FRI 04 April 2014

TheGuardian Conscience, Nurtured by Truth Friday, April 4, 2014

Vol. 30, No. 12,881

www.ngrguardiannews.com

N150

Former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Adebisi Sarah Sosan (left); First Lady of the state, Abimbola Fashola; the governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN); his deputy, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire and wife of Ogun State Deputy Governor, Funmi Adesegun, during the 2014 International Women’s Day rally in Ikeja, Lagos… yesterday.

50 insurgents feared killed in Nasarawa

From Mohammed Abubakar (Abuja), Saxone Akhaine (Kaduna) and Msugh Ityokura (Lafia)

• Jonathan seeks Western nations’ aid over terrorism • How to check Boko Haram threat, by Crisis group

GRUESOME end came yesA terday for about 50 suspected insurgents disguised

gangs in Guma, Gwer West and Agatu local councils.

Some arrests and recoveries were also made in the process.

In a related development, President Goodluck Jonathan has urged Western

nations to assist Nigeria in its fight against terrorism. The President believed that through such collaboration, Nigeria and other affected African countries could overcome the escalating insecurity in the continent.

Similarly, the International Crisis Group (ICG) has urged the Federal Government to formulate and implement a special intervention programme to address the root causes of Boko Haram insurgency in the north eastern

5.3 million Nigerians are unemployed, says Okonjo-Iweala

FG moves to check medical treatment abroad

Court orders release of Sanusi’s passport

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as herdsmen as soldiers deployed to Nasarawa State killed them during a gun battle in Keana Local Council of the state.

Yesterday’s incident confirms The Guardian report on Monday March 31, 2014 that insurgent camps were discovered in Lafia and other parts of the state.

Meanwhile, troops deployed in Benue State have already cleared camps of all armed

states of the country.

In the same vein, the Centrum Initiatives for Development and Fundamental Rights Advocacy (CEDRA) has canvassed the trial in Abuja of the arrested suspects in connection with recent attacks and killings in southern Kaduna communities.

A source said that 12 bodies of the slain insurgents were brought to Lafia Specialist

ECOWAS approves anti-malaria drug factories for Nigeria, two others - Page 7

Hospital in a police pick-up van and deposited at the mortuary, while about 20 other corpses were deposited at the General Hospital, Keana.

Other bodies, according to military sources, were still in the bush.

Troops launched an offensive on the bandits while acting on a tip-off on their hide-outs in Maraba, Giza and Tse-Azer communities where they have taken over the ancestral home of the Tiv in the area.

A source at Keana General Hospital disclosed that the mortuary there could not contain the number of dead CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

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Friday, April 4, 2014

Bid to unseat Akande, others suffers setback From Lemmy Ughegbe, Abuja

A

LEGAL move to unseat the Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, and

other national executive members of All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday suffered a setback at the Fed-

eral High Court, Abuja Division, over lack of service of the processes on the parties, causing the court to adjourn till May 14, 2014 for report of service.

Conscience Group, which elected a new leader, Chief Tony Ojemba Chigbo, had approached the court praying it to sack Akande and other interim executives on the premise that they had outlived the six months period provided by the constitution of the party, after which substantive executives would be put in place by a congress.

The plaintiffs, Iheke Solomon and Nnamdi Olebara, who sued for themselves and on behalf of Conscience Group, submitted that the six months period provided by the constitution had elapsed on January 31, 2014 and hence all the interim executive officers should have vacated the office.

Cited as first to fourth respondents are APC, Akande, Tijani Tumsah (as represen-

tatives of the National Executive Committee, and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The plaintiffs, through their counsel, Iheke Solomon, want the court to give an order restraining Akande and Tumsah from managing or running the affairs of the party.

They also want the court to give an order directing INEC not to recognise or entertain any official dealing with the Akande-led executive members.

In their grounds for reliefs sought, the group submitted that the tenure of six months granted the second and third respondents by the constitution of the party expired on Friday, January 31, 2014, counted from the August 2013, when the second and third respondents assumed interim management of the affairs of the party.

Meanwhile, the new leader of the group, Chigbo who spoke with reporters after the court session, said: “It

Akande was a privilege of burden to lead the group at a critical time when the cherished collective ideas of the group are under threat.”

According to him, “the high ethical ideals of probity, con-

stitutionality, accountability, rule of law, equity, justice and internal democracy in running the affairs of our most cherished party represent the vision of the Conscience Group.”

Jonathan seeks Western nations’ aid over terrorism CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 victims hence others were taken to Lafia.

Sophisticated weapons were also said to have been recovered by the military from the insurgents who were taken unawares during the attack.

About four armoured tanks were used in the operation which is the first since the deployment last week.

According to the Director, Defence Information, Maj.Gen. A.C. Olukolade, the offensive tagged ‘Operation Restore Peace’, has also resulted in the destruction of militant camps, arrests as well as recovery of arms in Shendam area of Plateau State.

He added: “Two AK 47 rifles were recovered after an encounter with troops of Special Task Force and the armed gangs in their enclaves in Shimanker in Plateau State.

In Kaduna State, militant camps in Laduga near Kachia were destroyed while arms were equally recovered in Maigungume Hills in Niger State.

General Officers Commanding (GOCs) are directly supervising these operations in their area of responsibility in Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Niger states as troops comb forests in the mission to apprehend members of armed gangs and destroy their enclaves.”

A statement from the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, yesterday quoted the President as making the call during the meeting he had with leaders of some key western nations on the sidelines of the Fourth EU-African Summit in Brussels, the Belgian capital.

According to the statement, the President met and held talks with German Chancellor, Angela Merkel; Prime Minister of Finland, Mr. Jurki Katainen; Prime Minister of Malta, Dr. Joseph Muscat and British Foreign Secretary, Mr. William Hague, on the sidelines of the two-day summit.

He added: “President Jonathan said Nigeria would require further assistance in the areas of power generation and checking terrorist activities. On her part, Chancellor Merkel said the stability of Nigeria was crucial to West African sub-region and expressed the readiness of her country to assist in the fight against terrorism as well as encourage German companies to invest in Nigeria’s power sector.”

Meanwhile, the President was also said to have hinted that Nigeria was looking forward to receiving a trade delegation from Bulgaria in order to boost economic relations between the two countries.

Speaking during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 4th European Union (EU)-Africa Summit in Brussels, Belgium, with the President of Bulgaria, Mr. Rosen Plevneliev, President Jonathan said the time was ripe for the revitalisation of the Nigeria-Bulgaria Bi-National Commission which had its last meeting in 1989.

He recalled the cordial relations between both countries in the 70s during which period the National Arts Theatre in Lagos, which he described as “a national monument,” was built by a Bulgarian company. He also commended Bulgarian companies for equipping Nigerian secondary schools for technical education during that decade.

“Let us increase trade and investment between the two countries,” he said, adding that “Nigeria has a vast area for investment and we believe we must add value to gas and crude oil which is the only way to create jobs.” The President also said that his administration had been encouraging the private sector to invest more in the economy.

On his part, the Bulgarian President, while commending the 50 years of diplomatic relations between both countries, also stressed the

need to deepen and expand the bilateral relations.

Plevneliev said he was proud of what his country’s companies were doing in the construction sector in Nigeria, especially in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The Bulgarian President expressed the commitment of his government to send a high-powered trade delegation to Nigeria in order to upgrade the bilateral relations, especially in areas of agriculture and energy management. He also commended President Jonathan’s “visionary and strong approach to leadership” in Nigeria in particular and Africa in general.

The rights group alleged that there would be no proper prosecution of the suspects if the investigations were carried out in Kaduna State.

In the group’s latest report, Curbing Violence in Nigeria (II): The Boko Haram Insurgency, published yesterday, the Brussels-based international conflict prevention and resolution organisation argues that Boko Haram’s evolution since 2002 is strongly linked to Nigeria’s failed governance, economic hardship, rising social inequality, corruption and impunity.

The report noted that in many parts of the country, the government’s failure to provide security, education, jobs, water, energy and health services, makes the youths easy recruitment target for anti-state militias.

The ICG observed that while Boko Haram initially targeted security forces and politicians, its campaign has grown over the past three years, with attacks on traditional and religious leaders, public institutions, the United Nations (UN) and most recently rural communities and educational institutions.

The insurgents are now more dispersed than ever, the report stated, with many leaders in Cameroun and Niger Republic, countries that are poorly equipped to address an armed Islamist

threat. It also warned that the Boko Haram insurgency and other manifestations of insecurity in much of the North may worsen political violence and undermine the credibility of the 2015 elections.

The report argued that a military response to the insurgency was no longer enough, and only far-reaching political and socio-economic reform can ease the economic and social deprivations that are fuelling it.

The ICG therefore called on the Federal and state governments to urgently develop and implement a comprehensive socio-economic intervention programmes for the North-East region. It also called on the Federal Government to end impunity by prosecuting crimes by government and security officials and Boko Haram members alike.

It further recommended a concerted civic education programme to halt politicisation of religions and reformation of the police force to make it a partner to citizens in detecting and dealing with security threats.

In a statement by the Co-ordinator of CEDRA, Dr. John Danfulani, he stated that on April 2, 2014, tens of gunmen were apprehended in Kafanchan, Jema’a Local Council, by the Nigerian Army”, while also adding that “similarly, last Sunday, March 30, 2014, other bandits were arrested in Laduga, a grazing reserve in southern Kaduna by men of the Nigerian Armed Forces in an early morning operation.”

Danfulani alleged that “in the Sunday and Wednesday incidences, the arrested men were in possession of arms as reports hold that the Kafanchan and Laduga suspects have been transferred from southern Kaduna to the state headquarters and handed over to relevant authorities for further investigation and prosecution.”

Friday, April 4, 2014 | 3

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News FG moves to check medical treatment abroad From Ann Godwin, Port Harcourt HE Federal Government has said there is no going back on the planned ban of medical treatment abroad, especially by politicians and other public servants in the country.

President Goodluck Jonathan described as worrisome the increasing number of Nigerian public servants seeking medical attention abroad.

The President, who noted that medical tourism is one of the vital gains from globalization that has transformed the world into the global village, however, lamented that it (medical tourism) is being misconstrued by many Nigerians.

To reverse the trend, the President said some measures such as stimulation and facilitation of private sector engagement in the healthcare industry have been adopted.

He spoke yesterday at the 36th Annual General Meeting and International Scientific Conference of the Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (AGPMPN) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Represented by the Minister of Health, Prof. Chukwu Onyebuchi, the President noted that recent analysis by the Federal Ministry of Health revealed that majority of the conditions for which Nigerian public servants sought healthcare abroad for a three-year period, can adequately be handled in Nigeria.

He said: “While some of our compatriots look at medical tourism out of Nigeria from the perspective that it is indicative of inadequacies in our healthcare delivery system, a recent analysis by the Federal Ministry of Health brought to light that majority of the conditions for which Nigerian public servants sought healthcare (diagnosis and treatment) abroad for a three-year period, can adequately be handled in Nigeria.”

He said already, a directive had been given to the Minister of Health to ask the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to, in short order, come up with new guidelines for publication of ethically acceptable information about public and private health facilities across the country.

Earlier, the Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sampson Parker said the Niger Delta was at the centre of environmental problems, while calling on the participants at the conference to come up with ideas that will better the lots of people in the region.

Lamenting the environmental issues in the region, he said the state government has put in place measures to mitigate the effect of oil and gas exploration on the people of the state.

“The Rivers State government is paying emphasis on the primary health care. That is why Governor Chibuike Amaechi has insisted on free healthcare programme, malaria elimination and the HIV/AIDS programme,” the commissioner said.

Oyo State Council in UK to honour Alaafin O fewer than 10 traditionN al rulers in Oyo State will accompany the Alaafin of

T

National Chairman, Independent Democrats, Edozie Madu (left); former governor, Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu; former chairman, Aracku Local Government, Abia State, Mazr Jonas and Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi at the Nigeria Centenary Lecture titled: A Nation in Quest of Credible Leadership delivered by Kalu in Ibadan.

PHOTO: NAJEEM RAHEEM

Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi, to the United Kingdom to receive the award to be presented to him by the Oyo State Council (OSC) in the Queen’s land next month.

The award, according to the letter signed by Femi Durudola, the Secretary, Coordinating Committee and which was made available to journalists in Ibadan, is in recognition of Alaafin’s contribution to the socio-economic and political development of the entire Yoruba nation, Nigeria and indeed African continent.

He explained that special programmes had been put in place in the honour of Oba Adeyemi to last for a whole week, noting that the award ceremony holding at Oasis:68 Thames Road, Barking Essex, IG11 0HZ on April 13 would climax the event.

Senators fault move to make INEC carry burden of proof in polls petitions From Adamu Abu and Azimazi Momoh Jimoh, Abuja

• Okay N271b budget for FCT

bill seeking to amend the 2010 Electoral Act to shift A the burden of proof of elec-

general principles of the bill submitted that it violates the Evidence Act which places the burden of proof on a petitioner.

However, after series of appeals and parliamentary lobbying by Sirika, the bill was allowed to pass its second reading.

He noted that the process of proving the regularity or otherwise of the conduct of an election is highly burdensome and ought not to be placed or vested on the petitioner who did not conduct the poll but only participated in it.

Sirika said: “The onus of proving the regularity of an election ought to be a burden to be discharged by the body or organisation that prepared and arranged for the conduct and thereafter went ahead to conduct the said election.

tion irregularities or otherwise to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) attracted sharp criticisms at the Senate yesterday.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives is on the verge of passing a bill to prescribe stiffer penalties for candidates who cheat during the West African School Certificate Examination (WASCE).

The bill on burden of proof sponsored by Senator Hadi Sirika (APC, Katsina State), the bill specifically states that once an election petition is sent to an election tribunal or court of law, INEC, not the petitioner, would be required to prove that it had conducted a free and fair election.

Most senators who contributed to the debate on the

“It is settled under the law of evidence that he who asserts must prove, however, this bill seeks otherwise. That is, that the burden of proof of the regularity of the conduct of an election must, first, shift to the body that conducted the election. The burden of first proof having been discharged by INEC will then shift to the petitioner who alleged that the election was not properly conducted.”

Sirika expressed confidence that if the bill becomes a law, it will shorten litigation time, make INEC to live up to its responsibilities and promote transparency.

But Heineken Lopobiri, James Manager, Joshua Lidani, Victor Lar, Barnabas Gemade, and Gyan Pajok, among others, spoke against the bill.

Lopobiri described it as unmeritorious, adding that

since it was party that asserts that must prove, there is no basis for the bill at all because it contradicts the Evidence Act, which is a global practice.

Manager maintained that: “It is the law that says if you assert, you should prove. It is the litigant that is dragging INEC to court that should prove that the commission did not do its job well and not the other way round.”

Similarly, the trio of Lar, Lidani, and Pajok in their various contributions, said the bill would strip candidates in elections the rights and powers to defend themselves with proofs while those who did not take part in the exercise would instigate litigation.

But Attai Ali, Abdul Ningi, Abubakar Bagudu, and Alkali Ahmed, supported the bill and encouraged their colleagues to vote for its passage, arguing that the Evidence Act is an old law that

has outlived its relevance.

They also argued that many litigants usually encounter serious problems in accessing relevant documents necessary to prove their cases in court because all of them are in the custody of INEC. Also yesterday, the Senate passed the sum of N271.1billion as the 2014 budget for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The budget shows that N49.2 billion would be spent on personnel cost, N62.8 billion on overhead cost and N159 billion on capital projects in 2014.

In his comment before closing the session, Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, faulted the construction of open drains on the multi billion naira AbujaAbaji highway and the modern ring roads within the Federal Capital Territory, stressing that the development is not in line with modern global practice.

5.3 million Nigerians are unemployed, says Okonjo-Iweala From John Okeke and Kanayo Umeh, Abuja INISTER of Finance and M the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, yesterday disclosed that 5.3 million Nigerians are unemployed.

Okonjo-Iweala, who spoke in Abuja at the commissioning of the Global Distance Learning Institute (GDLI), noted that the trend has been accumulated all over the years.

“About 5.3 million people are unemployed in the country and they have accumulated through the years. It didn’t start this year, it didn’t start last year, it has been happen-

ing. Part of the reason is that we didn’t even know how many people who are coming into our labour market each year.

“The problem we have in this country is that job creation has been an issue for quite some time; it didn’t start today. Therefore we have a backlog of unemployed people already sitting.

“We know that about 1.8 million people enter the labour market every year, we also know that we have created 1.6 million jobs, so we haven’t yet met the mark of the number of entrants; there is still a gap of 200,000 plus the 5.3 million existing in the pool of

unemployed. That’s why even though the government is making every effort, people are not feeling the impact,” she said.

According to the minister, what the Federal Government can do to honour the memory of those who lost their lives during the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) recruitment tragedy is to create more jobs for the teaming population.

She noted that the Federal Government really understands the way the young people in this country feels and is committed creating more jobs.

“The focus of this government and the reason we creat-

ed this centre is to create jobs.

You saw what happened about the Immigration and it makes people think that government is not doing anything but that is not the truth.

It is part of our dream, part of the vision in this administration that this centre should be productive. It is quite a pity that it took this long to get it going and equips it, but like they say “better late than never,” she said.

Noting that the government alone cannot create jobs, Okonjo-Iweala urged the private sector to also play a part in fighting the problem of unemployment.

She also noted that the Feder-

al Government, through the YouWin programme, has been able to create about 27,000 jobs. “That is why we have the YouWin programme that the President launched two years ago; those young people have already created 27,000 jobs.

They created it not for themselves, but for others.”

Also Speaking to journalists at the event, the President and Chief Executive Officer, Global Distance Learning Institute, Prof. Manny Aniebonam, said the institute is one developed worldwide by the World Bank “and we want to use it to bring up the quality of education in Nigeria and then create job opportunities for our people.”

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4 | NEWS Friday, April 4, 2014

Health workers may begin strike April 29

By Joseph Okoghenun EALTH professionals, H under the aegis of the Joint Health Workers Union (JOHESU), may begin an indefinite nationwide strike from April 29 if the Federal Government refuses to meet their demands during the next negotiating meeting slated for last week of April.

National President of the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), Mr. Felix Olukayode-Faniran, one of the union leaders of JOHESU, who made the plan known in Lagos yesterday, said Nigerians should not blame health workers if the planned strike becomes a reality.

Olukayode-Faniran also revealed that JOHESU members are planning to make a visit to House of Representatives to protest some contentious areas in the National Health Bill that

• Plan protest to House of Reps over Health Bill were not dealt with by the Senate.

JOHESU is made up of five unions in health sector, namely the Medical and Health Workers’ Unions of Nigeria (MHWUN), National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Senior Staff Associa-

tion of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutions and Associated Institutions (SSAUTHRIAI), Nigeria Union of Pharmacists, Technologists and Professions Allied to Medicine (NUPMTAM) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associ-

ated Institutions (NASU).

Speaking during a press briefing to announce the formal launching of NUAHP, formerly NUPMTAM, Olukayode-Faniran said health workers, under JOHESU, have been refraining from strike “because of our love for Nigerians”, adding

that “our demands have not been met.”

Olukayode-Faniran appealed to Nigerians to plead with the Federal Government to grant JOHESU’s demands, some of which he said, have been awarded to the union by courts.

JOHESU had gone on a

Orji signs N115.3b 2014 budget From Gordi Udeajah Umuahia BIA State Governor, Dr. A Theodore Orji has expressed optimism that the state’s N115. 3 billion 2014 budget will be fully implemented, saying that already, he has not only approved the harmonization of all revenues, but directed that all taxes and revenues of the state be paid directly through the banks.

Orji spoke yesterday after he signed into law the 2014 budget/appropriation bill, which was presented to him by the Speaker of the house Hon Ude Oko Chukwu.

The governor commended the state Lawmakers for painstakingly passing the bill even as they reduced the estimate from the N149.6 billion presented by the governor in December 2013 to N115.3 billion.

Speaker Chukwu said the adjustment or reduction was necessitated by what he called the harmonisation of policy thrust of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA’s).

Executive Director, Business Development, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Haruna Jalo-Waziri; Kogi State Governor Idris Wada; the NSE's Chief Executive Officer, Oscar Onyema, and the Managing Director/CEO of Afrinvest West Africa, Ike Chioke, at the listing of Kogi State's N5billion 15% Series 1 Fixed Rate Infrastructure Bond on the Exchange in Lagos yesterday.

Aji tasks federal civil servants on discipline, dedication From Anthony Otaru, Abuja EDERAL civil servants in Fadvised the country have been to conduct themselves in a most dignifying manner at all times as true representation of the service.

Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Buka Goni Aji, who made the appeal at an interactive session with federal civil servants in Kaduna State, further encouraged them to be

hard-working, industrious, loyal and dedicated to their duties.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Career Management Office in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Mohammed Abbas, Aji said: “The purpose of this interactive session is to appraise you on the reform initiatives in the Federal Civil Service geared towards repositioning the service for effective

public service delivery and its role of initiating and implementing government’s policies and programmes.

“As it is well known, a nation’s most valued asset is its human resources. This is central to the development of the nation because of the critical role it is expected to play in the initiation, formulation and translation of government’s policies into tangible results for the achievement of national outcomes

for its citizens.”

In a statement signed by Mohammed Manga from the Office of the HOS, Aji said: “The reforms include, among others, building competent, professional, developmentoriented, public-spirited and customer-friendly civil service capable of responding effectively and speedily to the needs of the society and restoring core values of the service such as political neutrality, impartiality, integrity,

APC accuses Presidency of aiding violence in Ekiti From Muyiwa Adeyemi (Ado Ekiti) and Lemmy Ughegbe (Abuja) HE Ekiti State chapter of T the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday accused the Presidency of aiding the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to foment trouble in order to “capture” the state in the June 21 gover-

three-day warning strike from January 22 to 24, after which the Federal Government mandated a committee headed by Secretary to the Federal Government, Anyim Pius Anyim, to negotiate with health workers.

One of the contentious areas of demands by the union has been refusal of Federal Government, led by the Ministry of Health, to implement National Industrial Court judgment. The court, in its judgment, stated that JOHESU members should continue to skip Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) 10, that specialists allowance should be paid to JOHESU members, that JOHESU members should continue to be recognised as consultants, retirement age of health workers be reviewed upward from 60 to 65 years of age.

Olukayode-Faniran added that although progress has been made in the National Health Bill, there were still some contentious areas that JOHESU members were still aggrieved about.

The physiotherapist noted that health professionals are seeking a change of Section 5 of the National Health Bill, which deals on composition of National Council of Health, adding that the Council should be enlarged to include two representatives each of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), JOHESU and Assembly of Health Professionals.

INEC assures of credible poll, signs pact with AU, institute norship election.

However, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday in Abuja said it was ready to deliver a violence-free and fair gubernatorial election in Ekiti on June 21, restating its commitment to ensuring that it signifies a watershed in the nation’s electoral history.

Similarly, INEC, the African Union (AU) and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) yesterday in Abuja signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the deployment of Election Risk Management (ERM) tool in the country.

INEC Chairman, Prof.

Attahiru Jega, said that Nigeria was the second African country, after Kenya, to sign the agreement on the election risk management tool, and that when in place, the tool helps check electoral violence across the country.

Earlier, the AU Director of Political Affairs, Mr. Khabele Mathosa, said the Commission had played key role in initiating contacts and partners for INEC, adding that the success of the tool in Nigeria would bring other African countries on board the project.

Representing IDEA, Mr. Sead Alihodzic said the tool was designed to empower users to organise peaceful and credible elections and it

could be customised to meet different country and electoral contexts. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the tool would first be used for the August 9, 2014 Osun gubernatorial election.

Addressing newsmen in Ado Ekiti, the Director General of the Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation, Bimbo Daramola, alleged that some suspected PDP thugs were responsible for the gunshot fired at an APC member, Babatunde Ogunleye, during the procession by the PDP candidate, Ayodele Fayose, when he arrived on Wednesday.

Daramola equally accused some Abuja politicians, particularly President Goodluck

Jonathan, and the State Security Service (SSS) of “overdeployment of security operatives” to give Fayose cover when he arrived in the state via Ikere Ekiti.

Refuting the allegation, however, the Spokesman of Ayo Fayose Campaign Organisation, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, said the PDP supporters were being guided by security operatives and had no time to branch at the APC secretariat.

“Besides, the supporters had been specifically instructed

by Fayose not to be violent and not to react to provocation by the APC as they moved from Ikere to Ado Ekiti and they kept to the instruction.”

loyalty, transparency, professionalism and accountability.”

According to him, Nigeria needs a civil service that is guided by equity, where things are done in the right way based on extant rules and regulations but with room for discretion, which should be exercised in the public interest; a suitable environment where civil servants are assured of protection and job security in the faithful discharge of their duties and responsibilities; and a competitively wellremunerated, innovative civil service.

In his goodwill message, the Chairman, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Kaduna Federal chapter, Comrade Ibrahim Yusuf Nda, commended the Head of the Civil Service for the interaction with the civil servants.

Nda said the event could be regarded as part of the conscious efforts being put in place to reform and invigorate the Civil Service in order to place it in a better pedestal and enable it to effectively play its leading role in the execution of policies and programmes encapsulated in the Transformation Agenda of the Federal Government.

Comrade Yusuf appealed to Aji to further look into the challenges hindering optimal performance of federal civil servants in the states.

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Friday, April 4, 2014 NEWS | 5

NLC, TUC, others oppose Kutigi on committee leadership From Terhemba Daka and Karls Tsokar, Abuja HE National Conference leadership may be courting crisis by unilaterally reversing an earlier decision by the entire delegates on selection of committee leaders, as a joint body of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and civil societies yesterday kicked move. the against Speaking on behalf of the group at the venue of the confab yesterday, NLC President, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar called on the Justice Idris Kutigi-led leadership to immediately restore the original decision of the plenary that commit-

T

tees should choose their presiding officers.

The delegates had unanimously agreed that chairmen and deputy chairmen of the various committees would be selected or elected by members of the committees. Omar warned the leadership not to take delegates at the conference for granted.

And the presence of Dr. Olisa Agbakoba and Comrade Issa Aremu for civil societies and NLC respectively among the 50-man committee notwithstanding, Omar insisted that the decision ought not be reversed without recourse to the general house.

He described the action as

dictatorial, stating that the committee of 50 delegates selected to resolve the initial impasse on the voting pattern, as well as, the challenge of presiding officers, violated their brief.

According to him, the reversal of the right of committees to elect or select their officers directly is an affront to democracy as well as violation of the right of delegates to freely choose their presiding officers, “since their mandate was to determine what should constitute a majority vote in the absence of a consensus and not to do other Kutigi

PDP flays APC over non-participation From Azimazi Momoh Jimoh, Abuja HE Peoples Democratic T Party (PDP) has described as unfortunate, frivolous and unnecessary the refusal by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to participate in the ongoing national conference despite the decadelong campaign by its leaders for a national dialogue.

In a communique made available to journalists in Abuja yesterday after the retreat the party organised for its publicity secretaries in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State, the party condemned the APC’s “grandstanding on critical issues that affect the welfare of the people and the future

of the nation.”

The retreat was declared open by the Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, who commended the publicity arm of the party for stoutly defending and improving its image despite the “serial distortion and deliberate misinformation by the opposition.”

However, Dickson charged the publicity secretaries to live up to the challenge of projecting the achievements of the Federal Government, which he said were largely under-reported.

And after two days of deliberations, during which resource persons presented papers, the PDP zonal and state publicity secretaries

commended the party’s National Chairman, Adamu Muazu, on the firm steps the National Working Committee has been taking to reposition the party.

The retreat also commended President Goodluck Jonathan, who has remained focused in his commitment to transforming Nigeria, despite unwarranted attacks and distractions from the opposition.

It further commended his resolve to finding a lasting solution to the lingering insurgency in parts of the country, as well as, his determination for a strong, united and peaceful Nigeria through the ongoing national conference.

things.

“Yet, the same committee, acting in concert with the conference leadership, reversed the decision on the election or selection of committee chairmen and deputies. The committee’s recommendations on the issue of presiding officers of committees, therefore, cannot and should not stand.”

He explained that the scenario where a few privileged people tinker with the decision of a whole house is nothing but dictatorship and tyranny of a few, and warned that if allowed to stand, might be-

Why Fulani attacks persist in the North Central, by delegate From Terhemba Daka and Karls Tsokar, Abuja

cattle, the problem will continue. He lamented that over USTICE Hassan Lawal Gumi the years politicians, after has said that cattle rustling winning elections, cut and and high rate of unemploy- cede some of these routes as ment and poverty in the Be- farmlands to people, a develnue, Kogi, Nasarawa and opment he said was unacPlateau states were responsi- ceptable for the typical man. ble for the alarming inci- Fulani “You can abuse and do dence of insurgency in the north central states. whatever you like to a Fulani Speaking at the National man, but if you say he is not Conference holding in Abuja going to have grazing yesterday, the traditional ground for his cattle then it ruler, who is the Emir of becomes a problem. That is Gumi in Zamfara State, ex- the problem that is happenplained that the problem ing in the North Central could only be addressed in States particularly in Kogi an atmosphere of justice. and Benue. There is the need He said until grazing routes to engage the Fulanis to were restored and properly properly delineate those demarcated for the exclusive routs for them, that I think use of the Fulani and their will bring some peace in the North Central.”

J

come a feature of the conference.

He added, “we must warn that this seemingly innocuous act sends out dangerous signals and is capable of raising credibility issues in subsequent decisions.”

Cleric urges discussion on positive change From Kolawole Timothy, Lokoja ISHOP of Church of NigeB ria, Ijumu Anglican Diocese of Kogi State, Rt Revd Ezekiel Ikupolati has urged delegates at the ongoing conference to deliberate on issues that would bring about the needed change and expectations of Nigerians.

Speaking with newsmen in Iyara in Ijumu local council the state, Ikupolati stressed that the confab was timely, coming when Nigerians were seeking a change. He noted that most of the delegates do not know why they are at the conference.

“If changing the name ‘Nigeria’ will give us the change we desire, let it be done,” he said. “Issues like boundary adjustment, marginalisation, corruption, insecurity and unemployment, among others, should be discussed at the confab.”

On the country’s security challenges, he frowned at the porous Nigerian borders, urging the security agencies to improve in tackling insecurity.

TheGuardian on Saturday Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

The Lingering Lecturers’ POLITICS Strike And Future Of Katsina State Chairof Peoples DemPolytechnic Education man ocratic Party (PDP),

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SATURDAY, APRIL 5, 2014

For almost a year now, members of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) have been on strike, thereby paralysing academic activities in most polytechnics across the country.

Despite several meetings between government officials and members of the union, it appears there is no end in sight soon to the strike.

The Guardian takes a look at the issues at stake, government’s position and the teachers’ demands and how the development is jeopardising the future of polytechnic education in Nigeria.

Alhaji Rabiu Gambo Bakori, insists that his party is a national party, while the others, including the All Progressive Congress (APC), are regional parties. He added that the opposition cannot match PDP in any election.

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6 NEWS Friday, April 4, 2014

Court orders release of Sanusi’s passport

By Bertram Nwannekanma T was a major victory for the suspended governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Lamido Sanusi, as a Federal High Court, Lagos yesterday ordered the immediate release of his passport seized on February 20 by the State Security Service (SSS).

The court presided by Justice Ibrahim Buba did not only uphold Sanusi’s right, it also restrained the Police and any other security agencies from further interference with or violation of his personal rights to liberty, freedom of movement and right to personal dignity.

Apart from that, the court awarded the sum of N50 million as exemplary damages against the respondents, jointly and severally as well as directing them to issue a public apology to the applicant for unlawful arrest, harassment, intimidation, withdrawal and seizure of his passport.

The court, which held that the action of the respondents was an unlawful violation of Sanusi’s right to personal liberty as guaranteed by section 35 of the 1999 constitution and Article 6 of African Charter on Human and People’s Rights Act, Cap A9, LFN, 2004, however, declined issuing an order of perpetual injunction against the respondents on the ground that the applicant can still approach the court if his rights are violated.

Sanusi had through his counsel, Kola Awodein (SAN), filed a Fundamental Human Rights enforcement suit against the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Bello Adoke; Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar and the Department of State Security (DSS) seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining the security agencies from arresting him without following due process.

The embattled CBN governor, who sought for other six

I

• Awards N50 million against AGF, others reliefs, had anchored the suit on his arrest and detention for about one hour at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja by DSS operatives upon arrival from Niger Republic shortly after his removal was announced.

But in a preliminary objection to the suit, the counsel to the AGF, Fabian Ajogwu (SAN) maintained that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit considering Section 254 (C) (1) (D) of the 1999 Constitution, which empowers only the National Industrial Court (NIC) to adjudicate on the subject matter.

The lawyer also submitted that Sanusi’s claim was constitutionally ungrantable, as

law enforcement agencies could not be perpetually restrained from carrying out their duties.

He added that there was an investigation being carried out on Sanusi by law enforcement agencies, apart from the numerous queries already issued him by the Federal Government.

Counsel representing the IGP and the SSS also relied upon Ajogwu’s submission.

But in response, Awodein insisted that Section 251 of the Constitution specifically vested the Federal High Court with jurisdiction over the case, because the operational words in the section said “notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this constitu-

tion.”

He maintained that Section 11 of the NIC Act, which vested the NIC with jurisdiction over such instant case was inconsistent with the constitution, to that extent, it was unconstitutional.

Awodein further clarified that his client was unafraid of arrest; rather he just wanted the court to restrain the Federal Government from arresting him without following due process of law.

He further stressed that from the conflicting reports of the DSS and police on Sanusi’s investigation, the respondents had clearly shown that there was bad faith in the investigation, and that there was no reasonable suspicion of commission of crime.

However, in his ruling on the suit, Justice Buba agreed with

the applicant that the third respondent acted in bad faith by arresting him without reasonable suspicion of commission.

He held that the act was unlawful and that only the Minister of Interior can order for the withdrawal and seizure of any citizen’s passport.

In the ruling that lasted over two hours, the court observed that the averment on the applicant’s sponsorship of terrorism was an after thought, as either there was no synergy between the respondents or the respondents are only singing a discordant tune.

The court wondered why the police as an important investigative arm of government is not investigating such a serious crime as terrorism financing.

ORRIED by internecine W crisis between herdsmen and host farming communities, Kwara State Government yesterday announced the resuscitation of grazing routes and reserves across the state to serve as a preventive measure against breakout of violence.

Also, the government at a press briefing addressed by the state’s Commissioner for Information, Tunji Morounfoye and his Works counter-

OUR months after PresiFsigned dent Goodluck Jonathan the anti-gay rights into law, there has been continued pressure from the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU) and other international human rights bodies on Nigeria to review the law.

The anti-gay rights law, which was signed January 2014 prohibits marriage between same sex: man and man, woman and woman; stipulating 14 years jail term for those who breach the law.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu

OUR major cities in Nigeria: FAbeokuta Sokoto, Yola, Shaki and face the risk of flood disaster this year, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) warned yesterday.

The Zonal Co-ordinator of NEMA, South West Zone, Alhaji Iyiola Akande, who made the disclosure in Abeokuta at a workshop on “Comprehensive Disaster Management with a focus on 2014 Flood Prevention, Preparedness and Mitigation” therefore stressed the urgent need for positive measures to be taken to cushion the effect.

Akande, who spoke through his Assistant, Mr. Adebiyi Babatunde said, “This year, according to the Seasonal Rainfall Predictions (SRP), an above normal rainfall is expected in Sokoto, Yola, Shaki and Abeokuta.”

By Yetunde Ayobami Ojo Lagos-based businessman, A Alhaji Bashir Ahmed was yesterday arrested and de-

Country Director, Youth For Peace, Basil Osheka (left); President/Founder, Youth For Peace and Good Leadership Initiative International, Ambassador Simon Dolly and Speaker, Northern Youth Assembly of Nigeria, Obande Gideon, during a press briefing in Abuja… yesterday.

PHOTO: LADIDI LUCY ELUKPO

part, Dr. Amuda Kannike and Kayode Isa who is the Health Commissioner, has outlawed the usage of heavy weapons by the herdsmen during the celebration of major festivals, especially traditional marriages.

According to Morounfoye, the development apart from preventing the outbreak of violence was also aimed at fostering unity and peace among persons of different ethnic nationalities in Kwara State.

The Information Commis-

sioner said, “The government of Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed will not tolerate any infringement on the law no matter how small. The event at Alapa was rather unfortunate.”

Meanwhile, Cross River State Government has warned the warring communities of Ediba and Umutung in Abi Local Council of the state to steer clear of a disputed land area so as not to incur the wrath of government.

Deputy Governor, Effiok Cobham, stated this while addressing traditional rulers,

chiefs and youths in both communities, adding that the government has taken over ownership of the disputed land.

Morounfoye added, “Government will very soon bring back operational grazing reserves in the state. Grazing routes will be clearly defined all over the state in order to lessen contacts between the farmers and cattle rearers.

The two of them are very vital under a veritable agriculture within any tropical zone.”

The Cross River State deputy

governor warned the communities not to take laws into their hands by engaging in unlawful acts but rather, they should cooperate with the law enforcement agencies in the communities, while appealing to youths in the area not to allow themselves to be used as instrument of destruction by elites.

“I urge you all to embrace peace in order to give way to progress and development, learn to forgive one and another, and to co-exist and accommodate each other,” he

Nigeria under pressure by EU, others to review anti-gay law From John Okeke, Abuja

From Charles Coffie Gyamfi, Abeokuta

Police arrest Lagos businessman over alleged forgery

Kwara resuscitates cattle grazing routes, C’River warns communities over disputed land From Abiodun Fagbemi, Ilorin

NEMA warns of flood in Sokoto, Yola, Shaki, Abeokuta

Wali, who was at a forum in Abuja yesterday where he was confronted with the issue, explained to the European Union (EU) group ambassadors led by the EU Ambassador to Nigeria, Erian Mishel, the rationale behind the law, maintaining that Nigeria had had a track record on the observance of all the resolutions, treaties and human rights.

He asserted that Nigeria respects the dictates of human rights, adding that the country’s stance was the wish of the majority of Nigerians.

“Now Nigeria is in the fore front supporting all the reso-

lutions, treaties and protocols on human rights and I happen to be a representative to my country when we negotiated together with the President of the General Assembly at the Human Rights Council with Nigeria occupying privileged positions at various occasions. We abide by all the conditions and dictates of human rights.”

“Our position is very clear in that respect. Of course we have our own challenges. I know recently a lot of comments coming up from the head of EU has gone into the sections of the media to comment the situation of same-

sex marriage in Nigeria, which I think has made the headlines all over the world, but let me be very clear on that, that is something that we are not going to query because we have to respect the overwhelming majority.”

“There is no government that would not respect the wishes of his own people and go against the contrary religion of his own people. And this is a law that has been passed by the National Assembly.

“The law had 100 per cent support in the National Assembly. Of course that is the feelings and opinions and the

generality of the people of this country. These things do happen, they accept it.”

“We are only respecting the wishes of the people of the country. We come from different culture and we come from different backgrounds.

So, I do appeal to you to understand our culture and religion.

“Nigeria is basically a very religious society. So we have to respect the feelings and also respect the opinion of our people. I hope this should explain to your country and to your population that this is something we cannot be able to go along with.”

tained by the X-Squad Department of Lagos State Police Command following allegation that he forged the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) and Deed of Assignment of a property situated at No. 13, Akinyele Village, Baruwa, ‘Boys Town’ Ipaja, Lagos, belonging to his friend, Mr. Anthony Ojo and his wife, Titi Grace.

The arrest was sequel to Lagos Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) advice dated 14th March 2014 wherein it directed the police to arraign the suspected fraudster before a court of law.

The one paragraph advice signed by one J. O. Ogunsanya Esq, Assistant Chief State Counsel on behalf of the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice read thus: “I am directed to inform you that the above named defendant whose case you investigated will be arraigned at Magistrate Court 1, Ikeja on 15th March, 2014. You are hereby notified to be present and produce the said defendant on the above date in court.”

500 APC members defect to PDP in Kogi From Kolawole Timothy, Lokoja T was a major setback for the I(APC) All Progressives Congress in Kogi State as no fewer than 500 of its members defected to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The Guardian gathered that the chairman of Gegu South Local Council, Adamgomna Labaran at Koton-Karfi received the defectors into the PDP. Represented by the PDP chairman of the council, Suleiman Salihu, he assured the defectors of equal rights and opportunities in the ruling party, while calling on those still in opposition to retrace their steps as no party can dislodge the ruling PDP in the state.

Leader of the defectors, Mr. Sunday Bamayi said they decided to join the PDP because of the monumental achievements recorded by the council chairman and state governor, Idris Wada.

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ECOWAS approves anti-malaria drug factories for Nigeria, two others From Itunu Ajayi (Abuja)and Charles Akpeji (Gombe) for this InityNyear’sofpreparation Economic CommuWest African States (ECOWAS) Day, the body has launched a regional sensitisation programme under the first phase of preparations for the planned regionwide application of biolarvicides for malaria elimination using the vector control strategy. The Commission has also concluded plans to construct three factories in Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d’ Ivoire.

Speaking on behalf of the president of the Commission at a meeting to flag-off the sensitisation in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, the Commissioner for Macro-Economic Policy, Dr. Ibrahim Bocar Ba, said the application of biolarvicides, the substance that kills malaria-bearing

mosquitoes at their larvae development stage, will commence this year on ECOWAS Day, May 28, in recognition of the ECOWAS Vision 2020 for a citizen-driven community.

Meanwhile, Gombe State government has voted N519 million for the construction of snakebite hospital.

This was made known yesterday by Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo during the foundation-laying ceremony for the construction of the Kaltungo Snakebite Hospital, which is in the southern part of the state.

According to Dankwambo, the hospital will cater for snakebite victims from Gombe, Adamawa, Bauchi and Taraba states, as well as Cameroun.

The decision, according to the governor, is aimed at collaborating with the

Nigerian government in tackling snakebites, which have become a major health challenge troubling some parts of the state and the zone at large.

Dankwambo noted that the state government has so far received anti-snake venom worth millions of naira from the Federal Government. He added that the hospital, which would be constructed at the cost of over N519.2 billion, would be completed by October this year.

At the heart of the pre-application sensitisation across the 15 ECOWAS memberstates, he said, is the effective community sensitisation, mobilisation and participation coupled with the strong involvement of the Armed Forces of memberstates.

His words: “The objective is to pool resources and join forces in the war against

malaria, a war which we can and must win for the benefit of community citizens and future generations”.

The commissioner told the gathering of ECOWAS and member-states’ officials, financial, health and environment experts, Armed Forces of member-states, parliamentarians, religious and community leaders, development partners and other stakeholders that the ECOWAS’ development partners, particularly Cuba and Venezuela, which under a Tripartite Agreement, are providing the financial support and technical knowhow for the construction of three biolarvicide factories in the region.

He said the factories, which are to be constructed in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria for the region-wide spraying campaign, would ensure the large-scale availability of the

product, which is safe for human health and the environment.

Commissioner Ba reaffirmed the determination and commitment of ECOWAS and its member-states to make the region malariafree in line with the directive by regional leaders on the campaign, which received a major boost at the just-ended Ministerial Mediation and Security Council Meeting in Yamoussoukro, which endorsed the strong participation of national Armed Forces in the anti-malaria war.

Madam Aminata OuattaraCoulibaly, who represented Cote d’Ivoire’s Minister for African Integration and Ivoirians in the Diaspora, highlighted the importance of the sensitisation meeting, coming on the heels of the just-concluded 44th Ordinary Summit of the Authori-

Govt commends DMO over management of $1b bond From Mohammed Abubakar, Abuja HE Federal Government T yesterday gave a clean bill of health to the Debt Management Office (DMO) for ensuring the effective utilisation of the proceeds from the issuance of the well-subscribed one billion Eurobond (US$1 billion) last year.

Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, who also chairs the DMO board, gave

this commendation at the 15th Supervisory Board Meeting of the DMO, which held yesterday at the State House, Abuja.

Sambo expressed optimism that the proceeds would impact positively on the growth of the Nigerian economy, especially as it would provide the much-needed funds in the areas of power generation, distribution and transmission, as well as in the agriculture, gas and avia-

tion sectors.

He charged the DMO to continue with its good works, as it was a key institution in the Transformation Agenda.

Earlier, Director-General of the DMO, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, had briefed the meeting on the utilisation of the proceeds from the issuance of the Eurobond, which he noted, was being disbursed to targeted sectors of the economy as directed by government.

Nwankwo highlighted efforts of the DMO in addressing institutional and capacity challenges being faced by Debt Management Departments in the 36 states of the federation, noting that to surmount the challenges, the office had organised workshops and special training programmes for top policy makers and debt managers, aimed at institutionalising international best practices.

While thanking President

Jonathan and Vice President Sambo for their commitment to the success of the activities of the DMO, he assured that the office would continue to ensure effective management of the country’s debt profile.

The board during the meeting, ratified the appointment of an external auditor for the financial operations of the DMO, Messrs. Sada Idris & Company, following the expiration of the tenure of its current external auditors.

ty of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, which approved the report of the Mediation and Security Council, which among other things, recommended the involvement of the military in the malaria elimination campaign.

She outlined the humanitarian devastation caused by malaria and the socio-economic losses not just to the region but the whole of Africa, saying that this makes waging and winning the war against the scourge imperative.

Welcoming participants to the meeting, Dr. Mariane Ngoulla, the ECOWAS Health Advisor and focal person for the campaign, explained that the sensitisation exercise is designed to engender mobilisation of efforts and resources, and also enlist strong community participation for a successful regionwide malaria elimination drive.

With the staggering revelation that malaria has killed and continues to kill more people than all armed conflicts combined in Africa with children under five years and pregnant women mostly at risk, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has concluded that vector control is the only intervention capable of reducing malaria transmission from high to zero level, reinforcing the ECOWAS resolve at strengthening the strategy to complement other interventions for a successful outcome.

TheGuardian on Sunday Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

COVER

SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

XUBERANT defectors in the NationE al Assembly have lost the swag, courtesy of the High Court ruling of

NJC Versus Rivers T Govt

IBRU C

POLITICS

Monday. As usual, this is another ding-dong battle that will take some time to resolve. Again, let’s hear the experts!

HE NJC has rejected Gov. Amaechi’s appointment of CJ Agumagu as Rivers Chief Judge. The Rivers government has in turn rejected the NJC’s suspension of Agumagu.

Which of the two democratic institutions, judiciary and executive is overreaching itself in this age-long tradition of checks and balances? Hear the experts this Sunday.

LERGY on what should drive the resolutions at the National Confab.

UGBORODO: A Community At War With Self

SPECIAL REPORT IL rich community of O Ugborodo in Delta State has been at war with self and gov-

ernment over management of their share of resources derived from the oil embedded in their soil. The Guardian has traversed the island community to get the truth of the matter and here it is for you.

MARIJUANA —Between NEWSFEATURE Science And The Law

science thinks good things can come out of Marijuana (IndiManEDICAL Hemp). But the Law says it is harmful and dangerous. Some countries are working to bridge this gap, but elsewhere, as in Nigeria, users help themselves outside the Law.

These and more in The Guardian on Sunday. Grab your copy

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PHOTONEWS

Executive Treasurer, Lagos Mainland Conference of Seventh Day Adventist Church, Elder Adeyemi Adedokun (left); President, Lagos Atlantic Conference of the Church; Pastor Jacob Umoru; President, Lagos Mainland Conference, Pastor Emmanuel Adeniyi; President, Seventh Day Adventist Church in Nigeria (Western Nigeria Union) Conference, Pastor Oyeleke Owolabi and Executive Secretary, Western Nigeria Conference, Pastor Ezekiel Adeleye, during the Church’s centenary celebration service in Lagos.

President Goodluck Jonathan (right); former PDP National Chairman, Banabas Gemade; Benue State first female Speaker, Margaret Nwese and other delegates at a meeting of PDP members from the PHOTO: PHILIP OJISUA North Central with the President at the State House in Abuja.

Chairman, Lagos Angel Network, Adedotun Sulaiman (left); Minister of Trade and Investment, Segun Aganga and Chief Executive Officer, Lagos Angel Network, Tomi Davies at the inaugural ceremony of Angel Fair West Africa (AFWA) by the minister in Lagos.

PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI

Canada delegate, Joshua Porter (left); Genetic Therapies Director, Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate (BGTD) of Health Canada, Bobby Chauhan; Director General, NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii and Senior Scientific Evaluator, Bacterial and Combination Vaccine Division in the BGTD of Health Canada, Dean Smith, during the Health Canada-NAFDAC mentorship training workshop in Lagos. PHOTO: AYODELE

Globacom Ambassadors, Omawunmi, BEZ, and Chee with Globacom’s Coordinator, Marketing, Adeniyi Olukoya (right) during the demonstration of Glo’s new tracking device, the Family & Friends Finder and other VAS products in Lagos.

Group Managing Director, Coscharis Motors, Josiah Samuel (left); Group Managing Director, DN Tyre and Rubber Nigeria Plc, Dr. Mohammed Yinusa; Alero Edu, a guest and Group Finance Controller, Coscharis Group, Godwin Umeaka, at the launch of BMW X5 (F15) in Lagos. PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI

Marketing and Activation Lead, West Africa, Reckitt Benckiser, Tola Elauyi (left); Dettol Brand Ambassador, Patient Ozokwor and Marketing Director, Reckitt Benckiser, Oguzhan Silivrili, during the market activation to mark 50th anniversary of Dettol Soap in Nigeria at Oke Arin Market in Lagos. PHOTO: SUNDAY AKINLOLU

Vice President, Africa, MoneyGram, Herve Chomel (left); Executive Vice President, U.S. and Canada, MoneyGram, Peter Ohser and Executive Director, Retail Banking, Diamond Bank Plc, Uzoma Dozie, during the partnership signing ceremony for the provision of money transfer services between MoneyGram and Diamond Bank in Lagos.

PHOTO: SUNDAY AKINLOLU

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Friday, April 4, 2014

9

WorldReport South Sudan on verge of Africa’s worst famine, UN warns AR-TORN South Sudan W could become the scene of the worst famine catastrophe in Africa in decades without more aid and a ceasefire to let farmers reach their fields, the United Nations (UN) has warned.

“If we miss the planting season, there will be a catastrophic decline in food security,” Toby Lanzer, the UN’s top aid official in the country, told AFP in Geneva.

“What will strike that country, and it will hit about seven million people, will be more grave than anything that continent has seen since the mid1980s,” he warned, referring to the massive famine in Ethiopia that shocked the world’s conscience.

South Sudanese farmers usually plant their fields in April and May, but they have been unable to start this year amid a raging civil war.

“We’ve got 3.7 million people who are already at severe risk of starvation,” Lanzer said.

If people can’t make it to their fields in the next two months, he said, “it doesn’t take much

to imagine what will happen when the harvest is due in November and December: There won’t be one”.

Making matters worse, the violence has meant UN agencies are having huge difficulty prepositioning food stocks before the onset of the rainy season, when downpours will make already challenging roads even more difficult to navigate, he said.

The violence in South Sudan erupted last December between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and fighters loosely allied to former vice president Riek Machar.

A ceasefire signed in January is in tatters.

More than 800,000 people are displaced inside South Sudan, while almost 255,000 have fled to the neighbouring countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Sudan, the UN says.

Lanzer insisted on the need to quickly ensure enough security for people to feel it is safe to head to their fields, and to bring in far more aid in the form of seeds and tools to help get things started.

Malaysia premier ‘will not rest’ until MH370 answers found ALAYSIAN Prime MinisM ter, Najib Razak vowed yesterday “we will not rest”

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II with Pope Francis during their first meeting at the Vatican…yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

Pakistan’s Musharraf survives apparent assassination attempt AKISTAN’S former military P ruler, Pervez Musharraf, who is on trial for treason, narrowly escaped what police called an assassination attempt as a roadside bomb went off shortly before his convoy was due to pass early yesterday.

The bomb was planted on Musharraf’s route from an army hospital in Rawalpindi,

where he has been staying since January, to his home on the outskirts of Islamabad. It went off at around 2:00 am on Wednesday.

Nobody was injured and there have so far been no claims of responsibility.

“Four kilograms (nine pounds) of explosive device planted in a pipeline under a bridge exploded around 20

minutes before the former president was supposed to cross the spot,” senior police official Liaqat Niazi said.

The blast occurred at the Faizabad interchange, which lies at the boundary of the two cities, and destroyed a footpath around two metres (seven feet) wide.Niazi said Musharraf was then taken home via an alternative route.

until the fate of Flight MH370 is known, as Australia called it “the most difficult search in human history”.

Najib toured the military base in Perth being used as a staging post in the hunt for the Malaysia Airlines plane carrying 239 people that is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean, and pledged never to give up looking for answers.

“We want to find answers.

We want to provide comfort to the families and we will not rest until answers are indeed found,” Najib said, as he thanked those involved in the eight-nation search.

Despite extensive scouring of the remote southern Indian Ocean off Perth, no debris that would indicate a crash site has so far been found, with time running out to locate the plane’s “black box” which only emits signals for around 30 days.

Najib admitted the exhaustive hunt for the Boeing 777 that vanished on March 8 was a “gargantuan task” but said he was confident the baffling disappearance would be solved.

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10 | Friday, April 4, 2014

Politics ‘Lamido’s outburst at conference empty bluff’

From Terhemba Daka and Tsokar Karls, Abuja

Professor Akin Oyebode (Ekiti State delegate) OW would you react to the outburst by the H Lamido of Adamawa?

The conference is a microcosm of the Nigerian macrocosm. In other words, it is like a mirror of the Nigerian larger society. And this is the nature of Nigerians; we tend to disagree a lot and push ourselves to the brink.

We are a nation of great compromises; so, I am not really rattled by what is going on but at the fullness of time, things would stabilise and we would continue with the issues in earnest. I think these are just teething problems.

Well, I would say that he (Lamido of Adamawa) voiced his opinion, which you saw was not very popular because I don’t think any delegate should subject this conference to threats or blackmail.

Those who want to run away from Nigeria (can do so, but) we, who are Nigerians, will stay in Nigeria.

But I have news for him; some of the people in Cameroun will not want him to join them.

Some of the people in Cameroun, especially those in the Southern part, want to rejoin Nigeria.

So, if the Lamido of Adamawa wants to leave Nigeria to join Cameroun, there are the Englishspeaking people of Cameroun that want to join their kith and kin in Nigeria.

His outburst is just an empty bluff to drive the negotiations harder. Nobody has the monopoly of hard bargaining. Take it that people (delegates) from the South, too, can drive a very hard bargain by going, for instance, for confederalism but we have not reached that stage.

When we come to discussing the President’s speech; that is when you will have more fireworks from the delegates. These are just the preliminaries. These are just the Procedures, Standing Orders, etc.; no big deal.

Quite frankly, I didn’t know that just discussing the rules of procedure would take this long a time. I thought the secretariat did a job as good as they could in giving us some draft rules of procedure but it is good for us to thrash out all the grey areas and the presumptions and prepositions of the secretariat.

It shows that you have a thinking conference.

Oyebode People will not just rubber-stamp anything proposed from upstairs. I think it’s healthy and I do not think we have wasted time so far in the last few days discussing the rules of procedure.

Rather, it is good for us.

Your advice that the conference should muster courage to address the voting benchmark issue was differed; what would be the implication?

You know I spoke as a lawyer and that there is no legal framework for the whole proceedings.

Unless we adopt the rules of procedure, we cannot proceed.

The adoption of the rules of procedure is a condition precedent to embarking on this great enterprise. The Chairman is a lawyer and he understood what I said but he was in serious difficulty and that is why he was advised to consult with the acclaimed leaders of the various delegations.

He has stretched the list beyond just leaders of the six geopolitical zones — fairly inclusive and broad-based group to advice him on how to proceed.

My hunch is that we are going to end up with another great Nigerian compromise when we resume so that this conflict on two-thirds and four-fifth will not scatter the entire proceedings.

I called the 50 nominees as acclaimed leaders because they are not elected; none of us here was elected. We are all nominees because we didn’t go through any process.

But the Chairman, in his wisdom, identified some people whom he considered leaders in the geopolitical zones. That is why I said they are acclaimed.

What are your thoughts on the belief that the Chairman has not been able to assert himself; a development that has reportedly affected the proceedings at the conference?

‘

Lamido

Nwajiuba That is a fair comment on what has proceeded thus far. Because, if the Chairman is not decisive in terms of taking charge of the proceedings, then the whole bottom might fall out of the conference.

I think he is trying to strike balances between and among the 492 delegates. It’s a tough act that he has and we have to appreciate his problems, as he wants to stir between contending forces.

As a former Chief Justice, we should grant him the benefit of the doubt that he knows what to do.

Will three months be enough for the delegates to deliberate on the core issues that have been itemized in the rules of proceedings?

If you look at the modalities in the rules of engagement here, the bulk of the work will be done in the committees. So, if we have good committees comprising knowledgeable, tested and experienced persons, many of them here present, they would go into the various committees where the bulk of the work will be done.

So, we can actually telescope all these jobs within the timeframe. And you know the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) said there was a possibility of extension of time; but I hope it will not come to that.

Members of the public have been asked to send in memoranda as a way of contributing to the deliberations; do you think it’s the right way to go?

Yes, you cannot shut out members of the public from the goings on here. We are one way or another responsible to the masses of our people.

There is a website for this conference and anybody, who feels sufficiently concerned about any issue, can post something to the website or send their messages via the social media like Facebook or Twitter.

If you look at the modalities in the rules of engagement here, the bulk of the work will be done in the committees. So, if we have good committees comprising knowledgeable, tested and experienced persons, many of them here present, they would go into the various committees where the bulk of the work will be done. So, we can actually telescope all these jobs within the timeframe. And you know the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) said there was a possibility of extension of time; but I hope it will not come to that.

‘

For three days, the national conference could not resolve the issue of the voting pattern to adopt until the situation degenerated to the point where the Lamido of Adamawa threatened to lead his people to join the Republic of Cameroun in the event of the disintegration of Nigeria.

Alluding to the debate on the controversial issue of adoption of a voting pattern, which nearly marred the session, the monarch, whose submission was greeted with protests from aggrieved members, also threatened to lead other delegates from Adamawa State to stage a walk out of the conference hall of the National Judicial Institute (NJI), if the group was pushed to the wall.

But the development prompted reactions from some of the delegates, two of who bared their minds to The Guardian on the sidelines of the conference, on the matter and other sundry issues.

We are all using handles in the social media.

This is the knowledge Information Age and I don’t think there is anything wrong by asking people to make memoranda available.

I also think that the two weeks dedicated for the members of the public to avail the conference with memoranda are sufficient and adequate.

The conference secretariat will synthesize all the memos coming from the public and then we just have summaries. We don’t want large and bulky documents, which might detract us from the purpose of the conference.

Professor Chinedu Nwajiuba (Southeast Geopolitical Zone delegate) WHAT’S your position on the stands of some delegates who had spoken at the conference?

You can see that some people here do not have as much stake as we have in the unity of Nigeria.

Most of us have only Nigeria, but some people have told us that they actually have other countries outside Nigeria and may not be as committed to the future and well being of a new Nigeria as the rest of us.

Our duty is to convince them to remain Nigerians totally and not partial Nigerians.

Some people have come here with different mindsets and it is something that has gone on for a number of decades. It’s something that we need to re-socialise them and get them convinced that Nigeria is truly a country that is worthy of being re-launched.

Those of us from the Southeast, who have no other country, have a duty to continue to convince them.

These things are not new. If you go back to the history of this country, before the advent of the independence era, we also had times when people from the North threatened to walk away.

It’s not new, if you go back to that era when the North was asking for equal representation in Parliament.

What we need to do is to refresh our knowledge of Nigerian history and how Nigeria has evolved.

It got to a point where Western Nigeria took selfhelp and Eastern Nigeria opted to wait for Northern Nigeria when they said they were not ready.

So, that has been our historical responsibility in Nigeria, as people coming from Eastern Nigeria to continue to convince the rest of Nigerians to remain Nigerians. Indeed, Nigeria is a worthy place to have as a group.

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Friday, April 4, 2014

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TheGuardian

www.ngrguardiannews.com

12 | Friday, April 4, 2014

Conscience Nurtured by Truth

FOUNDER: ALEX U. IBRU (1945 – 2011) Conscience is an open wound; only truth can heal it. Uthman dan Fodio 1754-1816

Editorial Fighting oil theft GAINST the backdrop of the alarming rate of pipeline vandalism and oil theft in the Niger Delta region, the disclosure by President Goodluck Jonathan that $1 billion (about N170 billion) has been earmarked for fighting the menace advertises, once again, the penchant for saying so much but doing so little. A similar multi-billion naira pipeline security contract earlier awarded to some ex-militants has not yielded any positive results. If anything, fighting oil theft has become a sleazy industry just as lucrative for brigands as oil theft itself, with both feeding fat on each other.

What then is the essence of throwing more money into the same venture if not to enrich a few persons with questionable commitment to the course of Nigeria?

To genuinely fight oil theft, the country’s armed forces should be properly mobilised without delay to confront what has become a full-blown economic war against Nigeria. And with honesty of purpose as well as a systematic, well coordinated approach to the battle alone can that war be won.

President Jonathan made the disclosure of his latest plan at The Hague during a meeting with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mr. Mark Rutte and Chief Executive of Shell International, Mr. Ben van Beurden.

Jonathan was at The Hague to attend the 2014 global Nuclear Security Summit.

According to the President, “the Federal Government had set aside $1 billion to implement a comprehensive programme aimed at checking the menace of oil and gas infrastructure and prosecution of oil thieves”. He said a technical committee had been set up to look into all aspects of the implementation of the programme. The actions, he explained, would include security of pipelines and other oil industry infrastructure; resolve community-related issues; boost youth empowerment in oil producing areas and enhance the commitment of oil companies to the discharge of their corporate social responsibilities. The President then solicited the cooperation of the international community in his planned onslaught against oil thieves.

It is not clear from where the President’s renewed interest comes. Not long ago, Jonathan threatened to cancel the multibillion naira pipeline security contracts due to non-performance. Indeed, rather than abating, oil theft has worsened ever since the contracts were awarded.

The House of Representatives had once mandated its committees on Interior, National Security and Intelligence to investigate the contracts but it is not clear what the committees have done so far. Reports indicate that between 180,000 and 200,000 barrels of crude oil, the equivalent of Gabon’s oil production, amounting to $120 million (N19.2 billion) is stolen on a daily basis. And, statistics from the Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) put Nigeria’s loss to oil thieves between 2009 and 2011 at a whopping N17.62 trillion, which is 7.7 per cent of Federal Government’s projected revenue. As it were, the country is bleeding at both ends. Fortune is being spent in fighting the menace and it appears, with the contracts, more money is being given to the thieves.

If, as it is now obvious, the country is facing an economic warfare being waged by the oil thieves, why can’t the armed forces be equipped to handle it? Any responsible government, it must be said, cannot claim ignorance of those bleeding Nigeria.

The complacency of Nigerians in the face of brigandage by buccaneers and the profligacy of governments is also one reason the country bleeds economically. A certain disrespect for their sensibilities persists when Nigerians ask no questions of their governments.

The announcement in the Netherlands, the headquarters of Shell, by the President was also grossly demeaning in its mercantilism and now certainly lays the leader of the black world open to sundry ridicule as his office or presidency would now be bombarded with bids for the contracts.

A multibillion naira contract had earlier been awarded to some Niger Delta ex-militants. Controversial as the contracts were, they were supposed to bring an end to the thriving oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta. But events have shown that the menace has not stopped despite the contracts. Instead, the oil thieves have increased in number and sophistication and have become more daring. Oil output is being affected adversely, leading many Nigerians to question why the government is unable to safe-keep the family heirloom.

It is not clear to whom the Federal Government intends to give the latest multitude of billions of naira, but cynicism is quite high that the money may be part of the slush funds for the 2015 elections.

It is up to President Jonathan to prove to Nigerians that he is truly ready to combat oil theft.

For now, painful as the ongoing profligacy at all levels and in different spheres is, it does not hurt as much as the glaringly scary prospect of a nation waking up one day to find nothing left to steal.

A

LETTER

The scramble for naira IR: First, there was the SEuropean Scrambling for Africa by colonial masters.

Thereafter, neo-colonialism bred the scrambling for naira by fine dressing Nigerian politicians. They put out the best smiles before the public and make the most heartfelt promises to their audience. In their minds, they are blinded by greed as they unconscionably share the wealth of the nation. Like prostitutes working hard to satisfy their transient customers, they run from one political party to another to position themselves for the next scheme.

If one may rhetorically ask, could it be the nation got the definition of leadership wrong from independence?

The founding fathers were not without their weaknesses, especially those stemming from the poisonous seeds of rancour and avarice sowed by the colonial masters, though they single-mindedly pursued their political ideologies till the end. Contrastingly, oil boom politicians have no flair for discipline or sacrifice for the people. They will fall face down on a slush of the national cake fighting madly for a staggering share. The surplus natural resources of the nation have produced an exclusive bazaar strictly for the rich and mighty. And they are overdosing in the frivolities with stupor.

The buffoonery is rapidly turning the nation into a one

big party family. Everyone is hopping in on the groovy train. Cheerleaders consider it committing a political suicide to constitute a meaningful opposition party. The jolly politicians throw crumbs from their sumptuous table to the gullible citizenry to make them feel like they are welcome to the party. With impunity, they loot the treasury and leave the nation impotent.

This piece is not an overture for denigration of Nigerian

political system per se but a commentary on the inevitability of the power of democracy.

Those who engage in politics solely to exploit will find out that their career will die hastily like the armed robber.

Politicians must see it best to use Nigeria’s wealth to develop its land for a bountiful harvest for all to share. It is not too much for Nigerians to ask for. Nature blessed the country with abundance.

•Pius Okaneme, Umuoji, Anambra State.

Borrowing to pay salaries?

IR: In an article titled SNigerian “Discordant tunes over Debt” in The Guardian, Wednesday, March 5, 2014, Chijoke Nelson narrated the economics of debt of President Goodluck Jonathan administ r a t i o n (Jonathanomics/Okonjor Iwealanomics).

According to Chijoke Nelson, “domestic debt as at July, 2006 was about N1.5 trillion naira” and “by November 2013, domestic debt had climbed to about N7.03. trillion” up by N5.53 trillion (369%). According to Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria is borrowing heaven and earth because “in 2010, we had 53 per cent increase in expenditure, associated with salaries” and “in an effort to make up for the 53 per cent increase in 2010, our

domestic debts increased sharply”. She added, “this is why you see recurrent expenditure also high in 2014”. She blamed the “pressure for more expenditure from unions”.

Nigeria is borrowing to pay salaries and wages. What an economic policy! This is Jonathanomics/Okonjor Iwealanomics. High domestic borrowing by Jonathan’s Administration is killing the economy. It is the cause of high interest rates in Nigeria. It is also the cause of the stagnation of the manufacturing sector of the economy. The private sector does not have the chance to borrow because of the crowding out by the Government. A high domestic debt by the government is bad economic policy.

•Omohakpor Enaye, Delta State.

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Friday, April 4, 2014

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Opinion No excuse for this national darkness

By Oluwole Adeuyi HE reality that darkness looms again is a T rather sad commentary on the fortunes of this country – no thanks to the excuse of reduced water levels, vandalised gas infrastructure, fire incidents in substations and other lame justifications for non-performance always proffered by stakeholders in our power system.

Ours is a country beset with unbelievable ironies. If not, how can a country ranked as the fourth largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2012 by the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) still holds the world record as the largest importer of diesel generators? How does a country aspire to be amongst the top 20 economies and still permits a grossly insufficient peak generation capacity to further decline by about one-half, where half of the population currently lack grid access? But here we are, confronted by a situation where a complete loss of focus on electricity generation over the last decade has left the aging electricity transmission infrastructure massively under-invested. Whilst efforts such as the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) and the recent privatisation of the electricity sector must be commended, it is unfortunate that the colossal investment in the power system has only delivered more megawatts of darkness than light to consumers!

Considering that our energy mix is composed mainly of fossil fuel and hydropower sources, utilities will require greater clarity about the interdependencies between water cycles, gas networks and the power system, to address these recurring challenges. For hydro generation, state-of-the-art modelling tools will be required to forecast the fluctuant water cycles based on historical data. This will give an indication of the maximum power that hydro plants can generate in any particular season and inform the need to diversify the generation sources in the energy mix. This way there will be no surprises and no need to blame water levels for the seemingly incurable darkness.

It remains a national mistake, the decision to

construct several gas-fired plants in remote locations far away from where the gas is sourced in the south. The penalty for this is that gas is transmitted via pipelines over several kilometres inland before providing the firepower for the gas generation stations. However, a possible solution to address this issue of gas pipeline vandalism is to build (underground or over-ground) gas storage facilities nearer to the gas-fired plants. This can assure continuity of supply for up to 100 days during unplanned disruptions to the mainstream.

Future gas-fired plants must be planned to use dual fuel turbines for instance to allow operation using either gas or diesel oil. This way, minimal interruption can be achieved when one fuel source is unavailable. Furthermore, as a backup plan, liquefied natural gas (LNG) may be transported via the Atlantic from the south to regional terminals of coastal states for injection into healthy pipelines. This will diversify the transmission routes and guarantee improved redundancy and reliability on gas networks. Projects of this scale will both create new jobs and contribute to keeping the lights on!

It is not enough to only generate electricity.

The transmission infrastructure is the primary link between the generators and the consumers. Electricity is lazy! Once generated, it will naturally flow in the path of least resistance during transmission. Therefore, the design and planning of future electrical power transmission networks must be carefully implemented. Utilities carry out detailed studies of ‘power flow’ using the existing transmission infrastructure to identify possible transmission bottlenecks where reinforcement is needed. In addition to this, there is the N-1 security criterion on transmission networks.

Put simply, N-1 criterion implies the power system must be able to deliver uninterrupted power to consumers via an alternative route in the event of unplanned outage of a transmission or generation infrastructure.

Although transmission faults due to natural events such as lightning strikes, burn fires,

fallen trees, storms etc. are unavoidable, a robust power system must continue operation with minimal disruption to the consumers during fault conditions. This ‘fault ridethrough’ capability of electricity grids is an essential requirement in line with best practices. To achieve this, ‘fault studies’ are conducted to determine the maximum fault current that will flow in the network in the event of a fault. The result of such fault studies inform the choice of high voltage equipment and particularly the choice of ‘circuit breakers’ which are protective devices analogous to the ‘fuse’ in domestic electrical appliances.

At the last mile, distribution networks must become more intelligent. Till date, distribution companies (DISCOs) waste several manhours tracing faults along distribution networks. This can be avoided by investing in smart grids and smart meters. A smart grid will increase the visibility of the distribution network and fault locations can be identified at the click of a button. Smart meter enables bi-directional communication between the consumer and the utility, help utilities keep track of consumer load conditions and thus information can be useful for planning future expansion projects. This will avoid undue overloading of distribution infrastructure, prevent under-voltages (often incorrectly referred to as low current) which could potentially damage household appliances, and prevent the extortion of taxpayers who often bear the brunt by having to contribute money to purchase new transformers. Furthermore smart meters can be endowed with prepaid billing systems and this way help consumers escape the spurious and exaggerated bills they receive from the DISCOs. In the short-term, consumers should be sensitised to become micro-generators using embedded generation. First, households that can afford to invest in solar photo-voltaics (PV) on rooftops will receive a fixed charge for every KW of electricity they contribute to the grid.

This feed-in-tariff mechanism must be care-

fully planned to suit the Nigerian market, and lessons learnt from the experiences of countries such as Germany and Spain. On the other hand, energy recovery technologies that convert animal waste to biogas, used for both cooking and electricity generation must be well-planned and implemented for community energy systems. Although the initial costs of these renewable technologies are higher than comparable portable diesel generator alternatives, the unique advantage is minimal operating costs over its life time. Rightly, investing in such renewable technologies is a win-win. It makes both economic and environmental sense.

We built our civilisation by harnessing energy, and now our need for it continues on an upward trend. Though energy may never be separated from politics, a robust combination of policy, financing and technical strategies will work out to deliver safe, secure and sustainable energy to all Nigerians. True, the journey to the energy future we desire will not be achieved in a day to keep the lights on. It requires coherent policies and development plans that must be pursued aggressively by current and future administration. The Federal Government must both set the policies and regulatory framework right.

The reconstituted Inter-Ministerial Committee on Gas to Power must shape up to its responsibility and deliver a robust national gas network.

The operators of the generation, transmission and distribution companies must synergise plans to forestall this sort of national darkness and further extend electricity access to all Nigerians. Communities must become prime vanguards of our national commonwealth and energy infrastructure by reporting suspected vandals to law enforcement agents. Those found culpable must be prosecuted in a fair and just manner. Only then will other stakeholders including corporate investors and consumers gain the confidence to support to finance this vision. We must talk less, act more and act now!

• Oluwole, winner of the 2012 International Sustainable Energy Essay Contest, wrote in via

Uwechue: Exit of a great soul

By Ikedi Ohakim “We are generally dealing with so many immediate battles; it is hard for us to lift our gaze above the moment.” – Robert Greene WRITE with sadness as we mourn the passing unto glory of our INigeria, leader, Ambassador Ralph Uwechue, an unsung great son of whose life and times were rich in accomplishment and great strides for which the Igbo nation and indeed Nigeria would forever remain indebted.

A first class patriot, the late Ambassador Uwechue distinguished himself as a consummate diplomat, a strong believer in the possibilities and potentials of Nigeria and deployed his vast experience in diplomacy, providing quality leadership to the umbrella body of the Igbo nation, Ohaneze. While serving on the Nigerian foreign desk, as a pioneer, the late Ambassador Uweche opened the Nigerian Embassy in Paris, France in 1966.

This national assignment was later to empower him to play a major role in securing the support and understanding of the French government in playing remarkable role in arresting the carnage in Nigeria during the Nigeria-Biafra war. At a time most super powers treated the hostilities in Nigeria as an isolated storm in a tea cup, France was at the forefront in ensuring that the people of Biafra were not wiped out in what was an obvious genocide. It took the diplomatic savvy of an Uwechue to persuade the government of France to understand the case of Biafra, the level of human carnage and the likely implosion on the African continent if not managed and checkmated.

This great son of Igbo (Dike) from Ogwashi-Ukwu, Delta State, had the option, like many others, to play on the path of self-preserve and leverage the opportunities within the Nigerian enclave but he chose to stand on the side of history and posterity.

An irrepressible Igbo irredentist and a fighter, Uwechue’s love for the Igbo nation did not in any way diminish his belief in building bonds across ethnic nationalities to strengthen the Nigerian nation.

Little wonder his friends and associates cut across the length and breadth of the country and beyond. His foreign service call of duty took him to Cameroun, Pakistan and Mali and the success he made of those national assignments made him highly recommended when he was appointed a Special Presidential

Envoy on Conflict Resolution by President Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 and 2007. As a dependable and reliable diplomatic foot-soldier, he left no one in doubt that he fully understood the bolts and nuts of conflict resolution deploying the tools of diplomacy to interpret the vision of Nigerian government to conflict management and resolution in Africa.

In recognition of his success in this area, he was later to be appointed ECOWAS Special Representative in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire during the conflict in that country. His diplomatic shuttles led to the resolution of many conflicts in Africa and that was an eloquent confirmation of late Ambassador Uwechue’s competence in consensus building, conflict management and clear understanding of the operating environment.

At a time when gunboat diplomacy was considered attractive and veritable by most nations, Ambassador Uwechue found that option anachronistic and unfashionable, settling rather for roundtable diplomacy that eliminates avoidable casualties that made conflict resolution difficult.

Ambassador Ralph Uwechue, as the immediate past President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, brought his wealth of experience to bear in managing the affairs of the body. For the first time in a long while, the Igbo nation spoke with one voice and took stronger position in national issues as against the babel that was the case.

In all, his humility and adroitness in human relationship management assisted in creating the enabling environment for Ohaneze to assert itself as the apex body of the Igbo nation.

When President Jonathan decided to appoint an Igbo man as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Uwechue, with his team, ensured that one of our best secured the job. That led to the emergence of Anyim Pius Anyim as the SGF. Very selfless in service, Ralph Uwechue remains one of the brightest stars of the Igbo nation that tried his best in dismantling the bring-down-syndrome that has fast contributed to depleting the leadership ensemble of the Igbo nation which I had described as Igbo philosophy of Nshikonomics (the battle for escape and survival of crabs in a fisherman’s basin of water, all struggling and pulling each other down for the benefit of their captor), with its negative consequences.

Bereft of the complexes that drive a lot of men to engage negatively, Ralph Uwechue networked effectively with other great

sons and daughters of Igbo nation to give Ndi Igbo the strong voice we need to remain relevant in Nigeria, dismantle the mercantile attitude to political engagement and ensure that we sustain the cultural values that give us identity as a people.

Uwechue was pivotal in the visit of the late Prof. Chinua Achebe to Imo State in 2009 as the guest speaker at that year’s Ahiajoku lectures when I was a sitting Governor in Imo State. All the “nkpuke” meeting which were arranged by the late Ambassador as Ohaneze President created a platform for Prof. Achebe to interact with Igbo leaders after a very long period of absence. I am most elated that Prof. Achebe (Ugonabo) cherished the reception and the opportunities till death.

Few days to Uwechue’s death, I had audience with him and a prominent Igbo traditional ruler on his invitation. There, we shared thoughts on some of his fears about the Igbo nation and the need to continue to strengthen our capacity to have a strong voice in national issues. He was philosophical, touching on death, his health, peace and unity of Ndigbo. I looked straight into his eyes; I saw some tear-drops. I got confused. Straight from his house, I moved with the king to consult with one of us, another great patriot and political leader who swung into action regarding further health evaluation and medical treatment.

Ralph Uwechue may not have fulfilled all his dreams for the Igbo nation and Nigeria but history would definitely be fair to him as a man who spoke out when many people decided to be silent, and one who tried to impact positively on his people through service and leadership. The death of Ambassador Ralph Uwechue throws up a big challenge for us the living; what are the lessons from the life and times of this great man? In the absence of Ojukwu, Achebe, Uwechue and other great minds of Igbo nation, what is next?

Are we ready and willing to take off from where they stopped with the same courage, zeal, gusto and commitment? The spirit of our heroes past can only be kept alive if we are able to build on their legacies. I would be surprised if Ambassador Ralph Uwechue were not seen as one of whom “Fortuna” smiled and who had the courage and intelligence to take advantage of it.

Whatever his faults were, Uwechue would certainly be counted as one of the greatest Nigerians of the century. May his soul rest in perfect peace.

• Ohakim was Governor of Imo State until 2011.

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Friday, April 4, 2014

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Opinion Finally, a Pope who is not Catholic

By Fr. Cletus Nwabuzo READ with seething anger the opinion of Mr. ITheMalachy Igwilo, a super-Catholic, published in Guardian of Wednesday, March 26, 2014. His essay, “Not a Pope for all seasons” was a rejoinder to Bishop Matthew Kukah’s piece published in The Guardian of March 17 and 18 to commemorate the first anniversary of the election of Pope Francis and he prays for a short pontificate. Not all of Igwilo’s opinion is about Pope Francis; he also makes a nauseating caricature of the Second Vatican Council.

His is another infantile recycling of a stale yogurt. The only accurate information he gave about that Council is that it held from 1962-1965.

That according to him “this council indeed damaged the Catholic Church, endorsing all sorts of ideas that indeed removed the church from the path of evangelism, and majority of the ordinary Catholic knows nothing about this council…”

This is a gratuitous inaccuracy and for the sake of the effeminate virtue of charity, I would have used a stronger and more accurate description for his crass ignorance.

For the history of Ecumenical Councils are replete with dissenting voices. Arius dissented from the Ecumenical Council that defined the divinity of Jesus Christ in Nicaea in A.D. 325. His direct descendants have all died out in the Latin West, but vestiges of his heresy still surface in erroneous Christological affirmations even in the 21st century. Then there is the affirmation of damage to the “authentic Catholicism”. What exactly is this? Does this authentic Catholicism include the Old Catholics who are still very active in Australia, Britain and in the USA. Who rejected the decisions of the First Vatican Council and hold on to the Tridentine council and liturgy as the true interpretation of authentic Roman Catholicism? They may be an ignored minority today but still claim to represent authentic Catholicism.

From the tone of Mr. Igwilo’s article, I can deduce that he belongs to a Catholic tradition that rejects the Second Vatican Council, but which strand? For, there are many. There is the Lefevrist strand, followers of the schismatic Marcel Lefevre who believed that the spirit and letter of the Second Vatican Council was inspired by the devil.

Both Popes Paul VI and John Paul II ignored him until he died. They still represent the most extreme wing of the anti-Second Vatican Council dissenters. Pope Benedict XVI attempted to dialogue with members of this Priestly Confraternity of St. Pius X, a dialogue that is still on-going but making very slow progress and yielding little result. If this is Igwilo’s wing of the anti-Second Vatican Council then the affirmation that

the “council indeed damaged the Catholic Church” is a little understandable because Mr. Igwilo and fellow dissenters have never made any attempt to read or understand the documents or the records of that Council. No Catholic of any clout who understands the place of the grace of God in the Church and in the world calls the event and fruits of the Second Vatican Council damaging.

There are those who criticise the reforms as not far reaching enough and those who bemoan the openness of the Catholic Church to a modern world as a betrayal of the gospel value.

We are all still trying to understand that Council and to qualify it as damaging is not true. In Nigeria, the debate about the Second Vatican Council has often revolved around its reception or lack of it in the Nigeria Catholic Church.

But the view that majority of the ordinary Catholic know nothing about this council may be fallacious.

Many candidates for the priesthood who studied at the Major Seminaries and Religious Formation Houses and are not ordained priests studied some documents of the Second Vatican Council on the sacraments, ecclesiology, liturgy, and on ordinary issue as Mass Communication. You mean these are not ordinary Catholics? Add to these the growing army of lay people who take part in the many formation seminars, Catechetical workshops organised across Nigeria to form and inform the laity all based on the documents of the Second Vatican Council. Sure, the Bishops have a challenge in teaching the rich doctrine of the Catholic Church and the insights the Second Vatican Council brought to this rich doctrine fifty years in the life of the Church is so short a time to judge the ignorance of the ordinary Catholics. We are still trying to understand the intricacies of the Creed adopted at the Council of Nicaea in 325.

But the real beef of Mr. Igwilo is Bishop Kukah’s celebration of Pope Francis on the first anniversary of his pontificate. Yes, I agree that this is early morning yet for this pontificate.

The language of ‘demystification’ of power is only an opinion, albeit of a bishop. However, accusing Pope Francis having no concept of sin in his diary is a punch too low for a Catholic even of the anti-Vatican wing. The writer continued his assault on the Pope by affirming “there is no word or document said or written by this Pope that contains the Catholic understanding of sin.” This is a blatant lie that defies everyday logic for every true Catholic. The Holy Father was not born a Pope. He was the immediate past Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina. And the Argentine presidential

couple, the Kirchners, Cristina Fernandez Kirchner, the present President of Argentina and her late husband who she succeeded in office, will both attest to the fact that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio spoke repeatedly about sin in all its dimensions, political, social and economic, personal and collective sin. And many Argentines were surprised Madam President Kirchner was one of the very first visitors the new Pope received in spite of her seeing him as a political opponent because he spoke out for the sake of the little ones. Which of these is not a Catholic understanding of sin? The Cardinals who elected him knew he was no fluke.

At the angelus on the Second Sunday of Lent the Pope spoke of the sin of Eve, she dialogued with Satan instead of relying on the word of God. So how exactly did Igwilo come by his accusation that Pope Francis has no concept of sin?

What followed is the absurd vituperations on his mode of dressing, rejection of traditional papal dress and official protocol. He supports this accusation by quoting a 13th century document: Rationale Divinorum Officiorum of 1286 written by Guillaume Durand, a Dominican like myself, to support a 21st century dress code.

Now, this is ignorance taken to a new level. For my first question is the symbolism that the papal robe is replete with was this removed when another Dominican priest, Cardinal Michele Ghislieri took the Dominican white habit to the papacy in 1504?

This was how the popes began to wear the white cassock. It was the innovation of Pope Pius V (1504-1572). Pope Paul VI also issued decrees on the papacy that regulate so much of the papacy after the Second Vatican Council.

For which of this is Pope Francis put on trial for abandoning papal traditional dress code and protocol? He is also the Supreme Pontiff and what he wears he can also decree. He has not done this and none of the Cardinals who elected him has so far accused him of being less papal. He would also not be the first Pope to allow his skull cap to be touched by children or women (?). None of these portends disorderliness or desecration of what is sacred. Your insulation of debasing the papacy reminds one of the same accusations against Pope John XXIII who was not of aristocratic stock. He was the descendant of peasant farmers, did not speak or write elegant Latin and had the temerity to speak and write in street Italian and used the dialect of Bergamo in his diplomatic communications from Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece. He stopped on the streets to meet and greet the flock entrusted to his pastoral care for that is where they are rather than in the Clementine

Hall of the Vatican palace. Pope John Paul II in his turn travelled the world to meet many entrusted to his pastoral care, why can’t Pope Francis come down a few more steps to meet these flock?

Finally, Mr. Igwilo went back to his ‘traditional Catholic sense and concept’ – a ‘sense’ he, nowhere in his essay, defined or cited an ecclesiastical authority who defined it. But he goes on to repeat the falsehood that Pope Francis has not written or spoken about the devil in the traditional Catholic sense. He continues with this obnoxious statement. “The document quoted, the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelium Gaudium, is one of the most unbelievable documents coming from a reigning pontiff. It departs from the Catholic faith wholly. But the average Catholic will never know how revolutionary this document is.” This is where Igwilo lost it and from where the title of my piece is taken – finally a Pope who is not Catholic.

No, methinks Mr. Igwilo is not Catholic and had not read a word of EvangeliumGaudium. It certainly bears the signature of Pope Francis who is a priest of God most high. Why would the devil, in a so-called Catholic sense or whatever sense, be his pre-occupation? EvangeliumGaudium is a document accessible to anyone who can access the Vatican website, and the Society of St. Paul has published editions of this document that are on sale in Nigeria. It challenges us all to face the task of evangelization today in all terrain. Take it from another Dominican friar, the document is very Catholic. It speaks about Jesus Christ and the good news of salvation. And Mr. Igwilo’s assertion that “everything in this document speaks in a feminine way – of love, mercy, beauty, and joy” adds to the sadness of his advocacy of militancy.

What or why exactly are virtues like love and mercy anti-values for Catholics and beauty and joy feminine attributes that macho Catholics must not speak of? Has he forgotten God make them male and female? Pope Francis may for good reason have preferred the feminine way because he saw what the mindless macho culture of the military in his native Argentina did to their compatriots during the now-infamous dirty war years – military Generals who paraded their military prowess at ceremonies that took place in ornate Cathedrals swearing fidelity to Church and State where the same that presided over unspeakable crimes against God and humanity. Are those the virtues and human attributes he must speak about today to make him more Catholic and acceptable? I doubt. I also think Pope Francis is too grounded to the earth, this earth that God made, to play to the gallery, any gallery. He has an arduous task as Pope, long or short papacy, may he lead us to Christ.

• Fr. Nwabuzo, O.P., is of the Dominican Institute, Ibadan.

Before it is too late in Osun

By Prince Jide Akinyooye HEN Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola was proclaimed as the W validly elected Governor of Osun State on November 27, 2010, majority of Osun State indigenes, including myself were happy that a new face of political leadership would replace Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola’s administration, the self-acclaimed Omoluabi of his era. As a matter of fact, former Governor Oyinlola is a gifted diplomat and well-cultured Prince from Okuku. In terms of humility, sense of humour, attentiveness and power of oration, Prince Oyinlola has never been found wanting. Unfortunately, about seven years of Oyinlola’s tenure as executive Governor of Osun State could be summarily described as a fiasco. Funny enough, the Okuku Prince did not realise the true feelings of the majority until after he left the exalted political office.

I want to remind our incumbent performing Governor Rauf Aregbesola about a popular Yoruba proverb that says “Oba mewa igba mewa, enikan ko le lo ile aye gbo”, (meaning, different rulers at different times, and no one will rule for life). There was a time when Prince Oyinlola was unquestionable Omoluabi! Today, destiny has overtaken events, while Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola seems to look as the only reigning Omoluabi in the whole world. At this juncture, I would like to remind us that banana peel will eventually dry up one day and history will definitely repeat itself. Sentiments apart, I can boldly challenge anyone that no previous administration has a better achievement in the aspect of road rehabilitation and construction than Governor Aregbesola in the history of Osun. This is a lesson in performance for future political leadership. Also, the “Opon-Imo” (tablet of knowledge) is another compliment to his outstanding achievements. I guess these are major fulfillments that are making Ogbeni Aregbesola to presume easy ride into his second term journey.

Despite recorded achievements by Ogbeni Aregbesola, he should not be fooled through arrogance of leadership because of

his exalted position as the current Omoluabi of the State of Osun.

In a clearer term, Governor Aregbe needs to admit that his chains of achievement have not yet crowned him as the best Governor so far. Categorically, Chief Adebisi Akande remains the best Governor to have successfully governed and prudently managed state resources at no cost of debt. Perhaps, Aregbesola may eventually surpass Akande’s enviable record; I cannot guess that expectation for now. In spite of Chief Akande’s selfless service to the people of Osun State, he was voted out on his second term attempt.

I am neither frightening Ogbeni Aregbesola because of his failure to recognise the people of Orolu through appointment into any of key political positions in cabinet, nor underrating his record of achievements. The record has it that Ogbeni Rauf criticised Prince Oyinlola, when he borrowed a loan of 18 billion naira before leaving office; why did Ogbeni fail to address barrage of questions on speculated loan, or bond of over N300 billion? It is unarguable that our action Governor is continually and justifiably exposing the state of Osun to heavyweight of debt burden than any of his predecessors without due explanation.

Before it is too late, Ogbeni needs to be cautioned and realise that he is merely serving the state by acting in consonance with his good thought and desire, but not actually in the approach that good people of Osun want. Honestly, apart from various honourable members in the House of Assembly, other political appointees including executive secretaries are mere liability to his dream because they lack capacity to responsibly defend Governor Aregbesola’s political ideology. The message they always pass across to the public can be interpreted as Osun go, (meaning the people of Osun State are fools).

Specifically, how can anyone construe an action of local government helmsmen that refuse to attend town-hall functions and have no justification for people’s enquiries about governance than to refer them to the state governor that might not be easily reached. I could vividly recollect my encounter with one of Gov-

ernor Aregbesola’s political appointees that publicly declared that he was too busy to meet his people on their developmental discussion because of unending meetings with the Governor. Is this the kind of representation expected by Ogbeni Aregbesola?

Before it is too late, Ogbeni Aregbe must attempt to correct some political errors and administrative imbalance in his governance.

He must justify why the local government administration that is closest to the grassroots became lame and weak during his tenure. He must disclaim general opinion that he is hell-bent to impose parliamentary system at the local government level because of his continued intention to manage federal allocation that are meant for the local councils. Ogbeni Aregbesola should accept the responsibility of meticulously accounting for how excess crude oil fund that accrued to all local government areas was spent.

It is not too late for Ogbeni to review his controversial educational policy. Also, absolute scrapping of some secondary schools suggested fraudulent conversion of public assets than genuineness of objective. For instance, a case study of Fakunle Comprehensive High School in Osogbo that was actually demolished and allegedly sold by Ogbeni Aregbesola’s administration to allegedly propitiate a powerful political leader outside Osun State is still a mirage! Also, the allegation that a neighbouring state is benefitting from the wealth of Osun is damaging to his political goodwill and should be equally addressed.

Finally, the Omoluabi syndrome should devour religious sentiment in order to enjoy the eager support of Osun people, who are ever ready to reciprocate the gesture of good governance by any appealing personality irrespective of political affiliation. The people of Osun State must respectably be fairly treated. Osun citizens are not fools; but may be unpredictable because they sometimes want answers to unasked questions.

• Prince Akinyooye is a chartered accountant in Lagos.

Friday, April 4, 2014 15

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

TheMetroSection Mama Kanga: The well digger...

• Ololade Rabiu, a 46-year-old Nigerian who has dug hundreds of wells in her time

Rabiu

General of Police, M.D Abubakar and Manager of First Bank, Adeniran Ogunsanya branch, Surulere, Lagos over allegation of police brutality.

Akpovi-Esade in his two petitions alleged that the Police security stationed at the bank branch, alongside with others, manhandled him as well as damaged his car on Monday, March 31, 2014. His petition to the IGP read in part. “I write to formally complain about the illtreatment I received in the hands of some of your policemen on guard duty at First Bank Plc premises on Adeniran Ogunsanya Street, Surulere, Lagos, on Monday, March 31, 2014 at about 11.12am.”

The Media Consultant continued: “I drove to the said First Bank branch at the time mentioned above and because that branch does not have a parking space, I parked in front of a Mercedes Benz which had the driver at the wheels, on the busy Adeniran Ogunsanya Street and wanted to quickly use the ATM. As I came down and made for the two machines less than 10 metres away, the armed uni-

UNERAL rites for Papa FDoghudje, Akpokorayen John who died at the age of 109, had begun with a traditional fetching of firewood ceremony at his compound at Usiefrun Town, Warri, Delta State.

A statement by Godwin Doghudje of Ibru Group, says “ A service of songs was held yesterday at 4.00p. at the same venue.

He will be buried today after a Requiem Mass at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Usiefrun Town at 10.00a.m.

A thanksgiving service holds on Sunday, April 6, at the same church at 9.00a.m.

Final burial rites continue on Monday.

forced to rely on tanker deliveries for their water or private wells.

Purification to eliminate disease is not guaranteed and street vendors selling “sachet” water in cellophane bags are a common sight as are the discarded empty packets on the streets.

Ololade Rabiu is the only female professional well-driller in Nigeria. The shortfalls in public supply mean there is plenty of business for well diggers like Rabiu, who first began drilling for water in 1997.

She learnt her craft from her Ghanaian second husband, Daniel Ajiraku, and has since carved out a niche for herself along with a nickname in the Yoruba language: “Mama Kanga” — “the well woman.”

“The beginning was difficult but now I thank God that I have overcome my initial fright and I have made a success of my chosen career,” she explained.

“Daniel taught me all the rudiments of well-drilling: how to locate the water bed, determine depth, how much to charge, the implements to be used and

how to overcome challenges.”

Neighbours and clients are full of praise for her ability, which once saw her drill to a depth of 130 feet (40 metres) in the Akute area of Ogun state.

“She drilled my well more than seven years ago and she did it so well that I have so far had no problem with it,” said Ben Kunle Omodein, from Igbogbo.

“She is gifted in the art of well-drilling. I am sure she does it better than many men,” said her former landlord, Yisa Abdul.

Rabiu’s third husband, Saliu, died at the age of 64 but she said that the setback would not stop her working.

“Life must continue. I cannot allow the death of my husband to kill my career,” she said.

Rabiu’s children, one of whom lives in Spain, have followed their mother into the well-digging business.

Fourteen-year-old Kobina proves the point by jumping into a nearby waterfilled well, only to re-emerge a few minutes later.

As for the job’s male bias, Rabiu, who is

from Ile-Ife in South West Nigeria and originally trained as a designer, said she had never let her gender stop her from doing what she wants in life.

Rabiu’s living room is strewn with the tools of her trade: a wheel-barrow, water-pumping machine, a hose, spade, iron bars, shovels, buckets and two generators.

The job is dangerous and back-breaking, she admitted, but said that her faith in God — and a Guinness, gin or whisky — had helped her overcome the challenges.

Nothing, she said, gives her as much pleasure as digging wells.

“I feel elated when we have a meeting of well-drillers in Lagos and I am the only woman in the midst of hundreds of men. I am well respected because they all see me as their mother. They are my children,” she added.

Yusuf Mainasara, a well-driller from Niger, agreed.

“Mama Kanga’ is our queen, our hero and our mother. We are really proud of her,” he said.

Culled from AFP

Alleged Police brutality: Journalist petitions IGP, First Bank and media conJhasOURNALIST sultant, Justin Akpovi-Esade petitioned the Inspector

Doghudje, 106, for burial

Rabiu inside a well

UT the 46-year-old mother of six is a rarity in Nigeria, where forging deep into the red earth to find precious drinking water has historically been a male preserve.

“I am extremely happy that I am the only woman so far in this profession of well-drilling. I love and enjoy it,” she told AFP at her home in Igbogbo, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) east of Lagos.

“There is no well I cannot drill or enter,” she said proudly.

Megacity Lagos and its surrounding states are crippled by over-burdened and neglected infrastructure, with safe, clean drinking water in particularly short supply.

A study by the Lagos State Water Corporation found that the city’s 18 million people needed 540 million gallons (2.5 billion litres) against actual production of just 210 million gallons in 2010.

It has vowed to dramatically increase production to 745 million gallons per day by 2020, by which time the city is expected to be home to 29 million people.

But in the meantime, households are

B

Briefs

formed Corporal ordered me to remove my car from the spot it was parked.”

“I told him that I wouldn’t even spend up to three minutes as I just wanted to use the ATM service and nothing more.

He shouted angrily that I should remove the car or he will shoot out my tyres. I was taken aback but obeyed not without pointing out that another car was sitting comfortably near mine without the owner facing this threat and intimidation more so when I have two young kids in the car and their mother, so what possible threat would I be that a lone figure in a waiting car also in front of the bank was not?”

“He followed me to the car shouting angrily as I made to enter. He helped to slam the door after me and I thought that was the end of the ugly mid- morning incident until I looked into my rear view mirror after about 20 metres and saw him racing after me on foot and signaling to a commercial bus (danfo) that was driving by my side.”

A glance at the occupants of the ‘danfo’ revealed they were also Policemen from the Bode Thomas division as I later

Vandalised portion of the car found out from interaction I had with their leader who said he was a Superintendent of Police. They used their bus to intercept me right in front of Shop Rite Mall about 50 metres from the bank. They were all shouting and threatening and brandishing their rifles, a situation that made my two little girls so frightened they started crying. I came down and they started manhandling me for “daring to challenge an officer.” The bank security guard ran up to us and smashed my right side-view mirror with the butt of his rifle even as he damaged the other one. There was one cool-headed policeman among them who was telling

them to stop what they were doing but nobody was listening to him. He was the one that was shielding me from the attacks and guarded me into my car until the Superintendent appeared and ordered them to halt the action.”

“The middle-aged officer enquired what the issues were and as I made to state what happened, the bank security cocked his gun and hit me while threatening to “waste me.” He hit me with his fist, a development that got the Superintendent very angry and threatened to disarm him on the spot. The young man with a Calabar like name was stark raving mad, so much so that

the officer was having a hard time keeping him under control. I was scared, I was traumatized…” he said.

In his petition to the Manager of the affected bank’s branch, Akpovi-Esade said he was shocked to receive a treatment like that in a bank he and his family are good customers and so pleads with the manager to investigate the issue. “I plead that you use your good office to investigate this allegation and bring this power-drunk officer to order to serve as a deterrent to others because the most important reason I am writing this petition is because the young man threatened to shoot me on sight if I ever visited First Bank, Ogunsanya branch again. I am a First Bank customer, my wife; my mother and I operate accounts with First Bank. In fact, my wife’s business account is with the bank and we have a situation where we have a gun totting cop threatening to shoot me if I ever stepped foot on the bank’s premises. Even if I must avoid that branch, what is the guarantee that this trigger happy cop won’t shoot me on sighting me at another branch?”

Doghudje

KLM’s business seminar HE Kingdom of Light MinT istries KLM will tomorrow hold its businessmen/women at the church headquarters, 12, Ajoke Kazeem Street, off Subol Bus Stop, Idimu-Ikotun Road, Idimu, Lagos at 7.30 a.m.

Meanwhile, a thanksgiving service holds on Sunday, April 6,at 8.00a.m. at the same venue. Presiding Pastor Samson Makinwa and other men of God will minister.

Shonibare, 54, passes on HE Shonibare family has T announced the death of Mr. Gbeyinteinshe Olatunbosun Shonibare.

Aged 54, he died on Monday March 31, 2014 in Lagos.

He is survived by children and burial arrangements will be announced by his family.

Church marks anniversary HE Christ Apostolic Church, T Oke-Igbala has begun activities to mark its 10th anniversary/ thanksgiving service at No. 1, Paul Olayiwola, off Ofada Road, Mowe, Ogun State at 5.30p.m. daily. It will end on Sunday at 10.00a.m.

Spokesman, Francis Akinribido, said Pastors Moses O. Yusuf, M.A. Ajetumobi and Paul Olayiwola (host) will minister.

Joy over Disability Bill passage HE Senate on Thursday T passed the Disability Bill after considering the report of the joint committee on Sports and Social Development and Women Affairs and Youth Development. The Sponsor of the bill, Senator Nurudeen AbatemiUsman has expressed joy over the passage of the bill for an act to ensure full integration of persons with disabilities into the society and establish a national commission for disabled people to cater for their rights.

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

16 Friday, April 4, 2014

Business Global economy loses $360b to counterfeit, piracy yearly From Adeyemi Adepetun, Johannesburg, South Africa

2.5m jobs lost in Nigeria,S’Africa, others

HE assessed impact of the T menace of counterfeit and pirated products is said to be

Technology (ICT) sector.

These revelations came to the fore yesterday, in Johanesbourg, South Africa at 2014 Anti-Counterfeit Conference, organised by Hewlett Packard (HP).

With over 300 participants, including government agencies, lawyers, journalists, Interpol, HP channel partners and top officials in attendance from across the globe, it was submitted that counterfeiting has serious effects on the global economy.

causing the global economy in international trade about $360 billion losses yearly.

Beside,about $150 million is said to be lost in tax revenue each year due to counterfeits in major markets.

Indeed, the menace of counterfeiting is said to cut across virtually all the sectors of the economy, but much impacts are felt in the Information and Communication

On its impact on human capacity development, HP informed that about 2.5 million jobs are lost each year to counterfeiting in major economy including Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa among others.

According to HP’s Vice President and General Manager, MENA, Andrew Bodson, counterfeit supplies are a bigger problem than most people think, stressing that the negative effect on printing and imaging supply

industry is to the tune of about $3.5 billion losses.

Bodson, who said the impact harms printers, bottom line and the environment, affirmed that fight against counterfeiting and Intellectual Property theft is more challenging in the ICT sector, especially in emerging markets.

In his presentation, titled:”Lobbying for reforms in the administration, adjudication and enforcement of Intellectual Property Right”, Prof. Bankole Sodipo, Cochair, African Intellectual Property Group, while calling

for intensed lobbying on governments to ensure adequate laws are in place to check this scourge, he stressed that most offices and companies are yet to have in place, policies on IP. Sodipo, who is also the Dean, School of Law and Security Studies, Babcock University, Ogun state, Nigeria observed that largest counterfeiting rings in Africa, which arguably come from China, stressing that yet African Union member states do not oppose China.

“Chinese firms now assemble counterfeit and pirated

products in Africa rather than export them from China to Africa”, he stated.

The Law Professor advised that in the fight against counterfeiting efforts must be centralised to involve all stakeholders that matter in the fight.

Africa’s growing economy, according to Jeffrey Kwasny and Glenn Jones of HP’s enforcement arms, attracts counterfeiters, with over 11 million seisures of counterfeit products in the region and Middle East between 2009 and 2013.

BUA Cement signs gas purchase agreement with NGC local cement manufacA turer, BUA Cement, has signed a GSPA with Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) for its Edo Cement Company Limited on Friday, March 28, 2014, at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.

Managing Director of NGC, Engr. Saidu Mohammed who signed for NGC stated that the agreement is for the supply of about 33mmscf per day of natural Gas by NGC to the Edo cement plant in Okpella, Edo State.

On his part, the Group Executive Director, BUA Group, Kabiru Rabiu who signed on behalf BUA Cement said that this is an important milestone towards the commissioning of the new Edo Cement plant at the end of this year.

He went on to say that, already $500 million has been expended on the plant and that on completion, it will add about 15% to the total cement output in the country.

Nigeria produced about 21 million metric tons of cement in 2013 and with its population of 170 million people; the country has one of the lowest per capita cement consumption in the world.

BUA Group entered the cement sub sector in 2008 when the Federal Government of Nigeria issued out licenses to 13 companies, including BUA, to import cement in an effort to bring down its price locally.

BUA Cement subsequently brought in the first of its kind, a Floating Cement Terminal in the same year for processing and bagging of bulk cement.

Furthermore, in line with the government policy for backward integration in the country, BUA Cement acquired controlling stakes in the publicly listed Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (Sokoto Cement) Plc and Edo Cement Company in 2009, thereby, establishing BUA’s active participation in the local manufacturing Cement sector in the county.

In 2011, BUA Cement contracted a leading European cement plant manufacturer FL Smidth to supply the equipments and Julius Berger Nigeria to construct the new Edo cement plant at a cost of over $500m.

Founded in 1988 by Forbes billionaire, Abdulsamad Rabiu, BUA is into the manufacturing of sugar, flour, spaghetti, cement, amongst

Group Executive Director, BUA Group, Kabiru Rabiu (left), Managing Director, Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), Saidu Mohammed, at the signing of gas sales and purchase agreement in Lagos

Seven Energy stakes $250m on East Horizon Gas acquisition

By Femi Adekoya ITH a stake of $250 million, Seven Energy Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Seven Energy International Limited, has completed the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of East Horizon Gas Company Limited (EHGC).

With the acquisition, Seven Energy hopes to enhance its position as a leading gas marketing and

W

distribution company in south east Nigeria, expanding the reach of its gas pipeline network to over 260 km, while diversifying its customer base across key sectors of the Nigerian economy as well as increasing long-term contracted gas sales volumes to 200 MMcfpd.

EHGC is a gas distribution and marketing company that operates the 128 km East Horizon gas pipeline

through Akwa Ibom State and Cross Rivers State in south east Nigeria. EHGC also has a gas sales agreement with an industrial offtaker to supply up to 25 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmcfpd), increasing to 50 mmcfpd upon completion of the planned expansion of the offtaker’s existing plant, under a 20-year gas sales agreement expiring in 2032.

Commenting on the acquisition, Phillip Ihenacho,

Chief Executive Officer of Seven Energy said “This acquisition marks a significant milestone for Seven Energy as we continue to deliver on our strategy to become the market leading independent gas distributor in south east Nigeria. The East Horizon pipeline is an important component of the energy infrastructure of the region and we are pleased to add this asset to our portfolio.”

BUSINESS Friday, April 4, 2014 17

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

‘Why we need local content in Nigeria’ RECALL that in 2010, I attended the gradIwhen uation ceremony of New York University my son was passing out of the University. During the event, a few students were singled out for awards of honour. From their citations, it was clear to all present that the students were being recognized for their service to humanity in various ways. These were students that took time off their academic work and choose to add value to societies well outside their areas of studies.

I believed that the brilliant ones in class had been adequately recognized during closed door occasion in the institution.

However, the point is that it was those who had been associated with public spirited feats that were introduced at the graduation ceremony. One of them was said to have attracted the interest of a foreign company in providing internet services to a rural community in Tanzania.

You may be wondering why I started my remarks at this dinner from that narration. After all, like any other dinner, this one should have been an opportunity for the sponsoring company to talk glowingly about itself.

I referred to that experience because I believe that doing more than the expected culminates to doing extremely well, especially when adding value to society in whatever we do whether as individuals or as business concerns.

Let me link that story to the lesson I picked up when I attended an oil and gas conference like this one in Vienna, Austria. Our then Minister of Petroleum Resources, Alhaji Rilwan Lukman was in attendance with his counterparts from oil and gas producing nations. The CEOs of the oil majors were also present. Keynote speakers had a field day talking about the progress they were making in the development of oil and gas industry in their areas of operation.

When it was the turn of Sir Philip Watts, Group Chairman of Royal Dutch Shell Group, he presented a beautiful picture of Shell’s success story in Malaysia. He narrated how Shell went into Malaysia with experts – engineers, technicians, indeed sufficient human resources needed in all facets of oil and gas drilling, exploration and production.

At the time he was sharing this experience with the delegates at the conference in Vienna, he was proud of one major achievement of his company in Malaysia.

Malaysians had been groomed in all fields of oil and gas engineering. This was to the extent that Malaysia was then exporting skilled manpower to other countries as experts in oil and gas industry.

Immediately after his presentation, he was resoundingly applauded. During question and answer session, I was privileged to be recognized to make some remarks and ask questions. I thanked him for the efforts made by Shell in Malaysia. I asked: ‘‘If Shell had done such a wonder-

If Shell had done such a wonderful job in Malaysia, why was that kind of endeavour not replicated in Nigeria? Could it be that the Malaysians acquired the skills due to the concern of their government in the exploitation of their natural resources? Or was it because Malaysia had stable government over a long period of time and so the government was focused on ensuring that the citizens of the country reaped the benefits of the collaboration with Shell

Only a few days ago, we lost some young job seekers in the recruitment process of a government agency. Whether we are in government or in the private sector, we can vividly see that this issue of youth unemployment is a reality. When Arco started business 34 years ago, it was with a couple of hands. Today, we have over 400 personnel in our payroll and 200 of them are engineers and technicians. We can imagine the number of skilled and semi-skilled manpower that oil and gas industry can mop up if a lot more indigenous companies are gainfully involved in the industry

Okoigun

Good enough, the present government in Nigeria has started to roll back the inertia of the past. It enacted the Nigerian Oil and Gas Content Development Law in 2010.

Of course, the industry’s initial conception of the law was that of let us wait and see. I am glad that the government did not just put the law in place but is ensuring that the agencies put in charge are monitoring the situation ful job in Malaysia, why was that kind of endeavour not replicated in Nigeria? Could it be that the Malaysians acquired the skills due to the concern of their government in the exploitation of their natural resources?

Or was it because Malaysia had stable government over a long period of time and so the government was focused on ensuring that the citizens of the country reaped the benefits of the collaboration with Shell?’’

Conversely, Nigeria was during the period facing intermittent changes of government under the military era and so the country must have lost an opportunity that Malaysia exploited with her stability. It would appear then that as long as the oil majors paid their taxes and carried out other statutory responsibilities, they felt fulfilled. I submitted.

While I was making those remarks, the hall was calm. As soon as I took my seat, I was greeted with a loud applause. On stepping out of the conference hall, the then Managing Director of Shell in Nigeria Mr. Ron Van Denberg walked up to me and said ‘‘Alfred, Alfred, do you think that Shell was not doing enough in Nigeria? Do you know who should be doing more?’’ As I was pondering on an answer to the question and wondering whether he was referring to the other oil majors, he retorted, ‘‘your government, your government.’’

On reflection, I agreed with him. The government should have been doing more at that time. If they had done so maybe Nigeria would have been exporting locals as experts to other countries by now. As it is today, we are still struggling to grow local capacities in the oil and gas industry, an achievement that had been recorded in

other parts of the world. I believe that the Shell success story in Malaysia had the hand of government in it.

Good enough, the present government in Nigeria has started to roll back the inertia of the past. It enacted the Nigerian Oil and Gas Content Development Law in 2010. Of course, the industry’s initial conception of the law was that of let us wait and see. I am glad that the government did not just put the law in place but is ensuring that the agencies put in charge are monitoring the situation.

I will at this point commend Shell

My message is that the key players in the industry owe us an obligation in Nigeria to take advantage of the law to grow Nigerian companies to be viable participants in the industry even at this late hour. I am not saying that they should be philanthropic to a fault. All I am saying is that beyond making money, there must be legacy to boast of like the Shell example in Malaysia that I mentioned

Petroleum for being currently active in supporting the law. Examples of what the company is doing on the growth of local capacity are all over the place in the industry.

Our company, Arco Group has indeed been working with Total towards the realization of the objectives of the law. Our relationships with other oil majors are showing signs along the same direction. I would like to seize the opportunity of this occasion to appeal to all concerned to recognize the changing trends in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria and facilitate it instead of looking for loopholes to circumvent it.

My message is that the key players in the industry owe us an obligation in Nigeria to take advantage of the law to grow Nigerian companies to be viable participants in the industry even at this late hour. I am not saying that they should be philanthropic to a fault. All I am saying is that beyond making money, there must be legacy to boast of like the Shell example in Malaysia that I mentioned. I make this case, not just for Arco, but for other wholly Nigerian companies operating in the oil and gas industry. I am of the opinion that the changes taking place now can encourage other Nigerian investors to come into the business to boost employment of our youths.

Only a few days ago, we lost some young job seekers in the recruitment process of a government agency. Whether we are in government or in the private sector, we can vividly see that this issue of youth unemployment is a reality. When Arco started business 34 years ago, it was with a couple of hands. Today, we have over 400 personnel in our payroll and 200 of them are engineers and technicians. We can imagine the number of skilled and semi-skilled manpower that oil and gas industry can mop up if a lot more indigenous companies are gainfully involved in the industry. We strongly believe that when jobs are created, poverty will be alleviated. The overall positive results of this deliberate action cannot be underestimated.

I thank you for your attention.

Being text of the speech delivered by the Group Managing Director of Arco Group, Alfred Okoigun, at the dinner held as part of the events of the oil and gas conference in Abuja recently.

18 Friday, April 4, 2014

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Friday, April 4, 2014 23

www.ngrguardiannews.com

BusinessRound-Up

STEINHOFF EXTENDS JD GROUP TENDER OFFER DATE

NIGERIA REJECTS EU PARTNERSHIP

By Nicole Cassandra Naidoo International Holdings Limited SitsTEINHOFF has extended the tender offer closing date for acquisition of JD Group.

Nigeria’s Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga.

By Dara Rhodes HE European Union’s effort to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) was once again soiled as Nigeria refused to accept it.

Discussions over the EPA were delayed in 2012 as fears that lifting tariff barriers could crush budding industries unable to cope with European imports. This then prevented the countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) from concluding on the agreement.

“We spent the last four or five days, with our colleagues in ECOWAS in Cote d’voire looking at an agreement that had been signed by ECOWAS. The whole intention was to endorse it but when we looked at the whole agreement, Nigeria’s view was that ECOWAS was not ready to sign that agreement,” Nigeria’s Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga told CNBC Africa.

This year, Nigeria barred its smaller West African neighbours from accepting

T

the EU’s terms of agreement and at the meeting that ended yesterday, Nigeria vehemently expressed concerns about the countries in the region opening their economies to free trade with the EU. Thus, other West African leaders failed to agree, ending the decade long talks once again.

“We looked at it and we came up with 10 points that had to be addressed before any endorsement. The first point is the fact that when we ran our model, using the market access of the classification of the industries or sectors that will be liberalised we found that based on the model, which is an ECOWAS model, it will lead to significant losses in government revenue,” he explained.

“So it was important that those 10 [points] that were raised by Nigeria and some other members of states had their reservations as well. If we were to go together, as we all want to, if we want to see ourselves as a region that wants to integrate our economies together, it became important that we saw it as one and we reacted to it as one block.”

“We have to negotiate an agreement that

In association with

PHOTO: Omojuwa works for ECOWAS, that works for Nigeria and the countries in ECOWAS. Once we have an agreement that addresses our needs, that does not undermine the regional economic integration that does not undermine the regional aspiration to become an industrialised region,” he said.

In February 2014, Nigeria launched its Industrial Revolution Plan with its core aim to change the country from an importer of most goods to a manufacturing nation that could at least meet some of its domestic needs.

“We believe firmly that in those 15 sectors, where Nigeria can be number one in Africa and in the top 10 global players, it’s important that we are able to develop those industries. It’s important that we do not create a situation where Nigeria and the other ECOWAS countries would become and remain import dependent,” he added.

According to President Goodluck Jonathan, the plan will boost the annual revenue to be earned per annum by Nigerian manufacturers up to five trillion naira and set a new stage of industrial micro, small and medium enterprises in the West African state.

The integrated retailer, who is looking to acquire up to 98 per cent of the issued ordinary shares in JD Group Limited, excluding treasury shares, had originally announced that the tender offer would close on 2 April 2014.

The closing date for the offer however has been extended to 4 April 2014 due to a number of additional requests submitted to Steinhoff to participate in the offer.

“In order to afford such JD Group shareholders the opportunity to participate in the tender offer, and to facilitate the administrative process associated with the tender offer, JD Group shareholders are hereby notified that the closing date will be extended until the close of business on Friday, 4 April 2014,” it said.

“Steinhoff has, up to close of business on 1 April 2014, received notifications of acceptance of the tender offer from a number of JD Group shareholders which, once verified and implemented, will result in Steinhoff increasing its total beneficial interest in JD Group to 86 per cent of the total JD Group issued ordinary shares, excluding treasury shares.”

Steinhoff International Holdings Limited, which already owns 56.8 per cent of the issued JD Group shares, announced its offer to buy the retail and finance consumer business in March.

“JD Group is facing many challenges in the furniture retail and consumer finance business segments. These challenges will take some time and additional capital to overcome,” it had said.

“The increase of Steinhoff’s investment in JD Group, in an expedient manner, will enhance Steinhoff’s ability to support the operations of JD Group.”

Steinhoff International manufactures, sources and retails furniture and household goods.

PHOTO: Getty Images

JEWELLERY ROBBERIES ON THE RISE IN S.AFRICA

By Farhaanah Mahomed South Africa, armed robberies involving IinNjewellery stores have increased by 63 per cent 2013, from 38 incidents to 62.

According to the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA), a member based organisation representing over 11 000 companies in

Jewellery robberies on the rise.

PHOTO: Getty Images

retail, wholesale and manufacturing of consumer goods, financial losses from armed jewellery robberies rose from 12.9 million rand to 16.8 million rand in 2013.

However, with the launch of the Jewellery Risk Initiative Forum by the Consumer Goods Risk initiative (CGRI), CGCSA is aiming to bring down these crime statistics.

“We’ve created a jewellery initiative where the jewellers have joined forces and appointed us.

We are observing, and collecting information and data on all the armed robberies and other incidences occurring in the jewellery space,” James Oosthuizen, head of CGRI told CNBC Africa.

Oosthuizen further explained that once all collected data has been analysed, the CGRI releases its findings in a report which is made available to the consumer goods industries as well as to the South African Police Service.

According to the Jewellery Risk Initiative Fo-

rum, aggravated robberies are becoming a national threat, with the jewellery trade becoming the target of violent crimes.

Oosthuizen explained that jewellery is highly targeted by criminals as it is easy to conceal or change its appearance.

“They [criminals] go for what they could hide easily on their person or that they could sell easily. They could also change the way the jewellery looks. You can melt it down and change its appearance so you can hide where it comes from so it’s more difficult to detect,” he said.

To fight this challenge, the Jewellery Risk Initiative Forum seeks to form effective partnerships between retailers, management and government, and is further designed to enable the sharing of capacities and services among jewellery council member and other stakeholders.

Oosthuizen added that the information sharing with the police has been quite successful as it informs them on which areas or shopping

centres are hotspots for criminal activity.

The CGRI have also developed the Amavuso SMS instant Alert System, a technological innovation that sends out an instant alert to all members of the CGCSA, warnings them about high level crimes occurring in their vicinity.

“Amavuso is linked to the South African Police Service, which uses that as a quick alert system to become aware of certain incidences of crime so we share best practices by means of the Amavuso,” added Oosthuizen.

Once members receive the Amavuso alert message, they must place large amounts of cash in drop safes, ensure that security guards are alerted, and if they see the perpetrators, they need to press their panic buttons immediately to summon the police.

The council believes that the Amavuso system, which means warning in Zulu, is an invaluable weapon in the armoury of both the police and business at all levels.

THE GUARDIAN

Friday, April 4, 2014 23

www.ngrguardiannews.com

BusinessRound-Up

STEINHOFF EXTENDS JD GROUP TENDER OFFER DATE

NIGERIA REJECTS EU PARTNERSHIP

By Nicole Cassandra Naidoo International Holdings Limited SitsTEINHOFF has extended the tender offer closing date for acquisition of JD Group.

Nigeria’s Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga.

By Dara Rhodes HE European Union’s effort to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) was once again soiled as Nigeria refused to accept it.

Discussions over the EPA were delayed in 2012 as fears that lifting tariff barriers could crush budding industries unable to cope with European imports. This then prevented the countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) from concluding on the agreement.

“We spent the last four or five days, with our colleagues in ECOWAS in Cote d’voire looking at an agreement that had been signed by ECOWAS. The whole intention was to endorse it but when we looked at the whole agreement, Nigeria’s view was that ECOWAS was not ready to sign that agreement,” Nigeria’s Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga told CNBC Africa.

This year, Nigeria barred its smaller West African neighbours from accepting

T

the EU’s terms of agreement and at the meeting that ended yesterday, Nigeria vehemently expressed concerns about the countries in the region opening their economies to free trade with the EU. Thus, other West African leaders failed to agree, ending the decade long talks once again.

“We looked at it and we came up with 10 points that had to be addressed before any endorsement. The first point is the fact that when we ran our model, using the market access of the classification of the industries or sectors that will be liberalised we found that based on the model, which is an ECOWAS model, it will lead to significant losses in government revenue,” he explained.

“So it was important that those 10 [points] that were raised by Nigeria and some other members of states had their reservations as well. If we were to go together, as we all want to, if we want to see ourselves as a region that wants to integrate our economies together, it became important that we saw it as one and we reacted to it as one block.”

“We have to negotiate an agreement that

In association with

PHOTO: Omojuwa works for ECOWAS, that works for Nigeria and the countries in ECOWAS. Once we have an agreement that addresses our needs, that does not undermine the regional economic integration that does not undermine the regional aspiration to become an industrialised region,” he said.

In February 2014, Nigeria launched its Industrial Revolution Plan with its core aim to change the country from an importer of most goods to a manufacturing nation that could at least meet some of its domestic needs.

“We believe firmly that in those 15 sectors, where Nigeria can be number one in Africa and in the top 10 global players, it’s important that we are able to develop those industries. It’s important that we do not create a situation where Nigeria and the other ECOWAS countries would become and remain import dependent,” he added.

According to President Goodluck Jonathan, the plan will boost the annual revenue to be earned per annum by Nigerian manufacturers up to five trillion naira and set a new stage of industrial micro, small and medium enterprises in the West African state.

The integrated retailer, who is looking to acquire up to 98 per cent of the issued ordinary shares in JD Group Limited, excluding treasury shares, had originally announced that the tender offer would close on 2 April 2014.

The closing date for the offer however has been extended to 4 April 2014 due to a number of additional requests submitted to Steinhoff to participate in the offer.

“In order to afford such JD Group shareholders the opportunity to participate in the tender offer, and to facilitate the administrative process associated with the tender offer, JD Group shareholders are hereby notified that the closing date will be extended until the close of business on Friday, 4 April 2014,” it said.

“Steinhoff has, up to close of business on 1 April 2014, received notifications of acceptance of the tender offer from a number of JD Group shareholders which, once verified and implemented, will result in Steinhoff increasing its total beneficial interest in JD Group to 86 per cent of the total JD Group issued ordinary shares, excluding treasury shares.”

Steinhoff International Holdings Limited, which already owns 56.8 per cent of the issued JD Group shares, announced its offer to buy the retail and finance consumer business in March.

“JD Group is facing many challenges in the furniture retail and consumer finance business segments. These challenges will take some time and additional capital to overcome,” it had said.

“The increase of Steinhoff’s investment in JD Group, in an expedient manner, will enhance Steinhoff’s ability to support the operations of JD Group.”

Steinhoff International manufactures, sources and retails furniture and household goods.

PHOTO: Getty Images

JEWELLERY ROBBERIES ON THE RISE IN S.AFRICA

By Farhaanah Mahomed South Africa, armed robberies involving IinNjewellery stores have increased by 63 per cent 2013, from 38 incidents to 62.

According to the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA), a member based organisation representing over 11 000 companies in

Jewellery robberies on the rise.

PHOTO: Getty Images

retail, wholesale and manufacturing of consumer goods, financial losses from armed jewellery robberies rose from 12.9 million rand to 16.8 million rand in 2013.

However, with the launch of the Jewellery Risk Initiative Forum by the Consumer Goods Risk initiative (CGRI), CGCSA is aiming to bring down these crime statistics.

“We’ve created a jewellery initiative where the jewellers have joined forces and appointed us.

We are observing, and collecting information and data on all the armed robberies and other incidences occurring in the jewellery space,” James Oosthuizen, head of CGRI told CNBC Africa.

Oosthuizen further explained that once all collected data has been analysed, the CGRI releases its findings in a report which is made available to the consumer goods industries as well as to the South African Police Service.

According to the Jewellery Risk Initiative Fo-

rum, aggravated robberies are becoming a national threat, with the jewellery trade becoming the target of violent crimes.

Oosthuizen explained that jewellery is highly targeted by criminals as it is easy to conceal or change its appearance.

“They [criminals] go for what they could hide easily on their person or that they could sell easily. They could also change the way the jewellery looks. You can melt it down and change its appearance so you can hide where it comes from so it’s more difficult to detect,” he said.

To fight this challenge, the Jewellery Risk Initiative Forum seeks to form effective partnerships between retailers, management and government, and is further designed to enable the sharing of capacities and services among jewellery council member and other stakeholders.

Oosthuizen added that the information sharing with the police has been quite successful as it informs them on which areas or shopping

centres are hotspots for criminal activity.

The CGRI have also developed the Amavuso SMS instant Alert System, a technological innovation that sends out an instant alert to all members of the CGCSA, warnings them about high level crimes occurring in their vicinity.

“Amavuso is linked to the South African Police Service, which uses that as a quick alert system to become aware of certain incidences of crime so we share best practices by means of the Amavuso,” added Oosthuizen.

Once members receive the Amavuso alert message, they must place large amounts of cash in drop safes, ensure that security guards are alerted, and if they see the perpetrators, they need to press their panic buttons immediately to summon the police.

The council believes that the Amavuso system, which means warning in Zulu, is an invaluable weapon in the armoury of both the police and business at all levels.

24

THE GUARDIAN

Friday, April 4, 2014

www.ngrguardiannews.com

INTERVIEW

ESSOME:

Private Equity Is An Asset Class Often Misunderstood In Africa The Africa private Equity and Venture Capital Association, known as AVCA aims to promote, develop and stimulate private equity and venture capital in Africa.

CNBC Africa’s KEIsHA GITArI sat down with Michelle Kathryn Essome, the CEO of AVCA to get her views on this year’s conference and what private equity investment means to the Africa continent.

Why is it important to continually foster a discussion around private equity and venture capital in Africa?

To answer your question, I think it is one asset class that really enables us as Africans – although I’m American, I’ll call myself an Africanto really do it for ourselves. Private equity is effectively growth capital, it’s an investment that’s cash into a privately held company and you become aligned with the owner, the entrepreneur about where you want to take that business and how you want to grow it. It’s not a dead increment, it’s not terribly expensive but it’s really about helping an entrepreneur, a very smart one, grow and scale up a company, so I think it’s a fantastic asset class that can contribute to the development of a lot of African companies. One good example that I always bring- because it’s an asset class that is often misunderstood- we think of leverage buy out, we think of companies shedding jobs when in Africa, that is the opposite.

The theme of this year’s AVCA conference is, Private capital; a catalyst for Change. What do you hope will be the biggest take away from this conference?

When we were thinking about the title, we wanted something that would encapsulate the power of private capital, so we intentionally didn’t choose private equity because increasingly, as the industry is evolving, we are seeing that people are investing in different ways. So private equity through a fund structure, directly into companies, investing in smart entrepreneur, investing in start-ups. The industry in terms of providing capital or FDI- to use an economic term- is the different ways that capital come into Africa and helping to take advantage of investment opportunities or invest for social good. Catalyst for change be social change, economic change, but from the investor’s standpoint, also we want to leave you with idea of strong commercial returns.

Still on your chosen theme, how much of a role can we see playing on Sub-Saharan economic development if it’s made fully accessible?

The statistic quoted earlier is, 17 million SME’s in Nigeria alone. Someone quoted earlier that one of the wonderful things about Nigeria is that, it’s a culture that is extraordinarily, enterprising and innovate. I think that is something you feel almost in the atmosphere. So 17 million SME’s, however, they contribute about one per cent to GDP, so what can be done? If you think about SME’s being the engines for growth, you want that contribution to be as significant as possible. SO, this is where private equity as an asset class can play a big role in venture capital. Image if you have a really great idea, you can go to the bank, but bank debts are quite expensive or you go to a private capitalist and ask for an investment, ask for guidance, strategic advice.

When you look at the growth of private equity on the continent, how is fairing? Can you share some of the numbers with us?

We have a database so we tend to be very close to what’s happening. In terms of deal investments by private equity funds into privately owned companies in Africa, it was about three billion in 2013, about 100 deals and that is about 30 per cent increase over the prior year in 2012. So that is very encouraging because one of the questions that comes up in investors’ minds, where are the transactions? Again, Africa is very much an emerging market, in terms of deals size, its going to be much smaller relative to the US or other developed markets. Sometimes, there are concerns about whether there are enough deals for the fund manager, but the absolute truth is,

the opportunities are tremendous. If you think about the sectors, infrastructure, roads, power, ports, different sectors to facilitate trade, the demographics of the continent, the young population, for a consumer product company, that is millions of products you can sell. FMCG, retail, healthcare, financial services, mobile money, and the opportunity is huge. I’m a bit biased because I run the trade association but I don’t think there is another opportunity with the breath of opportunity that Africa has.

What are some of the risks associated with private equity in Africa and how do we address these so that we can boost investor confidence?

I think that as an investor in emerging markets, traditional investors looking at Africa, have invested in Latin America or Asia, so there’s an awareness of the due diligence that one should do when

looking at emerging and frontier markets. I think you need to apply those same mechanisms, I think another way that risk can be mitigated is to really understand the landscape. Come to Africa, visit, visit portfolio companies, meet the people, visit management, do a lot of due diligence. I think thirdly, speaking with development finance institutions who have been investing in Africa for decades. They have an experience, they’ve invested through conflicts and post conflict and they can really impart their knowledge.

Also as investors, they also have commercial goals so there is commonality there. I think fourthly, is making sure you invest with someone that has a good track record.

How is the appetite for institutional private equity in Africa?

I think it’s a really exciting time and I am very optimistic about it because more

and more institutional investor’s foundations endowments, public Pension funds, Sovereign wealth funds, are getting excited. They are getting in contact with AVCA, reading our research, they are asking which fund managers should they invest in, they are traveling to Africa and I feel that the more they do that, they’ll naturally, subconsciously, spread the message. Also, I think if you look at the private equity eco-system, its growing. So you have not just the development finance institutions which gave birth to the industry but you have this whole creation of the funder funds who are connecting with endowments or helping them do manager diversification and manager selection. Africa is one continent with so many countries and as an investor, who has maybe thought of Africa as one country in the past, it’s kind of daunting. I think it’s very exciting that there are many different pathways to invest and smart, intelligent eyes are looking to Africa.

ARROWHEAD LOOKING TO ACQUIRE VIVIDEND ISSUED LINKS tions and will allow Arrowhead to acquire control of Vividend’s portfolio of commercial, industrial and retail properties, valued at approximately two billion rand, that is complimentary to its own portfolio,” it said.

Vividend indicated that it was approached by Arrowhead Properties Limited, following the company’s acquisition of Vividend Manco.

“Vividend management have advised the Vividend independent board of certain structural changes in the listed property sector recently which have negatively impacted investor sentiment, specifically towards small-mid cap, illiquid property stocks and as a consequence the ability of Vividend to continue to acquire property on a Arrowhead Properties Limited holds a diverse portfolio of retail, industrial and commercial buildings. non-dilutive basis,” said the income fund.

PHOTO: Getty Images “Given those factors, the Vividend independent ment to be proposed by the independent board board believes that it is in the interests of ViviBy Nicole Cassandra Naidoo of directors of Vividend Income Fund Limited or dend and Vividend linked unit holders that they RROWHEAD Properties Limited has entered by means of a voluntary general offer extended to be given the opportunity to consider the proposed transaction.” into an implementation agreement to acall Vividend linked unit holders. quire all the issued linked units in Vividend.

“The transaction contemplated in the scheme is The scheme, should it be implemented, will entiThis is expected to be done by means of one or in line with Arrowhead’s investment strategy of tle those persons who are recorded in the securities register of Vividend on the scheme record more indivisibly linked schemes of arrangeonly making distribution enhancing acquisidate, to receive the scheme consideration.

A

BARLOWORLD DISPOSES OF AUSTRALIAN MOTOR INTERESTS

By Nicole Cassandra Naidoo ARLOWORLD Limited announced on Tuesday that it sold the remainder of its Australian motor retail interests.

The international brands distributor, which also provides integrated rental, fleet management, product support and logistics solutions, sold its interests to Australian automotive businessman, Nick Politis.

The transaction is effective 31 March 2014 and follows the sale of the Ferntree Gully dealership, which was concluded on 31 October 2013.

“These transactions were concluded at net asset value plus a premium for goodwill and realised combined net proceeds, after settling outstanding debt, of approximately 1.3 billion rand,” Barloworld Limited said.

B

“The cash will be used to reduce Barloworld group net debt in the short term and to fund strategic growth opportunities in the medium term.”

Barloworld recently reported a rise in revenue to 65.1 billion rand for the 12 months ended 30 September 2013 from 58.5 billion rand for the same period in 2012.

“The automotive and logistics division delivered a strong result with all business units performing well ahead of the prior year,” Barloworld chief executive, Clive Thomson had said.

“We continued our strategy of allocating capital to higher returning businesses and were successful in concluding a number of important acquisitions and disposals in the period.

These will position us well for the future and

we expect to make further progress in the year ahead.”

Barloworld Limited provides integrated rental, fleet management, product support and logistics solutions.

PHOTO: Getty Images

24

THE GUARDIAN

Friday, April 4, 2014

www.ngrguardiannews.com

INTERVIEW

ESSOME:

Private Equity Is An Asset Class Often Misunderstood In Africa The Africa private Equity and Venture Capital Association, known as AVCA aims to promote, develop and stimulate private equity and venture capital in Africa.

CNBC Africa’s KEIsHA GITArI sat down with Michelle Kathryn Essome, the CEO of AVCA to get her views on this year’s conference and what private equity investment means to the Africa continent.

Why is it important to continually foster a discussion around private equity and venture capital in Africa?

To answer your question, I think it is one asset class that really enables us as Africans – although I’m American, I’ll call myself an Africanto really do it for ourselves. Private equity is effectively growth capital, it’s an investment that’s cash into a privately held company and you become aligned with the owner, the entrepreneur about where you want to take that business and how you want to grow it. It’s not a dead increment, it’s not terribly expensive but it’s really about helping an entrepreneur, a very smart one, grow and scale up a company, so I think it’s a fantastic asset class that can contribute to the development of a lot of African companies. One good example that I always bring- because it’s an asset class that is often misunderstood- we think of leverage buy out, we think of companies shedding jobs when in Africa, that is the opposite.

The theme of this year’s AVCA conference is, Private capital; a catalyst for Change. What do you hope will be the biggest take away from this conference?

When we were thinking about the title, we wanted something that would encapsulate the power of private capital, so we intentionally didn’t choose private equity because increasingly, as the industry is evolving, we are seeing that people are investing in different ways. So private equity through a fund structure, directly into companies, investing in smart entrepreneur, investing in start-ups. The industry in terms of providing capital or FDI- to use an economic term- is the different ways that capital come into Africa and helping to take advantage of investment opportunities or invest for social good. Catalyst for change be social change, economic change, but from the investor’s standpoint, also we want to leave you with idea of strong commercial returns.

Still on your chosen theme, how much of a role can we see playing on Sub-Saharan economic development if it’s made fully accessible?

The statistic quoted earlier is, 17 million SME’s in Nigeria alone. Someone quoted earlier that one of the wonderful things about Nigeria is that, it’s a culture that is extraordinarily, enterprising and innovate. I think that is something you feel almost in the atmosphere. So 17 million SME’s, however, they contribute about one per cent to GDP, so what can be done? If you think about SME’s being the engines for growth, you want that contribution to be as significant as possible. SO, this is where private equity as an asset class can play a big role in venture capital. Image if you have a really great idea, you can go to the bank, but bank debts are quite expensive or you go to a private capitalist and ask for an investment, ask for guidance, strategic advice.

When you look at the growth of private equity on the continent, how is fairing? Can you share some of the numbers with us?

We have a database so we tend to be very close to what’s happening. In terms of deal investments by private equity funds into privately owned companies in Africa, it was about three billion in 2013, about 100 deals and that is about 30 per cent increase over the prior year in 2012. So that is very encouraging because one of the questions that comes up in investors’ minds, where are the transactions? Again, Africa is very much an emerging market, in terms of deals size, its going to be much smaller relative to the US or other developed markets. Sometimes, there are concerns about whether there are enough deals for the fund manager, but the absolute truth is,

the opportunities are tremendous. If you think about the sectors, infrastructure, roads, power, ports, different sectors to facilitate trade, the demographics of the continent, the young population, for a consumer product company, that is millions of products you can sell. FMCG, retail, healthcare, financial services, mobile money, and the opportunity is huge. I’m a bit biased because I run the trade association but I don’t think there is another opportunity with the breath of opportunity that Africa has.

What are some of the risks associated with private equity in Africa and how do we address these so that we can boost investor confidence?

I think that as an investor in emerging markets, traditional investors looking at Africa, have invested in Latin America or Asia, so there’s an awareness of the due diligence that one should do when

looking at emerging and frontier markets. I think you need to apply those same mechanisms, I think another way that risk can be mitigated is to really understand the landscape. Come to Africa, visit, visit portfolio companies, meet the people, visit management, do a lot of due diligence. I think thirdly, speaking with development finance institutions who have been investing in Africa for decades. They have an experience, they’ve invested through conflicts and post conflict and they can really impart their knowledge.

Also as investors, they also have commercial goals so there is commonality there. I think fourthly, is making sure you invest with someone that has a good track record.

How is the appetite for institutional private equity in Africa?

I think it’s a really exciting time and I am very optimistic about it because more

and more institutional investor’s foundations endowments, public Pension funds, Sovereign wealth funds, are getting excited. They are getting in contact with AVCA, reading our research, they are asking which fund managers should they invest in, they are traveling to Africa and I feel that the more they do that, they’ll naturally, subconsciously, spread the message. Also, I think if you look at the private equity eco-system, its growing. So you have not just the development finance institutions which gave birth to the industry but you have this whole creation of the funder funds who are connecting with endowments or helping them do manager diversification and manager selection. Africa is one continent with so many countries and as an investor, who has maybe thought of Africa as one country in the past, it’s kind of daunting. I think it’s very exciting that there are many different pathways to invest and smart, intelligent eyes are looking to Africa.

ARROWHEAD LOOKING TO ACQUIRE VIVIDEND ISSUED LINKS tions and will allow Arrowhead to acquire control of Vividend’s portfolio of commercial, industrial and retail properties, valued at approximately two billion rand, that is complimentary to its own portfolio,” it said.

Vividend indicated that it was approached by Arrowhead Properties Limited, following the company’s acquisition of Vividend Manco.

“Vividend management have advised the Vividend independent board of certain structural changes in the listed property sector recently which have negatively impacted investor sentiment, specifically towards small-mid cap, illiquid property stocks and as a consequence the ability of Vividend to continue to acquire property on a Arrowhead Properties Limited holds a diverse portfolio of retail, industrial and commercial buildings. non-dilutive basis,” said the income fund.

PHOTO: Getty Images “Given those factors, the Vividend independent ment to be proposed by the independent board board believes that it is in the interests of ViviBy Nicole Cassandra Naidoo of directors of Vividend Income Fund Limited or dend and Vividend linked unit holders that they RROWHEAD Properties Limited has entered by means of a voluntary general offer extended to be given the opportunity to consider the proposed transaction.” into an implementation agreement to acall Vividend linked unit holders. quire all the issued linked units in Vividend.

“The transaction contemplated in the scheme is The scheme, should it be implemented, will entiThis is expected to be done by means of one or in line with Arrowhead’s investment strategy of tle those persons who are recorded in the securities register of Vividend on the scheme record more indivisibly linked schemes of arrangeonly making distribution enhancing acquisidate, to receive the scheme consideration.

A

BARLOWORLD DISPOSES OF AUSTRALIAN MOTOR INTERESTS

By Nicole Cassandra Naidoo ARLOWORLD Limited announced on Tuesday that it sold the remainder of its Australian motor retail interests.

The international brands distributor, which also provides integrated rental, fleet management, product support and logistics solutions, sold its interests to Australian automotive businessman, Nick Politis.

The transaction is effective 31 March 2014 and follows the sale of the Ferntree Gully dealership, which was concluded on 31 October 2013.

“These transactions were concluded at net asset value plus a premium for goodwill and realised combined net proceeds, after settling outstanding debt, of approximately 1.3 billion rand,” Barloworld Limited said.

B

“The cash will be used to reduce Barloworld group net debt in the short term and to fund strategic growth opportunities in the medium term.”

Barloworld recently reported a rise in revenue to 65.1 billion rand for the 12 months ended 30 September 2013 from 58.5 billion rand for the same period in 2012.

“The automotive and logistics division delivered a strong result with all business units performing well ahead of the prior year,” Barloworld chief executive, Clive Thomson had said.

“We continued our strategy of allocating capital to higher returning businesses and were successful in concluding a number of important acquisitions and disposals in the period.

These will position us well for the future and

we expect to make further progress in the year ahead.”

Barloworld Limited provides integrated rental, fleet management, product support and logistics solutions.

PHOTO: Getty Images

Friday, April 4, 2014 ARTS 27

THE GUARDIANwww.ngrguardiannews.com

Theatre With Belong, practitioners urge corporate support for live theatre

By Anote Ajeluorou and Omiko Awa HILE music, comedy and even movies are W enjoying considerable endorsement and outright sponsorship from corporate organisations in the country and their performers and practitioners made ambassadors of this or that, live theatre continues to reel in neglect. This is in spite of theatre’s multiple roles as mass educator, mass mobiliser that galvanises public opinion and action and ideals’ moulder. Theatre continues to be an orphan left to die in the sun and rain and in dire poverty and want and lack of patronage. This is also in spite of theatre’s ability to deliver spectacle and magic, with its flamboyance of superlative acting, mesmerising dances and fine delivery of lines that speak truth to its generation, and even power.

Not even the presence of powerful actors on the turf like ageless Taiwo Ajayi-Lycett, irresistible Joke Silver, delectable pair of Kate Henshaw and Bimbo Akintola, suave Bimbo Manuel and Jude Orhora and many other brilliant star actors has succeeded in creating the needed excitement to woo sponsors to the aid of live theatre. Perhaps, the closest live theatre came to actually getting corporate support last year was Mrs. Bolanle Austin-Peters’ Saro the Musical. Also perhaps, her marketing strategy and media blitz made Saro a sell-out performance, which is exactly what those in the game are incapable of pulling off.

Apart from a loose association, National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP), its states’ chapters and a few play groups – Renegade Theatre, Crown Troupe of Africa, Lagos Theatre Festival, FESTINA, Jos Repertoire Theatre, Live Theatre and one or two others, there’s hardly any form of sensitisation of the public by way of seminars and workshops to bring theatre close to those with resources for its sustenance and survival.

And so, as Belong opens this Easter starting from April 18-20 at The Marquee, Federal Palace Hotel, with C o m m a n d Performance on Good Friday, April 18 and three shows each on Saturday and Sunday, it’s the hope of the produce r ,

Alibaba

Oni

Ajayi-Lycett

Mr. Sola Adenuga and the director, Tosan Ugbeye that potential sponsors would have begun to shed entrenched apathy towards live theatre and come to their aid for a resounding performance. With a star cast parading the likes of Ajayi-Lycett, Akintola, O.C. Okeje, Toyin Oshinaike, Tunji Sotimirin and Dolapo Oni, it’s the hope of the producer that Belong would begin to rewrite the rules in corporate sponsorship of live theatre, as audiences would see another side of theatre on display. Other cast members include Opeyemi dada and Nwachukwu Emeka.

Belong is written by Nigeria’s Bola Agbaje based in the U.K. and has as theme the question of identity, politics, love and loyalty. With 2015 elections around the corner, Adenuga said at a press briefing that staging Belong is a timely production, as it mirrors what happens to Nigerians abroad, their aspirations and failures and consequent recognition that home would always be home and the best place to be for fulfilment of destiny. He also said Belong is somewhat a reflection of the crosscarpeting of politicians from one party to another currently on-going in the country. However, the sort of cross-carpeting in the play is one of crossing from overseas back home where Nigerians truly belong so as to be part of the solutions to the country’s problems. Belong is also about personal relationships, with everyone questing for something they just can’t get, something unattainable.

For the cast and crew, Belong, which could easily have been titled Home or Homecoming, is a must-see performance because the talented playwright has invested so much creative ingenuity into crafting something unique and enduring for the stage. The actors’ excitement at being called to duty was overflowing. According to AjayiLycett, who started her acting career in London, “This is going to be amazing and exciting. I’m looking forward to working with the director, Ugbeye. Our writer is a rising star; we have

a gem in the playwright. I had my debut at The Royal Court Theatre, London, where Agbaje is perfecting her craft. I want to let you know how lucky I am to be working on this sort of project; it’s a déjà vu!”

For Akintola, Belong is like homecoming, as she noted, “This is a coming home for me, going to the theatre”. Oshinaike was also happy at this positive collaboration with a Nigerian abroad, saying it wasn’t the usual talking down on locals that often takes place.

He stated, “This play gives us opportunity to do stuff at Easter for our nation’s rebirth.

Good we’re doing something on the political, about governance, especially by someone coming from abroad. The play creates a balance of something coming from abroad; it’s an opportunity we welcome”.

Although Sotimirin said he missed working with Agbaje when he was doing a research in London the last time, Belong gives him a chance to redress that and that he “was glad to be connecting with theatre family again. It must be a profound decision making me part of it. At the realm of culture, economics and politics, it’s about how we can resolve our problems by way of identity. I’m pleased professionals are coming together to ‘belong’ and correct all those anomalies through the theatre. This is a platform that will help to correct things”.

OWEVER, one issue that wouldn’t go away H at the briefing was the continuing lack of corporate support for the theatre in spite of its ability to incorporate other forms of entertainment (music, dance, spectacle, comedy and tactile visual reality or video, with actors sometimes co-mingling with audience and making the audience part of the show) deliver real time within its lifespan. While AjayiLycett and Ugbeye tasked the media to do more to promote plays and upcoming productions and also blamed poor funding for producers’ inability to do extensive promotions, Adenuga blamed poor perception and understanding of what theatre represents in the life of a people as reason for its neglect.

According to the producer, who also works in advertising environment, said he was still struggling to get sponsors for Belong. He added, “Brand managers in companies and media buyers in advertising agencies don’t look at theatre, as something to promote, something to put their money on. This is wrong because of the aggregate value theatre delivers. Brand people need to look towards theatre for consumer behaviour. There’s deficiency of sponsors in theatre; we actually beg to be sponsored by advertisers”.

Director of Belong, Ugbeye, said, “Theatre to sponsors is like charity, but this should not be so. Theatre is more than just entertainment.

Please, invest in us; we have something in us

Sotimirin

Ukeje for you to take away”.

Oshinaike also argued that there was more to theatre than mere entertainment, as “it responds profoundly to social ills and helps dissect real issues. A country without theatre is a voiceless country”.

Ajayi-Lycett couldn’t understand why ignorance about the value of theatre has persisted for this long. She said the stardom syndrome, which music and Nollywood generate had blinded a majority to the enduring value of theatre, noting, “We should question the stardom syndrome in us that delivers nothing real. Theatre is all about substance. We entertain, educate and also mesmerise. Those in America’s Hollywood rush to Western theatres to learn the skills of acting. Those in Nollywood should start from the theatre to better their lot, as actors”.

For Sotimirin, theatre practitioners needed to come together more often, adding, “We need to highlight what we do more than ever before”. This way he hoped to deepen the value of theatre among the populace and also among those with the resources to lift it from its present orphaned status. That way also the staging of Belong this Easter and other productions in the country would begin to play their proper roles as moulders of society’s moral values through theatre’s ability to mobilise towards common good. This is more so, as election year is around the corner, with everyone looking to the entrenchment of good governance and resourceful leadership so those who ‘belong’ wouldn’t need to run away from the country to seek greener pastures abroad!

THe GUArDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

28 ArTS Friday, April 4, 2014

visualArts In Ghariokwu’s African Icon Series, Mandela shines Stories by Tajudeen Sowole FrICANIST and design artist, Lemi GharA iokwu’s penchant for iconic themes of African descents keeps blossoming just as his new period, coined “afro art beat”, has taken a leap from what used to be the artist’s afro pop art identity.

Unavoidably, Ghariokwu ‘s four decades career as a designer has largely celebrated the Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. But of recent, the artist who has imbibed activism contents of the arts from his professional relationship with the late maverick musician has been dragging more legends onto his canvas. He calls the new set of works, African Iconic Series. rendered in his new identity, “Afro Art Beat” some of the subjects include Malcom X, Mandela, Chinua Achebe, Bob Marley Fela, Barack Obama, Chinua Achebe, Biafran warlord, Odumigwu Ojukwu and Nina Simone.

“Our art needs to promote African heroes,” he told his guest during a chat inside his studio, in Palmgrove, Lagos. He just completed a piece on former South African President, Nelson Mandela. It’s a collage portrait, with newspaper cuttings of Mandela-related reproduced texts and images, creating a three dimensional illusion.

Titled Moral Capital, the work is rendered in black and white of large size into one portraiture, summarising a man whose life was one of the most eventful in the 20th century. Ghariokwu’s technique of a softened background and bolder foreground of collages sandwiches a profile angle shot of Mandela, perhaps, showcases the legend in a rare portraiture composite.

Ghariokwu noted that the legends of African descents that he chooses to highlight in his art have one thing in common. “They challenge the system and establishments of their time.”

He therefore asked? “Why can’t artists of today use art in similar way?” He cited Fela as an example by arguing that his music was not just a representation of the environment he lived in then. “His music critiqued and challenged the system.” But not so the visual artists, “art is too isolated,” he stressed.

In his last three shows, which came in quick successions, some of the icons featured included Malcom X, Marley, Fela, Obama, Achebe, and Simone at the artist’s Art’s Own

Lemi Ghariokwu’s Moral Capital portraiture of Nelson Mandela Kind show, organized by Ugoma Adegoke-led The Life House and Bloom Gallery at Didi Museum, last year; Ojukwu, Fela and Mandela in the red Door Gallery’s debut of Ghariokwu’s PoLemi-Cs; and the same gallery’s London version titled Po-Lemi-Cs 2.0, under The Art energy Series of Zircon Marine, which was held last month.

Quite unusual to see Ghariokwu’s exhibitions in such a back-to-back outing; he was hardly the gallery or public kind of artist. In fact Lemi did not have his first art exhibition until about 25 years into his career. The debut show tiled

Welkom 2 Lay-ghus and curated by Paschal Lettelier was held at Mason de France, Ikoyi, Lagos in November 2001. Between 2003 and now, some of his exhibitions included Black President: The Art and Legacy of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, at Museum of Contemporary Art, New York in 2003; DEMOCRAZY, 3 Solo Exhibitions and a Publication at Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA), Lagos; and “Documentation is crucial,” he explained, noting that icons are created not just by the activities of the celebrated individual, also through

adequate documentations of their works. “This is what I have learnt from my work experience with Fela.”

He recalled that Fela, consciously, had nearly every aspect of his works, including his personal life documented, to an extent that he employed a photographer, Femi Osunla, permanently.”

Indeed, given the volume of photographs of Fela - on and off the stage – currently in circulation, Ghariokwu argued that the Afrobeat legend was more photographed, than even some western artistes of his generation.

For Ghariokwu’s art, which has navigated through a sea of materials, over four decades, keeping his new concept of African Icons in tomorrow’s memory comes with challenge.

The regular paint on canvas or ink on paper work, as resilient as they have proven over the ages, seems unattractive to the artist, in the traditional usage of such medium. In the last few years, Ghariokwu has been applying a hybridised of arylic with vinyl. But managing vinyl, particularly, for art such as the icon series that could end up as museum pieces “is complex.” Alternative and resilient medium, he disclosed, is “aluminum composite panel.”

With Ghariokwu’s African Icon series, which is taking the patterns of his Fela themes, another Andy Warhol is, perhaps, in the making. Like the American legendary artist whose works include nearly all the known celebrities across music, movies and politics, Ghariokwu is using his canvas to document great personalities of African decents.

For TKMG auction, masters’ old themes chase the mega bucks HOever is still in doubt of the Austen-Peters and Sinmidele AdeW prospect of Nigeria’s second- sanya of TKMG assured that the aucary art market may need to see how tion continues the mission of the

the established masters are making strong appreciation from their old themes.

Such masters like el Anatsui, Abayomi Barber, Bruce Onobrakpeya, Kolade Oshinowo as well as Abiodun Olaku are lifting the status of the Nigerian secondary art market, so suggests the texture some of the lots for next auction of TKMG. In it’s seventh edition, which starts with preview from Sunday, April 6 to Thursday and auction on Friday, 11, 2014 at Intercontinental Hotel, victoria Island, Lagos, TKMG will be presenting what it describes as “exquisite pieces of art.”

An acronym of Terra Kulture Mydrim Gallery, TKMG, which has been one of the consistent windows for artists, old and young, is also featuring auction debutants in this year’s edition. Some of the new names include Badejo Abiodun.

Oyewole Olufemi, Isaac Goriola and Abiola Idowu During a media preview, Bolanle

partnership “to lead the Nigerian art market into the world stage and build investor confidence in the art market,” generally. They noted that the past six auctions have “helped in promoting new collectors, who are inspired by the activities on the auction floor.”

Among the works of the masters expected to go under the auctioneer, Yinka Akinkugbe’s hammer are Anatsui’s wood panel Untitled, Barber’s Farmer/;s Dream, Onobrakpeya’s Iso Ore Ri Canaan (Red Base). Kolade Oshinowo’s At the Party and Olaku’s Fade Out. For Anatsui, his wood period of over two decades would not go away, at least at auctions in Lagos, so suggests a 1987 triptych featuring in the TKMG auction as one of the favourites for the top of the sales. Another Anatsui, which the auction house said “is dated 2013” also confirms that the artist’s wood period is not ready to give way for the soft metal era currently boosting his profile at the auction markets

and art galleries abroad. Anatsui’s On the mix of artists across the cent for the masters and 15 for the two works, Adesanya assured “may ages, the lots, according to Austen- new artists,” while the rest slot goes compete for the auction’s highest Peters are spread among “20 per- to the regular and established names. sales.”

Similarly, Barber’s Landscape Series of subtle surrealism and Dream Series keep returning at auctions. For example, from an older work Pipe’s Dream, the Octogenarian’s series of the same theme seems to be sprouting from old collections.

The TKMG’s new auction venue, Intercontinental Hotel is using the opportunity of the sales to create awareness for its charity project, the auction house disclosed. “Proceeds from the sales of one of the lots will go to the International Hotel’s Shelter in a Storm charity.”

With a new brand name of TKMG, the auction house seems to be saying that the partnership works, having added value to the secondary market since inception fewer years ago. “We are not really blowing our trumpet, but hope to attract wider clients,” Adesanya said. She argued that the 90 lots going into the auction, is an ideal mix of old and new A Painting from the Landscape Series of Abayomi Barber among the lots for the TKMG auction artists.”

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Friday, April 4, 2014 ARTS

29

Tourism From Bridget Chiedu Onochie, Abuja

T

HE just concluded International Tourism Fair (ITB Berlin) would be remembered, not only for introducing innovations in travels and tours but also for championing campaign against human trafficking through tourism.

Tagged Your Actions Count — Be a Responsible Traveller, the forum served to raise awareness about the most common illicit goods and services that tourists might be exposed to while travelling.

The segment attracted human rights related international agencies including The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

They all collaborated in engaging tourists in the global fight against illicit trafficking in persons, wildlife and artefacts.

UNWTO Secretary General, Taleb Rifai, UNODC Executive Director, Yury Fedotov and UNESCO Director General, Irina Bokova, co-chaired the segment while key panelists included the chairman, World Committee on Tourism and Ethics and former Director General, World Trade Organization, Pascal Lamy, the Executive Vice President and Chief Global Communications and Public Affairs Officer, Marriott Hotels International, Kathleen Matthews as well as the President, Sabre Hospitality Solutions, Alex Alt. The campaign provided guidance to recognize possible situations of trafficking in persons, wildlife, artefacts, illicit drugs and counterfeit goods, and invited travelers to take action through responsible consumer choices.

“Tourists are global citizens and with over one billion tourists moving around the world every year, they must become a force for good.

“Making the right ethical choice as consumer reduces the demand for illegal products and contributes to preserve natural and cultural assets that form an invaluable part of the heritage of the communities and people we visit.” said Rifai.

Fedotov in his contribution emphasized the need to inform travellers about where their money ends up when buying illicit products.

He said: “Travellers have a responsibility not to contribute to the profits being generated through organized crime.

“Whether it relates to the sale of people, animal products, drugs, cultural artefacts or counterfeit goods, it is important that travellers fully understand the exploitative nature of these activities.

“Awareness campaigns such as this one are critical if potential consumers are to be informed about the adverse effects of their purchasing decisions,” he said.

UNESCO Director General, Bokova, stressed that protecting cultural heritage is inseparable from protecting people. “Tourists are easy targets for dealers selling cultural artefacts of doubtful provenance,” he said.

Continuing: “They are usually unaware that these ‘souvenirs’ may be stolen heritage, ripped away from their original settings, illegally excavated from archeological sites or traded by unscrupulous individuals offering meagre payment.

“Their loss can inflict great damage and sorrow on their rightful owners, for whom such items are an intrinsic part of their cultural identities and values.”

“Your Actions Count - Be a Responsible Travelers will contribute to the UN’s goal of combating organized crime as well as upholding the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism”.

The campaign was launched with the support of Marriott International and Sabre Holdings, the first tourism companies to partner in the project.

Held in Berlin Messe, Germany, the tourism market generally brought together over 10,147 exhibitors from across 189 countries around the world.

According to the Chief Executive Officer, Messe Berlin, Dr. Christian Goke, the number marked an increase of four per cent in both visitors and business volume when compared to the previous year’s figure.

This increase, coupled with the initiation of two new programmes - ITB Summit with over 600 delegates as well as IBT Innovations, which provided an overview of over 100 travels and marketing innovations, may have informed Goke’s comment that “never before was there such an emphasis on innovation as at this year’s ITB Berlin.”

He added that the mood among exhibitors was one of euphoria, which was felt everywhere on the exhibition ground.

About 170 exhibitors showcased tourism innovation products at the travel technology segment of the market. The segment focused on software

• Showcasing innovations in travels as private sector dominates market

Mrs Sally Mbanefo with Nigerian delegation being presented with a painting by a Nigerian artist and designer, Adedayo Babalola, resident in Belgium. He was at the expo and he presented the portrait in recognition of Mbanefo’s drive at promoting Nigerian tourism. for the hotel industry, travel agencies, destinations and tour operators.

Greece, Spain, Mexico and Italy were among countries that dominated the market with large number of exhibitors from the private sector.

The Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) led by its Director General, Sally Mbanefo represented Nigeria.

The delegation, within three days of the market, explored opportunities of meeting with operators in tourism industry.

Not only did it woo investors and seek foreign collaboration in the development of tourism products and destinations in Nigeria, lots of lessons were learnt, especially on the relationship between public and private sector operators in the industry.

Mbanefo and her team specifically toured European and Asian stands, where they marketed Nigeria’s numerous destinations, festivals, rich and diverse cultures as well as the hospitable people of Nigeria.

Among her success stories was the ability to convince a Turkish hotel owner, who operates eight five star hotels in Turkey to come and invest in Nigeria.

Although the owner of Vera Hotels and Resorts was initially skeptical about coming to invest in Nigeria because of perceived insecurity, he was however briefed on the benefit of investing in a country with large population such as Nigeria.

The signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be done later in the year.

Of significant interest to NTDC however was the deep involvement of private sector at the fair. A visit to some countries’ pavilions revealed a private sector-driven tourism industry at work.

They not only exhibited on the stands of their various countries and regions but also hosted their own displays in the halls.

There were products and service providers including hotel owners, travel and tour operators, health and fitness service providers, food nutrition experts as well as communication technology operators with social media and mobile travel services as part of visitors’ attractions.

At the end of the fair, NTDC boss, who was attending the Berlin market for the first time having been appointed last year, admitted that her fact-finding mission was fruitful.

According to her, vital lessons were learnt from her tour of stands across the 26 halls of exhibition centre. She noted that although she was at the

World Travel Market in London late last year, she was not as privileged to tour exhibition ground as she was in the just concluded Berlin fair.

One of the lessons learnt, she said, was the role of private sectors in marketing respective countries at the exhibition. She regretted that Nigeria’s vibrant private sector tourism operators have not been availing themselves of the opportunity of participating in such profitable outing.

She said: “The first lesson we learnt was that such conferences should not be monopolized by NTDC. It is not a project that should be done by government alone.

“The fair was an eye opener. We went into the halls and from the beginning to the end one was occupied by various private sectors from Italy. We went to another hall, it was Turkey from beginning to the end. We entered another hall, it was the whole of France.

“We met with all the private sectors from Italy, France, Turkey and other countries and we interviewed them. They were not from the government but they were representing their different countries.

“So, the main lesson we have learnt here was that we have not been doing our travels market properly. It was not an ego trip for NTDC. It is rather a showcasing of Nigeria’s private sectors and their assets. We are talking about inviting foreigners to come and invest in Nigeria.

“Nigerian private sector is very sophisticated but people don’t know. It is only those foreigners who come here that understand. That is the reason they don’t want to return home at the end of their official assignment.

Although Mbanefo’s major focus has been on the development of domestic tourism, she pledged to also embark on an aggressive campaign to win the loyalty of the private sector operators in the industry.

She emphasized the need for collaboration between public and private in order to raise Nigeria’s profile at international forums.

She said “If there is no value to be gained from foreign trips, we don’t embark on it. That was what we did at the London World Tourism Market. We took something home. I met with Ministers of Tourism from Malawi, Ghana, The Gambia, Sierra-Leone and Liberia.

“They sat with me and I talked about regional tourism brand. They were excited to hear that because while East Africa has a tourism brand, West

Africa doesn’t. That is what we are looking at; collaboration with the regional tourism partners in West Africa.

“The campaign for the private sector would be an on-going project. We are talking about it already but a lot of media campaign has to go into it. The private sector needs to be shaken up. They stand to benefit if tourism is given recognition.

“My experience was a clear demonstration of the fact that private sector operators from each of the participating countries took ownership of their countries’ sales. Very successful businessmen were in attendance on behalf of their countries.

“So, it is a lesson for the private sector and for me and I will not relent in the campaign. I am a product of the private sector and I will plead with the operators in the industry not to abandon me or let me fail because my failure would be their failure and if I am a success, it is their success as well”.

Mexico was this year’s official partner country.

The excitement of the partnership and the euphoria of a friendly weather brought out the best in Mexican artists as they thrilled visitors with entertainment programmes including fascinating multimedia show which highlighted the country’s cultural treasures.

The excited Minister of Tourism, Mexico, Claudia Ruiz Massieu said: “Mexico shares its joy and satisfaction at the results of ITB. As the partner country in 2014, it was a great opportunity to showcase our country and destinations.

“ITB Berlin is the most important platform for tourism and we were able to show a sophisticated, modern and diverse Mexico.”

There was also a forum on Africa and its possibility of exploring the luxury tourism potentials in the continent.

Noting that the concept of luxury was becoming dynamic, it was generally accepted at the forum that classic status goods and services were losing relevance while calmness, solitude, authenticity, sensuality, nature and space, which Africa holds are gaining importance.

According to the chairman of the forum, Prof. Dr. Juergen Chemide, what the new tourists really expect and how tourist destination such as Africa can optimally exploit the market opportunities is the latest challenge for the continent.

Next year’s fair will run between March 4 and 8 with Mongolia as the official partner country.

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

30 ARTS Friday, April 4, 2014

Literature Civil litigation in print Review

By Ernest Ojukwu OCUMENTS IN LITIGATION D (Volumes 1 and 2) is a publication of nearly 800 pages each containing digests of cases and materials relating to what the author describes as “the core documents practitioners have cause to institute action upon or defend in court.” Hon. Justice P.A. Onamade of Ogun State High Court authored the volumes. He had also written Guide to Words, Phrases and Doctrines in Nigerian Law Volume 1 (1991); Cases and Materials on Offences Relating to Property (1998); Documentary Evidence: Cases and Materials Vol.1 (2002); Guide to Words, Phrases and Doctrines in Nigerian Law Vol. 2 (2003); Advocacy in Election Petitions (2007); Cases and Materials on Criminal Law (2008); Advocacy in Election Petitions, Practice Directions and Removal of Public Office Holders (2010); Documentary Evidence: Cases and Materials Vol. 2 (2012); as well as Cases and Materials on the New High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules (2013) The firs volume treats issues such as case digests on documentary evidence generally; pre-action notice; originating and other processes; the undefended list; preliminary objection; interlocutory applications; contract; power of attorney; agency; and contract of guarantee. While Volume 2 covers mortgage; master and servant; termination of employment; landlord and tenant; banking; admiralty; matrimonial causes; defamation; garnishee proceedings; and wills.

This work is a full library of judicial decisions and opinions for lawyers that focus on civil litigation, and judges and scholars who by their roles must undertake research.

However the contents do not seem to be properly addressed by the title of the book, Documents in Litigation. The author declares at the Preface that “The contents of the two volumes ... should constitute about 80 per cent of the core documents that are litigated upon or defended in civil cases.”

It seems that a title such as Case Digest on Civil Litigation or Digest of Cases on Civil Litigation may aptly connect the reader to the enormous work presented in the book. The reader would actually not identify “documents that are litigated upon” as the subject of this work.

If one reads, Chapter 2 of Volume 1 on Pre-action Notice for example, one will notice that many case digests have been documented covering detailed information on pre-action notice. The chapter provides insight on what amounts to pre-action notice; its purpose; how it affects the jurisdiction of courts; its contents; nature; and effect.

Chapter three is on originating and other processes. The case digest covered in this chapter includes judicial principles relating to writ of summons and other originating processes, pleading, memorandum of appearance, and filing and service of court processes.

Chapter four deals with the Undefended List.

The author controversially introduces this chapter with the following statement: “The undefended list procedure is a truncated form

o f ordinary civil hearing peculiar to our adversary system where the ordinary hearing is rendered unnecessary due in the main to the absence of an issue to be tried or the quantum of the plaintiff’s claim disputed to necessitate such a hearing.”

The statement appears controversial because it does not explain the reference to “absence of an issue to be tried” as the reason why the undefended list procedure is resorted to since this may be interpreted to mean that there is no cause of action.

Issues examined here include the principles of undefended list lazed with many judicial opinions. The reader must be mindful of the application of some of those principles to particular jurisdictions in Nigeria as some High Court Rules have worded their own Rules differently from the Rules considered in some of those past cases.

Chapter five focuses on Preliminary objections. The chapter presents guidance on meaning, nature, purpose, effect of preliminary objections and the procedure to follow when making such objections.

In chapter six, the author presents many case law materials on the vexed and sometimes complicated rules of interlocutory applications. The chapter captures cases on injunctions, stay of proceedings, stay of execution, consolidation of actions, extension of time, amendment, joinder of parties, discontinuance of actions, and so on.

Chapter seven is on Contract and begins with substantial issues of the meaning of contract,

its importance, essentials, types, categories, and general principles governing formation of contracts.

These issues seem to be outside the purview of the book but the author may have decided to begin with those elementary aspects of contract before delving into aspects of the process of litigation. However, the litigation process principles documented will assist a practical user. Some of these principles are contract with several documents, admissibility of terms of written contract, application of custom or practice on written contracts, and so on.

Many lawyers still find it difficult to appreciate the use of power of attorney. The cases outlined in Chapter eight will assist practitioners better understand power of attorney and its use. The principles of law outlined from the cases are: Does grant of power of attorney over land amount to an alienation of the land?; scope of power of the donee of a power of attorney; does grant of attorney by a donor divest the donor of power over the affected property?; proof of due execution and authentication of power of attorney; how actions on behalf of principal who has donated a power of attorney can be instituted; need to tender a power of attorney in court when given to sue on behalf of another; when a power of attorney becomes registrable; and the general principles guiding the exercise of power conferred by power of attorney.

Chapters 9 and 10 respectively outline case law principles on Agency and Contract of Guarantee.

Chapter one of the first volume deals primarily with documents in more specific forms relat-

Nigerian author petitions US Embassy over pirated work R. AHAMEFULA Njoku has M appealed to the United State of America’s Embassy in Nigeria to hurt the ongoing pirating of his book, History of the Legal Profession in Nigeria.

According to Njoku, he went online for an update on a story he sent to a media but was surprised to discover that a company known as Title Wave Books with address in Alaska was using Amazon.com as a advertising

agent to sell his book for $49.99.

Njoku stated that he never contacted the company directly or through any agent and they do not have his permission, consent or authorization to print, re-print or sell the book in any form.

He said he observed that the book being sold online was advertised with his name swapped, the name of the person who wrote the forward and the judge’s gravel on the cover of the

book were deleted.

He pleaded with the US Ambassador to Nigeria to look into the criminal act by inviting the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to expose the true name and identity of the individual(s) who gave the book or manuscript to Title Wave Books; ascertaining the number of books sold so far by the company and whether the company has made any payment to anyone

claiming to be the author of the book or agent of the author; pay compensation from the proceeds of the books sold so far; compel the company to pay him exemplary damages for the infringement of the copyright; stop further sales of the book by the company and apply any other sanctions against the book company and its accomplice(s) as provided for by the relevant American laws for this novel international scam.

ing to litigation. The chapter begins with a discussion of the meaning of documents. The author compares the meaning of documents stated by the old and new Evidence Act and concludes that the meaning of document under the new Evidence Act of 2011 is wider.

Mistakenly in doing this, the author refers to the old Evidence Act as Evidence Act 2004 instead of Evidence Act 1945 Laws of the Federation 2004.

The second volume also has ten chapters. The first chapter treats case law principles covering a wide range of issues under Mortgage. The chapter defines mortgage, distinguishes mortgage from pledge, nature of mortgage and mortgage interest, power of sale of a mortgaged property, and when the court can interfere with the exercise of power of sale of a mortgaged property.

Second and third chapters deal with the subject of Master and Servant, and Termination of Employment respectively. While chapter two covers the general theme of the contractual relationship between a master and servant, chapter three highlights the principles of law dealing with when and how the relationship of master and servant can be put to an end and the consequences of acting wrongfully in terminating the relationship. There are also many cases cited in this volume that highlights the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court and the National Industrial Court in employment cases but regrettably the author did not discuss these cases to give the reader a direction as to which court now has jurisdiction considering the extant Constitutional provisions.

Chapter four is on Landlord and Tenant.

Chapter five examines Banking; Chapter six, Admiralty; Chapter seven x-rays Matrimonial Causes; Defamation is discussed in as Chapter eight; while Chapter 9 treats Garnishee Proceedings; and the last chapter looks at Will.

The reader may find Chapter 9 on Garnishee Proceedings very rewarding. Many lawyers still make mistakes when using the Garnishee Proceedings. This book offers a digest of many cases that presents a primary source of reference for anybody wishing to use the Garnishee proceedings to recover a judgment debt.

Documents in Litigation is a vast collection of cases and highlight of principles that will surely help legal practitioners, scholars, researchers and judges involved in any form of legal work relating to civil actions. One of the setbacks of the large volumes is that the inside pages have no specific headers. However, the publishers did a good job by providing some guide with a comprehensive Table of Cases and Indexes in both volumes.

The author is commended for this industry at using his expertise and experience in collating important cases and principles of law in two volumes to aid research, litigation and settlement of disputes in civil law jurisprudence that continues to grow year by year.

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revue Prince Akenzua explodes…

Oba of Benin never endorsed donation of artefacts to foreign museum Over six months after the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) Boston, U.S. opened a Benin gallery for the donated controversial artefacts in its possession, Prince Edun Akenzua, a younger brother to the reigning Oba Erediauwa insists that the foreign museum used some Nigerians resident abroad to impersonate the Oba and got forged endorsement. Last year, the museum had received donation of 28 pieces of art in bronzes and six ivories from an American, Mr. Robert Owen Lehman. The donor is the heir to the vast collection of a famous banker, Phillip Lehman (1891-1969), who was one of the early collectors of Benin art. The collection is among the cultural objects looted when the British forces invaded old Benin Kingdom in 1897, which eventually led to sending Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi (1888 -1914) to exile in Calabar. An estimated 4, 000 cultural objects from the Benin palace were allegedly looted by the British military. But confusion set in when some chiefs who claimed to have got the nod of the Oba led a contingent of controversial representatives of the monarch to MFA, late last year in apparent endorsement of the donation. The alleged impersonators led by some chiefs came under the name, Coalition of Committed Benin Clubs in Boston. Akenzua disowns the group and the chiefs as well as their leaders. The Enogie of Obazuwa is the greatgrandson of foremost Benin Monarch, Oba Ovonramwen N’ogbaisi who was banished to Calabar by British imperialists after the Benin invasion of 1897 and died in 1914. Akenzua spoke to Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu on the possible ways of re-possessing the looted artefacts. Excerpts: Do you think the agitation for the return of stolen Benin artefacts is still necessary today? What relevance do these items still have on Benin culture?

UMBEr one, they belong to Benin which is very important, but the reason which most of them were made four hundred, five hundred years ago, no longer exist. At that time, they were all made as diaries for the people here. When there was anything relevant in the Benin Nation, the Oba ordered the iguehon to cast that event in bronze just like you will do today whenever you have any important thing that you want to do, you record it in your diary. In those days, the Benin people didn’t know how to write like the Egyptians who had the Hieroglyphics, so whenever there was any important thing, the Oba would instruct that it be cast in brass or bronze that is what they were doing then. About 75 per cent of those things carted away were done as record and diary for the Benin people. Others were done for the various alters. So today, they don’t need to cast things in bronze to record because we can now write, so I will say they would no longer be used as they were used in the past. But nevertheless, these things belong to Benin and now domiciled in other climes with other people who have now put them in their museums and they are making money out of them for themselves over there. If only for that reason, for that purpose, they have to be brought back to their owners. That is our argument.

But will they ever yield to the agitation to return these artefacts?

They are quite reluctant, putting up various arguments for retaining the artefacts.

Although those arguments are not valid because our own argument bothers on the moral grounds of the issues; these things belong to us, they were looted from us, and they should be returned. As a matter of fact, the institutions in Europe, and all those places are mainly the ones making the argument. I was in the UK last year and I was also doing the same campaign.

Wherever I had the opportunity, I would tell them the need to return those things,

N

not only to Benin. But all those cultural property that have been removed forcibly by the British or by anybody else should be returned to their owners. Most of them were being returned to the Europeans, to the Jews, to the Irish, Welsh to Ethiopia so why not to Benin? We are bringing that argument up and luckily, there are some individuals particularly in UK who listened to this kind of argument we are putting up, who believe that what the British did in those days taking other peoples’ property was wrong. And in fact, one of such people, a private British citizen, Mr. Mark Walker who is now the great grandson of one of the soldiers who fought in Benin, and has two of those bronzes has agreed to return them to the Oba of Benin.

And I think he will come around April to come and make that presentation because he himself did not quite like the idea of one government going to another country, seizing things and taking them away.

Apparently, he is not a soldier like his great-great-grandfather, but he was a policeman in the UK, in the royal security.

He is a retiree, about 80 years old and I think he must have been seeing a number of all those things they were taking to the Queen of England from all over those areas called the British Empire, and didn’t like the idea. He has now offered to come to Nigeria and return the works in his possession to the Oba of Benin. He is personally coming to do that.

The Benin community in London had arranged a meeting with Walker and the Nigerian High Commission. They agreed at that meeting, that Walker and his friends mentioned to the High Commissioner that they offered to come to Benin and return those things. I think with him doing this, there may be other people in the same school of thought like this man who may have some of those things and would want to come and present them. As a matter of fact, some years back, I went to UK to try and urge the British government to allow the British museum return Benin artefacts in their possession. I worked in collaboration with the late Benny Grant who was a member of

Prince Akenzua parliament and one of the strategies we had was to appeal to individuals since it is easier to deal with individuals than institutions, to plead with individuals who have those things in their private collections to return them to Benin. One of such people we wanted to reach at that time was Mr. Ted Heath, unfortunately, Benny Grant died before we could reach Heath.

Then, I had the opportunity to testify before the House of Commons Committee on these kinds of things.

Last year, there was a ceremony on the donation of some of these artefacts to Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston, US. What is the position of the palace on this development?

The event happened around September to October last year. I was in the UK at the time. I didn’t know such thing was going to happen. But I got an SMS from The Guardian, Nigeria, asking the very question you just asked now and of course, it was quite news to me, so I sent from London a message to the Oba and forwarded the query from The Guardian and from the National Commission of Museums and Monuments (NCMM) to the Oba and asked to be guided. I got a reply from the palace that the Oba has directed the Secretary to the Benin Traditional Council (BTC) to inform me that the palace did not send any representation to that

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Coalition of Committed Benin Clubs in Boston commits impersonation, Akenzua alleges CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35 museum, the palace was not even aware of what was being done and of course after what I got, I now sent my reply to both The Guardian and the NCMM. I told them categorically that the palace did not send anybody there. It is quite clear; the Oba would not have done that. That is a private museum in Boston. The Oba is using all his might and influence, his resources to get all the people including his friends, friends of Benin, the government of Edo State, Federal Government, everybody to join in the demand for the return of those things to Benin because of that, it is just only clear that he could not have endorsed the donation of those things to any museum anywhere in the world. And if people are generous and they want to return those things they don’t have to donate them to another museum at this time in the 21st Century. If they are feeling generous, they are feeling magnanimous, if they want to return those things, they should send them down, donate them to the Oba of Benin who owns them any way. The least they can do is to donate them to these or federal government of Nigeria not to another foreign museum. What is the meaning of that? The Oba didn’t endorse it, he didn’t even know about it. I heard later on when they have done it that the museum was going to set up within the Museum of Fine Arts what they call the gallery of Benin Arts.

Why should the Gallery of Benin Arts be in Boston Museum and not in Nigeria Museum or Benin Museum? They had their own problem in Boston because the people contacted me after the show. There is a club called the Benin Unity Club in Massachusetts. They called me after the event to ask if it was true that the palace supported that kind of venture and I said no, the palace could not have supported it.

They said they were angry too with the management of the museum because at the time they knew that they were going to do that event in that place, they told them to clear with the Benin palace, before anything at all. They promised to get permit but after a while they said they were not going to come to Benin they have been told no one could guarantee their safety in Benin because of kidnapping. The Benin Club of Massachusetts were angry, because at the time they were talking, Bill Clinton was even visiting Nigeria so they could not understand why they were talking about security issue.

The organizers paid some people to come and perform ugho dance on that day, did a few things and as a result of that, they put together quickly, what they called Coalition of Committed Benin Clubs in Boston. As far as we are concerned here, there is nothing of such, I don’t know anything of such, but I do know that the Benin Club of Massachusetts, years ago sent a letter to Oba of Benin appealing to him to allow them name the Oba as their patron and I do know the Oba accepted to be their patron. So, if there was an argument there, it will probably be between the Benin Club of Massachusetts or the so called Coalition of Benin Clubs in Boston.

Is there any possibility of using the instrument of the law to get these artefacts back?

I think maybe our legal experts can answer this better because as far as I can say, it is a little bit complex because those things were looted from palace of the Oba of Benin at the time there was no Nigeria, in 1897. If anybody wants to take action on this issue, we can only think of the International Court in the Hague, we can’t do it in the courts in Nigeria, courts of America, courts of England or anywhere, but I wonder if the International court will accept any brief from individuals. Will they listen to Nigeria government on that issue? We have very many brilliant lawyers that will be able to answer the legal question.

Beyond the Briton that volunteered to return some of these things has there been any other museum that has returned any artefacts to the palace?

No one has done that. Incidentally, some years back, the late Ekpo Eyo, who was the curator of the National Museum in Lagos;

Some Benin Chiefs during the Boston show in 2013 through his instrumentality, (General Gowon was the Head of State then) he had to go and buy some of those artefacts back to Nigeria. Nigeria had to pay for them instead of the foreigners paying us royalty.

In 1977, when we wanted to use the Idia plaque for the FESTAC event, they did not even let us have it. At that time, we wanted to borrow if just for a symbol for the period of the festival. Perhaps they were suspicious that if they gave us we would not return it. At first, they asked us at that time to pay 2000 pounds insurance because it was very fragile. But you tell me, how can elephant tusk be fragile, is it is paper?

They refused to let us have it, then my father called the Igbesamwan people here, those who made the original one to do the replica. At the end of the day nobody could differenciate the original from the replica, it was the replica that we used for the FESTAC. One of the things the Benin Club of Massachusetts is quarrelling about now is that even If they are going to see the Benin Gallery at MFA in Boston, they have to pay money. If you are doing that, there has to be some royalty to the original owners.

Some of the looted artefacts kept in Museums overseas

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Friday, April 4, 2014 37

ArtHouse Adewunmi joins technology industry discussion in Boston

rESIDENT and Chief Executive Officer of online recruitP ment in Africa, Jobberman, Ayodeji Adewunmi will speak at the 4th annual MIT: Africa Innovate Conference to be held

on the 11th and 12 of this month at the MIT Media Lab., Boston.

The conference will focus on how technology is disrupting industries in Africa and touching fundamental aspects of our lives on the continent.

Other speakers for the conference include entrepreneur/philanthropist; Folurunsho Alakija, leader All Progressive Congress; Bola Ahmed Tinubu, CEO, Mara Group AShish Thakkar, Chief Administrative Officer, Coca-cola Company; Alex Cummings, Co-founder/Group Director, Sahara Energy Tonye Cole and others.

The ongoing solo exhibition of Aggreya continues

HANAIAN artist, Kwegyir Aggreya’s solo art exhibition G titled African Essence, continued till April 11, 2014 at Biodunomolayo Gallery, City Mall, Onikan, Lagos-based gallery.

Connectnigeria writers’ conference begins today

HE first Connect Nigeria Writers’ Conference is a T Corporate Social responsibility initiative of ConnectNigeria.com aimed at contributing to societal development through education. The Conference entails learning from seasoned experts on what you need to improve your writing and thrive in the business world.

The event will be holding tomorrow at Protea Hotel Westwood 22 Awolowo road Ikoyi, by 10am to 2pm.

The Street Shooters NG Photowalk and Beach Party

NTErESTED photographers of all walks of life and skill levIother, els will come together to network, learn new tips from each take great pictures and most importantly, have fun

while doing so at the Elegushi beach on Monday, April 21, from 1 - 7PM. registration for participation began ended on the 31st of March, with the sum of N3,000:00 for a t-shirt, food and drinks.

After payment, text your ticket number, shirt size (either S, M, L, or XL) and preferred shirt colour to 08060435734.

Orimolade holds solo art exhibition

SOLO art exhibition of Odun Orimolade titled “Being & A Becoming” which opened yesterday at Art Twenty One, Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Isand, Lagos continues till June 10, 2014.

Compiled by: Florence Utor

Prof. Akachi donating some Litramed Books to schools

Censors board to get police unit HE Inspector – General of T Police (IGP), M.D Abubakar, has approved the setting up of a special police unit at the Abuja headquarters of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), following an appeal by the Director General of the Board, Ms. Patricia Bala.

The Juice premieres this Sunday on Africa Magic Entertainment DANI Television has N stepped up its game, as it is set to reach a wider audience with the announcement of the new season of The Juice moving to DStv satellite.

The enormous success and popularity gained by the

Tools and Tuface on set

prgramme in its first season, online across the African continent and in the Diaspora, was just the first step in a long-term plan to change the feel of entertainment television in Africa, stated the executives who are excited that

the programme has steadily gained followers and attention since its inception.

Ndani is Swahili for ‘inside’ and represents one singular proposition– to take you on a journey into the depths of Africa, unveiling the beauty inside, discovering the best of Africa from music to business, film and events as well as showcasing features on the continent’s most beautiful destinations and the most exciting sport interviews and analytics.

The host of The Juice, Toolz, takes viewers into the personal lives of celebrities and shows to them a side tha they don’t often see on camera. Season 2 brings a little more laughter, digs a little deeper and stops at nothing to make sure the viewere GetsTheJuice.

The prgramme kicks off with a launch event on Saturday April 5, at Wheat Baker, 4 Onitolo road, Ikoyi, from 6pm and the season will air on Sundays at 8pm (9pm Central African Time) starting this Sunday, of April 6, on Africa Magic DSTV channel 151.

This is to enable the Board enhance its operational, monitoring and intelligence activities in the course of carrying out its mandate of regulating the film and video industry in the country.

This development emerged recently when Ms. Bala and her management team paid a courtesy call on the IGP at the Force Headquaters, Louis Edet House, Abuja.

The Director - General had earlier called for collaboration between the Board and the Nigeria Police for the purpose of an effective monitoring, enforcement and prosecution of defaulters as well as the need for police officers to be attached to the Abuja headquarters and all the six zonal offices of the Board across the country.

According to Bala, the Board has to be on its toes monitoring at all times, to ensure that, it is what the National Film and Video Censors Board pre-

scribes that is implemented on the field.

She said, “Because of the problems that we are encountering, we have decided to come to your organization, so that we can work together. We are not very effective when we go to enforce because we don’t have the materials for enforcement, but you as a police organistion have all it takes to enforce, so, we need to collaborate as what goes out can affect national security. Film is entertainment with educational value but it can be very explosive.”

The Inspector General thanked Bala for the visit and further stated that personally, and officially, he is worried about the content of Nigerian movies being shown on the African Magic channel of DSTV. Abubakar urged the Director General of Censors Board to create more awareness on the Board’s regulations to the

Bala and Abubakar during her visit to his office

public, as it will enable them to respect the law. He also, pledged his unalloyed support to see that the Board succeeds in enforcing its legal mandate.

The Inspector General declared: “Let’s go beyond paper and work as a team. Let us have a partnership that works”.

It would be recalled that the National Film and Video Censors Board was set up in 1993 to register and license film distributors, register and license premises for the exhibition and distribution of movies, censor film and video works as well as prescribe safety standards in the premises used for the exhibition and distribution of films in Nigeria.

The visit is one of the many efforts of the Bala led administration to re-position the Board towards a better service delivery to Nigerians.

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ExecutiveBrief

EDITION 301

In association with TRIPPLEA ASSOCIATES LIMIED

S. A. Ogunlade: Committed to the development of the Hospitality industry With over thirty years of combined industry experience, Alhaji S. A. Ogunlade, the Chairman/CEO of Leisure World and Recreational Services Limited, owners of Imperial Suites has developed diverse and quality contacts in the business of hospitality. Imperial Suites has been in the hospitality industry business for over a decade with a vanguard of proficient and specialized hospitality service team ranging from Food and Beverage experts in both local and continental cuisines, marketing and public relation personnel to ensure efficient service delivery. The organisation started small, but by dint of hard work and perseverance it has grown to become a reference point in the industry. Alhaji Ogunlade is one of many Nigerians who have leveraged on the enormous potentials inherent in the hospitality industry. In his momentous foray into business, he has successfully established and managed numerous businesses that cut across various sectors of the Nigerian economy. In an interview with Nnamdi Nwokolo, Alhaji spoke on the Focus of a CEO. HAT informed your choice of business?

W Let me start from the beginning. I started trading as a pro-

With over three decades of business experience, what are the critical factors for business success? Smartness and perseverance are also factors that can determine business success. For us here, in all our dealings with customers, we try to be as honest and open as possible. Honesty is the key word. Another factor is hardwork and patience. If the environment is enabling, business will thrive and the inconsistency of government policies has also been a major setback for business success in this country. Right from the beginning, we took a conscious decision to run the company purely on integrity, commitment to value addition and strong relationship with clients. The taste of the pudding is in the eating. We deliver quality services along with integrity. We don’t cut corners, we don’t over invoice and we don’t cheat for anything or any price whatever.

What is your leadership philosophy?

The true meaning of leadership is service. Every leader should be a servant. As a leader, you should lead by example. Leadership without humility cannot survive. It is not about amassing wealth. My style of leadership is very simple and it’s all about respect and value for people. This is because the people are the most important asset to any organisation. If you don’t have value and respect for your people, you’ll be stagnated. The philosophy is passed down to all levels of staff because we have a commitment to providing a responsive, creative solution to our clients’ needs. We have an integrated organizational structure, which reflects in the high quality of our service delivery.

duce buyer in the early sixties not because of my love for the trade, but for want of something to do. I served as sales clerk under a master till the late sixties when I started my own business. I was involved in the buying and selling of various items at different times including singlets, towels and rubber shoes. I also ventured into the sales of motorcycle spare parts for several years before I became a major distributor of Peugeot spare parts. The trajectory of my life took so many turns, because I was later to become a process manufacturer and representative of major wrist watch brands in the country; that was before we ventured into sales and duplication of security materials. All these were done in the quest for survival and we thank God for what he has done for us. Our foray into hospitality was a kind of retirement for me because I was looking for something that will not entail traveling a lot and give me rest. I decided to go into hospitality. We thank God for His mercies upon my life because Imperial Suites as at today, can boast of many facilities that can be likened to that of any five star hotel in any part of the world, yet we are still growing from strength to strength.

I’d correctly conclude that you came into hospitality by accident. Could you tell us what has been your biggest challenge and how were you able to surmount them?

The challenges we encountered were numerous. Success does not come easy, it comes with diverse experiences. If you don’t have a persevering spirit, you’ll get frustrated along the line. The biggest challenge we encountered was basically the lack of infrastructures. A lot of organisations in this industry have gone under due to epileptic power/electricity supply; how can businesses survive in a country where the infrastructures are nonexistent? The fact that we are highly committed to making our esteemed guests comfortable compelled us to go the extra mile in arranging an 80KVA and 27KVA generators which makes it possible for us to supply uninterrupted power supply 24 hours daily. Subsequently, the issue of multiplicity of taxes by different tiers of government became an issue that we are yet to unravel. They come with different taxations, from the ordinary to the absurd.

Despite these challenges, could you tell us the Unique Selling Point of your organization? Our reception is superb, starting from the gate which is the entry point where we have able, competent and intelligent security in place. Our front desk is unique as we have competent professionals that address all our client’s needs with very suitable and suiting words that will bring you into the reality that you are in the real world of hospitality where the professionals call the short. We have a restaurant that can supply all sorts of food/meal-breakfast, lunch and dinner, produced under a very hygienic environment. We prepare snacks, continental, African and European dishes. We can also cater for your cocktail party, buffet and luncheon. We are highly secured being situated between the three major police stations in the area (Panti, Oko-Baba and Denton) with whom we enjoy a very good working relationship, therefore both security of life and properties are highly guaranteed within our premises. Our guests can

also enjoy 24 hours internet service which is so fast and efficient that you can easily keep tab on your business proceeding even when you are away and unwinding.

Focus and Projections for the organization: We go into surveys to know the mindset of our customers, what they say about the quality of our services. We gather the information and use it to continually improve the quality of our service delivery. We do our best to maintain the standard of giving our customers high quality services they need from us. Our primary focus now is to give out our best to the customer. At the long run we intend upping the ante in service delivery and expansion in the country. In the next couple of years, our brand will be synonymous with quality service delivery in the hospitality industry.

What can government do differently to help the sector?

There is no way hospitality industry in Nigeria can thrive, unless the Federal Government shows interest by providing the needed infrastructure. Multiplicity of taxes is a very big challenge to the growth of the industry. The government at all levels should streamline and harmonise taxes paid in the industry to engender development of the sector.

What drives you?

Our greatest source of inspiration is God. We also believe in total dedication to specific goals, but our biggest strength is in our integrity and customer service. To achieve world class you must give world class service; you must be able to sacrifice and delay gratification. Our vision is to be the leading hospitality outfit in the whole of Lagos mainland and beyond.

How do you cope with office and home challenges?

I have responsibilities at all levels. I try as much as possible not to let the two roles clash. In the house I carry out my responsibilities diligently and in the office, the same thing happens. The important thing is that I live up to my responsibilities both at home and in the office. I get sick when I don’t work, so a greater percentage of my time is spent working.

Alhaji S. Ogunlade

Advice to upcoming Executives: My sincere advice to up coming executives is to believe they can do and achieve whatever they set their eyes to do.

They should not forget that if there are no obstacles, there will be no success. I admonish all to believe in this country. The importance of learning to personal development cannot be overemphasized because there is no limit as to what one can learn. Try as much as possible to communicate with God, and welcome constructive criticisms.

For Advertisement and Enquiries Call Nnamdi on 08025070837 or E-mail:editor.executivebrief@trippleagroup.com

Friday, April 4, 2014 39

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EXECUTIVE FINANCE Jeremy Vohwinkle, OU may have had your annual physical Y exam and taken your car in for scheduled service this year, but what about your annual financial check-up? If you were on a long road trip, you’d stop occasionally and look at the map to see if you were headed in the right direction, wouldn’t you? An annual financial check-up serves the same purpose. It’s an opportunity to review how you’ve done financially over the past twelve months and make sure you’re still headed in the right direction. A good time to do your annual financial check-up is before the end of the year so you can take advantage of any tax-saving strategies, but if you can’t fit it in during the busy holiday season, plan on doing it as soon after the New Year as possible.

Identify Your Goals The first step in your financial check-up is evaluating your financial goals.

Evaluate Changes in Your Personal Situation Have changes in your personal situation taken place in the last year or do you anticipate any major changes in the near future? A job change, divorce, adding a baby to your family, retiring, buying a house, getting married, or moving can alter your income and your lifestyle significantly. You may need to adapt your budget, your spending, your savings, and your investments. Having time to plan for these changes in advance will make the transition much smoother.

Protect Your Assets Next, evaluate your protection of your

Winning at Work

OW do I get my team to H take ownership over things? How do I get them to be problem-solvers instead of just being slaves to policy and process? These may be the most common questions asked by business leaders today. Here are three things that will inspire: 1. Have a Dream: Martin Luther King, in his famous I have a dream speech, didn’t focus on the past or the roadblocks ahead. He focused on the future and what it could look like. Give your team a vision, one that gives their work meaning and inspiration. Then work together with them to figure out how to achieve it.

2. Raise Your Game:Like it or

How to do an Annual Financial Check-up? assets. Review your homeowner’s insurance, health insurance, auto insurance. Don’t forget to protect the greatest asset of all - your income earning ability - with long-term disability insurance.

Prepare for the Unexpected Review your will, and if applicable, your estate plan. Have any changes taken place that requires updating?

Evaluate Your Investment Performance Calculate the return on each of your stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. Are you satisfied with their performance compared to the rest of the market? If you don’t believe the investment will recover its losses, it may be time to sell the dogs.

Evaluate Your Debts How are you doing on controlling and paying down debt? Evaluate your Debt To Income Ratio. It’s difficult to get ahead and invest when too much of your income is going to interest payments on debts. How’s the interest rate on your mortgage? Should you consider refinancing? Even a small dip in rates can make a big difference over the life of your mortgage, but you have to consider closing costs to see if it’s worthwhile.

Review Your Retirement Plans How are you doing on your retirement funds?

Are you contributing the maximum to your plan? This is one of the best tax-reducing strategies available.

3 Ways to Inspire Your Team

not, your team is a direct reflection of you. If you are Eeyore, you will ultimately lead a team of Eeyores. Raise your energy level beyond the point where you are comfortable. If your team starts saying things like, What’s got into her or I wonder what he’s taking; then they are seeing the change.

Do this every day until it becomes the standard, not the exception.

3. Minimize Risk: Perhaps the most common reason people don’t take initiative is the inherent risk involved. We’ve all seen it happen. Someone breaks from protocol to do what they think is right, only to be chastised or hung out to dry by a manager. The risk that

can be associated with creative problem-solving all too often greatly outweighs the reward (if there even is a reward).

You can minimize this by making a point to always take full responsibility when employee decisions don’t work out, and always passing on credit when things do work out. Make doing the right thing a no-risk proposition. A team functions at a much higher level when they know that their leader always has their back.

There are great benefits to having an inspired team.

Employee turnover decreases, and performance increases. Most importantly, it just makes it a whole lot more enjoyable to show up to work each day.

EXECUTIVE HEALTH

Why Do I Get So Anxious?

Verne Kallejian HERE is no human emotion that is potenT tially as devastating and disabling as anxiety. Unlike real fear, anxiety is fear without a known cause. It doesn’t mean that the anxious person can’t say something about the discomfort, but it is never an adequate explanation for the irrational fear.

Fear is an important emotion. It mobilizes the resources of the body to deal with danger. It focuses attention on the source of the fear and activates the intellectual resources to make rapid decisions to avoid a real danger. Fear is like a burn response. It tells you to pay attention to danger. This response to danger is inherited and probably comes with the package at birth.

What is the fear response?

Hunters might just turn to a corner and face a saber tooth tiger. Immediately, a portion of their nervous system prepared the hunter for danger. Adrenaline was released and sugar was discharged into the blood stream. His pupils dilated and his vision became more acute. The hunter could now move more quickly and run faster and longer if required. The blood vessels in the outer body contracted forcing blood towards the center of the body and the body hair stood on end. These reactions provided a little protection from being wounded and also slowed bleeding in the event of an injury.

This hunter had a better chance of survival than others who did not have these protective responses. As a result almost everyone you and I know has elements of the above responses to danger - real or imagined. Fear that has become anxiety often feels as if a saber tooth tiger is lurking somewhere in the area all day long and we can’t find it.

How does fear become anxiety?

Most sources of fear develop early in life and persist through adulthood. In childhood many stimuli cause fear and the response

Success Strategies William Duggan What Is Strategic Intuition?

HEN do you get your best ideas? You probably answer “At night,” or “In the shower,” or “Stuck in traffic.” You get a flash of insight. Things come together in your mind. You connect the dots. You say to yourself, “Aha! I see what to do.” Brain science now reveals how these flashes of insight happen. It’s a special form of intuition. We call it strategic intuition, because it gives you an idea for action – a strategy. Brain science tells us there are three kinds of intuition: ordinary, expert, and strategic. Ordinary intuition is just a feeling, a gut instinct. Expert intuition is snap judgments, when you instantly recognize something familiar, the way a tennis pro knows where the ball will go from the arc and speed of the opponent’s racket. (Malcolm Gladwell wrote about this kind of intuition in Blink.) The third kind, strategic intuition, is not a vague feeling, like ordinary intuition. Strategic intuition is a clear thought. And it’s not fast, like expert intuition. It’s slow. That flash of insight you had last night might solve a problem that’s been on your mind for a month. And it doesn’t happen in familiar situations, like a tennis match. Strategic intuition works in new situations. That’s when you need it most.

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persists even though the exact nature of the stimulus is forgotten. For example, when parents fight small children often imagine that their parents might kill each other. Children become extremely fearful that they will be left alone and die. If this occurs often enough, they associate this fear with their parent’s anger, and eventually with any episodes of anger. The fear of anger becomes deeply buried in the child’s psyche and persists into adulthood. Our adult may never connect the fear of anger with the events around parents fighting. If the connection is made, it is quickly forgotten because it is so irrational.

Nevertheless, the adult would have a major anxiety burst when watching a violent movie or when exposed to anger. The psyche makes the connection even though there is no conscious awareness of the historical events.

It is easily seen that anxiety is a devastating emotion. Unlike fear, anxiety has a disintegrating effect on the body. The intellect keeps searching futilely for a cause that can be addressed, and finally gives up in exhaustion.

Strategic Intuition thinking to build a race-car out of duct tape, or toss frisbees across the office, or throw random words onto a velcro board. But the Plodders and Plotters and Players are all wrong. The trick is to plod and plot and play at the same moment.

That’s what a flash of insight does. It’s how the brain makes something new out of real information, and projects it as a strategy. But you get there not through Plodding or Plotting or Playing, but through understanding how strategic intuition works and how to do it better.

How Does Strategic Intuition Work?

Flashes of insight are so important that scholars have written about them for centuries. The best description comes from an early classic of military strategy, On War by Carl von Clausewitz. The word “strategy” entered the English language in 1810, when Napoleon’s success as a battlefield general made him emperor of Europe. His enemies started studying how he did it so they could learn it too and defeat him. Clausewitz’s account of Napoleon’s strategy matches amazingly well what modern neuroscience tells us about flashes of insight.

Clausewitz gives us four steps. First, you take in “examples from history” throughout your life and put them on the shelves of your brain. Study can help, by putting more there.

Second comes “presence of mind,” where you free your brain of all preconceptions about what problem you’re solvWhy Is Strategic Intuition ing and what solution might Important? work. Third comes the flash of Everyone knows you need insight itself. Clausewitz called creative thinking, or entreit coup d’oeil, which is French preneurial thinking, or for “glance.” In a flash, a new innovative thinking, or combination of examples from strategic thinking, to comhistory fly off the shelves of pete in the modern world. your brain and connect.

All these kinds of thinking Fourth comes “resolution,” or amount to the same thing: determination, where you not you figure out what to do in only say to yourself, “I see!”, a new situation. There are but also, “I’ll do it!” Just from currently three massive misthese few pages, you’ve started to strategic conceptions about how this kind of thinking Intuition. Strategic Intuition: The Creative Spark works. I call them Plod, Plot, and Play. Plod in Human Achievement will help you learn much means you go beyond your usual routines to more. Some people have certainly learned it on analyze a much wider range and depth of their own, without even knowing what exactly information, and advanced technology they’re doing. But like all other complex human means there is essentially no limit to the actions, you are born without it and over time amount of data you can and should plod your brain learns it. These days, the hardest part through. Plot means you spend a lot of time to learn is the third step, presence of mind. When defining your mission, your goals, your you need a creative idea for a strategy, methods objectives, your sub-objectives, and so on. of Plod or Plot or Play spring to mind right away.

Play means you give up your usual ways of

Action is the foundational key to all success. -Pablo Picasso

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

40| NEWSEXTRA Friday, April 4, 2014

Interview

‘How govt agencies work against economic progress’ • Refineries: In privatisation we trust • Power reform: A best measure for medium-term benefit • Insecurity: Socio-economic map is shrinking Olusegun Osinowo is the Director-General of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), an umbrella body for the organised private sector. He spoke with reporters on emerging issues in the economy and how they affect survival of private businesses and the citizenry.

WOLE OYEBADE was there. Excerpts.

How would you assess economic development in the country, if any?

OR any country to make meaningful development three factors are key and they are prominent in development pattern of most countries. First factor is leadership; second is that of institution and the third is policy. For any country to have meaningful development, good leadership, appropriate institutions and good policies must be on ground.

In our own case, I’d leave leadership aside. We all have our impressions on whether Nigeria has been blessed with good leadership over time or not. Talking about institutions, they vary and I’d zero in on regulatory agencies as part of the institutions of this country. They have been set up to achieve certain objectives and purposes that will lead to meaningful development. The Act of Parliament backs them, which is very clear in respect of their scope of responsibility.

The truth about it, in this environment, is that not all those regulatory agencies have been acting in the way that will support the development of this country. Some are doing quite well and some are just not. Some have turn into money-collection and moneymaking ventures.

How do you mean?

First, let me say we are not averse to the setting up of regulatory agencies that should ensure that standards are maintained. We cannot be against it. Apart from being corporate entities, we are individual Nigerians and we want our interests to be protected. I’d give an example.

Nobody in his/her right senses would be against a body like the Consumer Protective Council. We need that kind of agency to ensure that consumers get value for the goods and service they are paying for.

It then becomes an issue if that kind of agency, in the course of executing its statutory responsibility now parades self in a way that will be inimical to what it has been set up to do.

It has not been set up to kill businesses, but to protect the interest of consumers. In trying to protect such interest, it does not have to kill the goose. To do that will create bigger problem than it trying to solve.

NECA is not against sanctions of companies rendering poor quality of service. Is it?

Absolutely not. But they have not been set up to make money on your misery or my misery.

For protecting my right, you are not supposed to be making money on the basis of that. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) also falls in this same category. If I’ve experienced drop calls, and over time you would have seen that, would the remedy be sanctioning and collecting money from telecommunications company? I don’t think that is the ultimate remedy. Are you going to refund that money to me that have experienced drop calls?

Of course, you are not going to do that. Now, the money you are collecting, what are you going to do with it? Are you going to channel it into social responsibility?

Nobody has insight into that, but it is just sufficient for you to slam the fine N42 million on Telecomm Company on account of the fact that I do not enjoy good quality service. It is very difficult to connect with that. If in the medium term, you are going to improve the service and channeling the money into things that will impact on my expectation beyond good quality services, then I can connect with you.

In the case of one the agencies that claimed to be protecting the interest of the consumers, a fine of almost N100 million was slammed on a company, just on account of the fact that two or three of the company’s products appear to be carrying contaminated item. Now, is the N100 million going to be paid to me that detected the foreign element in it? What is the essence of the N100 million? These are issues we must talk about, otherwise people will be

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smiling to the banks on account of our misery and that is not the essence of creating these agencies. That is one dimension of it.

The other dimension is the rather arrogant and peacocky disposition some of these agencies have put up – a disposition where they are just not ready to engage with other stakeholders. In this environment, there are regulatory agencies that have been set up to protect the interest of Nigerians, yet are averse to dialogue. The purpose of dialogue is to promote development and give other parties the opportunity to make an input into the way you do your work.

It is only in this environment that there are regulatory agencies that are contemptuous, disdainful of engagement with economic actors in the same environ- Osinowo ment. Those are two big issues for business.

As the voice of business, we wrote to the Consumer Protective Council and told them things cannot continue this way and we have to engage with them. But, in a rather dismissive and contemptuous way, they said ‘you have gone to the press’, as if talking to the public through the press is a criminal offence ‘...so we are not going to give you audience’. That is hard to believe in Nigeria of today under democratic dispensation.

Meanwhile, when you (CPC) discovered this, you went to the press to let them know that you are working. They (CPC) were in the press for a week and we didn’t take any umbrage about that. Now that we have spoken against it, they think we have no right to engage them.

A government agency? Such is not going to allow the country make progress and that is why we are talking about it.

For as many of such agencies that are impacting positively on the development of Nigeria, we commend them. But for others that have resolved that all the work to do is to resist the private, we will say no to them.

Why are you just talking about this?

It has just caught our attention and that is the honest truth. It has been here for a while and it is better to be late than never. We cannot just fold our hands at this. Those that are been asked to pay this money hold their existence to the license they are holding, which can be withdrawn by the agencies asking them to pay this money.

The best we can do is to say this is not appropriate and we will keep at it. There must be open accountability for that money. They have not accounted for the money they have collected in time past. Nobody knows how they have spent it. Even if they want to continue in that way as a way of deterrence or compelling the service providers to improve their services, there must be open accountability.

On insecurity Insecurity has become a big issue and it is to business also because it shrinks the market of the products made by our members. The truth is that the geographical expression called Nigeria, captured by our large map, is to a large extent different from the economic and social map on account of insecurity.

Yes, the country is large but there are places in this country that if you are given the option to go and live, you’d think twice. So, we begin to see massive migration, either southward or northward, even outside of the country.

So, our social map is beginning to shrink on account of insecurity. And if your social map shrinks, then you must expect your economic map to follow the same trend. That is a big issue. Government is doing it best, but we

have to point out that this development is hard for business.

Would the private sector support yet another privatisation plan in the oil and gas sector, especially the refineries?

It seems the government is undecided about the matter; always seen to take one-step forward and another backward. Government has not been quite decisive on which direction to go. At a time they would come out to say they would privatise. The next day, the union will bark and government would rescind in its decision.

The issue really is, must the resistance of one economic actor define the policy thrust of government? What should drive government policies, if not the majority interest of Nigerians? Of what benefit is it to us to have refineries that are not producing to capacity, yet gulping huge amounts all in the name of turnaround maintenance that would not produce any result?

What is wrong in privatising the refineries?

How will you be able to stop the embarrassing situation of importing PMS in an oil-producing nation, if you fail to allow private hands run the refineries? Now they have started again through the BPE. Can they just make up their minds?

They have spoken quite well in terms of identifying the direction to go for it to be privatised.

What they need to do is to have a robust engagement with those against it and make sure they engage them in the process just like they did with the privatisation of the electricity sector.

With the power sector, there was initially a big opposition to it but the government did something that was quite marvelous; they set up a committee that included key stakeholders.

NECA, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), electricity workers’ union were all there, and the entire process was open and transparent.

Let them adopt the same process and involve those that are saying no. Those still insisting against it, if they have the economic might to buy those refineries, what is wrong in that? We do know of countries in the world where trade unions hold significant interest in such assets. I think the way to go is to privatise those refineries.

Don’t you think the worsening service delivery in the power sector since the privatisation and lingering labour issues are sufficient reasons to be skeptical of another privatisation, this time, in the petroleum sector?

Let me say that there have been positive developments in the power sector in terms of industrial relations management. Some of the DISCOs companies are now part of NECA and we are guiding them appropriately. We have emphasised to them on the need to respect the right of workers and have also let them know

what their own rights are too. That is why I said things are beginning to look up positively.

The truth is that we are impatient and it is borne out of long years of suffering under bad government and governance. We are in the enough-is-enough mood and legitimately so. But again, we must understand that certain problems will not disappear overnight because of their structural and fundamental nature.

Privatisation will not take away certain problems in a short time. But in the medium and long term, privatisation holds the best option for you on quality service. In the electricity sector, we know there are value chains; from generation, to transmission and to distribution. What you and I see is the tail end of the value chain. It is none of our business whether sufficient power is been generated, or whether pipelines are vandalised or transmission capacity is there or not. All of these are not our problem, but what we are saying is that ‘we have privatised and we want 24hour power supply.’

I must say that while things appear to have worsened, there is hope for the future. The kind of money, which those investors have put into the power sector, it will take a super madman to just want to hands off and say let anything happen. Because, if they don’t get their hearts right, some of them will not be able to cover from it forever.

It is a different dispensation and it is not a kind of money, which they just dipped hands into the pocket and bring out to pay. It is money that was borrowed from banks. Even, some of the banks could be exposed on account of it. Our hope should be in the medium term. They are in better position to take things seriously because their existence as a corporate body depends on it. This is time we have to be patient. There is bright hope for the future in terms of electricity supply but we just have to bear with them during this short term.

On lingering labour issues in the power sector We’ve got to make a distinction between the old employers and the new ones in the electricity sector. 95 per cent of the workers that were asked to go through retrenchment, redundancy or retirement, were employees of the old employer – the PHCN. The ministry of power, representing government, took responsibility for the payment of their terminal benefits.

It is not the responsibility of these new owners to pay those terminal benefits. It is the responsibility of the government through its various agencies to do this. These new owners do not know these employees that have not collected their terminal benefits.

Thursday, April 4, 2014 | 41

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

INTERVIEW

‘APC has polarised Osun along many lines’ Senator Iyiola Omisore was elected a member of the Nigerian Senate representing Osun East district (2003 2011), on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). He is seeking his party’s gubernatorial ticket to contest against the incumbent governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a chat with journalists, Chief Omisore explained why the incumbent should be voted out of power in the August governorship election. SEYE OLUMIDE reports.

OOKING at your antecedents, what are the steps you intend Lernorship taking to convince your party’s delegates to give you the govticket?

I am hoping to make the primary and I have all that it takes to triumph at the primary. We are working round the clock to make sure that we have more delegates to beat other aspirants to it and hopefully we shall do.

Do you stand the chance of winning the primaries?

Like I said earlier, I am hoping in God and relying on His grace.

I believe I will win the Osun PDP primary. That is why I started working about three years ago, even for the general elections.

What is happening today in Osun State has made the state more vulnerable for take. The incumbent, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, is going about implementing anti-people policies.

He is only pursuing agenda that are of immediate benefit to himself and his caucus of course.

What inspires you to want to govern Osun. Is it your passion or mere hatred of the incumbent?

In the recent past I discovered that the incumbent has neglected my people in Osun. Commerce in the state has gone comatose. Infrastructure development is nothing and all we have had in the last three and half years has been billboards and posters all over the place. Aregbesola has been going about ‘postering’ and ‘bill-boarding’ for the past two and half years. Today, we have well over 7000 billboards and posters across the state.

So there are chances for me now. The people are ready. Workers are not being paid. The last time workers received salaries was in November 2013. Judges are not being paid; pensioners and teachers are not being paid. All tertiary institutions are closed.

People are fed up and tired of the APC administration in Osun.

The traders are not getting patronage. The merger of schools is not to talk about. The sitting governor has divided Osun along so many lines; not even religious because the Muslims are not happy with him, the Christians are not happy with him as well.

That’s what led to hijab in schools, choir dresses in schools and even masquerade dresses in schools. So everything in the state is upside down.

Aregbesola has only been doing ground breaking of projects, not a single one has been completed. He can spend billions on ground breaking. He promised to build 400 schools but he has just built fewer than five. The ‘opon imo’ has 17 subjects with 89 per cent error. So where do we go from there?

A reliable government source said the government has completed 3100 kilometres of road?

Where are those roads? They spend so much money on takeoff. As it is today, nothing has been completed, not one. Do we talk about contract inflation? I will restore the dignity of education to its original purpose. The schools will go back to their owners. I will stop the issue of merging schools; merging girls only with boys’ only schools causing confusion in the sector. It has already affected the psyche of our children.

The South West zone of the PDP is currently in crisis; don’t you consider this a disadvantage to your ambition?

I don’t know about the crisis in the South West zone of the PDP. Where is the stake of former governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola?

He is playing politics at the national level. This is a federating unit, Nigeria is running a federal system. Every state has its own peculiarity. That is why states are being controlled by APC, by PDP, by Labour Party and by All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA). Whatever happens in Abuja does not affect any state.

Osun State PDP is very peaceful. It is the best state party in this country...

Irrespective of the Oyinlola factor, who is now hobnobbing with the opposition?

Oyinlola is doing national party politics with the national secretariat. It has nothing to do with us at all. Oyinlola comes from just one local government area in Osun. So he doesn’t disturb us (me). He is going about his crisis with the national secretariat, which I believe they would resolve among themselves.

I don’t know what you are talking about. In Nigeria we don’t lose in elections. We will always find fault. Tell me whose thugs were arrested in Anambra for trying to manipulate that election? Are they not APC thugs?

In Ondo State, the APC came a distant third and not even second. So, who is supporting who? Yoruba people have learnt beyond that noise making. Okay, which party did you expect Mr. President to support?

He should support APC against his party. We need to understand the fact that APC did not win election anywhere; they came in through the court.

Omisore Do you have a vision for agriculture in the state?

Agriculture is the mainstay of Osun State, but today there has not been a single investment in agriculture by Aregbesola. He is using all the money to do road construction and of course that is where he can make big money. He is not even doing Osun State roads but federal government roads – on the highway.

For instance, I started a project in 2004 – Gbogon Junction to Kwara boundary, in three sections. Section one, Gbogon Junction to Shekona; section two, Shekona to Osogbo; section three, Osogbo to Ila - Odo - that is Kwara boundary. That was the original concept. He did not know how the project came about; he just entered the project. Section one was designed and awarded for N8.9 billion but he took it to N29. 6 billion. Section two was awarded for N7.2 billion – completed by Oyinlola’s government. He went there, he wanted to do side track, and park way and he devoted another N11 billion. Then Osogbo to Kwara boundary given to KC Goberk at N8.9 billion he took it to N19. 6 billion. So where do we go from there?

Meanwhile, the main road, Osogbo to Iwo, a state road that passes seven local governments, has not been done.

Look at the issue of uniform, how can you brand students with the same uniform? Uniforms are appendages of students; it gives them responsibility, it gives them caution and it gives them identity.

Agriculture as the mainstay of this state has gone moribund.

All farm settlements in the state have gone moribund. All the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) projects have gone moribund.

But the deputy governor stated that the government feeds over 500 students every day?

Oyinlola’s government did feeding of students, which is not an achievement the current administration could claim. It has been there for the past eight years. Aregbesola met it. We have associations in Osun State that feed children and it started in 2003.

Don’t you think Aregbesola has the incumbency advantage over you?

No! It is not possible! The noise he is making is on the pages of the newspapers. If he can deceive Lagosians or people in Oyo State but not workers who have not been paid since November, teachers have not been paid and Osun State is a civil service state. They are rising against him.

You recently raised the alarm that there was a plan to start a criminal case against you. Don’t you think that is a form of incumbency factor?

It cannot work. He can only try. That is a sign of incumbency failure; a sign of defeat – trying to cook up stories. He has denied it and he can come to it again and I asked police to keep their records properly so that they don’t tamper with police report.

They have a way of cooking up stories.

But this same Aregbesola you are giving negative impression about, is being perceived as performing governor outside Osun State?

People from outside will not come and vote for us in Osun State, if he deceives people, that is his strategy of rigging election. Osun is a civil service state and they are not happy with him. Those in Ajegunle Market in Osun State selling tyres said they don’t sell market now; they play games in the day because there is no more business – he has taken all the business to Lagos!

Are you optimistic the PDP will regain control in the Southwest?

Watch and see. Of course APC came in through the court. They came in through controversial judgments and you know the consequences. He (Justice Salami) paid the price, even at that level. What that tells you is that APC is gradually fading out. They actually never won elections in Ekiti and Osun states ab initio.

There is the insinuation that you are most likely to rely on the backing of the Presidency?

I don’t know what you are talking about. In Nigeria we don’t lose in elections. We will always find fault. Tell me whose thugs were arrested in Anambra for trying to manipulate that election? Are they not APC thugs? In Ondo State, the APC came a distant third and not even second. So, who is supporting who? Yoruba people have learnt beyond that noise making. Okay, which party did you expect Mr. President to support? He should support APC against his party. We need to understand the fact that APC did not win election anywhere; they came in through the court.

But when one looks at this trend; yourself, Prince Kashamu Buruji, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro and some other young politicians within the PDP seem to be ganging up against Tinubu for no other purpose than to take the South West...

I won’t disprove that observation. Yoruba legacy must be restored to original status quo. Yoruba do not accept somebody who has no pedigree, no history, who cannot be traced, who has no pride and who has no history, as a leader.

Yoruba believe in pedigree, they don’t believe in how much money you have. Where are you coming from, who is your father, who is your mother, what have you done before, which schools have you attended - not a common liar. So Yoruba are now becoming wiser and are waiting for the ballot boxes where one man one vote will throw them away.

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THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Friday, April 4, 2014

For The Record Affluent society: Can Africa make it? (5) 66th Inaugural Lecture delivered by Prof.

Sheriffdeen Adewale Tella on Tuesday, March 11, 2014 at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State Continued from Monday, March 31 COUNTRY that will serve such purpose as A growth pole must be industrialised, have diversified economic base, a stable exchange rate and predictable level of foreign reserves. Additional characteristics are reasonably stable purchasing power; prices, as well as, nominal and real income for factors must be generally flexible; it should be an important trading partner with other members of the union; there should be no serious obstacle to international mobility of merchandise; and it should be able to withstand speculative attack on its exchange rate (see Tella, 2001). Only South Africa can fulfill most of these requirements. Notwithstanding, such growth pole or anchor currency for a particular REC can be achieved over time with a 25 year plan period. v.

Financial Integration The issue of financial integration is very germane to the success of regional economic integration in that easy and flexible payments system within the regions for trade is of utmost importance. As had been noted elsewhere and shown in figure 5, domestic financial system, comprising of money and capital markets in virtually all African countries is underdeveloped (Collins and Biekpe, 2004; Tella and Akinboade, 2004; Tella, 2009; ADB, 2010).

Recent developments in the financial markets with respect to liberalization, flexibility and innovations in the global financial system and particularly in Africa have seen many offshore banking within Africa. Many Nigerian and South African banks have extended their services beyond their respective borders. In addition, the ECOBANK, which is regarded as Africa’s privately owned transnational bank has opened branches in virtually all sub-Saharan African countries and overseas. These developments have improved the situations particularly in some countries that cannot boast of five banks including their branches. It has also helped in cross-border investments as depicted by progress in Mauritius and other southern African countries, as well as in West Africa.

Notwithstanding, much still needs to be done Prof. Tella in order to promote financial inclusion whereby financial intermediation necessary for economic should adopt the same liberalised exchange transactions and economic growth can be en- rate regime to enhance convertibility of dohanced for the benefit of the lower class. Albeit, mestic currencies but the rate should not be the adopted financial liberalization promoted left entirely to market forces because of lack of capital flight with greater ease and the political financial depth and capital flight. That is, the class has taken advantage of it not only to deny exchange rate should be managed floating.

Regarding the monetary arrangement, it is their countries much needed fund for development but to promote external borrowings. These hereby suggested that each REC can adopt invariably compound Africa’s debt issues, pro- monetary arrangement of the Rand zone sysmote underdevelopment, unemployment and tem or CMA, which is akin to the former EMS system of European Union. That is, parallel curpoverty.

The capital market for mobilization of long rency union or mutual currency management term fund necessary for real sector development arrangement, whereby a common currency ciris still quite thin as most of the stock markets are culates alongside national currencies. Over still small in terms of their contributions to each time, probably in 50 years, this can metamorcountry’s gross domestic product (Collins and phose into the current European Union model Biekpe, 2004). Only the Johannesburg stock ex- taking cognizance of the current problems aschange is recognised internationally while the sociated with that. Additional suggestions in Cairo and Nigerian stock exchanges are just this regard can be gleaned from Tella (2001). vi.

Leadership emerging.

Within the context of developing the financial We can infer, from a report that no African market, the African Development Bank (ADB) leader won the prestigious Mo Ibrahim Prize and African Export-Import Bank should cham- for Leadership in Africa in the last two years pion the development of money and capital mar- that a major problem of underdevelopment of ket institutions and instruments at the REC level Africa has to do with the quality of leadership through their advisory and funding functions. on the continent. But it is this leadership that The ADB should provide the platform for har- must provide the environment conducive for monization of regional financial and commer- development. Leadership on the other conticial policies among member countries of each nents can stretch a helping hand to the extent REC and across REC. The functions should extend that they too can benefit from growth and deto the structure and nature of monetary arrange- velopment in Africa.

Many studies have shown that leaders have ments, currency flexibility and general payments systems to be adopted. In this connection, I am important roles to play in economic growth keen to suggest that Regulations and procedures and development (Kalt and Zupan, 1984; Besley guiding money and capital markets activities and Case, 1995, Levitt, 1996; Kaufmann et. al., should be harmonised to meet international 2002; Jones, 2008). Jones (2008) raised some standards and thus promote cross-border port- open questions about the role of leadership in folio and direct investments. Member countries economic growth. He opined that some lead-

ers are essentially destructive or highway men along the road to economic riches. Citing leaders like Charles Taylor of Liberia and Mobutu Sese Seko of former Zaire, Jones explained that the tendency to steal, engage in corrupt practices and make wars are means through which leaders adversely affect growth.

On the other hand, leaders can be actively good for growth by engaging in transformation of the economy through investing in public goods, choosing pro-growth trade policies like the case with Lee Kwan Yew of Singapore, or through implementation of appropriate economic policies with new or modern technology like Mahathir Mohammad of Malaysia and Jiang Zemin of China who built on the foundation laid by Mao Tse Tung and brought about the tremendous economic growth in China that are galvanizing India today. Without good and forward looking leadership, whether through military regimes or democracy, all the suggestions above and those suggested by other authors and authorities will neither be considered nor implemented. For now, Africa is still in search of such leaders who are visionary, selfless, sagacious and courageous but it is not impossible to find credible leaders if elections are conducted under free and fair environment.

VII. Conclusion The title of this lecture represents a state of uncertainty about the future of Africa and the living conditions of its people. Every individual, as rational being, thinks and works towards a better tomorrow. Africans will like to live in affluence like citizens of other continents in the world. In the lecture, the characteristics of affluent societies were documented as having high per capita income, domestic production of

industrial goods with modern technology and consumption of same, sustained secular improvement in material well-being of the citizens, and existence of international financial hub. Socially, such societies have low population growth, high literacy level and life expectancy with all basic needs largely fulfilled.

Available statistics up to the end of the last decade and even comparative analysis carried out with graphs in Section 3 have shown that African countries exhibit opposite of those characteristics, implying that the citizens do not live in affluence.

According to the World Bank’s Development Prospects Group Economic Report titled Africa’s pulse, African economies, for the first time ever, were reported to be growing faster than the global average. It was projected that the continent’s growth rate of 4.8 per cent in 2011 would grow marginally to 4.9 per cent in 2012 and leap to 5.2 per cent in 2013. Actually, the World Bank’s report posits that three African countries namely, Sierra Leone, Niger and Cote d’Ivoire, were growing faster than China which was the world’s fastest growing economy in the better part of the last decade. If the trends persist, living in affluence in Africa is a matter of short-run rather than the long-run, particularly if such growth is the inclusive type.

Even if we look at the trends in the per capita income, it seems clear that since the turn of this century emerging statistics point to gradual improvements in the living standard in Africa when compared to the past. It is in this recognition that The Economist, which pronounced Africa as “the hopeless continent” in 2000 reconsidered its stand in 2010 when it wrote: “Since The Economist regrettably labeled Africa ‘the hopeless continent’ a decade ago, a profound change has taken hold” Today “The sun shines bright… the continent’s impressive growth looks likely to continue”. This assertion was supported by ADB (2011) when it stated “The balance of evidence suggests that the next half century in Africa offers good prospects for realizing the African vision of dynamic, diversified and competitive economic zone in which extreme poverty is eliminated within peaceful, stable and vibrant societies”. Thus, we can conveniently answer the question: The Affluent Society: Can Africa make it? YES, with sustainable economic growth/development and financial architecture that are both inclusive, WE CAN make it.

To achieve the Affluent society, we proposed a number of recommendations which achievement is contingent on the issue of LEADERSHIP. Africa as a continent is full of human and natural resources begging to be tapped, yet lacks the leadership that will take it to greater heights within the comity of continents. For three years running, no African country could produce a President that could win Mo Ibrahim prize for exemplary leadership!

To rely largely on external bodies/government/institutions to think or produce economic policy blueprint for Africa or to continue to blame underdevelopment on slave trade, vagaries of globalization or deliberately-schemed unbalanced trade, is to continue to live in a fool’s paradise. It must be realized that the developed countries tolerate and more often than not assist African countries with aids and grants in order to empower Africans to afford their goods which are mass produced at reduced costs. It is not because they love Africans.

The continent’s destiny is in the hands of her citizens and leadership and no one from outside should be blamed for the woes nor be credited with her successes. The wise saying is “Heaven helps those who help themselves” and in the Holy Quran, Allah says: Verily, never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves …

Q 13 Verse 11.

The Vice-Chancellor, Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you all for listening.

• Tella is Professor of Economics and Director, Centre for Continuing Education, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye

CONCLUDED

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AutoWheels ‘Discussion ends’ with 2014 Honda Accord

2014 Honda Accord Stories by Dele Fanimo FTER last year’s complete redesign, which A resulted in a slimmer, more fuel-efficient Honda Accord with a higher-end cabin ambience, you’d think the car line that sells about 1,000 units a day would stand pat. But there was still something missing from the lineup: a hybrid Accord. So the 2014 Honda Accord family grows even stronger with the addition of not one but two hybrids. One is of the plug-in variety (covered in a separate review) while the other is a standard hybrid, which will earn a 47 mpg combined EPA rating when it debuts later in the 2014 model year.

Accords have always been well-rounded vehicles, a trait that, along with their strong reputation for trouble-free ownership, has contributed greatly to this Honda’s massive popularity. The latest Honda Accord continues that tradition. Even the volume-selling models with a four-cylinder engine and automatic transmission (technically, a continuously variable transmission, or CVT) provide a virtually unbeatable combination of performance and fuel efficiency. For proof, look at its swift 7.8-second 0-60-mph time along with an EPA combined fuel economy estimate of 30 mpg. Those would be impressive stats for a compact car, let alone a roomy, comfortable midsize sedan.

Comfort and value play into the Accord success story, too. Honda’s midsize car has a roomy cabin with comfortable seating (its backseat is particularly impressive) and a quiet ride. And even the base LX trim level comes standard with plenty of features, including dual-zone automatic climate control, iPod/USB integration and a rearview camera — amenities that are often optional even on pricier cars.

With its strong performance, outstanding fuel economy, precise handling, accommodating cabin and good overall reputation, the 2014 Honda Accord is one of our top picks in the hugely competitive midsize sedan segment.

Yet, it’s not the only excellent choice. The 2014 Nissan Altima is another of our favorites in this class, and it offers sportier handling, even better mileage from its base four-cylinder engine and impressively rich interior furnishings.

Other good picks include the Mazda 6, which is by far the most athletic car in the family sedan class, along with the 2014 Toyota Camry and 2014 Volkswagen Passat, which match the Honda’s interior space but give you a softer ride. There’s also the value-packed Kia Optima and stylish Ford Fusion. (Meanwhile, the Accord coupe has the midsize coupe segment all to itself, as its only real rival, Nissan’s Altima

coupe, is discontinued for 2014.) Narrowing down your choices in this strong group won’t be easy, but if you want a midsize sedan that does nearly everything right, the Honda Accord should be on your list.

Body Styles, Trim Levels, and Options The 2014 Honda Accord is available as a midsize sedan and coupe. Four-cylinder sedans come in five trims: LX, Sport, EX, EX-L and EX-L with Navi. Opt for the Accord’s 3.5-liter V6 and three trims are offered: EX-L, EX-L with Navi and Touring.

The Accord coupe with the four-cylinder engine comes in LX-S, EX, EX-L and EX-L with Navi, while the V6-equipped version comes only in EX-L and EX-L with Navi trims.

The base four-cylinder LX comes with 16-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone automatic climate control, full power accessories, cruise control, an 8inch video display, Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, a rearview camera, cruise control, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, a heightadjustable manual driver seat, a folding rear seat and a four-speaker sound system with a CD player, an auxiliary audio jack, iPod/USB audio interface and Pandora functionality.

Opting for the Sport trim brings a bit more horsepower, 18-inch wheels, a rear spoiler, an eight-way power driver seat (with power lumbar) and a leather-wrapped steering wheel with shift paddles for the CVT. Compared to the LX, the Accord EX trim adds 17-inch wheels, heated mirrors, a sunroof, keyless

ignition/entry, the power driver seat, the leather-wrapped steering wheel, Honda’s LaneWatch blind-spot display and a six-speaker sound system.

The EX-L trim adds leather upholstery, driverseat memory functions, a four-way power passenger seat, heated front seats, forward collision and lane-departure warning systems, a more sophisticated rearview camera, an autodimming rearview mirror and a premium seven-speaker sound system with a touchscreen display, satellite radio and smartphone app integration (HondaLink). The EX-L with Navi adds, as you can likely guess, a navigation system with voice recognition.

The EX V6 feature content is similar to that of the four-cylinder EX models. The V6-exclusive Touring sedan tops the range, combining LED headlights and adaptive cruise control with the equipment from the EX-L with Navi.

For the coupe version of the 2014 Honda Accord, the base LX-S trim is similar to the LX sedan but comes with 17-inch wheels instead of 16s, while its audio system has six speakers instead of four. The coupe’s EX trims are also comparable in terms of equipment, though the V6-powered EX-L has 18-inch wheels.

Powertrains and Performance All 2014 Accords are front-wheel drive and most are fitted with the 2.4-liter inline fourcylinder engine, whether sedan or coupe. This engine is rated 185 horsepower and 181 pound-

feet of torque. The Sport trim level’s less restrictive dual exhaust boosts output to 189 hp and 182 lb-ft of torque.

The standard transmission for all four-cylinder Accords, except the EX-L trims, is a six-speed manual. Optional for those and standard on the four-cylinder EX-L trims is a CVT, which takes the place of a conventional automatic transmission. With the CVT, all Accords but the Sport trim earn an EPA estimate of 30 mpg combined (27 mpg city/36 mpg highway). The CVTequipped Sport rates 29 mpg combined (26 city/34 highway). With the manual transmission, the four-cylinder Accord stands at 28 mpg combined (24 city/34 highway).

The Accord’s available 3.5-liter V6 is rated 278 hp and 252 lb-ft of torque. Backed by a conventional six-speed automatic, the V6’s fuel economy numbers are still quite impressive at 26 mpg combined (21 city/34 highway). On the coupe, the V6 is also available with a six-speed manual transmission, which drops fuel economy ratings to 22 mpg combined (18 city/28 highway).

Even with the base four-cylinder engine and CVT — the most popular powertrain choice for Honda Accord buyers ? performance is relatively strong. In Edmunds testing, a four-cylinder Accord EX sedan with the CVT sprinted from zero to 60 mph in 7.8 seconds, a very good time for the class. The V6 is also quick: An EX-L V6 sedan we tested accelerated to 60 mph in just 6.1 seconds.

Chidoka rallies Ghana on sub regional vehicle, drivers’ data base registration Scheme S part of collective efforts A aimed at enhancing safety practices within the West African Sub-region, Nigeria and Ghana, have commenced moves to integrate vehicle registration and drivers data base integration.

Speaking during a state visit to Ghana, the Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Osita Chidoka, sought for an integrated data base on registration of vehicles and drivers within the sub-region and the need to foster existing rapport between the two countries to enhance safer road use in Africa.

The reciprocated visit which

was a fallout of a recent visit by the Ghanaian President to Nigeria, who was represented by the Vice President at the FRSC 5th yearly Lecture Series, was at the instance of an invitation by the President of Ghana, John Dramani Mhama for the FRSC Corps Marshal to be in Ghana for further deliberations and to seek areas of mutual collaboration between Nigeria and Ghana.

According to the Corps Marshal who is also the President of the West African Road Safety Organization (WARSO), an integrated data base on vehicles registration and drivers between the two countries, would boost

efforts being put in place to combat crime and other forms of security challenges confronting the West African Sub-region.

In his response, the Ghanaian President commended the Corps Marshal for the developmental strides, which the FRSC has taken under the present dispensation to transform road safety management in Nigeria, which has, to a large extent, impacted positively on the road culture in Nigeria.

President Dramani also urged West African countries to key into an on going advertorial by the Kenya government, which sought to give voice to passengers to put the driver under

check in the event any reckless driving.

The highpoint of the meeting was the need to raise the bar on road safety management in Africa and the enhanced capacity building initiatives to enrich and equip drivers and road safety officers with contemporary global trends for road safety practices and management.

The Ghanaian President also assured the FRSC Corps Marshal of his country’s willingness to partner with Nigeria to replicate its on-going plans to assist Sierra Leone to establish a lead agency in road safety management, in Ghana.

44 Friday, April 4, 2014 AUTOWHEELS

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BMW X5: elegance meets style

By Dele Fanimo and Adeniyi Adunola ITHIN 15 years of debut of W its first ever Sports Activity Vehicle, the German automaker, BMW, is yet to let off the steam on its alluring brand BMW X5.

Rather, the vintage automaker has continued to up the ante by the daring deployment of technology, innovation and aesthetics as Unique selling point of the brand.

To underscore this phenomenon, sole representative of the BMW brand of vehicles in Nigeria, Coscharis Motor early in the week introduce the top of the range BMW X5 into the country’s auto market.

Coscharis Motors, sole representative of BMW brand of vehicles in Nigeria has launched the all-new BMW X5 into the Nigerian auto market.

At the launch of the car in Lagos, the President/CEO of Coscharis Group, Dr. Cosmas Maduka, who was represented at the event by the Group Managing Director, of the company, Josiah Samuel, said the new BMW X5 has a clever solution for whatever challenge that comes its way.

He said that since its global launch in 1999, when its first generation was launched, the BMW X5 has been setting milestone in its class adding that now its back, the third generation has again surpassed its own benchmarksas a Sports Activity Vehicles (SAV) that delivers outstanding luxury and unparalleled comfort in every regard.

According to him, BMW loves touting the X5, which originally launched 15 years ago as the first ever Sports Activity Vehicle.

“The very first moment you come face-to –face with the allnew X5, your eyes will be instinctively drawn to its compelling design. Its expressive front with optional Adaptive LED Headlights and the athletic side contour generate a masculine look that’s beyond compares. No matter when and where you encounter the BMW X5, one thing is certain- its exclusive appearance will take your breath away, he said.

Body Styles, Trim Levels, and Options

The 2014 BMW X5 will comes in three main trim levels: 35i, 35d and 50i, which essentially indicate what’s under the hood. All have all-wheel drive (“xDrive”), though there is also a rear-drive version of the 35i available (“sDrive”).

Standard equipment for the 35i and 35d include 18-inch wheels, adaptive xenon headlights, foglights, a panoramic sunroof, a power liftgate, front and rear parking sensors, automatic dual-zone climate control, a power tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, leatherette (premium vinyl) upholstery, 10way power front seats (with four-way power lumbar), driver memory settings and heated front seats. Electronic features include BMW Assist, Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, smartphone app integration, a 10.2-inch central display screen, the iDrive controller, a navigation system, voice controls (navigation), and a nine-speaker sound system with a CD player, a USB interface and HD radio.

The X5 xDrive50i is equipped very similarly, though it has 19inch wheels, leather upholstery, 16-way power (“multicontour”) front seats, a rearview camera and a top-down camera system as additional standard features.

Naturally, a wealth of option packages is available to further customize your X5. Starting things off are three optional equipment lines — Luxury, xLine and M Sport — that include different wheel designs (up to 20 inches), color schemes and trim and upholstery types. M Sport also includes sport front seats and a sport steering wheel with shift paddles for the transmission.

From here, you can go with the Premium package that adds soft-close automatic doors, keyless ignition/entry, satellite radio and leather upholstery (35i and 35d). The Luxury Seating package gets you the 16way power front seats (35i and 35d) and ventilation for the front seats. The Cold Weather package includes a heated steering wheel and heated rear seats.

The Driver Assistance package features a rearview camera and a head-up display (35i and 35d).

To this, the Driver Assistance Plus package adds adaptive cruise control, blind-spot moni-

Free engine replacement for 2006-2009 Honda Civics O you own a 2006 to that have developed one or D 2009 Honda Civic with a more cracks in the engine coolant leak? You could be in block and started leaking luck. Honda is offering a new engine block or completely new engine, free, to owners of 2006 through 2008 and some early 2009 Civics that have developed a coolant leak coming from the engine block. The free service applies to all Civics except the Hybrid and the Civic Si, and it effectively extends the original warranty to eight years, regardless of mileage.

Why this matters: The leak can allow coolant to drain away, leading to overheating or a total engine failure.

Honda alerted known owners back in 2010, but a lot of people probably didn’t get the message, especially second or third owners of the cars.

The programme: For Civics

coolant, Honda dealers will replace the engine block, or the entire engine if the head has warped too, at no charge.

The offer applies to affected Civics that have been on the road eight years or less, regardless of mileage.

What to do: If your Civic is seeping coolant from the engine (not the radiator or hoses), or overheating, take it to a Honda dealer and mention technical service bulletin 10-048. If you already had the engine replaced at your own expense, you can apply for a refund from Honda Customer Service (800-999-1009) as long as the work was done at a Honda dealer or if you can prove that the repair was done with genuine Honda parts.

toring, a top-down camera system, speed-limit info, lane departure warning, forward collision warning (including pedestrians) and city collision mitigation. The Dynamic Handling package adds adaptive suspension dampers, a rear air suspension and active suspension antiroll bars.

Some of these features are available as stand-alone options. Other X5 options include active steering, LED headlights, automatic highbeam control, automated parking assist, upgraded and/or extended leather upholstery, upgraded interior trim, four-zone automatic climate control, rear window manual sunshades, secondrow comfort seats and a thirdrow seat (includes the rear air suspension). You can also order a 16-speaker Harman Kardon surround-sound audio system or an even more expensive 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen surround-sound system. Lastly, a rear-seat entertainment system and a nightvision camera system are available.

Powertrains a n d

Performance The sDrive35i (rear-wheel drive) and xDrive35i (all-wheel drive) models feature a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine that produces 300 hp and 300 pound-feet of torque. At our test track, the xDrive35i sprinted from a standstill to 60 mph in just 6.1 seconds, which places it at the top of its class. All X5s regardless of engine or drive configuration get an eight-speed automatic transmission. All xDrive versions also have hill descent control.

The EPA estimates the sDrive35i’s fuel economy at 22 mpg combined (19 mpg city/27 mpg highway). The xDrive version is just slightly lower at 21 mpg combined.

The xDrive35d features a diesel-powered 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-6 that produces 255 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque. Official EPA ratings weren’t available as of this writing, but BMW is promising

23 mpg city/31 mpg highway, which would mean an approximate 25 or 26 mpg in the combined rating.

The xDrive50i gets a turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 good for 450 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque. At the pump, you’re looking at 17 mpg combined (14 mpg city/22 mpg highway).

Properly equipped, the X5 can tow up to 6,000 pounds.

Safety Every 2014 BMW X5 includes stability and traction control, antilock brakes, automatic brake drying, front side airbags, side curtain airbags and active head restraints.

Also standard is the BMW Assist emergency communications system, which provides automatic crash notification, stolen vehicle recovery and on-demand roadside assistance. In a simulated panic stop from 60 mph, we recorded a

shorter-than-average 117-foot distance.

Optional safety features are effectively grouped into the Driver Assistance packages, and they include a rearview camera, blind-spot monitoring, a top-down camera system, lane departure warning, forward collision warning and a collision mitigation system that can apply the vehicle’s brakes automatically to prevent or minimize a headon impact at low speeds.

Interior Design and Special Features As with most BMWs, the X5’s interior layout is elegant, with solid construction and highquality materials. Models with the upgraded and extended leather options are particularly impressive. From the driver seat, you’re presented with classic BMW gauges and a large central display screen with crisp graphics.

The front seats are nicely shaped and adjust for a wide range of b o d y types, while

New BMW X5

VW’s Seat brand to add SUV in 2016 OLKSWAGEN Group will V add a compact SUV to its Seat division’s lineup in 2016 to win new customers and accelerate a turnaround at VW’s only unprofitable unit.

The new model marks Seat’s entry into a growing market segment that represents sales of almost 1 million cars annually in Europe and has increased by more than 40 per cent over the last five years, Seat said today in a statement.

The SUV will be designed and engineered in Spain and is expected to be based on VW’s MQB platform that underpins the Seat Leon, along with other group models such as the Volkswagen Golf, Audi A3 and Skoda Octavia.

“This is an excellent piece of news, since it takes Seat into a new territory, in one of the largest and fastest-growing segments in the world,” Seat Chairman, Juergen Stackmann said in a statement, adding that the SUV “is a major step forward on the road to reaching sustainable profitability for the company.”

Seat did not say where the SUV will be built but Automotive News Europe sister publication Automobilwoche said VW Group has chosen Skoda’s plant in Kvasiny, Czech Republic, as the production location. The SUV will be built alongside the next-generation Skoda Yeti SUV, it said in a

report. Production costs in Kvasiny are significantly lower than those at Seat’s plant in Martorell, Spain.

“It’s part of Volkswagen’s business model to make as many vehicles as possible on one platform,” said Frank Schwope, an analyst at NordLB. “It seems natural that VW is adding a Seat model to give the brand the opportunity to sell more vehicles and to get profitable.”

Seat has not been profitable since 2007 and expanding sales across Europe and in global markets is vital to restore the division’s earnings.

Seat narrowed its loss to 152 million euros ($210 million) in 2013 from 156 million euros a year earlier as deliveries rose 11 per cent to 355,000 cars, driven by demand in Germany and the UK. Seat is weighing options to begin producing cars in China, the world’s largest car market, as the Spanish manufacturer expands outside Europe, Stackmann said in a March 5 interview at the Geneva auto show. Seat started selling imported cars in China two years ago but high import duties and distribution problems hit sales. The brand sold

just 1,100 cars in China last year.

Seat is also planning to add to its presence in countries including Mexico, Turkey and Algeria to reduce dependence on Europe, its main sales region.

Stackmann is betting on demand for the revamped Leon compact vehicle line to improve sales further in 2014 and establish the models as the nameplate’s second pillar, in addition to the Ibiza subcompact. Seat added a Leon station wagon variant, dubbed the ST, at the end of 2013, and it will introduce a sporty Cupra version in the second quarter of

2013-2014 Nissan leaf electric cars recalled for airbag sensor issue ISSAN is recalling 2013 and N 2014 model-year Leaf electric cars to fix an airbag sensor software issue.

The recall will correct faulty software in approximately 29,165 Leafs that controls the front-passenger seat Occupant Classification System (OCS), which senses weight to determine if a person is sitting in the seat.

The OCS is used in the Leaf and most other production cars to prevent airbag deployment when the passenger seat is unoccupied, or when an underweight individual is sit-

ting in it.

In the affected vehicles, the system may read the seat as empty even if it is occupied as an adult. If this happens, the passenger front airbag will be deactivated and will not deploy in a crash.

Nissan dealers will reprogram the OCS software free of charge. This is expected to begin in mid-April, but owners will be notified of the exact date.

In addition to 2013 and 2014 Leaf plug-in models manufactured from Nov 21, 2012, through February 6, 2014, the

recall affects other Nissan and Infiniti models, for a total of 990,000 vehicles altogether.

The other Nissan vehicles are model year 2013-2014 Altima and Sentra sedans, Pathfinder crossovers and 2013 NV200 vans.

Certain models from Infiniti—Nissan’s luxury division—are also part of the recall.

These are the 2014 Q50 sedan and QX60 crossover, and the 2013 JX35. The QX60 and JX35 are the same model; the name was changed as part of a new scheme implemented for the 2014 model year.

BUSINESSTRAVEL Friday, April 4, 2014 45

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Quote of the week

AviationBusiness

Each and every one of the security measures we implement serves an important goal: providing safe and efficient air travel for the millions of people who rely on our aviation system every day.

—-Janet Napolitano ibeuwaleke2012@yahoo.com 08033151041 (SMS only)

NCAA’s Cat-1 status: Matters arising as U.S. FAA team concludes re-certification today

By Ibe Uwaleke HE team from the United States of America T (USA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which arrived the country last weekend to begin a week-long audit of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and to reclassify its category one status in civil aviation navigation and air safety management, will be rounding off the reassessment today.

There is every reason to believe that Nigeria will retain the cat-1 status when the FAA team releases its report as NCAA has managed to sustain the enablements which granted it the status in 2010. In other words, what is on the ground for the team to see and be convinced, speaks for itself.

Last Monday when the team visited the headquarters of NCAA at Ikeja, Lagos for the commencement of the inspection, NCAA declared that it was more than ready to present its scorecard to show that it has sustained the status beyond every imagination.

On that Monday’s brief event, the acting DG of NCAA, Benedict Adeyileka, an engineer, declared that the Federal Government and its chief executive, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan have thrown their support over the exercise and told the team of the President’s ‘full support’ in all its ramification in order to realise the retention of this much needed category one status.

He also announced that all the other aviation agencies are indeed very supportive in realising this project. His words: “This is to assure you (FAA team) that NCAA is not alone in this programme, we have the full support of the Federal Government of Nigeria, His Excellency President Goodluck Jonathan, the Supervising Minister, High Chief Samuel Ortom, all stakeholders namely NAMA, FAAN, Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), AIB, NIMET and airline operators and aviation service providers.”

Adeyileka told his audience that this exercise will help to shape the future of aviation in Nigeria as well as strengthen the safety oversight capability of the agency and also helps to provide reassurance to the flying public. He added that his authority is always ready and prepared for the exercise to ensure high level of compliance to safety standards.

NCAA and other aviation agencies said yesterday that they are ready for the audit.

He stated that the four man team was here carry out assessment of NCAA’s compliance with applicable sections of ICAO standards contained in Annexes 1,6 and 8 as a result of the eight critical elements of a state safety oversight as described in the ICAO document 9734A. According to Adeyileka, the team will use the current International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) checklist and ICAO guidance material during the assessment.

The eight critical elements are, primary aviation legislation, specific operating regulations, state civil aviation system and safety oversight functions and technical personnel qualification and training.

Other critical elements include: technical guidance and tools, licensing and certification obligations, surveillance obligations and resolution of safety concerns.

The D G explained that in preparation for the visit NCAA has provided responses to the checklist and forwarded it to the FAA team leader.

Getting rid of aerophobia Familiarise yourself with the sights and sounds of flying. Understand the bumps and movements of an airplane.

—- Christopher Cook

Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos Engr Adeyileka stated that the team will also visit Arik Air and its facilities as the airline currently operates directly into and out of the continental USA which was used for their initial IASA category one assessment in 2010.

FAA awarded Nigeria Category One safety status in 2010 after it was satisfied with the country’s meeting the International Aviation Safety Assessment standards and four years later, the body decided to re-audit Nigeria in response to critical media reports about the aviation industry in the country, according to its letter to NCAA to announce the recertification.

Category One safety status has improved Nigeria’s aviation industry and has improved its status in the comity of nations, in addition to the fact that the award enabled Nigerian registered aircraft to fly directly to the United States of America.

Since 2010 Nigeria has significantly improved the sector, providing safety critical equipment and projects and also strengthened its regulation of air operation in the country.

Spokesman of the aviation agencies, Yakubu Dati said the Category One status was awarded to Nigeria after the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) audit certified its airspace worthiness.

“Within the space of three years after this certification, the various parastatals under the ministry of aviation have attained significant milestones,” Dati stated.

Dati said the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has between the years 2010 and 2014 reached a new height, as the organisation is committed to making a conscious effort in keeping both passengers and the Nigerian public safe and secure at the airports.

“FAAN is fully compliant with ICAO standards for firefighting and rescue operations. Before July 2011, there were only 20 fire tenders avail-

able, but now, FAAN has 46 fire tenders. In addition, 450 brand new kits, (equipment as well as personal protective clothing) have been provided for all firemen and women.

This has been done to enable firemen efficiently carry-out their duties in securing and safeguarding the airport terminals, staff and passengers,” he said.

Dati noted that the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), through the new Air Traffic Management system deployed under the TRACON project, has greatly improved the safety of the Nigerian airspace exponentially.

“The TRACON project has been completed with approach radar control in Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port-Harcourt. Area Radar commenced in Lagos and Kano ACCs. This has significantly increased airspace capacity for the Nigerian aviation industry.”

He said TRACON has significantly improved safety in the sector in addition to the deployment of control tower solar power for navigational aids which was unavailable for a long time and now Nigeria has six navigational aids and 11 control towers to its credit.

During the period under review, Dati said NCAA recorded major achievements after the Cat 1 certification in 2010 and one of these achievements is the deployment of flight tracking system, Automated Flight Information Reporting System (AFIRS) which was unavailable in the country before the FAA certification.

“Another pertinent milestone is the IOSA certification and interlining which had never been done in Nigeria. Two local airlines have been successfully certified under this programme and the exercise is currently on going. With the restructuring of the NCAA, Nigeria will have an affective, proactive aviation safety reg-

ulator similar to what is found in any advanced countries of the world,” he also said.

Dati remarked that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIPB) have recorded various achievements that have enhanced aviation safety and security in Nigeria’s aviation industry since the country attained the category 1 status.

Some of these achievements, he said, include the AIPB now being able to download, extract, decode and analyse the aircraft accident data from the CVR and FDR (Black Boxes) thus saving time and money for the country.

In announcing its own readiness to cooperate with FAA team, Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) in a statement by its general manager corporate communication, Supo Atobatele said NAMA has put in place all necessary logistics for the US FAA Category one reassessment of the Nigerian aviation industry.

According to him, NAMA had before now identified every open item that needed to be closed as part of its safety measures in the provision of air navigation services.

The agency said it would use the ongoing reassessment to ascertain its status as one of the leading air navigation service providers in the world.

The managing director of the agency, Ibrahim Abdulsalam, an engineer, remarked that NAMA’s huge investment in new technologies and technical competence of personnel will definitely contribute to the expected sustenance of FAA CAT-1 status for the country.

If Nigeria passes this test, it will mean that more airlines will join the existing three now, to have direct access to American routes which have very lucrative commercial potential for Nigeria and the USA. Until this happens, it can only be imagined.

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46 | AVIATION BUSINESS Friday, April 4, 2014

Emirates airline launches giant A380 double decker service from Gatwick Stories by Ibe Uwaleke MIRATES has launched its E A380 service to Gatwick representing a 15 percent capacity boost for the UK’s South East. The airline was the first carrier to operate an allA380 service out of Heathrow and is now the first to lead the service out of Gatwick, the same airport from which Emirates flew its inaugural UK flight 26 years ago.

Speaking about the launch, Hubert Frach, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President Commercial Operations West said: “Six years after launch the Emirates A380 is still a customer magnet. Airports the world over are eager to have the Emirates A380 on their roster and today’s launch to London Gatwick is representative of that demand.”

In order to become A380 compliant, London Gatwick has invested £6.4m in new facilities, including the widening of three runway rapid exit taxiways and modifications to taxiways between the runway and the stand.

Guy Stephenson, Chief Commercial Officer of London Gatwick, said: “The A380 is one of the modern marvels of aviation engineering and as such we have dedicated part of Gatwick’s £1bil-

lion investment in transforming its infrastructure, creating a stand designed specifically with the world’s largest aircraft in mind. We are pleased to welcome a scheduled A380 service with Emirates, an airline that Gatwick has a long history with.”

“Emirates and Gatwick have once again been working closely together in the shared goal of providing the best possible passenger experience,” added Mr Frach. “It is fitting that Gatwick’s renewed spirit of ambition, as symbolised in their modernisation programme of recent years, will now be joined by Emirates’ own symbol of ambition and connectivity, the world’s largest passenger jet. Now, more people in the South East of England will be able to connect to more destinations and that is great news for holidaymakers and business travellers alike.”

Emirates is a strategic investor in the UK employing over 700 staff, and contributing £260m into the economies of the six hubs that it operates to. The launch of this A380 has not only allowed Gatwick to invest, but also supports suppliers such as Alpha LSG, who are now tasked with producing over 1,000 additional meals each week.

The airline’s commitment to

the A380 will also guarantee jobs at companies like AIM Aviation, a British company based in the South East that supplies furniture for the A380 upper deck, including the iconic on-board lounge for First Class and Business Class passengers. Airbus itself employs around 10,000 people in the UK, and Emirates’ announcement last year of a further 50 new A380s guarantees those jobs for many years to come.

The daily A380 service will replace the existing afternoon Boeing 777-300ER flight EK 009, providing customers with an additional 9700 seats per month in both directions.

Emirates passengers flying the A380 will have access to a spacious aircraft, with a cabin that is two-and-a-half feet wider than a Boeing 777; experience a peaceful journey in the world’s quietest longrange jet; use the on-board Wi-Fi; indulge in world-class

food and be entertained by the award-winning ice system with over 1,600 channels of entertainment.

First Class and Business Class passengers will have access to the A380’s on-board Lounge, with space to mingle whilst enjoying world-class delicacies. First Class passengers can experience the aircraft’s

Nigeria Customs detects hard drugs at SAHCOL export warehouse

Murtala Muhammed NAHCO endows professorial chair in Aviation Economics THE International Airport Command of Nigeria conference and circulating “The Mallam Aminu Kano AHCO Aviance last week- 1930s.

Customs Service (NCS) has Airport was the first airport Nend endowed a professo- An elated Vice Chancellor of them widely. detected substances suspectrial chair in Aviation the University, Professor The VC further said that the established in West Africa in Economics at the Bayero University, Kano.

The endowment would enable the Chair carry out research in Aviation Economics in particular and the Aviation industry generally.

Speaking at the event in Kano, the Chairman of the Company, Alhaji Suleman Yahyah pointed out that Kano that Kano deserved such an honour being the first city to receive an aircraft in Nigeria as far back as

Abubakar Rasheed, said that the money coming with the research will go a long way in creating an impact in transport economy in such a way that after five years of the duration of the present endowment, the department would have acquired enough competence by training some candidates including doctorate students in the area of Transport Economy or holding annual conference in Transport Economy and publishing the proceedings of the

endowment of the professorial chair by the leading ground aviation handling company in the West Africa sub-region would also go a long way in sensitizing the general academic community about the field of Transport Economy.

Explaining the choice of Kano, Yahyah said Kano is one of the centres of excellence in Nigeria. He stated that Kano has to its credit, several hundreds of years of history of commerce, dating back to trans-Sahara trade.

1930s and our core business in nahco PLC is aviation handling. So when we decided as a company to realign our CSR from mere donations, and interventions and support to longer-term sustainable support, we felt that BUK having sustained a tradition of academic excellence and who had bred several champions who are today in positions of leadership in various sectors of Nigeria economy, this should be one of our first port of call,” Yahyah said.

on-board signature Shower Spa, with a state-of-the-art shower system and Timeless Shower Spa kits, as well as the aircraft’s First Class Private Suites.

Emirates has the world’s largest A380 fleet with 47 of these aircraft serving 27 global destinations.

ed to be hard drugs which were packaged in a consignment of six packages containing various spare parts and household-goods for examination at the SAHCOL export shed for export to Gabon.

According to the Public Relations Officer, a Deputy Superintendent of Customs, Mrs Thelma Williams the substance was detected during joint examination by officers of Nigeria Customs Service led by a deputy superintendent of Customs Toyin Momoh and other agencies.

The other agencies that took part in the joint examination include: State Security Services, Directorate of Military Intelligence and Anti - Bomb Squad of the Nigerian

Police.

According to Williams Public five wraps of the substance suspected to be hard drugs were found concealed in one of the stabilisers.

She explained that tests carried out by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), confirmed the substance to be cocaine with total weight of six hundred grammes.

She said the substance has been transferred to the NDLEA for further investigation.

The PRO also said the agent for the container, Mr Nyeaka Anslem has been detained at the NDLEA, including the package in which the hard drug was found.

The Public Relations Officer said the remaining five packages of the consignment have been transferred to government warehouse pending further investigations.

FAAN MD promises timely completion of Lagos cargo, pilgrims terminals HE Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of T Nigeria, (FAAN), Saleh Dunoma, an engineer, has promised the completion of Cargo and Pilgrims terminals located at the

CEO Evergreen Apple Nigeria Aviation/NBAC 2014 Convener, Segun Demuren, (left), Acting Director General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority Engineer Benedict Adeyileka, Achuzie Ezenagu Managing Director Toucan Aviation at the Nigerian Business Aviation conference that took place at Ikoyi, Lagos…recently

Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

In a statement issued by the coordinator of aviation parastatals, Yakubu Dati, the MD inspected the on-going construction and said the terminal will sanitise the cargo section and increase business activity. At the Pilgrims terminal, the Managing Director said the facility will provide comfortable and decent passage for both Christian and Muslim pilgrims.

According to Dunoma, the terminals are designed with special emphases on safety and security for the overall benefit of travellers, airport users as well as goods and services.

The cargo terminal consists of Air cargo section, Trans-shipment section.

The MD who was accompanied by, Director of Cargo and Cargo terminal Manager, Dr Uche Ufulue also inspected the general park and courier park

Friday, April 4, 2014 AVIATION BUSINESS 47

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‘How Free Trade Zone can make Nigeria aviation cargo hub’ Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc, (NAHCOAviance), Nigeria’s foremost ground handling cargo company, has clocked 35 years in aviation business operation this month. Over the years this quoted company has grown in size, operations and performance making it one of the largest cargo handling company in Africa. In this interview granted in commemoration of the anniversary, the managing director and chief executive officer of the company, Mr. Kayode Oluwasegun-Ojo tells the story of the journey of the company so far.

By Ibe Uwaleke years ago, the Nigerian Aviation FtisedEW Handling Company Plc (NAHCO) was privaand it unfolded a lofty plan on how it would diversify its businesses. Is that dream still on?

“Let’s start from the beginning, the company is actually going to be 35 years old next month. It is one of the few companies that I know of in Nigeria that started operation before it was incorporated. When Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos started in April 1979, NAHCO started. The company was then incorporated on December 6, 1979. The privatisation took place 2005 and 2006 and the shares of the company were listed on the Nigerian Stick Exchange.

Before we came out and said we wanted to diversify and expand, one of the things we engaged was to transform. The first phase of that transformation was done quietly. The second phase, which started 2010 till the end of last year was a more obvious and visible transformation. Before privatisation government had 60 per cent of NAHCO ownership and 40 per cent private ownership by the airlines. The 60 per cent government ownership was dominant so the orientation was government. That orientation had to change. You do not take people who play division three to Premiership and expect them to win. So if we didn’t conclude our transformation process, we cannot speak about diversification.

It has to be noted that of all companies that were privatised by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) we dare say that NAHCO is the most successful. Since privatisation we have consistently paid dividends. Before privatisation we had about 1,200 staff, today we have over 1,700 and the turnover has been growing.

We have started the process of diversification.

Just last month we were given our free trade zone approval, conveyed to us through the office of the Nigerian Export Promotion Zones Authority (NEPZA) based on Mr. President’s approval. I think for us that is a significant step in terms of diversification and there is a subsidiary company which has been put in place, which is going to start operating that free trade zone project. The last thing I want to say with respect to that is, because we are a publicly quoted company with corporate governance we always have to disclose what we want to do ahead of time.

Can you give more details on the free trade zone project and what you will be doing with it?

“You recall I told you we did two steps transformation: internal and external. Part of the external phase of the transformation was the commissioning of the ultra-modern warehouse on May 31, 2012. By the time we finished with the warehouse in 2012, we realised that we would need to do certain things to benefit from the capacity which the warehouse has. Specifically, the free trade zone has three advantages for the country, NAHCO and for the aviation industry.

It provides an opportunity for you to bring in things supposedly in a borderless environment. The second thing that it will do is that it will improve significantly the traffic that comes to Nigeria and enhance the status of Nigeria as aviation cargo hub. And of course, it will give us much more cargo business because you can do trans-shipment etc.

How will NAHCO take advantage of this free trade zone to benefit from the free cargo export project, which the federal government is developing in order boost the volume of cargo export from Nigeria?

“Part of what we did after the privatisation of the company was understanding the business.

In transport economics, the model of pricing is as follows; when you charter a car from Lagos to Benin, you will pay the price of going and returning, whether you used the cab for only one way or not. That is a way of saying that what we have to pay as a country in terms of freight prices are factored that way. This is because the cargo planes come to Nigeria full of cargo but

they fly back empty because there is not a lot of export cargo. However, you can be sure that whoever chartered that flight will pay for the fuel to and fro.

So if we compare ourselves with countries like Ghana at our corner where they do a lot of outbound export, you realise we are not there yet.

And we heard on good authority that a lot of those exports are actually trucked from Nigeria to Ghana and exported. So this free zone will also give us the opportunity to have that kind of throughput outwards and also transshipment within Africa.

Can you say how much Nigeria may be losing in paying for freights to import goods into the country?

“I cannot give a rough figure off head, but let’s us use this as an example. A plane comes in, it has X number of pallets of imported cargo and it is leaving empty. So you multiply what you bring in by one as a potential of what you can take out and that gives you an idea of what we could be making. A lot of these things...we have an export shed there and there are volumes of what we export but not near the volume of what we import and not also in the magnitude of what is potentially available for us to export.

We will link the free trade zone directly with what has been proposed by the Ministry of Aviation in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture. The figures they are quoting are huge, billions if not trillions in terms of potential agriculture produce that could be leaving Nigeria if we have the appropriate structures in place.

With the threat of terrorism how do you ensure that the goods that enter your warehouse are properly screened?

“First of all, when we took the decision to modernise and expand the warehouse we consulted widely and one of the things we did was to use the standard set by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) so our warehouse fits IATA standard. Secondly, you recall that in 2012 we got the prestigious excellent performance certification as a handling company, which is being renewed. So IATA standard and the certification dictate the standard we must follow in maintaining the warehouse. The third is that we have invested significantly in equipment. That is technology. First we got a dual vision scanning machine. It was commissioned two years ago by the then Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). We have also invested in explosion detection devices (ETDs) both in Lagos, Abuja and where we have our warehouses that do both import and export. That in a nutshell is what we have done in terms of securing our cargo.

I should also mention that the clientele that we have including the international airlines, especially the European carriers have a mandate which includes the fact that they cannot pick anything inbound into Europe, except those ports meet certain criteria.

What I can tell you is that we still have those clients on our books. They are still working with us; they are still exporting and we have had a couple of audits in recent times and that is because we have been able to meet the criteria that they set. We believe that in Nigeria we can operate with the global best standards, even if we have local con-

tent. And that is our story really in NAHCO. That is how we have been able to deal with the threat of terrorism and what have you. Of course there is no full proof system and we keep improving everyday but as for where standards are today, we are able to meet global standards.

When you started the aviation industry was not as big as it is today. Do you presently have sufficient equipment and personnel that meet that volume of business that you do which has grown over time?

“Let us step back to 2008; that was about two years after privatisation. Most of the equipment that we had then had average age of 20 to 30 years old. Today the average age of our equipment is two to three years old. We have also taken time to train, re-orientate our staff and in the last two years several of our staff have won different kinds of awards: integrity awards, airline awards and others, I think those are clear testimony that we are well positioned to serve the current clientele that we have. We will strive to keep improving because the industry in itself is not static. We strive to keep abreast with wherever the industry is going to.

Indeed as far as Nigeria and West Africa are concerned, we remain a leader.

How has the influx of foreign airlines into the country boosted your business as aviation handling company and do you think you will gain more if more Nigeria airlines opera t e inter-

national routes?

“We are in the secondary end of the value chain. The primary decision to fly an airline is taken by a passenger; the primary decision to consign goods is taken by a consignee, so we do business with the airlines. We are service providers. However, of the more than 30 foreign airlines that come to Nigeria we handle 85 per cent of them and by extension, the same thing with the cargo. You are right that from 2008 till now a lot of airlines have come in. I will say that the same ratio we have been able to maintain in terms of keeping ourselves at that top end.

On the question when we as a country are able to have huge outbound passengers, we will still benefit because we are at the secondary end of the market. As far as we remain a prosperous country of 170 million people who will have need to travel for business, education and other reasons, we are on ground to deal with the request of the airlines. Indeed I will like to say that our joy is to see that there is a lot more local participation that does not compromise international standards. I said it earlier that our pride in NAHCO is that we are Nigerian company, we have been working with foreign airlines for 35 years and we deliver service in the local context but with international standards.

What are the challenges you face in terms inadequate infrastructure and the cost of generating your own power to sustain your services?

“It is not a NAHCO problem alone, but it is a significant problem for the Nigerian private sector as a whole. You are correct; it has affected us.

We run several generators and we provide quite a bit of infrastructure even around the airport in terms of CCTV and other equipment. At the end of the day because the primary issue in this industry revolve around safety and security, we are unable to say we will not do those things because if we don’t do those things we might not be in business. If you look at profit and loss of our financial report, maybe from 2011, 2012, you will see that there is a lot of expense in maintaining infrastructure and generating power. It is part of the cost of doing business. We sincerely hope and pray now that power has been privatised and all the other reforms being taken by the federal government led by President Goodluck Jonathan that we will see the impact of those things on our own cost profile.

And then we can become more profitable and give our shareholders more dividends.

MD/CEO, NAHCO/Aviance

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48 Friday, April 4, 2014

FridayWorship “Surely, the religion with Allah is ISLAM,complete submission”... Qur’an 3:19

Soka and the loss of humanity in our cities

By Afis A. Oladosu

In the Name of the Almighty, the Beneficent the Merciful “…if anyone kills a person – unless in retribution for murder or for spreading corruption in the land – his punishment shall be as if he kills all mankind…” (Q5:32).

RETHREN, she told her husband she was B going to pick her child from the nursery school in another part of the city. She said she would be back within an hour. Thus she went.

She waved down one of the taxis on the road.

Completely oblivious of the destiny that lay ahead of her, she hopped inside the taxi. She met two girls inside the car.

Sitting beside the driver in the front seat is another passenger, a male. The two girls at the back seat were busy with their blackberry phones. They were busy “pinging” away. Little did they know they were actually being driven to the land of no return!

When the car reached the young woman’s destination in the city, she told the driver she wanted to come down. But alas! She was told there was no coming down again for her.

There and then she realized she had taken the wrong vehicle. Before she knew what was happening, the male passenger in the front seat then threw something at her and the other passengers at the back. Silence immediately descended on the unfortunate woman and her co-passengers. She only got to know where she was when she was given a kick in the tummy. She then opened her eyes in agony. She wanted to lift her hands but that was impossible. She had been tied to a tree.

She did not know where her former co- passengers were.

A short moment thereafter, she saw a decapitated body being carried away. Out of extreme pain, agony and in response to the horror she beheld, she shouted the Name of the Almighty: Ya Allah! Ya Allah!! Ya Allah!!!

When calamities befall a man he calls on the object of his worship. It is in moments like these - when all hopes seem lost, when there is no escape from the destiny of the Almighty except in recourse into His rahmah –that faith in His power comes handy. There was nobody else who could rescue the young woman from the guillotine but the owner of the soul of those who invented the guillotine – the Almighty, the Omnipresent, the Omniscient.

Thus by shouting His Name, it felt as if she was invoking the only Name which she trusted; she was calling on Him who could rescue her from the throes of death. But miraculously, somebody else was made to answer her call. It was as if she directed her lamentation at the “director of the company”- the head of the human abattoir. Thus a voice responded from the inner side of the forest asking: “who is that person who wants to destroy us and our work here?” Thereafter an elderly man emerged from an encampment in the forest.

He contemplated the woman for a brief moment. Then he announced: “Please return this ‘animal’ to where you picked her from; she is not suitable for us!”

Two men immediately emerged from the thicket. They untied the woman from the stakes, gagged her mouth with rags, tied her hands and legs, covered her face with a hood and bundled her into a car. What the woman heard thereafter was the sound of the engine of the car as it zoomed off into the unknown.

After travelling for, in her estimation, nothing less than an hour, the car suddenly came to halt. One of the men opened the back door of the car and together they dragged her

down on to the road. They untied her legs and hands, gave her a beating of her life and left her for dead. After a short while, she succeeded in untying the gag on her mouth and eyes and began to ponder where she was and how she would get back to her family.

Soon, thereafter, people started passing by.

She then walked up to them. She narrated her ordeal and appealed to them to show her the direction to the part of the city where her family lived. The villagers opened their eyes in wonderment. They told the woman that she was about four hundred kilometers away from her destination. In other words, those who kidnapped her had traversed two states in the Southwest before they arrived the city from which she was taken.

Brethren, the above story, which was told to us by a close associate of the victim, actually took place a couple of years ago. In other words, long before Soka, in the city of Ibadan, became ‘popular’, long before Nigeria occupied the frontline of news reportage, once again, for the wrong reason, our cities have always been held down by news of the disappearance of citizens of this country without a trace. Hardly does a week pass by without advertorials being placed in the electronic and print media soliciting for information about missing men and women. Brethren, long before today, Nigeria has constantly being losing her soul.

Put differently dear brethren, long before the “abattoir” in Soka was discovered, our cemeteries have always been desecrated by elements who appear like humans but who, in reality, have lost their humanity. These were people who served as couriers and sellers of human parts. These are people who started by using animals as objects of sacrifice for their heinous and Satanic ministrations. Soon Shaytan, in whose parliament they are ‘honorables’, issued the proclamation that animal parts would no longer be useful and that human parts taken from cemeteries would be more efficacious for their orgish desires.

Thus, the desecration of our cemeteries became the order of the day. But in line with the information provided the Almighty in the Qur’an, Shaytan would not work, neither with the minimum nor medium sins but with the maximum. Thus, it issued yet a new proclamation that cadaver parts would no longer be useful but parts of humans taken just before or immediately the person expires.

Invariably our cities lost their innocence.

Invariably news about our cities became more sanguine. Thus, your emotion is constantly assaulted by the news that a man has been caught with a fresh human head in a polyethylene bag; that a toddler, left unto himself by his aberrant mother, is taken to the knife by some willful and beastly agents of Shaytan, who made away with his phallus.

But brethren, would you not wonder what power is it that these elements desire to wring out of the butchered bosom of a woman? Would you not wonder what worldly gains do these evil people hope to make by inflicting such heinous pain on their victims and their families? Is it not true that the reason our city has lost its innocence is partly because some of our big men have the belief that the height they want to attain would only become possible if they dine with the devil and fraternize with princes and princesses of darkness?

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Friday, April 4, 2014

MarketReport EQUITY MARKET SUMMARY

AS AT 03-04-2014

PRIMERA AFRICA www.primera-africa.com

Friday, April 4, 2014 MARKET REPORT

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MARKET INDICATORS

AS AT 03-04-2014

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PRIMERA AFRICA

Diamond bank declares N32.1b PBT

By Bukky Olajide

• Declares 30k dividend

IAMOND Bank Plc has D declared a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of N32.1 billion for

opportunities to grow our business and market share responsibly as we leverage on our growing customer relationships, enhanced by our expansive delivery channels and excellent service delivery.

On the strength of the Bank’s impressive performance, the Board of Directors has proposed payment of dividend to shareholders at the rate of 30k per share.

Diamond Bank recorded some landmark achievements during the year under review. As a demonstration of accomplishments in Retail Banking, Diamond Bank was among the four banks in Africa appointed by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) to manage $7.1 million (N1.1 billion) fund dedicated to bringing 1.3 million people from sub-Saharan Africa into the formal financial sector.

Furthermore, the bank received an award from the World Finance Group as the Best Bank in Oil & Gas investment in 2013 (second year running). This is in addition to being awarded the best issuing partner bank in subSaharan Africa, 2013, by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

its financial year ended December 31, 2013. This performance represents a sustainable growth in profitability over the past two years.

The Bank’s PBT was achieved from gross earnings of N181.2 billion, an increase of 27 percent over N143.0 billion earned in the previous year.

The Profit After Tax (PAT) for the year grew by 29 percent to N28.5 billion as against N22.1 billion recorded in 2012. The PAT resulted in earnings per share of 197kobo for the year.

In the words of the Group Managing Director, Dr. Alex Otti, “We are pleased to announce that Diamond Bank has exceeded its N30 billion profit guidance to return a profit before tax of N32 billion in 2013. This result is rooted in our strength to attract low-cost deposits and deploy these into various assets at profitable yet acceptable risk levels”.

He added: “Despite the challenging operating environment, we continue to advance our competitive advantage with above industry balance sheet growth. We will continue to explore all

Kogi completes first tranche of N5b infrastructure bond • To commence second phase in June 2014

By Helen Oji OGI State government has announced that the N5billion first tranche of the N20 billion bond raised in the Nigerian Capital Market by the state for infrastructural development had been completed.

Besides, the second tranche of another N5billion, according to the state government would be issued by June 2014.

The Governor of Kogi State, Capt. Idris Wada, while addressing stockbrokers at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in Lagos yesterday, explained that the first tranche of the bond was oversubscribed, adding that, the funds had been disbursed to the various sectors for project execution.

Wada, who noted that the bond had given the state an opportunity for infrastructural transformation, explained that the state had commenced construction of a dualised by-pass, a multi link highway, which would give the state capital a befitting structural transformation.

He pointed out that the state had launched a 500 housing units and land to accommodate the citizens and others in the private sector.

Wada further explained that the state would perform a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of 11 storey building in Abuja in the next two weeks.

He submitted that these proj-

K

ects would boost its internal generated revenue (IGR) , adding that the state has commenced work on seven out of the 11 projects the bond was earmarked for.

“We are blocking several leakages. Kogi is a strategic state location with natural resources to leverage on our human capital and natural resources has been difficult for us in our 23 years of history.

When I assumed office, I found out that there is a fallen gap between our fund and what we needed to do to transform the state.

“These projects would boost the IGR of the state. We are building 11-storey property in a prime area of Abuja and is expected to generate income for the state. We have more than doubled the IGR and the state would experience major transformation in the next two years.”

He expressed optimism that the second tranche would be over subscribed, while assuring the capital market community that the state government is already preparing and repositioning some big companies in the state for listing in future.

“We are looking forward to restructuring some of our big companies and in some of the public private partnership, we have signed with some domestic and international investors to reposition these companies and bring them to the Exchange for listing in future.”

He said.

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Weekend

Women’s burden

Friday, April 4 , 2014

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How abused women could utilize Although, the International Women’s Day was observed on March 8, ROTIMI LAWRENCE OYEKANMI writes on the numerous hurdles Nigerian women still face and how those who suffer abuses could seek reliefs Any individual, non-governmental organization, group or network may submit communications (complaints/appeals/petitions) to the Commission on the Status of Women, containing information relating to alleged violations of human rights that affect the status of women in any country in the world. The Commission on the Status of Women considers such communications as part of its annual programme of work, in order to identify emerging trends and patterns of injustice and discriminatory practices against women for purposes of policy formulation and development of strategies for the promotion of gender equality.

– United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women TROUBLED GIANT, the cynical phrase coined A by the British and American media when reporting on Nigeria, presents the paradox of a country blessed by God in all ramifications, yet plagued by self inflicted vices that are encouraged, as leftists have famously argued, by western powers and their financial institutions.

Whether in parts of the Southwest or South South where deranged adult males are increasingly raping girls as young as five years old; or in Jos, Plateau state, where neighbours have becomes enemies and old women are butchered by Fulani herdsmen with impunity; or even in the Northeast, where the Boko Haram insurgents have turned thousands of hapless, young women into emergency widows and young girls to orphans, Nigerian women have always borne the brunt of crimes, conflicts and policies they knew little or nothing about.

At the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York (United States), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO’s) base in Paris (France), where beautiful words are weaved together to profess the “dignity,” “rights” and “progress” of women to commemorate the International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8, the current plight of Nigerian women is a missing link.

“This is a moment when we review past achievements and look ahead to the challenges, as well as to untapped potential and opportunities,” the Director General of UNESCO, Ms Irina Bokova said in a statement issued to commemorate the IWD. “This stocktaking is all the more important, as we approach the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Conference and the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals and as we shape a new global sustainable development agenda to follow 2015. In moving forward, we must ensure that women’s empowerment and gender equality stand at the heart of all our work to craft a better future.”

The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, on the same occasion said: “I have a message for every girl born today, and to every woman and girl on the planet: Realizing human rights and equality is not a dream, it is a duty of governments, the United Nations and every human being. I also have a message for my fellow men and boys: play your part. All of us benefit when women and girls – your mothers, sisters, friends and colleagues –can reach their full potential.”

Used, blamed, then abandoned When a certain Mr. Kareem Biobaku, a cocoa merchant who had three daughters and two sons was asked in 1973 why he preferred to send his two boys to school, leaving the girls out, he blurted: “my boys will continue to bear my name but the girls will get married and drop my name.” Only in 2012, a farmer in Cross Rivers state with five girls and three boys angrily decided to withdraw all his daughters from school when he discovered that his eldest

A woman in distress daughter, who was in SS 2 had been impregnated by a boy in his neighbourhood. Asked why he took the decision, he said there was no point spending his hard earned income on the girls if they would eventually end up getting pregnant before completing secondary school. All entreaties by relatives to convince him that his three remaining daughters may not necessarily follow their elder sister’s path fell on deaf ears.

Several young girls have, especially in recent time, been raped and dehumanized. In 2009, four policemen were alleged to have gangraped two students of the Enugu State University. Despite repeated demands for justice by some non – governmental organizations, (NGOs) the policemen were merely suspended and later dismissed but never prosecuted.

In August last year, an 18 – year girl, Chinyere Onorfue’s dead body was discovered in a hotel room in Benin City, Edo state after she had checked in with one Emmanuel Ajayi. Her throat had been slashed and Ajayi was later ar-

rested.

In Yenogoa, Bayelsa state, another 18 – yearold-girl simply known as “Janet” was said to have committed suicide when she could no longer bear the shame after being gang-raped.

Last month, two female students of Bowen and Benson Idahosa Universities were cornered, raped and killed. The former was said to have gone to buy a recharge card and was trailed by some cultists to her residence. The culprits even had the audacity to send a text message to the victim’s mother, informing her that her daughter had been killed for being “too proud” and “refusing their advances.”

The latter, a 22 – year old 300 level student, was raped at an area called Upper Adesuwa in Edo State.

Back in January, nine men were arrested in Sokoto state for killing a nine-year-old girl after they had raped her. In Osun state, another 27-year-old-man was arrested recently and charged for defiling a two-year-old. No fewer than 100 cases of rape were recorded in Kano courts in 2013, out of which only 40 were convicted. In Lagos, the Commissioner of Police,

The ongoing Boko Haram insurgency in the North East has also created multiple problems for women. On the side of the federal government, wives of soldiers who were killed in the line of duty have become emergency widows, and left to fend for the families alone. In many instances, the federal government does not make adequate provisions to take care of families left behind by the dead soldiers. There is no scholarship scheme for the departed’s children and facing the hurdles of life often put enormous pressure on the women.

Umar Manko recently revealed that his command recorded 132 rape cases last year, as against 129 in 2012. And in Rivers state, criminal gangs raped a total of 1,200 women last year.

Ironically, some of the culprits, when apprehended, blamed the victims for their actions.

Unfortunately, the provisions of the law make it difficult to prosecute offenders. The chairman of the Ikeja Branch of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Monday Ubani admitted that rising rape cases could not be unconnected to the failure of the justice system to, in his words, deal ruthlessly with rapists.

He said: “Although, the laws are there to punish convicts, they are not applied most of the time especially by the security agencies, which advise victims and the victim’s family members to settle with the rapists, thereby making it look like a family affair or civil matter.

“The issue of stigmatization of rape victims also contributes to making the application of the law unattractive. Rape victims fear stigmatization and therefore unwilling to report rape cases and even where and when they report, they are unwilling to pursue the case to a logical conclusion. Most of the rapists are not prosecuted successfully and so, the issue of enough punishment cannot be the issue.”

Discrimination against women in the workplace is also very common in Nigeria. At an event organized by the United States (U.S) embassy in Lagos recently, a middle aged female entrepreneur (names withheld) narrated how she was frustrated and sacked by reputable insurance company in the country, just after

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United Nations’ remedies

Jonathan Christmas. According to her, her appointment into the upper management cadre of the company had made her much older colleagues uncomfortable.

She said: “The first thing was that, I discovered that all my male colleagues were in their 50s and here I was, in my 30s, holding that position. And I performed very well; I put in my best and the results showed clearly that things were improving.

“I was shocked when I got a call from our chairman, one day, that I had to step down. No reason was given, I was not accused of anything, and even there had been any accusation, I was not given any fair hearing. And before I knew it, I was sacked, just after Christmas. I was devastated. It took me a while to come to terms with the action and when this type of thing happens to you that suddenly, you can just fizzle out.

“Although, some of my friends and relatives tried to arrange some jobs interviews for me, I refused them. I was done with working for other people. I thought that, if I could perform very well for a company, I should be able to do the same for myself.

So, I set up my own company and here I am today, we are doing well in spite of challenges.”

The banking industry has also been accused of using women unfairly to garner deposits. Stories abound on how young ladies are being sent after influential politicians and civil servants to solicit for funds.

A 35-year old woman, who resigned from one of the top five banks in the country last year, told The Guardian recently: “When I joined my former bank in 2010, the first hurdle I faced was from my branch manager who wanted to prove to the bank’s Board of Directors that his branch was exceptional. So, he asked the Marketing Unit, where I was the head, with three other young girls and a guy under me, to bring in N200 million deposits every month.

“He would set up appointments for us, with the big boys, sometimes at odd hours. Yet, he knew I was married. So, I would meet with these guys; some of them were gentlemen, some were not. One very influential individual told me outright that I had to go to bed with him in exchange for an immediate N25 million deposit. When I told him I was married, he asked if I would tell my husband about anything we did together. Of course, I refused and he also refused to give me the deposit.

When we could not meet up with our target, problem started.

The only guy among us was the first to be sacked, then one of my girls was also transferred. The pressure was so much. I had to admit the truth that there was no way I could meet the target.

I had to resign.”

Girls are also often subjected to cultural and religious exigencies. For instance, the practice of giving out young girls aged 12 to 13 years in arranged marriages in some parts of the north has been heavily criticized by many non-governmental organizations. Some northern emirs have been accused of marrying underage girls that should still be in secondary schools.

Some women organizations took a former Governor, who introduced Sharia in his state up, over the allegation that he married a 13-year-old girl. Lack of political will and selective application of the law have enabled perpetrators escape justice.

The ongoing Boko Haram insurgency in the North East has also created multiple problems for women. On the side of the federal government, wives of soldiers who were killed in the line of duty have become emergency widows, and left to fend for the families alone. In many instances, the federal government does not make adequate provisions to take care of families left behind by the dead soldiers. There is no scholarship scheme for the departed’s children and facing the hurdles of life often put enormous pressure on the women.

In the South, polygamy is creating big problems for women too. Apart from the fierce competition for the head of the fam-

Bokova

Ki-Moon

Maina

However, unknown to many women, many remedies are available at the UN to address the abuses they face in the society. For instance, women who feel aggrieved over any form of injustice has until August 1, this year to forward her petition to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) under the UN for necessary action.

The petition, according to the commission, must be accurate, detailed and related to the promotion of women’s rights in political, civil, social, and educational fields in any country anywhere in the world. It should: Identify as far as possible the woman victim, or women victims; Indicate clearly where (the particular country) the alleged violation(s) or pattern of violations have occurred or are occurring; Provide, when available, dates and circumstances of the alleged violations; Explain the context by providing relevant background information; and provide, when available, copies of documentation.

The CSW According to information obtained from the UN website, the CSW first met at Lake Success, New York, in February 1947, soon after the founding of the UN. All 15 government representatives were women. From its inception, the Commission was supported by a unit of the UN, that later became the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) in the UN Secretariat. The CSW forged a close relationship with non-governmental organizations, with those in consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) invited to participate as observers.

From 1947 to 1962, the Commission focused on setting standards and formulating international conventions to change discriminatory legislation and foster global awareness of women’s issues. In contributing to the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the CSW successfully argued against references to “men” as a synonym for humanity, and succeeded in introducing new, more inclusive language.

Since the codification of the legal rights of women needed to be supported by data and analysis, the Commission embarked on a global assessment of the status of women. Extensive research produced a detailed, country-by-country picture of their political and legal standing, which over time became a basis for drafting human rights instruments.

The Commission drafted the early international conventions on women’s rights, such as the 1953 Convention on the Political Rights of Women, which was the first international law instrument to recognize and protect the political rights of women; and the first international agreements on women’s rights in marriage, namely the 1957 Convention on the Nationality of Married Women, and the 1962 Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages.

The Commission also contributed to the work of UN offices, such as the International Labour Organization’s 1951 Convention concerning Equal Remuneration for Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value, which enshrined the principle of equal pay for equal work.

The UN and Gender Equality The Charter of the United Nations, signed in 1945, was the first international agreement to affirm the principle of equality between women and men. Since then, the UN has helped create a historic legacy of internationally agreed strategies, standards, programmes and goals to advance the status of women worldwide.

Over the years, the UN and its technical agencies have promoted the participation of women as equal partners with men in achieving sustainable development, peace, security, and full respect for human rights. The empowerment of women continues to be a central feature of the UN’s efforts to address social, economic and political challenges across the globe.

ily, serious wrangling occurs when the breadwinner unexpectedly dies, especially if he failed to leave a will. In some areas, failure to have a male child leads to the banishment of the deceased’s wife by his family members, who then help themselves with his property.

Some parents, especially in the rural areas, also force their young daughters into early marriages due to poverty. Some of the lucky victims have been saved by some non-governmental organizations. Many young girls are also forced or coerced into prostitution when faced with acute poverty.

The petition, according to the commission, must be accurate, detailed and related to the promotion of women’s rights in political, civil, social, and educational fields in any country anywhere in the world. It should: Identify as far as possible the woman victim, or women victims; Indicate clearly where (the particular country) the alleged violation(s) or pattern of violations have occurred or are occurring; Provide, when available, dates and circumstances of the alleged violations; Explain the context by providing relevant background information; and provide, when available, copies of documentation

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Sports ‘I am Efe, I don’t get tired’ ELTIC defender, Efe C Ambrose, believes his apparent indefatigability can be explained in the most simple way - “because I am Efe.” Due in part to his international duties with nigeria, the 25year-old defender has had a hectic schedule since joining the Hoops in 2012 from Israeli club FC Ashdod, and he will be at the World Cup in Brazil this summer when the Parkhead players return for pre-season training.

While edging closer to securing their third successive title, which was achieved against Partick Thistle at Firhill last week, manager neil Lennon confirmed he will again give his regular starters a holiday before the end of the season with a view to their early return for the Champions League qualifiers, which start in July.

However, Ambrose, speaking at Celtic Park, where he was publicising a scheme to allow Hoops fans to buy personalised paving stones at the club’s refurbished stadium entrance, does not want to take his boss up on the offer.

Asked why he did not need a rest, he smiled and replied: “Because I am Efe. “I don’t know (if I am different from the other players), I speak for myself. “next week, there is no game so I can have days off but I don’t need one week. It is too much for me.

“There is no time for rest. I don’t think I need a week off. I always like to play, I don’t think I need a break or a rest.

“I like playing football. I enjoy it. It is the first thing I think about. Sometimes the body needs a rest but I try not to in case I get used to it.

“I can’t remember (when I last had a holiday) it has been so long. When you start playing in the national team you don’t have a break.

“In the summer you are in the camp with the national team and before you know it you are back for pre-season training.

“It has been like that for the past four or five years. And when I go back home I do personal training so I can fit into the team when I come back.”

While the rest of the Hoops players are looking forward to recharging the batteries before another tilt at the Champions League next season, Ambrose believes preparations for the qualifiers should already be under way.

He said: “We have to prepare for the Champions League from now.

“We have to work harder, train harder, because the Champions League qualifiers are not going to be easy for us.

“It has never been easy and qualifying for the group stages is the most important thing for us. So there is no time for a rest. If you don’t prepare you will not be in the group stages.”

The amiable African is looking forward to nigeria’s friendly against Scotland at Fulham’s Craven Cottage on May 28, which is part of the Super Eagles’ preparations for Brazil.

He could come up against Celtic team mates Scott Brown, Charlie Mulgrew, James Forrest and Leigh Griffiths, but he declined to play the diplomatic card when asked his prediction.

“Can they beat us is the question, but I don’t think so,” he said. “We argue about it (in the dressing room) but I don’t think so.

“It is going to be a tough game. Scotland are doing better, they have a good squad but we have a good squad too. I can’t wait for it.”

Ambrose was also at odds with his Israeli team-mate Beram Kayal, who this week criticised the technical standard of the game in Scotland as he appeared to prepare for his departure from the Parkhead club at the end of the season.

“That is Beram’s opinion but the league is getting better day by day for me,” he said.

“All around the world people know Celtic because we always play in the Champions League.

So I don’t see why the Scottish league is no good.

“For me, it is a brilliant league and I am becoming a better player here, and they are helping me to become a better player than what I was when I was in Israel.”

• Culled from www.sport.bt.com

Nigeria’s Elohor not involved in Barcelona’s ban ARCELOnA’S two-window B transfer ban has been detailed over the past few days with the Catalan side revealed to have picked up tens of players under the age of 18 using illegal practices.

According to 101greatgoals.com, nigerian right back, Elohor Godswill, is not one of the players involved in the case, but it is fair to say, whether they have used illegal practices or not, that the La Masia academy is amongst the best in the world.

Godswill joined Barcelona as an 11-year-old, moving from CD Torreforta, a club he had signed for as an eight-year-old.

Born in nigeria, Godswill has

spent almost all his life in Spain but will represent the African country at international level.

He has been one of the stars of the Barcelona side in the UEFA Youth League this season and looks to be a natural heir to rampaging first team full back, Dani Alves.

Elohor

Efe Ambrose

Glo Nigeria Premier League

Dolphins, Sharks derby takes new twist

By Christian Okpara HESE are funny times in T the Glo nigeria Premier League. A time when some teams are fighting for positioning in the Glo nigeria Premier League table, some others just want to consolidate their status as the more successful club in their state.

Port Harcourt is the home of two clubs, Sharks (the older team) and Dolphins, the more successful side.

Both teams will clash in what some have called the ‘Pitakwa derby’ this weekend and the feelers from the Garden City are as interesting as they are hilarious. Both teams are serious in the pursuit of the three points at stake though.

Firing the first salvo is Dolphins’ Media Officer, China Acheru, who has described Sharks as their noisy neighbours ala Sir Alex Ferguson.

Dolphins are away to Sharks in the League tomorrow and

Acheru says Sharks have been all noise and no achievements since their formation as a football club.

“From 1972 to 2014 makes it 42 years and the only thing they have to show for all the money spent on them is a meaningless West Africa Football Union, WAFU trophy.

“We have been around since 1990 which makes it 24 years and we already have in our kitty three league titles, four FA Cups and some other honours they will only dream about, yet they act like they have achieved more than Al Ahly nationale.

“It is not out of place to call them our noisy neighbours because that is what they are.

We will also do our best to shut them up on Saturday, but even if we don’t win that game we will justify ourselves by the end of the season.

“We agree they have more fans than we do and playing at their Stadium will be more difficult but we have always been

the better side.”

Although Sharks had not answered to their neighbours’ boasts, the team have been mobilizing fans to come and see them to victory tomorrow.

Sharks Captain, Odinga Odinga, has promised Port Harcourt football fans with free tickets to watch their Garden City Derby.

According to Odinga, who had a banner raised in his honour by fans during the 3-0 win against Crown FC of Ogbomosho, is staking 30 match tickets for the first 30 fans to show up at the Old City stadium.

“It is important we give something back to the fans that have supported us even when the Club wasn’t doing well and for me, the best gift will be to bring them in to see Sharks win this very important game. The free match tickets offer is my own little way of saying thank you to the fans for standing by the team during our trying time last season”, Odinga explained.

Super Falcons tackle Golden Eaglets for fitness OMEn national football W team, the Super Falcons, will square up against the U-17 boys in a test match this morning in preparation for the double header against Cameroun and Rwanda.

The friendly will be played at the FIFA Goal project pitch Abuja by 7:30 am, according to Falcons head coach, Edwin Okon.

“We decided to organise this

friendly so that some of these girls will not think here is jamboree house. The friendly is a wake up call that here is not where you will come relax, sleep, eat, get up and jump to training and then come back to camp.

“We are not thinking of the goals… we just want to see what we will do with the boys, because as we all know the boys are faster than the girls,

we want to see how they can match up with the tempo of these boys,” he said.

According to Okon, “Even if we play 30 or 40 minutes for each half the friendly will be all encompassing because we will use it to train, screen and watch their pace.”

Meanwhile, some of the invited players will not be available for the game due to various reasons.

Ramsey set to return against Everton AROn Ramsey could A return to Arsenal’s squad for the first time this year in Sunday’s crucial Barclays Premier League clash at Everton, manager Arsene Wenger has revealed Ramsey has not featured since suffering a thigh strain at West Ham on Boxing Day, robbing Wenger of one of his key performers with the 23year-old having scored an impressive 13 goals in the opening part of the season.

Having initially expected only a six-week absence, Ramsey suffered a couple of niggling setbacks, but is now in line to make the trip to Merseyside as Arsenal look to take a grip on fourth place ahead of their FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on April 7.

“Aaron and nacho Monreal are back training with the squad, so that is good news.

Hopefully they will be available for Sunday. (Abou) Diaby is back on the pitches, so that is good news,” Wenger told the club’s official website yesterday.

Midfielder Diaby has not featured for more than a year because of a serious knee injury - the latest in a long-line of setbacks for the combative France international, and could provide a surprise welcome boost for the closing few fixtures, with England international Jack Wilshere also facing a race against time to be fit for the run-in.

Centre-back Laurent Koscielny may be available for the trip to Wembley against Sky Bet Championship side, Wigan, next weekend following his calf problem.

Wenger, though, confirmed there would be no swift return for German playmaker Mesut Ozil, who has been out since suffering a hamstring injury in the Champions League exit at Bayern Munich last month.

“The FA Cup will be too soon for him, but he will hopefully be back soon after that,” said the Gunners boss.

The jury is still out for many on Ozil, who has shown just glimpses of his talents since arriving in a much-heralded club-record £42.5million transfer on deadline day of the summer window.

However, former Gunners goalkeeper, Jens Lehmann, has no doubts his compatriot can go on to great things at the Emirates Stadium.

“Mesut Ozil will be a big success at Arsenal,” Lehmann told talkSPORT. “You have to remember that every player, who has come from abroad needs to get used to the rhythm of the Premier League.

“You don’t know how your body is going to react after the winter period - in no other league is it so hard to play throughout the whole season.

You get a little break in Spain and Germany.

“It is his first season at Arsenal, but he is a fantastic player.”

•Culled from sportinglife.com

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DStv BB: Kano Pillars, Mark Mentors battle for top spot * Union Bank, Dodan Warriors clash in Lagos

By Adeyinka Adedipe EFENDING champions, D Kano Pillars Basketball Club will face their stiffest test in the DStv Premier Basketball League when they takes on Mark Mentors today in one of the Savannah Conference games.

Both teams have won all their four games and a win for any side would take it to the top of the table, as the battle for the Final Eight continues. Kano Pillars and Mark Mentors warmed up for this encounter with victories over Niger Potters and Kada Stars respectively last Friday.

Another tough game will see Union Bank BC square up against Dodan Warriors in the sports hall of the National Stadium, Lagos. Both teams will hope that they can consolidate on their last victory, but the team with the better tactical discipline would get the two points at stake.

Both sides also finished second and third last season, so fans can look forward to an exciting game. Despite three victories in four games, Dodan Warriors coach, Chris Nomigo told The Guardian that his players would

become unbeatable when the gel into a top team.

However, Union Bank will hope that Warriors, who struggled against Kwara Falcons’ in a rescheduled week two game on Tuesday, do not come out smoking in this game as they could be very dangerous on their good day.

In other games, Islanders would take on Oluyole Warriors; Customs tackles Royal Hoopers, while Kwara Falcons battle Police Baton.

The Islander /Oluyole Warriors game is another tough encounter, as Oluyole Warriors seems to have acquainted themselves well with the rigours of the league and may shock Islanders today to continue their impressive run that has seen them win three games out of four.

Police Baton got their first win last weekend against Customs and would be at their best to ward off attack from Falcons, who they play today in Ilorin. Royal Hoopers, who forfeited their week one game after they failed to show up against Warriors, would have their hands full against Customs.

Spain 2014 ITTF World Tour

Quadri, Offiong qualify for main draw IGERIA’S Aruna Quadri the preliminary round.

Quadri, who had featured in N and Edem Offiong secured their spots in the two World Tours earlier this main draw of the ongoing International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour, tagged Spanish Open.

Qualifying for the main draw for Quadri is a dream come true as it is his first main draw of any ITTF World Tour following his top place finish in Group 10 of

Yobo battles for fitness ahead Stoke, WBA Premiership tie ORWICH City coach, Chris N Hughton, says Super Eagles’ captain, Joseph Yobo, will undergo a late fitness test ahead of tomorrow’s English Premier League relegation battle against West Brom at Carrow Road.

Yobo missed the Canaries 3-0 mauling by Swansea City due to a calf strain and the most capped Super Eagle told the media he would be fit to play his eighth game for Norwich since his January loan switch from Fenerbahce of Turkey.

Hughton has, however, revealed that a decision will be made late on the availability of the Nigerian stopper, who missed the trip to the Liberty stadium in South Wales last weekend.

“He was out on the training pitch on Thursday (yesterday).

He’s been ok this week, so we’re quite confident that he’ll come through Friday (today) as well,” he added when talking exclusively to Norwich City TV. Yobo has been a solid addition to the Canaries since he joined in January, helping the club to two of the three clean sheets the club has recorded this year including the one against the then free-scoring Manchester City.

year in Kuwait and Qatar, but failed to advance to the last 64 of these tournaments, got into the main draw of Spanish Open after a resounding 4-0 bashing of homeboy – Spain’s Carlos Franco.

The last meeting between Quadri and the Spaniard was at the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) Cup this year, where the Nigerian won 3-2.

Quadri was not deterred with the home support his opponent got during the encounter, as he ensured that the match was beyond the reach of the Spaniard, winning encounter at 11-4, 114, 11-5, 12-10 (4-0) to join the seeded players in the main draw, which serves off today.

Offiong, who is also making her debut at the ITTF World Tour, had to be at her best to finish second in Group Seven behind Russia’s Yulia Prokhorova.

Chelsea’s defender, David Luiz (middle) fights for the ball with PSG forward, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (right) next to Chelsea’s defender, John Terry (left) during their UEFA Champions League quarter-final at the Parc-des-Princes Stadium in Paris. PSG won 3-1.

PHOTO: AFP

UEFA Champions League

My defence let me down, says Mourinho HELSEA manager, Jose C Mourinho, criticised his team’s sloppy defending and lack of a cutting edge after they went down 3-1 to Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League quarterfinal, first leg on Wednesday.

The Premier League side recovered from the loss of an early Ezequiel Lavezzi goal to equalise courtesy of an Eden Hazard penalty just before the half-hour mark and the Belgian also struck the post before half-time.

However, PSG seized the initiative again in the second period and a David Luiz own goal put them back in front before Javier Pastore’s stoppage-time effort handed the Ligue 1 leaders a potentially decisive two-goal advantage heading into next Tuesday’s return at Stamford Bridge.

“I think by the strategical point of view the team had great discipline, and the most difficult things to do in the game they did very well,” said Mourinho, who is looking to become the first coach to win the European Cup with three different clubs following previous triumphs with Porto and Inter Milan.

“They stopped (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic.

(Edinson) Cavani was under control.

The positional play from (Thiago) Motta and (Marco) Verratti in the centre of the pitch was completely under control.

“But we couldn’t transform the half-chances that we created into goals and on top of that we made defensive mistakes, individual defensive mistakes. So we paid the price.”

The opening goal came from a poor defensive header by Chelsea captain John Terry while David Luiz gave away the free-kick that led to his own goal and goalkeeper Petr Cech was beaten at his near post for Pastore’s third.

“In the first goal the ball goes to Lavezzi — control, half-volley, boom. It’s like this at this level — one chance, one goal,” admitted Mourinho.

“The game was under control and we had the chance to go 21 up at the end of the first half.

But we didn’t score and then after that we scored in our own goal and after that the third goal, it was a joke. It was not a goal it was a joke.”

The Portuguese also confirmed that his decision to select winger Andre Schuerrle in attack rather than Fernando Torres in the absence of the injured Samuel Eto’o reflected a lack of confidence in his mis-firing strikers.

“I’m not happy with my strikers’ performances, so I have to try things, and with Andre at least we know we have one more player to associate with the other players.

“But football is not just about that. It’s about scoring goals

Green House displaying the trophy they won during the 4th Biennial Mitchel Inter-House Schools Sports at the Victory High School Sports ground, Abule Onigbagbo, Ikeja …last week.

and getting in behind. And that is for strikers, real strikers.”

‘Nothing to lose’ Mourinho, who insisted that his team have “nothing to lose now” must wish that he could be reunited with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the PSG striker who played for him at Inter in 2008-09.

The Swede, who has scored 40 goals in all competitions this season, is a doubt for the second leg, however, after coming off with what looked like a thigh injury in the second half at the Parc des Princes, but PSG can still call on Cavani, Lavezzi and Pastore, among others.

And the French club’s coach, Laurent Blanc, singled out Lavezzi for praise after the Argentinian produced an outstanding performance and also lauded his team for their second-half display.

“Ezequiel is back on top form now and he brings us depth

and pace in attack. And on top of that he got a goal — and a forward always gets a better mark when they get a goal,” said the former France defender.

“The performance was encouraging. At half-time maybe some were wondering if we were really up to the level of Chelsea but we had a very constructive discussion at half-time, we knew we had to work harder and be more disciplined in midfield, and the second half was excellent.”

On the significance of Pastore’s goaal, Blanc said: “I don’t know if it will be decisive, but now I think Chelsea will be obliged to attack us.

“Our philosophy is to have the ball. It will be tough, but we’ve given ourselves the possibility to be able to play for a place in the last four, so bravo to the players.”

• Culled from BBC Football

Green dethrone Blue House as Mitchel Schools mark 4th biennial sports

By Samuel Ifetoye ONSO Ezieh was the star as she emerged the over all best athlete of the fourth Mitchel Biennial Inter-House School Sports that took place at the Victory High School Sports ground, Abule Onigbagbo, Ikeja, where the defending champions, Blue House (Abiona) lost her title coming third with two gold, three silver and six bronze medals behind the eventual champions, Green House (Akinola) that came first with eight gold, four silver and four bronze medals and Red House (Idowu) which settled for second position with eight gold, three silver and two bronze medals.

In the match-past, Yellow House came tops with 58 points, Green House 2nd with 53 points and both Red and Blue House came joint 3rd with 52 points.

In her opening speech, under the chairmanship of Honourable Dele Obadina, the Proprietress, Mrs. T. O.

N

Idowu said: “According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), health is a complete state of physical, mental and social well being not merely absence of disease or infirmity. The invaluable contribution of sporting events and activities of this magnitude to an accomplished lifestyle cannot be over emphasized. Apart from the obvious physical and mental health benefits, it creates a sense of healthy competition. From the foregoing, it becomes imperative to appreciate the positive correlation between the sporting prowess and intelligence. GSM phone can only be activated with the use of SIM card so also through sporting activities man’s intelligence get activated and reactivated.

Parents who came to support their children, dressed sporty, they light up the occasion competing in the 100 metres, so also were the teaching and the non-teaching staff who ran in the sprint to the admiration of the invited guests.

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SPORT Friday, April 4, 2014

Edo government appeals for Odemwingie’s recall to Eagles From Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu, Benin City DO State government yesE terday added its voice to calls for the recall of Stoke City Striker, Osaze Odemwingie, to the Super Eagles.

The state’s Commissioner for Sports, Chris Okaeben, made the appeal while addressing sports journalists at the end of the Edo Walk for life monthly exercise in the state capital.

He said having shown remorse and the fact that he is on top of his game, he deserved a recall to the national team for the World Cup, maintaining that the player has been an asset to the country and the state.

“As a state, we are forever proud of our own as long as you are contributing your own quota to the development of the state, we are forever proud of him.

“We have no choice than to support him and to lend our voice, in speaking to the National Sports Commission, our brother, Stephen Keshi and the leadership of NFF to please see the need why they should recall Osaze to the national team and add value to the development of football in Nigeria.

“Today, what he is doing in

football internationally, he can also do for his country, Nigeria.

“We are lending our voice, we are appealing, and we are not imposing it on them.

“But I want to strongly say that our brother, who is the coach of the national team, is a product of this stadium (Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium) that we are standing here today; this makes him the son of Benin kingdom.

“I join voices with every average Edo man to appeal to him (Keshi) to please extend hand of fellowship to our brother and son, Osaze Odemwingie and ask him to come contribute his best to our nation.’’

While acknowledging the fact that many see the player as a proud person, Okaeben noted that Odemwingie is not any different from an average Edo man.

“Some may tend to see him as a proud person, but I am proud to say that an average Edo man is a proud man, which is what makes us number one and also what we are.

“But of course, this has not in any way reduced or undermined the fact that he is an asset to football development in Nigeria and would contribute to Eagles success in Brazil,” the commissioner posited.

Enugu Rangers’ Ejike Uzoenyi (left) takes on former Lobi Stars’ fullback, Terna Suswam, during a past league game. The ‘Flying Antelopes’ have blamed poor pitch for their defeat by Giwa FC in Jos…on Wednesday.

PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI.

Glo Nigeria Premier League

Poor pitch cost Rangers game against Giwa, says Obuh NUGU Rangers’ Chief E Coach, John Obuh, has blamed poor pitch for his team’s 0-1 defeat by Giwa FC of Jos on Wednesday.

The former Flying Eagles handler told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that his boys could not play well because of the bad pitch at the Rwang Pam Stadium, Jos. “We came with high spirit, the boys started well but because of the poor field they could not drop their ball and play as expected,’’ Obuh said.

According to him, this led to

loss of concentration in the course of the match and the eventual dismal performance.

Also speaking on the game, Ranger’s midfielder, Ejike Uzoenyi, who won the Most Valuable Player at the last Championship of African Nations (CHAN), also attributed their loss to poor pitch.

He said the pitch was not good for elite football like the premier league.

“The poor pitch is not good for the image of Nigeria football; how can DSTV cover a match in such a stadium?

“What will it look like in the eyes of the international community?” he asked.

The match was the first by Giwa in the Globacom Premier League after its reinstatement into the competition.

It will be recalled that Giwa gained promotion from the Nigerian National League (NNL) last season.

However, it was not registered for the premier league season by the League Management Company (LMC), which claimed that it did not meet its require-

ments.

The only goal of the match was scored by Ocheme Odoh for Giwa in the 31st minute.

Giwa’s Coach Abdullahi Biffo told NAN after the game that his side was not convincing enough but thanked God for the three points.

“We have not played a match for a long time and so, we lacked match fitness but the most important thing is that we got the result,’’ he said.

The match was watched by thousands of soccer fans in Plateau State, who came to watch the premier league for the first time in several years.

Amodu thumbs up Iuleha tourney organisers Super Eagles FtheORMER coach, Shaibu Amodu, says third edition of the Iuleha Football Festival, which ended on Saturday in Uzebba, Edo State, would help discover more football talents in the state.

The coach, who led BCC Lions to win the 1990 CAF Cup Winners Cup, also heaped praises on sponsor of the competition, Frank Ilaboya, for initiating the event.

Amodu alongside the Secretary to the Edo State Government, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere and the Okumagbe of Iuleha, Oba Ayo Omobare, received Special Recognition Awards for their contributions to sports and youth development in Edo, at the colourful closing ceremony of the event.

“I am impressed with what I saw and Ilaboya deserves commendation. If we have events like this in the rural areas in the state, it will help in talent discovery for the state football development progamme. I will continue to give the Iuleha tournament my backing,” Amodu stated.

Defending champions, Superstars of Uzebba, defeated last year’s runners-up, Rising Sun, 4-3 on penalties in the final after full and extra time ended 0-0, while Bright Future of Uzebba claimed the third place with a 1-0 win over Crown FC. Rising Sun’s Elvis Okweuye emerged top scorer with five goals, while Justice Ohiolei was voted Most Valuable

Player.

Ambassador FC won the Fair Play Team award.

Speaking at the end of the tournament, Cup donor, Frank Ilaboya, who is also the Vice Chairman, Edo State FA, said with the quality of play displayed at this year’s event, he was hopeful that the football competition would soon

start producing players for Nigeria’s national teams.

“Through events like this, talents are discovered and I am happy doing this for my people. I promise to sustain the tournament and it is our sincere hope that it will produce future stars for our state and the country,” Ilaboya said.

Peps-Pean Production fetes women footballers, their Coaches HIEF executive officer of rally support for initiatives in C Peps-Pean Productions, their local communities.

The release quotes Joël Pepsie Adiukwu, says she has arranged a football match and get together this weekend for women footballers and their coaches.

The match on Sunday coincides with the United Nation’s (UN) International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.

Launched by the UN at the initiative of the International Olympics Committee, the first ever ‘International Day of Sport for Development and Peace’ represents a unique opportunity to mobilize, join forces, encourage and bring to light projects for peace and development through sport.

Adiukwu said in a release that Peps-Pean Productions is joining this major celebration of sport for peace to celebrate sport as a tool for development and peace and encourage members of the public to raise awareness and

Bouzou, President and Founder of Peace and Sport, as saying, “By establishing April 6 as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, the UN and IOC are paying tribute to the unique role of sport in our society and honouring its constructive and positive values.

“Throughout the year, a tremendous amount of work is carried out by stakeholders on the ground – often in difficult conditions. This day serves as a way to recognize and honour their achievements.”

“Peps-Pean Productions is using this initiative to honour grassroots female footballers and their coaches – unsung heroes who guide them to hone their skills, in various nooks and crannies of Nigeria,” the release added.

Friday, April 4, 2014

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GolfWeekly IGolfMDC debuts with eco-golf tour to Dubai, Cyprus Stories by Eno-Abasi Sunday NDIGENOUS concern, International Golf Management and Development Company (IGolfMDC), has concluded plans to announce in style, its entrant into the Nigerian golf milieu with an exciting out-bound golf tour.

Dubbed “The Mediterranean Swing,” the tour scheduled to run from Tuesday May 6th to 13th, 2014, will take Nigerian golfers on a one-week, 72hole tour to Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Cyprus.

IGolfMDC is the brainchild of ‘Sola Lawson, the pioneer Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/Tour Commissioner of the PGA Nigeria Tour.

Lawson is the firm’s CEO, while Ali Magashi, a director also chairs the outfit.

Akin Areola, a passionate golfer is also a director of the firm.

According to Lawson, already 22 golfers have come on board the maiden tour. With some coming with their wives and children, the number of those making the maiden trip has gone up to 39. Others are still registering their interests.

Interestingly, the trip will not only be purely a golfing extravaganza as IGolfMDC has teamed up with SoldOn-Cyprus Ltd, the official real estate agent to the government of the Republic of Cyprus, to present tour members with real estate investment opportunities in the Paphos region of the Mediterranean country.

“We will play our first 18 holes at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai, playing the pristine and challenging ‘Faldo Course’. The next day, we hop into the plane to Cyprus for an exciting 54hole golf challenge, where we will play three of Europe’s best courses in the Mediterranean region –

I

We will play our first 18 holes at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai, playing the pristine and challenging ‘Faldo Course’. The next day, we hop into the plane to Cyprus for an exciting 54-hole golf challenge, where we will play three of Europe’s best courses in the Mediterranean region – Aphrodite Hills, Menthis Hills and Elea Resort golf courses Aphrodite Hills, Menthis Hills and Elea Resort golf back-to-back,” courses Lawson stated adding that, “We are committed to doing things differently with the sole objective of lifting the sport of golf to high heights in Nigeria.

“The government of Cyprus is offering European Union residency passports to investors and we feel giving Nigerian golfers an opportunity to diversify their investment portfolios on the platform of a great golfing experience is in agreement with our corporate ethos that ‘Golf is the sport of business,” he added.

Apart from this planned initial outing, Lawson says IGolfMDC was also into other aspects of the game and the business opportunities it presents. In this direction, he said the six units of the firm would focus on different aspects of the golf business including youth development, skills and vocational development, real estate and infrastructournaments ture, (Professional and Amateur), tourism and talent management amongst others.

Shawn Simmons (left) and Port Hacourt-based Alice Wifa engaged in a post-round chat at Ibom Golf Club, Akwa Ibom State

PHOTO: ENO-ABASI SUNDAY

Parent/child contest to tee-off KGI All Africa junior tourney RGANISERS of the forthO coming Kids Golf International (KGI) All Africa Junior Golf Championship, have concluded plans to stage a novel opener to the tourney. This they intend to do with the first ever parent and child event.

The novel exercise, which will open the fun-packed week just before Easter at the golf section of Ikoyi Club 1938, will be held as part of the practice round of the tourney. That is immediately after the opening ceremony on the April 13, 2014. The championship ends on April 17.

A format for the 9-hole competition released by the organisers indicate that play will commence simultaneously on Hole 1 and Hole 10, adding that kids who would play 18 holes (age category 9/10 boys up to 18), would start from Hole 1 with their parents and while those who would play nine holes (age category 9 to 10 girls and below), would start from Hole 10 with their parents. ”Kids who have non-golfers as parents and are interested in participating can adopt parents, while adults with no kids entered into the tourna-

ment can adopt kids for the purpose of the tournaments,” the format stated adding that the stroke play event will see the parent/child taking alternate strokes, which ends once ball has been putted.

In the event, which both parent and child would alternate tee-off on different holes, there would be two sets of winners, that is those starting from Hole 1 and those starting from Hole 10. Awards would be given to those who finish in the first three positions.

Meanwhile, it recently emerged that more countries

would send in representatives for the junior championship. The latest in this direction is the confirmation that junior players from nextdoor neighbour, Ghana would participate.

The tournament, a counting event for World Amateur Golf Ranking, will feature boys and girls from age five to 23 as at August 31st, 2014. It is staged in partnership with the host club and with support from the Nigeria Golf Federation (NGF).

“KGI international status is increasing this year with the inclusion of players from

Ghana. In the past, we have had youths from six countries play at the tourney. They include the United Kingdom, United States, India, South Africa, Zimbabwe and France.

The players expected to participate from Ghana were registered by Lady Anne Beverley Brown, who runs a junior golf outfit called, The Putters League in Ghana. We look forward to meeting Lady Anne and her team in Lagos,” President/Founder of KGI, Kenny Thompson had said in a release last month.

Thompson also informed that for kids that take part in

the championship, there were more international events to qualify for in different parts of the world.

“Following out most successful outing to date at the 2013 U.S Kids European Championships, we feel that we are confident enough to open our talented players to more events around the world. The 3rd All African Junior Championships will help identify potentials for these world-class events. Golf is no doubt a long journey and like China, KGI recognises this…” Thompson stated.

TheGuardian www.ngrguardiannews.com

Friday, April 4, 2014

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

By Femi Aremu Continued from yesterday (3-4-2014) ODAY’S upsurge of corruption and smuggling, as symptoms of bad leadership, can be cured only when the political leadership cures itself of personality disorder, of which it suffers an affliction. The government must fight corruption and address good governance issues by initiating good policies. Leadership in the country must rule by example rather than by precepts. A leadership that preaches austerity and prudence must not show, through their actions, that they are as frivolous as the rest. This country today places very little premium on the life of the human person. The Human Rights Watch, U.S. State Department Annual Report, as well as the UN Human Rights Commission, all keep pointing at the dangerous policy of extra-judicial execution of suspected criminals and nobody cares to listen. The government must stop its duplicity to the militancy problem in the Niger Delta and come clean. They must show sincere intention, which is not the case at present.

There is no gainsaying that Nigeria is hugely blessed in both natural and human resources, but robbed of statesmen and women with zealous patriotism and statesmanship to manage them for the maximum benefit, interest and welfare of all. What can be the challenges of a land like Nigeria except bad, visionless, corrupt, conscienceless and godless management? A society where stealing of public funds and vulgar acquisition of wealth is a big achievement; a 53-year-old country where treachery, mischief, ungodliness, love of money far above love of human beings, bad feelings and lawlessness thrive. Our major challenge as a people is lack of godly, patriotic, transparent and accountable leadership. The outcome of all these is that Nigeria at 53 has become a syllabus of errors, a good example of what a country should not be and a tottering giant fumbling on the lane of growth and development.

A clarion call!!!

The current state of the nation places a clarion call on the youth of Nigeria because the bright future of any country is always predicated on its youth force. A society with a mirage youth force is not far from the abyss of irreparable damage.

It is not untrue that most of the industries (manufacturing, financial, telecommunication, engineering/construction etc) are powered by labourers and workers who fall in the bracket of youth. Also, the corporate service sectors are also largely powered by youth labour, the music and movie industries, etc are all powered by youth labour and these are all impacting on the economy and development of this nation.

The pride of being a Nigerian youth many years ago is somehow obliterated by the perpetuation of evils by our very own elders, some of whom have extolled themselves as elder statesmen.

Youths across Nigeria have been bequeathed with a sense of social, political and economic insecurity by these same people, and many of us have been indoctrinated into a mirage of hope in an attempt to fight, sometimes violently, the selfish cause of the political elites at the polling booths and beyond. Our unquestionable allegiance to these same elders that have destroyed our land in itself raises concern that change in the political landscape of Nigeria is far from remote.

We need to transform our virtual ideas into sustainable reality. The youth have enormous responsibility in charting a new course for Nigeria. It has been observed that, there seem to be a growing push for a national youth-initiated agenda and a youth-led coalition that would engender the renaissance that we all aspire to see in our country. There are by all account hundreds of youth-led non-governmental organisations (NGOs) all across the country with fragmented and sometimes easily diluted ambition to single-handedly bring social and economic change. There is no doubt that one cannot readily discount the contributions of many of these NGO’s, but the reality is that meaningful progress would not be made in transforming

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The ‘going concern’ of Nigerian state: Clarion call to the youth (2)

the socio-economic and political landscape of Nigeria except these youth organisations come together and develop a strategic national agenda and priority areas that focus on improving the lot of ordinary Nigerians, while building institutions that have democratic legitimacy; institutions that are sustainable for the sake of posterity.

Youths are valuable tools to safeguard against violation of basic human rights and government excesses if they would take up their responsibilities and play their role as political actors during and after the transi-

tion process of their infant democracies. For too long young people are judged as not fit to participate in societal development because of dormancy and political apathy. As youths rethink, redesign, rebuild and rebrand themselves, we need to discover for ourselves whether what we have been taught could stand the test of time. We must acquire knowledge, for knowledge is power and with knowledge youths can turn dreams into great realities and, with knowledge, we can positively change not just our own immediate community but Nigeria as a whole. What is

The YOUTHSPEAK Column which is published daily is an initiative of THE GUARDIAN, and powered by RISE NETWORKS, Nigeria’s Leading Youth Development Centre, as a substantial advocacy platform available for ALL Nigerian Youth to engage Leadership at all levels, engage Society and contribute to National Discourse on diverse issues especially those that are peculiar to Nigeria. Regarding submission of articles, we welcome writers‘ contributions by way of well crafted, analytical and thought provoking opinion pieces that are concise, topical and non-defamatory! All articles (which are not expected to be more than 2000 words) should be sent to editorial@risenetworks.org To read the online Version of this same article plus past publications and to find out more about Youth Speak, please visit www.risenetworks.org/youthspeak and join the ongoing National Conversations’’.

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What can be the challenges of a land like Nigeria except bad, visionless, corrupt, conscienceless and godless management? A society where stealing of public funds and vulgar acquisition of wealth is a big achievement; a 53-year-old country where treachery, mischief, ungodliness, love of money far above love of human beings, bad feelings and lawlessness thrive

more, during Nigeria’s struggle for independence, youths were part of the nationalist movement and they took positions on either side of the struggle.

Today, they must abhor violence and thuggery. Yes, the future belongs to us but we must claim it. That future will not be given on a platter of gold. Youths must work hard, be focused, be curious, be probing and ready to sharpen their intellect and create ideas that must be revolutionary for them to claim the future.

Finally, let me conclude with the words in the book I co-authored: “We have seen the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, unmistakably rejected, always victim of war, frightened and mistakenly compromise and starving hysterical naked.”

But now with political eye of faith: ‘‘We see a new Nigeria emerging…one creating the path of progress on right lines, built on the labours of our heroes past, meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs and engineered by the strength of the future leaders: the youth.

These young men and women will adopt positive youth development for the purposes of enhancing sustainable development, nation building, regional cooperation and global participation.

Today, they exist unknown, but in the secrecy of their abode, they master the tool that will change their lives and that of their nation.”

Concluded. aremufemi@gmail.com 08037072396