advised.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

With Aunty A'isha

Sights and sounds Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa!

PAGE 23

rajia39ishabiola@yahoo.com 08082071393.

SHOR T ST OR Y SHORT STOR ORY

Sand and stone

M

ountains form because the Earth’s plates press against each other causing the land to lift and fold over on itself. If one of these plates is forced deep enough into the Earth’s center, it can melt the plate and allow the melted rock to be forced up through the weak spots to form volcanoes. On the ocean floor underwater mountains can be formed when the plates pull apart allowing melted rock to seep up through the gap.

The meaning and origin of the name Kilimanjaro is unknown. It is thought to be a combination of the Swahili word Kilima, meaning “mountain,” and the KiChagga word Njaro, loosely translated as “whiteness,” giving the name White Mountain. The name Kibo in KiChagga means “spotted” and refers to rocks seen on snowfields. The name Uhuru translates as “freedom,” a name given to commemorate Tanzanian independence from Great Britain in 1961.

T

wo friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: “TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.” They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath.

The one, who had been

slapped, got stuck in the mud and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After the friend recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: “TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.” The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?”

The other friend replied: “When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can

erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”

Learn to write your hurts in the sand, and to carve your benefits in stone.

Health tip: To maintain a healthy body it is good to exercise and control your diet especially before going to bed and early morning. Eat light food in the night and start your day with a few glasses of warm water.

CARTOON OF THE WEEK Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa and fourth highest of the Seven Summits, is considered the tallest freestanding mountain in the world, rising 15,100 feet (4,600 meters) from base to summit.

Kilimanjaro was first climbed on October 5, 1889 by German geologist Hans Meyer, Marangu scout Yoanas Kinyala Lauwo, and Austrian Ludwig Purtscheller.

Kilimanjaro is not a peak you can climb on your own. It is mandatory to climb with a licensed guide and have porters carry your equipment. This sustains the local economy and allows local people to reap the rewards of tourism.

The fastest verified ascent time was by Italian Bruno Brunod in 2001. He climbed Uhuru Peak from Marangu Gate in 5 hours, 38 minutes, and 40 seconds. The fastest roundtrip time was by local guide Simon Mtuy who ran up and down on December 26, 2004 in 8 hours and 27 minutes.

Here is a list of other highest (tallest) mountains in Africa.

Mountain Height (feet) Location 1 Kiliminjaro 19,340 Tanzania 2 Kenya 17,058 Kenya 3 Margherita Pk. 16,763 Uganda-Congo 4 Ras Dashan 15,158 Ethiopia 5 Meru 14,979 Tanzania 6 Karisimbi 14,787 Congo-Rwanda 7 Elgon 14,178 Kenya-Uganda 8 Batu 14,131 Ethiopia 9 Guna 13,881 Ethiopia 1 0 Gughe 13,780 Ethiopia

- www.scalia.com

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 22

With Aunty A'isha

rajia39ishabiola@yahoo.com 08082071393.

MODELS OF THE WEEK

Teacher and pupils of Grade 3, Dominion International School, Utako, Abuja during their Speech and Prize Giving Day.

AFRICAN TALES

The grasshopper and the toad

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rasshopper and Toad appeared to be good friends. People always saw them together. Yet they had never dined at each other’s houses. One day Toad said to Grasshopper, “Dear friend, tomorrow come and dine at my house. My wife and I will prepare a special meal. We will eat it together.”

The next day Grasshopper arrived at Toad’s house. Before

sitting down to eat, Toad washed his forelegs, and invited Grasshopper to do the same.

Grasshopper did so, and it made a loud noise.

“Friend Grasshopper, can’t you leave your chirping behind. I cannot eat with such a noise,” said Toad.

Grasshopper tried to eat without rubbing his forelegs together, but it was impossible.

Each time he gave a chirp; Toad complained and asked him to be quiet. Grasshopper was angry and could not eat. Finally, he said to Toad “I invite you to my house for dinner, tomorrow.”

The next day, Toad arrived at Grasshopper’s home. As soon as the meal was ready, Grasshopper washed his forelegs, and invited Toad to do the same. Toad did so, and then hopped toward the food.

“You had better go back and wash again,” said Grasshopper. “All that hopping in the dirt has made your forelegs dirty again.”

Toad hopped back to the water jar, washed again, then hopped back to the table, and was ready to reach out for some food from one of the plate when Grasshopper stopped him: “Please don’t put your dirty paws into the food. Go and wash them again.”

Toad was furious. “You just don’t want me to eat with you!” he cried. “You know very well that I

must use my paws and forelegs in hopping about. I cannot help it if they get a bit dirty between the water jar and the table.”

Grasshopper responded, “You are the one who started it yesterday. You know I cannot rub my forelegs together without making a noise.”

From then on, they were no longer friends.

Moral: If you wish to have true friendship with someone, learn to accept each other’s faults, as well as each other’s good qualities.

CREA TIVITY CREATIVITY

How to make a stuffed animal

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veryone loves a good stuffed animal. Making your own can be as simple as you like, but any will be adored as gift.

What to do: Draw a pattern with a washable fabric marker of the animal on the back of the fabric. To make sewing easier, draw the pattern the size you

want the toy and then measure a 1/4 inch seam allowance around it.

Cut out figures on the outer drawn line. The inside line will be where you sew.

Decorate the front and back sides as you want.

If you want to add a nose to the front, cut a small circle of fabric and sew it in place

leaving a small gap. Fill with stuffing and sew the gap closed.

Use thread or string to put a mouth, eyes and nose on.

You may want to sew on plastic eyes or felt if you want it unique.

Pin the two patterns together right sides facing each other. The extra line you drew should be visible to act as your sewing guide. Handstitch or use a machine to sew the patterns together, leaving a hole of about two to three inches.

Remove pins and turn the animal inside out so the right sides are now facing you.

Fill the animal with stuffing until it is as firm as you want.

Push the extra fabric of the hole inside the stuffed animal and sew the gap shut.

Add other details such as ears, tails or clothing such as a scarf or vest as wanted.

ACTIVITIES

Name and colour the image below, write on a sheet of paper its characteristics, take it to your teacher for correction. Cheers!

PAGE 24

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Kannywood

For those who are conversant with Kannywood, the name MustaphaMustapha AKA Musty is a household name in the industry. In this interview with Augustine Aminu, he spoke of the challenges facing the Hausa movie industry popularly called Kannywood.

Is acting lucrative?

To some extent it pays, but we are not there yet. I just pray that one day an actor will be buoyant enough to clear his bills after playing a role in just one film. I believe that most of us that love acting for now are just doing it for the sake of acting and the many doors it opens for us. But I pray that soon, we will be smiling to the banks because more serious people and governments are investing in the Hausa film industry.

What’s new in Kannywood?

I am overwhelmed with the current transformations in

Kannywood. It is becoming a new industry altogether, before now, there was a battle of supremacy between Nollywood and Kannywood, but the gap is gradually closing up. There are some aspects that I can authoritatively say, that the Hausa films are in the lead.

With your experience in Kannywood, and as producer and actor, how would you rate the standard of movies in the industry at the moment?

In the last three years, I would say there has been a lot of improvement. We now have a lot

of producers who are interested in the quality of their works. We have people who are looking at better story lines, better equipment and there have been a few productions where you will have Kannywood/Nollywood artists come together to make movies. These have brought improvement and I believe that in another two years, it will be a totally different sector. However, there is a lot that can be done to improve things in Kannywood and I believe with time, we will get there.

What do you think are some of the challenges?

Distribution mainly. You cannot have a vibrant industry if you don’t have an effective distribution network. Kannywood lacks an effective distribution network.

Are you married?

No. Are you in any relationship with any Kannywood actress?

No affair with any Kannywood actress. The simple reason is that most of them are my juniors in the industry and for me to maintain my respect; I have to keep away from them. But if God says I will marry an actress from Kannywood, so be it. I see the actresses as my professional colleagues and we relate as family, nothing more.

I work with producers and actors who are understanding too, and have good relationship with all of them A serious artiste should always be mindful of his stardom because that is your prime asset.

Zaaki Azzay reacts to wife battery allegation, 'my wife stormed my house with thugs'

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ew days ago Nigeriafilms.com broke the story that popular singer, Zaaki Azzay alleged assaulted his wife leading to his wife, Hadiza leaving her matrimonial home with her two kids. Though, Zaaki initially refused to respond to enquiries made over the issue before the news was carried hours after the story was published however, he released a press statement stating his side of the coin.

His release is presented below; 'For now, I do not want to run foul of whatever the court ethics are. From my understanding of issues, once a matter is in court, every party strives as much as possible to refrain from making comments on such matters or anything relating to it.

'I am surprised that Project Alert or whatever they call themselves and the person who ran away from her matrimonial home months back, and who, after a few months, came with thugs, hefty looking men in a black unregistered car, beat up my cousin and injured her on her way back from picking the kids from school and forcefully adopted my children, and then went to court after doing that, and then ran to the press and also went ahead to tarnish my image.. 'I am not ready to afford them the opportunity for cheap publicity which I am sure is what they are looking for. A good lawyer should fight his case in court and not on pages of newspapers. I am happy with some of the responses they are getting on the net, 'If they need further info or clarification they can get it from the court or my counsel.'

Nollywood

Entertainment

I am still single, says Musty Please introduce yourself My name is Mustapha Mustapha, but I am popularly called Musty. I was born in Gyadi-Gyadi some years ago and I have a National Diploma from the Bayero University, Kano. I am an actor and also into business.

What was your first experience on set like?

It was not really a big deal because I have been acting in dramas when I was in the secondary school. I would say I got used to the camera early, in those days, so it was normal for me, I do not find it difficult to face a camera.

How many films have you featured in so far?

The ones I played major roles are over 10 and they are in the market presently.

How would you rate yourself as an actor?

In all modesty, I would say I am a good actor that can play any decent role. But I believe there is room for improvement.

So I can equally say that I am learning from other actors to gain more experience.

Did you go for any professional training despite your exposure early in life?

Not at the beginning, but yes, I did because of the significance of what I am doing. I mean acting is my career, so there is the need to improve on it so as to be in tune with happenings in the industry. I went for training and took courses in directing and read lots of books on directing, to garner experience.

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Zaaki and wife, Hadiza

dumps wife for Goldie, I didn't attack media in heroes Prezzo plans wedding soon I & zeros"--Gabriel Afolayan O t was like wonders yesterday at The Place, Ikeja, Lagos venue of the press conference for Prezzo when he visited Nigeria and had a chat with some journalists in Lagos.

During the question and answer time, the Kenyan rapper disclosed that he was in Nigeria for a serious and unfinished business, which is proposing to Goldie to marry him. With this, he and his BBA Stargame lover, Goldie, would finish what they started in the Big Brother House in South Africa.

When asked why he was in Nigeria, his response was, “My mission here is to look for Goldie. I have not spoken to her since the show ended. I came here for Goldie. In all honesty, I care about her and she cares about me. With God on my side, I pray everything works out well.”

ne of Nollywood’s fast rising actors, Gabriel Afolayan has disclosed that his role as an investigative journ alist in the highly

anticipated soon-to-bepremiered movie, ‘Heroes and Zeros’ is one of the roles he has enjoyed the most and that it is not a direct attack on the media.

Speaking on his role in the movie, ‘Heroes and Zeros’, Gabriel revealed that he has always believed in roles that teach moral and correct vices in the society.

According to the multiple award-winning actor from Afolayan scion, “For me, I believe that as an actor, I should be able to act any role no matter how demanding it is. The role I played in ‘Heroes and Zeros’ as a bad-boy journalist who goes about scooping people’s dirty secret is one role I cherish because I was able to reveal some of the rots in the media.

“I believe it is a form of campaign against what I call ‘dirty journalism’ which believes that it is only the negative sides of celebrities and people in the limelight that should be reported. And the role is not a ‘collective slap’ on members of the fourth estate; it is just a movie exposing the rot in the system as a whole,” Gabriel played the part of an emerging reporter (Dibu Ijele) with Naija Scene, a weekly tabloid in the movie. Dibu believes that the only way to beat the competition is to scoop and sell dirt about anyone with a famous face or name. His theory eventually led to the downfall of Bimbo Manuel.

Bimbo Manuel, Nadia Buari, Gabriel Afolayan, Olu Jacobs, Norbert Young, Akin Lewis, Funsho Adeolu, Chervel Bridgette did their best in making the movie a must watch.

‘Heroes and Zeros tells the story of the destructive pursuance of Tonia (Nadia Buari) by Amos Fele (Bimbo Manuel). Set entirely in Lagos City, Nigeria. It is a fictional film, yet it looks like a realitybased documentary.

Commenting on his marriage with his Kenyan wife who he has a daughter with, the ONE Campaign ambassador said, “I was married before, but now, we are separated. I had a baby girl with her and that is not the end of the world. Our divorce is in process, my babymama has the divorce papers with her.

“We have been living separately for the past three years. There is no relationship between us any more. I will tell Goldie that I have been thinking about her since I left the BBA house. I will marry Goldie, you will get the invitation soon.”

As at press time, there has not been any response yet from Goldie.

Goldie and Prezzo developed an on and off love affair while they were contestants at the just concluded BBA Star Game

Prezzo with Goldie at BBA Stargame

How Tonto Dike quit smoking

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Tonto dike as food seller in a movie

ikeh, who rose to fame after becoming the runner up in the Nigerian reality show, ‘The Next Movie Star’ in 2006, had garnered a controversial reputation in Nollywood for being a heavy smoker.

According to Dikeh, she started chain-smoking at the age of 13 and there seemed no signs of the habit waning.

When questioned about her smoking in an interview early last year, the Rivers State born star said, “If I want to smoke, I handle a stick of cigarette and I smoke it hard. It is my life I can decide to smoke myself to hell. It’s nobody’s business.”

The habit recently led to a serious clash between her and Ghanaian actor Van Vicker when he bitterly complained at her smoking on set, culminating in a heavy exchange of words. When probed in September 2011 about the health implications

of her habit, the care-free actress retorted, “My smoking habit doesn’t affect your life in anyway. If I die tomorrow, you’re not going to bury me.

My father has the money to bury me. So, why are they talking about it?”

However, there was a sudden twist in the tale in May 2012 when, seemingly out of the blue, Tonto tweeted to her over 80,000 followers on Twitter, ‘I’ve good news for those who wish me well.

I quit smoking!’

Although the announcement was met with almost unanimous approval from her fans, speculation was rife as to what caused her sudden decision, many doubting whether it would actually last. But in an online article published this week, the sultry actress shed light on the spiritual element to her quitting in an interview with Nigerian entertainment magazine, ‘E24-7’.

“I didn’t quit smoking by myself,” she explained to Biodun Kupoluyi. “I was watching a program on TV with Prophet

T.B. Joshua and he was laying hands on people and praying for them. I love to watch his programs on Emmanuel TV. When he was praying, he said, ‘Lay your hands on the TV’ and I just laid my hands that day.

I actually needed something else from God, not to quit smoking because I loved smoking!

However, after praying I sat back and I think I slept off.”

After a short nap, Tonto awoke and attempted to smoke as usual. However, according to her, something inexplicably supernatural had happened.

“When I woke up, I took a stick of cigarette and I felt crazy.

I couldn’t even imagine that I took it up to smoke in the first place. It felt like poison!” An addiction of 14 years was ended through a simple prayer on television.

Three months down the line, Dikeh has remained clean from smoking.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Hollywood/Bollywood Pregnant Snooki: I'm set to have my baby!

Is all well between Salman Khan and Sonakshi Sinha?

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r e g n a n t Snooki is about ready to have her bundle of joy, this is as confirmed by Snooki herself.

The Jersey Shore star has been tweeting bump pictures ever since it was announced that Jionni LaValle put a baby in there. As the big day approaches rapidly, the over sharing and Snooki's belly have reached epic proportions.

"I'm going to burst," the 24-year-old tweeted along with the artistic image you see here. "I think he's trying to turn around preparing to come out."

While she says she loves the feeling of little Lorenzo moving around inside of her - and cheering her on during the rough days, she says, "I'm ready to have my baby".

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o n a k s h i Sinha was not seen at the screening of Salman Khan's 'Ek Tha Tiger' and this has led to

speculations that all is not well between the two.

The industry folks noticed Sonakshi's absence at various previews and

Sanjay should do more comedy films: Ajay Devgan

Amanda Bynes involved in another car accident

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Bynes

For those keeping score, in the last six months, she's been accused of three hitand-runs, plus this collision.

Police also say she peaked out on them in March when they were writing her up for driving while talking on the phone.

So that's six traffic incidents.

Someone needs to intervene and take Amanda and Lindsay Lohan off the road. Can't they afford drivers as actresses in Hollywood?

So ridiculous, says a source. thehollywoodgossip.com

The Frozen Ground Trailer: Vanessa Hudgens as a Stripper

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Hudgens

anessa Hudgens is about to put these dance moves to good, nearly perfect use.

The actress portrays a stripper named Cindy in the upcoming thriller The Frozen Ground, which is based on real-life events and stars Nicolas Cage as an Alaskan State Tropper who partners with Hudgens' character because she was lucky enough to escape a serial killer who abducts young women.

Scheduled for a November 30 release, the film also stars 50 Cent, Dean Norris and John Cusack.

Katrina breaks down on Salman's shoulders!

Who knew something as simple as vermilion would actually lead to the otherwise strong actress Katrina Kaif breaking down? Recently, Katrina Kaif was spotted and captured with sindhoor on her forehead.

Snooki

m a n d a Bynes was apparently involved in yet another car accident few days ago ... no seriously, this is not a recycled story, and it just keeps on happening.

Bynes was driving a rental car in the San Fernando Valley when she was rear-ended; the driver claims Bynes made a "reckless manoeuvre" that caused it.

Police showed up but no one was ticketed; Amanda is currently driving a rental because her BMW is in the body shop. What are the odds of that?

screenings specially held for Salman's friends, on the day of the movie release. If what we heard is to be believed, Salman Khan is irritated.

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j a y Devgan was last seen shooting for his home production Son of Sardar which also stars his good friend Sanjay Dutt.

Ajay was seen giving important advice to Sanjay.

According to Ajay, Sanjay should do more comedy films as serious roles can affect his image. A source was quoted as saying "Sanjay has done too many serious roles in films such as Agneepath and Department

so Ajay took out time to give Dutt some advice to brush up his comic timing."

Ajay who has had great luck with comedy films like Golmaal3, All the Best and Bol Bachan to name a few, feels that Sanjay too can have blockbuster hits by doing comedy.

It is generally thought that he should do comedy more often as he blew away his fans with his role in Munnabhai M.B.B.S!

Katrina

Shahrukh spends Eid alone!

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h a h r u k h Khan who is all known as a family man, is away from his family and friends and spent his Eid all alone this year as he is in Laddakh shooting for Yash Chopra's upcoming flick.

Sharukh expressed his feelings on twitter, he posted "All alone on Eid‌ on a thin winding road. Nowhere and everywhere. Just gave myself a hug after a long time. Will celebrate with happy winds."

Though he spent Eid alone, he didn't forget to wish his fans. "Eid Mubarak to everyone. May Allah fill your life with happiness.

Look forward to reading the Takbirat in an open space in Ladakh.Insha Allah," he

tweeted.

SRK is currently shooting for YRF's next also starring Anushka Sharma Bollywoodgossips.com

Shahrukh

and Katrina Kaif. The film is a romantic drama and will hit screens in November.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 27

Homes

Stop paint from peeling off the wall preventing peeling paint.

Things you'll need " Fine grain sandpaper " Paint scraper " Gloves " Drywall joint compound, warm water and dishwashing liquid, rag or sponge, primer paint, paint brush or roller.

Instructions: Scrape gently all the pieces of paint that are peeling off the wall, using the scraper. Catch every flake and piece of paint that has begun to peel from the wall.

Pass your gloved hand or paint scraper softly over the complete section to confirm you have not overlooked any spots.

The glove or scraper will catch on any raised spots you may have missed, even if it is not yet

With the rains, peeling is one of the biggest problems of painted surfaces. However, paint may peel away from a wall or ceiling if too many coats have been applied, the surface is oily or dirty, the paint is old, the wall surface is wet or a paint primer hasn't been properly applied.

Once a painted wall begins to peel, it will continue to do so until the problem area is remedied.

Treat a painted surface that is peeling using a few items that can be purchased from most hardware stores. Wear rubber gloves whenever handling ammonia to prevent possible skin irritation. Or better still; call in a professional painter where you cannot afford the luxuries of time and energy to do it yourself. Does this Spark an idea?

Things you will need " Wire brush " Rubber gloves " Ammonia " Bucket, sponge, cloth, sandpaper, paint brush or roller, paint sealer, or paint primer.

Instructions: Scrape off as much of the peeling paint as possible by using a wire brush.

Add 1 part ammonia to 3 parts water in a bowl.

Moisten a cloth with the ammonia solution and wipe

down the wall to remove any oil, grease or dirt.

Wipe down the wall with a sponge moistened with water to remove the ammonia solution.

Sand the edges of the remaining peeling paint with sandpaper to create a smooth surface.

Apply a paint sealer to the surface working into the cracks of the old paint. Paint sealers can be purchased at most hardware stores.

Apply a paint primer to the wall after the sealer has dried.

This may take up to eight hours to thoroughly dry. It is best to allow the paint to dry overnight to ensure it is completely dry.

Repaint the area where paint has peeled after the primer has dried. Wait at least eight hours to paint the second coat. You may also touch the paint in an inconspicuous area to ensure the paint is dry. If it still feels sticky to the touch, allow the paint to dry for an additional two hours and then spot test again for dryness.

Steps to repaint walls Repaint a wall that has peeling paint to improve its outlook If there was oil on the wall or if you used latex paint to cover an oil-based paint, using primer can go a long way towards

evident to the eye.

Use the scraper to scrape and eliminate these minor spots as well. Doing so will prevent future spots of peeling paint.

Apply a light coat of drywall joint compound, using the scraper, to all the areas where you have scraped.

Sand lightly all the areas you have worked on, using a finegrain sandpaper. Concentrate on eliminating the demarcation between these areas and the rest of the painted surface. Doing so will create a smooth surface to paint, while helping the new paint to stick better. Wash the walls you are going to paint, using warm water mixed with dishwashing liquid. Wipe the whole area carefully, eliminating all traces of dust and soil.

Blot with paper towels, and

Repaint a wall that has peeling paint to improve its outlook

give it some time to dry, (at least an hour or more depending on the type of paint--if it's a flat finish it may take longer). Check with your hand for any trace of moisture.

Paint the walls with primer, using the roller.

Give the primer between 30 and 60 minutes to dry, then check to see whether it will require another coat of primer.

If so, apply a second coat; allow 30 to 60 minutes to dry completely.

Apply the first coat of paint.

Allow 30 minutes to dry, and then check to see whether the walls require another coat. If so, give apply another coat, concentrating on covering the areas that weren't completely covered with the first coat. ehow.com

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Cuisine

Pots & Pans

With Hajiya Ramatu Usman Dorayi

Quench your 'thirst' with cucumber Do you know that cucumber can quench your thirst when you feel the need to drink water and it's not immediately available? With their high water content and many vitamins and minerals, cucumbers are also a healthy snack. Eat raw or use with other recipes.

Crunchy cucumber Ingredients: spread -8 oz cheese, any type of cheese but make sure it is soft cheese -1/2 c sour milk or yoghurt -1 cup of milk -1 grated onion -Âź any sauce, tomato, egg -1/3 finely chopped cucumber Combine all the ingredients except the cucumber, mix until well-blended. Add cucumbers.

Refrigerate for several hours. Use on sandwich.

Spicy cucumber Ingredients: 1 1/2 cucumbers seedless cucumbers are better) 1 tablespoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic 1 1/2 teaspoon groundnut oil 2 teaspoons sugar 1 tablespoon rice vinegar Method: Slice cucumber into very thin rounds. Sprinkle salt over cucumbers and keep aside for ten minutes to release excess water.

While the cucumber is set aside, mix the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl.

Rinse the salt from the cucumbers. Squeeze the water out of the cucumbers and add to remaining ingredients. Serve chilled.

If you want it spicy add more red pepper powder, or other hot spices, eat with rice, boiled yam or potatoes.

Fried cucumbers Wash and slice cucumbers, remove seeds. Dip them in a mixture of egg and a little milk.

Sprinkle with salt. Coat them in flour or corn flour (garin masara) and fry in hot oil. Eat with rice.

Stuffed cucumber icecream

Plain cucumber salad

Cucumber onion and groundnut oil

Cucumber smoothie

Cucumber drink

How to select cucumbers

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ucumbers should be firm and rounded at the edges.

Avoid yellow or puffy cucumbers. Also watch out for ones that are wrinkled at the tips or have sunken areas.

Cucumbers are right in the middle of the scale for potential pesticide residue, ranking 50 out of 100 according to research conducted by the Environmental Working Group.

Most conventionally grown cucumbers are also heavily waxed to maintain freshness, and these waxes could contain toxic chemicals depending on their source. As with most fruits and vegetables, the peel is an important source of nutrition, so organic cucumbers are a better choice if possible.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Womanhood

Remarrying after death of spouse Consider the timing Dating and marriage are two different things. Ultimately, dating may lead to marriage again. In between the death of your spouse and the time in which you begin dating is a good time to re-evaluate who you are and what you need mentally and emotionally from a new relationship, if necessary. Before you begin dating, you may want to make sure that you are comfortable being yourself and that you are able to bring only you and not your emotional attachments to your deceased spouse into a new relationship.

Consider the children One very important factor to consider when thinking of remarrying is your children's feelings. Just because you are ready to make that big commitment doesn't mean they also are. Make sure that your kids get the proper grief counseling and time in which to heal before bringing someone new into their lives. This is a very sensitive issue and you may need much tact to best deal with your children in this circumstance.

Consider all possible changes Remarrying after the death of your spouse can completely turn your world upside down especially if children were involved in the past marriage.

This isn't necessarily a negative thing, but it is something to be aware of. For instance, if the person you are remarrying has a possibility of having to relocate for work, you need to decide if that is a good move for both of you; especially you're your children and their education.

You may not want to be away from your deceased spouse's family, especially if you have children who need their grandparents. Or if you have always been a stay-at-home mom but will now need to work or start a business because your new husband's income will not provide for an extended family.

There is no set time frame for remarriage after the death of a spouse who may sometimes turn out to be one's beloved husband. This is one factor to be considered especially if the woman is still in her youthful age and may crave the love and care of partner. Above all, only you can decide when the time is right to begin dating again, and possibly think of remarrying. However, there are some critical things to consider before bringing someone new into your life after your husband of many years may have passed on.

It is important to consider all of the major factors in both of your lives before going into a new marriage.

Consider the home Often times the home in which you and your deceased spouse lived is the one place that remains sacred. This is also a place that may hold too many sentiments to just let go of right away. If you remarry you may need to consider selling the home. If you have children that have always grown up in that home, they may not be ready to

leave. They have already lost a parent, losing their home may be another emotional blow to them. Besides, having to lose their childhood friends; those they grew up to know in their neighborhood may not be a very good idea to them if they have to relocate. On the other hand, the person that you are remarrying may not want to live in the home that you and your previous spouse lived in together. Where you will call home is a major part of the decision when trying to decide

to remarry.

Consider traditions Brand new traditions begin at the start of any new marriage and it may be difficult to blend your old traditions with the new ones you will have to adapt to. If you have specific traditions that you and your deceased spouse did together, consider altering these traditions where your new spouse is concerned. If these traditions involve children, be flexible and make sure that they change only enough to transition in the place of the new

spouse. If you happen to be childless, it will be easier to completely do away with old traditions. However, if you once had a yearly tradition of spending every public holiday traveling to new places of interest and your new spouse spends every holiday with his family, it will be important to know and discuss these issues during your courtship. This is important as both money and time will necessarily have to be planned for. ehow.com

Remember that your husband was a son first!

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ave you just got married and wondering what it takes to relate with your husband's mother and siblings?

Being a good daughter-in-law can be a challenging job, but it doesn't need to be if you keep a few simple suggestions in mind.

As a new wife, it is difficult not to feel possessive and a little defensive. You want to be number one in your husband's life, but you should remember not to put him in a position of having to defend his mother! No one wins that

battle; it will only put pressure on every relationship. Will what you gain by dividing your husband and his mother, be worth the many unnecessary heartaches for the family?

Granted, there are mother-inlaws that will do everything to prove you are not worthy of their son; you can only do so much to make a relationship with her happen. No matter what you do or hard you try to make things work, she constantly tries to demonstrate how unworthy you

are. How do you deal with a mother-in-law like that? Well, you could stoop to her level and try to make her look bad, but the truth is, your husband can probably see how his mother is treating you and doesn't like it either. He may not stand up to her, for whatever reason, but he's new to this too.

Give him a break! Just keep your distance and try to keep the peace, but not at the cost of letting yourself be walked on.

Don't try to compete. He married you because he loves you.

His relationship with you is different from his relationship with his mother. You're his wife, not his mother. If she's acting the queen, give her the throne; she's been cooking it for years and has perfected it. Create something new and perfect it. Or, better yet, find a great new hobby to keep you busy.

Do a good job taking care of her son. Part of the unnecessary strain on an in-law relationship is that your husband's parents, particularly his mother, want to know that the wonderful care of their son that they

have long provided will continue in your care. Let them see that you love him and that he has clean clothes and vegetables at least once a day.

They'll be happy and he'll be more regular.

Keep them in the loop. Don't cut his parents out. Take the initiative and call them with news and updates. Even though things might be a bit uncomfortable at first, remember that they are a big part of your life and making a little extra effort won't hurt a bit (well, it won't hurt too much).

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Archives

Do you have old pictures for memories?

Send them to julius2001_a@yahoo.com

A young man gets vaccinated against leprosy in Nigeria in the 1950s.

Weaving in Ilorin the mid 1950s.

Convair CV-240 of KLM at Kano Airport in the early 1950s

Across the Kaduna river, Nigeria, 1950s.

Outside Kano in Nigeria early 1950s

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Leisure WORD SEARCH

Find the words from the bottom in the Father's Day word search grid. The Father's Day words can be forwards or backwards, vertical, horizontal, or diagonal. Circle each letter separately, but keep in mind that letters may be used in more than one Father's Day word.

Father's Day Word Search Puzzle S

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JOKES

With Augustine Aminu

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BREAKFAST CARD DAD DADDY DAUGHTERS FATHER GIFT GOLF GRANDFATHER JUNE LOVE NECKTIES NINETEEN TEN PHONE PRESENT SONORA DODD SONS SPORTS EQUIPMENT SUNDAY THIRD

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A Real Lagos Child

Nigerian man living in Sweden decided to marry a Swedish lady in order to be legally certified via resident status... but the lady was not aware of this. She felt he really loved her.

Anyway, seeing that Nigerian men have a bad reputation in that particular part of Sweden, our chap decided to lie to the lady. He told her he was from Uganda.

Upon marriage, the lady came home one day and informed our man that she had just met another Swedish lady who had married a Ugandan and they must all have dinner together.

The Naija man was somewhat perplexed, although not perceptibly, and wondered how he'd get out of this spot. He kept postponing the dinner date until he could do so no more.

Finally, the day came when they were to have dinner. The other ‘Swede’ came in with her Ugandan husband and they all sat at the table. Our Naija chappie was very quiet. "My own don spoil today" was all he could think.

The two Swedish ladies, wanting their husbands to mingle, being from the same homeland, asked them to speak to each other. "Hey! It's not every day you meet people from home.!" they admonished. Our Naija man, being a man of great savvy, decided that he would just speak Yoruba, and the guy would probably assume he was from some part of Uganda where they spoke a different language.

So looking across the table he said: "Egbon Eko ni mi se? Ni bo lo ti ja wa?" In Yoruba, this loosely translates to: "I'm a Lagos man. Where did you come from?" Remember, Lagos is a state in Nigeria, and it used to be the capital.

The fellow looked up at our friend. His eyes lit up as he said: "Ah, bobo gan! Omo Eko ni mi se!

Omo Eko gan gan!" In Yoruba, this loosely translates to "Hey buddy! I'm a Lagos child. A REAL Lagos child!"

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

QUOTABLE QUOTES I don't think at my age... you can start ruling people out in politics.

— Kenneth Clarke He brings to the fierce struggle of politics the tepid enthusiasm of a lazy summer afternoon at a cricket match. — Aneurin Bevan Politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.

— Charles De Gaulle In politics, strangely enough, the best way to play your cards is to lay them face upwards on the table.

— H G Wells In argument, truth always prevails finally; in politics, falsehood always. — Walter Landor You can't get rich in politics unless you're a crook. — Harry S Truman Politics and the pulpit are terms that have little agreement.

— Edmund Burke

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

F Compiled by Miriam Humbe It is simply amazing how the African fashion trends have emerged from what appears to be the blues to capture the global fashion scene with sophisticated designs and highly glamorous and well finished accessories. The Ankara evolution as it is suitably called, has swept across the fashion world today not leaving out even the classiest celebrities. Ankara has become the favourite fabric on the red-carpet, many thanks to the highly dependable designers both home and abroad.

Most fashion houses and boutiques stock varieties of the finished designs from Ankara even as Fashion lovers’ new preference now becomes the collection of special, African print shoes and bags. The shoes are made of African fabrics with brightly coloured prints and designs, and come in a variety of styles, ranging from high heel pumps to kitten heels, and are comfortably worn on other wears such as jeans, gowns and other corporate wears.

Ankara is versatile as it is an everyday wear. It is a generally accepted form of dress at occasions, office, parties and beach and as a casual wear, anytime, any day. It is also nicely worn with matching shoe and bags and accessories. Little wonder, more and more fashion lovers are getting engulfed in the Ankara evolution just like ebony black Nollywood Actress Stephanie Okereke Idahosa.

Ankara glamorous trends

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 33

Business

NICON re-launches Travelers’ Personal Accident Insurance policy

N

I C O N Insurance has announced the re-introduction of Travelers’ Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (TPAIS).

TPAIS provides coverage for passengers against accident induced death, permanent disability and medical expenses.

Mr. Emmanuel Jegede, the Managing Director of NICON Insurance, disclosed this to newsmen in Lagos yesterday.

Jegede said the product was being re-introduced to provide insurance coverage for passengers travelling across the country.

“This product serves the need of organized transporters, especially the mass transit buses moving passengers within and outside the states.

“The product provides compensation for death from accidents, permanent disability and medical expenses to passengers,” he said.

According to him, the

insurance product is designed to complement the National Insurance Commission’s (NAICOM) efforts in ensuring that road accidents victims are compensated.

Jegede further stated that additional three new products had been approved by NAICOM.They include Overseas Travel Insurance Policy, Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Insurance and Events Management Insurance.

The NICON boss said the Events Management Insurance (EMI) policy was designed to provide insurance coverage during marriage ceremonies, parties, burial ceremonies and festivals. Other areas covered by the EMI are religious and political parties’ conventions, town hall meetings, professional and academic events, trade fairs, seminars, workshops as well as exhibitions. (NAN)

AfDB sets up N1.76 bn IT research centres for students

T

he Resident Representative of A f r i c a n Development Bank (AfDB) Dr Dore Ousmane said the bank had established $11 million (N1.76 bn) information technology based research centres to enhance science and technology education for students.

Ousmane made this known in an interview with newsmen on Wednesday.

He said the bank had supported science and technology education in Nigeria with $11 million to address the problem of skill building and knowledge transfer.

According to him, the aim of the project is to come up with critical mass of science and technology oriented graduates who will assist to bridge technology gap in the country.

“The bank is establishing some kind of information technology based research centres for students in

Nigeria.

“The essence of this is to have students who are very innovative so that they will be able to carry out what they are expected to do,'' Ousmane disclosed.

The resident representative said same project is also being carried out in Burkina-Faso.

He added that the entire project in both countries worth $18 million, saying, that of Burkina-Faso took about $7 million.

Ousmane said the project in Nigeria started in 2009 and since then, it has been ongoing.

He said the bank has been carrying out oversight visit and to a large extent, “we are satisfied with the project.” “ We believe that the desired goals are being achieved and it is our hope too that with the support of other partners, the African continent will get to where we hope,'' he added.

He disclosed that the bank is also supporting

science and technology in Nigeria with a project which is being carried out in African University of Science and Technology in Abuja at the Nelson Mandela Institute. He said that what the bank is doing in support of the project is in the area of exchange facilities and to ensure that highly qualified academics are attracted to the institution.

Ouasmane added that the bank facilitated the coming of the academia to spend two or three months to impart knowledge to the students in the area of science and technology.

Ousmane revealed that the bank would also give scholarship to the best students in the university, saying the aim is to raise highly qualified graduates in the country.

According to him, the bank is giving support in the areas of networking, equipment and building of accommodation for staff and students.

Dr Dore Ousmane

“There is need to access information , the project is assisting in ensuring that there is network between students, lecturers and access to data and research materials,'' he added.

Ousmane said the effect of the project would not be seen immediately, but would be visible in the next two to three years.

The trained students would impart the knowledge acquired to the growth and development of the country.

(NAN)

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Business

FG, IFAD sign N11.92 bn financing agreement for agric value chain programme

T

h e Federal Government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on Thursday signed a financing agreement for agricultural value chain programme on rice and cassava in six states.

The states are Anambra, Benue, Ebonyi, Taraba, Niger and Ogun.

In his remarks at the signing of the contract document in Abuja, the President of IFAD, Dr Kanayo Nwanze, said the UN agency subscribed to country’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA).

“In recognition of the effort of the Federal Government of Nigeria , the IFAD Executive Board resolved to support the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) with a loan facility of 74.5 million dollars (N11.92 bn) to implement the value chain development

programme for rice and cassava in six states of Nigeria for the next six years.’’

According to him, the agreement is being signed four months after the IFAD Executive Board’s approval in April 2012.

Nwanze said that this was an improvement on the signing of the agreement for the ongoing IFADassisted Rural Finance Institution Building Programme (RUFIN) which came 40 months after the board’s approval.

He noted that this development showed the commitment of President Good luck Jonathan and his team to transform the economy.

Earlier, Dr Ngozi OkonjoIweala, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for Economy, noted that IFAD had committed a total credit facility of 157.3 million dollars to supporting

Nigeria’s agricultural sector.

“So far, the fund has committed total credit facility of about 157.3 million dollars in Nigeria and what we have today is an event; a signing of a credit that underscores the continuation of IFAD’s commitment to agriculture, rural development, and food security in this country.

“And it also demonstrates that our relationship with IFAD is yielding fruits and that our support from IFAD is resulting in very tangible benefits to the country.

“The IFAD-Nigeria Value Chain Development programme, which is what we are flagging off today, is valued at 105.2 million, which comprises of IFAD credit of 74 million dollars and a grant of 0.5 million dollars.’’

According to her, the credit will be on soft terms, adding that the Federal, States and local

governments would provide counterpart fund contributions to the tune of 31.2 million dollars (N5 bn).

She said that the project would be implemented over a period of six years and that it would be a ``strong contributor’’ to the very important plans of the agriculture sector.

Okonjo-Iweala stated that the IFAD credit was one of most beneficial Nigeria would be required to pay only 0.75 per cent commitment charge, while the loan would be repaid over a period of 40 years with a 10-year moratorium.

“So, it is really a very great credit for the country to be able to access; this is very good especially to help create jobs in the agricultural sector and make ourselves food sufficient.''

In his remarks, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural

Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, observed that the agreement was initiated by the Federal Government as part of the ATA. “What we are signing today is not something that IFAD developed, it is something that we developed as our Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) and IFAD is putting money behind.’’

He said that the agreement would help farmers put processing capacity in place and also ensure that market systems are working.

He disclosed that 12 new private rice mills with a total capacity of 230,000 tones had been established.

Adesina added that the country had negotiated with China to import 18 large-scale high quality cassava flour plants that would produce 1.3 million tones of cassava flour. (NAN)

HP posts biggest loss ever

H

e w l e t t -Packard (HP), the world's number one PC manufacturer, has recorded its biggest ever quarterly loss, thanks in the main to an $8bn write-down related to its services division.

HP reported a loss of $8.85bn (£5.5bn) for the three months to the end of July, after a write-down on the value of its services business, mostly related to its purchase of Electronic Data Systems (EDS), which it purchased in 2008 for $14bn.

HP net revenue in its fiscal third quarter which was down five percent to $29.7bn, slightly below the average Wall Street estimate of $30.1bn.

The write-down had been announced earlier this month.

HP has been struggling of late, as it tries to find a balance between its consumer and business-orientated strategies. It will soon lose its title as world's largest PC maker to Chinese firm Lenovo, and it is clearly struggling to offset these faltering PC sales with revenues from its enterprise software and services divisions.

HP, and fellow US-based company Dell, are under pressure from Asian companies like Lenovo, Acer and Asus who have been able to undercut them without compromising on quality.

With the launch of Windows 8 this October and a big push by Intel for its Ultra book platform, the PC industry should see a return to strong growth by the end of this year, following seven consecutive quarters of flat to single figure growth.

Whether or not HP is able to cash in on this growth is unclear as of yet.

(Source: International Business Times UK)

L-R: Director General, Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON),Dr. Joseph Odumodu, Head, Cooperate Affairs SON, Mr. Mathias Bassey and Chief Executive officer, cooperate Social responsibility, company Austria, Mr. Martin Neureiter, during National Workshop on ISO 26000 Guidance Standard on social responsibility, recently in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Chamber of Commence to build international trade centre in Asaba

T

h e Asaba Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ASACCIMA) said on Friday that it had acquired a piece of land for the building of an international trade centre in Asaba.

Inspecting the site in Asaba, the President of the chamber, Chief Uju Udeme, said the centre would include 5,000 units of shops and warehouses among

others.

Udeme said that the aim of the centre, which would also have parking spaces for more than 500 vehicles at a time, is to attract investors to Asaba.

According to him, ASACCIMA will partner with a property investment firm, KANMA Properties Development Company Limited, for the building of the centre.

He said that the project would be beneficial to the people of Delta and those in the neighbouring states.

Chief Adora Giwa-Amu, a former Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development in the state, who is a member of ASACCIMA, described the project as laudable.

Chief Kennedy Kanma, the Managing Director, of KANMA

Properties Development Company Limited, said that the centre would be a landmark project. ``The centre has provision for business suites, large warehouses for those, who want depots or distribution points close to buyers of their goods.

“It also has lots of smaller shops for retailers, where samples can be displayed,” Kanma said.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 35

Feature

Dearth of technical education in Kwara

Entrance of Ajase Ipo Comprehensive High School, Kwara state From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

I

n many countries, including the US, high schools offer vocational and technical training for lifelong trades. And many of them offer courses that enable students meet their general academic requirements while learning a trade. Technical education is therefore paramount for the development of any nation, the reason why, because of the changes in world economy many schools in many countries have shifted emphasis to training in computers, information technology, and related fields.

In Kwara state, two technical secondary schools have for many decades been catering for skills and manpower development for the state. They include Erin-Ile Technical College and Ilorin Technical College located along Oko Olowo area of the state capital.

Apart from these schools, many secondary schools also have sound technical equipment laboratories which gave their students an opportunity to acquire practical knowledge

ahead of their graduation.

The education sector in the state is however grappling with some challenges as regards technical education, as some of such schools are a shadow of themselves due to years of neglect and unfavourable policies over the years.

Investigation by our correspondent showed that Comprehensive Ajase Ipo, which was established in 1969 with modern technical equipment has not only been abandoned, the craft and art culture and the installed machines for learning are all rotting away.

Besides, most of the building equipment which had been in existence since the school was established has gathered dust.

As part of efforts to restore the glory of the technical colleges and technical schools in the state, the present administration in the state has created separate Ministry to cater for technical and science colleges.

This development, according to Governor Abdulfatahi Ahmed would help fix the schools and prepare students for better future as job creators and not job seekers.

Side view of the Technical school

Briefing Journalists in Ilorin recently, the Secretary to the State Governor (SSG), Alhaji Isiak Gold disclosed that the state executive council has approved the carving out of Ministry of technology out of Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development as part of efforts to promote qualitative education in the state.

Gold said the new Ministry will cater for all the state owned tertiary institutions such as the Kwara state University, Kwara state Polytechnic, College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies as well as the State Scholarship Board.

The SSG explained that the creation of the new ministry became expedient because the Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development was too large for effective and efficient service delivery.

The Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Alhaji Saka

Ajase Ipo Comprehensive High School Technical building razed by fire and overgrown with weeds

Onimago added that the State Executive Council also approved the construction of a College of Engineering complex at the Kwara State University, Malete at a cost of N690.9 million.

This was a build up to the accreditation of the programme in the school by the National University Commission (NUC).

Onimago also said that the foundation laying ceremony for the proposed International Vocational Centre, Ajasse-Ipo would soon be done by the governor.

The International Vocational Centre, he said, would produce high quality manpower to service the technical needs of the country.

Onimago also said that state government’s commitment to technical schools would help reduce youth unemployment in the state.

The commissioner said government was concerned about the growing trend of youth unemployment and was working assiduously to tackle the menace.

“We are going to support the youths, students, graduates and others who desire to acquire skills and be self- reliant. The policy thrust of the present administration is to empower the teeming youths in the state to acquire modern skills in the vocation of their choice.”

He said government had entered into partnership with proprietors of vocational training centres in the state to achieve the objective.

With this development, many education stakeholders have reasoned along with the state government that the era of the youths searching for white collar jobs would be over in the state if government continues to

faithfully implement its new policies.

To Barrister Abdullateef A Owoade, a lecturer at the faculty of Law, University of Ilorin, failure to nurture children with technical and science studies in Nigeria today would amount to failure of the nation’s leaders.

Owoade who stated this in the paper he presented at a forum recently said: “These children are our future; failure to equip them adequately could land us in the pit of hell.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede while declaring open the 2012 Greater Scientists Workshop organised for junior secondary school students at the University Auditorium also charged students in various secondary schools in Nigeria to give premium to seeking knowledge in science and technology.

Oloyede, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic, Prof. Bayo Lawal, stressed that no nation can claim to be developed without preference for science and technology.

Oloyede noted that “a scientist must be a keen observer and you must be willing to think differently”, adding that students should emulate the Wright brothers who were bicycle repairers before they developed a prototype airplane.

Speaking at the event, Dr (Mrs.) Hass Akanbi who gave an introductory lecture, tasked the young students on five assignments, which she said would help them become greater scientists in future. She challenged them to develop their sense of curiosity, record their observations, and find out how things are done elsewhere.

PAGE 36

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

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

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Whither Nigerian education?

Re: Sovereign wealth fund

I

am stunned by the caliber of persons that our universities help to advance as graduates in Nigeria. The other day I was looking at the degree certificate of my friend who graduated from one of the private universities in Nigeria. He studied political science.

I was a little bit uncomfortable with the “AD” in the certificate because I couldn’t see the reason why it had to be printed. But my discomfort came to a cessation when my friend told me not to worry that the “AD” on his certificate meant no harm, that it denoted “Adamawa” because he hailed from Adamawa state. 2009 AD is therefore equal to 2009 ADAMAWA. Is it possible for one to study political science for four years in the university without coming across “AD” and/ or its meaning? If a person cannot stand up for the printed content of his certificate, does he deserve the degree he claims to have?

Again, a person that I know who graduated from one of Nigeria’s federal universities with a lower second class honors degree in economics, was promised a job in one of the newly established state universities, but could not make the most out of an opportunity he was granted for a reason: he couldn’t write an application letter for the job, and couldn’t have given anyone to write because he was asked to write down the letter before the watchful eyes of the registrar of the university that wanted to employ him. The précis of the story: he missed a give-away job since he couldn’t complete his own side of the bargain: an application letter! The university registrar in question did not find him proper for employment in the university.

WRITE TO US Peoples Daily Weekend welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150 words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed to: The Editor, Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, 35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja.

Email: letters@peoplesdaily-online.com Yet again, I recently received the curriculum vitae of a friend who studied botany from a Nigerian university. The content of the curriculum vitae written by my friend got me numb. For a university graduate in the 21st century, his conception of “educational qualifications” was not only mortifying, it was horrendous. Among the items that qualified as “educational qualifications” were: “National Examinations Council”, “West African Examination Council”, “National Youth Service Corps”, and “Nigerian Institute of Management.” If not for the fact that employers in Nigeria can be receptive to stoppable lapses and inaccuracies, my friend ought not to be in the running for any job interview in Nigeria.

His ignominious demonstration of “institutions” to depict “educational qualifications” is enough a pretext to forbid him from attracting consideration from the employers. But since Nigeria is a country where jobs are tendered to the terribly incompetent persons through a most surreptitious employment procedure; alas, my friend found

himself a relatively decent job!

What about the frequently foul, often deplorable performance of many Nigerian university graduates in entry-level job interviews? It is very common for managers to think no more of Nigerian university graduates on the basis that a sundry of them habitually come across as barely-educated. Employees of preliminary level jobs more often than not attest to the verity that university graduates in Nigeria find it grueling to make simple, unadorned sentences in English language. It is utterly unbelievable that some graduates cant make proficient but simple sentences in their only language of instruction in school.

A lawyer recently related to me how a newly-graduated lawyer under his tutelage was able to write a formal letter to the office of the assistant commissioner thus: “To the assistance commissioner.” How about the young school teacher in Yola who holds the Nigeria Certificate of Education (NCE) but who could not make sense of “passport number” on his assumption-of-duty form on his first day at

work? Little wonder why to the young teacher, “passport number” connotes nothing but the muffled reference number inscribed (by his photographer) in ink at the other side of his passport photograph?

Still not enough, my friend who has got an infrequent fervor for English language, and who teaches veterinary medicine in a university in Nigeria continually reminded me that he never fails to get so worked up for the reason that his lecturer colleagues, graduates of veterinary medicine alike, couldn’t stop troubling him through a much accustomed incessant requests: they need him to help them write formal letters, as it is pretty staggering a task if they were to do it themselves, thanks to their self-admitted surrender.

Who then is to blame? If university lecturers in Nigeria come across as stylistically challenged, how good or bad could one expect their students to come about? The scholarly dearth in our educational system is routinely uncovered when several university graduates from Nigeria go abroad especially to Europe to seek higher degrees. Because what is sometimes celebrated as brilliance in Nigerian university circles hardly outdo the ability of a student to memorize lecture notes or handouts and his/her ensuing ability to reproduce his cramming in examinations, several Nigerian university graduates find it difficult to muddle through that educational system that obviously is contrarily obstinate to what is customary back home in Nigeria. mohd.aminu@gmail.com

Ceding 76 oil block in Niger Delta and matters arising

T

h e r e is no denying the fact that since the ceding of 76 oil block originally belonging to Cross River state to Akwa Ibom state, there has been growing tension in the Niger Delta region.

There has been suspicion among the two sister states, and it won’t be long before the fragile peace being witnessed in that region breaks However, the question we need to be asking ourselves is how a state can become double victim to the same process in so short a time.

While Cross River state is yet to recover from the trauma of ceding the Bakasi peninsula, a situation which has been widely acclaimed to have been

mishandled by the past government, to Cameroun, the state is now force to cede 76 of its oil wells to Akwa Ibom.

This write up is an attempt to draw the attention of the general public to the injustice being meted out to the government and people of Cross River state. Making the people of cross rivers state double victims is not the way to promote harmony, peace and development.

However, let it be known that, the quietness and choice for peace, should not be construed that they are weak or non violent, they have been pricked, their peaceful posture may now be tested, if the present decision to perpetually consign Cross River State and her people into penury is not

reversed, there the people may be forced to take their fate into their hands It is important that the federal government relist Cross Rivers state as an oil producing state as it is obvious that there are some individuals who are bent on escalating the problems of the already heated region, by wanting to create conflict and enmity between cross river state and her sister state, Akwa Ibom. A situation that is intended to jeopardize the peace eluded region, which the federal government is doing its best to address.

We are calling for the relisting of cross rivers state as an oil producing state and payment of all its fiscal allocation, which was irrationally stopped by RMAFC. As a

people, Cross Riverians, have in all ramifications, demonstrated her love for peace, by enduring the ceding of our major economic local government, originally known to belong to CRS, including all its oil well From hence we urge Cross Riverians to work as one, united in the face of grief, adversity, despair, utter deliberate humiliation of her state and people economically and socially. They should be united in demanding for justice, equity and fairness in their dealings with the federal government of Nigeria as enshrined in the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria James is the coordinator International network against corruption, Abuja

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 37

Opinion Critical infrastructure in aviation sector

By Yakubu Dati

W

h y are investors putting $1billion investment in the Philippine carriers despite being a category two country? Why are the Chinese setting up a regional carrier in Ghana? The answer is simple, lack of infrastructure. The competitiveness of the Aviation industry is inextricably linked to the quality and quantity of the infrastructure available to it.

There exist an inseparable link between the state of the aviation infrastructure and its attraction to investors. Hence, no modern economic growth model designed for implementation would be worth its salt if basic and necessary infrastructures are not put in place.

It is common knowledge that most of the Nigerian airports and terminals that were built in the 70s have outlived their usefulness and completely decayed. Airport users attest to the fact that our infrastructure was a disgrace and embarrassment to our national pride and standing in the comity of nations. It sent the wrong signals and scared investors away.

It has been estimated that the country will need to invest about $100 billion over the next ten years in just four basic infrastructure areas: power, rail-track, road, and aviation.

According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), N300 billion will be required to bring the Aviation sector to a satisfactory condition and that if Nigeria's dream and aspirations to be among the 20 leading economies of the world by 2020 is anything to go by, the issue of infrastructural development must not be taken with a pinch of salt.

Lamido Sanusi Lamido, governor of the CBN, largely buttressed this fact when he categorically stated recently that the current level of infrastructure deficit in

By James Okoronkwo

E

v e r since the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Prof Joseph Adelabu mounted the saddle of leadership of the University two (2) years ago, he has left no one in doubt of his determination to enhance the academic rating of the University. An academic of the finest hue, Prof Adelabu's main headache on assumption of office was to curb the systemic corruption endemic in the institution founded in 1988 as a world-class citadel of learning.

It is a sad commentary that patriotic efforts by Prof. Adelabu’s administration to plug the financial leakages in Uniabuja by centralising the examination centres in the permanent site has resulted to name calling and vile propaganda against his transparent regime.

The present administration initiated some projects and completed some of the inherited projects, which includes the Faculty of Science building, Faculties of Engineering and Veterinary Medicine.

It initiated 12 lecture classroom blocks of 250 capacity each, College of Health Sciences laboratory, the Sultan Maccido Leadership Centre. Other nearly completion include an additional students hostel building, Legislative Studies Centre, the Veterinary Hospital, Anatomy Laboratory and the Library

Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah

the country is perhaps the major constraint towards achieving the national vision 20; 2020. The World Bank's investment climate survey report also emphasises the fact that infrastructural problem was ranked far worse than the problem of access to finance.

Worried by the scale of infrastructure deficit at the nation's airports, the current Aviation minister, Princess Stella Oduah, initiated the remodeling of 11 airports across the country, in the first phase.

Ironically, this has generated needless controversy. It is to be noted that the "regular " contractors in the industry responsible for the over 30 years of decay of the infrastructure are very upset that the minister did not award these projects to them and thus have embarked on campaign of calumny, threats and blackmail.

It is however gratifying that all the

petitions have been proved to be empty. It should be noted also that no one has complained about the quality of work being done at the airports, no one is unhappy with the fact that for the first time the projects are not concentrated in Lagos but are spread to Yola, Port Harcourt, Owerri, Benin, etc.

According to sources at the ministry, the entire sum in the BASA fund stands at $74million dollars. Out of this, former Aviation minister, Mrs Fedelia Akuabuta Njeze sought and obtained approval from the Presidency and the National Assembly for the utilization of $60million (about N7.5 billion) from the fund for the rehabilitation of infrastructure at the nation's airports in line with the Civil Aviation Act 2006. It must however be noted that this sum could not be accessed before the end of her stewardship.

The Aviation minister initiated fresh processes to access the already approved $60 million from the BASA fund to form part of the resources required for the project. All relevant approval from the Presidency and the National Assembly were obtained to access and utilize the fund to address the huge infrastructure challenge in the sector.

Perhaps what "offends" many critics of these projects is the fact that within two months of her appointment, serious visible work was on going in all the major airports in the country and added to that, the works were being done by young Nigerians who had no god-fathers, but enough expertise and guts to jump - start a multi-billion naira construction without upfront payment.

The strategic importance of infrastructure investment and development cannot be overemphasized, as it constitutes the bedrock and catalyst for sustained economic growth and development. It creates the enabling

environment to stimulate business and industrial activities, thereby enhancing productivity, reduced operational cost, job creation, income generation, wealth creation, poverty reduction, new ventures and business opportunities It bears mentioning at this point that stashing BASA fund in the banks when critical infrastructure challenges require immediate and urgent redress serves no one any useful purpose, not the nation's Aviation sector; to be sure! It will even amount to official irresponsibility and abdication of leadership when considered against the backdrop that BASA fund, according to the 2006 Civil Aviation Act is intended to be deployed for the development of infrastructure and civil aviation in the country.

To harness the benefits of the critical infrastructure being put in place, the Aviation minister Princess Stella Oduah is effectively and creatively opening up the sector as a viable investment destination.

It is in line with the desire to bring about the needed development to this all important sector that the Aviation industry the world over is a multi-billion dollar industry; as such it is imperative that the Nigerian Aviation industry attracts the right global players.

The Federal Ministry of Aviation and some of her agencies have embarked on the first phase of a long planned international investment road show. This investment road show is a key element of the ministry's roadmap for the transformation of the country's air transport industry.

The roadmap was put in place and presented for approval by Mr. President in November 2012, to set a clear agenda and offer strategic markers and guidelines for the steps to be taken.

- Dati sent in this piece from Abuja

Repositioning University of Abuja complex amongst others. These projects in addition to enhancing the physical development of the University have saved millions which was hitherto wasted in rented accommodation. For instance, the Faculty of Agriculture not long ago left its rented accommodation in Sheda to the permanent site.

When he took over as the VC, the institution was in financial doldrums as it had to grapple with the augmentation of salaries to the tune of N100million monthly which he creditably tackled with the internally generated revenue.

The fund so realised from internally generated sources was ploughed into the completion of inherited projects and the building of new ones initiated by his administration. Libraries play a pivotal role in learning and it is in realisation of this universal fact that the Adelabu’s administration completed the abandoned Library complex started by his predecessor.

Prof. Joseph Adelabu prudent management of the scarce resources of the University has earned him accolades from far and wide. However, a few disgruntled elements that were benefitting from the old order are arising from the irregular and corrupt running

of the distance learning programme of the University sees nothing good in his transparent administration and therefore making frantic and wicked attempts to pull him down. His laudable action plans of infrastructural development, curriculum review and socio-economic development in accordance with Mr. President's Transformation Agenda will uplift the ranking of the University to the admiration of students, parents, government and other relevant stakeholders.

It is noteworthy to state that Adelabu’s administration has put in measures to solve inherited problems of poor standards which resulted in suspension of some academic programmes in the Faculties of Agriculture, Engineering, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine.

Critical observers are sad that parents, students and other stakeholders are unappreciative of the fact that this sad scenario is a carry-over of the ineptitude of the immediate past administration.

The Federal Government in April this year granted the Vice-Chancellor's request for six (6) months to upgrade the

facilities and teaching staff of the above mentioned faculties to meet National Universities Commission (NUC) standard.

It is saddening to note that enemies of progress in the University has steppedup their negative campaign against the noble and transparent moves by the pragmatic administration of the institution to meet the six (6) months time-line despite the fact that he has three (3) months to complete the upgrading of facilities and teaching standards in the affected areas.

It is heart-warming to stress that the Uniabuja VC is tirelessly working to redress this anomaly. He deserves the co-operation, understanding and team work of the University authorities bearing in mind that the University has been wallowing in academic degradation before assuming the mantle of leadership of the Institution.

Going by the present state of affairs in the institution as juxtaposed with the scenario some years ago, Prof Adelabu is doing well. He must be commended, not vilified.

James is the coordinator International network against corruption, Abuja

PAGE 38

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Peoples Page We donated 200 artificial limbs to disabled persons- CAPWD Founder, Thompson The increasing level of despondency amongst vulnerable groups like persons with disabilities is a major concern to Nigerians. It is in view of this that the national president/ founder of Center for Advocacy for Persons with Disability, (CAPWD) Omotunde Ellen Thomson, a disabled person herself, is collaborating with other NGOs and stakeholders to fight the cause of disabled persons in Nigeria. She spoke with Jamila Nuhu Musa.

T

he Centre for Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities [CAPWD] is a nongovernmental, non-profit making organisation which creates an equitable society for people with disabilities with a view to promoting their social integration and empowerment.

In conjunction with the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities [JONAPWD] and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, CAPWD has been advocating the rights of persons with disabilities as recognised in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human rights, International Human Rights Law and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities.

Omotunde Ellen Thompson,

who is a disability desk officer at the office of Head of the Civil Service of the federation, said for instance, that the organisation promotes the social model of mainstreaming and integrating persons with disabilities including women and children disabilities through a human rights-based approach.

It has also organised seminars on career development and self reliance for disabled persons in Kaduna in 2008, Kafanchan and Soba also in Kaduna state in 1988. There was also the ParaSoccer competition between Kaduna and Kano while it also initiated a weekly radio programme titled “Coping with Disabilities” on NTA Kaduna in 2000.

“This organisation is also a member of co-evaluator of the

German-Government sponsored, The Leprosy Mission (TLM), which also educates persons with disabilities with their children”.

“CAPWD initiated a 52 women with disabilities (beggars) skills acquisition training through the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in 2008”. Thompson said.

She disclosed that recently too her organisation in collaboration with Tolaram Charity Foundation, (TCF) made free donation of artificial limbs to 200 amputees from Plateau state in May, 2012 in Abuja, and expressed appreciation for TCF’s gesture saying it is worthy of emulation and would go a long way in overcoming disability problems in Nigeria.

Speaking further, Thompson, said it also involves in advocating Disabled persons being helped with artificial limbs

Omotunde Ellen Thompson with a recipient

Some beneficiaries of artificial limbs donated by an NGO, TOLARAM CHARITY FOUNDATION (TCF)

for persons with disabilities to integrate them in all spheres of life with various disability projects but regretted that funding has always posed a threat to her ambition.

However, she noted the negative perception of the public to disability must change because every human being, either with disability or not has potentials to transform the society and contribute to national development.

“The only problem is how to identify such potentials, but we believe in ourselves that we have talents that could, and should be harnessed”.

She explained what ‘special educational needs’ means in another respect saying it refers to learning needs of any

child who experiences difficulty in learning and that this does not mean that the child is disabled, so special education invariably is not only for persons with disability.

“That is the reason we initiated CAPWD school for people with special needs to enable them access education and life-long skills to enhance their potentials and give them a sense of belonging. This way they can have self-worth and effectively participate in their societies, the founder of CAPWD said, and called for more support from individuals and corporate organisations to help bridge the educational gap and reduce poverty amongst disabled persons in Nigeria.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 39

Features

The rise and rise of Police killings in Nigeria

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem & Lambert Tyem

T

he Nigerian Police Force (NPF) is the largest security force in Nigeria saddled with the responsibility of preserving and maintaining domestic law and order.

It’s the second highest security agency after the Military with full prosecutorial powers. The act that establishes it defined its duties which included the access and uses of dangerous and prohibited weapons.

This is to enable the police prevent and protect lives and properties of the citizens effectively from any intruder or aggression against law abiding citizens.

Unfortunately, this use of arms and ammunitions in recent times have been grossly abused or misused by most policemen and women in the country.

While there were cases of ‘accidental discharge’ in the last fuel subsidy crisis across the country, the issue is now beginning to assume a more dangerous dimension that suggests that there could be something mentally wrong with the people Nigeria entrusts with guns and bullets.

Recently, a police man was said to have shot a colleague in Adamawa state.

The Corporal identified as Baba Gana in Michika Police Division reportedly killed the station armourer and shot two others before he was gunned down by the military Joint Task Force (JTF).

The Corporal signed for a gun as normally required and mockingly targeted the late Inspector and the two Constables whom he shot. The Inspector died on the spot while the Constables were rushed to the Michika General Hospital.

He was said to be of the habit of pointing guns at his colleagues but this time, he shot three of them.

The next similarly weird incident happened in Ebonyi state where another police corporal, Anthony Ugwuoke shot himself dead after shooting his wife, Nkechi, and two daughters.

Ugwuoke’s wife and daughters were said to be in critical condition at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (FETHA), where neighours rushed them after the incident.

Before, policemen only used their guns against hardened or unrepentant criminals who go against the law with impunity.

But sadly today, policemen freely and shamelessly use these guns on law abiding, innocent citizens and even against fellow policemen.

One would wonder what must have fundamentally gone wrong. Could it be the problem of the society, police management, welfare, and training of the personnel or recruitment of right persons into the job?

Our society no doubt, contributed in one way or the other to the attitudes and behaviours of the Nigerian policemen.

Of course, a society has to take responsibility for the type of police force it gets.

This of course may be in the area of expensive lifestyle and general mad

Policemen in a scuffle as passers-by watch rush for wealth and since policemen are humans, there is the tendency for them to be influenced by the society which harbors bad eggs in their midst.

Looking at the welfare of policemen in Nigeria, can one say our police men are well funded to combat crime and criminality? Can one also say that the welfare of the ordinary policeman is anything to write home about? What is the salary of this ordinary policeman who stays at duty all through thick and thin?

It was recently revealed by head of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Parry Osayande who chaired the Presidential Committee on police reforms that the heads of SSS and EFCC earn far higher than the IGP. This tells us how unfair the constituted authorities have been to the police in comparison to sister agencies that were created to assist the Nigeria Police Force.

This poor welfare and the risks involved in the job as well as the tough schedule may well be affecting the psychology of the average police man.

But is this an adequate excuse for a police officer to take laws into his hands?

Is it enough reason to murder innocent citizens at the slightest provocation?

Attempts to get answers to these questions met a brick wall when Peoples Daily Weekend sought explanation from the IGP on the police killing spree some weeks ago. Though IGP, Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar, for the first time in the history of the police force released his telephone lines to the public saying he “could be contacted directly via text only on the lines 08102555581 and 08077446699 TEXT ONLY”, the Inspector General of Police when he was called on the lines to comment on the matter magnanimously picked his call but said he could be called back after breaking of his fast as it was during the Ramadan period. However subsequent calls were not answered and a text

CLEEN Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in its 2010 to 2012 survey on National Crime and Safety lashed out at police recruitment and training in Nigeria and stated that citizens’ confidence and dependence on the police force has continued to dwindle.

The Foundation further noted that lack of quality training and recruitment of wrong persons into the Police job has impacted negatively on the performance and conduct of the entire Police Force. Recruitment of criminals and persons with unsound minds in the police has been a steady trend giving rise to criminals conniving with criminals or people of unsound minds giving access to dangerous weapons which makes every citizen vulnerable. Worried by the growing trend as well as general insecurity in the country and the inability of the police to curtail the ugly development, the Inspector IGP of Police, Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar General of Police (IGP), had recently ordered the immediate transfer message not responded to.

Be that as it may, there is general of all general duty police personnel of all discontent in the way and manner people ranks in all formations and commands, are being recruited and trained in the including Police Training institutions, NPF. It has been indicated in many who had spent more than two years in their quarters that a lot of nepotism and present duty stations. This now brings to favoritism as well as unfavourable quota the fore the question of whether as part of system have affected recruitment the recruitment process, prospective police considerably. In a situation where officers are subjected to a kind of sanity test recruitment spaces are shared among to determine their mental state. This is states and left in the hands of the powers because men and women of the police force that be from those states, people who are that are going to be engaged to fight crime connected tend to get the jobs while and handle guns, teargas and dangerous people who are genuinely passionate weapons can’t afford to be less than hundred percent sound. about the job may not be so opportune.

PAGE 40

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Wellness Zone

Phyllis Ogo Ogah phyllisogoogah@gmail.com +234 80 58425746 (sms) only

101 "Everyday" tips for losing 10 pounds (9) Hello once more, the year is fast ending. I can't believe that we are in the last weekend in August. It was a month of fun and loads of partying for me. We 'll soon be going into the 'ember' months and its associated rush, rush, shopping, weddings, engagements and the big S and C. Christmas and Sallah. Ok be happy, don't worry.

8

8. If you can't think of any thing else to do try punching your pillow.

Now here's another one of those weird ideas but believe me it works. Not too many of us have punching bags at home and if you have really fluffy pillow giving it a good punching routine is just as good as anything else. This is also a nice way of letting off steam so go for it. After all something is better than nothing. But I would suggest that you do not hit it too violently or else the stuffing might come out. Do not bother too much about the force with which you hit the pillow. It is number of hits that are important. Try to get at least fifty punches in one bout. I would like to give you a little tip over here. If there is somebody that you particularly dislike like your boss or your neighbor, or may be your ex boy friend or girl friend, try fixing a picture of the persons head on the top of your pillow and then try punching it.

I promise you, it will give you a lot of satisfaction.

89. Instead of waddling up and down the staircase, try taking them two at a time. Now this is something that you have to be careful about because we do not want you to trip. So when

Swimming is one of the best forms of exercise.

you do this make sure that your feet are well and truly planted on each step before you increase the beat and try two at a time.

90. If you have a dog, take it for a run and let the

dog lead you on. You will be surprised as to how much exercise a dog can give you.

Animals are sensible enough to know that they need a lot of exercise so let your animal lead you on. Take your pet dog out for a walk and before you know what hit you, it will turn out to be a run.

91. Join a dance class.

Dancing is a wonderful way to burn off those extra calories. It is true. When you dance you are in fact burning away a lot of calories.

Of course we are not referring to the slow ballroom kind of dances in which one person actually leans on the other one for support. We are talking about fast dances. The best way to do it is by joining a dance class because they will really work you out. But I would suggest that you wait for a couple more pounds to vanish before you think of becoming a ballerina.

92. Whenever you can, lean against a wall with your hands flattened against the wall and in such a way that your face is very close to the wall. Then use your hands to push your body away from the wall. Do this two

or three times at a stretch.

93. If there is a pool nearby go for swims as often as you can, swimming is one of the best exercises. Water has a lot of advantages. And if nothing else, a cool dip in a pool is a wonderful stress reliever.

94. Try playing something like table tennis or basket ball.

Games are a fun way to lose weight. It is much more exciting to play a game than just work out by yourself. The best thing about games is that they are addictive. Once you start playing you will soon end up with a friends' circle and then the playing goes on without even you knowing it. It is something that you can look forward to and there is no stress involved in this programme. In fact, the more

you play the less you will consider this to be a part of your weight loss programme. As you burn away those calories, you will also be able to expand your social circle.

95. Any work out should start with a 5 to 10 minute warm up and should end with a 5 to ten minute cool down session.

Whatever physical exercise you are involved in, you must remember to warm up before the exercise really starts. Do not just plunge into the water and start thrashing about, to put it figuratively.

Your body needs to reach a certain level of readiness before it can actually start responding to exercise. And this readiness is achieved by the warming up process.

HEALTH TIP OF THE DAY "Getting Fit. . . One Step at a Time" Research shows being outdoors lowers stress and promotes a sense of well being.

Keep moving!

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 41

Weekend Federation Cup final

Lobi Star s, Hear tland Stars Heartland on the tail of Histor y History

Brown Ideye

Nosa Igiebor

Keshi drops Mikel, Osaze, recalls Yobo, Emenike, 9 other foreign-based for Liberia

S

uper Eagles’ Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, declined to yield to pressure from the NFF technical sub-committee by dropping Mikel Obi and Osaze Odemwingie whom the committee had wanted included in the list of foreign-based players to be called up for the Nations Cup qualifier against Lone Stars of Liberia.

Keshi insisted before the committee yesterday that he wants players who are not only available but ready to commit to the nation and would also be willing to demonstrate such commitment by their physical and mental disposition towards discipline, service delivery and teamwork.

Accordingly, he recalled skipper Joseph Yobo who was sidelined by injury and had not played for the team since the draw against Rwanda, Russia-based forward Emmanuel Emenike, and eight other overseas-based players for the September 8 2013 Nations Cup cracker in Monrovia.

Keshi, who had been under pressure to recall the duo along with the likes of Taye Taiwo, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Kalu Uche in spite their failing in the past to benefit the team their acclaimed experience and international exposure, insisted on the domestic

league players who have shown resolve, dedication and the tenacy that the coach needs.

But retained goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, defenders Efe Ambrose and Elderson Echiejile, midfielder Obiora Nwankwo and forwards Victor Moses, Ahmed Musa and Ikechukwu Uche.

Lively midfielder Nosa Igiebor and in-form marksman Brown Ideye complete the list of 11 players, who will team up with the home-based players that played a 0-0 draw with the Mena of Niger in an international friendly in Niamey last week.

The List Goalkeeper: Vincent Enyeama (Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel) Defenders: Joseph Yobo (Fenerbahce, Turkey); Efe Ambrose (Ashdod FC, Israel); Elderson Echiejile (Sporting Braga, Portugal) Midfielders: Nosa Igiebor (Real Betis, Spain); Obiora Nwankwo (Calcio Padova, Italy). Forwards:Victor Moses (Wigan Athletic, England); Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow, Russia); Ikechukwu Uche (Villarreal, Spain); Emmanuel Emenike (Spartak Moscow, Russia); Brown Ideye (Dynamo Kyiv, Ukraine).

Stories by Patrick Andrew

H

eartland FC and Lobi Stars are on the tail of history in the Federation Cup. Whereas the Owerri-based outfit want to enlist in the elitist club of teams that have won the trophy back-to-back, being the defending champions, Lobi Stars are angling for a second sip from the prestigious trophy.

Interestingly, Lobi Stars, also in the hunt for the Nigeria Premier League title, being just a point behind leaders Kano Pillars, have demonstrated in the run to the final that they have the quality, tenacity, and poise to accomplish the task.

Only last Wednesday at the U.J. Esuene Stadium, Calabar, they edged Kano Pillars on penalties to berth at the finals, as did Heartland that stopped this year’s giant killers, Prime FC of Osogbo.

Lobi Stars won the Federation Cup, then known as Challenge Cup, in 2003 after a 2-0 whiplash of Sharks FC of Port Harcourt. The club then lost the 2005 final to then African champions Enyimba FC of Aba on penalties, after both teams battled to a 1-1 draw.

Heartland FC, then known as Iwuanyanwu Nationale, humiliated Flash Flamingoes of Benin 3-0 in the 1988 final and then pipped Oriental rivals Enyimba Fc 1-0 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium last year.

In Sunday’s final, the two sides are sure to line up their vastly experienced crop of players in the battle for the bragging rights. Daniel Akpeyi, Chibuzor Okonkwo, Chinedu Effugh, Brendan Ogbu, Kabiru Umar, Osas Okoro, Julius Ubido, Ikechukwu Ibenegbu, Benjamin Francis are almost certain to be in the line up for the defending champions while Tony Okpotu, Luther Iorhe, David Tyavkase, Moses Bunde, Blessing Okardi, Moses Orkuma, the leading lights in Lobi Stars will battle to forestall a repeat of 2005 when they lost on penalties to Enyimba in the final.

Today’s final will be unique in that some 14 legends will be honoured. The list includes two persons who will be honoured post-humously –Teslim ‘Thunder’ Balogun and Haruna Ilerika. Others are Coaches Alabi Aisien and Amodu Shaibu and veteran journalist Fabio Lanipekun, who turned 70 a couple of months ago.

The nine living legends who will be honoured are former Bendel Insurance and Green Eagles’ skipper Victor Oduah, former Mighty Jets and Eagles’ defensive midfielder Ismaila Mabo, former Enugu Rangers’ leader and 1980 African Nations Cup winning Captain Christian Chukwu.

The former Rangers.and Green Eagles’ goalkeeper Emmanuel Okala, former Shooting Stars and Green Eagles’ striker Olusegun Odegbami, former Lagos ECN, Stationery Stores and National Team star Muyiwa Oshode, Sani Mohammed and former BCC Lions and Super Eagles’ defensive midfielder Moses Kpakor.

Past Winners 1990 Stationery Stores 0-0 Enugu Rangers [5-4 pen] 1991 El-Kanemi Warriors 3-2 Kano Pillars 1992 El-Kanemi Warriors 1-0 Stationery Stores 1993 BCC Lions 1-0 Plateau United 1994 BCC Lions 1-0 Julius Berger 1995 Shooting Stars SC 2-0 Katsina United 1996 Julius Berger 1-0 Katsina United [aet] 1997 BCC Lions 1-0 Katsina United 1998 Wikki Tourists 0-0 Plateau United [3-2 pen] 1999 Plateau United 1-0 Iwuanyanwu Nationale 2000 Niger Tornadoes 1-0 Enugu Rangers 2001 Dolphin FC 2-0 El-Kanemi Warriors 2002 Julius Berger 3-0 Yobe Stars 2003 Lobi Stars 2-0 Port Harcourt Sharks 2004 Dolphin FC 1-0 Enugu Rangers 2005 Enyimba 1-1 Lobi Stars [aet, 6-5 pen] 2006 Dolphin FC 2-2 Bendel Insurance [aet, 5-3 pen] 2007 Dolphin FC 1-1 Enugu Rangers [aet, 3-2 pen] 2008 Ocean Boys 2-2 Gombe United [aet, 7-6 pen] 2009 Enyimba 1-0 Sharks 2010 Kaduna United 3-3 Enyimba [aet, 3-2 pen] 2011 Heartland 1- 0 Enyimba FC 2012 Heartland Lobi Stars ???????????

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 42

London launches Paralympic torch relay

A

ceremonial cauldron was lit by former athlete Claire Lomas in London’s Trafalgar Square to launch the Paralympic torch relay on Friday.

Lomas, who was paralysed in a horse riding accident, lit the cauldron from the English national flame kindled on Scafell Pike, accordingb to BBC report.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, London Mayor Boris Johnson and London 2012 chairman Seb Coe attended the ceremony.

The relay travels from Stoke Mandeville to London overnight on Tuesday for the Games opening ceremony on Wednesday.

Cameron said at the ceremony, “After a fortnight of Olympics withdrawal symptoms, it’s time to dust off the GB flags and get ready for two more weeks of spectacular sport.

“Over these next two weeks, we’re going to have more of those moments that will bring us together and make us proud.”

During the event, 26 flame ambassadors from across England collected a flame in a lantern to take back to their local celebrations.

On Aug. 28, the four flames from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be brought together in Stoke Mandeville where they will create the Paralympic flame, signaling the start of the relay.

Starting out from Stoke Mandeville Stadium at 20:00 BST, the Paralympic flame will be carried 92 miles by 580 torchbearers.

The torchbearers would work in teams of five, through Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and London to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford.

19.58 seconds not great, but I am okay, says Bolt O

lympic 200m champion, Usain Bolt says he was delighted to run 19.58 seconds in Laussane stop of the

Paralympics: Wheelchair tennis boss urges support for para-athletes

M

ulero Brown, the Chairman of Wheelchair Tennis Players of the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF), called for maximum support for the Paraathletes for the London Paralympics Games scheduled to start on Aug. 29.

Mulero said in Lagos that Nigeria would feature in wheelchair tennis, wheelchair table tennis, power-lifting and track and field events at the Games.

“We should be hopeful and support the athletes in order for them to surpass the performance of their able-bodied counterparts who came back with nothing from the just-ended 2012 London Olympics.

“My athletes are already in London for the Paralympics and would be participating in four events and I can assure Nigerians they will bring home laurels for the country. I hereby urge Nigerians to give

their maximum support for the Paralympics athletes at the Games,” he said.

The chairman noted that lack of sponsorship had crippled many events on the yearly programmes of the wheelchair tennis players.

According to him, no corporate organisation and well meaning Nigerians had ever shown interest in their event.

“Government and the public have not been supportive of our programmes and this is not helping the growth of the sport. We have so many programmes lined up for the year, but unfortunately the government and the public have not been supportive to carry them out,” he said.

According to him, the federation had on several occasions sent sponsorship proposals to many corporate bodies and wealthy individual but that there was no response.

Samsung Diamond League on Thursday night.

The Jamaican was delighted despite failing to break his Beijing record that stands at 19.30 seconds. He could not also break the 100m during the London Olympics but was happy to retain his records back-to-back.

“I am very happy with how things turned out here tonight,” said Bolt. “19.58 is a very good time and I am more than satisfied. This season has not always been great but I am thrilled with the way it is finishing,” he said.

Behind him was Churandy Martina, this year’s European champion, who lowered his Netherlands record substantially from 19.94 to 19.85 with Nickel Ashmeade in his slipstream matching his season’s best of 19.94 for third.

“I have always enjoyed coming to Lausanne and I love the atmosphere in this stadium. The track is fast so you could see great results in the sprints tonight.

“I am very happy for Yohan Blake too. I knew he was going to push real hard tonight and 9.69 is a wonderful result,” he said of his training partner who won the 100m. Bolt did not compete in the 100m race.

The 100m was not actually a Samsung Diamond League scoring event but Blake sent a clear message that although he may be in the shadow of his fellow Jamaican, he has every intention of continuing to pressurise his training partner when a New Year and a new 2013 season begins.

Blake, like a bullet after coming out of the blocks, forged ahead of the field with a powercharged performance to shatter his personal best by 0.06sec with a time and meeting record of 9.69 with the wind reading 0.01m/s. The 22-year-old, who broke Asafa Powell’s meet record of 9.72, is now equal second with Tyson Gay on the world All-Time list and who challenged him in mid-race before he quickly produced another spurt to defeat the former World champion.

Nevertheless Gay, who had a late start to the season after a hip operation, gave him a good fight before finishing in 9.83 with Nesta Carter equalling his season’s best clocking

9.95.

Meanwhile, Silas Kiplagat, the first Kenyan finisher at the Olympics in seventh place, restored some creditability to his nation’s reputation when keeping his nerve in the final straight with six runners in contention went on to win the 1500m in 3:31.78.

Last year’s World silver medallist was running abreast of Mekonnen Gebremedhin and Nixon Chepseba, an African clean sweep apparently on the cards until the USA’s Matt Centrowitz spoiled the party.

The American couldn’t quite catch Kiplagat nor Gebremedhin who clocked 3:31.86 but his efforts in a race where the first five ran under 3:32.00, saw him lower his personal best by almost three seconds to 3:31.96.

Pamela Jelimo pumped her arms into the air to celebrate a well earned 800m win when outfoxing Mariya Savinova the Russian who easily took away her Olympic title in London.

Also Pamela Jelimo tracked by Savinova was almost 10m behind pacemaker Ekaterina Kupina who went through the bell in 57.68 with Yelena Kofanova taking over from her fellow Russian and passing through 600m in 1:28.72.

The two main contenders were on their tails but Jelimo caught Savinova by surprise when bursting clear in the middle of the final bend and powering into the home straight.

It proved a winning tactic as she won in 1:57.59 with Savinova, more renowned as a championships runner, recording 1:58.10 and Kofanova following her home in 1:58.36.

Mercy Cherono scored a second successive Samsung Diamond League victory when along with Sylvia Kibet and Veronica Nyaruai she broke clear at the bell to ensure a last lap burn up with two her fellow Kenyans.

The sedate pace after splits of 2:54.89 and 5:54.68 saw 11 runners still in contention at the bell before Nyaruai made a long run for home with 300 metres remaining which lasted only around 100m.

Then 21-year-old Cherono burst ahead and was never headed winning in 8:40.59.

Kibet a two-time World Championships silver medallist powered past Nyaruai to clock 8:42.44 and beat her fellow countrywoman who finished in 8:43.54.

Fastest 100m Times ·9.58 - Usain Bolt (Jam) Berlin 2009 ·9.63 - Usain Bolt (Jam) London 2012 · 9.69 - Usain Bolt (Jam) Beijing 2008 ·9.69 - Tyson Gay (USA) Shanghai 2009 .9.69 - Yohan Blake (Jam) Lausanne 2012

Liverpool, Man City in epic clash

S

ince the formation of the Premier League two decades ago, Liverpool have been classed as one of the division’s “Big Four” but their weakening grip on a place among the true elite was eroded further by a woeful start to the new campaign.

The kings of England in the 1970s and 80s have fallen on hard times after seventh, sixth and eighth-place finishes in the last three seasons and Sunday’s visit of champions Manchester City follows an opening day 3-0 loss at West Bromwich Albion.

The game will be new manager Brendan Rodgers second since he took over from Kenny Dalgish. It will be the Reds first home league game on Sunday and will be a much sterner challenge against the might of City, albeit minus injured striker Sergio Aguero.

Rodgers has rested most of his big names for Thursday’s Europa League playoff first leg at Scotland’s Hearts and reckons Roberto Mancini’s City are in for a rough ride at Anfield.

Left back Jose Enrique could return from injury for Liverpool while City are set to choose between Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli to partner Carlos Tevez up front after Aguero’s knee injury in their 3-2 opening win over Southampton.

The other standout game of the second weekend of the Permier league season is European champions Chelsea at home to last season’s surprise packages Newcastle United today.

Today’s matches Swansea v West Ham Southampton v Wigan Aston Villa v Everton Man Utd v Fulham Norwich v QPR Sunderland v Reading Tottenham v West Brom Chelsea v Newcastle Sunday Liverpool vs Man City Stoke City vs Arsenal

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Transfer

The season is over. Clubs are counting their blessing as well as losses and would like to make amends and even beef up their squads where noticeable lapses exist. And the transfer market is agog barely 24 hours after major European leagues dropped the curtain.

And so to keep abreast with latest rumours, we begin weekly doses of movements within the market both for players and coaches like.

Manchester City deny Luiz interested Manchester City has reacted with surprise after being linked with an £30 million bid for Chelsea centre-back David Luiz.

Reports in the English press suggested the reigning Premier League champions were readying an offer for Luiz, who has become an important player at Stamford Bridge since his arrival from Benfica in January 2011.

Roberto Mancini confirmed as much in his Friday press conference, saying: “I read it a newspaper but it is not true. David Luiz is young and is a fantastic player but it is not true.”

Mancini still wants to bolster his defensive options before the end of the transfer window, and has not completely given up hope of signing Daniel Agger from Liverpool.

W

Manchester City ponder for more signing

Moses set for Chelsea unveiling deal W

M

igan manager Roberto Martinez believes striker Victor Moses could be affected by speculation surrounding a potential transfer to Chelsea.

Chelsea has been trying to sign the 21-year-old all summer, but have yet to meet Wigan’s £8.5m valuation.

Nigerian international Moses

Chelsea signs Azpilicueta from Marseille Chelsea has ended their search for a right-back with the signing of Cesar Azpilicueta from Marseille.

Azpilicueta, 22, fills the gap in Chelsea’s squad created by the decision to release Jose Bosingwa earlier this summer.

Marseille have confirmed the transfer on their official website, but there are no details as to the fee involved or the length of contract he has signed.

Reports this week suggested the Blues were going to pay in the region of £7 million.

He made 41 appearances for Marseille last season, including eight in the Champions League, and scored one goal.

Prior to joining Marseille, he was a regular at Osasuna for three seasons,

West Ham complete Jarvis signing

est Ham has confirmed the signing of winger Matt Jarvis from Wolves for a club record fee of almost £11 million.

PAGE 43

The deal follows a long pursuit of Jarvis which had seen the Hammers have two previous offers rejected by Molineux officials.

Jarvis, 26, has been capped once by England and put pen to paper on a fiveyear Upton Park deal. He will be available for the club’s game at Swansea on Saturday.

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce said he believed he had signed one of the best crossers in the game, adding: “From my point of view, it is a big piece of business. He has got a lot of qualities that will add to the team we have already got.

shifting into the backline after beginning life as a midfielder.

His arrival continues Chelsea’s summer spending spree, with Victor Moses and another striker expected to also make the move to Stamford Bridge before the transfer window closes on August 31.

Sunderland land Fletcher

Benayoun set for Chelsea exit

Y

ossi Benayoun is hoping to secure a move away from Chelsea before the end of the transfer window.

Olympiakos, West Ham and Fulham are considering a move for out-of-favour midfielder.

Benayoun spent last season on loan at Arsenal, but the North London club have opted against signing the Israel playmaker after he failed to nail down a regular spot in Arsene Wenger’s starting line-up.

Chelsea are looking to secure a

transfer fee for B e n a y o u n , whose wage demands may price him out of the market for a move to clubs who could not finance what would be an expensive and somewhat risky signing.

Manchester United postponed more signings

M

anchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has declared that Alexander Buttner and Angelo Henriquez will be the last of the club’s summer signings.

Henriquez, the 18-year-old Chilean striker, will finalise his move to Old Trafford over the next couple of days.

He will link up with Shinji Kagawa, Nick Powell, Robin van Persie and Buttner, the Red Devils’ other recruits this summer.

Meanwhile, Ferguson has lifted the lid on the details of, and history to, Henriquez’s switch from Universidad de Chile.

S

cotland international Steven Fletcher has joined Sunderland on a four-year deal from Championship (second tier) side Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Premier League club announced on Friday.

The 25-year-old striker, who handed in a transfer request this month, moved for an undisclosed fee.

Fletcher scored 12 goals in each of the past two seasons for Wolves, who were relegated from the Premier League last season.

He is the second player to leave Molineux Stadium on Friday, with winger Matt Jarvis also returning to the premiership with West Ham.

anchester City manager Roberto Mancini has spoken of the importance of strengthening his squad during the final week of the transfer window.

The Premier League champions have only signed one player, Jack Rodwell from Everton for £15m, during the window but Mancini is working hard to change that.

Swansea winger Scott Sinclair remains a target for Mancini, while a midfielder and a defender are also on Mancini’s wishlist.

City remain keen to move on a number of players but Mancini says the lack of depth in his squad makes it impossible to allow the likes of Adam Johnson and Edin Dzeko to move on until new signings are lined up.

Real, Manchester City, Chelsea keen on Maicon - agent The agent of Maicon has said that three clubs have expressed an interest in the player and, should he leave Inter Milan, it would be for Real Madrid, Manchester City or Chelsea.

Maicon, 31, is the latest in a string of highly paid veteran players to be given permission to secure a move away from Inter as the Serie A club look to both rejuvenate their squad and fall into line with UEFA’s Financial Fair Play Regulations.

The right-back has been at the San Siro since 2006, winning four league titles and the 2010 Champions League with the Nerazzurri but, speaking to calciomercato.com, his agent Roberto Calenda said: “There is interest from Manchester City, Real Madrid and Chelsea in the player.

Chelsea’s signing of another right-back, Cesar Azpilicueta from Marseille in a deal believed to be worth around £7 million, would seemingly end any chance of Maicon moving to Stamford Bridge, meaning a reunion with either Roberto Mancini or Jose Mourinho is now more likely.

PAGE 44

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Federer tops highestpaid tennis players list P

18th NSF: Association wants Para-table tennis equipment delivered on time

By Patrick Andrew with agency report Roger Federer is the highest-paid tennis player in the world with earnings of $54.3 million between July 2011 and July 2012.

He earned $9.3 million in prize money and an estimated $45 million from sponsors, exhibitions and appearance fees over the past 12-months. His ace sponsor roster includes Credit Suisse, Gillette, Mercedes-Benz, Rolex and more. Federer’s biggest deal is with Nike, which pays him more than $10 million annually.

He stands to increase the earnings at year’s US Open where the prize-money has

Maria Sharapova

Roger Federer

been upped to a record $25.5 million with the men’s and women’s champions collecting $1.9 million apiece.

But the real action is off the court, where elite tennis players jockey for multimillion dollar endorsement deals and lucrative exhibition fees.

Younger rivals Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have challenged Roger Federer on the court in recent years, but no one touches the Swiss maestro off it when it comes to earnings power.

Companies gravitate to Federer because of his incredible consistency. He appeared in 18 out of 19 Grand Slam finals between 2005 and 2010, including 10 straight at one point. Federer extended his record for Grand Slam championships in July at Wimbledon with his 17th overall title.

The win elevated him to the No. 1 ranking in the world, and he broke the

record for most weeks at the top of the rankings. Pete Sampras held the old mark at 286 weeks.

Federer also commands the biggest fees at more than $1 million per event for exhibitions and tournament appearances outside the U.S. He is heading to South America for the first time in December for a series of five exhibitions that will be one of his biggest paydays to date.

The ten top-earning players raked in some $212 million in the past year, with roughly 75% derived from endorsements, appearances and exhibition fees. The top earners are split evenly between men and women. Players from eight different countries make up the top ten, with No. 6 Serena Williams and No. 10 Andy Roddick the only Americans.

Nadal ranks No. 2 with earnings of $32.4 million over the past year. The 26year-old Spaniard won his record seventh French Open title in June before a knee injury knocked him out of the Olympics.

The injury will keep him sidelined for the U.S. Open as well. Nadal has won $50 million in career prize money, second most all-time behind Federer. Nadal pulls down $25 million annually off the court thanks to million-dollar appearance fees and big sponsorships with the likes of Nike, Bacardi, Kia Motors and Babolat.

Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have won 29 out of the past 30 Grand Slam tournaments (Juan Martin del Potro’s 2009 U.S. Open is the exception). The Big Three

also soak up most of the money in the sport.

Djokovic, ranks No. 4 overall among the top earners with $19.8 million during the past 12-months. Djokovic’s earnings are stunted by his shoe and apparel deal. He signed a 10-year, incentive-laden deal with clothing brand Sergio Tacchini in 2009, but the bonuses from his historic 2011 season blew up Tacchini’s marketing budget and the company stopped paying him.

Tacchini also had distribution problems with its tennis apparel outside of Italy.

Tacchini and Djokovic parted ways in May, and the 25-year-old Serb signed a new deal with Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo.

Maria Sharapova leads five women on the list with earnings of $27.1 million, which ranks No. 3 overall. Sharapova completed a career Grand Slam with her French Open title in June.

Her eight-year Nike deal is the biggest

Rafeal Nadal in women’s sports and should top $70 million, including royalties. It is money well spent. Sales of Nike’s Maria Sharapova Collection of tennis apparel doubled in 2011.

Her ballet flat is the best selling female shoe for Nike subsidiary, Cole Haan. Next up for Sharapova: her own line of candy, Sugarpova, in conjunction with Jeff Rubin, CEO of IT’Sugar.

The List: 1. Roger Federer ($54.3 million) 2. Rafael Nadal ($ 32.4 million) 3. Maria Sharapova ($27.1 million) 4. Novak Djokovic ($19.8 million) 5. Li Na ($18.4 million)

Armstrong 'stripped' of Tour de France titles, banned

L

ance Armstrong has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and given a life time ban by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. The USADA decided yesterday that he used performance-enhancing drugs to achieve his success.

Armstrong, who strongly denies doping, has decided not to contest the charges.

World governing body, the International Cycling Union (UCI), is yet to say if it intends to follow USADA's lead. It had previously backed Armstrong's bid to challenge their authority.

USADA said Armstrong's decision not to take the charges against him to arbitration triggers the lifetime ineligibility and erased his results from 1 August 1998.

He won the Tour de France in 1999, 2000,

2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005.

Armstrong retired from cycling in 2005 but returned to the sport between 2009 and 2012 as part of the Astana and then RadioShack teams.

USADA alleges he used banned substances, including the blood-booster erythropoietin (EPO), steroid and blood transfusions, as far back as 1996.

On Monday, Armstrong failed in his attempt to block the charges in a US federal court. He claimed USADA was acting beyond its remit and had offered "corrupt inducements" to other riders to testify against him.

Armstrong had been given until 06:00 GMT on Friday to decide whether to continue fighting USADA's charges. The agency has said that

10 of Armstrong's former team-mates are prepared to testify against him.

"If I thought for one moment that by participating in USADA's process, I could confront these allegations in a fair setting and - once and for all - put these charges to rest, I would jump at the chance," Armstrong added.

In a statement USADA claimed it had clear evidence that Armstrong had taken performance-enhancing drugs.

"The evidence against Lance Armstrong arose from disclosures made to USADA by more than a dozen witnesses who agreed to testify and provide evidence about their first-hand experience and/or knowledge of the doping activity of those involved in the USPS Conspiracy as well as analytical data," the statement read.

ara table tennis players of the Lagos State Table Tennis Association on Friday urged the state government to ensure the timely delivery of their equipment ahead the forthcoming 18th National Sports Festival in November this year.

Pius Asaba, the Head Coach of the players, disclosed this during their training session at Adeyemi Secondary School, Shomolu, preparatory to the festival.

Asaba said that the athletes have no equipment to aid their training, adding that they were making use of the few available obsolete ones.

According to him, the athletes needed to be familiar with modern equipment before the hosting of the biennial fiesta.

“At present, we lack equipment for training; we are just coping with the few available but obsolete ones. We are still awaiting the state government promises.

“The sports festival is fast approaching, we need to get used to these equipment before the fiesta for us to excel at the festival,’’ he said.

Asaba noted that the ongoing refurbishment of sports facilities across the state in preparation for the festival, has brought hardship to his physically-challenged athletes.

He said that the auditorium at Adeyemi Secondary School— where they now train— was not conducive for his athletes, as they often find it difficult to get to the school due to its awkward location.

“My players find it difficult to get to the school auditorium without assistance. My players trained before at the Teslim Balogun Stadium and it was very conducive for them,” he said.

He then urged the state government to speed up renovation works at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, which he said was easily accessible and more convenient for the players to train.

According to him, the payment of training allowances to the athletes has motivated them and the y would give their optimal performance at the festival.

NFF puts Women Challenge Cup preliminaries on hold

T

he preliminary matches of the this year’s Women Challenge Cup, scheduled for Aug. 24 to Aug. 30, has been rescheduled to between Aug. 28, and Sept. 3.

The Secretary of the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL), Danlami Alanana, said in a statement on Friday in Abuja that the matches were postponed because of the Federation Cup finals on Sunday.

Lobi Stars FC of Makurdi and the Cup holders, Heartland of Owerri will slug it out in the finals at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.

“The reason for the change of date is due to the Federation Cup finals taking place in Lagos on Sunday.

“And all state football secretaries and chairmen will be in attendance and as such coordinating the matches at the centres will be almost impossible without them,” the statement said. In the draws for the Women’s Challenge Cup held on August 9, Sunshine Queens, Oguche Babes, Plateau Reps, Apa Queens and Adamawa Queens are in group A at the Abuja centre.

In Group B are Pelican Stars, Nasarawa Amazons, Remo Queens, FCT Queens and Lagos Reps at the Akure centre.

In the Calabar centre, Rivers Angels, Oyo Reps, Cerezo Queens, Osun Babes and Standard Babes are in Group C. Group D has Delta Queens, Ekiti Queens, Bayelsa Queens, Ibom Angels and Inneh Queens in Owerri centre.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 45

BASKETBALL:

By Augustine Aminu with reports from Wikipedia

B

asketball was invented in December 1891 by the Canadian clergyman, educator, and physician James Naismith.

Naismith introduced the game when he was an instructor at the Young Men’s Christian Association Training School (now Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts. At the request of his superior, Dr. Luther H. Gulick, he organized a vigorous recreation suitable for indoor winter play. The game involved elements of American football, soccer, and hockey, and the first ball used was a soccer ball.

Teams had nine players, and the goals were wooden peach baskets affixed to the walls. By 1897-1898, teams of five became standard. The game rapidly spread nationwide and to Canada and other parts of the world, played by both women and men; it also became a popular informal outdoor game.

U.S. servicemen in World War II (1939-1945) popularized the sport in many other countries.

A number of U.S. colleges adopted the game between about 1893 and 1895. In 1934 the first college games were staged in New York City’s Madison Square Garden, and college basketball began to attract heightened interest. By the 1950s basketball had become a major college sport, thus paving the way for a growth of interest in professional basketball.

The first pro league, the National Basketball League, was formed in 1898 to protect players from exploitation and to promote a less rough game. This league only lasted five years before disbanding; its demise spawned a number of loosely organized leagues throughout the northeastern United States. One of the first and greatest pro teams was the Original Celtics, organized about 1915 in New York City. They played as many as 150 games a season and dominated basketball until 1936. The Harlem Globetrotters, founded in 1927, a notable exhibition team, specializes in amusing court antics and expert ball handling.

Basic Basketball Rules The Aim of the Game When you play basketball, you play on a surface called a Court with 2 symmetrical halves, both consisting of a basket or net on each end. The aim of the game is to score the most points or baskets in the allotted time.

Teams You can play in teams which can consist of 1 to 5 players however you can also play on your own as well when practising or executing Drills. Playing with friends can be useful to help share advise and have more opportunities to learn and easily begin to understand basic basketball rules through playing regularly.

Positions Each player has his or her own position name on the court and this is usually determined by height, speed and agility. The tallest players are usually allocated Centre position, and they are usually available to rebound

Vigorous recreation suitable for indoor both defensively and offensively as well as being the best player for tip off.

These players in the NBA can range from 6ft,7 to 7ft+ The next tallest players are usually Forwards and the fastest of these are called Power forwards. The smallest players are called Guards who are usually the quickest, both physically and mentally and who co-ordinate all

the plays laid down by the coach of the team.

Basic Rules When moving the basketball around the court, the players must travel around using a technique called Dribbling. To dribble the player must not take more than a step and a half without the ball coming into contact with the court and back to the players’

hand again in a bouncing motion. If more than 1 and a half steps are taken this is a Travelling violation. Once the player has stopped dribbling they may not move again until the ball comes to them from another player.

Each shot taken can be done either inside or outside the shooting Area. Outside the shooting area a successful shot is worth 3 points and inside the area is worth 2 points.

However inside the shooting area, there is an area named The key in which players may not remain for More than 3 seconds to prevent goal hanging. Additional single points can be scored from the free throw line in a

penalty.

These are all basic basketball rules and there are many others that need to be obeyed in order not to violate the rulebook but as a beginner are not necessary to learn until you have mastered the basics.

Violations and Fouls When you begin to play basketball as a beginner, you are more likely to commit violations. This is nothing to worry about as the more you practise the more you gain a feel for Basic Basketball Rules.

Violations like in any sport occur when a player does something which conflicts with the rulebook. After a violation the other team will become in possession of the ball.

Double dribble is a violation, which involves a player dribbling the ball, stopping, and then dribbling again.

As mentioned above,Travelling is also a violation.

It is similar to double dribble but isn’t the same and can be described as an incorrect dribble involving too many steps between a bounce.

If the ball is above your hand when dribbling and you hand comes from underneath and over it to push it back down this is called Carrying as the players hand must always be above the ball when dribbling.

A foul is committed when a player unlawfully makes contact with a player on the other team.

There are two types of foul, which can result in a player getting a personal foul marked against them.

Offensive fouls involve the offensive player knocking into the defender unnecessarily. Defensive fouls, are when defenders block, push, hit, or trip, up an offensive player.

PAGE 46

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY JUNE 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Issues Curbing violence in Ebiraland From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

B

e f o r e 2003 when a change of guard in Lugard House was effected between Prince Abubakar Audu and Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, much was not heard about killings in Ebiraland.

The so-called Home of Peace has now become a theatre of sorrow, tears and blood with senseless killings taking place almost on a daily basis.

The days of powerful politician, Sen AT Ahmed are gone. If he was alive, he would have called the youths to order.

In his days, he commanded so much respect and followership that anytime he spoke about peace, peace is restored.

In the political history of Kogi state, the Ebiras have always complained of marginalization and the youths lament their mass unemployment with the Igala majorities claiming more than a fair share of political positions. Some observers say this is partly responsible for the crisis situation of the state.

While this theory is contestable, some people argue that the habit of politicians who abandon their ' boys' after winning elections also go a long way to cause unrest in the state.

The political office seekers promise heaven and earth when they are desperately seeking elective positions but would forget the boys when they get there.

In some cases, weapons used for political violence are not recovered and the boys use

Kogi Gov. Idris Wada

them to terrorise innocent citizens for different reasons.

The Ebira cultural history holds it that the ancestors so much abhor murder that the very first Ebira man who was accused of murder was banished out of the kingdom.

The President of Ebira peoples Association, Dr Abdulrahman Adeiza who

addressed reporters in Lokoja, recently said the practice of wanton killing is alien and a taboo to Ebira culture.

He condemned and urged all Ebiras, both at home and abroad, to condemn the recent killings in places of worship.

While the Ebira people led by the president, came out to inform the public that the association had been doing all it could to ensure that peace is restored, in Dr Adeiza's view, the security of a nation depends on her security agencies.

He challenged security agents operating in the area to ensure that the assailants are arrested and brought to justice.

Most of those who are against peace in Ebiraland could be brought out through the will of the populace who are no longer ready to tolerate the perpetrators of crime in the area.

The way forward To have permanent peace in Ebiraland, the perpetrators, even if they are in government, should be made to face the wrath of the law.

The president of Ebira

Peoples Association said the marginalisation of the Ebira youths in terms of employment by successive administrations is a causative factor of the present crisis.

Most of the youths are jobless and are ready to be manipulated by bad politicians to cause violence.

He suggested that the entire central senatorial district be declared an emergency area in terms of massive employment generation for the youths.

The Federal Government had being enjoined to hasten the completion of the Ajaokuta Steel Complex as the place will provide employment opportunities for the teeming youths of Ebiraland.

Observers also advise the Federal Government to boost the security network and infrastructure in the area in view of its unique location.

Political office holders from the area should also show the people what they have done for their constituencies since their election.

It becomes worrisome, according to those who are close

to Ebira politics, that government appointees were among people who have been unleashing terror in the area.

The recent arrest of some political appointees buttresses this allegation.

Observers also say government should endeavour to implement all policies and recommendations available on its shelves to bring lasting peace to the area.

Imposition of unpopular candidates by strong political parties has also been fingered as a likely cause of the violence.

In view of age-long wanton destruction of life and property, violence, assassination and political recrimination, the people are calling on the Federal government to set-up a high powered special investigative panel to unravel all the root causes of violence in Ebiraland.

And as a matter of proactive measure, all clans, clubs, politicians and individuals still keeping weapons of mass destruction should surrender them to security agents with dispatch.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

PAGE 47

From the Pulpit Don't look down on anyone (I)

“

T

h e king of Aram had high admirationforNaaman,the commander of his army, because through him the LORD had given Aram great victories. But though Naaman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy. Now groups of Aramean raiders had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a young girl who had been given to Naaman's wife as a maid. One day the girl said to her mistress, 'I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy.' So Naaman told the king what the young girl from Israel had said. 'Go and visit the prophet,' the king told him. 'I will send a letter of introduction for you to carry to the king of Israel.' So Naaman started out, taking as gifts 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothing. The letter to the king of Israel said: 'With this letter I present my servant Naaman. I want you to heal him of his leprosy'" (2 Kings 5:1-6 NLT).

One lesson you can learn from the scripture above is not to look down on anyone. Naaman, the commander of the army of Syria, was afflicted with leprosy, and we don't know how long he had lived with the disease. But a young girl captured from Israel and who was serving Naaman's family as a maid told Naaman's wife that Naaman could be healed if he would go to the prophet in Samaria. Naaman's wife took the advice serious, told the husband who also received it and informed the king who sent Naaman to the prophet with a letter of introduction to the king of Israel. In the end, Naaman was healed by the prophet.

If Naaman and his wife had looked downonthatyoungIsraelitegirlwhotold them about the prophet in Israel, he wouldhavediedleprous.Ifthatmaidhad been badly treated as if she wasn't a hu-

man being, if they had intimidated her that she had no right to say a word except to do what they told her to do, she wouldn't have been free to talk to Naaman's wife on such a sensitive matter like that and proffer solution.

Who are you looking down on? Your colleague, your secretary, your driver, your neighbor etc.? May be you're looking down on that small church near your house, that unknown pastor, that poorneighbourorthat'struggling'young man that has just proposed to you. What you are or who you are looking down on may be the solution to your problem.

Thatdomesticstaffyou'reshoutingdown and looking down on may want to give you a piece of information that will save yourfamily,yourchildren,yourbusiness, your life etc. but you won't allow him or her to talk.

Naaman was an army commander, yet his wife was approachable. Madam, areyouapproachablebythoseunderyou or around you? What are you that you look down on others? If not for any other reason, don't you know you should treat everyone with dignity as God's creature?

Looking down on Children The disciples of Jesus scolded some parents for bringing their children to Jesus to touch and bless them but Jesus wasangrywithhisdisciples.Thedisciples apparently looked down on the children - the parents were not their problem but the children. "One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, 'Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom ofGodbelongstothosewhoarelikethese children. 'I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like

a child will never enter it' Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them" (Mark 10:13-16 NLT). The disciples' action was wrong. Hear Jesus' warning on a different occasion: "Beware that you don'tlookdownonanyoftheselittleones.

For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father" (Matt 18:10NLT).

Paul told his son in the ministry, Timothy, "Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young" (1 Tim 4:12 NLT). Paul said that because he knew some people would want to do that. But it wasn't Timothy's fault that he was a youth. It's not your fault that you're a youth or you're advanced in age. You shouldn't allow anyone to look down on you because of your age.

Don't look down on anyone because of his or her sex, race, tribe, size, colour or complexion.Song1:6 says, "Don't look down on me, you fair city girls, just because my complexion is so dark. The sun has burned my skin.

Mybrotherswereangrywithmeandsent me out to tend the vineyards in the hot sun. Now see what it has done to me!"

(NLT). Don't look down on anyone - a man or a woman, educated or uneducated, handicapped or able bodied.

Looking down on Jesus "And Nathanael said to him, 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?'

Philip said to him, 'Come and see'" (John 1:46 NKJV). Nathaniel looked down on JesusbydespisingNazarethwhereJesus had spent his years as a young boy (Matt 2: 23). Nazareth was just a secluded and isolated village not even mentioned anywhere in the Old Testament. Nazareth didn't occupy any important place in the national and religious life of Israel. It neither had any enviable reputation in morals and religion but was known for some

GREEN PASTURES

By Pastor T.O. Banso cedarministryintl@yahoo.com GSM: 08033113523 crudeness in the Galilean language. But Nathaniel changed his mind about Jesus before their conversation ended during this encounter; he became a disciple (John 1:47-51). Despite the general sentiment against Nazareth which Nathaniel voiced, Jesus publicized the nameofNazarethallovertheworldmaking it as popular as any other city then.

Don't look down on anyone because of his place of birth, home-town, family background, profession etc. That person you'relookingdownontodaymaysomeday become a world-changer, an international figure or even your benefactor.

Don't look down on your spouse 2 Sam 6:16 says Michal, the daughter of Saul, despised or looked down on her husband, King David, while he was leaping and dancing before the Lord.

"When David returned home to bless his family, Michal came out to meet him and said in disgust, 'How glorious the king of Israel looked today! He exposed himself to the servant girls like any indecent person might do!'" (2 Sam 6:20 NLT). That was the king of Israel that Michal was talking to like that. A virtuous woman, a submissive woman, wouldn't talk to her husband that way. No respect for David!

Woman, don't look down on your husband because you're better than him.

Husband, don't look down on your wife either. After the conversation between

Exercise your dominion (iv) LIBERA TION LIBERATION AREN A ARENA

By Rev. Abel Duniya Gospel Power Liberation Ministries, Abuja GSM: 08033155167

L

a s t week, we saw that turning away from ones wicked and unrighteous ways is one of the basic requirements for a new life in Christ, which we describe as being born again. True repentance is required of all humans who must come to God for salvation.

Acts 2:37-39, gave an account of a people who heard the word of God and sought for salvation. It says; "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and

ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost". Also in Acts 3:19, Peter said "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out" However, one of the biggest problems of mankind is how to overcome sin. Most times, people get repented. They make sincere commitment not to go back to their evil ways, but before they know it, they are already back and neck-deep into such life styles.

This is where people must understand that humans do not have the ability to help themselves and that is where Jesus comes in.

Paul analysed this in Romans 7:14-25. He said; “For we know that the law is spiritual: but

I am carnal, sold under sin.

15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 16If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. 17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Only Jesus is the answer to the problem of mankind. Only Him

has the power to free man from the bondage of sin and of the devil to whom we have been sold to through sin. Jesus has the power to deliver from sin and its strong grip. He did that by triumphing over sin on the cross and shed His blood for the remission of the sins of mankind. With this he disarms the devil and the power of sin over those who believe in Him. See Col 2:13-15; He says; “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”

Thus, for you to begin a glorious life of dominion, you must conquer sin and you can only do this if you accept Jesus as your lord and personal savior and allow him to have total control over your life.

Jesus said in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." He also

David and Michal, the Bible ends that chapter thus: "So Michal, the daughter of Saul, remained childless throughout her life" (Verse 23 NLT). May you not lookdownonsomeonewhoiskeytoyour blessing, fruitfulness, promotion etc. in life.

I'll stop here today and conclude this message next week. Has God spoken to you?Beadoerofthewordandnotareader alone. Don't look down on anyone!

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 fromyourheart.Congratulations!Youwill 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.Ipraythatyouflourishlikethepalm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon.

May the Lord make you a Cedar Christian. MayyougrowintoChristinallthings becoming all God wants you to be. said in John 15:1-6; "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered" Only Jesus is the solution and as you read, He is standing just beside you waiting for what you will decide. He said "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" Rev 3:20. Will you open the door of your heart today? Next week, we will see the wonderful life of dominion that follows those who opened the door and allowed Jesus to be with them.

BIG PUNCH The era of ‘Ghana-must-go bags’ dwindled with the introduction of the N500 and N1000 notes in the past. It became easier to carry millions of naira in moderately-sized brief cases and, inexorably, increasing the incidences of high-profile bribery scandals in the polity.

—CPC spokesman, Rotimi Fashakin criticizing the planned introduction of N5,000 notes by the CBN

SATURDAY 25 — SUNDAY 26, AUGUST, 2012

Message from Egypt to the North and its leaders

'And thus We established Joseph securely in the land [of Egypt]: he had full mastery over it, [doing] whatever he willed. Thus do We cause Our grace to alight upon whomever We will; and We do not fail to requite the doers of good. But in the eyes of those who have attained to faith and have always been conscious of Us, a reward in the life to come is a far greater good than any reward in this world.' [Quran 12: 56-57]

I

m a g i n e a boy living deep in the desert, where life is at its most basic. The boy is thrown into a well by his older siblings, intent on getting rid of him, out of envy. He is rescued by travelers who, in turn, sell him off as a piece of merchandise. He enters into a new life altogether - a slave in a foreign country, a lowly nomad in a metropolis. No budding life can face a bleaker prospect. But Providence chooses to be kind and his master is the Chief Minister, second in command in Egypt, perhaps the most civilized nation on earth at the time. He lives like a prince, but soon palace intrigues is to convert him into a prisoner, where he is to languish for ten or so years. Prison is to him a refuge, a school, an incubator. From prison he emerges straight into power, no longer a foreigner, a slave, or a convict but a sovereign, a scholar and, above all, a Messenger of God. This is the story of Yusuf: a life, as Asad would say, in which the theme, enunciated in the Quran,[12:67] 'judgement as to what is to happen rests with none but God', runs through like an unspoken leitmotif. The foundation of this extraordinary life has been set at the very onset. 'Sovereignty,' Joseph told his fellow prisoners, 'belongs to none but God. He has ordained that you shall worship none but Him. This is the only right path.' [Quran 12:40] Joseph's entire career was predicated on that cardinal principle, that supreme idea alone. As a prisoner he was fully cognizant of what obtained outside, that the relationship between man and man and between nation and nation was based on master versus servant, patron versus client. As a slave or as a prisoner, he never compromised his integrity, yet he emerged the supreme winner in the end.

'There are those who are accused of no crime and have full freedom, who shed their dignity at the feet of rulers. They put a leash around their own necks, eagerly seeking a

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glimpse of satisfaction or a word of praise which keeps them as servants, not trusted advisors,' Sayed Qutb has observes. 'I wish to God that such people would read the Qur'?n and Joseph's story so that they would know that dignity and honor bring much more profit, even material profit, than can ever be gained through humiliating themselves before rulers and tyrants.'

The story of Joseph is repeating itself in modern Egypt, with the spectacular rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, in recent months, literally from prison to power.

Magdi Abdelhadi, [guardian.co.uk 25/6/12, has x-rayed some of the reasons which may have accounted for the success of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood, he notes, is a grassroots movement, organic to Egyptian people and Egyptian nation. Most of its leaders, though intellectuals and professionals have roots in the rural environment, and are thus organically linked to the countryside which is home to majority of the Egyptian. Secondly, the organization has shown, throughout its over eighty years of political struggle, an unwavering commitment to its cause for which it has paid a very heavy, indeed, unprecedented price, losing many of its founders to assassinations and executions, and thousands of its members to persecutions and tribulations of unimaginable proportion.

And in an unprecedented convergence of interests Communist East and Capitalist West had conspired to destroy the movement, at all cost.

Yet the movement remained firm and unflinching, painstakingly cultivating a new society on its ideals, and evolving a new culture and ethos. 'I don't ever recall visiting their headquarters or talking to their leaders,' Magdi Abdelhadi writes, 'without feeling a strong sense of discipline, focus and commitment.' More importantly, its vast intellectual, scientific and professional resources probably accounts not only to its resilience, survival, its unique organizational skill as well as its proven nimbleness, astuteness, pragmatism and farsightedness.

And it displays every sign of a superb political maturity.

'Although it had originally promised not to contest the presidential election, in the end it had to. Critics accused it of opportunism and lying. On the

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WEEKEND with

Ibraheem Sulaiman sa427420@gmail.com

NSGF Chairman, Gov. Babangida Aliyu The Deep State had persecuted the contrary, contesting the election movement for over fifty years and was a far-sighted decision which imposed on itself the duty to was finally vindicated. The reason extirpate Islam from Egypt. The for the Brotherhood changing its Deep State had sold Egypt to mind lies in the bumpy and chaotic America for a price of 1.3b dollars political struggle with the ruling per annum. 'Scaf thinks it owns the army generals on the one hand, and country, and by some reckoning it secular forces on the other,' Magdi does,' London's Guardian [24/6/12] Abdelhadi observes.

'The writes in an editorial. 'Its corrupt Brotherhood knew that there was business empire could account for a big risk that the constitutional as much as 40% of Egypt's GNP.' court would dissolve the parliament The Deep State was plotting to stay where it had a majority. Fearing in power indefinitely or at least that it might be left out in the cold, preserve the old order in one form it fielded its strongman, Khairat El or the other and prevent the success Shater. But suspecting that Shater of the Islamic Revolution. The might be disqualified on technical movement did not have the grounds (which he subsequently stupendous wealth that was at the was) the Brotherhood had a plan B: disposal of its rival, whose rather Mohamed Morsi who - against all slick and expensive campaign was the odds - won the race. If that is not bankrolled by Mubarak-era politics of the highest order, I don't businessmen, now hiding in know what is.'

Europe, who had, along with their Indeed so monumental were patron, Hosni Mubarak, stolen the odds against the Muslim billions of dollars of their country's Brotherhood that its victory was resources. [Mubarak alone is nothing short of a miracle. At home rumored in Western circles to have it faced a most formidable mortal amassed about 70 billion dollars]. enemy, the Supreme Council of the They poured back some of these Armed Forces [Scaf], or the Deep resources into the campaign. The State, according to the Egyptians.

entire Western World, led by America, had worked so hard and so relentlessly to ensure the victory of the counter revolution and the defeat of the revolution.

Yet the Brotherhood fended off and outmaneuvered all opponents.

Those who love their country, those who desire justice, those who know how great Egypt would be if only it were truly free and sovereign, the conscientious people of Egypt, Muslims, Christians, Marxists, Labor Movement, Professional organizations, and all those noble people whom the ruling classes disdainfully call riff-raffs-all joined forces to effect the momentous change. The Brotherhood won without changing its supreme idea, without retreating from its fundamental principles and without substituting Islam for material gains. 'And as reaction poured in, the US, Britain and Europe were all notably silent in the hours immediately after the victory, considering this is a triumph not just of one candidate but of democracy,' Guardian notes. 'Not for the first time in the Middle East, western powers could have found themselves on the wrong side of history.'

'This is an organization based on a commitment to an idea, years of training and discipline. That's how you build a political party. Parties built around a person or a group of people will eventually die when they pass away or when they fall out, as often is the case in Egypt.

There are so many people who hate the Muslim Brothers in Egypt and beyond. But no one can deny that they have proven to be the most successful grassroots movement across the entire region,' Magdi Abdelhadi sums up his assessment of the movement. 'The Brotherhood is the closest one can find in Egypt today to an independent political institution where established practices and commitment to an idea seem to trounce blood ties and financial interests. It's not only populist, but also truly popular. Its members are drawn from all walks of life - middle-class professionals as well as workers and peasants.

Their hospitals and other charity work have been a key component in their history to evolve as a movement from and to the people. But their bond with their constituencies is not seasonal. Care for the poor and the weak is central to Islamic teaching, and they would not have enjoyed the support they do if they had not lived up to those ideals.'

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