Peoples Daily Newspaper, Saturday, April 28, 2012

VOL. 1 NO. 90

SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

JIMADAL AKHIR 7 - 8, 1433 AH

N150

Azazi blames PDP for Boko Haram · Subsidy probe:

Page 2

Another mass action looms I N S I D E

Attack on media:

IGP denies knowledge of Boko Haram link — Page 3

Contract scam

Royal father faces EFCC — Page 2

“How I escape death,” Blast victim — Page 2

Co ve r:

As UAD slates May 1 for show down.

NLC steers clear, prepares for Workers Day

·Pages 3

Media under siege: 911 Journalist killed ·

WWW.PEOPLESDAILY-ONLINE.COM

Pages 9, 10 & 11

N12bn scandal: Saraki fears arrest, appeal to IGP — Page 3

PAGE 2

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

News

Azazi blames PDP for Boko Haram, unrests

By Augustine Aminu, with agency reports

T

he National Security Adviser, Owoye Azazi, yesterday blamed the current rise of insecurity in the country, especially the attacks by the dreaded Boko Haram sect to what he described as some undemocratic practices by the political parties during elections, especially the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Azazi, who spoke at the ongoing South-South Economic Summit in Asaba, Delta state, averred that the insecurity in the north could be traced to the politics of exclusion of the PDP in the region.

According to him; “In discussing the relationship between national security and development, let me say that one cannot do without the other. The issue of violence did not

increase in Nigeria until when there was a declaration by the current President that he was going to contest.

“PDP got it wrong from the beginning. The party started by saying Mr. A can rule, and Mr. B cannot rule, according to PDP conventions, rules and regulations and not according to the constitution. That created the climate for what is happening or manifesting itself in country. Is it possible that somebody was thinking that only Mr. A could win, and if he did not win, he could cause a problem in the society.

“Let’s examine all these issues to see whether the level of violence in the North East just escalated because Boko Haram suddenly became better trained, better equipped and better funded, or something else was responsible.”

Azazi, whose views were supported by the Edo state governor, Adams Oshiomhole, said the Boko Haram problem would be difficult to resolve without the various stakeholders coming together to address, holistically, the issues that gave fillip to its existence.

“But, I can assure you that Boko Haram can garner that level of sophistication over time, if it has not got it already. There are a lot we know that they are doing, and there are a lot that could be done to address the problem.

“But, then I must also be quick to point out that today, even if all the leaders that we know in Boko Haram are arrested, I don’t think the problem would end, because there are tentacles. I don’t think that people would be satisfied, because the situations that created the problems are not just about the religion, poverty or the desire to rule

Securitymen removing bodies of victims at the ThisDay office in Abuja on Thursday.

Nigeria. I think it’s a combination of everything. Except you address all those things comprehensively, it would not work.

“It is not enough for us to have a problem in 2009 and you send soldiers to stop the situation, then tomorrow you drive everybody underground. You must look at what structures you need to put in place to address the problem holistically. There are economic problems in the North, which are not the exclusive prerogative of the Northerners. We must solve our problems as a country.”

Agreeing with Azazi, Oshiomhole, said some of the security situations the country is currently facing could be traced to attempts by a section of the political elite at various levels to manipulate the electoral system and impose themselves on the electorate during election.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Royal father dragged before EFCC for alleged N350m contract scam

By Lambert Tyem

A

traditional ruler in Sokoto state, Alhaji Hassan Marafa Danbaba (Magajin Gari), has been dragged before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an alleged contract scam.

The petitioners – Obadiah James, Silas Bayero and Josiah D. Jen of Taraba state had accused the Magajin Garin Sokoto of failing to execute a N350 million water supply scheme contract awarded to his company (Monarch Hydro Works) during former governor Jolly Nyame’s administration.

In a petition to the EFCC dated 23rd November, 2011, the plaintiffs called on the anti graft agency to launch full investigation into the alleged crime.

In a swift reaction, the EFCC through a letter No. CR: 3000/ EFCC/ABJ/EG.3/vol.2/346 dated 3rd April 2012 invited Alhaji Danbaba to the commission’s office over the allegation.

The petitioner further alleged that the water supply contract was initially awarded at the sum of N195.3million for renovation but that later reviewed to cost N350million.

The contract was awarded for the re activation of existing broken down mechanised borehole water supply scheme for Monkin Bambur, Gindin Dorowa, Serti, Nyita, Lissan, Mutum Biyu, Famanaga, Mayokam, Didan, Sarki Kidu, Pantisawa and Chidiya communities of Taraba state.

It was also alleged the contractor neither commenced work nor showed any commitment at executing the contract even as full payment was made to the contractor.

When contacted to confirm the petition, Acting Spokesman of the EFCC, Wilson Uwajeren said he will cross check from the Operations Department but was later not reached till press time. Several calls placed on his cell phones were not picked.

How I escaped death –Sun Reporter From Lawal Sadiq Sanusi, Kaduna

O

n e of the Kaduna reporters of The Sun N e w s p a p e r , Abdulgafar Alabelewe narrowly escaped death as a bomb explosions hit the complex housing The Sun and ThisDay offices in Kaduna.

Alabewele who was said to have left the office some 30 minutes before the explosions rushed back to the scene on

hearing the news of bomb scare around his office, only for the bomb to explode in his presence.

Narrating the story to our reporter, Alabelewe said, he saw people killed instantly by the explosion while they were beating the suspected bomber.

In his words, “I really thank God, because I have experienced such thing like what happened today. I was in the office to read paper like every other day. I read paper and left to repair my car at Mechanic Village,

Oriapata when a colleague called me that angry youths were beating a suspected bomber in front of my office. I quickly rushed there to see things for myself.

“When I got to the scene, I saw a huge man being beaten by angry youths. While some were beating him, others insisted that the man should go and remove his car, suspected to be loaded with bombs”.

“As the man was moving to where he parked the car,

accompanied by the youths, I was moving close to him to take his photograph, then some angry youths began to throw stone at the bomber again. At that point, I had to move back to avoid being hit by the stones, the next thing I had was a very deafening sound of explosion and myself covered by the smoke of the explosion”.

“I became confused that I quickly ran out of the scene with fear that another one might explode again. Even as I talk to

you now, my left ear is blocked, while I feel some pain from within my head”.

“I have nothing to say than to thank God, because if I had not been prevented from taking the bomber’s photograph by those throwing stones at him, I would have taken the photograph and not alive to publish it on my newspaper”, he explained.

Meanwhile, our reporter gathered that none of those who have offices in the office complex died from the incident.

PAGE 3

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

News Subsidy probe

Another mass action looms

By Richard Ihediwa

D

espite the assurances by President Jonathan that his administration will not spare anybody indicted in the on-going subsidy probe, the United Action for Democracy (UAD) has said it is not going back with its planned mass action to demand that government genuinely fight corruption by nailing all those found culpable in the probe.

The UAD was the group that rallied Nigerians to protest the removal of petrol subsidy in January and it is now out for a new showdown slated for May 1, (Workers’ Day), unless its demand for the sack and prosecution of Petroleum Minister Diezani AlisonMadueke and others indicted by the Farouk Lawan led House of Representatives committee which investigated the mismanagement of the subsidy regime is granted.

The group is also demanding the sack of the Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala and the Information Minister, Labaran Maku It also wants the immediate and full implementation of the fuel subsidy, power sector, pension probe reports and steps taken to determine actual daily consumption rate for petrol, actual daily production capacity for petrol by domestic refineries; and Nigeria’s actual

UAD slates May 1 for showdown NLC steers clear, prepares for Workers Day daily import requirement for petrol.

Those indicted by the Farouk Lawan committee included former Chairman of the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) Ahmadu Ali, and former Accountant General of the Federation and current Gombe state Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo, who was later cleared by the House as well as others including some oil marketing companies.

Already, there are speculations that the UAD has started linking up with other groups of like minds to ensure that the mass action would be as effective as the January protest, which nearly paralysed economic and political activities in the country.

It said it needs more than promises from Jonathan on the issues adding that Nigerians must consolidate on the gains of January protest against the removal of fuel subsidy which effectively led the investigation of the management of the scheme by the House of Representatives.

President Jonathan had on Wednesday vowed to deal with

any person found culpable in the on-going subsidy probe, no matter how highly placed.

Jonathan, who spoke though his Special Adviser on National Assembly Matters, Senator Joy Emodi also dispelled speculations that the Presidency was moving to spare some government officials already indicted.

Emodi said President Jonathan welcome the probe by the House of Representatives adding that he was poised to sanitise the oil sector and to ensure transparency and probity in the industry.

According to Emodi, sharp practices in the oil sector were part of the reasons President Jonathan moved against fuel subsidy in the first place and directed that the rot in the scheme should be investigated.

Emodi said the President had also ordered a more comprehensive industry wide investigation now headed by the erstwhile Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Presidential Candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu,

a move she described as clear manifestation of Jonathan’s determination stamp out corruption in the sector.

However, despite the assurances, the UAD nothing less than serious steps to sanction the culprit which should start with the immediate sack of Alison- Madueke would stop the mass action.

“Nigerians must consolidate on the gains of the January Uprising for it not to be in vain by making sure that all ‘cans of worms’ opened up by the House of Representative Probe Pane on Fuel Subsidy are not swept under the carpet.

The revelations are part of the fruits of the people’s Uprising in January 2012 amongst others.

“We need more than President Jonathan’s promise to prosecute those indicted because he is part of the system. We must struggle to free ourselves from the tenacious grip of the corrupt, extremely wealthy and inept ruling class. Our goal must be for system change, an overhaul of this decadent order”, the UAD said in a statement jointly signed by three officials of UAD, including its convener, Jaye Gaskia on Thursday.

Attack on media: IGP N21bn theft: Saraki requests denies knowledge of Boko IGP’s protection against arrest Haram involvement

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

By Augustine Aminu

T

he Inspector General of Police (IGP), Alhaji Muhammad Dikko Abubakar yesterday said he was not aware that the Boko Haram sect was responsible for the Thursday bombing of Thisday and The Sun offices in Abuja and Kaduna.

The IGP who said this when he visited the Rivers State Police Command did not mention the sect while reacting to the attacks described it as the handiworks of criminals and hoodlums The IGP refused to put the blame on the sect even as reporters reminded him that many newspapers have reported that the sect carried out the attacks asking the reporters who told them the sect was responsible.

The following verbal exchanges took place between him and journalists: IGP: “Who told you they are the ones?”

Reporters: “They claim responsibility…”

IGP: “… which means, I can take you up now” Reporters: “They claim responsibility” IGP: “They claim responsibility? I am not aware of it that they claim responsibility for that” Reporters: “It was reported” IGP: “Ok. I am not aware of it. Don’t I have the right to say I am not aware of it?”

The IGP however, said arrests have been made with regards to the bomb blasts that devastated media houses in Kaduna and Abuja.

“We have made arrests and useful information is being taken. We are not unaware of these situations. If the situations happened the necessary action is being taken by the police and other security agencies. That is to tell you that we are managing the situation the way we should manage it and it is not out of hand,” Abubakar said.

S

e n a t o r Bukola Saraki, the immediate past governor of Kwara state, yesterday, asked the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to prevail on his men not to harass, intimidate or arrest him over the alleged N21 billion fraud preferred against him, pending the hearing and determination of the motion he filed against the police before an Abuja Federal High Court.

Speaking through his lead counsel, Lawal Rabana, Saraki said he will not submit himself to the police for investigation until after the court’s pronouncement on the suit he filed against the police.

Rabana told judiciary correspondents that the police do not have absolute powers to violate people’s rights by inviting them for questioning without specific allegations against the individual.

He said the police invitation to Saraki was for him to come to the Special Fraud Unit, Ikoyi

in Lagos state to assist them in the investigation of the case of conspiracy, forgery and stealing of N21 billion belonging to Joy Petroleum Ltd. The senior advocate said it was because of the respect that Sen. Saraki has for the Rule of Law that he rushed to the court with a motion seeking an order stopping the police from arresting him in respect with the allegations, pending the outcome of his suit.

He added that from the totality of the counter affidavit by the police, there was no nexus linking Saraki to the alleged N21 billion fraud, just as he denied the police averment he is threatening the life of the complainant and noted that he did not know who the complainant is.

Meanwhile, hearing on the counter affidavit has been adjourned till Thursday, May 22, 2012 at the instance of Saraki’s legal team who pleaded for time to respond to the weighty allegations raised in the document.

The UAD insisted that “All those found culpable in the fuel subsidy probe, Power Sector probe, Pension Funds probe, Halliburton, Siemens must be brought to book without further delay. The ordinary masses, the poor, toiling people cannot continue to bear the brunt of corruption. Let the Trillion naira thieves pay for their crimes to serve as deterrent to others, who definitely, the people’s justice will catch up with.

However, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has dissociated itself from the planned protest saying it has nothing to do with it. The Labour front said it is rather preparing for the Worker’s Day Celebration. It however said people have the right to do whatever they want.

NLC Secretary General, Owei Lakemfa told Peoples Daily Weekend yesterday that people have the right to do NLC does not have franchise for protest.

According to him, “What has the plan by UAD has to do with our preparations for Workers’ Day. People have the right to do what they want. The NLC does not have the franchise over protest”.

Yakowa expresses shock over attack on media From Lawal Sadiq Sanusi, Kaduna

K

a d u n a state governor, Mr. Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa has expressed shock and disbelief over the deadly attack on the SOJ Plaza housing three newspapers in Kaduna.

The Governor also said he was saddened by the bombing of the Abuja office of ThisDay newspaper.

In statement by his media aide, Mr. Rueben Buhari made available to newsmen yesterday, Mr. Yakowa expressed worry and sadness that media houses who are partners in progress in the development of any society have become targets of attack.

“Globally, journalists have always been protected in times of war and conflict; but to become a target of attack now is uncalled for and against the spirit of our two major religions”, said Yakowa.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

Photo News

ThisDay attack

Two victims of the attack receiving treatment, at the National Hospital, in Abuja.

Bomb detection officers searching an abandoned vehicle at the front of Thisday office, after the blast.

Workers of the Jabi Motor Park being protected by security operatives at the scene of the ThisDay bomb attack on Thursday, in Abuja.

A building close to ThisDay affected by the blast

Photos: Mahmud Isa

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

PAGE 5

News

House wants FG to review DSC’s sale T

By Lawrence Olaoye

he House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to revisit the sale of Delta Steel Company (DSC).

The resolution was passed as a result of the labour policy of the company which lawmakers described as slavish, oppressive,

obnoxious, discriminatory and illegal.

According to the mover of the motion, Rep. Sadiq Mohammed, the company was privatized in 2005 with 80% of the shares sold to Global Infrastructure Nigeria Ltd (GINL), a company owned

by Indians while Nigeria’s government retained the remaining 20 percent.

The lawmaker who

decried the management style of the privatised company regretted that the Federal Government left the management and control of the company in the hands of GNIL even as he pointed out that taxes deducted from the workers’ salaries were never remitted to the Board of Internal Revenue.

“The severance pay of N5.6billion to the workers

after privatisation has not been paid by the government leaving many of them in misery while some have died with their entitlements unpaid.

“Also, contributory pension and thrift and cooperative deductions are made monthly from the workers’ salaries and allowances but never remitted to the relevant bodies,”Mohammed said.

Bombing of Thisday offices, arrow in the heart of free speech — ACN

By Richard Ihediwa

T

he Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has c o n d e m n e d Thursday’s bombing of the offices of Thisday and other newspapers in Abuja and Kaduna, calling the attack an arrow in the heart of free speech and a move to abridge the rights of Nigerians to news and information.

In a statement issued in

Lagos on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said nothing in the world can justify such attacks against the media. ‘’Unfettered flow of information is the lifeblood of any society and a necessary ingredient for a successful democracy, and the media in Nigeria have largely carried out their role in this regard with

rare courage and u n c o m m o n determination.

“To now seek to scuttle this constitutionallyguaranteed role of the media on the basis of some nebulous justification is totally abhorrent and unacceptable. Any society that stifles the media asphyxiates itself,’’ it said.

ACN commiserates with Thisday and other Media organizations over

the loss of workers and prayed that God will grant repose to the souls of the departed and grant those injured speedy recovery.

The party urged the relevant agencies to work with the various media organizations to provide them (media houses) with adequate security, so they can continue to carry out their onerous duties without fear of being attacked.

Leadership challenge: Nigerians need to heal psychologically, says Rev. Kuka

By A’isha Biola Raji

B

ishop of Sokoto Diocese, Mathew Hassan Kukah has urged Nigerians to have a complete psychological turn around in their daily disposition in order to conquer challenges facing leadership in the

country.

The bishop said this at the forum with the theme Leadership Challenge: Power without Authority held in Abuja on Friday and organised

by Nigeria Leadership Initiative (NLI), in conjunction with First Bank Plc.

Court nullifies PDP Southwest zonal congress From Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

J

ustice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, yesterday, annulled the recently conducted Southwest Zonal Congress of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Justice Abang, while delivering the ruling set aside the said congress on the grounds that it was held in violation of a subsisting order of court, directing parties to maintain the status quo pending the determination of suit instituted by the Dayo Soremi led faction of the party in Ogun state.

The court observed that despite the party’s former national vice chairman, Southwest, Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo’s lawyer, Waheed Lawal undertook to ensure that is client take no further steps in respect of the issues raised by the plaintiff, Oladipo proceeded to con-

duct the congress and put the plaintiffs in a position of disadvantage.

Justice Abang deprecated Oladipo for conducting the congress despite the court order, describing him as an individual without respect for the due process of law and the rule of law.

He held that his action was meant to foist on the court a state of helplessness by taking a shot cut, which now amounts to a nullity.

“Any responsible citizen of this country, no matter his position ought to respect the court’s order particularly when processes and such orders are served on them.

"They should allow the court to decide the case one way or the other.

“I will not allow anybody, no matter how highly placed, to act in a manner that challenges the majesty of the court and likely to bring the court to disrepute or odium.

Bishop Kukah who was also the guest speaker, said there is need for Nigerians to change their perception on issues and start addressing them the way they really are not based on sentiments.

He said Nigerians have imbibed wrong doing as a normal way of life which dictates the attitude of people and eventually necessitates wrong decision making especially in governance. “Nigeria is an environment where abnormality has become normal. What Nigerians see as normal is what is

frowned at other places,” he lamented.

Nigerians according to him confuse office holdings to leadership positions thereby ending up with wrong decisions. “The predicament of Nigeria presidents is the circumstances that brought each one of them to power as no Nigerian president was prepared to rule,” he declared.

He said governance in Nigeria had either been through a coup or a fraudulent election.”We do not have rules of engagement in Nigeria,” he said.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

News

NEMA donates relief materials to collapsed church in Benue From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

T

h e National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), yesterday donated relief materials to St. Robert’s Catholic Church, Adamgbe in Vandeikya local government area in commiseration of the death of 22 parishioners of the church on Easter day.

Presenting the materials which included cement, nails, wood, roofing sheets, medical drugs, garri and rice, to the victims, the Director-General of NEMA, Muhammad Sani Sidi, described the incident that befell the church as unfortunate, maintaining that the relief materials cannot replace the lives of the lost souls but would only provide succor to families of the deceased and the church.

Benue State governor, Gabriel Suswam also praised the quick response of the Federal Government in providing succor to the church through NEMA, observing that it is an indication that it can respond promptly to issues affecting ordinary people.

Parish priest, Rev. Fr. Cosmos Jooli who described the incident as ‘fearful’ and ‘painful’, said “our tears will never stop running over the occurrence”. He thanked NEMA for the gesture promising that the materials would be put to judicious use.

Reps query NCC over N6.2 billion SIM registration budget, alleged fraud

By Lawrence Olaoye

T

he House of Representatives has queried the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) over the handling of the N6.2 billion Subscribers Identification Module (SIM) project.

The lawmakers alleged that there were indications that the agency was not altruistic in the implementation of the project even as they alleged fraud.

They affirmed that the NCC must explain how the money was spent even as the House resolved not to pass NCC’s 2012 budget until satisfactory explanations are made

to an ad-hoc committee to be set up.

The decision of the House followed a motion by Abdulrahman Terab whose concern was prompted by the free sale of SIM cards on the street around the country.

While pointing out that the SIM cards’ registration was for security and control purposes, Terab regretted that the essence of the N6.2b project might end up being defeated if street sale of the cards continues.

“Criminals can take advantage of using registered SIM card to commit crime that can lead to wrongful arrest of innocent citizens

by security agencies. It is worrisome that unregulated use of mobile phones has been aiding robberies, kidnapping, advanced fee fraud (419) and now even terrorism”.

Jerry Manwe (PDP, Taraba) said the NCC should be blamed for the situation, adding, “The inconsistency and irresponsibility of some people saddled with responsibilities has brought us to this point. They will come here, speak fine grammar and we will approve money for them only for them to do things different from what they told us.

“NCC said they will deploy the machines to the nooks and crannies of this country but we have since found out that that was not the

Nigeria, India trade relations hit $16.4bn

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

T

he India High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Mahesh Sachdev has disclosed that the volume of trade between the two countries reached $16.4billion in 2011.

Sachdev, who disclosed this at the opening ceremony of the 2nd

International Science Communication Conference organised by the Nigeria Association of Science Journalists (NASJ) in Abuja on Thursday, said this made India Nigeria’s second largest trading partner last year.

He also informed the participants that India was the country’s largest investor in

2010, having invested $5 billion into its economy during the year, adding that Indian companies are Nigeria’s second largest employer.

The envoy, who listed new areas of interest by India in Nigeria as power, petrochemicals, health, among others, said his country had continued to grow not only in population, but in

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

T

h e Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has cried out over loans default by Benue state citizens.

CBN Governor, Sanusi LAmido Sanusi who made this lamentation at the disbursement of N1 billion agriculture loan to farmers in the state yesterday,

From From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

Z

amfara state government is currently looking into the possibility of declaring a state of emergency in the education sector of state aimed at harmonising and developing it.

Governor Abdulaziz Yari of the state made the declaration shortly after receiving a report of the committee on education assessment set up by the government in collaboration with the universal primary education held at the J.B Yakubu secretariat.

Yari who expressed his concern over the state of education in the state as contained in the committee’s report, also explained that the situation has become unbearable to the extent that educational standard has fallen gradually.

economic activities like information and technology, power, tourism, education and training.

Sachdev disclosed that 35, 000 of the 1.21 billion Indian population are presently working in Nigeria and pledged the commitment of his country to sustain its bilateral relations with Nigeria.

CBN laments loan default by Benue C’ttee appeals regretted that loan schemes in the state has over the years failed due to poor loan ulitisation and remittance.

The CBN boss who was represented by Mr. Samson Wuniko, stressed that prompt repayment of loan is vital for sustainability as well as benefit of others who would also want to access it.

He therefore urged

beneficiaries of the loan not to divert them but endeavour to apply them for the purpose meant for and pay back promptly.

Speaking, Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue state said the low interest loan is a milestone in government’s effort towards reducing difficulties faced by farmers in accessing funds to boost the agricultural growth of the state.

state governor.

Afegbua identified the projects located across the 18 local government areas of the state to include: N90 billion 450 Megawatts ‘Azura independent power project (IPP), which is expected to employ 1,000 workers; and a four-star category hotel, as well as N300 billion ‘Ihovbo industrial estate, which would gulp $3 billion.

Others are ‘Urhonigbe rubber plantation which would accommodate 2000 workers, expansion of Presco oil palm Company who is seeking

additional 8, 000 hectares of land is expected to create 3, 000 jobs.

Besides, a lorries park and ultra-modern shopping malls at the cost of N12 billion will generate 6,500 workers.

The Director who was flanked

by Director General of rallies, Hon. Patrick Obahiagbon and Senior Special Assistant to the governor, John Onaivi Mayaki, said the jobs would be created through public private investment and attract $500 million from international financial institutions.

Zamfara to Edo guber: Oshiomhole outlines declare state of emergency 113, 000 jobs in 4 years on education From Salisu Zakari Maradun, Gusau

case, especially in the rural areas.

“NCC has deceived Nigerians because we still have to go the office of the networks to register, you can hardly find NCC accredited registration firms and that is not what NCC promised us. I think we have to summon the telecommunication operators to explain their part”.

Habeeb Mustapha (PDP, Jigawa) pointed out that some of the lawmakers who raised concerns over the project have been vindicated, “They must come and explain how they spent N6.2b for the registration because so far we have not seen anything to justify the approval of that money.

T

h e Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN) in Edo state has pledged to create 113, 000 jobs before 12thNovember 2015 if the party’s governorship candidate for July 14th2012 election, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is re-elected.

The director of Media and Publicity of his campaign, Mr. Kassim Afegbua, made the assertion in Benin City, while briefing newsmen about the critical areas of intervention of the

Dankwambo condemns university attack From Auwal Ahmad, Gombe

G

o m b e state governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo has condemned the bomb attack at the state university on Thursday

around 9:30pm.

The governor stated this while inspecting the scene of the attack after Friday prayers yesterday.

He pledged to redouble proactive security measures in state in order to continue to safeguard the lives

and property of its citizenry.

An eyewitness at the university told our correspondent that the gunmen numbering about 20 approached the university and opened fire from the gate, thereby wrecking havoc.

to Kano CP to stop molestation From Bala Nasir, Kano

M

embers of the Police Community Relations Committee (CPRC) in Kano, have called on the state’s commissioner of police, Ibrahim Aliyu to bring to an end the molestation of public by some security operatives at check points in the state capital.

The appeal was made yesterday during a PCRC meeting which held at the Police Officers Mess in the state’s capital at the instance of the police commissioner.

Most of the speakers at the meeting complained of the high handedness with which some security operatives at check points treat members of the public.

He said that, the armed security personnel at the check points should be given the right orientation with a view to relate with members of the community since the people have no military training.

In his response, the Commissioner told the gathering that the essence of the meeting was to revive the existing relationship with the community especially in relation to trying moment as far as security is concerned.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

PAGE 7

Strange World It's Nonamum! Mexican woman is pregnant with nine babies (and she already has triplets)

A

Mexican woman has got a lot on her hands after getting pregnant with an incredible nine babies.

The country’s main broadcaster Televisa reported last night that Karla Vanessa Perez is expecting six girls and three boys.

Perez, who already has triplets, was described as coming from the north-eastern state of Coahuila, which borders the U.S. state of Texas.

She is currently being treated at a hospital in the state capital Saltillo, the broadcaster said in the report.

Perez, whose age was not given, had fertility treatment with her husband Bernardo leading to the multiple pregnancy, it said.

State-owned news agency Notimex also reported the pregnancy, saying Perez was due to give birth on May 20.

‘It’s very early to think of names for the babies,’ Perez told Notimex. ‘First I hope that everything goes well.’

The successful delivery of nonuplets would be one of the highest multiple births ever recorded.

New mother Karla Vanessa Perez, who has given birth to nonuplets was described as coming from the northeastern state of Coahuila, which borders Texas In 2009, a woman in California gave birth to octuplets, sparking worldwide media attention.

Mother-of-14 Nadya Suleman, 36, from La Habra, was dubbed ‘Octomum’ has since become a television personality in the U.S..

However, since the birth of her eight new children she has faced problems and been close to being evicted from her home. - Dailymail

Nonamum: Pregnant Mexican woman Karla Perez, who is expecting six girls and three boys

Man in India marries dog as atonement

The garage where Karla’s mechanic husband Bernardo works

Chinese Man Married Dead Bride Who Died for 8 Days A 26year-old Chinese man Zhuang Huagui has married his dead girlfriend Hu Zhao, 21, who was murdered 8 days ago.

- Oddee

Proud father: Karla’s husband Bernardo

A man in southern India married a female dog in a traditional Hindu ceremony as an attempt to atone for stoning two other dogs to death, an act he believes cursed him, a newspaper reported Tuesday. - Oddee

Woman marries a dolphin “In a modest ceremony at Dolphin Reef in the southern Israeli port of Eilat, Tendler, a 41year-old British citizen, apparently became the world’s first person to “marry” a dolphin.”

- Oddee

PAGE 8

Focus

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

Growing Maize with Cassava in Nigeria

Cassava and Maize are compatible

T

here have been recent moves by government at the federal and state levels to boost investment in agriculture in the country.

As the efforts gather steam, researchers have started massive education on effective cropping system among commercial and peasant farmers to boost the nation’s food security Already, researchers have well gone into the production of maize and cassava with mixed cropping methods. Here are some tips to help increase productivity in the cultivation of these crops Choice of Land A well-drained, deep friable

soil will support maize/cassava mixture.

Land Preparation Forest area: Clearing of land should be done in January, followed by felling of trees and burning in February to allow seed-bed preparation to be completed after the first rains.

Savanna area: Clear land in February and incorporate residue into the soil where possible or arrange residue in rows to clear the seedbed area.

Mechanical To obtain a good seedbed, the use of heavy equipment (bulldozer) which will remove the top soil should be avoided.

The land should be ploughed, harrowed and ridged.

Recommended varieties Maize: Western Yellow 1: TZSR-Y-1 (Streak Resistant), DMR-LSRY (Downy Mildew & Streak Resistant). Check for other available varieties in “Growing Maize in Nigeria.”

Cassava TMS 30395, 50395, 30555 and 30572. If the end product is “Lafun”, you may use any of the adapted local cultivars, MS-6, MS-20.

Time of planting: Maize should be planted as soon as the rains become steady

in March/April in the rainforest areas, and May in the southern guinea savanna areas. Cassava should be planted immediately, but not later than three weeks after maize planting.

Seed rate and plant population Maize: Plant at 90 x 45 cm with 2 plants per stand to give a population of 48,000 plants per hectare at a seed rate of 30.00 kg/ha using 2 seeds per hole.

Cassava: Plant at 90 x 90 cm to give 12,300 plants per hectare.

Cuttings should be from mature stems with about 5 nodes and 20–25 cm long.

Ensure to test the maize seed for viability before planting.

Fertilizer rate and time of application Early season: Forest areas: Under continuous cultivation, apply 300 kg (6 bags) of NPK 25:10:10/ha, at planting as band or broadcast application, to give 75 kg N, 30 kg P2O5, and 30 kg K2O/ha.

Savanna areas: Apply 400 kg (8 bags) of 25:10:10, 100 kg (2 bags) of single superphosphate and 3–5kg of zinc sulphate per hectare at planting as band or broadcast to give a total of 100 kg N, 58 kg P2O6, 40 kg K2O, 14 kg S, and 1–2kg Zn/ha.

Caution.

• The above fertilizer recommendation may be modified to suit the prevailing soil nutrient status.

• If the above fertilizer recommendation has been used repeatedly on the same field for more than two years, it is advisable to carry out soil test before any further fer-tilizer application.

Weed Control Manual weeding: First weeding should be done 2–3 weeks after planting maize, and the next one before the second application of fertilizer, while subsequent weedings are done as necessary.

Chemical control: Apply Primextra® or Lasso/ Attrazine® at the rate of 5:1/ha i.e. 125 CC/10 (2 gals) of water pre-emergence.

Disease: Plant maize early to minimize attack by disease and use recommended cassava varieties that are known to be resistant to the most important diseases as bacteria blight and cassava mosaic diseases.

Insects:

Stem borer: Stem borer attack should be controlled by applying 1.68 kg active ingredient of Vetox® 85/ ha, i.e., 3 standard match box filled to the level per 4.5 liters (1 gal.) of water. Two applications, the first at 2 weeks after planting, and the second 2 weeks after.

Grasshopper and army worm: Spray monocrotophos (Azodrin® or Nuvacron®) at the rate of 28 ml/10 litres (2 gals) of water when there is an attach.

Termites: Termite hills in the field and surrounding areas should be located and destroyed. Apply Nogos 50™ to destroy termite hills at 25–4.5 liters of water per hill depending on hill size. For the control of the other pests and diseases of maze and cassava in this mixed crop, please refer to control measures in this crop of maize or cassava.

Vertebrates: Rodents: Keep the plots and their surroundings free of weeds to minimize attack.

Harvesting: Cassava: Spread the harvesting over consumption period or harvest as re-quired over 12–18 months.

Expected Yield: Maize: 1500–2500 kg dry grains/ha.

Cassava: 10–15 tonnes of fresh tuber yield/ha.

Storage: Crib storage: Protect maize cobs with Actellic® at the rate of 1 part Actellic® to 5 parts of water, or 20 kg Actellic® (2%) dust/kg cob.

AIR-TIGHT CONTAINER OR SILO STORAGE: Dry grains should be protected with Phostoxin™ or Detia™ at the rate of 1tablet/25kg maize (or 50 kg maize).

About ICS-Nigeria Information and Communication Support for Agricultural Growth in Nigeria (ICS-Nigeria) is a project which aims to increase the quantity and quality of information available for increased agricultural production, processing, and marketing and also strengthen the capacity of farmer assistance organizations to package and disseminate information and agricultural technologies to farmers for the alleviation of rural poverty.

Source: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

PAGE 9

Cover Dangerous Job:

Edo Sule Ugbagwu

Nassok Sallah

Dele Giwa

Bayo Ohu

Enenche Okogwu

Journalists face danger, death on line of duty 911 killed since 1992, 70 in 2011

over 20 in 2012

By our reporters

O

n Thursday, media houses in the country including Thisday, Sun and Moment newspapers came under attack by the dreaded Boko Haram sect bringing again to the fore the dangers the media and practitioners face world-over in the discharge of their duty.

The dreaded sect bombed the Abuja and Kaduna offices of the media house killing scores and injuring many in a coordinated attacks that have attracted widespread reactions across the country.

The sect on its own part said in an interview published by Premuim Times, an online media that the attack on Thisday and other media houses was a warning on the media that it would no longer condone reports misrepresenting it in the press or blaming it for acts it knows nothing about.

According to that report, its spokesperson, Abdul Qaqa went ahead to state that the sect was fed up with what it described as deliberate misinformation being peddled against it in the Nigerian and foreign media.

Eyewitnesses said an explosive laden vehicle broke through the

Contd on Pages 10,11

Bombed ThisDay office

PAGE 10

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

Cover Dangerous Job:

Journalists face danger, death on line of duty Contd from page 9

back gate of the Thisday office in Abuja killing the gateman instantly before it rammed into the part of the building housing the generator and the press where the bomb was detonated.

Several persons died when the bomb tore through the building dismembering those in the vicinity as shredded human parts littered the area.

This was however, the first attack by the Boko Haram sect on a media house in the country.

All over the world journalists have fallen victims of attacks which saw many of them either killed or maimed by those who for one reason or the other were angered by reports carried by the media.

Since 1992 statistics have it that over 911 journalists have been killed across the world while more than 1,000 have been brutalized according to report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). According to RSF, in 2011 alone, more than 70 journalists were felled while the figure of those killed in 2012 has risen to over 20.

RSF said currently, many journalists are languishing in secret prisons in many parts of the world especially in China, Iran and Eritrea.

Also report by Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ), listed the 20 deadliest countries for journalists to include Iraq which has so far recorded 151 cases, Philippines, 72; Algeria, 60; Russia, 53; Colombia, 43;Pakistan, 42; Somalia, 40; India, 28; Mexico, 27; Afghanistan, 24; Brazil, 21, Turkey, 20; Bosnia,19; Sri Lanka,19; Rwanda, 17; Tajikistan, 17; Sierra Leone, 16; Bangladesh, 12; Israel and Occupied Paletinian Territory, 10 and Nigeria, 10.

Spread through beats covered by the victims, CPJ said those on politics beat rank highest accounting for 40 percent of the attacks and deaths, war followed with 34 percent followed by corruption which accounted for 21 percent among others.

Also the CPJ report showed that the print media have been worse hit, accounting to 55 percent of the attacks while television and radio account for 28 percent and 20 percent respectively. 70 percent of those killed were murdered, 18 percent died in cross fire while 12 percent died in dangerous assignments.

In Nigeria, apart from attacks by the Boko Haram sect, which has led to the death of a number of journalists in the country, media men have also been felled and maimed by other elements including suspected political forces, who begrudge them for the stories which they consider to be against their interest.

However, the recent attacks has also brought to the fore a lot of issues associated with the job especially those of security and lack on insurance cover.

Beginning from the gruesome murder of founder of Newswatch Magazine, Dele Giwa in 1986 through a parcel by persons yet to be identified for over two decades, Nigerian media practitioners have continued to be brutalised and killed.

Mukarram Khan Aatif (killed in Syria)

Phillip-Cottrell (killed in Afghanistan)

While Dele Giwa’s killing has remained a mystery, the killing of another journalist, Bagauda Kaltho, a reporter of The News Magazine during the military regime in 1996, was more mysterious. The death of Kaltho, who police claimed at that time was killed by a bomb he was trying to detonate in a hotel in Kano has remained unresolved even as the body was not released to the family.

During that period, many journalists were brutalised and incarcerated including those in the stable of TSM, Tell and The News Magazines, who were worse hit by the onslaught. Some of them include now Senator Chris Anyanwu, who was then the publisher of the TSM Magazine and Senator Femi Ojudu, who was Managing Editor of The News.

Anyanwu had narrated that sacked Police top brass Zakari Biu physically assaulted her during which she said she practically got her eyes impaired.

Anyanwu and others were branded terrorists and hounded into jail.

Also Senator Ojudu narrated that the same Biu had in an occasion put a gun to his head threatening to blast his brains off.

Other Nigerian journalists who have

Marie Colvin (killed in Syria)

Muhi al-Din Jarma (killed in Yemen)

Gilles Jacquier (killed in Syria)

been felled include, Guardian Newspapers’ Bayo Ohu, who was killed in September, 2009, African Independent Television’s Efenji Efenji, who was stabbed to death in February, 2010; the Nation Newspapers’ Edo Sule Ugbagwu, who was killed in April 2010, Zakariya Isa of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) who was killed by gunmen in Maduguri in Borno state in October, 2011; Nansok Sallah, of Plateau state owned Highland FM, in January 2012, Eneche Okogwu of the Channels TV, who was felled by gunmen in Kano also in January, 2012.

These are in addition to two Nigerian journalists Tayo Awotunsin and Krees Imobibie killed by Liberian warlord, Charles Taylor in 1990 In the case of Ohu, reports have it that he was killed by gunmen who stormed his No 9, Oyeniyi Street, Odukoya estate residence at the about 7.00 a.m. and forced their way into his apartment. They were said to have demanded for cash and other valuables which the journalist readily obliged.

After collecting the cash he had, they picked his lap-top before releasing some

bullets into his stomach. He was said to had slumped and died almost immediately.

However, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer at the time, Mr. Frank Mba, who confirmed the incident noted that it might be a case of assassination. Mba said the police had recovered the vehicle, an unmarked Toyota Camry used for the attack and assuring that those behind the act would be apprehended.

On that of Efenji, reports have it that he was stabbed to death while celebrating the Valentine with his wife and son at Oakland Garden, Karu, a suburb in Abuja.

According to an eyewitness, a fight ensued when the late radio presenter of Political Platform on Ray Power 100.5 Fm objected to an offer from a four-man gang to dance with his wife.

The deceased’s refusal to allow one of the suspects, Augustine Ogbonna (22) to dance with his wife, led to a fight in which he was stabbed repeatedly by the gang.

He had reportedly told them that since she was married, it was not morally right for her to dance with them. The gang then proceeded to break bottles and started Contd on page 11

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

PAGE 11

Cover Dangerous Job:

Journalists face danger, death on line of duty Contd from page 10

stabbing him while he ran for safety. Amid the scuffle, it was said that the journalist’s elder brother, Mr. Agwanyan Efenji, took his wife and son as well as those of Mr. Eneji Innocent, a friend of the former AIT correspondent, to safety.

“It was when about 16 other hoodlums joined in stabbing him on the head that the police arrived the scene and arrested some of them while I was trying to rescue him and two of the boys who started the fight,” Innocent said. According to him, all attempts to get the policemen to rush Efenji to hospital failed.

He said, “Instead, they cocked their guns and threatened to label me an armed robber if I failed to get into their vehicle. It was later we heard he had died after losing so much blood.” Police later paraded some suspects.

In the case of Nation’s Edo Sule Ugbagwu, reports have it that unknown gunmen shot him in the head at his residence in Shasha outskirt of Lagos. His wife, Mariam, said she and Ugbagwu had left the house in the evening of the fateful day for shopping when her husband received a call on his mobile phone. She said Ugbagwu might have described how to get to their house to the caller after which he asked her to wait for him as he dashed back "to get something" from the house.

Soon, a car drove by; the occupants stared at her and the car made a u-turn.

She said she returned home to know why her husband had not rejoined her, only to find him in a pool of his own blood.

In the case of NTA camera man Zakariya Isa, gunmen opened fire on him in his house in Bulunkutu Gomari. The Boko Haram group claimed responsibility for the killing, accusing Isa of spying on it.

The sect said it killed Isa because it had evidence that he was an informant for security services and warned that it would kill anyone else who stepped on its toes.

"Zakariya was killed because he was an informant of security agencies ... He gave information to security agents that led to the arrest of many of our members. We killed him not because he was a journalist but because of his personal misconduct, which was against the ethics of his profession," said a statement from Abu Qaqa, a spokesman for Boko Haram.

Isa’s death was the first time the sect killed a journalist since the insurgency started.

In the case of Nansok Sallah of Highland FM, who was news editor of the radio house, he was found lying face-down in a shallow stream under a bridge less than 200 meters (650 feet) from a military checkpoint in Jos. Highland FM General Manager Terzungwe Wua told CPJ that Wua said the journalist's body bore no bruises, but a wound on the back of his right ear was noticeable. Sallah's colleagues told CPJ they suspected he had been murdered because his valuables, were stolen from him. The cause of the killing of Sallah had since remained unclear.

In the case of Enenche Okogwu, the

Abukar Hassan Mohamoud is the latest journalist to be killed in the bullet-ridden Somali capital, Mogadishu

reporter met his death during the January Kano bombing by the sect which led to the dead of many in the city.

Okogwu was said to have been recording the location of the multiple bomb attacks in Kano when was shot shortly after arriving at the scene of the Farm center police station attack in Kano.

After the first explosion at the police headquarters, the reportedly went out to the spot to ask a few people loitering around about the blast thinking they could provide eyewitness accounts. However, they were said to have pull a gun and shot and killed him on the spot.

Though no journalist was killed in the Thisday attack, a few others working in the company were killed. However a reporter, Senator Iroegbu narrowly escaped death as he sustained injuries. Another journalist, Dele Ogbodo, who survived the attack also narrowly escaped death when the sect hit the United Nations building in Abuja last year.

Across the world journalists have continued to be killed and brutalised. Those killed recently include Ali Shaaban, (AlJadeed), April 9, 2012, in Wadi Khaled, Lebanon; Mahad Salad Adan, (Shabelle Media Network), April 5, 2012, in Beledweyne, Somalia; Ahmed Ismail Hassan, (Freelance), March 31, 2012, in Salmabad, Bahrain; Ali Ahmed Abdi,(Radio Galkayo), Puntlandi, March 4, 2012, in Galkayo, Somalia; Rajesh Mishra, (Media Raj), March 1, 2012, in Rewa, India; Abukar Hassan Mohamoud, (Somaliweyn Radio) February 28, 2012, in Mogadishu, Somalia and Anas al-Tarsha, (Freelance), February 24, 2012, in Homs, Syria.

Others are Rémi Ochlik, (Freelance), February 22, 2012, in Homs, Syria; Marie Colvin, (Sunday Times), February 22, 2012, in Homs, Syria; Rami al-Sayed, (Freelance), February 21, 2012, in Homs, Syria; Aldion Layao, (dxRP Radio), April 8,

2012, in Davao, Philippines; Yadav Poudel, (Avenues TV, Rajdhani Daily, Mechi Times), April 3, 2012, in Birtamode, Nepal; Argemiro Cárdenas Agudelo, (Metro Radio Estéreo), March 15, 2012, in Dosquebradas, Colombia Also killed this year include Samid Khan Bahadarzai, (Melma Radio), February 21 or 22, 2012, in Orgun, Afghanistan; Chandrika Rai, (Navbharat, The Hitavada), February 18, 2012, in Umaria, India; Paulo Roberto Cardoso Rodrigues, (Jornal Da Praça, Mercosul News), February 12, 2012, in Ponta Porá, Brazil; Meherun Runi, (ATN Bangla Television), February 11, 2012, in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Golam Mustofa Sarowar, (Maasranga Television), February 11, 2012, in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Christopher Guarin, (Radyo Mo Nationwide and Tatak News), January 5, 2012, in General Santos City, Philippines and Shukri Abu al-Burghul, (AlThawra and Radio), Damascus, January 3, 2012, in Damascus, Syria.

In the case of Somalia, two gunmen in February repeatedly shot Abukar Hassan Mohamoud outisde his home in the Wadajir district of Mogadishu, killing him instantly.

That was the third targeted killing of a journalist in Mogadishu since December 2011.

The other two journalists killed recently died under similar circumstances. On January 28, Hassan Osman Abdi, the director of Shabelle Media Network, one of the leading media organizations in Mogadishu, was shot by gunmen outside his home in Wadajir, and died on his way to a hospital. Hassan was the third Shabelle Media Network director to have been killed.

Mukhtar Mohamed Hirabe was killed in 2009 and Bashir Nur Gedi in 2007.

On December 18, Abdisalam Sheik Hassan, a freelance reporter with Horn Cable TV Station, was shot in broad daylight in the Hamer Jabjab district of Mogadishu by a gunman in a government military

uniform after receiving a series of threats, including a death threat in person.

On Monday, in Brazil, Decio Sa, a political reporter for the newspaper, O Estado do Maranhao in northeastern Brazil, became the fourth journalist slain this year in the South American nation, one of the deadliest for reporters to work in.

A gunman fired six bullets into Sa's head and chest in a restaurant in the state capital of Sao Luis on Monday night. He died instantly and the killer fled on a motorcycle driven by an accomplice who was waiting outside, the Maranhao state public safety department said in a statement Meanwhile reacting to the Thisday bombing and general attacks on journalists, the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) condemned the attack adding that it would however not deter the media from carrying out its duties.

President of NUJ, Mohammed Garba, said the attack has further confirmed that journalists are not safe, our media houses are not safe in the country.

In the same vein, NGE in a statement by its President, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, said the attack was against the freedom of speech, expression and thought come under assault and democracy is threatened.

Be it as it may, issues of security for journalist have been thrown up and critics believe that laws to for life insurance for journalists should be initiated. Also there must be concerted efforts to ensure that life and property of the general public in Nigeria is guaranteed.

On the whole, journalism still remain one of the most dangerous occupation and the practitioners are still paying the supreme price for a vocation that flows only with the flair and not with large pockets.

PAGE 12

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

Interview

I foresaw this terrorism challenge, Former IGP Okiro Former Inspector General of Nigeria Police, Mike Okiro in this interview shares his views on the security problems in the country, the challenges facing the police and other issues. Augustine Aminu was there.

H

o w will you describe your days and experiences as IGP? Oh I would say fulfilling. I am always proud to be a Nigerian.

Being the IGP was just one aspect of my career. That is why I always prefer talking and referring to Mike Okiro as a police officer who enlisted in the police as a Superintendent and left as an Inspector General of police. The job was challenging but my successes should be attributed to all the officers that worked under me and contributed and ensured that that the proper things were done. I had never seen myself as all knowing. I seek advice from fellow officers as no human has the monopoly of intelligence.

What would you say were your memorable moments in the police ?

As Commissioner of Police and as IGP, to practically demonstrate leadership by example, there were incidences where I had to take my AK 47 to confront robbers. As Commissioner of Police in Lagos, on two occasions, I had to confront bank robbers on operation. The bank manager called me and I felt I don’t need to further delay in giving instructions to my subordinates. I had to mobilise and we encountered the robbers, killed some and made arrests.

When I returned, I told my subordinates that I did that to prove to them that this police work is difficult but not impossible and I also let them know that there was no need as a police man to be afraid of death, that death will come when it will come. As IGP, a friend called that that robber were at his residence. At that time I did not quite know the exact street name and number of the house and the exact location in Abuja, so I couldn’t explain to the commissioner of police. So I called him and told him to meet me at the area. We got there and encountered the robbers and successfully saved the life of the entire family.

There is serious problem of terrorism in the country.

What do you think should be the best way to handle the situation?

There is no ideal security situation anywhere. Even in the communist countries where we are made to believe that wealth and properties are evenly distributed, they haven’t achieved a zero crime rate, not to talk of a capitalist country like Nigeria

Mr. Mike Okiro where there exist the bourgeoisie and the have-nots.

So, as much as there are people that cannot afford their daily bread in any society, there must be crime!

In the security parlance, you can talk about ideal situation if your country’s security situation is reduced to a manageable level so that innocent citizens can go about their normal businesses without fears of being killed. More so, Nigeria is among the comity of nations and cannot be isolated from what is happening to other countries of the world.

Criminals in that perspective take advantage of the expanded global knowledge and synergies, study crime situations in country A and perfect it in country Z. That is why I said Nigeria can’t be left out of the terrorism activities ravaging the entire world.

In 2007, as the IGP, I studied the terrorism phenomenon. I came to conclusion that there was no way Nigeria, being a major oil producing country, multi ethnic as it is and the most populous black country, with different religious beliefs will not experience what we are facing today. I foresaw that terrorism will someday spread its ugly wings to Nigeria. So, in 2007 when it wasn’t prevalence in Nigeria, I had to be the first among other security agents to establish the Police Anti-Terrorism Squad to prepare the police against what I

anticipated will sometimes spread to Nigeria. However, terrorism is a new phenomenon in Nigeria, other countries may have experienced it and in the process discover best ways of dealing with it. I think the foresight I had and the trainings the police team received abroad, helped tremendously in some of the successes police have recorded. I believe that if not for the foiling of some attacks, the impact as we are seeing could have been more devastating and unimaginable.

But as a security and political stakeholder in the country, I am aware of the measures put in place by government; I don’t need to reveal them, Gods willing, if those strategies work, there is hope that in no time, terrorism shall come to an end.

The agitation for state

police is still on. What is your opinion?

Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution states that there shall be one police for Nigeria. Prior to independence, we had the state and regional police but during the First Republic, it was used by politicians to intimidate political opponents.

That was the major reason regional and state police were fused to one united Nigeria police. Now, do you expect us to go back to what we had experimented and found out that it did not serve any good? One united Nigerian police force is best for the country.

You were chairman security committee at the just concluded PDP convention.

How did you ensure that there was security?

At the early stage of President Jonathan’s campaigns, there were security challenges; people died in Port Harcourt. In Lafia the President’s convoy was attacked and so on. So my mandate was to make sure there would be no reoccurrence of any of such. I called other officers to the drawing board and came up with solutions. You see, if you’re a good manager of humans, you will know how to share responsibilities and respect their people’s feelings. I didn’t portray myself as all knowing, so when I gave directives, they followed it. Even in my days as IGP, there was no way I could have been doing the work of the commissioners, so you have to respect others, show examples and others will be delighted to accept your commands .

Soon after your retirement, you went into politics, aspiring to become a senator. How would you describe the experience?

In life, you have to experience many things. There is this perspective that politicians were bad and corrupt; I wanted to change the perception and also to

“

So, in 2007 when it wasn’t prevalence in Nigeria, I had to be the first among other security agents to establish the Police Anti-Terrorism Squad to prepare the police against what I anticipated will sometimes spread to Nigeria.

use my wealth of experience to render service to the people. What I learnt was that in politics people tend to be insincere; that they only pursue their interest. This is different from where I came from, the police, where you are the boss and your orders are obeyed to the letter and is the final . It was an awful experience but I am not yet through in politics.

You run an NGO, the Salute Nigeria Initiative.

What is it all about?

Over the years, even as a police officer, I learnt that most Nigerians have primordial tendencies and are not patriotic. People talk first about their religion, tribe, community, state and so on. It shouldn’t be so , Nigeria should come first. America citizens put America first, so that is the kind of spirit I intend to inculcate into Nigerians. We are starting from the school children and people at the grass root to drive that patriotic tendencies into their consciousness. Ideally Nigerians should be united and patriotic at all times not only when Nigeria is playing a football match. We should be talking and promoting Nigeria.

Being a political stakeholder and a PDP stalwart, what is your assessment of President Jonathan’s administration especially considering the economic problems in the country?

First of all, I am a common grass-root Nigerian; I feel the pulse of whatever those on the street feel.

But I think President Jonathan is a promise keeper. He has made efforts in fulfilling all his campaign promises, like the free and fair elections, the promise of rectifying the power sector, employment generation and the rest. We all know that the degradation, corruption and the rot in the country has been on for a long time; putting things right certainly would have to take a while. A lot is going on in the power sector. There is a serious security challenge but efforts are also on to end it. Like I earlier said it is just a phase that other countries had experienced. The wise approach he has taken is trying to create over 500,000 jobs, if that is successful, some of those who are perpetuating heinous crimes and terrorism will be engaged in useful ventures and will not have time for criminal activities which automatically will help reduce and subsequently lead to ending terrorism in the country.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

PAGE 13

Politics

Benue crisis: Day politicians seized God's house to tirade Suswam, Akume, Gemade, Ugba in war of words

Governor Gabriel Suswam From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

T

h e Church is the house of God where people are expected to be decorous in appearance, action and speech in reverence to their creator. In fact beyond the church building, many people revere Sunday, the day of Christian worship, that they would not engage on business activities not to talk of fighting or quarreling.

But Sunday, April 15, 2012 was not such day at the NKST Church Koshinsha were politicians took over the altar to trade words on issues that has nothing to do with God. The gladiators had gathered in Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue state to honor former National Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and now senator representing Benue North-East Senatorial District, Senator Barnabas Gemade who held a thanksgiving service at the church.

The roll call of dignitaries include; Governor Gabriel Suswam, erstwhile governor of the state and now Senator representing Benue North-West Senatorial District Senator George Akume, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship candidate in the 2012 elections, Prof.

Steven Ugba and former Nigerian Ambassador to Canada Prof. Iyorwuese higher, amongst several other political big guns in the state.

Peace was suppose to be the hallmark of the celebration but this did not in any way restrain the invitees from turning the church service into a theatre to exchange verbal missiles to the amazement and disappointment of the presiding pastors as

Sen. George Akume

Sen. Barnabas Gemade

Prof. Steven Ugba

well as the entire congregation.

The church podium turned into a launch pad for political missiles as Suswam, Akume, Ugba and others took turns to wash one another down in the presence of God and the people over whom they have been appointed leaders Akume, who doubles as the Senate Minority Leader, was the first to mount the podium on the altar. He bared it all. Instead of talking about virtues and issues of worship, he started accusing the incumbent governor of being responsible for the political crises that have been bedeviling the state.

Akume reminded Suswam how he stood by him during his moment of political trials when former President Olusegun Obasanjo openly objected to his candidacy.

He told the congregation that he, against all odds, stood firm behind Suswam and went ahead to anoint him governor of the state. He therefore accused Suswam of biting the finger that has fed him by chasing him and several others out of the PDP. As if that was not enough, Prof. Ugba took the stage and started his own political speech saying he was at the church because Akume asked him to accompany him to Gemade’s ceremony.

Prof. Ugba stated categorically that though he bears no grudge against Governor Suswam, who he described as his younger brother as they hail from the same Logo local Government Area, he however, wanted the governor out of office so as to bring change in the governance of the state.

The ACN top brass reiterated the line between him and PDP and warned that people should not mistake his coming to

Gemade event as a move to compromise his mandate which he said was stolen by the ruling party.

However, as the governor, who sat in apparent uneasiness while he was being lambasted by the ACN chiefs took the podium to speak, he fired back.

He pointedly accused Akume of being the actual architect of the political conflict in the state.

Suswam wondered why Akume, who had eight years as governor and is now in his second term as senator wanted to stand as a stumbling block to his enjoying same privilege.

He therefore boasted to high heavens that no court case would stop from having an eight term as governor of the state.

“Even if they go to the Supreme Court ten times, I will be governor for eight years.

They are just embarking on an exercise in futility”, Suswam bragged to the anger of Akume and his political co travelers.

The Governor however, expressed readiness to convene a peace conference where unity of Tiv elites would be addressed only if Akume permits. He further told Akume that his position as one of the founding fathers of PDP remains intact.

In his remark, the celebrant, Gemade thanked the big shots for attending his thanksgiving service but took a big swipe on Akume, who he accused of turning his back on him after he made him governor in 1999.

The exchange of words by these political bigwigs at Gemade’s thanksgiving service has thrown up al lot of issues ahead of the 2015 elections.

Suswam had extended an invitation to Akume to return to the PDP insisting that

his position is still intact. Akume may be unwilling to do so as there are fears that that could be a way to make him forfeit his seat in the Senate.

It is also speculated that the moves could be to get Akume and others in the opposition to be on the same page with the PDP in the 2015 governorship election as the position would by then be zoned to Zone B, where Akume hails from..

There are indications that Governor Suswam has an interest in who becomes his successor in 2015 and is said to be grooming some young men to take over from him.

Grapevine has it too that Suswam may want to take a shot at the Zone A Senatorial seat after his eight year term.

That means throwing in everything at his disposal to displace Sen. Barnabas Gemade whom he never supported to become senator when he pitched him against Mathias Byuan during last year’s PDP Zone A senatorial primaries. Suswam is said to have tipped Byuan for the post so that he could easily ask him to vacate the seat for him in 2015.

For now, it appears that Gemade is seeing a dependable ally in Akume, whom he may curry his support to return to the Senate in 2015.

Though factors that might shape the alignments by 2015 are still bleak, it is likely that Gemade and Akume would join political forces to fight Suswam for the governorship as well as the retention of his cherished seat at the upper chambers of the National Assembly.

For now, political watchers have kept their fingers crossed as issues continue to unfold.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

Interview I spent 32 years to complete my spiritual odyssey – Sardaunan Dutse Despite being a veteran politician, Senator Bello Maitama Y Yusuf, the Sardauna of Dutse, has an amazing leaning to o u are an Islamic scholar, a politician and a philanthropist, how were you able to combine these contrasting endeavours?

Well, I can say that it is by determination and ambition.

Everything depends on what you intend to do and if you have a clear direction, clear mind, clear heart, then you can embark on not only two or three issues which you have already mentioned, but you can embark on as many as possible and it is possible to be accomplished in them all. So it depends, honestly, on the charisma, objective of the person who wants to do whatever he wants to do. For me, in order to achieve something, you have to show what you do and what you are going to do for the benefit of human race. You need also to extend hands of friendship and hands of generosity to your fellow human beings.

Let me tell you, if you happened to be a rich man which comes from God you must know that whatever you get is not meant for you alone.

You are just a custodian. If you have money, the money does not belong to you, it belongs to God. He can leave it with you or He can take it any time he wants to. But in essence, it is for you and for the people.

Recently, I watched a DVD of you and how you went to some various Islamic sites around the world. What was it all about?

This is a project of over 32 years, and I am able to accomplish it this year. I had started visiting these sites since before I become a minister.

When I become a minister, any time I had an opportunity I made sure that I went to one of these places. I am a Muslim, so as far as Muslim or religious sites are concerned, they are very important to me. You will find them in Palestine and Saudi Arabia, Jordan and to some extent Iraq, Syria and Jerusalem in Israel. These are all the areas where all the Prophets of God lived. When you are looking for the grave of any prophet you wouldn’t tell me that you will go to Brazil. You can’t tell me that you are going to South America or Jamaica.

So I am opportuned to visit all these places. I am very happy for what I did. And I am very happy to release it for the benefit of Muslim brothers and sisters.

This is a project of more than three decades. How did you manage to record,

Islam which to some extent made him an expert in Islamic field. Abdul Rauf Musa, explores different dimensions of the man’s life in this interview.

Senator Bello Maitama Yusuf

compile and package all the DVDs? Well, I told you earlier that, when you have an ambition, you pursue it to the last. All along, I had wanted this. I had wanted to see what is in it that the Qur’an has said, so I did the best I could to visit the places.

For example, God Has spoken to Moses at the Mount Sinai. I went to the place and I saw how it is.

And about the burning bush, I went to the place also, and I saw how it is.

There is a place in the DVD where you talked about a mysterious tree.

Yes, the tree is on your way to Damascus. From Madina you come to Tabouk, from Tabouk is in between that area, up to the border. This is a tree which I told you is wonderful. When the Prophet was young, he went and slept under it. A Jew told Abu Talib that he should be careful with this young man, because only Prophets can come here and sleep, so he should take care of him that if the Jews saw him, they would kill him.

There are some Ulama and important Muslim personalities from, let’s say,

Asia, were you able to venture into that area, especially the famous town; Bukhara which was said to be around Russia?

Yes, Imam Bukhari was born in Russia. And Salmanul Farisi was also from Iran, but Asia is where the prominent ones are. The one who took Islam to India/Pakistan for example, was a king from India. He saw the miracle of the moon and heard about the Prophet Muhammad and he came to Mecca, met the Prophet and converted to Islam. Before, he was following Hindu religion.

So after accepting Islam, on his way back home, unfortunately, he died in Oman. His grave is there in Oman. People visit him there because he is a Sahabi (a companion of the Prophet).

Do you intend to widely circulate the DVD and to have a book version to enable the general public and schools benefit from the wealth of knowledge in it?

I have started. I have one thousand Hadith on various subjects which are in print now.

During the period of about 25

years, I have been doing tafseer (exegesis of the Holy Qur’an) here and I have been giving du’a. So the tafseer which runs for about 90 hours is coming in DVD. I am also getting the du’as (Falalar Addu’a) which I have been giving people in a book form and I am coming out with a book on the story of the Prophet Abraham.

Let’s go back to politics, since Second Republic you have been part of the political arena in Nigeria, how can you differentiate the polity in Second Republic and what we have today?

I think both periods are challenging. I believe there was more dedication then than now.

People want to make money now. In the Second Republic we didn’t see politics like that. We saw it as an opportunity to serve the people and we served them diligently.

There is this perception that during your time as a legislator, there was more maturity than now in terms of awareness and the work of legislation. What is your take on that?

Well, it depends on time. I cannot judge myself, it is the public that will judge us and judge the rest.

During your time, people like Jibril Aminu, Iya Abubakar, Arthur Nzeribe, Uche Chukwumerije and your likes were more matured and experienced . . ..

(Cuts in) That is the ‘Juggernauts,’ the ‘Timber and Caliber’ (laugh). Yes, yes they were there. I don’t know who is there now. But the current leadership of the Senate is capable, especially the Senate President David Mark who has been around since 1999 and he is giving the Senate a good direction and purposeful leadership.

What is your opinion on the crises that has been bedeviling the North?

Any nation which wants to be anything in life has to suffer.

I can say that we are moving forward. I don’t believe that the crises are all happening in the North alone. Kidnapping is also happening in the South.

Killings are still there, even before it started in the North. It is a Nigeria’s problem. As a nation, as a federation, we should work together. We are all the same in same country.

What about the Boko Haram issue?

I did answer you about everything. I told you we will overcome all these problems as a nation. What you need to deal with all these is justice and fair play. Everybody should feel belonged to a country called Nigeria. Provide employment and provide opportunity for people to be employed. And once you get that, people will eat three square-meals. And that can only be possible if you harness agriculture seriously.

Before, it was agriculture money that was feeding the country and also stands as source of the country’s main economy, all of a sudden things went bad. So I assure you things will come to pass the way they have been passing before. This is not a new thing.

What is your opinion on the PDP convention that was held recently which saw the emergence of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as the chairman of party?

Well, Tukur is a capable hand. He is a man who is highly principled, well talented and I believe he will steer the party thoroughly.

All that he needs are support and cooperation. Given that, am sure, he will sail through and he will take the party to the promised land.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

Peoples Page

PAGE 15

Why I left military Soldier turns Keke NAPEP taskforce member opens up

Lawal looking on to joining the Army again

By A’isha Biola Raji

D

e s t i n y always has its way of playing tricks on humans. People live each day bearing a grand rule in mind, survival!

The hustle to survive is largely what keeps people moving ahead irrespective of what they must have experienced in the past or still experiencing at present.

In the midst of the hustling, people make choices, some good; some good at a time and later regrettable.

This, somehow captures the story of a soldier who left the force to become a member of tricycle transport tax force in Abuja.

The question is; why did he leave the Army at a time many young people are making frantic effort to join only to be a member of a transport task force?

Lawal Sani, a young exprivate soldier shared his experience as a soldier; how his brother died and the reason he left army even after going on a peace keeping mission to Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Lawal said he was recruited into the Army during the regime of late General Sani Abacha alongside his late brother, who died in Liberia during a peace keeping mission.

He recalled how he carried his brother who had already died from gun shots. According to him, during the missions, it was survival of the fittest especially for private soldiers.

Lawal said he had to carry the body of his brother, despite torrent of enemy fire, a picture he said would remain in his mind.

"It was a terrible experience as I carried my brother on my shoulder with bullets being fired at me, but I had to run to secure my dead brother's body before running for cover for my dear life", he said.

After the peace keeping programme, young Lawal was posted to Lagos where he served as a gate guard at the house of a senior army officer with other private soldiers.

It was at this house that Lawal had the experience that forced him to leave the military.

According to him, the senior

officer in the house ordered that they should open fire on anybody who refused to identify himself at the gate. That was in 1998.

"We were given command by the officer to fire at anybody who refused to tell us his person after he had been asked three times," he narrated.

But fate played a heinous trick on Lawal, his fourteen colleagues and the senior army officer as the hunter became the hunted.

According to Lawal, one fateful night a vehicle approached the gate of the house and the driver hit his horns demanding that the gate be opened. He said the person in the vehicle was not forthcoming with the response after several request for his identity leading another senior officer in the house to order them to fire at the vehicle. Later, it was discovered that the target was the owner of the house who gave the standing order.

"We released fire immediately we got order from our superior officer inside the house, we did not know we were firing at the owner of the

residence," Lawal lamented.

He said everything was like a dream as they were all dismissed from force including the senior officer who gave the command.

"After much ado, we were asked to leave the Army. We all thanked our stars because dismissal for us was a soft landing," he said.

This misfortune pushed Lawal to Abuja where he did odd jobs for several years. "I did several jobs around Abuja; I even worked as a local accountant for a man in Maitama, who owed me salaries. I left because I needed to keep body and soul together," he said.

Lawal resolved to ride tricycle popularly known as keke NAPEP, it paid off as he started picking up pieces of his life together before the owner of the tricycle died and his relative retrieved the vehicle and sold it off.

He said, "all the people handling keke for him were all asked to return them and that included me. Though we were given N15,000 as take-away money but it could not take care

of my needs."

The turn of events prompted him to join keke NAPEP tax force where he has the task of monitoring the operations of keke NAPEP operators.

"Being an ex-soldier, it was very easy for me to join the tax force as member and that is what I have been surviving on till now," said Lawal.

On what plans he has for the future, Lawal said he is convinced that he still has a place in the Army and would like to go back to the service.

"I will still join the army; I've not lost hope of doing what I love.

They (keke NAPEP operators) all call me soldier because they know my hope is very strong and I will still work hard with the help of people in position to go back to the army and put the ugly incidence behind me," he declared.

How far Lawal will go to realise his dreams of going back to the Army still remains something that is difficult to figure out, but he insists that he will not let that dream die. Fate may still reverse the trick it played on him years back.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

Tourism

The Hills of Benue:

Evergreen paradise in the savanna

By Richard Ihediwa, with tourist reports

E

v e r been to Benue state?

This state in the North Central Nigeria is acclaimed to be the food basket of the nation as the people are highly aggrarian, producing asorted types of food crops that are exported to other parts of the country. Apart from food production, Benue is blessed with may cultural values including festivals and dances, textile, art and craft and traditional sports.

Benue shares boudaries with Taraba in the east, Plateau in the North, Edo to the west and Anambra, Enugu and Cross Rivers states to the south. Apart from the rich cusine and cultural values, Benue has a beautiful land mass which present hills of various shades and mass that have remained a great attraction for tourists.

The chain of beautiful hills include, the Ikyogen hills, Ushogbo hills, Bassa hills, Swern hills among others mostly in Gboko, a major town in Benue. Each hill has a unique makeup, giving it a distinct color.

The Ikyogen hills became popular because of its Cattle Ranch which is one of the most scenic in the country. The hills have agreeable climate which make them appealing to animals. All year round, they can be seen grazing. Lush greens can also be seen throughout the area. The mild weather on the hills is responsible for the steady lush green vegetation that give the area a beautiful life invigorating look that have continued to appeal to tourists.

The Ushogbo hills, which spread through the town of Ushogbo also offer beautiful scenery coming with its clement weather condition.

Tourists and adventurers are attracted to Ushogbo hills by the undulating spots and quick climbs that are good for adventures.

Bassa hills, like the Ushogbo hills, are worth visiting especially for their satisfying scenery and it also have very lush vegetation and range of animals and other scenic features.

Apart from their scenic beauty, the Swern hills are valued for their historical linkages. The hills are believed to be the place for origin of the Tiv people. While the Ushogbo hills also offer lovely weather, perfect for tourists.

Swern hills are best appreciated for its historicity. Bassa hills on the other hand, are renowned for its stunning scenery.

To reach the hills one has to go to Gboko town. Gboko is the home of

Benue hill combines colour, sheds and vegitation to intrigue tourists the Tiv people and is the tribe’s capital city. Some researchers believe it is where the tribe first emerged. The city is the Tiv tribe’s capital and the residence of Tor-Tiv, the tribe’s leader.

Over time, the Tiv people spread throughout the other states including Nasarawa. It was also the location of the Tiv Native Authority headquarters. Many of Tiv’s most famous politicians also come from the town.

The town was originally known as the “Gboko-yuhwa”, translated as “heavy town”. It is known for its Tiv Day celebration and the Kwagh-hir Festival.

During the Tiv Day Celebration, Tiv people from all over the world come to the town to celebrate.

Other major tribes in the state include the Idoma, Igede, Etulo, Abakpa, Jukum, Hausa, Akweya and Nyifon.

Most of the people are farmers

Lush green vegitation is an attraction in Benue hill

while the inhabitants of the riverine areas engage in fishing as their primary or secondary occupation.

The people of the state are famous for their cheerful and hospitable disposition as well as their rich cultural heritage. Benue state possesses a rich and diverse cultural heritage which finds expression in clourful cloths, exotic masquerades, supplicated music and dances.

Benue state also accounts for

over 70 percent of Nigeria's Soya beans production. It also boasts of one of the longest stretches of river systems in the country with potential for a viable fishing industry.

One of the famous attractions in Benue state is the Enemabia Warm Spring. It is particularly prized for its warm water. It is available for both night and day for tourists who cherish swimming.

Artwork of food basket in Makurdi, Benue state capital

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

Weekend

PAGE 17

Cocktail

Tchidi Chikere: Nuella opens up on husband snatching saga — Page 24

I N S I D E:

F

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

Relationship The psychology of relationships: Relational needs A

relational need is a concept which helps us to describe what people want to get out of relating to each other. It is as if someone had sat down and thought about which actions of another person make us feel loved. Relational needs are about contact between people.

They are not the basic needs of survival - like food, air or shelter: rather, they are the essential elements of our human relationships which make life worth living. They are about a good quality of life and a sense of self-in-relationship. Relational needs can also be described as the component parts of a universal desire for intimate relationships.

Different theorists have come up with different sets of relational needs, but they all overlap. Some people see them as leftover needs from childhood, others see them as normal needs we all have throughout all of our lives right to the point we die. You will agree with the latter view, seeing relational needs as something we never grow out of. However, each individual tends to have some needs that are more important than others, maybe depending on what is left over for them from childhood (for example, they may still be looking for a quality of being in relationship they

Learn to share jokes with others

never got as a child). Certainly some people become pregnant and have children in an unconscious attempt to find healing for their own childhood wounds.

1 Security We all have a need to feel safe in relationship with others and to feel free from threats of humiliation and shame. It also means that we have a sense that the other won't attack, engulf or abandon us.

2 Validations This need is for an unconditional acceptance of our feelings, fantasies and identity by another person. It includes the need to have all our relational needs affirmed and accepted as natural. It gives us a sense of being normal and OK in our own way, and is experienced as an unconditional positive acceptance of who we are. Carl Rogers, the founder of personcentered counseling, saw this as unconditional positive regard as one of three essential prerequisites of therapy.

3 Acceptance by a stable, dependable and protective other person This is Kohut's need for idealization: the need to have someone in our lives who we trust and who looks out for us. The

degree to which an individual looks to someone and hopes that he or she is reliable, consistent, and dependable is directly proportional to their quest for a sense of internal security.

4 Confirmation of personal experience: In other words, a need to find someone who we feel is similar to us This is Kohut's need for twinship. It can be incredibly affirming to find someone who we feel shares our view of the world, or who has been through experiences similar to those we have had ourselves.

5 Self-definition The opposite to our need for twinship is our need to feel separate and unique, to be true to ourselves and to be able to show who we really are. Self-definition is the communication of one's self-chosen identity through the expression of preferences, interests and ideas without humiliation or rejection.

6 The need to have an impact on other people Impact refers to having an influence that affects the other in some desired way. An individual's sense of competency in a relationship emerges from agency and being able to influence others - attracting the other's attention and interest,

Playing together increases bonding

influencing what may be of interest to the other person, and effecting a change in the other's emotions or behavior. Being able to influence others means we don't feel like we are just thin air or completely unimportant to others.

7 The need to give love We also have an inbuilt need to give love, which can be expressed through quiet gratitude, thankfulness, giving affection, or doing something for the other person. It is important that these

We need to share our time with others

"gifts" are accepted and welcomed, at least in spirit, even if they are not the right thing at the right time for the other person. (Think of a two year old sharing their favorite chocolate cookie with you.

Of course the two year old doesn't know you might not like to eat half a chewed cookie that's already been melting in his hand. It's his intention that matters most).

Sources: Heinz Kohut (1971) The analysis of the self. New York: International Universities Press.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

PAGE 19

Beauty Tips Best 10 beauty pageant queen tips every woman can use

W

hile genetics certainly do play a large part in looking like a beauty queen, there are many tips and tricks pageant queens use to transform themselves into completely stunning divas.

By learning how to use these beauty tips to your advantage, you too can look like a beauty queen!

1. Increasing Hair Volume: Almost every beauty queen would agree your hair

is the secret to looking more feminine and graceful.

When it’s in great health, long hair is preferred in pageants.

However, whether your hair is long or short, you can make it look pageant-ready by adding more volume to your do. To get added volume, try spraying a little dry shampoo into your roots and use large hot rollers before you style your hair. Both of these tricks will help you gain more volume.

However, if you still don’t get the volume you crave, purchase a few hair extensions at your local beauty store to help you instantly get the height you desire.

2. Dress To Flatter Your Body Type: All women should know how to dress their specific body, to make it look the best it possibly can. Believe it or not, beauty queens have body flaws too. However, they are very rarely seen in

pageants because beauty queens know how to hide their flaws with smart dressing. For instance, if you have great shoulders, try something strapless, to show them off. If you have long legs, don’t be afraid to show them off!

3.

Whiten Your Teeth: One of the easiest ways to always look your best, is to ensure your smile is always bright and white.

Forget about spending loads of cash on whitening techniques or products.

Instead, opt for whitening toothpaste or simple whitening strips from your local drugstore to get the same effect. Not only should you whiten your teeth, however, but you should show the world your smile on an extremely frequent basis. Everyone looks more beautiful with a smile on their face!

4. Discover Your Ideal Makeup: Most beauty queens do their own makeup for pageants, which is why they suggest you discover what your ideal makeup might be. It’s important to know what looks best on you and practice applying cosmetics on a regular basis, so you can get better and better.

When experimenting, figure out what look might work best if you’re going for a natural everyday style and also what look might work best for a glamour date, out on the town. Whether you use Cover Girl or seek advice from your Sephora counter girl, be sure to practice, practice, practice!

5. Fake It: Millions of women are turning to plastic surgery to enhance their breast size.

While this is often a choice beauty queens make, you can get breast enhancement in a natural way with exterior silicone filets. Also called chicken filets, these faux breasts will give you a lift where you need it most.

They are also quite unnoticeable, even fitting under small bikinis with no problem.

6. Preparation H to Reduce Puffiness: One of the oldest skin care tricks in the book is to use Preparation H for puffy eyes.

Beauty queens often don’t get enough sleep during

pageants, as the demands and schedule is grueling.

Thus, they often dab a tiny bit of Preparation H under the eye area to make them look less puffy after a long night.

7. Eat Bananas: Another way to naturally reduce the appearance of puffy skin and to counteract excess salt you may have consumed is to eat bananas. Bananas are full of potassium, which is excellent for getting extra fluid out of your body.

8. Keep Your Hands Pretty: Beauty queens never leave the house with ratty nails, which is why they often suggest getting long lasting faux nails or tips applied. In fact, most will get

a new set applied right before the pageant, so they always look top notch!

9. Get Your Glow (a Faux One!): Many beauty experts agree, a tan is the best accessory you could possibly have.

However, spending time in the harmful rays of the sun can be a terrible idea. Instead, choose to get a sun kissed look by using self-tanners or spray tanning booths.

10. Heels Make You Sexy: Whether you’re sporting jeans or an evening gown, beauty queens are rarely seen without their high heels. Heels not only make you look more polished, but they can make your legs look longer and leaner.

Source: Free Beauty Tips

PAGE 20

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

Peoples Tech

How to take care of your iPad

By Richard Ihediwa with online expert reports Computers are very costly but fragile equipments. One of such is the iPad, which is one of the most fragile hand-held computers currently in circulation.

A lot of gadgets like mobile phones, digital cameras, even laptops get damaged because of neglect and misuse. Sadly though, a lot of people don’t think about the proper care to give to their gadgets.

Here are some tips to ensure the safety and maximum performance of your iPad Learn to handle the gadget with care The major way to ensure the safety of your iPad is to learn to handle all gadgets with care.

Always bear in mind that they are costly and fragile and you don’t want to handle them as junks. Hold it in such a way that it is not prone to damage. Do not leave the device lying around anywhere especially in areas where water and other liquid tend to spill such as tables and countertops.

Get a case for your iPad One of the ways to ensure the safety of your iPad is to get a safety case for it. This will help save your system in the event that it falls or got hit by something. The use of case will help you avoid scratches on the screen and outer parts.

Wipe the iPad properly Your iPad needs to be clean and this require regular wipe. It is best to wipe with soft cloth. Take care not to use any type cloth that has a rough surface as this may scratch the iPad’s exterior, especially the screen. LCD screens are, very sensitive, so it’s best to make sure that you wipe it properly.

Take care of your battery One thing you do not want is a damaged battery. The iPad uses a lithium-ion polymer battery.

What this means to most people (or rather what matters most) is that unlike the nickel-based batteries of yesteryear, you don’t have to use your device until the battery completely runs out before you charge it. In fact, you are not recommended to do that at all because it reduces the battery’s lifespan.

A good case protects the iPad

Charge your iPad as often as you wish regardless of how much battery is left. However there are tips to ensure good battery life.

Don’t leave it charging past 100% for too long Better still, once it is at 95% you can unplug. You don’t want to overcharge the battery as this also will shorten its lifespan.

Therefore, overnight charging is not recommended. We suggest charging it before going to bed. Of course, some power will be used during standby while you’re asleep and also if you use the iPad right before bed but it will be minimal. Simply top up the battery in the morning while you’re getting ready for the day.

Try not to let your battery drop down to below 10% Better still, charge once the indicator shows around 20%. Full discharging is just as bad for your battery when it is done too often.

Battery use can be minimised to help prolong battery life

There are some energy consuming feature 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Location Service and others. Switch them off when not in use.

Despite the convenience of 3G on your iPad to keep you connected at all times (if you purchased a Wi-Fi+3G model), having it on is a big battery drain compared to Wi-Fi usage which is a good reason to turn off 3G whenever you have Wi-Fi access. Alternatively, you can turn “Airplane Mode” ON under Settings to disable both WiFi and 3G simultaneously.

Location Services for apps such as Maps are rarely utilized on the iPad, so having it turned off by default makes sense.

Customize Notifications Some apps will push notifications to your iPad whenever there is new data. The easy way would be to turn off notifications altogether (Tap on “Notifications” under Settings and turn it off). However, this may not be very practical. Instead, we

recommend customizing the notifications you receive.

Adjust Screen Brightness Another way to reduce energy consumption is to adjust the brightness of your system.Under Settings, tap on “Brightness & Wallpaper”. Auto-Brightness is turned ON by default and will help decrease or increase brightness depending on your surrounding light conditions. It is an efficient way to save battery power.

However, there will be times when you will need to adjust the screen brightness manually. If you foresee yourself running out of battery, you can turn AutoBrightness OFF and set the screen brightness to as low as you are comfortable with. Doing this can help extend battery life significantly.

Set Screen Auto-Lock Under Settings, “tap on General” and then on “Auto-Lock” from the right side of the screen.

Auto-Lock turns off your screen after the preset time if your iPad

is inactive. This feature will not activate during certain usage such as when you are watching a movie or reading a book. If you would like to turn off your screen regardless of whether Auto-Lock is ON/OFF, you can do this by pressing once on the physical button top right of your iPad. Avoid over exposure to heat Heat will kill your battery life or temporarily disable it. In the long run over repeated exposure to excessive heat, your battery lifespan will also decrease a lot.

Apple recommends temperatures between 0º and 45º C for your iPad to operate in. So don’t leave your iPad baking in a car parked outside.

Charge before storage If you plan to travel without your iPad, it is advisable to store it under optimal battery condition.

This is important for the sake of the battery lifespan. Before you turn your iPad off for storage, charge it up to 40-60% first.

Clean the iPad with soft cloth

PAGE 21

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

Healthy Living

Pregnant women's questions and answers (3) I

'm 5 months pregnant and just found out that I'll need to take a flight for a business trip in the next month or so. But is flying safe for me and my baby?

Unless your doctor tells you otherwise, you can usually fly up to 4 or 5 weeks before your due date. And that cutoff time is not because flying can cause problems as your due date nears - it's just best to stay close to home and your doctor in case you deliver.

Some changes occur in your body with flying, and during a flight you're out of reach of emergency care. So especially if you have a high-risk pregnancy, check with your doctor before flying.

And it's wise to discuss any plans for lengthy or distant travel, just in case. If your doctor says travel is OK, check with the airlines to find out what their policies are. Most allow pregnant women to fly up until week 36 for domestic flights and week 35 for international travel.

To make sure your flight is as safe as possible, you might want to wear support stockings, move your lower legs regularly, and get out of your seat

cuts across the lower, thinner part of the uterus. It is used during most C-sections and makes a VBAC much more likely.

A vertical incision cuts up and down through the uterine muscles that strongly contract during labor, and is riskier for a VBAC because it might cause uterine rupture (a tear in the uterine muscle).

The incision on your skin does not necessarily go in the same direction as the incision on your uterus. Also, if you've had more than one C-section, a VBAC might not be an option.

Of course, not all women who try to have a VBAC succeed. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) estimates that about 60% to 80% of women who try to have a VBAC succeed.

Although a VBAC does come with risks, many women are able to have one with no complications at all. If you're interested in having a VBAC, talk to your doctor to weigh the risks and benefits. And check with your hospital well in advance to make sure they'll allow it - if they don't and you have your heart set on a vaginal birth, you may need to change hospitals.

(especially during long flights) to promote blood circulation and help prevent blood clots. You also should drink plenty of noncaffeinated fluids in order to stay well hydrated, and wear your seatbelt in case of turbulence I had a C-section with my first child. Now that I'm pregnant with my second, I'd really like to try to have a vaginal delivery. Is it safe for me and my baby?

Many women who have had a cesarean section (or C-section) with their first pregnancy are interested in a vaginal delivery for their second or later births.

For years, women who'd had a C-section were encouraged to forego vaginal deliveries altogether and schedule Csections for all future births.

But these days, a vaginal birth after cesarean (or VBAC) is considered a safe option for many women and their babies.

And, with a vaginal delivery, you can come home sooner and recover quicker. The reason for your first C-section, the type of incision made on your uterus, and other factors in your medical history will determine whether or not you can have a VBAC: A tranverse incision (also known as a horizontal incision)

What you need to know about Electronic Health Record (EHR) (1) Not that long ago, doctors and nurses would write notes in a patient's chart - often a sheaf of papers fastened to a clipboard during an office visit. These notes then would be added to the patient's ever-expanding medical file, which was physically stored on the premises. Until the digital age, there was no other way to store a patient's medical record.

But that was then.

Today, more and more patients can expect to see computers instead of clipboards when they hop onto the examroom table, thanks to the adoption of health information technology (HIT) by U.S. health care providers and hospitals.

By 2014, it is estimated that the majority of hospitals, doctors' offices, and medical centers nationwide will store health information electronically.

What Is an EHR? An electronic health record (EHR), also called electronic medical record (EMR), is a computerized collection of a

patient's health details. But it's more than just that - it's a new way of storing and organizing patient information. Like hospital charts, EHR patient files are divided into sections where health care providers and staff can find the information they need to provide patient care or perform administrative tasks.

Information stored within an EHR can include a patient's medical history (including immunization status, test results, and growth and development records), health insurance and billing information, and other health-related data.

Because it's stored digitally, the information can be shared easily among a patient's various health care providers within a facility, and can be quickly sent from one facility to another if a patient finds a new health provider.

How Is Information Accessed?

Most hospitals have their own unique EHR databases that are set

up to be accessible from every computer. To open a patient's health record, a doctor, nurse, or other health care provider would log into the system with a username and password or thumbprint identification.

Providers also can access information remotely (such as from an off-site computer) by logging into their work's network system via the Internet and accessing the EHR. Systems are directly accessible over the Internet, too.

Benefits of EHR Everyone knows the jokes about doctors' unreadable handwriting. But the advantages of EHRs go way beyond issues of legibility. EHRs also can: Safely store data. Digital data storage helps to preserve health information. Every change that is made within an EHR is tracked along with the ID of the person who made it and the time. Pages cannot be removed from the record. With paper records, there's always the chance they'll get lost

or misfiled or somehow damaged.

Paper medical records for thousands of patients in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, for example, were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 - and most of that information was never recovered.

Prevent medical errors. Many medical errors are preventable.

EHRs have been shown to eliminate up to 95% of preventable medical errors. And as the software continues to improve, that percentage will rise. Currently, many EHR systems help doctors prescribe drugs by performing the correct calculations needed for drug dosages. They also monitor for and alert doctors of potentially harmful drug interactions, allergies, or possible allergic reactions. And duplication of Xrays or lab tests can be avoided since each one is recorded, stored, and easily referenced.

Save time. EHR software enables a doctor to be fast as well as thorough by providing a series

of prompts and dropdown menus to click through. More than one person can work on the record at the same time, too. So a doctor can review test results while a nurse is entering vital signs and the billing office is submitting paperwork to an insurance provider through the system.

Additionally, since prescriptions can be "e-prescribed" through the EHR and sent to a pharmacy directly, it saves patients time later on.

Save space. Thanks to EHRs, huge file rooms may soon become a relic of the past. This valuable office space within the hospital can be converted into care-related areas - perhaps a few extra patient rooms or another imaging center.

Empower patients. Parents can be active participants in their child's care (or their own) when they have improved access to their medical files. That means they can view test results, review a doctor's instructions for home care, and even check for errors.

KidsHealth

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

With Aunty A'isha

PAGE 23

rajia39ishabiola@yahoo.com 08082071393.

Sights and sounds

Ho w do y ou cele br ate How you celebr bra your bir thda y? birthda thday?

T

he essence of celebrating birthday is to give thanks to God for preserving our lives. Due to the importance attached to birthday, it is not only kids that celebrate their dates of births but adults too.

It is in this light that the Minister of Health, Prof.

Onyebuchi Chukwu celebrated his birthday in a special way. Kids, can you guess this special way? He celebrated with kids!

The minister remembered when he was a child like you; he went to National Hospital last week to mark his birthday with gift items for children on admission. He also donated N1.2 million to aid the children’s medical bills. What a splendid way to thank God for preserving his life you will say.

Despite being on admission, the children were happy to receive the minister. They presented a portrait to him wishing him happy birthday and many more fruitful years to come.

There was a big cake created in 50 shape because the minister turned fifty.

The minister however advised children to learn good

Aunty A'isha is a year older today, happy birthday and many happy returns personal hygiene so they can live long and healthy.

Children, I hope you have learnt a noble way of celebrating birthday. You must not have money or gifts to share like the health minister because you are still children but you can share love and smiles can also work wonders on your friends!

Talk about birthday, today is Aunty A’isha’s birthday too. To all of us celebrating birthday today, I wish us many happy returns and a fulfilled life Hip! Hip!! Hip!!! Hurray!

You can show some love by sending a beautiful poem or birthday greeting to the above e-mail or phone number.

I will keep my fingers crossed. Cheers!

Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu and his wife during the celebration of his 50th birthday with children at the National Hospital, Abuja recently.

CREA TIVITY CREATIVITY 5 steps to making a beautiful birthday card

F

ind a piece of paper from your white sketch or colored sketch books or use printer paper. Fold the paper in half if you want a plain shaped card, leave it as this simple stage; for something more fancy, cut it into a shape such as a heart, circle, letter, number, etc. Add a design to it. Draw a design on it using markers, pencils, glitter glue, etc.

Let your creative juices flow. Glue on adornments such as cloth, buttons, raffia, cardboard pieces, etc., as wished. Scrapbooking elements can come in handy here if you have some left over in your craft bin. Add color if desired. Perhaps you could use the birthday person’s favourite colors! You don’t have to use coloring pencils.

Try colorful crayons, oil pastels or felt-tip pens! Write your message in the card and you could add a birthday saying something that sums up the recipient.

SHOR T ST OR Y SHORT STOR ORY

A

The hungry mouse

mouse was having a very bad time. She could find no food at all. She looked here and there, but there was no food, and she grew very thin.

At last the mouse found a basket, full of corn. There was a small hole in the basket, and she crept in.

She could just get through the hole. Then she began to eat the corn. Being very hungry, she ate a great deal, and went on eating and eating. She had grown very fat before she felt that

she had had enough.

When the mouse tried to climb out of the basket, she could not.

She was too fat to pass through the hole. “ How shall I climb out?” said the mouse. “oh, how shall I climb out?” Just then a rat came along, and he heard the mouse.

“Mouse,” said the rat, “if you want to climb out of the basket, you must wait till you have grown as thin as you were when you went in.”

DO YOU KNO W THA T...?

KNOW THAT

T

he water we use today is the same water the dinosaurs used? We cannot create new water. For millions of years, the water we have has been used again and again. We have been able to do this because there are natural cycles that clean the water each time we use it.

People are polluting our water. Businesses and cities dump chemicals and waste products into our rivers, lakes and oceans. People throw trash, furniture, garbage, old tires, cars, old fencing, anything they can

think of into the water. People also pollute the water by accident, by allowing their cars to leak oil and gas onto the ground. That oil and gas eventually washes into the water during rain storms and when people clean their driveways off with water.

The acid rain caused by pollution poisons water on the surface of the earth. Beneath the earth are layers of dirt and rock that act as containers for water. We call them aquifers.

Rainwater drains through the soil into the aquifers. We call the water in the aquifer

ground water. Groundwater supplies wells and springs. It is a very important source of water for all the plants and animals.

Acid rain soaks into the soil.

Like clean rainwater, it drains down into the aquifer through layers of rock that clean the water. However, the acid eats away at much of the rock and does not allow it to filter properly, so when it reaches the groundwater, the acid rain pollutes it. It becomes unusable. What is the cure for acid rain? We have to clean up the air.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

PAGE 22

With Aunty A'isha

rajia39ishabiola@yahoo.com 08082071393.

AFRICAN TALES

Party for horned animals only

MODEL OF THE WEEK

O

nce upon a time, elephant gave a party for horned animals only even when he had no horns. Nobody knew why except his wife for he said to her before he sent out the invitations, “if we invite the horned animals only, we won’t have to entertain the lion and lioness, how I hate that strutting pair! If they had not been here, I should definitely have been elected King of Beasts, and you, my dear, would have been my Queen,” Said the elephant.

The hare was not, of course, invited, as he had no horns, but he hadn’t been to a party for a long time so he decided to gate-crash (attend without an invitation) the elephant’s affair.

Taking a pair of old antelope horns that had been lying about the place for some time, he stuck them firmly on to his head with beeswax, laughing with delight as he observed his comical reflection in the pool’s calm waters. And away he hopped to the party.

All the horned animals were there the springbuck, buffalo, impala, kudu, rhinoceros, sable antelope, all of them, with the ladies admiring the headgear of their husbands who pranced and strutted about as if they were the stars of a fashion parade.

When a black wildebeest made the remark that it seemed odd for the hornless elephant to throw a party for the horned animals, the kindly kudu bull was heard to say, “But of course his tusks are really horns growing upside down, aren’t they?”

It was a marvelous party, with plenty to eat; shrubs, berries, fruits, juicy grass in little piles, and the finest aromatic roots so

that everybody who saw the horned hare thought that he was some exotic species of buck. In fact, when the rhinoceros asked him where he came from, saying at the same time that he had never seen such a fantastic animal before, the hare replied that he was a visitor to those parts from Burundi and was actually the last surviving member of his tribe.

As the party flowed like water, the spirits rose higher and higher.

The rhinoceros and the buffalo did a thundering tap-dance together so thundering that the hare feared the vibrations might shake his bees waxed horns loose), an impala troupe performed a ballet, the

DISCO VER Y DISCOVER VERY

How Is Paper Made?

elephant trumpeted grandly, and the warthog’s song was as sad as his appearance.

All night long the festivities continued, with the stars winking above the clearing and the moon lighting up the festivities. The hare, having had too much to eat, fell asleep under a peach tree.

When he awoke, with a splitting headache he felt the sun’s rays tapping at his eyelids, but he was shrewd enough not to open his eyes immediately, for he knew instinctively that something had gone wrong. And his heart thumped in fear as he heard the elephant rumbling near him.

To be continued…

Abdulhafiz Usman Dorayi

ACTIVITIES

D

id you know that paper is made from trees? Have you ever seen splinters in wood? Look at some wood and then some brown paper towel that your school has.

Can you see little splinters or small pieces of material in the paper?

Trees are cut down in the forest and are then sent to a paper mill.

At the paper mill, a machine removes the bark from the wood. Bark is not used to make paper, but it is used for other things. Can you think of ways that bark can be used? Nothing is wasted you know.

Once the bark is removed from the wood, it is chopped into very small pieces.

Did you know that they cook wood so that it can be made into paper? The chipped wood and some chemicals are added to a big pressure cooker.

The wood chips are cooked until they turn into a soft, slippery fleshy tissue. Now the soft, slippery paper pulp or fleshy tissue is poured into a container.

The container pours the tissue onto a large screen. This is where the water is drained from the paper. Next, the paper is pressed flat between two rollers.

Can you think of at least five different ways that is paper is used today?

Name and paint the above picture with beautiful colour, show your work to your teacher for correction.

Cheers!

PAGE 24

Kannywood Anita Alex Ibru weds Ghanaian Marcel Kouassigan

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28, — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

A

A

nita Avelohoya Athena Ibru, daughter of late AlexIbru, Publisher of The Guardian newspaper, married Ghanaian business man Marcel Gilbert Akutey Kouassigan on April 21, 2012.

The lovebirds who met 12 years ago at a friend’s party in

London had their wedding ceremony at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island Lagos and dignitaries like Aliko Dangote, First lady of Lagos state Abimbola Fashola, Oba Otudeko, Bola Tinubu & wife, Abba Folawiyo, Erelu Dosumu, etc were all there.

400 guests witness Stephanie Okereke’s wedding in France

N

ollywood superstar Stephanie Okereke is now Mrs. Idahosa!

Stephanie and her beau Public Relations/Media Executive Linus Idahosa exchanged vows a few days ago in France in the presence of 400 family and friends including Nollywood stars Genevieve Nnaji, Ini Edo, Uche Jombo, Richard Mofe Damijo and Monalisa Chinda.

The couple got engaged in 2010 when Linus proposed on Stephanie’s birthday. Linus had proposed to Stephanie in 2010 during her

birthday celebration.

Stephanie and Linus decided to celebrate their fairytale day on the 21st of April 2012 in grand style and have planned the nuptials for over a year. The bride chose a princess look for her big day as she wore a dramatic strapless ball gown with an asymmetric neckline and cathedral length veil paired with a lace veil and bejeweled belt. Stephanie’s dress is the “Euterpe” dress from Lebanese Couture Master Elie Saab’s Elie by Elie Saab Line for Pronovias.

Nollywood

Tchidi Chikere: Nuella opens up on husband snatching saga

couple of weeks back, the movie industry recorded another break-up of marital union as one time celebrated and highly respected couple, top movie director Tchidi Chikere and actress Sophia separated from each other.

According to the news that circulated within the period, sultry actress Nuella Njubuigbo was reportedly at the centre of their irreconcilable differences.

Nuella was alleged of having a sizzling romance with the ace movie director, which resulted in the couple’s break-up.

In a recent interview, the actress at the centre of the crisis opened up.

She denied having anything to do with Sophia’s marriage crash.

According to Nuella, “When the controversy of Tchidi and the wife broke out, I was so worried and upset.

I was like, why me? Initially I wanted to just keep quiet like I said that it’s not my business.

“But for the sake of my fans who love me, I had no option than to let them know the truth.

I am actually mad at some people for not even asking before writing.

When you hear something about someone, you call and ask.

I was surprised seeing a lot of false write-ups on me, putting my name in what I knew nothing about. I decided to keep mum. I was like; they should go ahead and write whatever they like.

But on a second thought, I said, no.

There are people out there who love me and they need to know.

That’s the reason why I am here.

There is no atom of truth in what people have been saying. I felt bad initially but at the same time it did not affect me because it has nothing to do with me.

Tchidi is just my senior colleague I respect and work with. He is my friend.

When asked, what about the pregnancy and engagement ring rumour; Nuella said, laughing, Pregnancy is not something you can cover.

Where is the pregnancy now? I don’t know where all that came from please.

The gain and pains of being a star is that I am more matured, and now everyone wants to know me and be around me.

Those are the things you gain as a star. And the pains are not being yourself, people misunderstanding you.

Sometimes you let the pains go and move on.

About any regrets in my career, oh yes sure sometimes, but it comes once in a while. Something can happen and I will say to myself ‘ oh Ella, if you weren’t an actress, this wouldn’t have happened; like on set, someone might piss me off and I will

PAGE 25

He loves the originality in me.

When I am not doing my job, I am me.

We understand each other so much. He specially told me that I must not make him public so I will respect that. He is in Nigeria but he travels a lot.

Sometimes he gets agitated about controversies am linked to but what can I do? I have to explain.

One good thing is that he knows me too well. He will only ask me and I will tell him the truth. He is one person who knows everything that has happened in my life in the last 3 years.

I don’t hide anything from him and he doesn’t from me too.

We understand each other so well.

If he proposes, I will definitely say yes. But he hasn’t. Maybe he has not made it clear enough but I will say yes.

My man is 100% unmarried

I am quitting acting —Ramsey Nouah

Nuella Njubuigbo

be like if I wasn’t here, will this person try it or make me overwork myself or I wouldn’t have been linked with false stories.

When asked, are you in any relationship and who is he; she said

Yes, I am in a relationship.

You don’t know him. I can’t mention his name because he is not a public person and would never want to be in the public eye.

I cherish him so much and that is

all. I met him about 3 years ago. I was travelling, I met him at the airport, though we didn’t get to talk then but we finally met at a friend’s child dedication and we started talking on phone from there.

Tracking down this ‘Nollywood’ Alister was an experience in itself, so much so that by the time I got to meet him, I felt like a soldier who had survived a very long and arduous campaign. The journey coupled with leads from e-mails, text messages and phone calls to well-known industry contacts, finally took me to the ancient city of Ibadan in Oyo state where he was in the process of shooting an epic movie.

However, because we were pressed for time, this interview is not all encompassing, but revealed Ramsey as one who is very guarded about his privacy, the award winning actor talks about the industry, his humble beginnings and projection for the future after ‘Nollywood’.

How would you assess the industry now, after almost 20 years on the scene?

In the beginning, nobody knew that it was going to be this big. Back then, when we started off, we had good content, storyline, production, and acting. You would actually think that with time it would get better, but unfortunately there are so many obstacles with anything good. The changes in policy [and in] government, etc have affected the industry. Also there was a huge break out of piracy, which of course affected it adversely.

How have the lack of effective regulatory bodies affected the industry?

Regulatory bodies are needed in any industry in the world, not just in film. Indeed, we do not have that, and you can blame that on many factors.

It is a chain reaction that’s affecting us on many fronts. Our guilds, for instance, are not very effective in making these things work. Also, we are not unified; there is no unity among most of the actors, unlike in the music sector. If we all come together as one and find a unifying front, we will make it happen.

How true is it that some film makers have become more determined to make good movies?

Everybody is talking about having fantastic productions. For instance, here in Ibadan, we are shooting a very strong movie about the assassination of Murtala Mohammed, [which] is a very

sensitive issue. We’ve been planning this since 2001, but we didn’t get permission from the military, which stalled it. However, we finally have the approval and we are getting on board. A very good movie will stand the test of time, the type we can keep in the archives and people will refer to it later and commend it. The type my grand-children will see and [say] ‘yeah that’s my granddad, they revolutionised the industry’.

Did you model yourself after any particular actor when starting out?

Not exactly. When I got into acting, there was nobody to really model myself after, I mean I grew up with the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone.

But you know we don’t do action films, so I couldn’t possibly tell you that I was looking up to these actors.

What about others like Al pacino, Robert de Niro…

Well, I wasn’t privy to those films at the time. I grew up not having a lot. Television was like a huge luxury at the time. It was when I bumped into people watching movies outside that I got the opportunity to see some films.

James Bond was one of the very

Ramsey Nouah

Movie Star Family Jolade and her husband, Mathew and children on vacation in London popular ones at the time. But I didn’t even think I was going to act. Back then, most of the people who were acting in Nigeria were Theatre arts graduates or students who were fantastic actors. Before then, there were soaps like ‘Ripples’, ‘Checkmate’ and the like. It was after I got into acting that I could actually say ‘Oh yeah, I like Al Pacino’.

At what point did you realize you were no longer a ‘regular’ guy?

After ‘Fortunes’, people, when they saw me would go wild and start calling me ‘Jeff Akin Thomas’, which was the character I played on ‘Fortunes’. I used to get upset, and I couldn’t handle it. I didn’t know that that was what followed fame, but I didn’t understand it at the time, I didn’t understand what it was to be famous.

Was it because you were a recluse?

No, on the contrary, I was the boisterous type. It ‘s just that I didn’t have the privilege of seeing the things of life from an early age because I grew up not having [a lot], and for me, it’s a fantastic balance because it made me grounded and focused. But I like that, [because] seeing both sides of the coin has helped me.

How has your experience helped in your kids upbringing?

It’s about personal training. Of course I wouldn’t want a situation where I wouldn’t be able to provide for my kid, but I wouldn’t just provide everything he asks for, because it would be silly for me to just let him have anything he wants at his beck and call.

What if your kid wants to go into acting?

I don’t have any reservations about that. I’m a very free and liberal minded person. But I wouldn’t really want them to go into the movie industry.

Nigerian movie industry you mean?

Well, to me, there is only one movie industry, and that is the Nigerian one.

That’s my opinion, of course, because I know a whole lot of people are targeting Hollywood. But for me, I’m not keen on getting into Hollywood.

I’m of the opinion that ‘Nollywood’ will get to a point where it will be very big sometime soon. Don’t forget, most of the people targeting Hollywood are doing so because of the pay, and then maybe the fame on a much bigger stage. For me, however, I think the fame I already have on the platform of ‘Nollywood’ suffices.

Are you quitting acting?

I think I’ve had my fair share. To my fans and loved ones, I know they’ll always want to see me on screen, but as they say, it’s best to leave when the ovation is loudest. I want to leave a very strong legacy. I believe I have left a very strong imprint in that line.

There’s no possible way you can mention ‘Nollywood’ without mentioning Ramsey Nouah.

So what’s next for you?

Well, I’ll be going behind the scenes.

I’ll still be acting a bit here and there, but it will phase out for directing eventually. For a while now, I’ve not really been on the screen, and that’s because I don’t want to act just because I want to be on TV. I only want to be associated with the kind of movies that are poised to take the industry to another level, which is were we are headed now. Plus, I want to focus on working behind the scenes. ©net

PAGE 26

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

Hollywood/Bollywood Beyonce is People Magazine's coveted World's Most Beautiful Woman honour

Beyonce

P

eople magazine has named Beyonce the world's most beautiful woman. (People) Let's be honest: Hollywood is filled with geneticallyblessed women. But who is the loveliest of them all?

Well, according to People magazine, it's Beyonce Knowles. The new mom has been named People's World's Most Beautiful Woman 2012 and graces the cover of the magazine's new special double issue.

"I feel more beautiful than I've ever felt because I've given birth," Beyonce, who welcomed her first

child, daughter Blue Ivy, with husband Jay-Z in January, says in an exclusive interview with the magazine. "I have never felt so connected, never felt like I had such a purpose on this earth." The 30-year-old says she feels more beautiful than ever now that she's given birth.

Beyonce is so headover-heels in love with her little girl that she even claims to "love" changing Blue's diapers. She also sings original songs to her little star. "She's just the cutest thing," the 30year-old gushes. "The

word 'love' means something completely different now."

This is the ninth time Beyonce has made the magazine's Most Beautiful People list, but her first time on the cover of the special issue. Other stars appearing in the issue this time around include veterans Julia Roberts and Nicole Kidman (who have made the list 13 times and 10 times, respectively) as well as "Mad Men" breakout star Jessica Pare. Some of the fellows featured are David Beckham, Blake Shelton and Ashton Kutcher.

'Student of the Year' to release on October 19

W

e l l , all those who are waiting for Karan Johar's next directorial venture "Student of the Year" to release are in for a delight. The film is set to hit the big screens on October 19th, this year.

The comedy stars newbie's Siddharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt in lead roles.

Johar recently tweeted, "STUDENT OF THE YEAR will release on the 19th of OCTOBER 2012… it launches 3 newcomers…

Sidharth Malhotra…. Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt."

Kajol and Boman Irani are guests appearing. Boman Irani's son, Kayoze is also making his acting debut with the film. The film is produced

by Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar.

Hope the film turns out to be a hit.

100 yrs of cinema with 'Sheila Ki Jawani'

T

h e r e is no doubt that Zoya Akhtar is a brilliant director.

She proved her mettle after

giving a box office hit,"Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara." Now, the lady is thinking of making a

Lindsay Lohan Insurance Policies: Not Cheap!

L

i n d s a y Lohan will play Elizabeth Taylor in the Lifetime biopic Liz and Dick, but not without a major insurance policy taken out by the network, reports say.

Many fans don't feel that Lindsay has what it takes to play a Hollywood legend of that stature. Lifetime clearly disagrees, but is also covering its behind.

Producer Larry Thompson went to great lengths to insure his controversial star, E! News confirms. And yes, this happens more often than can be imagined.

"We have more than a Plan B actually," Thompson revealed, "[because] Lindsay Lohan may be the most insured actress that ever walked on a sound stage." Thompson declined to specify what the plan was.

Thompson admitted moving the shooting from Canada to L.A. in order to "minimize some risks" with

Lohan, with whom "troubled" has become synonymous.

He's quick to praise her on merit, however, noting that it was Lindsay's softer side of "vulnerability" that got her the part of the highly emotional legend.

"Even if I learn to regret it," he says, "Sitting here today I think it is still for

the movie a great risk to run.

Lindsay's really excited by the challenge" "She has the right attitude and a noble purpose; it's not like she's going to go do a little job the responsibility of playing Elizabeth Taylor is large."

The insurance premium on her is also not small.

Yahoo.com

Akhtar

Kareena Kapoor bags another challenging role!

K

Lohan

special documentary on the Indian Film Industry which has clocked 100 years.

The documentary will look back at the beginning of the film industry and trace its magnificent growth till date. It will also include interesting trivia and facts about the film fraternity.

Zoya even managed to involve a couple of celebrities in the documentary. These include her brother Farhan Akhtar, nutty Ranvir Shorey and Katrina Kaif.

Zoya wanted Kat to be part of her documentary as she is really fond of the 'Chikni Chameli' girl. Even though Kat was busy shooting for Yash Chopra's big film with Shah Rukh, she made time for Zoya.

a r e e n a Kapoor is on a roll. The actress is currently shooting for Madhur Bhandarkar’s film Heroine, where she has a super challenging role to essay and now the latest we hear is that Bebo has bagged another challenging role of queen Arundhati in the Hindi remake of 2009 Telugu blockbuster Arundhati.

Arundhati is a womencentric film with breath taking graphics and technology. The film is set in the ancient times. It was

the biggest blockbuster, in the Telugu film industry.

Sonu Sood will play the villain in the Hindi version. He was a devil in the Telugu version as well.

The Hindi remake rights of the film have been acquired by Gemini Film Circuit.

Speaking about the role, Kareena Kapoor says, “I am excited to do this that had importance for the female character.”The film is an action thriller. It starred Anushka Shetty in its original’’.

Bollywoodgossips.com

Kapoor

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

PAGE 27

Homes

Wall shelves may be wooden, steel or glass

C

l u t t e r is not unusual for most homes. In fact, it can be a constant challenge that many people find stressful as they find themselves in a never ending cycle of cleaning. This is why it is important to organize shelving to help remove the clutter from the floor and coffee tables to a place where they can be kept and organized. Wall shelves are a great way to achieve this.

Wall shelving can have many purposes. It can serve as a shelf for your pictures or a shelf for added storage. If you have ever rearranged a room or moved homes you know that you have far too many pictures for the space you have. The problem is you don't want to leave one of those pictures out.

You want to display them all.

Wall shelving will solve your problem. Wall shelving gives you the extra space for displaying your pictures, memorabilia, small plant or candle. Wall shelving can also limit the clutter and add some extra space to your overflowing cupboard or closet too.

Everyone needs extra space and organization. Why not have yours look nice too. Add new decorative wall shelving to your shopping cart today and enjoy seeing your house a little less.

The beauty of having shelves on your wall also, is that it affords your interiors the exquisite look of elegance which tends to cast a spell on first timers to your home. Those cute valuable items which would ordinarily have been locked up

Glass wall shelf

in the closet graciously find some space on the shelf and add glamour to your environment, making it exceedingly welcoming. They may be wooden, steel or glass.

Wall shelves come in a range of different styles and materials. For example, there is a 24 inch ledge, curbed ledges or sets of cubbies shelves. Wood is the standard material but more elegant shelves can be made from glass or even metal.

Regardless of their style of shape they are a great way to hold your books, magazines, photographs or ornamental pieces.

But it's not just the living areas which can benefit from wall shelves. In the kitchen, wall shelves can hold your cooking books, food products or appliances. In the bathroom these shelves can keep your towels and toiletries out of the way and organized. Likewise, many people find that wall shelves can be a useful addition to the garage where tools, auto parts or handyman bits can be stored safely. And don't forget your children's room with all their play toys and bits and pieces which can become messy if not stored away correctly.

When choosing a wall shelf it is important to know what you will be using it for. That way you will be able to choose a shelf that suits your needs. For example, if you want it to hold small items then you won't need a large shelf.

If you are going to have the shelf hold ornamental pieces then you may opt for a decorative shelf over a plain one.

While attempting to install a new set of shelving you'll probably notice the tendency for the brackets to get in the way. No matter what you do or how you position them you can't seem to get the shelves to sit right. Don't worry though; there is a way around this, which is through the use of floating shelves.

The benefit of floating wall shelves is the fact they come with different brackets. They don't feature the the traditional

Steel wall shelf

style brackets that can sometimes hinder your perfect shelving arrangement. They come with an internal bracket that runs the full depth of the shelving. Once you've installed them you'll notice that the bracket cannot be seen at all.

This allows for a clearer and less cluttered looking shelf with a far sleeker look. This form of shelving affords the user full control over the appearance and allows for them to be positioned virtually anywhere.

Kitchen wall shelf

Floating wall shelves are incredibly functional and beautiful. They come in different shapes and sizes, ranging from retro to modern in many different colours. The fact they come in so many different colours is an enormous bonus for owners of color themed residences. You'll be pleased to know that it doesn't matter what style you finished your home in as there is bound to be a beautiful set of floating shelves that will fit in perfectly.

PAGE 28

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

Cuisine

Pots & Pans

With Hajiya Ramatu Usman Dorayi

Why your dining table can't serve its purpose I

f your home functions like most people's homes, your dining table isn't used just for eating. In addition to providing a dining space, our table is used for meal preparation, our children's colouring surface, an alternate work station if you need a change of space from your desks, a hang out spot to sit and read, and dozens of other purposes. But keeping clutter off the table and making it ready for eating with your family and friends is more important than using it as clutter station. Here are some of the strategies to keep it clear: -Have a mail processing station by the main entrance.

First and foremost, the dining table is not a place for mails. So create a mail processing station by your main entrance where you can sort, shred, trash, recycle, and properly handle all your mails.

-Keep a trash can near your dining table. If you have a formal dining room, you are likely not to have a trash can in this space. Find a way to hide one near a side table, or keep one very close by in another room that you can easily pick up and move

into this space.

-Organize your buffet or sideboard to meet the needs of the space. So often, sideboards and buffets are full of china that is rarely used or silver service you pull out just once a year. If you want these special event items, store them someplace more remote (the high shelves of kitchen cupboards are usually good locations) and use your sideboard or buffet for things you actually use in your dining room. In addition to storing place mats and napkins, your sideboard holds crayons and colouring books, a pair of scissors, an extra set of reading glasses, table cleaning supplies, a few pens and pencils, a spare power cable that works with all the laptops in the house, an extension cord, and a radio.

-Set the table as the first step of meal preparation. If you don't plan to use the table while you're making the meal, set it with plates, cups, silverware, etc., as your first meal preparation step. This way, when your guests come through the dining room, they won't deposit items not related to the meal on the table.

-Don't pick up and drop stuff someplace else.

Although it is incredibly easy to just scoop up what is on the table and set it on another surface, try your best to properly sort through items when you remove them. Throw out the trash, put toys away, shred papers you do not need anymore and file those that need to be filed.

-Wipe down the table

and sweep the floor after every meal. To keep from getting ants, this step is imperative with a toddler in the house. However, it might not be such an obvious step if the people dining at your table aren't in the habit of dropping half their food on the floor.

Completely cleaning off the table after every meal

makes it a welcoming space for the next meal or whatever other use you need. This is also a great thing to do after every alternate use, too.

-Avoid having a catch-all container that lives on the table. In some homes the catch-all container is a circular rotating tray, in others it might be a

decorative plate or bamboo platter. Devices that are made to hold salt, pepper, sugar, napkins, and condiments are great for containing small items - but they'll end up holding other non-meal related small items if the tray isn't removed from the table after every meal. Have a place in the kitchen for this service.

Chicken fingers on a stick Tropical fruit with lime dressing Instructions 1 . Cut each chicken breast lengthwise into 1/2-

inch-wide strips and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold the chicken

strips slightly and weave them onto the skewers.

2 . Prepare a charcoal fire or set a gas grill to medium-high, close the lid and heat until hot, about 10 to 15 minutes.

3 . In a small bowl, stir together the oil and the barbecue sauce. Spread the bread crumbs on a sheet of waxed paper. Lightly brush the sauce mixture over the chicken strips and then roll them in the bread crumbs.

4 . Grill the chicken fingers uncovered until they’re no longer pink inside, about 2 to 4 minutes per side on a gas grill.

5. Serve with the dipping sauce of your choice. Serves 6 to 8.

This colourful dish highlights the exotic flavours of the tropics, using ingredients that grow where the weather is warm year-round.

Ingredients: · 2 medium oranges · 1 ripe mango · 1 firm-ripe avocado · 1 ripe papaya · 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 4 limes) · 2 tablespoons honey · 1 teaspoon ground red chile powder (optional) Instructions: 1 . Peel away the rind and the white pith (which tastes bitter) from the oranges and then cut them crosswise into 1/2-inchthick slices. Help your child peel and slice the

mango, avocado, and papaya. Arrange the slices in a decorative pattern on a platter. In a bowl, whisk together the lime juice,

honey, and chili powder, if you like. Drizzle the dressing over the fruit.

Serve at room temperature.

PAGE 29

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

W omanhood Would you stand by

your man when he falls?

Silda Spitzer

By Jamila Nuhu Musa with agency report

R

e m e m b e r the way it used to be?

In the developed world, how a disgraced politician would stand at a podium, admitting guilt, a c k n o w l e d g i n g homosexuality or of having an affair with prostitutes while his shamefaced wife stands loyally by his side.

In Africa, the affected wife would bemoan the embarrassment, shed some tears and probably ask for a divorce or live with it as his array of girlfriends and mistresses may as well be a status symbol.

But anyone who didn't know what the word humiliation really meant only needed to see pictures of Eliot Spitzer, an American lawyer and politician, how his wife stood by his side as he confessed his involvement with a prostitution ring last year.

The world of that woman crashed as her husband spoke, similarly, Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinski

Berlusconi's wife, Veronica Lario political sex scandal, how Hilary stood solidly behind the United States President in 1998.

Is it not ironical that the wives of politicians in that clime play such huge role in making their husbands feel good despite their disparaging situation? But is it right for any man to put a woman through such an ordeal after damaging his own name? Eliot Spitzer made his wife the pity of the world, a sorry and tragic character. It was painful just to watch that press conference, reports said.

Though Spitzer's wife was not the one who paid money for prostitutes to be trafficked across the States but she protected his image.

Would her man given her the same protection?

It would seem that women are no longer playing this role. "Today's politician's wives are no longer playing the part of victim to their husband's charades", said analyst, Anushay Hossain . If anything, wives are now "outing" their husbands before they get the chance

to out themselves, she said.

This makes it possible for the wives to be spared a looming humiliation, when they expose their husbands for who they really are before they are discovered. Thus, providing themselves security and protecting their own image and the image of their children.

Like in the case of Veronica Lario, Silvio Berlusconi's estranged wife, who bluntly told the press that she could no longer put up with her husband's "infatuation with young women," and wanted a divorce. Berlusconi, Italy's current Prime Minister and one of the richest men in the world was entangled in a sex scandal with a cocaine dealing businessman, accused of supplying Berlusconi with girls at his private residences in Rome and Sardegna.

Many Italian women credit Lario for igniting a new "feminist" fervour in Italy, where women are culturally encouraged to guard their men and their family's honour. No public hanging of dirty, private family matters but Veronica Lario opted for

telling the world what being married to Silvio Berlusconi was really like. If the status of cultural trailblazer wasn't enough for her, the $65 million a year alimony that she sought, was.

Women have had enough of society's rule, which allows and condones men's promiscuity while their women played the perfect wives. They were forced to be responsible for the men's "good image", especially men who are public figures. The most important role a politician's wife plays is that of a loving, fiercely loyal spouse, and it is a role that has to be played very convincingly. After all, if the wife seemingly forgave her husband the public would have no choice than to follow suit.

While Lario got her revenge on Berlusconi financially, another politician's wife who carved a niche for herself in this regard was Jenny Sanford.

When it came to light that South Carolina Governor, Mark Sanford was actually having an affair with an Argentinean

Jenny Sanford woman in Buenos Aires, and not hiking in the Appalachian Mountains, his wife Jenny Sanford opted out of standing by him during his public confession.

Now it turned out that Mark Sanford had run up 37 counts of ethic charges for his "improper use of campaign contributions, and "unreported use" of friends' private planes. He even openly referred to the other woman, Maria Belen Chapur, as his soul mate.

Jenny Sanford, a Georgetown University graduate and former investment banker, was to have none of this. As her husband's political future fell to pieces, his wife was building a brand.

A New York Times reported that Jenny Sanford opted to write a book (of course!) on her experience dealing with her husband's infidelity. She also trademarked her name to sell clothing and other merchandise. Sanford even had her own website with press releases and pictures.

To top it all, she endorsed

State Representative Nikki Haley to succeed her husband as South Carolina's Governor. The NY Times labeled Mrs. Sanford as, "the reluctant poster woman" for not standing by her man.

What would Jackie Kennedy have said about this? That does not matter.

What really matters is, it is about time women stopped doing their politician husbands the favour of abetting them in their illicit affairs and covering up their corrupt practices.

What we have learnt from women like Veronica Lario, and in particular Jenny Sanford, is that you do not have to pay the price for a husband who preferred to destroy his own image and also pull you down while you played dumb.

Women like Sanford have shown what it means to be a politician's wife in this age and time. She reminds women to be themselves while playing the "till death do us part" role. But is that the best revenge?

PAGE 30

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012 Do you have old pictures for memories?

Send them to peoplesdailyweekend@yahoo.com

From the archives From Zik’s Album

Nnamdi “Zik” Azikiwe in his attire as the High Owelle of Onitsha

Nnamdi Azikiwe, Premier of Eastern Nigeria, at Idlewild Airport from London 7/5/59.

The young Zik

(L-R): Ambassador Alex Quaison Sackey (Ghana), Nnamdi Azikiwe (Nigeria), Ambassador Diallo Telli (Guinea) and US Diplomat and Nobel Laureate Ralph Bunche at the International House, United Nations, July 19, 1959. Photo by Paul Cordes courtesy of Dept. of Special Collections UCLA Charles E. Young Research Library.

Zik with his wife Flora Azikiwe on return from the USA in 1953.

Zik in military ceremonial uniform

L ear ning PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

Peoples Classroom Book Review

Book Title: Author: Publishers: Reviewer:

Real Babes Love Jesus Grace Ozioma Onotu Bethel Creations.

Joy Baba

“Real Babes Love Jesus” (2012) by Grace Ozioma Onotu is a book which turn search light on how ladies should live their lives to fulfill their God ordained mission in this perverse generation.

The author used the moral perspective to narrate things happening in the present day world. Her use of English is simple and easy to understand.

It looks at the negative life style of some individuals and how they came to enjoy peace after they turned from their negative life style. Ladies are to live Godly and exemplary life no matter the situation they face in life. It gives direction on what to do and how to do it to become God’s best as a lady on a mission in life.

The book, which consists of four chapters expounds on how to be eternity conscious while determined to fulfill God’s purpose here on earth. It is a book with strong voice to ladies that the grace of God is more than sufficient to be all they are

created to be in spite of the perversion and decadence in the society. It looks at qualities of a lady on a mission on earth. A lady on mission should be purposeful in all she does for her to attain greatness. She must love humanity and be ready to be God’s agent of love and change in service. She is a lady willing to pay the price for greatness not using the shot cuts which are dangerous cuts and not depending on man or looking for ‘long legs’ in their life endeavors.

Women are seen as the disadvantaged ones in the society with all manners of weakness and are prone to emotional, financial and political manipulations. These have made it difficult for women to successfully impact meaningfully on their generation globally.

Any lady ready to work with God in this perverse world will surely have reward for her faithfulness. She will have abundant life in every

By Joy Baba

ramification and live a life of peace in union with God. Real babes are patient and not materialistic. They depend absolutely on God and not man. God should be their “sugar Daddy” and not any man. The author looks at how ladies should dress; their relationship with opposite sex and she said dressing decently should be her watchword.

Most importantly, a real babe must have an intimate relationship with her God and be purpose driven and oriented. To achieve the above, she has to: · Have passion for her purpose · Have strength and courage · Enter into a covenant with God to live a holy life · Be God opinionated and not people opinionated · Be conscious of purpose in relation to marriage On a final note the author advised that every lady should know her purpose and mission as this will guide her in choosing her life partner because a man who is going nowhere or has not discovered his purpose will make a mess of a woman with a sense of purpose.

PAGE 31

ICT ESSENCE

Do you like this story?

When you're ready to start a blog, all our mind sets would be on theme, design aspects, and making our blog look better, but we ignore certain aspects which must be present before starting our blog. Only when these things are set clear before starting a blog, then it can come out as successful blog. Here are few things that should be taken care of before starting a blog.

I am not sure about the statistics, but on an average 10,000 blogs are created per day, but 3 months later only 1% is maintained. So most of the people concentrate on designing the blog rather leaving out the main aspects which makes the blog more successful on the long run.

Here are few working methods that would make your blog more successful probably if you keep all these points in mind before starting your blog. #1 - Schedule 10 To 20 Quality Articles Earlier Before your blog is live, make sure you schedule some 10 to 20 quality articles which are ready to be published. Many bloggers install wordpress and keep it as such with the Hello World post. No one wants to see that, instead a new blogger should produce some quality post and show the ability.

First impressions are the best ones and you should make the reader to come again to your blog. So, work before your blog is alive. #2 - Changes Should Be Finalized Offline Don't work or make changes to the live blog. Once you've made live, then only thing you should concentrate is on quality articles over quantity and also promotion.

All the changes to the design and other things should be

The only thing you should concentrate on is content and promotion. #3 - Content Is Nothing Until You Promote It So, you have finalised the design and also started working on content once the blog is live, now how to make people know about your blog?

Content is nothing until you promote it. So, promotion here plays a major role, now start promoting your blog. Plan for promotional activities before you start a blog. Before starting a blog, get into the social media sites like twitter, facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc.

Make friends, let them know who you're. If you're on twitter, Retweet the post of some bloggers, get their attention, start the conversation with them.

Same goes with digg, facebook, and other sites. So now once you've got some familiarity with them, it will be easy for promotional activities. When you make your blog live, it will be easy to get some traffic from other sources than search engines. #4 - Only Passion Can Drive Your Blog With

with success. Many people fail in the first 3 months because of less passion towards work and no patience.

So, the 4 points which you should tell your mind always; a.

Hard Work by frequent update of articles and writing quality content, b.

Patience, c.

Smart promotion of your blog and d.

Communicating with fellow bloggers and readers.

So focusing on all these 4 points will make your blog successful. You should also maintain concentration in Blogging. #5 - Follow The 'Don't Give Up Nature' Apart from design, content, promotion and communication, you should set your mind free and strongly follow the 'don't give up nature'. Blogging is not quick race, its more like a marathon.

You will be successful only on a long run. So never give up at any circumstances. You may fail, but learn where you've failed and come back with a bang. Strictly follow the

finalised at offline. When you're branding your blog, design it offline and make it live at once.

Don't keep changing the design or other things often.

Success Here on the note 4, I would like to focus on 4 points that you should keep in mind before starting a blog. Only passion can drive your blog

'don't give up nature', you will be successful one day!

Believe the potential in You! Next week, we will talk about how to promote your blog/website.

with

Bello Abdul’Azeez +234 805 113 0075 abdulazeez@ictessence.com www.ictessence.com

5 things to keep in mind before starting a Blog

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

PAGE 32

F Strap sandals are flattering and comfortable Compiled by Miriam Humbe

S

trap sandals are not just fashionable and classy but also, flattering and comfortable.

They present a picture of the most perfect foot wears for strolling downtown on weekends or evening outs.

Strappy sandals add a fashionable twist and look great day or night!

With diamantes and jewels, they are perfect evening sandals or bridal shoes.

It pays to show some sexy skin with

sandals in a befitting outfit, so go get yourself some strappy gladiator and Grecian sandals, embellished flip flops, and bejeweled sandals straight from the runway.

It is obvious that most ladies love stepping out in their heels, but sometimes they do need a pair of sandals to pull together their casual dresses or to add the finishing touch to their slinky evening gowns the Omotola Jalade Ekeinde style.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

PAGE 33

Business

Flyovers have eased business activities in mega cities

Gas flaring: Oil bearing communities demand N98bn compensation

T

h e Abia state chapter of the Oil and Gas Host CommunitiesofNigeria has demanded N98 billion from the Federal Government as part of the accumulated compensation for gas flaring.

Chief Jonathan Ezere, the chairman of the association, who made the demand on Friday while briefing journalists in Umuahia, put the total amount of compensation at N1 trillion.

Ezere claimed that the compensation was a product of a tripartite agreement reached in 1958 between host communities on one hand and the Federal Government and the oil multinational companies on the other.

He claimed that the oil multinationals had paid the money into government coffers and demanded that the government should pay an initial N98 billion and thereafter, agree with the

association on how to pay the balance.

“We are not fighting the Federal Government to pay us this money mistakenly paid into its account; it is our right; Government must release the money to address numerous environmental challenges in the area.”

The chairman accused the government of developing other parts of the country with the oil revenue while the communities suffered from environmental degradation.

“If this money is given to us, wecanuseittoprovidepipeborne water, cottage industries, modularrefineries,creditfacilities and other things to empower our people.”

Ezere told reporters that the group was awaiting President Goodluck Jonathan’s response on the matter, having forwarded its demand through the Minster of Petroleum Resources. NAN

FIRS collects N13.81trn tax revenue in four years T

Augustine Aminu with agency report h e Acting Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Alhaji Kabir Mashi said yesterday in Asaba that the agency has collected N13.81 trillion as tax from 2008 to March, 2012.

Mashi, gave the information at a field operations Group Regional Management meeting, said the agency collected N2.97 trillion revenue as against a target of N2.27 trillion given to it by the Federal Government, during the period.

He said that in 2009, while the agency had a target of N1.91 trillion, it realised 2.20 trillion and in 2010, it generated N2.84 trillion, about N33 billion more than the N2.51 trillion projected for the year.

Mashi said that the agency recorded a huge performance in 2011 with N4.63 trillion against a target of N3.63 trillion for the year.

“In the first quarter of 2012, our quarterly target from government is N909 billion and the service collected N1.17 trillion during the period,” he said.

Mashi said that the 2012 first quarter performance was an improvement of about 29 per cent over the N955 billion collected in the corresponding period in 2011, adding that Petroleum Profit Tax contributed 72 per cent of the total collection.

He, however, said that the service often set targets for itself every year but expressed regret that although it collected more revenue than the government expected, the figure fell short of the

corporate target by more than N10 billion.

Mashi said that for the current fiscal year, the internal revenue target was N5.08 trillion, translating to a monthly collection of N1.27 trillion and promised that the organisation would strive to meet the target.

Reviewing regional and departmental revenue collection performances between January and March, he said the Federal Capital Territory realised N4.1 billion as against a target of N12.5 billion.

The South-South region collected 90 per cent of set target with N15.5 billion against the projected revenue of N17.25 billion, while the North Central region achieved 97.5 per cent of its target, Mashi said.

“North West collected about 89 per cent, North East

made 104 per cent for the period, Lagos Island collected only 49 per cent of target, Lagos Mainland, 87 per cent and Western and Eastern regions collected about 90 per cent and 66 per cent, respectively,” he said.

Mashi urged the regions with low performances to brace up to the challenges of the job, saying “to whom much is given, much is expected.”

He appealed to FIRS staff to be committed to its growth “so that together, we will contribute to the growth of the country.”

Commenting on areas to focus effort to improve tax collection, Mashi said that the agency would embark on audit of its Value Added Tax (VAT) regime to ensure that it was strengthened to achieve desired goals.

PAGE 34

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

Business News Nigerian industries import 90% of own raw materials, says RMRDC D-G Augustine Aminu with agency report

T

h e Director-General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof Peter Onwualu has said that 90 per cent of the raw materials used in the country were imported by manufacturers.

Onwualu stated this on Friday in Abuja in an over the week on the sidelines of the ongoing 3rd International Conference on

Natural Resource Development and Utilisation.

He urged the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) to collaborate with the Federal Government to stop the importation of raw materials that were available in the country.

Onwualu said that the objective of the conference was to enable the stakeholders to discuss ways of reducing substantially the volume of imported raw materials.

“Currently on the average, our

This week at the Exchange

T

r a d i n g activities on the Nigerian bourse closed positive for the second consecutive week as profitable transactions dominated market activities in most trading days of the week while NSE Index crossed the 22,000 psychological line as bargain activities significantly outweighed sell pressure.

Furthermore, the key benchmark indices sustained uptrend by +0.10% to open the first trading day of the week optimistic as Blue Chips stocks lift the market indicators further while the second also closed in the positive territory by +0.53% as the bulls continue to dominate market activities to further the rally.

Bargain activities continued to outweigh sell pressure in the third session as NSE ASI firms up by +0.34% to maintain northwards movement as market YTD performance stands at +5.96% while similar outlook was also recorded on Thursday with NSE

Index recording +0.64% gain to close the fourth session also northwards.

Conversely, trading activities on Friday closed in the red zone as sentiments turned negative.

Consequently, the key benchmark indices dips marginally by -0.001% while market closed the week with aggregate gain of +1.62%.

Further analysis on acquiring banks since transaction date showed that the share price of Access Bank Plc has recorded 17.78% gain, followed by FCMB with 34.10% gain while Union Bank Plc leads the chart with 93.78% gain. However, Sterling Bank recorded -5.51% loss while ETI closed positive with +1.11% gain recorded. See the tracking table below However, the All-Share Index in the week under review moved up by +1.62% to close at 22,109.44 as against an upbeat by +4.89% recorded last week to close at 21,756.50.

In the same vein, the market

industries import up to 80 to 90 per cent of their raw materials; on the other hand, there is no raw material that cannot be produced in this country.

“The only problem is that they are in their raw form; so what we are trying to do is to develop the sector to create an environment for private people to be able to harness those natural resources and process them and supply to the big industries so that this 80 to 90 per cent can gradually begin to come down. ”he said.

Trade Fair: Kaduna State Govt cancels April environmental sanitation exercise

T

he Kaduna State Government said on Friday that it had cancelled the April Environmental sanitation exercise due to the 33th Kaduna International Trade Fair that will be officially declared open on April 28.

Mr. Solomon Guruza, the Director of Environment, disclosed this in Kaduna yesterday.

Guruza said that the exercise was cancelled to enable people

from within and outside the state to participate fully in the international trade fair.

He said that the state Ministry of Environment had deployed solid wastes contractors to the fair to ensure proper waste management at the fair ground.

In order to make the fair conducive for participants, the director said the state government had supplied more than 50 mobile toilets for participants’ convenience.

NSE ASI records +1.62% gain in the week

capitalization in the week appreciated by N112.55 billion (US$750.37 million) to close at N7.05 trillion (US$46.99billion) as against appreciation by N322.96 billion (US$2.15 billion) recorded last week to close at N6.93 trillion (US$ 46.24billion).

The total volume traded in the week closed at 1.96 billion units valued at N17.23billion (US$114.87 million) compared with 2.04 billion units valued at N15.73 billion (US$104.87 million) exchanged in 19,783 deals last week. The volume transaction in the week when compared with the previous week data moved down by -4.24% as against upwards movement by +27.81% recorded last week. Weekly value also went up by +9.54% as against positive position of +69.81% recorded last week.

The volume traded in the top ten most traded stocks for the week represented 76.59% of the entire market volume transactions and

their total value accounted for 69.83% of the market value.

Financial Services sector emerged the most traded sector in the week in terms of volume. The volume traded in the sector this week alone closed at 1.70 billion units, valued at N12.58billion and exchanged in 14,914 deals compared with 1.76 billion units, valued at N10.78billion and exchanged in 10,826 deals in the preceding week.

The volume traded in the sector accounted for 86.63% of the entire market compared with 86.20% of the ratio recorded last week.

UBA Plc led the market volume for the week as it also top traded stock on the transaction volume chart last week.

The sector's volume transaction was mainly boosted by trading in the shares of the companies in the topten category.

Consumer Goods sector followed with 114.48 million units valued at N3.55 billion and exchanged in 4,032 deals compared with 113.97 million units, valued at N3.64billion and exchanged in 3,520 recorded in the sector last week.

The volume traded in the top ten most traded stocks for the week

represented 76.59% of the entire market volume transactions and their total value accounted for 69.83% of the market value.

Financial Services sector emerged the most traded sector in the week in terms of volume. The volume traded in the sector this week alone closed at 1.70 billion units, valued at N12.58billion and exchanged in 14,914 deals compared with 1.76 billion units, valued at N10.78billion and exchanged in 10,826 deals in the preceding week.

The volume traded in the sector accounted for 86.63% of the entire market compared with 86.20% of the ratio recorded last week.

UBA Plc led the market volume for the week as it also top traded stock on the transaction volume chart last week.

The sector’s volume transaction was mainly boosted by trading in the shares of the companies in the topten category.

Consumer Goods sector followed with 114.48 million units valued at N3.55 billion and exchanged in 4,032 deals compared with 113.97 million units, valued at N3.64billion and exchanged in 3,520 recorded in the sector last week.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

PAGE 35

Business Analysis Farouk Lawan subsidy report:

NNPC, oil stakeholders kick, as Tambuwal shun intimidation

By Abdulwahab Isa

A

motion moved on the floor of the Senate last year by Senator Bukola Saraki, immediate past governor of Kwara state could be the road map bailing Nigeria of mismanagement of her natural resources.

A top ranking member of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Saraki’s motion had stirred the nest divulging that oil subsidy financing in 2011 budget overshot its limit of N245 billion to over N1 trillion.

Given the tempers, tension and emotions Saraki’s singular motion has generated culminating to the setting up of the Farouk Lawal probe committee in the House of Representatives.

The stage for what is now known Farouk Lawal fuel probe was triggered by the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) by the federal government on January 1, 2012. That singular action, threw up wide scale protest and public outcry. To manage the huge crises that trailed subsidy removal which hiked fuel pump price from N65 per liter to N141, government restored partial subsidy.

Subsequently, the House of Representatives set up an adhoc committee to probe the subsidy regime and the process of its implementation by the various relevant parties. Crucial to Farouk Lawal committee term of references include, verifying and determining the actual subsidy requirements and monitoring the implementation of the subsidy regime in Nigeria.

In turns, the committee invited top government officers, oil firms and agencies connected to oil subsidy for testimonies. It was tension soaked affairs while it lasted.

Eventually, the committee submitted its report last week proclaiming a nerve - cracking figure of about N1.7 trillion which it said it uncovered to have been spent on fuel subsidy. It recommended refunds.

Some of its recommendations include: NNPC to refund N704 billion PPPRA, N312 billion, 18 companies that failed to appear are to refund N41.90 billion while marketers will refund N8.664 billion. The NNPC is to further refund the N466b and N6b it owed the Nigerian Customs and NPA respectively.

The committee further recommended that all the Executive Secretaries of PPPRA who served between 2009 and 2011 be prosecuted while indicted officials of the offices of Accountant General of the Federation, Budget Office and the ministry of finance

Hon. Farouk Lawan ...chaired the probe Committee

Austen Oniwon, GMD, NNPC

are to be sanctioned in line with civil service rules. It called for the unbundling and overhaul of the NNPC as well as the reorganization of the ministry of petroleum resources.

Expectedly, the report is steeped with controversies as organizations, agencies and oil firms indicted have taken media space to denounce the report they say is a witch-hunt.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for instance categorically denied ever receiving a total sum of N1.329 trillion as subsidy payments over three years (2009-2011) from the Central bank of Nigeria as alleged by Farouk Lawal ad-hoc committee on subsidy regime.

In faulting the committee’s claim, NNPC clarified that subsidy payments are not based on cash remittance and therefore, CBN could not have remitted any cash to NNPC for the purpose of subsidy. The corporation in a statement said the mechanism of subsidy recovery by NNPC is noncash based, but by way of credit to NNPC against domestic crude cost due.

“When approvals certificates are received from Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) their values are deducted from crude oil cost due in a given month after due consideration of what is approved”, it explained.

The NNPC management in its

pages in Newspapers to denounce the Farouk Lawal’s recommendations contained in the report.

Some unions in the oil and gas sector including the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), and Petroleum and natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) had, in a joint statement kicked against the allegation leveled on NNPC. As a follow-up, eighteen companies asked to refund over N41.9 billion, have hired a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Mike Ozekhome, to lead their legal battle against the House of Representatives and the House ad-hoc Committee on fuel subsidy.

But the House spokesman Zakari Mohammed said lawmakers will take the oil marketers to the court of public opinion. The House has, however begun the adoption of the ad-hoc committee recommendations.

response to the report of the adhoc committee notes that while its GMD has highest regard for the National Assembly by constantly honoring their invitations whenever summoned, it however observed that committee deviated from its Terms of References (ToR) which required it to verify and determined the actual subsidy requirements and monitor implementation of the subsidy regime in Nigeria.

“The committee had to determine subsidy applicable to the relevant petroleum products derivable from the 445,000 bpd allocated to the corporation, thereafter the committee was expected to determine the shortfall between the corporation portion and national consumption and apply subsidy to the shortfall so determined”, NNPC observed, adding that committee abandoned this critical mandate.

In batches, oil firms, PPRA and indicted institutions have taken

“

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for instance categorically denied ever receiving a total sum of N1.329 trillion as subsidy payments over three years (2009-2011) from the Central bank of Nigeria as alleged by Farouk Lawal ad-hoc committee on subsidy regime.

With tension generated by the report Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has declared that the House would not be intimidated by the antics of those indicted in the consideration of the reports of its investigations into the administration of the nation’s subsidy regime.

Tambuwal has warned of “no sacred cows” as the report is being considered.

He said “The probe of the oil Sector has raised so much dust from certain segments of the polity such that it became clear that the intention was to frustrate it. For those who regard the oil sector as a secret society or sacred cow, I wish to state without equivocation that it is not. All public agencies in the oil sector are the creation of Acts of the National Assembly and this Honourable House has no powers to legislate for the creation of secret societies. Similarly all private sector corporate bodies operating in the sector are the creation of the Corporate Affairs Commission and that Commission also is not vested with any powers to incorporate secret societies. Let it therefore be known that in our drive to sanitize the polity, there are no sacred cows and we do not intend to discover any.”

However, recommendations contained in the report may be of no impact if Presidency finds no merit in Farouk Lawal report.

PAGE 36

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

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The before Northern elites Re:challenge Sovereign wealth fund

I

t ’s an undeniable fact that the late Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Aminu Kano, and others who are referred to as the founding fathers of the modern day northern Nigeria had a vision of a prosperous, united and secured entity where all its people, no matter their positions on the social ladder, religious, political or tribal dispositions would live a life of near-perfection. The visions of these leaders were so painstakingly packaged that the monolithic north was envied, respected and recognised by other regions within the country.

Then, the region took its pride in its large arable land which was used for agricultural cultivation, huge human population and a well rooted traditional leadership system in place which gave room for purposeful leadership.

Courtesy of the exemplary leadership style adopted by leaders in the region, life in the then northern Nigeria was more of bliss and can easily be termed as paradise on earth. The leaders envisaged a society where poverty, hunger, insecurity and other social vices would all be considered taboos. Unlike their present day counterparts, they matched each promise with action, thereby preventing such lofty ideas from gathering dusts on government shelves. For them, the comfort of everyone was their prime concern, little wonder, most of them after years in public offices retired into rented apartments. Sacrifice, honesty and integrity formed the thrust of service.

Imagine public office holders who had unfettered access to public till but resisted the temptation of corruptly enriching themselves at the detriment of the masses.

The present day north is no doubt in sharp contrast with what the aforementioned founding fathers who championed a noble idea of having a region that would be first among equals, stood for. Situations which stare us in the face paint a rather sad, disappointing and embarrassing picture of a region plagued by myriad of man- made challenges.

The situation is however worsened by the absence of sound leadership guided by the fair principle of servantleadership. Leaders feel less concerned about the welfare of those who elected

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 them to power. Elected representatives only think of those in their constituencies in the run-up to elections and disappear into thin air once they emerge victorious.

For somewhat obvious reasons, the region has been reduced to a pariah enclave where nothing close to good could come out of. The region has suddenly become an object of ridicule by other regions who had in the past marvelled at the huge success recorded by the region.

The once safe, secure and flourishing northern Nigeria has become a fertile ground where seeds of violence, civil unrests and other anti-social behaviours are sown. Number of avoidable deaths arising from serial bomb explosions in different parts of the region has hit the roof top.

Unfortunately, at a time other regions are daily unveiling well-articulated plans in their drive for fix their hitherto backward and neglected regions, we are enmeshed in needless acts of violence which account for the region’s poor state today.

Though the knotty issues of insecurity, dearth of infrastructure, frightening unemployment level, corruption as well as screaming poverty figure permeate the entire country, but the situation tends to be more endemic in our dear region.

Ironically, while leaders the world over are daily striving hard to etch their names on the sand of time through provision of basic amenities that would make life meaningful for the masses, especially the down trodden, Nigerian leaders take much delight in amassing wealth, buying choice properties in foreign lands, stacking looted funds in foreign accounts among other ignoble acts. Examples of leaders who set out for duty with the whiff of the dawn in their quest to justify the confidence reposed in them by the electorate is rather negligible. Instead, the list of those whose stock in trade is to feed fat on the nation’s

commonwealth is on the increase.

Even though the situation is not as pathetic, insurmountable and irredeemable as reports in a section of the media have made us to see, but it is also instructive we note that extreme poverty holds an appreciable percentage of our people by the jugular. We get upset each time people from other regions describe the present situation in our region using human demeaning terms, yet we do practically nothing to address the issues raised. I strongly believe that we are yet to have elites who are passionate about evolving concrete and lasting solutions to the challenges bedevilling the region. We have elites who are only concerned with themselves and their families alone.

There is hardly a day that goes by without elites from other regions under different original or amorphous names don’t come out to argue in favour of their regions, especially in the area of allocation of resources and other national considerations. Until we realize the dire need to draw both local and international attention to challenges facing us as well as map out ways of handling them, we would continue to grope in the dark in all spheres of our existence.

It is on this note that I want to welcome a call by the Niger state governor, Dr Muazu Babangida Aliyu on the need for the current revenue allocation for states in the country to be reviewed upward.

Addressing the gathering at the inauguration of the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation Advisory Council, Governor Aliyu, who also doubles and chairman of the Northern Nigeria Governors’ Forum, said that the relative poverty of the region was attributable to the country’s system of revenue allocation, which, he said, unduly favoured the littoral states that get additional 13 per cent from the Federation Account on the basis of the derivation

principle. The governor complained that the Niger Delta states also get the 13 per cent derivation from offshore exploration when such revenues ought to belong equally to all the constituent units of the federation. He said that the current formula which gives the federal government 52.8 per cent was abnormal, because, in his view, states and the local governments, ‘which are nearer to the people’ share only 47.2 per cent. Expectedly, the Chief Servant’s position has since been generating heated debate owing to its sensitivity.

It is obvious that Nigeria, which is ravaged by poverty and mutual suspicion, the twin issues of economic justice and accelerated economic development in the midst of abundant resources and revenues that accrue from them, will be of intense interest not only to the politicians but also to ordinary citizens. It is in this context that Governor Aliyu’s interpretation of the causes of the North’s relative poverty should be located. The position of the Niger state governor is not out of place. In our quest for transforming the lives of our people, we must make efforts to explore all legitimate means to realize such goals.

The task of attracting development to the north is a collective one that requires the input of all. Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu has set the stage for the debate on the review of revenue allocation to begin; I expect other governors and leaders of thoughts within the region to lend their support.

Beyond identifying the myriad of challenges facing us as a region, commitment and political will that would drive the process by our leaders are germane. It will amount to same ritual of talking and going to sleep if we fail to match our words with action.

I urge those in the political class, especially our state governors, members of the National Assembly and other federal political appointees to live up to their responsibilities by ensuring that the present disappointing situation in which the region finds itself is addressed. The time to begin that is now.

Abdullahi Yunusa writes from Niger State Government House, Minna.

Email: meetprofwills@yahoo.com

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

PAGE 38

Digest South Africa: Jacob Zuma takes 6th wife

Jacob Zuma at his traditional marriage with family and friends

Jacob Zuma during his wedding last Saturday

S

o u t h Africa's polygamous President Jacob Zuma last Saturday celebrated his sixth wedding in a second day of weekend festivities filled with traditional Zulu culture. The 70-year-old formalised his relationship with long-time fiancĂŠ Bongi Ngema on Friday with Zulu song and dance while dressed in leopard skins and carrying a shield surrounded by men in similar warrior attire.

The businesswoman became Zuma's fourth wife in Nkandla, deep in the KwaZuluNatal countryside, where on Saturday she handed presents to Zuma's family at his homestead in a gift ceremony.

The wedding is his third in just over four years and the second since coming to power in 2009 as the country's first president with multiple wives. In all, he has married six times and has 21 children. One of his wives has died, and another -- home affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma -divorced him.

With the state having to nearly double the spousal budget to more than R15 million after he took office, the presidency has stressed that Zuma will pay for the weekend celebrations and that his wives live in private homes.

South Africa has no legally defined 'First Lady' but their benefits include a personal

Jacob Zuma's new bride

President Jacob Zuma's new wife, Bongi Ngema

Traditional women arrive at the wedding

secretary and researcher, domestic and international travel, equipment, and a daily allowance during official trips.

'The new Mrs Zuma had already been part of the spousal office machinery in terms of administrative support so there will be no changes due to the wedding,' said the

statement.

The wives have no specific roles or responsibilities but they are expected to support the president at state and official functions, with Ngema accompanying him to France last year.

While legal, polygamy is becoming less

popular in South Africa where modernity and Western lifestyles have taken root.

A survey in 2010 found that nearly three-fourths of South Africans disapprove of polygamy. Among women, 83 percent disapproved.

Source: MSN

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

PAGE 39

International Syria 'in contravention' of peace plan

T

h e Syrian government is "in contravention" of an internationally agreed peace plan by keeping troops and heavy weapons in cities, Ban Kimoon, UN secretary-general, has said.

He also said he was "gravely alarmed" by reports of shelling of populated areas in Syria, in a statement released after a deadly explosion on Thursday in the flashpoint city of Hama.

Activists blamed the government for the blast and put the death toll at 69, including 16 children. Syrian state media said 16 people were killed when a bomb that "terrorists" were building exploded prematurely

Pakistan's interior ministry said it "passed orders for the deportation of 14 family members" [Reuters]

Bin Laden family arrives in Saudi Arabia

T

h e widows of Osama bin Laden and a number of his children have arrived in Saudi Arabia after being deported from Pakistan.

The country's interior ministry, which was responsible for the family since their arrest last year, said in a statement early on Friday that it had "passed orders for the deportation of 14 members of OBL family in pursuance of ... Court orders".

"The family was kept safe and

sound in a guest house ... They have been deported to the country of their choice, Saudi Arabia, today," it added.

A Pakistani court charged bin Laden's three widows and two of his grown-up daughters earlier in April with illegal entry and residency in the country.

Bin Laden's two Saudi and one Yemeni widow, together with their children; have been living under the protection of the authorities in Pakistan since the

al-Qaeda chief was killed by US Navy SEALs on May 2, 2011.

The family was believed to number 12: three widows, eight children and one grand child. An interior ministry spokesman, however, said orders were passed for the deportation of 14 bin Laden relatives.

They were taken to Islamabad airport to board a special flight to the Gulf kingdom, which took off shortly before 2:00 am on Friday (21:00 GMT on Thursday).

Egypt releases presidential candidates list

E

g y p t ’s election commission has released a final list of 13 candidates eligible to run in next month’s presidential election, the first since the ousting of Hosni Mubarak, the former president, last year.

Thursday’s list includes Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister to serve under Mubarak, who was disqualified and then reinstated over a 24-hour period this week.

“After listening to Shafiq’s appeal, the committee decided to halt the decision to exclude him from the presidential

race,” Farouk Soltan, the head of the election committee, said while announcing the list in Cairo.

Shafiq was disqualified on Tuesday, after the military council approved a new law denying political rights to anyone who served as president, vicepresident or prime minister in the decade prior to Mubarak’s fall.

The electoral committee also decided to refer the new law to the Supreme Constitutional Court to determine whether it was constitutional or not.

“This could be a challenge to the legitimacy of the presidential election and the whole transition process,” Omar Ashour of the Doha Brookings Centre told Al Jazeera.

Candidates able to stand include Amr Moussa, former foreign minister; Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, an independent moderate; and Mohammed Mursi, chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP).

Abol Fotouh may now receive backing from supporters of the Salafist al-Nour party.

inside a house .

An unverified video posted on YouTube showed the collapsed remains of the building, as ashcovered men dug through piles of masonry looking for bodies amid the cries of onlookers.

Abu Ghazi, an activist and Hama resident told Al Jazeera: "People are dying because we don't have the necessary medical equipment or expertise to save those injured."

According to reports, an unexplained explosion was heard by residents in Damascus on Friday following overnight fighting in Douma, a suburb of the Syrian capital.

Three arrested in Danish 'terror plot'

T

h r e e men have been arrested in the Danish capital on suspicion of plotting a "terror act", Denmark's intelligence services have said.

Intelligence officials said police found the three men in possession of automatic firearms and ammunition.

The Security and Intelligence Service, or PET, said the men were arrested in two separate locations in Copenhagen in connection with an ongoing terror investigation.

Aside from facing preliminary charges of possessing illegal firearms, PET

also said they are "suspected of having been in the process of preparing a terrorist act," but did not give any details about the target of such an attack.

"The investigation will establish on whether possible terror threats have been addressed and averted by the arrests," it said. Preliminary charges are a step short of formal charges.

PET described the men as a 22-year-old Jordan national, a 23-year-old Turkish man living in Denmark and a 21-year-old Danish national who lives in Egypt.

ECOWAS troops for Guinea-Bissau and Mali

W

e s t African leaders will send troops to Mali and GuineaBissau to help both countries to return to civilian rule after military coups, and have threatened sanctions if junta leaders attempt to hold on to power.

The Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, said in a statement after an emergency summit on Thursday that it

would be sending troops to Mali to support the transitional government’s fight against rebels that control the country’s north.

“The heads of state and of government decided to take all the necessary measures in order to assist Mali in the reestablishment of its unity and of its territorial integrity,” the statement, released after the meeting in the Ivory Coast city of Abidjan, said.

New sexual-misconduct charges hit US agents

T

h e US Secret Service has confirmed an investigation into allegations that agents hired strippers and prostitutes in El Salvador, before a visit last year by US president Barack Obama.

A new report says Secret Service members had sex with strippers at a club in the Salvadoran capital, San Salvador, and took prostitutes into their hotel rooms last spring, senior politicians said on Thursday.

Mark Sullivan, senior

director of the Secret Service, is looking into the report but has so far not found anything “credible” to back it up, Representative Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said outside the US House of Representatives.

The allegations arise from a television interview, in which an anonymous US contractor described visiting a San Salvador strip club that offers sexual favours with some Secret Service agents and US military

specialists in advance of Obama’s March, 2011, visit.

The report said highranking US embassy employees also “routinely” visited the strip club.

“Obviously, we will inquire of our embassy in San Salvador with regard to the conduct of our own employees. But the article alleges that they attended the establishment, not that they engaged in any illegal or unsanctioned conduct,” Victoria Nuland, US state department spokeswoman, said.

Romilda Aparecida Ferreira of Brasilia claims she was pushed out of a moving van last year [Reuters]

PAGE 40

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

Wellness Zone

Phyllis Ogo Ogah phyllisogoogah@gmail.com +234 80 58425746 (sms) only

Tips on excercising safely

Figure skaters have to wear skating shoes,to enable them glide through the ice.

L

a s t week we talked about factors to consider before starting an exercise program.Today,we’ll be looking at how to exercise safely.

Regular physical activity is vital for good health. While there is a risk of injury with any type of physical activity, the benefits of staying active far outweigh the risks.

You can reduce your risk of exercise injury by: Wearing the right shoes, gear and equipment Drinking lots of water Warming up and stretching.

Get expert opinion You can obtain information and advice about exercise safety from your doctor, a sports medicine doctor, physiologist or an exercise physiologist or see a sporting association about sporting technique and equipment.

Listen to your body

Injuries are more likely if you ignore your body's signals of fatigue, discomfort and pain. Suggestions include: Cross-train with other sports and exercises to reduce the risk of overtraining.

Make sure you have at least one recovery day, and preferably two, every week.

Exercise at an appropriate intensity for your fitness level. It takes time to increase your overall level of fitness.

Training too hard or too fast is a common cause of injury.

Injuries need rest trying to 'work through' the pain will cause more damage to soft muscle tissue and delay healing.

Stop exercising immediately If you experience any of the following symptoms, stop exercising and seek medical help: Feel discomfort or pain Have chest pain or other

Wearing the right shoes for jogging help protect one from injuries

pain that could indicate a heart attack, including pain in the neck and jaw, pain traveling down the arm or pain between the shoulder blades Experience extreme breathlessness Develop a rapid or irregular heartbeat during exercise.

Warm-up As the name suggests, your warm-up (5-10 minutes) should gradually warm your muscles and body temperature.

The type of activity done in the warm-up should include major muscle groups that will be used in your sporting activity.

Your warm-up could begin with a low intensity activity such as brisk walking or jogging.

Stretching should be performed once the muscles have been warmed, as the stretching of cold muscles is less effective. It is also important to stretch after activity as well to assist recovery.

Cool down To reduce muscle soreness and stiffness In the last 5 minutes, slow down gradually to a light jog or brisk walk.

Finish off with 5-10 minutes of stretching (emphasize the major muscle groups you have used during your activity).

Hydration You can lose around one and a half liters of fluid for every hour of exercise. One

of the first symptoms of dehydration is fatigue, which causes a significant drop in sporting performance. It may also make you susceptible to cramps, heat stress and heat stroke. Suggestions include: Avoid starting exercise dehydrated. Drink plenty of fluids for several hours prior to exercise.

If you are well hydrated you should be able to pass a good volume of clear urine in the hour before exercise.

Drink at least 500ml (2 cups) an hour before exercise.

Drink at least 150ml every 15 minutes during exercise.

During exercise take advantage of all breaks in play to drink up.

After exercise drink liberally to ensure you are fully re-hydrated.

You can ascertain whether you have drunk enough water by weighing yourself before and after exercise - a loss of one kilogram is equivalent to about one litre of lost fluid.

Thirst is a clear indication that you need to drink.

Exercising in hot weather Exercising in hot weather puts additional strain on your body. Heatrelated illnesses, such as heatstroke and sunstroke, occur when your body can't keep itself cool. Sweating isn't enough to cool your body your body temperature rises, you may become ill. Symptoms of heat illness can include: *Irritability *General discomfort *Weakness *Headache *Nausea *Cramps.

Suggestions to avoid heat illnesses include: Drink plenty of water before, during and after exercise.

Wear lightweight, lightcoloured, loose-fitting clothes.

Protect yourself from the sun with clothing such as long-sleeved tops, fulllength trousers, a hat and sunglasses or using an umbrella.

Exercise in the cooler parts of the day - preferably before dawn or after sunset.

Reduce your exercise intensity. Take frequent breaks and drink water or other fluids every 15 to 20 minutes, even if you don't feel thirsty. If you have clear, pale urine, you are

Probably drinking enough fluids.

Don't drink alcohol, tea or coffee before or after exercising, as these beverages promote fluid loss.

If you have travel led to a hotter climate, remember that it may take about 10 days of exercising before you fully acclimatise.

Exercising in cold weather In cold weather, muscles are more susceptible to injuries.

Suggestions include: Wear appropriate warm clothing. Multiple layers of clothing trap more body heat than one bulky layer.

Devote more time to warming up and stretching before exercising and make sure you undertake a thorough cool-down.

Keep up your fluid intake, since cold weather prompts fluid loss.

Don't forget sun protection - it is possible to be sunburnt even in cold weather, especially at high altitudes or on clear days.

Wearing the right shoes, gear and equipment Most sports and exercises rely on some type of equipment, such as shoes, bicycles or racquets.

Protective equipment - such as mouthguards, shin pads and helmets - can significantly reduce the risk of injury by absorbing the impact of falls or collisions.

Safety suggestions include: If your sporting equipment is handheld, make sure you are using the right grip - for example, holding a tennis racquet the wrong way can increase your risk of tennis elbow (tendonitis).

Make sure your equipment is appropriate to your sport or activity and the size and age of the participant.

Wear appropriate shoes for your sport and replace them before they wear out.

Protective equipment should be worn during training, not just for competition and games.

Check equipment regularly and replace if worn out. If you are unsure how to maintain or check your equipment, consult with your coach or sporting association.

Injuries can also be caused by improper form or technique. Consult your gym instructor, coach, sporting association, exercise physiologist for instruction on how to improve your sporting technique.

Stretching after excercises help prevent wear and tear on d muscle.

HEALTH TIP OF THE WEEK When developing an exercise plan, ensure you have a clear vision of what you want from excercise, develop a plan of action,and identify tools and support systems to put your plan into action.

Keep moving!

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

PAGE 41

Weekend league table depending on the outcome of Kano Pillars’ game in Ibadan.

In all, seven games will go up this weekend in the Nigeria Premier League (NPL).

Heartland, Sunshine Stars and Warri Wolves have all been excused from this weekend encpounter because they are involved in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup matches.

The title credentials of Kano Pillars will come under a huge test at 3SC, where they have avoided defeat just once in their past four visits since March 2004.

3SC have won their last five home games including a 1 – 0 win over six-time champions, Enyimba.

Kano Pillars will be up for a big battle in Ibadan as it is expected that the Oluyole Warriors will win this game.

The Golden Stars have been poor on the road so far this season without a point and stand little or no chance of usurping Lobi Stars from taking the points in this tie.

Lobi Stars have won the last two games of this corresponding fixture.

Eslewhere, Wikki Tourists, who won the reverse game this season 1 – 0 and have in the ast nine years only avoided defeat just once in seven visits to Kwara United, must have to work to improve on their away record which currently stands at just a point in nine games It would not be a high-scoring game but Kwara United will likely command the greater threat .

Fixtures NPL Kwara Utd vs. Warri Wolves Sharks vs. Ocean Boys Rising Stars vs. Kaduna United 3SC vs. Kano Pillars Sunday Dolphins vs. Enyimba Lobi Stars vs. Golden Stars Rangers vs. Gombe Utd EPL Everton vs. Fulham Stoke vs. Arsenal Sunderland vs. Bolton Swansea vs. Wolverhampton West Brom vs. Aston Villa Wigan vs. Newcastle Norwich vs. Liverpool Sunday Chelsea vs. QPR Tottenham vs. Blackburn La Liga Getafe vs. Mallorca Levante vs. Granada Espanyol vs. Sporting Gijon Real Sociedad vs. Racing Santander Villarreal vs. Osasuna Sunday Real Madrid vs. Sevilla Real Zaragoza vs. Athletic Bilbao Malaga vs. Valencia Real Betis vs. Atletico Madrid Rayo Vallecano vs. Barcelona CAF Confederation Cup Royal Leopards vs. Club Africain Heartland FC vs. AC Leopards ASEC Mimosas vs. CODM Meknes Sunday Simba vs. Ahli Shandi Warri Wolves vs. Black Leopards Interclube vs. Alamal Atbara Wydad Athletic vs. AS Bamako German Bundesliga Bayer Leverkusen vs.

Hannover 96 Bayern Munich vs. VfB Stuttgart Borussia M’gladbach vs.

Augsburg SC Freiburg vs. Cologne Hamburg vs. Mainz FC Kaiserslautern vs. Borussia Dortmund Schalke 04 vs. Hertha Berlin TSG Hoffenheim vs. Nurnberg Wolfsburg vs. Werder Bremen

Blessing Okagbare (2nd right) will participate in the Penn Classic today in the USA

Dolphins yimba in w ar mood, Dolphins,, En Enyimba war as Pillar s test title cr edentials in Ibadan Pillars credentials

By Patrick Andrew

D

olphins and Enyimba are pretenders for the Nigeria Premeir League shield as evident by their current positions on the log. Both are tie on points but the hosts are four goals adrift of Enyimba’s eight.

Having fortified their squad during the short break, Dolphins, who crashed out of the CAF Champions League and are fully focused on the domestic league, have the full squad as are Enyimba, who are determined to return to the continent.

So, the weekend duel is the biggest, even though the Rangers versus Gombe United tie will be live on SuperSport.

The People’s Elephants’ best result in Port Harcourt against Dolphins remain a three-nil win in June 2003. Enyimba have surprisingly lost their last two

Garlands for Pep Guardiola Page 44

firepower to win this since they are no longer on the continent and could move into pole position in the

games on the road at struggling sides, 3SC and Rising Stars.

Dolphins have enough Team Pillars Rangers Enyimba Dolphins Akwa Utd Gombe Utd Wikki Lobi Stars Warri Wolves Sharks Sunshine Heartland ABS FC Golden Stars 3SC Kwara United Kaduna United Ocean Boys Tornadoes Rising Stars

P 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 20 20 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21

W 10 9 10 10 9 9 10 9 7 9 8 7 7 8 7 7 8 6 6 5

D 6 7 4 4 6 5 2 3 9 3 4 7 6 3 5 4 1 7 4 6

L 5 5 7 7 6 7 9 9 5 9 8 6 8 10 9 10 12 8 11 10

GF 25 24 21 23 21 26 19 23 20 22 24 19 23 15 16 18 18 14 16 10

GA 13 15 13 19 16 22 22 19 16 25 18 17 20 25 22 22 26 24 25 18

GD 12 9 8 4 5 4 -3 4 4 -3 6 2 3 -10 -6 -4 -8 -10 -9 -8

Pts 36 34 34 34 33 32 32 30 30 30 28 28 27 27 26 25 25 25 22 21

Ocean Boys have always been the bogey team of Sharks in the NPL until back-to-back wins from the Blue Angels in 2010 and 2011 in Port Harcourt compared to six wins by the Divine Warriors. Already, Sharks dropped all points in Yenagoa in the first meeting to Emmanuel Enize’s double.

However, Sharks will take all the points from this south-south derby as it is difficult to see who will score the goals for Ocean Boys, who have struggled to score just once on the road and conceded 20.

Lobi Stars have enough personnel in David Tyavkase, Moses Bunde, Bassey Ezekiel and Moses Orkuma among others to get the job done in Katsina-Ala this Sunday.

Enugu Rangers and Gombe United is huge game. Both teams have already met 16 times already including the reverse game of this season that ended 2 – 1 in Gombe United’s favour.

CAF Champions League: Sunshine Stars, Egyptian giants lead away charge Page 42

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

PAGE 42

CAF Confed. Cup: Wolves will make the second leg a formality, say Cooreman

W

arri Wolves will entertain South African side, Black Leopard this Sunday in the round of 16 of the Orange CAF Confederation Cup at the Warri Township Stadium.

Coach of the Nigerian side, Belgian Maurice Cooreman, said the game plan for the match will be to maximize their advantage to make the second leg in South Africa a formality. He gave indication that they will attack their opponents from the first whistle to come out with a comfortable result.

How are preparations going for Sunday’s match?

We are not losing sleep over the match and that is not an indication that we are underrating the South Africans. We just came back from a league game in Ilorin against ABS, one of the promising young sides in the Nigerian league and we got a draw, which I think is good for the confidence of the boys ahead the continental game on Sunday.

You have played at this stage before with Enyimba (in the Orange CAF Champions

League) and last season with Kaduna United, where you got as far as the group stage. How will you approach it this time?

Like I said, we just came back from a game and the players are fit for the match. We are well prepared for the South Africans.

We are certainly going for goals since we are playing at home first and we want to win well because that is the only thing that will guarantee us moving to the next stage.

How much do you know about the Black Leopards and how they play?

We have watched some tapes of their matches and we have worked out how to deal with them.

I will not be divulging my plans here now because they are also monitoring us. But be assured that we have marshalled our plan and I hope it works on Sunday.

How much do you think your performance in the local league will affect your team this weekend?

We are not doing badly in the Nigerian league. Although we are

currently in the middle of the table but it has little to do with the performance of the boys. The continental competition is a different setting and with the experience of the players, some of them play for the senior national team, we will definitely come out with a good result on Sunday.

What is the news from the medical team, do you have all your players available to play?

All my regulars should be available for the game. Although we have minor injuries, it is not enough to trouble us. By the time we file out on Sunday, we will certainly have the full compliment of players .

What is your realistic goal in this competition?

Every coach wants to win and it’s not different with us at Warri Wolves. But we have not gotten to that stage yet to start seriously thinking of the trophy. We have some matches to play before the group stage and until we get there, our realistic target will be to qualify for the group stage first.

Maurice Cooreman

CAF Champions League: Sunshine Stars, Egyptian giants lead away charge

T

he next round of two-legged ties in the CAF Champions League kicks off this weekend, with the second leg due to follow in a fortnight before the competition enters the summer’s group phase.

There will be away tests for Egyptian juggernauts Al Ahly and Zamalek, the competition’s two most successful teams, while holders Esperance and four-time kings TP Mazembe are no doubt approaching their home matches differently.

Sunshine Stars, Nigeria’s hope for a sip from the covetous trophy, are in a killer mood as they visit Mali for a clash against Djoliba.

The Stars shocked Angola’s Recreativo de Libolo in the last round by overturning a 4-1 deficit

Mohammed Aboutrika

Esperance players celebrating goal at last year's final to stun them 3-0 and thus moved on courtesy away goals.

And Gbenga Ogunbote tutored squad paraded some fine players including field Commander Godfrey Oboabana, Ibrahim Ajani among of stars.

Also, the Stars are well off the pace in the Nigerian Premier League, and will surely make to count as they focus on the continent success, which their management has vowed to achieve. Already, the state government rewarded the players with N1.5m for beating Recreativo in the last game.

Stade Malien-Al Ahly With Egyptian football still struggling to recover from

February’s Port Said tragedy - the Egyptian Cup was recently called off along with the cancelled league season - the fate of the country’s clubs on the continent has taken on added pressure.

Ahly’s iconic manager Manuel Jose, who is lined up for a new contract despite thoughts he might retire at the end of the season, is struggling to keep his team pointed in the right direction in what figures to be a knotty trip to Bamako for a meeting with experienced campaigners Stade Malien.

The Portuguese coach will be without injured experienced Brazilian striker Fabio Junior as well as team captain Hossam

Ghali, who has reportedly fallen out with the manager. Jose can welcome back a trio of key figures returning to fitness: attacking midfielder Abdallah Said and the well-known duo of Wael Gomaa and Mohamed Barakat.

Likewise for Berekum Chelsea, who are too far back to defend their first Ghanaian title, but the ambitious young club can prove themselves in a major way against Cameroonian champions Coton Sport.

Chelsea will be without suspended captain Mohammed Abdul Basit, but a team with much greater worries over missing talent is Zamalek, who are limping into their tricky trip to northern Morocco to meet Maghreb de Fes. Veteran coach Hassan Shehata will have to do without Saturday’s fixtures: Maghreb de Fès vs Zamalek ES Sahel vs AFAD Djékanou Djoliba vs Sunshine Stars Espérance vs Dynamos Sunday’s fixtures: Al-Hilal vs ASO Chlef Stade Malien vs Al-Ahly Berekum Chelsea vs CotonSport TP Mazembe vs AlMerreikh

suspended captain and goalkeeper Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed as well as explosive striker Razak Omotoyossi. Al-Sayed, a mainstay for the Whites for over a decade, has reportedly clashed with the club about his future, as has the also-injured Mido.

Shehata can call on forward Amr Zaki, who scored the allimportant penalty late in the match that put the five-time African champions through the last round on away goals against Africa Sports. Zamalek’s Moroccan opponents will also be without their first choice net minder, as Mohammed Sokhra was injured in a league game.

Two teams with seemingly little to worry about are Esperance and Mazembe. Indeed the two big fish look to be circling the pond waiting for the larger fight to materialise. The Tunisians will host Zimbabwean challengers Dynamos, while the Congolese also begin at home against scrappy Al Merreikh from Sudan. Merreikh’s Sudanese rivals, Al Hilal, have regularly survived well into this competition, but they could be tested against Algerian champions ASO Chlef. Etoile du Sahel were a dominant side in the Champions League in the mid2000s, winning the trophy in 2007, and the Tunisians will seemingly have the upper hand against Ivorians AFAD Djekanou.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

National U-15 team technical crew decamps 5 players, leaving 30

Five delectable rematches fans yearn to see Manny Pacquiao

T

he technical crew of the Under-15 National Football team have decamped five more players from the camp leaving 30 players to fine tune preparations for the forthcoming qualifiers.

Head coach of the team, Danladi Nasidi, said the team was gradually taking shape ahead of the eight-nation invitational tournament in Mexico scheduled for June.

“Before Thursday’s training session, we had 35 players in camp. But after the training, we have to send five of them packing because the screening is still on. So, we will be working with the 30 players for the competition to later pick 20 players that will represent the country,” he said.

Nasidi, however, said he had confidence in the team because of the level of preparations so far. “The preparation we have been having is impressive, and this has made me to have confidence in the players.

“We have been training and we have played five friendly matches with both male and female teams out of which we won four. So, with this performance, I am very sure we won’t let the country down,’’ the coach said.

Nasidi commended the players for their co-operation and willingness to learn.

“Because of this, there has been no negative challenge for the technical crew; that would have been the greatest challenge to us in achieving success,” he said.

Juan Manuel Marquez

Chad Dawson

F

ight fans will be treated to two high-profile rematches in the coming months: Lamont Peterson vs. Amir Khan (May 19) and Victor Ortiz vs. Andre Berto (June 23). However, there are several other high octane rematches that could be put together for the benefit of boxing’s long-suffering fan base. Here’s a look at five fan-friendly rematches: Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Manny Pacquiao Marquez has options at junior welterweight, but none would be better paid or more meaningful than a move back to welterweight and a fourth crack at the Filipino icon, Manny Pacquiao. The point could be legitimately made that Marquez should be 2-0-1 vs.

Pacquiao and some would even argue that the Mexican superstar should be 3-0. Whether fans side with Marquez or Pacquiao, the record books state that Marquez is winless against the reigning WBO welterweight champ. This is something that seriously irks Marquez and should produce a compelling fourth encounter.

Felix Sturm vs. Matthew Macklin Their bout in 2011 was a close, entertaining affair that ended with a controversial split decision in favor of the defending WBA middleweight champ, Sturm. Since then, Sturm has beaten Martin Murray and Sebastian Zbik while Macklin upped his stock with a good performance in his RTD 11 loss to Sergio Martinez in March.

Andre Dirrell vs. Carl Froch Froch will have his hands full with two bouts against IBF super middleweight champ, Lucian Bute. However, afterwards, it would be interesting to revisit his controversial 2009 bout with Andre Dirrell. In that contest, a part of the Super Six tournament, Froch won a close split decision over the American. A rematch would make for an entertaining bout featuring two very distinct styles— Froch, the stalking battler vs. Dirrell, the quick stylist.

Jean Pascal vs. Chad Dawson It took about ten rounds for then-defending WBC light heavyweight champ, Chad Dawson, to feel the necessity to actually

Federation Cup finalists emerge in Kebbi

T

he Gamji Utd. FC of Birnin Kebbi and Sakaba Links FC, have qualified for the final of the 2012 Kebbi Federation Cup football competition.

To seal a place in the final, Gamji Utd defeated Fadama Utd of Argungu 4-3 in penalty shootout in the first semifinal match. Scores at the end of regulation and extra times has been goalless.

Gamji Utd had earlier defeated white Eagle 2-1 to qualify for the

PAGE 43

semifinals.

Sakaba Links in the second semifinal, qualified by defeating Sakaba Utd 4-3 also in penalty shootout as scores stood at goalless after regulation and extra times.

Sakaba links had also earlier defeated Nassarawa Utd of Birnin Kebbi 1-0 to reach the semifinals.

The state FA secretary, Alhaji Ladan Usman,said in Birnin Kebbi yesterday that the final would be played within one week. Usman

added that seven clubs took part in the competition.

“The FA would make efforts to improve on the number of teams competing in future competitions.’’

According to him, the state FA has selected good players from the competition to play in the state professional league team adding that the FA, in collaboration with the government, had completed arrangements to raise a professional league team.

fight, but when he did, the bout became a nice piece of drama in Pascal’s adopted hometown of Montreal. Entering into the championship rounds, Dawson, solidly behind on the scorecards, began to push for a knockout against the front-running challenger.

If not for a fight-ending cut for Dawson in the eleventh round, some feel that the defending champ might have knocked Pascal out. A rematch would likely pick up right where the first bout ended.

Tavoris Cloud vs. Gabriel Campillo The widely-criticized split decision win for IBF light heavyweight champ, Cloud, pretty much demands that a rematch take place.

Most observers had Spain’s Campillo solidly ahead after twelve rounds and feel that the defending champ was lucky to walk away with his belt. A rematch would allow Campillo another chance to take the title and it would give Cloud a way to redeem himself in the eyes of fans.

London 2012: Finland may scuttle Nigeria’s participation in qualifiers

D

aniel Igali, the Technical Adviser, Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF), has lamented that delay in the issuance of visa by the Finnish Embassy might thwart their participation in the Olympic qualifiers in Finland.

The NWF will be having their last London 2012 Olympics qualifiers in Finland from May 2 to May 4 in Finland where they hope to qualify more wrestlers.

Igali said in Lagos on telephone that should the federation failed to participate in the qualifiers, Nigeria would not be able to qualify more wrestlers for the country.

Nigeria already has four wrestlers who have qualified for the Games — Sinivie Boltic (90kg), Adibo Dick (96kg), Amarachi Obiajunwon (72kg) and Blessing Oborodudu (63kg).

Boltic qualified in the Senior World Championship in Turkey in February, while the others got qualified in the Oceania-Africa continental tournament in Casablanca, Morocco in March.

“The Finland tournament is the last of qualifiers for the Olympics which we have to attend in order to qualify more wrestlers.

“And should the issuance of our visa be delayed, we may not be able to achieve our aim of qualifying two more wrestlers to what we already have,” he said.

The technical adviser said that the Finnish embassy attributed the delay to the fact that the federation did not commence the visa process early enough. “The federation commenced the visa process on Monday, April 23, and the Finnish Embassy is saying that it was too short a time to process the visa,” he said. He added that the contingent would comprise of six wrestlers, the national coach and himself.

Igali appealed to the Nigerian Ambassador to Finland to assist them in speeding up the visa process. NWF was billed to participate in a qualifier in China from April 27 to April 28 but was not able to attend due to some logistical challenges.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

Garlands for Pep Guardiola

By Patrick Andrew with agency report

A

n Apostle of the tikitaka-pass and move or rondo-shame to lose possession-Pep Guardiola finally bows out of the club he re-jigged, reshape and molded to world acclaim and fame.

Under this legend and Barcelona’s most successful manager in living memory, the Catalans won 13 unprecedented titles and still counting with three league titles, two Champions Leagues and a Copa del Rey among his haul.

He has overseen the rise of threetime world player of the year Lionel Messi, Xavi and Iniesta and chiseled a collection of stars that weekly awed the football world with their sublime skills in a fashion exclusively theirs.

But two consecutive defeats at the most inauspicious time ended the fairy tale reign of the ex-Barcelona player. Guardiola opted on his own accord to walk away from the Catalans at the end of the season.

His assistant Tito Vilanova, has been announced as his replacement in apparent effort to ensure the playing pattern and tradition are not suddenly disrupted.

Guardiola’s decision to quit and recharge his batteries ends a remarkable trophy-laden four-year spell built on a passing style of unmatched fluidity and control.

Guardiola had a year ago given hint that he may have to move on at the end of his forth year stint with Barcelona.

“I feel good here but I believe my time at Barcelona is ending,” the coach said February 2011 before finally agreeing to sign on for another one year at the helms of affairs.

“I’ve already done three years, one more will be four years. And in four years a big club needs a lot of courage to keep the same coach. Everyone should know when it’s the right time to go, as I always heard when I was a player.”

“I’m sorry for the confusion in recent weeks. I’ve always wanted short contracts because the demands at Barcelona are so big,” the 41-year-old told a news conference at the Nou Camp with players present in the audience yesterday.

“Now we were out of the two main competitions, it was a good time to announce it.

“The reason is simple. Four years, that gets everyone tired. The new coach will give things that I can’t give anymore.”

He admitted the need to move on and recharge his battery. “I am really sorry about having lost that energy but I cannot lie to myself if I don’t have the same energy and excitement as the beginning and I knew from before it was my last season.”

Speculation about Guardiola’s future intensified after holders Barca were knocked out of the Champions League by Chelsea 3-2 on aggregate in their memorable semifinal on Tuesday when world player of the year Lionel Messi missed a penalty.

His rise

B

orn in the Catalan town of Santpedor on January 18, 1971, Josep Guardiola i Sala joined Barca’s famed ‘La Masia’ youth academy in his early teens before making his firstteam debut under Dutch coach Johan Cruyff in 1990.

With superb ball-winning and playing ability, he ran the midfield throughout the next decade, helping Barca to their first European Cup triumph in 1992 as well as six La Liga titles, two King’s Cups and a European Cup Winners’ Cup. After spells at clubs in Italy, Qatar and Mexico, he retired in late 2006.

His stint with Brescia in Serie A was disrupted when he tested positive for nandrolone after a league match and was banned for four months. He protested his innocence and eventually cleared his name through the courts in 2009.

Appointed coach of Barca B - the club’s reserve team - in 2007, he steered them to the top of their group and promotion from Spain’s regionally-based tercera division (fourth-tier) before former president Joan Laporta handed him his first top-flight post in June 2008.

Five facts about new Barca coach

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ive facts about Francesc ‘Tito’ Vilanova, who will take over as Barcelona coach from Pep Guardiola at the end of the season. * Born September 17, 1969 in Bellcaire d’Emporda in Spain * On the youth team books at Barca, he went on to play for the likes of Celta Vigo and Mallorca as a midfielder. * He was Barcelona B assistant coach with Guardiola in 2007/ 08 and graduated to the first team with Guardiola in 2008, again as his No 2. * Vilanova was famously poked in the eye by Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho during a fracas at the Spanish Super Cup last August. * He had a successful operation on a tumour in his saliva glands in November.

Barca sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta said about him: “We’ve always said that if the team needs players, we look at home first. What do we have here at home? Tito. We chose Tito because he represents the idea and the image. He has commitment and personality.”

Guardiola added: “Barca is making a great choice. He’s very capable. The players know him. Even though I won’t be here physically - if Tito needs me, I’m here.”

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

PAGE 45

Car racing: The sport, the passion

Compiled By Richard Ihediwa with onine reports

C

ombining engine strength and speed, driver’s ingenu ity and courage, car racing is as dangerous as it is excit ing. Though resulting in many fatal accidents, the game has continued to gain popularity in Europe and America.

Racing began soon after the construction of the first successful gasoline-fueled automobiles. The first race ever organized was on April 28, 1887 by the chief editor of Paris publication Le Vélocipède, Monsieur Fossier. It ran 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from Neuilly Bridge to the Bois de Boulogne. It was won by Georges Bouton of the De Dion-Bouton Company, in a car he had constructed with Albert, the Comte de Dion, but as he was the only competitor to show up it is rather difficult to call it a race.

Paris–Rouen: The world's first motor race Car racing started gaining popularity in the 1890 with major contests in America, France and later India.

The first regular auto racing venue was Nice, France, run in late March, 1897, as a "Speed Week." To fill out the schedule, most types of racing events were invented here, including the first hill climb (Nice – La Turbie) and a sprint that was, in spirit, the first drag race.

An international competition, between nations rather than individuals, began with the Gordon Bennett Cup in auto racing which popularised city to city racing in Europe and America.

The very successful early European rally races ended in 1903 when Marcel Renault was involved in a fatal accident near Angoulême in the Paris-Madrid race. Nine fatalities caused the French government to stop the race in Bordeaux and ban open-road racing.

With this came the introduction of purpose-built racing circuit. The Milwaukee Mile is the oldest motor racing track in the world, with racing being held there since 1903. It was not purposely built for motor racing, it started as a one-mile (1.6 km) horse racing track in the 19th Century.

Between 1910 and 1950, there was a revolution in racing with the transformation from high-priced road cars into pure racers, with Alfa Romeo, Auto Union, Bugatti, Delage,

Delahaye and Mercedes-Benz constructing streamlined vehicles with engines producing up to 450 kW (603 hp), aided by multiple-stage supercharging.

From 1928 to 1930 and again in 1934–1936, the maximum weight permitted was 750 kg (1,653 lb), a rule diametrically opposed to current racing regulations. Extensive use of aluminum alloys was required to achieve light weight, and in the case of the Mercedes, the paint was removed to satisfy the weight limitation, producing the famous Silver Arrows.

A breed of powerful hybrids appeared in the 50s and 60s and raced on both sides of the Atlantic, featuring European chassis and large American engines – from the early Allard cars via hybrids such as Lotus 19s fitted with large engines through to the AC Cobra. The combination of mostly British chassis and American V8 engines gave rise to the Can-Am series in the 1960s and 1970s.

Currently, there are different types of racing including Formula racing, Kart racing, Touring racing, Sport car racing, Production car racing, One make racing, Rallying, Drag racing among others.

Formula racing The best-known variety of single-seater racing, Formula One, involves an annual World Championship for drivers and constructors.

In single-seater (open-wheel) the wheels are not covered, and the cars often have aerofoil wings front and rear to produce downforce and enhance adhesion to the track.

Single seater racing is not limited merely to professional teams and drivers. There is a large amateur 'club racing' scene catering for those who want to race single seaters against similar people all over the world.

Kart racing This employs a small, low-cost machine on small tracks. Many of

the current top drivers began their careers in karts.

Touring car racing Touring car racing is a style of road racing that is run with production derived race cars. It often features full-contact racing due to the small speed differentials and large grids.

Sports-car racing In sports car racing, production derived versions of sports cars also known as grand tourers (GTs), and purpose built sports prototype cars compete within their respective classes on closed circuits.

These races are often conducted over long distances, at least 1,000 km (621 mi), and cars are driven by teams of two or more drivers, switching every few hours.

Production-car racing Production-car racing, otherwise known as "showroom stock" in the US, is an economical and rules-restricted version of touring-car racing, mainly used to restrict costs. Numerous production racing categories are based on particular makes of cars.

One-make racing One-make, or single marque, championships often employ production-based cars from a single manufacturer or even a single model from a manufacturer's range.

Stock car racing This is done primarily on oval tracks, stock cars vaguely resemble production cars, but are in fact purpose-built racing machines which are built to tight specifications also called Silhouette racing cars.

Rallying Rallying at international and most national championship levels involves two classes of homologated road legal production based car; Group N Production cars and more modified Group A cars. Cars compete on closed public roads or offroad areas run on a point-to-point format where participants and their co-drivers "rally" to a set of points, leaving in regular intervals from start points.

Off-road racing In off-road racing, various classes of specially modified vehicles, including cars, compete in races through off-road environments. In North America these races often take place in the desert, such as the famous Baja 1000. In Europe, "offroad" refers to events such as autocross or rallycross, while desert races and rally-raids such as the Paris-Dakar, Master Rallye or European "bajas" are called "cross-country rallies."

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

Democracy Watch From the Villa

From the National Assembly

Senate and the move US Embassy, Maku to clip CBN’s wings and VIP protection

By Richard Ihediwa

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he National Assembly has been in the news mainly because of the submission of the report of the Farouk Lawan House of Representatives committee which probed the management of subsidy scheme in which damning revelations were made indicting some top government officials and oil companies.

The report indicated that the nation was ripped off by over a trillion and lawmakers are now calling for the head of those indicted including the Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke and former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Ahmadu Ali who was also the Chairman of the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA).

While the House of Representatives perfects moves to ensure that the executive implements its recommendations on those indicted, the Senate on Wednesday commenced moves to ensure the supremacy of the legislature in the financial sector.

The upper house on Wednesday passed through second reading, a bill seeking to amend the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act so as to curtail the independence of the bank and compel it to present its annual budget to the National Assembly for approval.

The Senate is amending section six of the CBN Act which currently empowers the CBN board to consider and approve budgets for the apex bank.

The decision to amend the CBN Act came as a fallout from the refusal of the CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi to present the bank’s 2011 and 2012 budget to the National Assembly on the ground that the Act only requires it to get the nod of the board in which the CBN governor is chairman.

Lawmakers were miffed by the position of the bank, hiding under the CBN Act which violates the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the 1999 Constitution. The two laws provide that all

government agencies must submit their budgets to the National Assembly.

When the CBN refused to present its budget for scrutiny despite the insistence by the National Assembly that it would not pass the 2012 budget unless all revenue based organisation including the CBN, NNPC, Customs and others present their budget, the first impulse of the legislature was to the Supreme Court to get it to determine the issues.

However, after several consultations, the legislature decided to use its powers through the instrumentality of legislations to get the CBN to its knees by amending the CBN Act to make it mandatory for it to submit its budget for appropriation.

Sponsor of the amendment bill, Senator Ita Enang, who is also the Chairman Senate Committee on Rules and Business said the amendment is to ensure that the CBN, like other agencies complied with the rules of accountability and transparency which can only be guaranteed through legislative approval to its budget.

There are indications that the bill, which is expected to be passed in the Senate within the next few weeks, will also record massive support in the House of Representatives which had been championing that the CBN must bring itself to legislative control.

Already, it appears that the National Assembly is even poised to veto the President if he for any reason refuses to sign the bill into law whenever it gets to him. However there are feelers that the Presidency is not averse to the amendment.

If the National Assembly sticks to its guns to the end, it will further democratise the system in such a way that Nigerians will come to have at least a glimpse of how much is used to run the apex bank just like any other government agency.

The interest in how much the running of the CBN consumes came on the heels of statements credited to the CBN governor sometime last year that bulk of the nation’s annual

budget was used to keep the federal legislators, which led many critics to demand for a slash in the overhead cost of the National Assembly.

Irked by the statement, the legislators had insisted that the CBN also make its spending public with some analysts suggesting that the bank also spends stupendously on overheads and upkeep of officials.

This is especially as there are insinuations that the overhead cost of the office of the CBN governor is well over those of top officials of the National Assembly.

The CBN governors travel allowance is also speculated to be far above those of cabinet ministers and leadership of the National Assembly.

In the meantime, the Senate at plenary on Thursday opened another sour point as it commenced debates into why the poverty rate in the country had continue to deepen despite figures bandied by the economic sector that the economy was growing.

Senator were irked by the persistence of the paradox of “rich nation poor people” despite nuances of poverty eradication programmes in the country.

After the debate, the Senate mandated its committee on National Planning and Economic Development to investigate the effectiveness of poverty reduction interventions in the country.

This followed a motion submitted by Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi (Ekiti North) and 36 others, entitled, “Economic growth and worsening inequality in Nigeria: A call for new approaches to poverty reduction.”

Adetunmbi in his lead debate noted that the 2011 Human Development report was released by United Nations Development Programme in November 2011.

He noted that the report contained Human Development Index (HDI) that had become globally accepted as a broader definition of well-being and provided a composite measure of three basic dimension of human development namely health, education and

I

n Nigeria, my dear country, government has been largely seen as a failure and the last one always seem better than the present one. The more things seem to be changing, the more they actually remain the same, even worse.

Just when government said it is making steady progress against terrorism and inspite of all the assurances we have heard from the State Security Service (SSS) and others, members of the dreaded Boko Haram group struck again in Abuja, this time, hitting the office of ThisDay Newspapers.

Now, we ask, do we now to take US Embassy warning serious? Was there any serious measure put in place by our security agencies to quell yet another attack on Abuja when the warning came?

The answers to that question are two.

One, Thursday's needless assault on the Fourth Estate at the heart of Abuja appears to a pointer to the fact no one did anything to really safeguard the town. We are still at the mercy of the attackers. The only thing we are proficient in doing is rescue efforts and cordoning off areas of bomb blast incidents.

The second answer to the question is in Federal Government's reaction to the last US Embassy warning some weeks back: "Whereas we believe that every country has a duty to secure its citizens and take decision that will ensure the safety of their nationals, we have always appealed to such Embassies and Agencies not to create public panic in our country.

"This is because some of these statements that are often issued create undue

panic among the general public.

"I will still appeal that foreign Embassies and Organisations that are working within Nigeria if they have any doubt at all about the preparedness of our agencies to secure public places, I think it will be wise to communicate that to us.

"But, I must say that our security agencies have over the last year increased their capacity to respond to some of the threats particularly within this City and several other cities.

"And I believe that a lot of work is being done. And we also know that when the issue came up last year our security agencies reassured the nation of our preparedness to safeguard all our public places especially the hotels."

The above quotation was Labaran Maku's reaction to the warning on behalf of the government. I am sure the measures he talked about were the road blocks the government is mounting everywhere, which do nothing but cause avoidable traffic and frustration for innocent commuters.

Government also have this mentality of VIP protection whereby they over-protect the big hotels and highbrow areas of the town anytime there is a threat while abandoning other areas. In recent times, security agencies have

concentrated on the big hotels and caused traffic around them and now the blast happened around Jabi/ Utako area of the capital city. But the reality now is that the bomb went off in Abuja as predicted by the US. The President has condemned the blast as usual.

We don't doubt his commitment to the battle because his government has been under attack but we doubt the competence of his top security chiefs. How can any serious country receive an intelligence about a potential bomb attack from US and just go to sleep?

This column insists that some people do not just deserve their present pay. They don't.

income.

The lawmaker said that he is worried that the country’s HDI is 0.459, which gives the country a rank of 156 out of 187 countries.

He said that the average HDI of sub-Sahara Africa region increased from 0.365 in 1980 to 0.463 currently placing the country below the African regional average.

Adetunmbi noted that the country’s HDI is the lowest among oil producing

countries and occupies the unenviable status of low human development category with Angola slightly ahead of Nigeria in Gross Domestic Product (GDP)/ capita, adult literacy, primary school enrolment and health adjusted life expectancy.

He listed Haiti (0.454); Zimbabwe (0.376); Sudan (0.408); Eritrea (0.349); Sierra Leone (0.336) and Liberia (0.329) as some other countries in the low category.

Nigeria’s impressive

annual real GDP growth rate, he noted, averaged 9.2 per cent between 2009 and 2010.

The ACN lawmaker said that correspondingly, over the same period, absolute poverty incidence remained high, rising from 42.7 per cent in 1992 to 65.6 per cent in 1996.

Critics believe that the move by the Senate is a step in the right direction even as Nigerians are eager to end the life of poverty in the country.

THRILLER FROM THE VILLA

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem kingatoldtrafford@gmail.com 08098639161

“

The President has condemned the blast as usual.

We don't doubt his commitment to the battle because his government has been under attack but we doubt the competence of his top security chiefs.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

PAGE 47

From the Pulpit Don’t take credit for what God is doing “

T

h e r e f o r e it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, ‘I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.’ For he says: ‘By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I am prudent; also I have removed the boundaries of the people, and have robbed their treasuries; so I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, and as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; and there was no one who moved his wing, Nor opened his mouth with even a peep.’” (Isa 10:12-14 NKJV) The Scripture above shows that Assyria became proud over its accomplishment. She failed to recognize that it was just a tool of judgment in God’s hands. God wanted to punish Judah and decided to use Assyria but Assyria became arrogant over her exploits concerning Judah.

She began to attribute her exploits to her strength and wisdom. God had to ask her: “Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it?

Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood!” (Isa 10:16 NKJV) Did you see that? It’s not possible for the axe to cut down a tree on its own. No saw can cut a tree on its own. No rod or staff can work by itself. Assyria was like an axe, a rod or a staff that couldn’t work on its own but used as a tool by somebody. Unfortunately, Assyria didn’t know and was taking credit for

what God was doing through her.

Therefore God said, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.” (Isa 10:12 NKJV) Whatever your success, you must always recognize that you are merely an instrument in God’s hand.

Because of Assyria’s failure to acknowledge God for the exploits she made against Judah, and Assyria’s attendant arrogance, God eventually punished her. (Isa 37:36-37) One angel killed 185,000 soldiers in one fell swoop. Could you believe that?

This was the same Assyria whose king, Sennacherib, was threatening Hezekiah and mocking his God saying Hezekiah shouldn’t allow God in whom he trusted deceive him that Jerusalem would not be given into his hand. (Isa 37:10-13) Sennacherib was really power drunk and went too far. He didn’t know that he was succeeding because God permitted it. The beginning of the end for Sennacherib was his failure to acknowledge God in his success – this moved him to engage in blasphemy. When Hezekiah prayed to God, He passed His judgment on Assyria and her king. “Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: 'He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor build a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return; and he shall not come into this city,' says the LORD. 'For I will defend this city, to save it for My own sake and for My servant David's sake.'” (Isa 37:33-35 NKJV) What followed was the killing of 185,000 soldiers in the camp of the Assyrians by just one angel.

Sennacherib was destabilized by this inexplicable incident. He therefore fled fulfilling God’s word that he wouldn’t enter Jerusalem.

But that wasn’t the end of his trouble.

When he returned home, he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, and his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, struck him down with the sword. (Isa 37:37-38) What a shameful end for a man who had boasted as if he was invincible! It was cheap death for a man who appeared unstoppable. Be careful that you don’t take credit for what God is doing.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Pride Nebuchadnezzar made the same mistake Assyria and her king, Sennacherib made, and God punished his pride just as he punished the pride of Assyria. “At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying, ‘Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?’” (Dan 4:29-30 NKJV) Nebuchadnezzar failed to acknowledge God. He said he was the one who built great Babylon for a royal dwelling and for the honor of his majesty. He said it was by his mighty power that he built great Babylon. He didn’t make any mention of God. He had forgotten that it was God who brought him to the throne. (Dan 4:31-33) Because of his pride, Nebuchadnezzar was driven from the throne and men, and ate grass like oxen. His body was wet with the dew until his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws. He was in this condition for seven seasons. Just imagine a king walking on four legs like an animal with his body wet and hair all over his body like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws! He was really humiliated. Nebuchadnezzar

GREEN PASTURES

By Pastor T.O. Banso cedarministryintl@yahoo.com GSM: 08033113523 the Great became Nebuchadnezzar the beast! He was made lower than a human being to humble him. He was not a good sight to behold.

Nebuchadnezzar should have avoided the tragedy that befell him because he was warned twelve months earlier by Daniel who interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to him. (Dan 4:24-27) But God was merciful to Nebuchadnezzar. After seven seasons of being in the forest like a beast, God restored him to his throne. Hearing Nebuchadnezzar speak later, one is not left in doubt that he had learnt his lessons. He became a preacher of some sort especially to those who may want to take credit for what God is doing.

(Dan 4:34-37) God hates pride, that’s why He resists the proud. (Js 4:6, I Pet 5:5) If God resists someone, it makes no difference who is assisting that person.

God says He’ll cut off the pride of the Philistines (Zech 9:6). He says He’ll bring down the pride of the Assyrians (Zech 10:11) The pride of Moab will also disappear. (Is 16:6-13) God will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease (Is 13:11).

Eschew pride; always wear the garment of humility no matter the exploits God is doing through you and despite the outstanding successes you’re achieving. “God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth” (Matt 5:5 Life Application Study Bible). J.B. Philips Translation renders Matt

5:5 thus: “Happy are those who claim nothing for the whole earth will belong to them.”

“Blessed” or “happy” means “to be envied and spiritually prosperous [that is, with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favour and salvation, regardless of their outward condition]” (Amplified Bible). Don’t take credit for what God is doing. Don’t attribute your exploits or successes to your strength, wisdom, brilliance, prayer and fasting etc. Give the glory to God. TAKE ACTION! If you are not born again, kindly say this prayer now: “0 Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself.

I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and surrender my life to him today. I invite Jesus into my heart today. By this prayer, I know I am saved.

Thank you Jesus for saving me and making me a child of God” I believe you have said this prayer from your heart.

Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible believing, Bible teaching church in your area where you will be taught how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things becoming all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. May the Lord be with you.

The test of conviction and faithfulness (1) Daniel 3:1-18 “ N e b u c h a d n e z z a r the king made an image of gold." He commanded that everyone should "fall down and worship the golden image". He threatened that "whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnance." He asked the worshippers of the true God: "And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" (verses 1,5,6,15). Despite his great testimony and public affirmation of the true God at the end of the second chapter (Daniel 2:47-49) he was still a sinner, an idolatrous sinner, a proud sinner, a great sinner, a blasphemous sinner, an open and flagrant sinner, a cruel and wicked sinner, an unashamed, unpretending sinner. Public testimonies only go so far, but often, not far enough to reveal genuine conversion. True believers must not be deceived and we must not take every public confession of Christ as an unmistakable sign of genuine conversion. There are many who "have a form of

godliness, but deny the power thereof ", many who "profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." There are many who claim to "believe in His Name", but Jesus will "not commit Himself unto them, because He knows what is in man." Many, indeed, have "a name that thou livest, and art dead." "They feared the LORD, and served their own gods... Unto this day they do after the former manners". Many of these religious sinners will deceive themselves and also deceive others until the final day of reckoning, saying "Lord, Lord" but Christ will profess unto them, "I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity" (2 Timothy 3:5; Titus 1:16; John 2:23-25; Revelation 3:2; 2 Kings 17:33,34; Matthew 7:2123). Nebuchadnezzar's earlier emotional public declaration was superficial. Most christians would have been deceived by such declarations and testimonies today. We must be watchful and

By

Pastor W. F. Kumuyi "try the spirits whether they are of God" lest we fill the church with hypocritical, idolatrous sinners.

1. THE COMMANDMENTS THAT CONDEMN IDOLATRY Idolatry is consistently and severely condemned in the Word of God. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament condemn it. It is an abomination to God and all unrepentant idol

worshippers will be punished in the eternal lake of fire for ever.

Idolatry is vain and foolish, unprofitable and defiling.

Idolatry is substituting anything or anyone for the true God, worshipping something or someone instead of the only true and living God. Taking the whole Biblical revelation into consideration, idolatry consists of: making images to represent God, bowing down to and worshipping images, sacrificing to idols and devils, serving, worshipping, swearing by, fearing, speaking in the name of other gods, worshipping angels, worshipping the hosts of heaven, worshipping devils, worshipping dead men and enquiring from spirits of dead men. These forms of idolatry can be noticed through their outward or external activities of worship but idolatry may be internal, too. There are men who "set up their idols in their heart" (Ezekiel 14:3). This internal form of idolatry, loving anything - money, men or

material things - above God, is severely condemned by God and will be judged by God as severely as all other forms of idolatry. "the love of money is the root of all evil" and "covetousness, which is idolatry" makes "the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience" (1 Timothy 6:10; Colossians 3:5,6).

Nebuchadnezzar set up an image of gold and commanded all the citizens of Babylon and the captives from Judah to worship the image.

He was king, ruler and benefactor.

He had trained, employed and promoted some of the Jews. He had provided them some material resources; now he wanted to bring them and every one else under the control of a unifying, idolatrous state religion. Rulers, employers and political leaders who give us jobs sometimes also offer us their idolatrous or occultic religion. We must know where to draw the line.

We work and make our daily living under an employer without ever bringing our souls into the bondage of idolatry or occultism.

BIG PUNCH That judge who pronounced a former governor free of corrupt practices, the question is this, is he still a happy judge in this nation?”

—Prof. Wole Soyinka on the conviction of Ibori by London court

SATURDAY 28 — SUNDAY 29, APRIL, 2012

A brief history of Northern elders

L

a k e Chad tells the story of the Nigerian Predicament, it tells the story of the ongoing Northern Nigerian Tragedy. The Lake Chad Basin is the largest area of inland drainage basin in Africa, covering an area of about 2,500,000 km2, that is about 8% of the surface area of the African continent. The basin is shared between the countries of Algeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Libya, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, Algeria and Libya.

It constitutes a strategic source of freshwater for the countries, which is central to the livelihoods of the people in the basin. It is strategic for global biodiversity, being the home to 120 species of fish, supporting 372 bird species, as well as a good variety of animal and plant life. Most important of all, it is home to a large human population, rich in diversity, rich in history and rich in culture; and it is able in the best of times to supply them with all the necessary means of livelihood as thriving communities of farmers, fishermen, herders, traders and scholars.

In 1963, Lake Chad covered an area of 25000 square kilometers, but today it covers a mere 3000 square kilometers, or even much less. It has also lost about 95% of its water. The lake affects the livelihood of about twenty two million people, who depend on it for fresh water, farming, fishing, grazing and sundry other economic activities.

Since 1963 or so the countries in the Chad Basin, especially Nigeria which has the largest stake, have watched the steady decline of Lake Chad caused mostly by human factors, paying little regard to its strategic value, treating it as though its indispensable lifesustaining resources are infinite, not finite, and engaging in salvage operations at the wrong times in the wrong places. Andrew Bomford gives a typical example of the treatment meted out to the lake on a routine basis. A power project was undertaken in New Marte, Chad, to provide electricity to pump water to irrigate 165,000 hectares or 668 square kilometers of farmland.

Hundreds of kilometers of canals were built but the canals were not lined and the water just drained away into the desert. Only a third of the land was ever irrigated. But in the end the southern part of the Lake dried up, and now the canals and the land are barren. The power station stands there, says Bomford, as a silent museum of 1970s technology.

The forty years or more of continuous, uninterrupted decline has taken its toll, the fear now is that Lake Chad may inevitably vanish

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and become history. The decline has resulted in dwindling access to water for the population, widespread crop failures, livestock deaths, collapsed fisheries, collapsed wetland services, biodiversity loss and decreased viability of biological resources.

More importantly the decline has led to food insecurity, continuing decline in the health status of the people and sustained degradation of living standards. The people of the

WEEKEND with

Ibraheem Sulaiman sa427420@gmail.com

Arewa House Lake Chad area are now adjudged as the poorest in Nigeria, poor not because they are lazy but because their source of sustenance and livelihood has been snatched from them, through a systematic failure of governmental policy and strategy.

Experts attribute the travails of Lake Chad largely to failure of government. The decline is, after all, avoidable and reversible. In their Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis of the Lake Chad Basin prepared for The Lake Chad Basin Commission, Dr. Hassan Haruna Bdliya and Dr. Martin Bloxom observe as follows: 'In all the member countries there is clear evidence that the governments of the day make very minimal investments in the biological resources management and environmental protection sector. In Nigeria, for example, the budgetary outlay for the Federal Ministry of Environment, which is eloquently charged with the responsibility for protecting the environment and promoting sustainable development, has since its creation in 1999 never reached 10% of what is allocated for the army. This is hard to explain, as the

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regions economy is dependent on the exploitation of natural resources, whether through agricultural production or direct harvesting of resources. The most probable reason is the preoccupation of the governments with short term concerns, which is driven mainly by a low level of environmental awareness and education, as well as survival instincts in an unstable economy and political setting. There is no pressure on the governments of the day for investments and services that can underpin sustainable development.'

In all these years every one in the North remains silent, unperturbed! The Lake Chad tragedy, however, pales into insignificance when compared to the ongoing, relentless desertification of a very extensive part of Northern Nigeria. Desertification is defined by the United Nations as a process of land degradation in arid, semi arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities.

Desertification is a global phenomenon which poses grave dangers to human populations. Its ultimate consequences are summed

up by the UN in a terse, dramatic sentence: 'The Roman Empire's bread basket in North Africa, which once contained 600 cities, is now a desert.' The UN explains some aspects of human activities which contribute to desertification as follows. 'Over-cultivation exhausts the soil. Overgrazing removes vegetation that protects soil erosion.

Trees that bind the soil together are cut for lumber or firewood for heating and cooking. Poorly drained irrigation turns crop land salty, desertifying 500,000 hectares annually, about the same amount of soil that is newly irrigated annually.' The UN adds further: 'Life on earth depends on the layer of soil that is the source of the nutrients for plants, crops, forests, animals and people. Without it, ultimately none can survive. Although topsoil takes a long time to build up, if mistreated, it can vanish in a few seasons due to erosion by wind and water.'

Desertification can be contained, even reversed if the necessary measures are taken on a sustained basis. But what is the situation in Nigeria? The Nigerian Voice wrote on December 21, 2010, giving a typical example of the way

in which Nigeria fights what amounts to one of the gravest threats to its existence: 'In December 2008, during the presidency of President Umar Musa Yar Adua, the Federal Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a German field engineering company, Hagen and Co Engineering Services GbR through her Nigerian affiliate for the implementation of a 1.5 Billion Euro Green Wall Sahara Shelter Belt project that had been initiated by Obasanjo's administration, but kept in the cooler for reasons that would not stress an Obasanjo keen watcher to put his fingers on. The MoU represented the best any government with the slightest interest of the suffering but voiceless Northern Nigerian farmers would embrace with both arms, as Yar Adua did.

'Three months, six months, almost two years later, the Hagen Desert Farming Project which sets out to empower farmers in desert encroached Nigeria not only to plant trees but to improve on their standard of living at no cost to any level of government, is yet to take off. Governors of Northern Nigerian states whose states economies stand to benefit from the project, are said to have done nothing to create the necessary enabling environment for the project to take off. At a National Conference organized by the Leadership Group of Newspapers in April 2009, with the aptly selected theme: 'Beyond Oil', the project was stridently put before governors and Northern politicians and traditional leaders who attended the conference.

Almost one years after the conference, target state governments are still 'searching' for solutions to the rampaging desert without asking a single question about the Hagen Desert Farming Project. Indeed these are strange times as far as desertification and its control are concerned.'

Again silence everywhere!

Meanwhile the combined effects of the vanishing Lake Chad and the advancing desertification could turn the vast lands which today serve as a base for extensive agriculture, fishing, grazing, human habitation and human activity into a dessert, wiping out the many cities and cultures and histories which make the region powerful, unassailable, unique.

The people would scatter in different directions in search of farmlands, food, water and shelter. The Quran tells us what happens when a people, through failure of vision, loss of vitality, or systemic abuse of God's bounty, finally lose the command over their physical environment.

They perish.

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